Read Soul Harvest: The World Takes Sides for Free Online Page B

to penetrate our minds. I have to somehow keep it separated from myself. I know it’s not a dream. I know exactly what we’re going through, but I can’t dwell on it. I’m not equipped. If I allow it to overwhelm me, I’ll be good to no one. We need each other. Let’s be strong.” Buck realized his own voice was weak as he pleaded with Tsion to be strong.
    “Yes,” Tsion said tearfully, trying to collect himself. “The glory of the Lord must be our rear guard. We will rejoice in the Lord always, and he will lift us up.”
    With that, Tsion rose and grabbed a shovel. Before Buck could catch up, Tsion began digging at the base of the garage.

    The helicopter’s radio crackled to life, giving Rayford time to search himself, to think and silently pray that God would keep him from saying something stupid.
    He still didn’t know whether Amanda was dead or alive. He didn’t know whether Chloe, or Buck, or Tsion were still on earth or in heaven. Finding them, reuniting with them was his top priority. Was he now risking everything?
    The dispatcher at the shelter requested Mac’s ten-twenty.
    Mac glanced ruefully at Rayford. “Better make it sound like we’re in the air,”
    he said, cranking the engines. The noise was deafening. “Still workin’ rescue at Baghdad,” he said. “Be at least another hour.”
    “Roger that.”
    Mac shut the chopper down. “Bought us some time,” he said.
    Rayford covered his eyes briefly. “God,” he prayed silently, “all I can do is trust you and follow my instincts. I believe this man is sincere. If he’s not, keep me from saying anything I shouldn’t. If he is sincere, I don’t want to keep from telling him what he needs to know. You’ve been so overt, so clear with Buck and Tsion. Couldn’t you give me a sign? Anything that would assure me I’m doing the right thing?”
    Rayford looked uncertainly into Mac’s eyes, dimly illuminated by the glow from the control panel. For the moment, God seemed silent. He had not made a habit of speaking directly to Rayford, though Rayford had enjoyed his share of answers to prayer. There was no turning back now. While he sensed no divine green light, neither did he sense a red or even a yellow. Knowing the outcome could be a result of his own foolishness, he realized he had nothing to lose.
    “Mac, I’m gonna tell you my whole story and everything I feel about what’s happened, about Nicolae, and about what is to come. But before I do, I need you to tell me what Carpathia knows, if you know, about whether Hattie or Amanda were really expected in Baghdad tonight.”
    Mac sighed and looked away, and Rayford’s heart fell. Clearly he was about to hear something he’d rather not hear.
    “Well, Ray, the truth is Carpathia knows Hattie is still in the States. She got as far as Boston, but his sources tell him she boarded a nonstop to Denver before the earthquake hit.”
    “To Denver? I thought that’s where she had come from.”
    “It was. That’s where her family is. Nobody knows why she went back.”
    Rayford’s voice caught in his throat. “And Amanda?”
    “Carpathia’s people tell him she was on a Pan-Con heavy out of Boston that should have been on the ground in Baghdad before the quake hit. It had lost a little time over the Atlantic for some reason, but the last he knew, it was in Iraqi airspace.”
    Rayford dropped his head and fought for composure. “So, it’s underground somewhere,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I have seen it at the airport?”
    “I don’t know,” Mac said. “Maybe it was completely swallowed by the desert. But all the other planes monitored by Baghdad tower have been accounted for, so that doesn’t seem likely.”
    “There’s still hope then,” Rayford said. “Maybe that pilot was far enough behind schedule that he was still in the air and just stayed there until everything stopped moving and he could find a spot to put down.”
    “Maybe,” Mac said, but Rayford detected flatness in