I Would Go With You To the Ends of the Earth

 

Author's note: Clay owns himself and his own name. I only wrote the words to the story.

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Day Eight - Friday, June 23

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Very very early that morning

 

Clay woke to an urgent knock at the door to their room. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, which read 4:26. You have got to be kidding me. Gently untangling himself from Kate, he grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and slipped them on. This had better be good. Quietly he opened the door just a crack to see Sarah standing fully dressed on his doorstep with a serious look on her face. "Sorry to wake you, Clay. I take it Kate's still asleep too."

Rubbing his tired eyes, Clay nodded. "Still asleep," he mumbled.

Sarah heaved a regretful sigh. "I need to talk with her. Now."

Clay bit his lip, reluctant to let Sarah see Kate in her current au-naturel state. For a good portion of the evening prior, he had done his best to attend to her in the most loving way he knew how. It had been very good, and as usual they had fallen asleep in each other's arms. "I don't know if you really want to see her right now," he answered. Sarah glared at him, and Clay stepped back to admit Sarah. After their recent argument, Clay knew better than to get in between them.

But instead of stomping over to the bed in a whirlwind of frustration as Clay halfway expected her to do, Sarah walked quietly but with determined steps to the bedside. She gently shook Kate until she stirred. "Katydid," Sarah whispered, "wake up."

Kate shook her head to dislodge an image of finding herself afloat in a river, a river flowing somewhere in the wilderness who-knows-where. From the dream images she had the feeling of pending danger, but she couldn't place them beyond that. Before that, Kate had dreamed that their mission team was fleeing for their very lives through the Haitian jungle from some unknown evil. Considering recent events, Kate couldn't help thinking that this didn't bode well. She glanced up at Sarah. "What is it?"

Sarah frowned deeply, and started pacing back and forth. "Katydid, I have a confession to make." She skewered her best friend with a grave look. "I've been having dreams about this trip... but I didn't want to tell you just in case they didn't mean anything. After everything that's been going on this week, I realized that I can't keep it between your mom and Sally and me any longer - I have to tell you what I dreamed about."

Suddenly Kate had a sickening feeling that she wouldn't like where this discussion was headed... especially after her own dreams last night. "Tell me about them," she said firmly as she sat up, keeping the bedding tucked around her as Clay sat beside her on the bed, "and hold back nothing."

Sarah's frown grew into a scowl as she sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that." She stood at the foot of the bed. "Before we left, your mother made me promise to look after both of you. She told me that it was up to Will and me to keep an eye on you - especially since we now know that you are pregnant." Kate nodded, and Sarah sighed again. "I've been having dreams that our group was being chased by several voodoo priests and some mob they had created - it was either make a run for it through the hills or die at their hands."

Kate's eyes widened. "Sarah..." she breathed. "I just had that very dream."

The two women stared at each other for a moment before Clay broke the silence. "That's not a good thing, right?"

Kate shook her head. "Not when we both have the same dream."

"Worse when Mom Kirche has it too," Sarah mumbled.

"Mom too? That's definitely not a good thing." Kate turned to Clay. "As soon as we kick Sarah out of the room, we need to get ready - repack our bags for emergency travel."

Clay made a frustrated noise. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"We have to pick the essentials and put them in there," Sarah said aloud as she indicated their backpacks, "the basic things we need to survive and the few precious things that we can't bear to leave behind. Everything else doesn't matter."

"Good thing we didn't pack any of our favorite clothes," Clay murmured. "We can pack enough to get us home and pretty much everything else can go to whomever needs it."

"I just had a thought." Kate tapped her lips. "What about the others? What shall we tell them?"

Sarah shook her head. "Pastor Macy and Sally and I have tried to suggest that to people without scaring them," she said, "but no one has taken our suggestions seriously."

Clay frowned. "Will and Jerome would take you seriously because they've seen your hunches at work," he responded cautiously, "but not many of the others."

"Sally would," Kate insisted. "For all the reality-based skeptic she is, she's seen enough of my mother and my aunts in action to make her a believer."

"Sally already knows," Sarah informed them. "Tuesday when Pastor told us about the protests, I took her aside and told her everything. I wanted someone on the trip to know. And we were the ones who made the suggestion to Pastor that it would be prudent to be ready to skip town at any given moment."

"Somehow I'm not surprised." Kate chewed on her lip thoughtfully. She and Sarah didn't have their fight until Wednesday - and Sarah had confided in Sally on Tuesday. Kate couldn't help wondering why Sarah chose Sally instead of her - after all, the two women told each other almost everything. Suddenly remembering the last dream she had before waking, Kate's mind went unbidden to the box of Ziplocs stowed away inside the dresser. For the briefest of moments she swore she heard a small voice that only she could hear speak to her. "Is that it? Is that all you and Mom have?"

She would have to ask that. Sarah heaved an annoyed sigh. "What, don't you trust me now?"

"I always have," Kate answered, "but I also know that if you thought it was better to keep information to yourself, you would. And I'm convinced that you are. If you want me to tell you why I know, I will... but you know me well enough to know that I've figured you out." Catching Sarah's frown, Kate raised an eyebrow. "You going to tell me, or do I need to pry it out of Sally?"

Sarah regarded Kate with narrowed eyes. "You're impossible, Kathryn Aiken. Fine, I'll tell you." Heaving a huffy sigh, she told her what Patricia had said Thursday night. "Your mom said that our team was going to face great danger, and the two of you were going to face your worst fears. Either you would succumb to them, or you would overcome them."

Kate chewed on her lower lip again as Clay stared at Sarah in shock. "Mom doesn't beat around the bush, does she?" Kate muttered.

"She never did," Sarah agreed. She crossed her arms. "See why I didn't want to tell you?"

"Sarah... I'm glad you did. Knowing that we're going to face a struggle but not what should help equip us to deal with it. We'll spend some of our free time today praying about it. But for now, we should probably get up and start preparing for the day ahead." Kate made a shooing motion with her hand. "Go on, so we can get dressed and start repacking our things."

Sarah headed towards the door. "I'll tell the boys. Come get me when you're done, okay?"

"Sure. Thank you for telling us, Sarah. And whether they believe us or not, I think we should start telling others the truth. They need to know, even if they think we're crazy for it."

"Agreed," Sarah nodded.

"Oh, and Sarah?" Kate called out, making Sarah pause at the door. "Pack your trust rope, okay? You never know how that thing might be useful."

Sarah nodded again. "You never know." An impish twinkle lit her eyes. "By the way, you two... just so you know, these walls are paper-thin." Taking wicked delight at their embarrassed blushes, she gave the newlyweds a wink as she departed and pulled the door shut after her.

Clay shook his head ruefully as she left their room. "I wish we would have known that sooner."

Kate agreed. "A little late to do anything about it now." She sighed. "So Mom, Sarah and I have all had dreams about the trip. I guess that means we pack..."

"I guess so. I did know what I was getting into when I married you," Clay drawled, "but this still takes some getting used to."

Kate snorted. "I grew up in this crazy family, and I'm still not used to it. To this day I'm still unsettled by the gift. But it's not my place to choose it - only my place to use it."

"Good attitude to have, honey," Clay told her.

"Thank you." She got out of the bed and stretched very slowly. Looking over in time to catch Clay giving her an appreciative eye, she smiled suggestively at him. "If we're going on the run sometime today, then it'll probably be the last opportunity for a good shower for a while. Want to join me?"

He stood up, a similar smile on his own face. "I like your thinking."

One very mutually satisfying shower later, Clay and Kate dressed for another day of teaching bible school for the kids. With the last dream of the night fresh on her mind, Kate put on her two-piece swimsuit instead of the regular delicates... taking extra care to make sure that Clay did not see her. She made sure that she had on all her clothes for the day (with a dark T-shirt to hide that she was wearing her swimsuit) before they tackled the packing issue. It took little time to empty and organize the contents of the backpacks on the bed before they considered which of their things needed to be packed and which things could be left behind. Pausing for just a moment, Kate considered Sarah's words thoughtfully before reaching over and grabbing her belt pouch. Opening that, she added the contents of her belt pack to the items to be sorted.

"Kate honey," Clay asked quietly, "what are you doing?"

Kate paused, unsure how much she really wanted to tell Clay. "Following my own hunch," she answered, placing her passport in a sealed Ziploc and returning it to the belt pouch.

"You want to tell me about it?"

Kate stood upright, slowly shaking her head. "Clay... there's not enough for me to go on. I can't make sense of it myself. All I know is that I need to be doing this."

Clay made a face. "I knew there was a reason you packed that brand-new package of Ziplocs."

Uh-oh. Caught. Kate prayed that he wouldn't mention the swim trunks... She shrugged. "Like I said, I don't get it either."

"The last time you pulled a stunt like that," he reminded her with a slight smile, "we ended up kissing hot and heavy in a rainstorm."

A brilliant pink covered Kate's face in an instant. "Ah, the memories we've shared in that park..." Clay burst into delighted laughter, and Kate couldn't help but smile. She glanced up at him, "Oh, honey, would you give me the case for your contact lenses?"

Clay blinked several times as he studied his wife. "Tell me."

Kate shook her head. "Not now," she answered.

Picking up his contact lens case, he walked over to her holding it in between his fingers. "There had better be a good explanation for this," he mumbled.

Kate started to take it, but Clay kept it anchored firmly in his hand. She looked him in the eye. "Do you trust me?" she asked him gently.

"Of course I trust you, honey. With everything." Clay regarded her through narrow eyes. "You sure you won't tell me about it?"

"No."

Clay frowned at her. "Why not?"

Instantly Kate remembered the dream with the river... feeling herself floating, adrift. Remember how Clay feels about water, she reminded herself. "I don't have enough information to tell you anything... except pray. Pray that God's will be done, and that He guide our lives the way that they need to be guided."

"That's an evasive answer if I ever heard one, darlin'..." Clay mused.

"I know." Kate felt guilty that she was holding what she did know from her husband, but since it related to a known fear of his she believed it was the right thing to do. She placed her hand on Clay's cheek and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Trust me," she breathed.

In other words, I don't want to know. Clay relinquished the case. "I will - for now."

Kate breathed a sigh of relief as he returned to his own sorting. She stole a glance in her backpack, praying that he wouldn't look inside before it was time. It was going to be difficult to explain what a pair of men's swim trunks were doing in her luggage... especially when she herself didn't know why they were there. This is certainly one of the strangest trips I've ever taken... she reflected.

"I'm glad most of our souvenirs are small," Clay remarked as he started to wrap some of their purchases up in his clothing. "The biggest thing we have is that statue - which is going in my bag, hon."

"All right," Kate giggled. "I'm not going to fight you on that score."

"You're not? You mean you're actually going to listen to me for a change?" Clay pretended to gape in shock. "That one's hard to believe." Kate stuck her tongue at him, and Clay's expression turned impish. "Maybe after we're done repacking I'll take you up on that offer."

