Excerpts . . .
| "Marcus? Do you know who I am?"
He stared for a while, not sure how to respond. "I'm your brother--Ted." He smiled and pointed his finger at me "Oh! . . . you're Ted! . . . my only brother, right?" "Yes! That's right," I said, smiling back. "I'm sorry, it's hard to--" "I understand, Marc. Tell me, what do you remember?" "Well . . . I don't remember getting this." He felt his head bandage. "Otherwise, it's kinda spotty. I know this is Michigan. I'm a carpenter, but I'm not sure who I work for. I'm not married . . . I think I'm not--" "You remember being saved?," I asked, realizing I might be going too fast. He tightened his face, thought hard, then finally shook his head. "No, I don't . . . What does that mean?" |
COLONEL PENELLI and his men
anxiously watched Lieutenant Franklin scale an upper facet of the huge
diamond-shaped fortress. Franklin was several yards from the top when his
right foot lost its footing. Almost instantly, he began a downward slide.
Some of the men gasped as his safety rope snapped, jerking his body around and
causing him to accelerate headfirst. The whole thing lasted seconds and ended
in a distant cloud of dust. Penelli cupped his hand over his face, rubbing it
slowly. "Sargeant, get some medics; Wilkins and Murdoch, come with me."
Major Wilkins and Captain Murdoch followed Penelli to his tent. "Sir? This is a silly question, but why not use a helicopter?" "You're new here, aren't you, Captain?" "Yes, sir." "Wilkins, tell him about the choppers." "Which one, sir? They've all mysteriously crashed as they tried to land on top, Captain." The three men entered the Colonel's tent. This was command headquarters, where for days, Penelli and his men tried everything humanly possible to get inside the fortress, code name: HEAVEN. |
| KNOW SOMEONE who won't read a
gospel tract? Give them a StL Story-Tract! They'll feel more like 'a fly on the wall,' than on the receiving end of a judgmental finger. Yet, they'll still be exposed to the Gospel. |
"Yeah," Luke added, "maybe some of them were trying to
show off, make themselves out more spiritual than they really were."
Luke's statement prompted everyone to face Michael, who was now sitting with his elbows on the table, cupping his face within his hands. They could barely hear him mumbling: "You stupid, ignorant idiots!" Billy Bob placed his hand on Michael's shoulder. "Don't worry, Michael, there's still hope for you." Michael slowly unveiled his face and looked around, seeing them all smiling compassionately at him. He began breathing heavily as his face and arms trembled from the sheer force of clenching his fists. The others watched, cautiously. Jenny grabbed Luke once more. Michael slowly rose off his chair, hesitant, not knowing who or what to kill. Then, in total frustration, he simply screamed. "AHHHH . . . !" Billy Bob drew back, almost falling off his chair. "WATCH OUT, EVERYBODY! He's trying to jump start them tongues again!" |