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thought they were going to kill us.”
    â€œYou weren’t stung?” Vicki said.
    â€œThey tried,” Charlie said. “Two went after Melinda and one came for me. It was ready to bite when it just stopped. Couldn’t get closer. And it was screaming and stuff was dripping off its teeth.”
    Vicki tried to make sense of it. The baby and Charlie had escaped the locusts without the mark of the true believer. Melinda and Janie hadn’t. And Lenore was clearly a believer now.
    â€œHelp me carry Melinda upstairs,” Vicki said.
    â€œSure, if you promise those things won’t bite me.”
    â€œI think you’re OK,” Vicki said.
    Charlie carried Melinda on his shoulder and put her on a bed near Janie. The two moaned and begged for something to relieve their pain. The strongest medicine Vicki could find was aspirin. The girls gulped them down and tried to sleep, but there was no relief.
    As the day wore on, the locusts thinned out and the kids gathered with Lenore and Tolan. Lenore told her story to Conrad and thanked Vicki and the other girls for praying for her. “I don’t know what I would have done without the three of you.”
    Conrad suggested they write a message to Tsion Ben-Judah and ask why the locusts hadn’t stung Tolan or Charlie. Vicki nodded. “And ask him how long this is going to last.”
    Mark studied Carl. Was this guy leading the GC to them by mistake?
    Carl broke the silence. He told Mark about meeting John Preston and training him aboard the Global Community ship Peacekeeper 1 . John had caught on fast and learned most of the equipment in half the time it took most recruits.
    â€œHow did you survive the meteor?” Mark said.
    Carl held up a hand. “Let me finish. Your cousin talked about his friends back in Illinois, but he didn’t tell me anything about the God stuff until the last day.”
    â€œWhen the meteor hit?” Mark said.
    Carl nodded. “When he knew we were all sunk, he got me alone and tried to tell me the truth. I wouldn’t listen. So he gave me his spot on the sub.”
    â€œWhat? John could have survived?”
    â€œThe captain drew names. He called John’s, but John gave up his seat for me.” Carl sighed. “Now I finally understand why he did it.”
    Mark looked at the ground and took a deep breath. He had tried to imagine what John’s last hours were like.
    â€œHe gave me this as I was getting into the sub,” Carl said, handing Mark John’s Bible.
    Mark opened it and saw John’s handwriting on the inside cover. It included an e-mail address for Mark and John 15:12-13. I hope you discover the truth, Carl. God bless you on your journey. John .
    â€œI could never figure out what those numbers meant after his name,” Carl said. “Is that some kind of secret code?”
    Mark smiled. “It’s a Bible reference.” He flipped the pages to the New Testament Gospel of John. His voice caught as he read the words to Carl. “This is something Jesus said to his followers. ‘I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.’”
    Carl grabbed a handful of grass and threw it into the wind. He scratched his chin. “That’s what John did. Gave his life for me.”
    They sat in silence. Finally Mark said, “Can you tell me anything else about him?”
    â€œWe kept our sub’s monitor on the ship’s frequency. John must have barricaded himself inside the command center and preached to everybody on deck. It sounded like the captain was really ticked, the way they were pounding on the door. The sub’s skipper made me turn it off. We were all pretty much freakin’ out.”
    â€œThat’s the last you heard from him?”
    â€œYeah. I’m sorry. If I’d have refused his offer,