Kate threw a T-shirt at him, hitting him on the shoulder. "You'd like that."

"You'd better watch it, hon," Clay warned, "or I'll debacle you here and now - and I know you'd like that." He lavished her with a smoldering gaze, determined to get a blush or some other reaction from her. Last night may have been just for Kate, but leaving her breathless the way he had made him feel quite virile even this morning. As he had hoped, she turned a bright pink and glanced away shyly. Chuckling with amusement, Clay returned to his packing.

"You're a tease."

"You know it."

Their playful banter continued throughout their packing, making the work seem to go a lot faster... or at the very least, made it more enjoyable.

At last they had sorted through everything and had stuffed their backpacks as full as they could get them. Clay sighed. "Well... that's it, hon. No more room."

"No more room," Kate agreed, zipping her pack shut.

Clay glanced at his watch. "We have... a short hour to kill before we can go down to breakfast."

"For one, we haven't had our morning devotion and prayer time yet," Kate recalled. "If these events are to happen, then we need to, need to, need to pray this morning. And not just our usual morning time, but any spare moment we have."

"Agreed," Clay nodded. "Let's get started." Taking out the pocket-sized bible the two of them had brought along, they immediately started paging through the Psalms. The first one they read was Psalm 3 (noting with irony that it was written when David fled from Absalom), and since it was so short they also read Psalm 121. Finished with their scripture reading, they clasped hands and began to pray.

After Clay at last gave the 'amen', he once more glanced at his watch. "Well, honey, we still have some time to kill. Any suggestions what we can do in that time?" Kate waggled her eyebrows impishly, and Clay giggled. "I don't know who's worse, hon, you or me."

"It's a toss-up," Kate admitted.

Deciding that indulging in a little affection-sharing would be a good use of their time, Clay shuffled over to sit beside her on the bed. Immediately the pair wrapped their arms around each other. "I hope we're still as in love and affectionate with each other at our fiftieth anniversary as we are now."

"I hope so too," Kate told him.

Clay chuckled, gazing warmly into her eyes before leaning in to kiss her.

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Down at breakfast

 

Sarah glanced up as the Aikens arrived, and she breathed a sigh of relief. While she was certainly ready to start passing on the word about her dream, she felt better knowing that she had Kate's own dream to corroborate her own unlikely story. As she said to Will the first time she told him about her gift, it was a lot to process and not just anyone could handle the truth... something that Kate knew from her own experiences. "Tracy," Sarah began, starting with the elementary teacher, "remember Pastor Macy's suggestion that we need to be packed and ready for travel at a moment's notice."

Tracy nodded. "I remember. I remember how much it spooked me out," she muttered as Clay and Kate sat down at the table with their breakfast.

I can see I'm going to be fighting an uphill battle. Sarah sighed. "It's more than just a suggestion. It should be something that each and every one of us should do. Today, tomorrow, until we get back stateside."

"That sounds a little doomsday-ish to me," Tracy mumbled.

"Maybe," Clay admitted honestly, "but wouldn't you much rather feel silly later if you followed that advice now and nothing happened rather than feel silly later by not following that advice and regret not having vital supplies if we find ourselves on the run?"

An uncomfortable expression flitted across Tracy's face as she considered his argument, and Sarah glanced up at Clay with surprise. Evidently Clay had seen enough of his wife's gift at work that he was ready to take Sarah at her word too. Regardless of how this came out, Sarah promised herself to find some way to thank him later.

"What's going on?" Sheila asked as she glanced between the players involved in the conversation.

"Pastor Macy's suggestion to have our backpacks packed for emergency travel," Sarah answered, freshly emboldened by Clay's support. "I think each and every one of us needs to make sure we do that today before we leave for the work site."

"I agree with Sarah," Kate said gently. "Haiti's history has never been one of stability, and with the latest events it's in our best interest to be prepared. I for one would rather carry around a bunch of extra supplies and not need them than need them and not have them."

Wayne nodded further down the table. "You guys are making a lot of sense. I think it's a great idea."

"But what about trusting God to take care of us?" Adam asked. "Short of God tapping someone on the shoulder and saying, 'You're in danger,' I think we're getting ourselves worked up over nothing and not showing God that we trust Him."

Kate, Clay and Sarah exchanged significant looks with each other at Adam's statement. Hadn't God been letting them know about the danger the team was in? Three women had all had dreams - it was too much of a coincidence to be anything else.

The discussion continued over the breakfast table as more team members joined the group and were apprised of the topic. It seemed to be a divisive topic, with a small handful of the team members staunchly supporting the suggestion while the remainder seemed unnerved at the idea. Few noticed the quiet arrivals of Sally and Pastor Macy.

Finally Sarah had enough of the conversation and left the breakfast table, heading up to the room to find something for a headache. She took it easy in peace and quiet for the next ten minutes before heading back down. Approaching the Aikens, she whispered with them. "How did it go after I left?"

"It took Sally and Pastor Macy putting in their two cents' worth to put an end to the discussion," Kate frowned. "It's been quiet around here ever since."

"They didn't even notice," Clay stated, "that the two of you gals made up. Everyone's too freaked out at the idea that something might happen."

"It didn't help," Kate agreed, "that we went back up to the room for our backpacks and some more private prayer time. We didn't exactly catch everything that happened."

"We tried." Sarah heaved a deep sigh.

Shortly the team reassembled and stuffed into the vans for the ride to the church. The teaching team immediately began preparing the supplies for the craft of the day - necklaces made from lengths of yarn, from beads, and miscellaneous dry pasta.

"Now isn't that the cutest picture," Lisa teased, snapping a photograph of the Aikens as the two of them measured yarn as a team.

Clay had his hands about a yard apart as Kate looped the yarn around them. He glanced up after she snapped the first photograph. "As long as you're not taking blackmail photos, I don't have a problem with that camera."

"I don't think the two of you could have any blackmail photos," Lisa insisted. "You're too cute."

Kate and Clay swapped an amused secret smile, both thinking of the scrapbook that Sarah had made for them as a wedding present. There were a surprising lot of potential blackmail photos in that album. "Thank you," Clay merely replied.

"Don't tell me you haven't seen the famous Regis and Kelly photo," Tracy told her roommate.

Kate groaned as she continued to wrap the yarn around Clay's hands. "Here we go again..."

Clay giggled under his breath as Tracy told the story to Lisa, and he remembered back to that day she had inadvertently knocked them both to the floor. Although he had been embarrassed at the time, there was part of him that had gotten a perverse kick out of that, even now. Especially now. "You're never going to live that one down, honey."

"At least the other ones were in private - or among family and friends."

"Who love to hand out embarrassing photos and videos," Clay reminded her, thinking of the ones his mother had supplied over the years, "to various media personalities from time to time."

Kate groaned again. "I don't even want to think about it."

Once the Aikens were done with the yarn the supplies were ready, and the students started walking in. Knowing that it was their last day this week with the kids, the team enjoyed singing with them for a little longer than usual. And as a gift to the mission team, the students gave them one more praise song entirely in Creole. Clay didn't know what they were singing about, but they certainly seemed to be having a good time doing it - their joy was obvious to all who heard it.

While Will and the others prepared to act out the skit, Clay stood with Prosper to read the morning's bible lesson. "While Jesus was living on earth some people did not like Jesus. They did not want Jesus to be teaching the people. They decided that the only way to make Him stop was to kill him. So they hung Jesus on a cross until he died. After three days he rose again from the dead. He had beat the power of the devil and rose from the dead and then went back up to heaven to be with God, his Father, and to prepare a place for us. God knew that the people would want to kill Jesus, even though it is hard to understand. That was part of God's plan. He sent Jesus to earth and Jesus died for all of our sins. He died and beat the power of the devil. If Jesus hadn't done this for us, we would have to do that when we die. But because we believe in Jesus, we do not have to face the devil, but can go live with Jesus in heaven when we die. Even though we sin every day and need to ask Jesus to forgive us... we know that Jesus does forgive us if we are truly sorry, because he loves us VERY much, so much that he died for us. And we also know that we will go to heaven because Jesus already paid the price of our sin by dying on the cross. This is such good news! Today we are going to make a necklace to help us remember that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and is waiting for us in heaven."

The students spread out in the sanctuary for the craft, and the team started distributing the supplies. Using one strand of yarn per student, the children each threaded about a half dozen beads and pasta on to create a simple necklace. Some were able to make the knot, but others asked team members for help. Sarah noted with a warm smile that Will had several of the young boys climbing all over him admiringly. No, ya studly oaf, the kids see a lot of good things in you. And so do I.

Members of the team started handing out the snack and a pencil to each student when the craft was done, and this group of students left. The next two groups followed one after the other, leaving the teaching team with hardly a moment to relax between them.

"That was fun," Kate said as she reclined in Clay's arms. "We're done for the rest of the day." She stole a sly glance at him. "I guess that means we get to go outside and help the construction crew."

"If that happens, I'll have Jerome give you his afternoon canteen duty."

Spoil sport, Kate frowned.

The teachers helped set up for lunch, which was a lunch of sandwiches, melon (both cantaloupe and honeydew) and pop. It didn't take long before the construction crew came inside to join them, making Kate wonder if they could smell the food all the way out on the building site.

Pastor Macy led the group in prayer, and they quickly filtered through the line for their lunches. As usual Kate gave Clay all her onions, and he gave her an amused look from the side of his eye. "Keep in mind that if I eat all your onions, you'll be tasting them later anyway." Kate stuck her tongue out at him, and he smirked. "Exactly." Instantly she blushed brilliantly to the hearty laughter of Sarah, and he hid a snicker as he pushed her onions to the side. No sense in giving her a lethal dose...

The team relaxed a bit after lunch, conversing agreeably until it was time for all of them to head down to the construction site. Clay still needed to talk to Jerome about the possibility of giving up canteen duty for Kate. He was prepared to bribe Jerome if he needed, but somehow Clay suspected that wouldn't be necessary with him.

Suddenly the local pastor hastened to Pastor Macy's side as if his shoes were on fire. He bent down to whisper in Pastor Macy's ear for several minutes, and Pastor Macy's eyes widened considerably at what he heard. Pastor Macy placed a hand on the pastor's arm. "Stay close to answer questions," he whispered to the pastor. Pastor Macy stood up. "Team... we've got trouble. The situation here in Haiti has taken a turn for the worst. The chimeras and other hoodlums are running rampant in Les Cayes and Jacmel and the rest of the southern peninsula causing chaos for the Beauvoir supporters - " He glanced at the young pastor. " - and now we have word that President Beauvoir was assassinated in Les Cayes."

"No..." Lisa breathed.

Sarah gasped along with the rest of the team. What does this mean for us? she wondered.

