The Sealing Read online

  CHAOS

  IN

  THE

  BLINK

  OF

  AN

  EYE

  PART SIX:

  THE SEALING

  AWARD-WINNING

  END TIMES SERIES BY

  PATRICK HIGGINS

  CHAOS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE:

  PART SIX – THE SEALING

  COPYRIGHT © 2019 PATRICK HIGGINS

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  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter, without written permission of the author. Address all inquiries to the author.

  All scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV)

  © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

  Library of Congress

  Cataloging in Publication Data

  ISBN 978-0-9992355-5-3

  Published by

  www.ForHisGloryProductionCompany.com

  Publisher’s note: This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, organizations, and incidents portrayed in this novel are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Prologue...

  After what could only be described as a disastrous Universal Children’s Day celebration, when Muslims brutally attacked the Western Hemisphere, more than 100,000,000 human beings were killed, 30,000,000 of them were American citizens.

  In retaliation for their actions, Salvador Romanero ordered three Muslims killed for every life they took, and a thousand Muslims for every pregnant woman killed. Islamic mosques, universities, and religious training centers were set ablaze by fire. Anyone found inside those buildings were ordered outside then killed by firing squad.

  This was only the beginning...

  Soon after the attack, Air Force One was blown out of the sky, as part of a coordinated attempt to strip President Jefferson Danforth of his power. Only the President wasn’t on board the plane with the First Lady, when an onboard explosion brought the aircraft down in a field somewhere in Kansas—it was one of the President’s body doubles.

  Now living in hiding, as Vice President Everett Ashford was about to be sworn in as the next Commander-in-Chief, Jefferson Danforth was doing all he could to fulfill the promise he made to supply the End Times Salvation Movement with all the resources they would need.

  Without them, survival would be impossible…

  But before Ashford could even take the oath to become America’s next President, a new wave of chaos rocked the nation, plunging much of the country into darkness. Soon after that, the situation took another tragic turn for the worse, leaving the new President immobilized, and rendering the United States, and Jefferson Danforth, completely powerless.

  With America now ripe for the taking, Salvador Romanero’s goal of achieving a one world economical and religious system was one huge step closer to being realized. But for his ultimate goal to come to fruition, which was nothing short of global worship, those who would never submit to him needed to be wiped off the face of the earth.

  With nearly a billion Muslims gone, it was time for Romanero to shift his focus onto born-again Christians. After them, the Jews would be the next religious group in his crosshairs…

  But knowing the Most High God would soon place His seal on the foreheads of His 144,000 chosen servants, and send them out to evangelize the world for the One they were forbidden, as practicing Jews, from reading about all their lives—Yeshua HaMashiach—meant Romanero’s desire for global adoration would not come easy…

  Main Characters:

  Clayton Holmes and Travis Hartings – Co-founders of www.LASRglobal.org. Now that Salvador Romanero had been identified as the long-foretold antichrist of the Bible, the two leaders were putting plans in motion that would hopefully counter some of Romanero’s advances. Both knew if they sat back and did nothing, they would be annihilated by the enemy without even putting up a fight.

  Pastor Jim Simonton – 49 - Lead Pastor at Southeast Michigan Evangelical Church. Left behind with everyone else, the devastated pastor, after realizing he was a false convert—and that his preaching had led many from his church to be left behind as well—quickly repented of his sins and was determined to never again preach a false or watered-down Gospel. In short: there would be no more false converts at his hands.

  Tom Dunleavey – 63 – Catholic priest who tried consulting Brian Mulrooney the day after the disappearances. After both men had similar dreams for three straight nights, they met for a friendly debate. It ultimately led to Tom’s leaving the Catholic church.

  Dick and Sarah Mulrooney – Married for more than 30 years, the solid relationship they always had was showing small cracks in the dam, after their son Brian converted to Christianity and distanced himself from the Catholic church. After converting to Christianity herself, Sarah left Dick shortly before Chelsea killed herself, to live with Brian and Jacquelyn at safe house number one, in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

  Braxton Rice – Chief of security and vetting for Clayton Holmes and Travis Hartings and their upstart organization the End Times Salvation Movement.

  Doctor Lee Kim – Lead IT man for the website www.LASRglobal.org, and all other End Times Salvation Movement IT operations.

  Tamika Moseley – 28 – Former NYC taxi driver. Lost her two sons, Jamal and Dante, and mother, Ruth Ferguson, on the day of the Rapture. Tamika was driving two businessmen from LaGuardia Airport to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel when all hell broke loose, and one of her passengers vanished in the back seat of her taxicab. God ultimately used her to connect Brian Mulrooney and Charles Calloway in the days following the disappearances.

  Brian Mulrooney – 34 – Moved from New York City to Ann Arbor, Michigan, after graduating from Notre Dame University and being recruited by the Marriott Corporation. Mulrooney was at Michigan Stadium with his childhood friend, Justin Schroeder, to watch the Ohio State-Michigan football game, when Schroeder suddenly disappeared along with thousands of others.

