"LaHaye, Tim - Left Behind 10 - The Remnant" - читать интересную книгу автора (LaHaye Tim)

then shone from him, and he grimaced against the sound and heat that had to follow. Surely he would be blown into the others and finally obliterated.
The resounding boom sent a shock wave of its own, but Rayford did not topple, and he heard no rocks falling, no mountainous formations crashing. He instinctively thrust out his hands to steady himself, but that proved unnecessary. He heard ten thousand wails and moans and shrieks, but his own throat was constricted. Even with his eyes closed, he saw the whiteness replaced by orange and red and black, and now, oh, the stench of fire and metal and oil and rock! Rayford forced himself to open his eyes, and as the thunderous roar echoed throughout Petra he realized he was ablaze. He lifted his robed arms before his face, at least temporarily unaware of the searing heat. He knew his robe, then flesh, then bone would be consumed within seconds.
Rayford could not see far in the raging firestorm, but every huddled pilgrim around him was also ablaze. Abdullah rolled to one side and lay in a fetal position, his face and head still cocooned in his arms. White, yellow, orange, black roaring flames engulfed him as if he were a human wick for a demonic holocaust.
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One by one the people around Rayford stood and raised their arms. Their hoods, their hair, their beards, faces, arms, hands, robes, clothes all roared with the conflagration as if the fire were fueled from beneath them. Rayford looked above their heads but could not see the cloudless sky. Even the sun was blotted out by the massive sea of raging flames and a pair of roiling mushroom clouds. The mountain, the city, the whole area was afire, and the fumes and plumes and licking flames rose thousands of feet into the air.
What must this look like to the world, Rayford wondered, and it struck him that the mass of Israelis were as dumbfounded as he. They staggered, eyeing each other, arms aloft, now embracing, smiling! Was this some bizarre nightmare? How could they be engulfed by the slaughtering force of the latest in mass-destruction technology yet still stand, squinting, with puzzled looks, still able to hear?
Rayford opened and closed his right fist, inches front his face, wondering at the hissing flarelike tongues of fire that leaped from each digit. Abdullah struggled to his feet and turned in a circle as if drunk, mimicking the others by raising his arms and looking skyward.
He turned to Rayford and they embraced, the fire from their bodies melding and contributing to the whole Abdullah pulled back to look Rayford in the face. "We are in the fiery furnace!" the Jordanian exulted.
"Amen!" Rayford shouted. "We are a million Shadrachs, Meshachs, and Abednegos! "
10






Chang Wong joined the other techies in his department as their boss, Aurelio Figueroa, led them to a huge television monitor. It showed the live feed from the cockpit of one of the fighter-bombers as it circled high above Petra, broadcast around the world via the Global Community News Network. Later Chang would check his recording of the bug in Carpathia's office to monitor the reactions of Nicolae, his new secretary Krystall, Leon, Suhail, and Viv Ivins.
"Mission accomplished," the pilot reported, scanning the target and showing square miles raging in flames. "Suggest subsequent missile sequence abort. Unnecessary. "
Chang clenched his teeth so tight his jaw ached. How could anyone survive that? The flames were thick, and the black smoke belched so high that the pilot had to avoid it to keep the picture clear.
"Negative," came the reply from GC Command. "Initiate launch sequence, Amman."
"That's overkill," the pilot muttered, "but it's your money. Returning to base."
"Repeat?" The voice sounded like Akbar himself.
"Roger that. Returning to base."
"That's another negative. Remain in position for visual feed."
"With a missile coming, sir?"
"Maintain sufficient clearance. Missile will find its target. "
The second plane was cleared to return to New Babylon while the first, its camera continuing to show the world Petra burning in the noonday sun, circled southeast of the red rock city.
Chang wished he were in his room and able to communicate with Chicago. How could Dr. Ben-Judah have been so wrong about Petra? What would become of the Tribulation Force now? Who would rally what was left of the believers around the world? And where would Chang flee to when the time came?
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It was four in the morning in Chicago, and Buck sat before the television. Leah and Albie joined him, Zeke having gone to collect Enoch. "Where's Ming?" Buck said.
"With the baby," Leah said.
"What do you make of this?" Albie said, staring at the screen.
Buck shook his head. " I just wish I were there."
"Me too," Albie said. "I feel like a coward, a traitor."
"We missed something," Buck said. "We all missed something." He kept trying to call Chloe, only imagining what she was going through. No answer.
"Do you believe this guy?" Leah said. "It's not enough to massacre a million people and destroy one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I-de's chasing it with a missile."
Buck thought Leah's voice sounded tight. And why not? She had to be thinking what he was thinking that they had not only lost their leadership and seen a million people incinerated, but that everything they thought they knew was out the window.
"Get Ming, would you?" he said. "Tell her to let Kenny sleep."
Leah hurried out as Zeke and Enoch walked in. Zeke plopped onto the floor, but Enoch stood fidgeting.
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