"The chimeras and the other rebels are very pro-voodoo, as you know... and some of their targets have included Christians. They have attacked and beaten and even killed Christians, defaced churches. They're proving especially brutal to foreign missionaries, if they catch them. And word has it that the movement is spreading here." Pastor Macy studied the group. "We know what that means, team - you and I have just become targets."

Jerome asked the vital question. "What can we do?"

Pastor Macy grabbed his backpack, making the answer obvious. "Unfortunately, we have to get out of here right now while we can. I don't want to take chances with our lives going back to the hotel." He heaved a helpless shrug, trying carefully not to point out to those who had ignored this morning's advice that their worst fears had indeed come true. "What you have with you today is what you get to take with you... and everything else we leave behind. So take your backpacks with you now," Pastor Macy instructed, "because what you have in them is going to have to last you until we get home to Nebraska."

Sarah and Kate sighed as they pulled on their backpacks. "I am so glad we packed this morning," Kate whispered to Sarah. "We should have enough to get us through to Monday."

"I just wish a few more of the team would have believed us."

Clay, Will, and Jerome walked over to Kate and Sarah, pulling on their own packs. "Looks like you two were right," Jerome said.

"I wish we weren't," Kate muttered, glancing over at Pastor Macy and Sally as they listened to the Haitian pastor talk more to them about the situation they were in.

Pastor Macy nodded at the pastor's words before addressing the group again. "Team, we're not going to be able to take the same route we did to get here. The roads are blocked, and the rebels are going to be looking for us to go by that way. We're going to take a different route through the jungle to a designated meeting place where we can drive the rest of the way to Port au Prince."

Kate and Sarah exchanged a significant glance. "Jungle..."

Pastor Macy turned to the local pastor. "You can come with us if you would like."

The pastor shook his head. "My place is with my family and my people. I can do them more good here in Jérémie than I can in Port au Prince."

Sarah slowly pulled in a deep breath, praying that decision would serve God well and would not be the last significant choice the pastor would ever make.

For the team's help and safety, both Jayme and Prosper chose to take the journey through the jungle with the Americans. The vans drove them through Jérémie to the edge of town and the edge of the Haitian wilderness. Jayme and Pastor Macy led the group, which alternated between pairs of men and women or couples so that they could assist each other through the terrain as needed. Sarah and Will walked through the brush just ahead of the Aikens, since they were more physically fit than the latter two. Will worked out on a regular basis, while Sarah was active in everything sports-minded from hiking and horseback riding to swimming and the like.

Taking only a few breaks to put the miles needed between them and the chimeras, the team continued to hike through the jungle. Sally wasn't sure, but she thought she heard ringing in her ears, and some sort of hissing noise in the distance. The farther they walked through the jungle, the louder the noise became. If Sally's musician ears accurately recognized the noise, then Sarah and Patricia's dreams of future events were about to become true for the Aikens. Under her breath she began to pray for the couple.

At last the front of the line broke through the jungle to what appeared to be some sort of clearing. Jayme pointed through the foliage, and Pastor Macy's eyes widened. "This isn't good..."

Sarah emerged to see what Pastor Macy saw and her jaw dropped. Oh no... She stared at a swollen, raging river spanned by a long length of suspension bridge made from decaying wood and fraying rope. We all have to cross that??? Like the others on the mission trip, Sarah knew that Clay was terrified of water... but to make matters worse, Kate was equally terrified of bridges, and had been since a young age. She turned back to the rest of the group as they slowly filed into the clearing and got their first look at the bridge. Frantically she scanned the group for the newlyweds.

Will took in the sight of the river and the bridge. "Man," he moaned. "This ain't gonna be pretty."

"You're telling me," Sarah mumbled as Kate and Clay came up behind Will, followed closely by Jerome. "Kate's as afraid of bridges as Clay is of water." She glanced over at the couple, both of whom were deathly pale. Patricia Kirche's words rang clearly in Sarah's mind: "Those two are going to face their worst fears on this trip... and it's either going to break them or make them stronger."

Sally had also caught the looks on their faces. "Don't look now, Tom, but we've got trouble."

Pastor Macy nodded. Leaning to whisper in Sally's ear, he put his hand on her shoulder. "We need to see if we can't get the rest of the team started over to the other side. Let's enlist Sarah to work on those two - that's the only way we're going to get them across."

"Sarah," Sally beckoned to Sarah, who hurried over. "I wish I could help you prod the lovebirds across the river, but right now I'm responsible to the rest of the team with Pastor Macy. It's up to you and Will to get those two moving. I know if anyone can handle that, you can."

"You've got it." Sarah nodded at her and walked towards the terrified pair with Will close behind. "Kate," she began, "this is a life and death situation. You have no choice - you have to do it." Kate met her eyes, her jaw trembling with fear. "Your mom knew that you would be facing this," Sarah reminded her, "and she believes that you can make it across. Knowing her, she's probably praying for the two of you at this very moment."

"Clay man," Will appealed, "you gotta do it. It's either cross the bridge or face certain death." Clay blinked twice, staring blankly at him. "Think of Kate, man. If nothing else, do it for her and the baby."

Will's final words made all the difference in the world. The two of them snapped out of the panicked trances they were in and met each other's eye. "We're going to need more help than any of these guys can provide," Clay breathed hoarsely. Kate nodded, and the two of them moved over to the side of the clearing. Clasping each other's hands tightly, they started praying anew.

Jerome scowled at the bridge before turning back to Will and Sarah. "I don't like that bridge. It doesn't look very sturdy to me."

"We're going to have to see how fast we can get them across," Will agreed.

Sarah frowned. "Your emotional appeal worked a moment ago, Will. Let's use that tactic to our advantage. I know my best friend - she will face her worst fears ten times over for the people she loves... and Clay is probably the same way." She tapped her lip thoughtfully. "Kate's a welter-weight... is Clay still fairly light for a guy?"

Jerome nodded. "Their weight together probably doesn't equal mine."

"That settles it - they cross together, one behind the other." The bodyguards stared with disbelief at Sarah. "Think about it - they won't do it unless they're doing it for someone else, so if we force them to cross together they might actually be able to do it. Clay can encourage Kate, Kate can encourage Clay. They can keep each other accountable."

"Speaking of accountable," Kate whispered, and Sarah turned to her. Kate was still very pale as was Clay, but the two of them seemed to have a quiet courage and resolve that wasn't there a moment ago. "Get out that trust rope you put in your backpack."

"The trust rope you insisted that I pack?" Sarah asked, turning the backpack towards Will. She held still as Will opened the backpack and pulled out the rope for her. "What do you need the rope for?"

Kate took the rope from Will and started to unwind it. "You'll see."

"Meanwhile," Jerome added, "give us your backpacks. You two need to concentrate on getting across, and those backpacks will only distract you."

Clay immediately pulled off his backpack and handed it to Jerome. Kate shrugged out of her backpack as she shook out the rope, glancing up as Clay handed her backpack to Will.

"And the belt packs," Will added.

Clay took off his and handed it to Sarah, but Kate kept hers. "I should be okay with mine. It's like a second skin." Kate handed one end of the rope to Clay. "Wrap that around your waist, hon." Kate immediately did the same to herself with the other end.

"Kate..." Sarah began nervously, "what are you doing?"

Clay turned to Kate, his eyes growing wide as he saw her tying the rope securely around her waist. "Honey?" he asked with uncertainty in his voice.

The expression on Kate's face exuded pure grit and determination as she pulled the knot tight. "You want accountable, Sarah? You've got it. There's no way I will be able to turn tail and run when I'm literally tied to my husband." Kate looked up at Clay, a fiercely loyal expression in her eyes. "'Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.'" Clay's jaw dropped as she placed her hand on his arm. "I made a promise to stick with you through everything life throws us, love, and I'm taking that promise seriously. If you make it, I make it. If you don't make it, I don't make it."

"Oh my..." Sarah breathed.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Will muttered.

Touched beyond words by her show of love and total devotion, Clay hastily tied the other end of the rope around his own waist. "If anything but death separates us," he answered with a vigorous tug on the end before gathering Kate into his arms.

"Kate... Clay..." Sarah breathed in shock. "You can't be serious." She glanced back and forth between them, reading their expressive eyes riveted to one another as they held each other close and tight. "They're serious..."

"You two," Jerome growled, "are crazy."

Pastor Macy turned to them. "It's just the six of us left."

Jerome tapped Clay's shoulder. "It's your turn, guys."

Kate slowly shook her head, still meeting Clay's eye. Noting an expression that he recognized but couldn't name, Clay narrowed his eyes. "You have a feeling, don't you?" he mouthed.

"I think so..." Kate breathed. "But I can't tell you what. It's not clear at all - I only know it's very very important that the others cross before us."

Instantly Clay was ready to take Kate at her word. "Jerome - everyone else needs to cross first. I'm trusting my wife on this."

"Clay - "

"That's an order, Mister," Clay snapped. He turned to Will. "Same goes for you."

Jerome threw up his hands in disgust. "You go," he told Pastor Macy, "and I'll follow. Then we'll let all the lovebirds cross."

Pastor Macy crossed in quick order with Jerome as close on his heels as he dared. Not bound to the same agreement as the two bodyguards were, Sarah turned a determined eye to the newlyweds. "We need to get you two across now."

Clay shook his head firmly. "No. You two next. We're going to take a while."

"But - "

"Will..." Kate pointed across the river to where the rest of the team waited. "Take your girlfriend and go. I promise we will follow." Will shrugged and stood at the base of the bridge, waiting for Sarah to join him. "Sarah, it's your turn. Go with him."

Sarah glared at her best friend. "I'm not leaving the two of you here on this side alone! I know how you are about bridges and how you are about water! How do I know you'll cross?"

"Sarah, go," Kate pleaded. "Will won't cross without you, so you need to go now. We'll cross, I promise. We need you on the other side to cheer us on, telling us how far we've come and how much further we have to go." Sarah frowned reluctantly, and Kate continued. "Sarah... Will's going to need you on the other side of that river. You need to go now, while you have a chance, before it's too late." Sarah blinked in confusion at what Kate said. "Go!" Kate snarled, advancing on her fiercely, "or you aren't my friend any more!" Sarah gaped, and great tears welled up in her hazel eyes. Hurt by Kate's words, Sarah hurried across the bridge without a backwards look. Will gave Kate an odd frown but followed Sarah to the other side.

Clay bit his lip. "That was harsh."

"I know," Kate acknowledged as she heaved a shaky sigh. "Especially considering the way I stuck my foot into it Wednesday. But this time I had no choice - I had to do that if I was going to get her to cross the river before us."

"I understand - you'd rather see her with hurt feelings than risk her life supporting us." Kate nodded, and Clay smiled. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. "Our turn."

Kate nodded. She took his hand, squeezing it as hard as he squeezed hers, and the two of them walked slowly to the bridge.