  Justin Schroeder – 33 – Moved from New York City to Boulder, Colorado to attend the University of Colorado. Met his wife Heather at a Bible study in his sophomore year and became a Christ follower soon after that. Both were taken in the Rapture, along with their unborn child. Before going to the football game, Justin left a Bible at Brian Mulrooney’s apartment—wrapped as a gift—with a handwritten letter stuffed inside, explaining the many positive changes in his life. His hope was that God would use both items to open his friend’s eyes and ears to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  Renate McCallister – 29 – Upon hearing that her ex-boyfriend Brian was getting married, it was too much for her weary heart to cope with. She ended up making a suicide video, which she gave to Brian and Jacquelyn as a wedding gift.

  Charles Calloway – 43 – Successful Florida businessman who was in New York City to teach success principles to his fellow colleagues at the time of the disappearances. Calloway was inside Tamika Moseley’s cab when his colleague, Richard Figueroa, suddenly vanished in the backseat next to him. The son of a preacher, it didn’t take long for Calloway to piece things together and realize it was the Rapture of the Church, and that he had been left behind.

  Jacquelyn Mulrooney – 30 – Lost her husband at Michigan Stadium when he was killed by an object that fell from the sky, after a plane collided with a Goodyear blimp hovering above the stadium. Swindell also lost the child in her wo
mb at that time. After meeting Brian Mulrooney inside the stadium, she offered to drive him home after his car was destroyed in the mayhem. As she did her best to cope in this strange new world, without her husband and unborn child, she was grateful for Brian’s friendship, and agreed to join him in his quest for answers...

  Craig Rubin – 34 – While his two buddies, Brian Mulrooney and Justin Schroeder, left New York to attend college elsewhere, Craig Rubin remained in the Big Apple to work the family business, which consisted of three Jewish delicatessens all bearing the name, Mitzi’s. Rubin was en route to Ann Arbor, Michigan to join his two friends when the Rapture occurred. Craig never left New York City.

  President Jefferson Danforth and First Lady Melissa Danforth – The First Family were at Camp David with family and friends when the disappearances happened. The President ultimately found refuge in Christ Jesus; the First Lady wanted nothing to do with it. She ended up being killed on board Air Force One when explosives were detonated in the belly of the aircraft.

  Salvador Romanero – 31 – As the world mourned the loss of more than a billion people—either by death or disappearance—Satan raised up the young lawyer from Spain as his main agent in human form. No one knew it yet, but the young phenom was about to take the world completely by storm and become the unchallenged leader of the world…

  1

  JACQUELYN MULROONEY CAME DOWNSTAIRS to find her husband sitting on the couch in the living room looking ever so distraught; even worse than when she left him earlier to be examined by Dr. Meera Singh—the ETSM doctor who’d treated Tamika Moseley’s pus-infected leg wound at the cabin in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

  The woman of Indian descent, who was stranded in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania after last month’s attack on America, had since been assigned the role of chief resident doctor at safe house number one.

  “What’s wrong, sweetie?” Jacquelyn said to Brian. The glow on her face evaporated. “Are the fires getting closer?”

  Brian shrugged his shoulders; all the blood had drained from his cheeks; he looked like he just saw a ghost. His face was soaked with sweat.

  Jacquelyn glanced briefly at the TV, then at Meera Singh who’d followed her patient downstairs to delight in the news, before her eyes settled back on her husband.

  Brian sat silently and motionlessly on the couch with his head down. Jacquelyn knew he had been weeping. The fact that he never asked about her check-up, after the couple had just prayed together beforehand, told her whatever was bothering her husband, it went far beyond the disturbing news on the television.

  The two women paused and listened as a reporter from a local news station spoke, “What started out as thousands of kerosene-soaked homes being set ablaze by the same group of Muslim terrorists responsible for causing the unspeakable carnage on Universal Children’s Day, has since led to neighboring homes being set ablaze as well.

  “To make matters worse, these unconscionable individuals subsequently fire-bombed many homes that weren’t connected to the safehouses in which they were hiding, causing many more deaths. Many were caught in the act and were shot and killed for their crimes. As bullets riddled their bodies, each shouted, ‘Allahu Akbar!’

  “As per Salvador Romanero’s global decree, nearly a billion Muslims around the world have been silenced for the unspeakable crimes against humanity their comrades in arms have caused. After this latest attack, we’ve been assured that number will only rise.

  “We still don’t know how many Americans were killed, but with more than a hundred thousand house fires still burning throughout the United States, we expect the death toll to be quite high.

  “While it’s too soon to know for certain if sarin gas was used this time, the skies above America are literally filled with acrid smoke coast to coast, blocking the sun in many areas. Needless to say, it should be considered extremely dangerous to inhale.”

  “Locally, with hundreds of fires still blazing in Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Camden, New Jersey, many neighborhood streets are no longer recognizable. Firefighters are in short supply. City leaders are desperate for assistance. Volunteers are urged to call or text local authorities using the numbers on your screen. Everyone else should remain at home until further notice…”

  Jacquelyn glanced at Dr. Singh again, then gulped in some air to stabilize her breathing. “This is bad!”