Clay placed a shaky hand on the support of the bridge, gulping in the air deeply to calm himself. "This," he breathed, "is going to be the one time I am not going to be a gentleman and let the lady go first. I'm going first, and you follow behind." He took another deep breath. "That way if there are any bad spots on the bridge, I'll be the first one to find them."

"If that's your reason," Kate chuckled weakly, "then you are too a gentleman." She squeezed his hand again before releasing it. "Still trying to look out for me... and little one."

"You know it." Clay placed the other hand on the bridge and cautiously stepped onto it. He took a slow step, shifting his weight to allow Kate up on the bridge. Whether because of fear or encouragement, Kate pressed up close right behind him and Clay had nowhere to go but onward. Step by step, the two of them inched across the bridge to the support and encouragement of the rest of the team cheering for them on the opposite shore.

"You're at the halfway point!" Sarah yelled out at last. "Keep going!"

Clay chuckled nervously. "She didn't stay upset long."

"That's Sarah."

After what seemed like another eternity Sarah's voice called out again. "You only have a third of the bridge left!" she yelled. "Keep coming!"

Will studied the water churning underneath them. "That's a nasty-looking river."

"I sure wouldn't want to swim in it," Sally muttered.

"They've only got a few more yards to go," Sarah whispered, quivering with excitement. "Kate's mom was right - they've faced their worst fears today and beat them. I can't believe the two of them really did this..."

"Something's wrong - look!" Jerome pointed.

Almost as if in slow motion, a section of the bridge snapped and disintegrated under the weight of Clay's foot. He started to go down, but Kate let go of the handrails and wrapped her arms around his waist in a vain attempt to keep him from falling in the river. Clay's eyes widened with fright as he maintained his death grip on the shuddering bridge, trying desperately to pull himself back up. The compromised bridge, no longer able to support them both, continued to break apart around them and the two of them were swept away downstream as the rest of the team watched in horror.

"NO!!" Sarah screamed, preparing herself to dive in after them. Suddenly a hand grabbed her wrist and she felt herself pulled back. She whirled around to face Will, and pounded his chest in anger. "How dare you! I have years of swim team and lifeguard experience! I could have saved them! How could you?? How could you..." Sarah burst into tears, crumbling like a dried-up leaf in his arms.

"Sarah, Princess," Will croaked, his voice husky with emotion. "Not even Mark Spitz could swim in that. They're already lost in the river - I wasn't going to lose you too."

Sarah knew he was right... they were gone.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A trifle earlier at the Kirche farm in Kearney, Nebraska

 

"How long should you pray?" Still holding the phone to her ear, Patricia blew a stream of air from her lips. "Pray for the next solid hour or so. That's going to be the critical time. Then after that hour I'll give you a call back." Patricia shook her head. "I said I haven't heard anything about the team, just the assassination. It's just a hunch." Patricia wrapped up her phone call, the tenth she had made in the last half-hour and the fifteenth she had made that day, and grabbed her bible. Opening it up to the Psalms, she knelt down on the floor in front of the couch. Placing the bible on the couch where she could see it better, Patricia picked up the scrap of prayer cloth that Kate had given her. Closing her eyes, she began her fervent prayers.

Arthur came up the stairs in time to see Patricia bow her head and start praying. He frowned apprehensively - he remembered what happened the last time she had done this. Quietly taking a seat, he watched his wife for several minutes, glancing at his watch from time to time to mark how long she was going to be at this. You can't be serious, he thought after thirty minutes passed.          Arthur turned back to his wife, who was still deep in prayer. He shook his head - he was never going to get used to this.

At last Patricia opened her eyes and looked up at Arthur, noting the wary look in his eyes. She heaved a deep sigh as she sat up on the couch, placing her bible on the nearby coffee table. "I'm sorry, Art. I know it sounds crazy to you, but for the sake of our kids I have to pray for them."

With a deep frown, Arthur sat beside her on the couch. He glanced at his watch - it had been exactly an hour from the time he first saw her start praying. "Considering what's been going on in Haiti lately, it's a good idea." He glanced at the prayer cloth, knowing that Patricia's behavior suggested that there was more. "You think something's up with the kids?"

Patricia nodded. "For months I've been having dreams... dreams of mobs and riots and the team escaping them through the jungle..." She took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly and deliberately. "Dreams of a dangerous river spanned only by a less-than-reliable bridge."

Knowing his daughter's fear of bridges, Arthur frowned. "Go on," he told her.

Patricia heaved a shaky sigh. "I saw the team cross the bridge on the run, one by one... Our kids were the last to cross. One minute they were crossing the bridge, and when I looked away for just one moment, I turned back and they were gone... the bridge was gone." She reached up to wipe a tear from her eye. "Sarah told me they were lost... she told me that Clay and Kate and the baby were lost."

Arthur's eyes widened. Shaking his head at one more mysterious prediction from his wife, he went back to the dream. "Lost... in the river?"

Patricia nodded. "Lost in the river..."

"If you knew," Arthur told her with the slightest hint of irritation in his voice, "you should have told someone going on that trip, and they wouldn't have crossed the bridge."

Immediately Patricia shook her head. "No. I saw a mob of thugs and voodoo worshippers standing on the opposite side of the river. If anyone didn't make it across, they would be killed by that mob... possibly in one of their ritual sacrifices."

Arthur grimaced. Mob versus the river... tough choice. If it had been his choice, he would have taken the river. Drowning would be quicker and less painful. He wondered how well Kate was going to swim the river if it was as dangerous as Patricia said. Somehow he feared that she wouldn't last long, tiring quickly in the rapids or finding herself pulled into the murky depths by an undertow. "How well does Clay swim?" he asked hopefully.

Patricia pinched her eyes shut. "I don't know. He's afraid of the water."

His heart sank at the news, afraid to hope for a miracle.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At the remnants of the suspension bridge

 

As soon as the Aikens were swept away by the river, Jerome smacked Will's arm. "Come on - we gotta follow and see if we can't yank them out." Will quickly shoved Sarah towards Sally, and the two of them followed the bank of the river at a dead run in hopes of getting to the couple in time.

The rest of the team remained there on the bank of the river, their reactions as individual as the people themselves. Prosper held her head and moaned as Jayme chattered in Creole at an unbelievable speed. Sally held tightly onto Sarah as the tiny woman sobbed without consolation, while she concentrated on breathing to keep herself from hyperventilating. Tracy turned into the brush to become violently sick as Lisa the nurse attended to her in silent shock. Wayne ran his hands in agitation through what little hair he had left, and Frank stared off down the river in a complete stupor. Matt swore several times while his buddy Adam took his frustration out on the nearest tree with his fist. Chris repeatedly called out to the Lord in bewildered supplication, and Pastor Macy held his hands over his mouth. And Jack and Sheila sank to their knees on the jungle floor, holding each other tightly as both of them wept loudly for the couple they had begun to bond with.

Finally regaining some control of his thoughts, Pastor Macy called the group together. "Gather around, everyone. We're going to pray while we're waiting for Jerome and Will to come back." The more coherent among the team shepherded in those who were still dazed or confused, and they formed a tight circle. Everyone wrapped their arms around each other, and Pastor Macy led the team in prayer.

Within a half hour the bodyguards returned with grim expressions on their faces. "We went as far as we could before the terrain stopped us," Jerome reported. "There's no way we're going any further without a helicopter and a tour guide."

No no no... Sarah whimpered as she ran her hands through her auburn hair. This can't be happening. My best friend can't really be gone. I never really made up to her. With that last thought, the next batch of tears started to trickle down Sarah's cheeks.

Sally pulled Sarah close, her own tortured eyes doggedly determined. "There there, sweetie. Just because the guys can't get through doesn't mean they don't have a chance."

"But... we saw them..."

"I know," Sally acknowledged. "But as long as there's a God, there's hope. Whether that's the hope of seeing them again on earth, or the hope of seeing them in heaven... there's hope."

There's no way they could have survived that, Sarah sobbed, noting through her tears that other team members had started crying again too. I don't think they can swim in that... if Clay can swim at all...

Pastor Macy looked downstream for a moment before making an executive decision. "There's not much more good we can do for Clay and Kate right now - except pray, and each one of us can do that as we travel. Let's continue moving towards Port au Prince, and once we get out of harm's way we can discuss our options for sending out that search party."

Sally stared at Pastor Macy, dumbfounded. "You mean we're just going to leave them behind?"

"Jerome and Will went to look for them," Pastor Macy told her, "and couldn't get through the jungle. Unless you have any other ideas, this is my decision."

"Kate's my cousin," Sally protested angrily. "I'm responsible for looking out for her."

"Clay and Kate are the ones solely responsible for each other," Pastor Macy reminded. "Your responsibility is to the rest of the team." He nodded at the shaking woman in Sally's arms. "Right now you can do the ones we have more good than the ones we're separated from."

Sally looked down at Sarah's tear-stained face and knew he was right. Swearing once under her breath, she nodded at him. "All right. But on the condition that we do send someone to search for them."

"On that, we agree." Having Sally's support once more, he returned to the head of the team. "Come on, everyone. The faster we get to Port au Prince, the faster we can send out that search party."

The team continued through the jungle in relative silence as each person was lost in prayer and their own thoughts, until they finally arrived at the meeting point where their rides to Port au Prince were waiting. As soon as everyone climbed into the vans, they began the agonizing drive to Port au Prince.

Will watched out of the side of his eye as Sarah continued to weep, rocking herself as she stared out the window. This past week he had started to wonder about the possible existence of God, whether there really was one, but after today's events he was once again skeptical. What kind of God would take a happy, loving couple expecting a child and send them to their deaths in the middle of the Haitian wilderness? If that is what Sarah's God was like, then Will wanted no part of Him. As far as Will was concerned, this world needed more people like the Aikens - not less.

The thought of the Aikens and their marriage sobered Will. Those two had known all along that their lives were meant to be shared, and they had taken every moment to build the kind of relationship and family that both of them had dreamed of since childhood. They had relished, enjoyed every glance, every conversation, every touch, every little aspect of their time together. Will wished that he could seize opportunities the way they had. Glancing again at Sarah, he realized that it still wasn't too late to start.

Will leaned forward to address Sarah. "Princess... I know that this is the worst possible time to talk about this with everyone grieving and all, but..." He paused to drag up the reserves of his strength to ask her his question. "You want to marry me?"

Sarah turned from the window, surprised by his words. "Is that just a question, or is that a proposal?"

"Proposal," Will told her. "Life's too short to live without the one you love. If nothing else, those two taught me that."

"Oh my heck," Sally breathed as Sarah stared at him in shock. She couldn't help thinking that the heat or something was getting to Will - the man was obviously out of his mind.

Apparently Sarah thought the same thing. "You haven't had enough time to think about this," she answered at last. "We've been talking about our future, yes, but you've avoided the subject of marriage as if it was some sort of contagious disease."

"Yeah," Will admitted. "But I think I've caught an incurable case. I want to be with you, Princess. I want to have a family with you like the kind we always wanted." He shrugged. "I know I'm not much, but I love you. And you keep saying you love me. So what do you say?"

Life's too short to live without the one you love. Sarah reflected on Clay and Kate's relationship. It had taken the couple all of one week to realize that they wanted to marry, and the only thing that had put off plans at the time was the knowledge that Kate needed time to heal. In secret, however, Clay had already started making tentative plans for their Christmas wedding in hopes that Kate's healing would be swift. He was a man who knew exactly what he wanted, and once Clay knew what he wanted he wasn't going to back down until he got it. It was only a matter of time until Clay and Kate were going to marry. Fortunately Kate's healing went as well as hoped, and the wedding went on as scheduled.

Sarah already knew she wanted to marry Will, and with her recurring wedding dream she believed that it was her destiny. She marveled that it had taken something like the loss of the Aikens to force Will to ultimately decide what he wanted for the two of them. "Y-Yes. Yes, Will - I'll marry you."

Will pressed on. "Now that I got one question down, I got one more. You want to marry me tonight, if we can talk Pastor Macy into doing the ceremony?"

Numerous squawks and exclamations of surprise came from various fellow passengers in the van, proving to Sarah that their conversation was a welcome diversion from whatever else was on everyone's mind. It was good news, a beacon of hope and new life in the midst of their crisis. But it was also a shock. "Have you two lost your mind???" Sally asked.

"Naw," Will replied. "I'm finally in my right one. What about it, Sarah? You up to marrying me tonight when we get there?"

"Pastor..." Sarah began, both answering Will's question and posting a new one to the man who would officiate their impromptu ceremony.

"I don't know how legal it will be," Pastor Macy told them, "but I'm willing to do it if that's what the two of you really want. Keep in mind that we may have to do this all again back in the States to be legal in the eyes of the U.S. government."

"Government," someone muttered as if it was a swear word, and Sarah laughed delightedly.

Sarah immediately turned to Sally, her hazel eyes boring keenly into Sally's brown ones. "Since I can't have my first choice as attendant, I want it to be you."

"I'm not sure this is the right time, but I'd be honored," Sally nodded.

Will glanced at Jerome. "My first choice woulda been the scrawny one, but since he's not here... would you stand by for me?"

A weak smirk turned the corner of Jerome's mouth. "And he would threaten to kick your behind for calling him that."

"I'd like to see him try it," Will joked, suddenly going hoarse as he once more realized that was no longer going to be possible. Underneath his breath Will cursed as the emotions tore at his heart. "Sorry, all. I know the church crowd don't like it when people cuss."

Pastor Macy smiled lightly as he remembered back to the pandemonium after the bridge broke. There had been several of the team members swearing uncharacteristically... but since Will was running off downstream in hopes of plucking the Aikens from the river, there was no way he could have known. "We're happy to forgive any and all offenses," he told Will, "hundreds of times over."

"Why?" Will asked. "How is anyone able to put aside any wrong that someone else does, especially something serious? How is it possible when the hurt runs so deep you don't think you'll ever heal? How do people look beyond all the bad stuff in a person's life to see someone they think has promise?"

"The love of God makes it possible," Jack told him quietly. "Only the love of God can change hearts - both the forgiver and the forgiven."

"If God is so loving," Will growled, "then why did He let this happen? If God is real, why didn't He let Clay and Kate cross all the way to the other side? Why did He take them away before their first kid was born?" He choked on his words for a moment before going on. "I've seen the look in Clay's eyes when he's with kids. That man was meant to be a daddy. And now he's never gonna be a daddy. Never. What kind of God would do a thing like that?"

"God doesn't give His children trouble," Sally insisted. "That's not the way God works. He allows trouble to happen to His children because He has something for them to learn. He wants them to grow, to minister, to teach. To turn to Him in times of trouble." She leaned to place a reassuring hand on Sarah's shoulder, as Sarah had started crying again. "God doesn't give trouble... He walks through it with us. But He doesn't always explain it to us, because then we wouldn't learn anything."

"I'm not going to pretend to understand why that happened, Will," Sheila told him, the tears running down her own cheeks. "The only thing I understand is that God promised Clay and Kate eternal life because they know His Son. We will see them again. It's only a matter of when."

"Small consolation," Will snorted.

"I know," Sheila acknowledged. "But it's the only one I have."

"It's the promise of eternity," Sally answered. "That's enough. That's exactly what those two risked their lives for in the first place - sharing that message with the kids."t; Sally glanced over at Will. "They knew Haiti's history and politics. Those two aren't naïve. They went into this trip with open minds and Called hearts. They knew the risks."

"Why don't you pray about it a while, Will," Pastor Macy suggested, "and see what kind of answer God will give you."

"I'm tired of praying," Will complained, "and getting no answers. He doesn't listen to a guy like me."

"He listens," Jack told him. "The answer just may not be that obvious."

Pastor Macy smiled gently. "All right, then. Why don't you see if you can get some sleep or something, and the rest of us will pray. There's been a lot that's happened today, and there's a lot more that's going to happen this evening. God's not done with this day by a long shot." He glanced around at the rest of the team in the van. "Everyone - either try to get some sleep or some prayer time in. Either one will refresh and rejuvenate you. I'll let you know as we get closer to Port au Prince and the Kinam."

Watching as Will tried to sleep and the rest of the team sought after God's heart in prayer, Pastor Macy heaved a deep sigh before turning to his own reflections. Although it was plain that no one on the team was happy about these events that they didn't understand, Will's wounded spirit had moved many of them to cling that much more closely to their own faith. He suspected that Clay and Kate would be pleased that events had brought about that much. From the way that Sally had yet to shed one single tear, Pastor Macy also guessed that she wasn't ready to accept the idea that the Aikens might be dead. Pastor Macy himself was not yet ready to give up hope without some sort of visible or tangible reason... or overwhelming evidence pointing to that theory. Joining with the rest of the team in private, individual prayer, Pastor Macy lifted up the petitions of his heart.

At last the team arrived back in Port au Prince, and the caravan drove through its crowded streets. With liberal honks of the horn, the two vans zipped through intersections and around piles of refuse until they reached their destination. Tucked into the hillside in the Pétion-Ville section of Port au Prince, the Hotel Kinam's architecture could best be described as a white Victorian "gingerbread house" style of mansion. Unloading from the vans that brought them here, the team passed the rifle-toting guard at the gate to enter the foyer with its open-air fountain. Pastor Macy and Sally slipped through to the front desk to check in for the team, and came back shortly with keys. They delved the keys out as before, with the exception of Will and Sarah. The two had previously been roomed with Jerome and Sally respectively, but with their pending wedding Pastor felt that they should be together.

"Guess I get a private," Sally mused as she stuck her key in her pocket.

"I'll wish you luck now, Sarah," Jerome told the petite woman. "He snores."

"Thanks a lot, 'Rome," Will grumbled. "I will find a way to get you back for that."

Pastor Macy glanced at his watch. "Everyone gets until six-thirty on your own. That's when we meet down here for the shortest wedding I've ever conducted, and dinner." He looked around at the team. "I'm sure several of us who packed extra supplies in their backpacks will be happy to share with those who are without. Let's get a hand count of everyone who has enough supplies to get them back home."

Out of curiosity Sarah turned to see how many of the team had decided to take the early-morning breakfast discussion to heart. She gaped in shock as every team member's hand went up - every person in the group had taken the time to repack the vitals.

Sally wrapped a fond arm around Sarah. "Looks like they followed your advice after all," Sally said proudly. "They didn't have to like the idea that something could happen, but they saw the wisdom of it."

No kidding.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the river

 

Kate struggled to keep her face above the raging water that swept her downstream. A faint memory of seeing Clay struck in the side of his head by a tree limb flashed through her eyes, and Kate quickly grabbed at the rope tied around her waist. She followed the line and reeled it in until she was able to reach Clay, laying facedown in the water. No. Kate turned her husband over so that his face was out of the water, and saw that his eyes were closed and his body limp. No, no, no... Kate wrapped her legs around his torso and let their natural buoyancy keep them afloat as she looked for a way to escape their watery fate.

After a couple of desperate prayers she saw a low-hanging tree branch in the distance and maneuvered her way towards it. Kate leapt partway out of the water to grab it with both hands, and with Herculean effort slowly pulled both of them out of the water. Lowering Clay bodily on the shore, Kate mentally gave thanks to God for the miraculous rescue - both for providing her with the opportunity and the strength, for she knew she could not have made it without Him.

Finished with her on-the-spot prayer, she turned to Clay. "Clay?" No answer. She reached over and shook him. "Clayton, honey?" Still no answer. No... please no, God. She turned him over again, gently slapping his cheeks. "Please, Love, wake up. I need you here with me... I can't go on without you," she breathed. "Clay? Honey? Please wake up, honey..." Kate's voice turned desperate as she tilted his head back to open his airway. She bent her ear down next to his mouth, listening with every fiber of her being for the tiniest of breaths. Nothing. Help, God, oh help. Pinching his nose, Kate placed her mouth over his to give him the first of many life-giving breaths. Her cold, stiff fingers searched his neck until she finally found a weak pulse. The first hint of relief flooded her system - she knew that pulse, however weak, gave him a fighting chance at coming out of this all right. Provided that she didn't give up on him now. She gave him the next breath before speaking to him again. "Don't leave me yet, Clay honey. You haven't gotten to be a daddy yet, and our baby needs his daddy." Giving him another breath, she continued talking to him in hopes that he could hear her. "I need his daddy. I need you. Please..." Ridden with anxiety for these critical next few minutes, Kate faithfully shared her every breath with him, willing him to come back to her and praying that she would not be denied.

At last Clay's body contorted as he was racked with coughing, a sound as beautiful as any sound Kate could have heard at that very moment. Unable to hold her emotions back any longer, Kate let the tears run down her cheeks in torrents as he gasped for breath in her arms. Clay's eyes fluttered open, and he jerked as he clutched onto Kate in complete disorientation. "Kate..." he growled hoarsely. "Wh-where... wh-what..." he began. He glanced up at Kate for an explanation, and his eyes widened at seeing her many tears. "Kate honey?"

"I thought I lost you," she sobbed with a hiccup, running her fingers through his wet hair.

"Oh, darlin'..." Wanting to comfort her, Clay moved to sit up.

"Don't you dare," Kate ordered, holding him close in her arms.