  Meera scratched her head and kept listening. She didn’t need to be reminded that Wilmington, Delaware was roughly ten miles south of Chadds Ford.

  Was it possible that flames would eventually consume ETSM safe house number one, or that toxic clouds from the explosions would overshadow the property they now called home?

  The not knowing caused fear to tangle with an emotion Meera Singh couldn’t quite describe.

  Seeing that Brian still wasn’t paying attention to the news, Jacquelyn tuned the reporter out and sat next to her husband. “Please tell me what’s wrong, Brian?”

  “Just watched a video message from my father.”

  “What did he say?”

  Brian wiped more tears from his eyes, “Chelsea’s dead.”

  Jacquelyn’s eyes widened. Her heart sank, “What? How?”

  “She slit both her wrists in the bathtub. Dad found her there earlier today.”

  Jacquelyn raised her hands to her mouth, “Oh, my…” Suddenly, the devastating news on TV was the last thing on her mind.

  Brian shot a desperate glance at Meera Singh, as if she could somehow take away his shock and pain.

  The ETSM doctor kneeled before her new patient and pressed two fingers on Brian’s wrist to take his pulse, then affixed the Velcro strap from the portable blood pressure machine she used to check Jacquelyn’s blood pressure upstairs, to his right arm.

  As the device tightened on his arm checking his systolic and diastolic numbers, Brian said to Jacquelyn, “If you think Dad hated me before, you should see his face on the video. He blames me for Chelsea’s death.” His voice cracked, “He wants to kill me.”

  “Don’t say that, sweetie…”

  Glancing up briefly at his wife, he sighed, “It’s true. Watch and see for yourself…”

  Just as Jacquelyn was about to say, “This isn’t your fault,” Brian was notified that he had another video message. “It’s from Chelsea, forwarded from Dad...”

  Much like the first message he received from his father on his old cellphone, it was scrambled then inspected by ETSM higher-ups before being forwarded to his new satellite phone. This one, too, came with a encrypted warning from an ETSM inspector: Sensitive content! You may want to take a deep breath before watching.

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t watch it,” Dr. Singh offered. “At least not now. Your blood pressure’s already dangerously high…”

  Against his doctor’s advice, Brian touched the play button on his phone screen. The moment he saw his kid sister’s face, even before any words came out of her mouth, his body lost all strength. What he saw in her eyes told a horrific story he wished he could blink away but knew he couldn’t.

  Jacquelyn choked back tears and pulled her husband in. She held him as he cried yet another river of tears. Not again!

  As Chelsea spoke, thoughts flooded Brian’s mind of the days they spent growing up. During their adolescent years, they were practically inseparable. Brian couldn’t bear to think that his last image of her would be in a bloody bathtub, or that the little girl he always looked after and protected was now in the most horrific of places, where no one—including him—could rescue or protect her.

  The video ended.

  Dr. Singh didn’t know what to say to possibly comfort the married couple, Brian especially. She was a medical doctor, not a psychologist. “Be right back with a blood pressure pill.”

  Meera retreated to the basement already knowing there wasn’t a pain killer on the planet that could suppress that kind of torturous grief.

  Brian’s sobs grew louder. He knew his kid sister’s heart was never right with God. Even before his c
onversion, he knew it. A womb-to-tomb Catholic at best, Chelsea further proved it when she commented on the video about God hitting the reset button, so they could begin life anew when they were all reunited someday.

  That alone proved she had no understanding of the afterlife, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for that matter. The moment she slit her wrists, eternity swallowed her whole, cruelly turning what she had been completely oblivious to all her life, into a harsh reality from which there was no escape.

  In life, Chelsea Mulrooney was too self-centered and too blinded to the Truth to know or care about the ways of God. But when her last breath was sucked out of her body, she instantly became an expert on all things eternal. Thoughts that seldom if ever crossed her mind before now consumed her with every fiber of her being.

  The most frightening realization was knowing she was eternally doomed. Just like Renate McCallister. Just like Craig Rubin’s mom. Just like Justin Schroeder’s parents. Just like everyone leaving Planet Earth without first trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

  Only there would be no fellowship among them, none whatsoever.

  Another thing Chelsea understood with perfect clarity was that Brian didn’t lose his mind like her father kept insisting. Nor did he brainwash their mother into joining a religious cult, like she’d believed and even accused her brother of doing on the video.

  If anything, his salvation message was spot on. So much so that God used Brian to rescue their mother from the very domain in which she was confined and would ultimately be sentenced to for all eternity.

  It was a message Chelsea willfully rejected each time she heard it. And this meant there would be no family reunion.

  When Brian’s time on earth came to an end, as Chelsea suffered constant torment, her brother would be taken to a place in which she would never step foot—Paradise. Her mother too. All it took was one millisecond in eternity to fully understand this.