Clay knew that there were times he did not dare argue with his wife - and this was one of them. In his weakened state, he simply didn't have the strength. Placing one hand behind her head, he gave her his pathetic attempt at a hug, holding her as tight as he was able. When he had taken a few moments to rest, he sat up despite Kate's protests. He took her in his arms, and the two of them leaned on each other heavily in their exhaustion as they embraced. "I remember..." he began, "... trying to cross the bridge with the rest of the team." He bit his lip, straining to drag up the memories. "I remember seeing that river and being absolutely terrified... but knowing that I could cross it as long as God and you were with me." At last Clay shook his head - he could remember no more. "What happened, honey?"

Kate sniffled, and Clay wiped the tears from her cheeks with the heel of his thumb. "There was a place in the bridge where the wood had rotted - and you found it with your foot. You almost fell through the bridge then and there, but I grabbed on to you." She frowned. "The damage had already been done, and the bridge tore itself apart around us. There was nothing left for us to finish crossing on, and... and..."

"And we got thrown in the water," Clay finished. Fortunately he remembered nothing after the bridge started breaking up around them - something had hit him on the head, and that was the last thing he remembered until now. He ruefully rubbed the knot on his head, knowing it was going to be there for several days. It was probably a good thing he had been unconscious - with his fear of water, he would not have been easy to rescue had he been awake. "But we're not in the water now."

"No," Kate acknowledged. "God gave me a branch to grab and helped me pull you out of the water."

A pleased smile slowly crossed Clay's face. Kate's willingness to thank and praise God in all circumstances never ceased to amaze him. Her living, dynamic faith was one of the things he loved most about her. I think I know what I want to talk about at devotions tomorrow night. "And then I woke up coughing." Kate chewed her lip with a guilty frown, and Clay knew there was more. "That's not all, is it?"

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to hide the truth forever, Kate admitted it with a slow shake of her head. "You... weren't breathing when I first pulled you out of the water."

Clay stared at her as more tears ran down her cheeks. He was aware of only one way she could have handled that situation. Clay blinked incredulously. "You gave me mouth-to-mouth and I missed it?"

Kate barked out a single laugh and clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle more. "It would have defeated the purpose," she giggled, "if you had been awake."

"Yeah," Clay answered, "but I would have enjoyed it more."

I don't doubt that.

"It's good to see you smiling and laughing," Clay told her quietly, "after waking up to find you crying like your heart would break."

"It almost did," Kate whispered. She reached up to touch his cheek. "I nearly lost you today, and it terrified me more than crossing the bridge did." Overcome with emotion, she clung to him. "I couldn't go on without you."

Clay shook his head gently. "No, honey. You're a survivor - you could find a way." He lifted her chin until she looked him in the eye. "It might be hard at first, but you could."

"I don't want to," Kate insisted with a sniffle.

"I know you don't, any more than I want to live without you," Clay smiled, kissing her between the eyes. "That's why we married." He stood and extended a hand to Kate to help her up. "I need to wring some water out of this shirt," he murmured as he peeled it off, "if it's ever going to dry."

When Clay started to wring the water out of his T-shirt, Kate plucked thoughtfully at her own drenched T-shirt. He had a valid point. Knowing that she wore her swimsuit under her clothes, she also pulled off her T-shirt to wring water out of it.

Clay stole a glance at her as she started to pull off the soaked shirt, then gave her a harder look when he saw the bikini top instead of the usual delicates. "I never noticed this morning that you put your swimsuit on underneath your clothes." Clay considered her with a raised eyebrow. "So is this what you wouldn't tell me this morning?"

"Yes and no," Kate acknowledged. "I saw myself, but only myself, adrift in the water... and I never did see how I got there or how I got out." She shrugged. "That's all - Sarah woke me before I could dream any more."

Clay nodded thoughtfully. "You knew just enough to pack all those Ziplocs."

"But I did that on pure hunch," Kate insisted. "There was no dream that made me do that." Kate's hands trembled as she wrung her shirt, and it was apparent that she didn't have the hand or arm strength to get out nearly enough water to make a difference.

Clay lightly touched her side to get her attention. "Here - let me help you," he offered, draping his own shirt over one shoulder. He carefully took Kate's shirt from her and twisted it tighter than she had been able to do only minutes ago.

Watching with fascination as he wrung the water out of her shirt, Kate stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes. As Clay turned to give her back her shirt, she met his eye, knowing that he could see the hunger in her gaze. "Would you still like me to give you mouth-to-mouth?"

Immediately Clay knew that her offer was for much much more than a little mouth-to-mouth. The highly emotional nature of the experience they had just gone through was keeping their systems pumped full of adrenaline and all sorts of other hormones, and Kate was still running off of that. And so was he. Tempted more than he could say by what was obviously an offer to share some seriously passionate intimate time, Clay stared back into her eyes. After giving the matter deliberate thought, he gently rubbed his thumb over her lips. "I would - but now is not the time to do it. We need to take advantage of every moment of daylight we have left to travel. Maybe tonight once we've caught up with the group or found some other shelter I can take you up on that. So please... hold that thought."

Accepting the answer that was not a 'no' but was rather a 'wait', Kate nodded and took her shirt back from Clay. Quickly the two put back on their T-shirts in order to travel. Kate studied the jungle around them, wondering how easy it would be to rejoin the team... and how long it would take. "Upstream is that way," she pointed, "but it doesn't look like we'll be able to follow the riverbank. If we tried that trail," Kate pointed again at a trail further into the jungle that appeared to parallel the river, "we should be able to find the rest of the team. Depending on how far we were swept downstream, we could meet back up with them anywhere from a couple of hours to..." Kate chewed her bottom lip. "Maybe a day at most. Depends on the kind of time we can make."

Clay sucked in a deep breath. "Then let's start." Eager to make the best use of their remaining sunshine, Clay and Kate hastened down the trail, Clay forging the lead and keeping a close hold on Kate's hand to help her through the brush. They kept conversation down to the minimal vitals, unwilling to tempt fate by drawing attention to their presence in the unknown jungle terrain.

"Augh!" Kate cried out partway into their journey, halting in her tracks.

Instantly Clay turned to her with concern as she bent double and clutched her abdomen in obvious pain. "What is it, honey?" he asked, wrapping a supportive arm around her to keep her upright.

"I don't know," she whimpered, grimacing at the cramps that coursed through her. "I have no idea at all. All I know is it hurts." Gritting her teeth in agony, she slowly sucked in a deep breath as the two of them knelt together on the jungle floor.

As Clay held her in his arms, his mind taunted him with the most serious worst-case scenario it could dream up: Kate was losing the baby. Since he was quite ignorant about symptoms and treatment of miscarriage, he had no way of knowing if that was what was happening or how to help her through this. The only solution he could think of was to pray... and pray he did. Holding Kate tight with one arm and stroking her cheek with the other, he pressed his face into her hair and prayed for the health of both his wife and his child. "You're going to be fine, honey. You and the baby are going to be fine."

At last the worst of Kate's pains subsided. She panted weakly. "I know now why Doctor Kelley told me to take it easy," she moaned. "A stressful or traumatic experience is not good for an unborn child."

"And we just had one," Clay mumbled, dejected. But he wasn't about to blame Kate for this. He stroked her face repeatedly in an attempt to soothe her. "Kate... it's not your fault. Whatever the Doctor told you about taking it easy - this was not your fault."

"I know," Kate sniffled. "Believe me, that bridge breaking in two was not my idea of the kind of adventure I wanted to have on this mission trip." She bit back the tears. "Clay... I promise for the rest of the trip to take it easy. If you think I'm overdoing it... I'll listen now. I promise, honey. I promise."

Clay kissed her forehead reassuringly, knowing that she too was concerned for the health of their child. "Are you able to go on?" he asked gently.

"Do we have any choice?"

Clay nodded - he knew that they had no choice if they wanted to survive. But he could also see how those cramps had taken their toll on Kate - she was too weak to stand, much less walk. If they were going to continue, Clay was going to have to carry her. Maneuvering over in front of her, he directed Kate to crawl up on his back. "Wrap your arms around me, hon."

"What?" Kate exclaimed. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm going to carry you piggyback style," Clay told her.

"Do you have enough strength to do that?"

Clay shot her a determined look. "Do you have enough to walk?" At seeing her slight wince, he knew that he had been right. "It's the only way, honey. We can't stay here."

Taking a deep breath, Kate chose to trust Clay. He had been right when he suggested that she was too weak to walk, and she was going to have to depend on him to get them both through the jungle safely. She already trusted him that he had their best interest at heart and that he was fully capable of taking care of them. Kate had to trust that Clay would be able to carry her until she had the strength to walk again. Sending up a quick prayer, she gingerly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hung on.

Very carefully Clay leaned forward to balance both of their weight as he slowly stood upright. He could have cradled her in his arms, but he knew that this was the better way. Not only would her weight be held up by his shoulders, torso, and legs, but he would have his hands free to untangle the brush in front of them. Giving her ankle a fond squeeze, Clay began the next part of the trek.

It was an hour later that Kate suggested that she might be ready to walk. Clay placed her on her feet, keeping her braced to make sure that she was indeed able to stand. When he saw that her legs were going to hold her, he let go and stood by her side. Once more he took her hand to lead her through the jungle. For several more hours they traveled in this way, unsure how far they had gone and how much further it was going to be until they met back up with the team. Meanwhile the sun slowly arced across the sky, getting closer and closer to the horizon the more they traveled.

At last Clay knew they would either have to find shelter soon or spend the night in the open jungle. Lord, I know you take care of your servants and children... but would it be asking too much for a place for my wife and me to get a good night's sleep? I will choose to trust your plan if the answer is no. Kate had already started to tire again, and he was concerned about how much longer either one of them were going to hold up. Clay continued to lead Kate along the trail and over the hills as the sun began to set little by little. Suddenly he blinked and rubbed his eyes. Is that... a village ahead? Thanks for providing it at just the right time, Lord. He pulled at Kate's hand. "Come on."

In the faint light of the setting sun Clay led Kate into the village, trying desperately to ignore the ominous sensation of doom and despair he felt hanging in the air. Glancing around at the buildings, he looked for one that seemed to be friendly.

Kate touched his shoulder and pointed. "Clay - try that one," she whispered.

Clay looked where she pointed, and sighed with relief. The run-down building was obviously a place of worship, judging from the Christian symbols painted on the front... but it was amazingly free of the familiar decorated flags that denoted the influence of voodooism. Maybe this is a Christian church, not a voodoo temple. Taking a chance that it was, Clay led Kate towards it.

Before Clay could approach the door, a native Haitian man stepped in front of them carrying a shotgun. Oh my. Clay's eyes widened at the gun muzzle pointing directly towards the two of them, and his first thought was to see to the safety of his wife and child. "Kate..." Clay hissed as the man studied them warily, his gun still pointed in Clay's face, "get behind me."

"But - " Kate protested, noticing as the man's eyes took in both her Christian T-shirt and the cross necklace she was wearing.

"Now, honey..." he begged. The gun in his face unnerved him, but he was more concerned about Kate's welfare. If this man had any evil ideas and intentions of what he wanted to do with her, he was going to have to go through Clay first. And Clay intended to go down fighting.

Kate obeyed, peeking only her head out around his arm as she clutched on to him. She blinked with surprise as the man placed his hand on the front of his own shirt, then reached up to his neckline. He pointed at Kate before drawing a cross and a fish on the ground with the barrel of his gun. "Hon, he knows we're Christians."

"I see that." Clay pointed at the symbols on the ground before pointing at the two of them. He pointed at the symbols again, pausing before pointing up at the man. The man slowly slid his foot over the symbols, erasing them. He gave the couple a serious nod. Clay heaved a sigh of relief before continuing the game of charades. He pointed at both of them before pointing at the river in the distance, making waves with his hand to show the water. Then as the man watched Clay used his hands to mime their attempt to cross the bridge, their fall into the river, and their trek from where they had come up on land to here. Slowly the man nodded, smiling as he indicated their disheveled hair with his free hand. Clay grinned and chuckled, nodding back. Another serious look crossed the man's face, and he mimed sleeping on his hands. Clay clasped his own hands together in a gesture that was at once both a plea and a thank-you, and pointed to the church. The man frowned, glancing apprehensively at the church. Finally he shook his head as he pointed to the church. Making a hand gesture for them to follow, the man looked furtively around them and walked towards a tiny hut nearby. Taking Kate's hand again, Clay followed the man to the door of the hut. The man opened the door, holding it for the two of them to go in as his eyes darted around the village. Clay quickly made his gesture of thanks again as he led Kate inside.

Clay turned to Kate as the door to the tiny one-room hut shut behind them. "I have a feeling," he whispered, "that he took us to his own home."

"You too?" Kate breathed. She chewed her lip. "He seemed afraid of something... Has the coup and the riots reached here, to this remote village?"

"I don't know," Clay shook his head, "but he was definitely keeping his eye out for something."

Kate turned her concentration inward, using her intuition and proverbial sixth sense in hopes to pick up something. After a moment she shook her head. "The only feeling I have... is that it's not safe in this village. Maybe that is a church, maybe that man is a Christian... but this village has an evil feel to it."

"And you can sense that?" he asked.

"Yes," Kate nodded. "I can feel it hanging in the air. It's so thick that it's almost suffocating..."

When she finished, he blew out a slow sigh. "I guess we'll have to sleep lightly in case of trouble. At least we have shelter for the night."

Clay and Kate embraced, clutching onto one another tightly as they stroked each other's hair in that very emotionally filled moment. What followed next was a sharply poignant outpouring of their love for each other, and those precious hours seemed to stand still and take on a life of their own.

When at last their energy was spent, they readied themselves the best they could for the next day, leaving on all their clothes and even their shoes to be prepared to leave at a second's notice. The only thing they had worn to the village that they removed was their contact lenses - these they placed in their respective cases with solution from the tiny bottle that Kate had placed into her belt pack. Then last of all, they joined their voices and hearts in prayer... holding tightly onto each other as they prayed for several key things at length, including the safety of the rest of the group as well as their own. When this too was completed, Clay and Kate laid down in each other's arms to get even a little sleep before they set out again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At the Hotel Kinam in Port au Prince, with the rest of the team

 

This was the part of his job that Pastor Macy hated the most - having to call Clay and Kate's families with the news of what happened in the jungle. Sally had offered, but as the pastor and leader of the mission team, it was his responsibility alone to make those phone calls. So while he had agreed to give Sally the opportunity to talk to Patricia Kirche, he had retained the difficult duty for himself. Referring to the listing for Arthur and Patricia Kirche on his paper of emergency numbers, he called their house. It's a Friday night - will they even be home?

To his surprise someone on the other end picked up rather quickly. "Arthur and Patricia Kirche's residence," a female voice answered.

"Hi, this is Pastor Tom Macy," he began. "Is this Patricia?"

"This is Patricia," the woman answered, her voice quaking with dread. "Something has happened, hasn't it? More than just the assassination, I mean."

Sally had warned him not to underestimate Patricia Kirche, saying that the Kleinbach family had the spiritual gift of discernment in spades. Even knowing that, Pastor Macy chose not to presume too much. "Yes," he said cautiously. "Once we learned that President Beauvoir had been killed in Les Cayes, we decided not to wait around Jérémie for the chimeras to find us. The team left while the going was good. We're in Port au Prince now."

"Wise move," Patricia told him. "They're in Jérémie as we speak."

It didn't take Pastor Macy long to figure out that "they" referred to the chimeras. "Is that what's on the news?" he asked.

"On CNN, yes."

Pastor Macy let out a long, slow sigh of relief. The decision to escape had been a good one. "Patricia, I'm afraid I've got more news. It's about Clay and Kate."

"They fell in the river, didn't they?"

I wasn't expecting that, Pastor Macy blinked. "There was a rickety suspension bridge the team had to cross to get safely away from Jérémie. It broke with them on it." He heard Patricia take in a deep breath, and somehow he suspected that he was only confirming fears she already had. "You would have been proud of them, Mrs. Kirche. I know Clay is afraid of water and Kate is afraid of bridges... but they were only a few yards away from crossing it completely when the bridge broke."

"I am proud of them," Patricia answered, her voice cracking. "They faced their fears. If God does bring them out of this alive, they will be all the stronger for it, both as individuals and as a couple."

"Sally tells me you have the gift of foresight," Pastor Macy informed her. "Do you believe they're alive?" he asked.

"I..." she began uncertainly. "I think so. I don't have any strong feelings one way or another. If they were gone, I think I would have strong feelings about it." Patricia went on quickly. "Please pray for them, Pastor. Pray for them both as individuals and as a group. Until I have a strong feeling one way or the other, then there's hope. There's a chance that they're still alive and well."

"You can count on us to pray," Pastor Macy told her, "and you can count on God to answer."

Patricia heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I needed to hear that." She paused for a moment. "Have you spoke to Faye Parker yet?"

"She'll be my next phone call."

"Let me call Faye," Patricia volunteered. "She and I have become really close, and I think the two of us could bolster each other's spirits better. We're mamas - we understand each other in that sense."

Pastor Macy chuckled. "I hear you. But I should be the one to call Faye since I'm responsible for the team members." He smiled at Sally standing nearby. "Besides, your niece already tried to take the duty to call you and Faye off my hands."

"She's a good kid," Patricia laughed warmly. "Is she there? I'll talk to her for a bit, and if she agrees with me like I think she will, then I'll still plan on calling Faye. Like I said before, the woman-to-woman and mother-to-mother connection will help both of us cope, and you'll save money on another international phone call."

Musing to himself that money was no object when the care and consolation of one of God's children was involved, Pastor Macy handed the phone to Sally. Sally talked in a hushed tone with Patricia for several minutes, and Pastor Macy was uncertain who was supporting whom. Finally Sally handed the phone receiver back to the desk clerk, who hung it up. She placed her hand in silence on Pastor Macy's shoulder for a moment. "Aunt Trish is going to call Faye, Pastor Tom. Don't worry about it."

"If you're done calling their parents," Jerome broke in as he came up to the desk, "then I need to make a few calls of my own to Clay's management."

"No!" Sally exclaimed, putting a hand on Jerome's arm. "You do that, and it will be all over the media like wildfire. The Clay Nation will be in a state of complete panic. I don't want that." Sally released Jerome's arm. "I don't want to call his management until we have something to report."

"Sally, they fell off a bridge into a raging river," Jerome grumbled. "If that's nothing, then I don't want to know what 'something' is."

"I want proof of whether they're dead or alive," Sally told him firmly. "The media shouldn't be spreading gossip of all the what-if's around. I want to give them cold, hard fact." She glanced at both Jerome and Pastor Macy. "I want to send out that search party before giving them up for lost."

"No, we don't want to give Hollywood and the rest of the media one more thing to gossip about," Pastor Macy agreed. "Especially since they still don't know about the baby."

Jerome groaned. "That's right, we still have that bombshell to deal with..."

"Exactly," Sally said. "Too much too quickly. We need fact, not conjecture."

"All right," Jerome relented. "I'll hold off on the phone calls until Sunday. If we haven't found or heard anything by Sunday noon, I'm going to start making those calls. Otherwise we're going to have a lot of explaining to do when we fly into Omaha without them." Sally nodded, agreeing to the compromise.

"Meanwhile," Pastor Macy said firmly, glancing at his watch, "I have a wedding to conduct, and you two have a wedding to witness."

The three of them walked through the open hallways of the hotel to get to where the pool and lounging area was, where the rest of the team was already gathered. Will and Sarah were already standing together to the side, expectantly awaiting their arrival. Determined to keep it short and simple, Pastor Macy made a few brief introductory remarks before going straight into the vows. Having learned Will's full first name, he addressed the bodyguard first. "Willard, do you take Sarah to be your wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, to honor and cherish her, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to her in all things a good and faithful husband as long as you both shall live? If so, answer, 'I do.'"

"I do," Will answered hoarsely.

"Sarah," Pastor Macy said as he turned to her, "do you take Willard to be your wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love him, to honor and cherish him, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to him in all things a good and faithful wife as long as you both shall live? If so, answer, 'I do.'"

"I do," Sarah breathed.

"Each of you in turn," Pastor Macy instructed them, "repeat after me."

Will was the first to recite his vows. "I, Willard, take you, Sarah, to be my wedded wife," he began, his voice gravelly as he spoke them without hesitation. "To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. And I pledge to you my wedded love and faithfulness."

Sarah followed shortly, the tears running down her face as she spoke the words plainly for all to hear. "I, Sarah, take you, Willard, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. And I pledge to you my wedded love and faithfulness."

"With the authority God has given me," Pastor Macy said, "I pronounce you man and wife." He smiled as Will and Sarah pulled each other close for an emotional kiss - a kiss that told everyone exactly how they planned to spend part of their evening. Yet it somehow seemed different... more committed. Standing back for a bit, he let the rest of the team share their congratulations with the newlyweds. The mood remained subdued, but in the midst of the team's loss there was still joy and hope with this promise of new life. Pastor Macy reflected that Clay and Kate would have been pleased to know this also came from today's events. After everyone else gave them well-wishes, Pastor Macy shared his with Will and Sarah as well. "I pray that the two of you have many years of happiness."

"Thank you, Pastor," Sarah told him. "That means a lot."

"We'll figure out when we get back to Nebraska," he told them, "what it will take to make your marriage legal in the States. Hopefully we won't need to do anything more, but if we do..."

"We'll do what it takes," Will replied. "Sarah deserves a relationship done right."

Pastor Macy smiled - better late than not at all. "Come on, team. Let's go have dinner before we have our devotions for the evening."

Everyone sat down at a long table for dinner, and a mood that should have been festive with the marriage union of one couple was its polar opposite at the apparent loss of another married couple. Conversation was muted and somber as each person tried to grasp and come to terms with everything they had seen... as each person reflected upon their own impression of and relationship with the Aikens.

Will looked down into a bowl of very familiar-looking green soup. This stuff again? At least he didn't hate the soup. After all he had seen with the poverty in Haiti, he chose to eat it and appreciate having it. After a salad of spicy coleslaw, the main course was served... barbecued chicken, with a side of white rice. Will took one bite and felt the fire of heavy spices in his mouth. Now this is my kind of food - food that bites back.

Once dinner was over, everyone seemed reluctant to get up from the table. Pastor Macy called them over beside the pool for devotions. "I know it was going to be Chris and Tracy tonight, but unless you guys want to give the devotion you had planned I can take over for you."

"Actually, Pastor," Chris said calmly, "we planned our devotion to match what's going on."

Pastor Macy blinked with surprise. "All right," he said, curious to see what they had in mind.

Tracy turned to the page she had marked in her Bible, the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

Noting that some team members had again begun to cry, Chris spoke gently. "We won't even begin to understand what's happened this week, and especially what's happened today. All I know how to do is to turn to God. We don't know what's in store in our future - but we know who holds the future. We know who holds... those two..." Chris's voice cracked, but he continued, "in his hands. If God wants to bring them back to us, He will. If God wants one or both of them in heaven, He'll help us deal with their loss." A tear escaped down Chris's cheek, and he wiped it away with one muscled hand. "That's all we have to say, Pastor, other than I think we should spend a lot of time praying for them."

"Agreed," said Pastor Macy, noting from the side of his eye that Will had moved away from the group to reflect on his own. "Let's gather in prayer." The group came closer together to clasp hands, allowing each member to pray aloud as they chose before passing it on around the circle. At last it ended up with Sally, and she gave a prayer of her own before leaving it open-ended for everyone to continue praying in their hearts, even up until the last team member fell asleep for the night. With the formal prayer done, the circle broke hands, but most of them remained with the group in continued individual prayer.

When Sally finally returned to her room for an attempt at a good night's sleep, it was at what she would call an obnoxiously late time. Exhausted from hours of long travel and very emotional events, the group had dropped off quickly to return to their rooms. Determined to be there for whomever needed them, she and Pastor Macy had remained there until the last team member went upstairs.

"Father," Sally began, "where are you in all of this? What Will asked in doubt, I ask in confusion. What is your purpose for having them fall into the river? Are they alive, are they dead... are they lying unconscious somewhere, waiting to be found and rescued? Will we ever find a trace of them? Will they walk into the nearest Christian church unharmed and miraculously find their way back here? What do you have in mind?" She took a deep breath. "How is his mother going to take this? Father - I know Faye Parker is a strong Christian woman, but no parent should have to bury a child. I know that all too well. Be with Clay's family, Father, and with the rest of Kate's. They need you." Pausing one more time, Sally sent up one last petition. "And if we need to act, Father... help us know what, and when."

Slowly Sally prepared for bed. Crawling under the covers and turning out the light, she heaved a heartfelt sigh. She missed Kate already. I'm not giving up on you, cous' - I'm not giving up without good reason and plenty of proof.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At the Kirche homestead back in Nebraska

 

Patricia slowly hung up the phone. Her nightmare for the team and her children had come true. It was days like this she wondered whether discernment was a gift - or a curse.

Arthur glanced up at his wife, noticing the pale cast to her face as she held her head in her hands. "Tricia?" he asked, the concern apparent in his voice. "What's goin' on?"

"Art," she croaked weakly. "It came true..."

Immediately Arthur knew what she meant. He put down his newspaper and walked over to sit with his wife on the couch, holding her in his embrace as she began to weep. Arthur hadn't known his son-in-law very long, but he could tell that Clay was a good man and that Kate loved him very much. And the rest of the family had quickly come to love him too. Arthur often referred to Clay as his other son - and he felt very strongly about the relationship the two men had built in such a short time. A few tears of his own fell down his cheeks as he continued to hold tightly onto Patricia. Some days life just wasn't fair. His only consolation was that they went together.

The phone rang again, interrupting their grief. Patricia sniffled, wiping her cheeks and answering the phone. "Arthur and Patricia Kirche's place," she said as evenly as she could manage.

"Trish?" a female voice asked on the other end of the phone, and instantly Patricia recognized the voice of her youngest sister Vivian. "I was about to ask how you were doing, but..."

"I'm just a little worried, with the assassination in Haiti," Patricia said - not a complete lie, but not the whole truth either.

"I was thinking this was the week that Katie and her husband went to Haiti," Vivian recalled. "So when I heard the news, I thought of you immediately. Well, if this is the week they're in Haiti, then maybe you can help me understand a premonition I had while doing dishes."

A premonition? Patricia wondered. She got them all the time, and as her sister, Vivian got them too. After hearing the news about Clay and Kate from Pastor Macy only moments ago, Patricia couldn't help finding the timing interesting. "Go ahead and tell me about your premonition."

"Like I said, I was doing dishes," Vivian continued, "when all of a sudden I saw your son-in-law standing in the middle of nowhere with the muzzle of a shotgun in his face and Katie standing behind him. Since you've told me he's an upstanding Christian young man, I couldn't figure it out and was hoping you could tell me what it means."

Patricia released a slight cry before covering her mouth with her free hand. It means my baby girl and her husband are still alive, she rejoiced. It means that Faye and I won't have to bury our children in the near future. "I won't know the circumstances until I talk to one of them," Patricia told her, "but with the coup going on this week, I will ask you to pray for the health and safety of them and the entire team."

"All right, Trish. You can count on me for that." Vivian quickly determined she wasn't going to get the answer for the vision just yet, and decided to wrap up the conversation for now. "Listen, I won't keep you. I'm sure you have some phone calls to make, and if the kids really are in danger down there, then so do I. Make sure to give me a call when all of this is said and done."

"I will, Viv. Thank you so very much." The two women said their good-byes and hung up.

Arthur saw the change of mood in his wife's eyes and remembered that Patricia mentioned Vivian had a premonition. Now what? He had to ask. "All right, what's Viv have to say?"

Quickly Patricia told him about what Vivian had seen while washing her dishes, and went on to tell him what it meant to her. "Art... if Viv is right, when I call Faye, I can tell her the truth about what happened, but that we have hope that Clay and Kate are still alive. Then she and I will both recruit every prayer warrior we can get on the phone to pray for our kids and the rest of the team."

Agreeing with her assessment of Vivian's premonition, Arthur nodded. "Sounds good. How long you two gonna pray?"

Patricia sighed thoughtfully. "I won't know that until I talk to Faye."

Arthur nodded. "I'll let you do that." He stood up long enough to grab his newspaper from where he deposited it before rejoining his wife on the couch.

Meanwhile Patricia had already started calling Clay's mother. "Parker residence," Faye's gentle Southern accent filled Patricia's ears.

"Faye? It's Trish. Have you been watching the news?"

"Yes," Faye acknowledged. "It's awful. From what Kate told me, Beauvoir was a good man. Have you heard anything about the mission team? Do you know if they got out of Jérémie before this happened?" she asked.

"I talked to Pastor Macy just a little bit ago, and most of the team is safely in Port au Prince," Patricia told her.

"Most of the team," Faye repeated, catching on to her words immediately. She suspected she wasn't going to like the news that Patricia carried.

"Faye... Pastor Macy and Sally told me that the team had to leave the city with only the supplies they had taken with them to the church that morning," Patricia informed her, "and that they hiked for several hours until they got to a safer place to meet the vans that would take them the rest of the way to Port au Prince. But they had to hike through the Haitian jungle to get there... including crossing a rickety suspension bridge on a swollen river."

"Oh no," Faye breathed. "Clayton wouldn't have handled the river very well with his fear of water. Isn't Kate afraid of bridges?"

"She is," Patricia acknowledged. "But Pastor Macy told me that they had faced both the bridge and the river, and that we would have been proud of them."

"Wow." Faye sounded impressed. "I am proud of them. But why are you speaking in past tense?" she began, hinting that there was a lot more than Patricia was telling.

"They had almost crossed it when the bridge broke and threw them into the river." Faye gasped sharply, and Patricia went on. "Faye... I believe our children are still alive. I believe it very much."

Faye struggled to keep control of her emotions. "Clayton tells me that you have the gift of insight like Kate. Is that what your insight tells you, that they're alive?"

"Mine isn't telling me anything yet," Patricia clarified, "but my baby sister's has. She told me about a premonition she had that says to me our children are alive. Not exactly safe... but alive and well."

An especially loud silence ruled the phone line for a minute before Faye spoke again, her voice quivering. "Trish... you've given me a lot to take in."

"It is a lot to take in," Patricia agreed quietly. "My mind is still swimming from everything, and my emotions are about ready to go every which way."

"I don't even know where to begin," Faye admitted, "my emotions are so mixed up. I feel like crying, I feel like praying, I feel like screaming..." She heaved a sigh. "I don't know what to think."

"Do any and all of that if you need to," Patricia suggested. "I may yet again this evening."

"Have you really done all of those?"

"Not quite," Patricia confessed. "I haven't screamed yet."

Faye chuckled for a moment before lapsing into thoughtful silence. "I think I want to call the prayer chain at church and get their names on it before I do anything else."

"Good idea. I plan to call my own prayer chain as well." Call them with an update... "Most of them have been praying off and on since Clay and Kate went down there, and several have been praying almost non-stop since the assassination."

"That's a good thing, considering how it will affect the entire country. I have a hunch of my own," Faye said honestly, "that I'll be up half the night praying because I won't be able to sleep."

"I don't think either one of us will," Patricia agreed, "until we hear one way or another about our children. Until they've been found alive, or..."

Faye didn't finish the sentence, although both women knew exactly how it should end. Both of them hoped for the former and not the latter. "I'll probably do my own crying when I get off the phone, but would you like to pray with me now?"

Patricia felt honored to be asked. "I would be happy to pray with you." With the phone receiver still in her hand, Patricia bowed her head. From his seat beside her on the couch, Arthur took her other hand to join his own heart in the long-distance prayer. The three parents prayed together, first giving thanks for their children and the living faith that they had before asking that God's will be done in their lives. Only then, after they asked His will be done first, did they suggest the possibility of bringing the two - no, three - of them back to the rest of the team safe and sound.

Once they finished with the prayer, Faye sighed. "I need to make a few choice phone calls, so I'm going to let you go for now. Thank you for letting me know."

"I wish it was better news," Patricia said sympathetically, "but I thought you needed to know."

"You gave me hope, Trish. That means a lot."

 

Go to the next day, Day 9 (June 24)

Go to yesterday, Day 7 (June 22)

 

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