bothered and I was distressed. I was finding it hard to remain hopeful. And like many of you, I’ve been praying. I’ve been praying for God to spare our great nation. To spare it from the judgment we certainly deserve for our many trespasses, like the killing of millions upon millions of pre-born children. I’ve been praying for God to be merciful with the millstone we deserve to have hung around our necks for our sins. For allowing our scientists to experiment with stem cells and colliders. For allowing our living children to be exploited by the deviant anarchists who now control public education and Hollywood. For tolerating those who would like to do away with Christmas altogether. And when a great nation like ours is going through troubled times such as these, when a great nation like ours is on its knees, the only normal and natural and spiritual thing to do is what we, as good Christians, should be doing all the time: calling upon God. Calling upon him for guidance and for revival.” He paused and let his somber words sink into the crowd, who went silent except for the scattered “Amen” and “Bless the Lord,” then he sucked in a deep breath and beamed a kindly smile at the mob.
“Well guess what? I think God heard our prayers,” he bellowed out, to a chorus of “Hallelujahs” and “Amens.” “I know he heard our prayers. And I believe he’s sending us a lifeline. A lifeline to help lead a nation and a world that are nearing moral collapse and perhaps even World War III. A lifeline in the form of a pious, deeply spiritual man, a man who has devoted his entire life to the selfless pursuit of helping his fellow man. So I ask you all to please join me in welcoming the good Father Jerome to our great state of Texas,” he boomed, triggering an even more tumultuous uproar.
Father Jerome cast his eye across the crowd, taking it all in silently. He glanced over at Gracie. She was standing next to Dalton, her mike poised in front of her, but she wasn’t saying anything. She recognized the same confused, worried look on the priest’s face, the one she’d seen on the roof of the qasr before the sign had appeared. He seemed clearly uneasy with everything that was happening.
Darby put his arm around the priest and oriented his attention back at the crowd. “Now I have a special request for Father Jerome, and I hope you’ll all join me in this, as it’s an invitation from the heart, from the heart of Texas and from the heart of the entire nation.” He turned to Father Jerome, and said, “I know you’re tired, and I know you’ve been through some heady days, but I’m here to ask you, on behalf of all these people and on behalf of the whole country—will you honor us with a special service tomorrow?”
The crowd whooped its approval in a crescendo of claps and cheers. Darby raised his hand to quiet them, then turned to Father Jerome, moving the mike right up to the priest’s mouth and awaiting his answer. Father Jerome looked into his eyes for a beat, then gave him a nod and mouthed, “Of course.”
“He said yes,” Darby bellowed, and the crowd went nuts again. He raised his hands again to calm them, and said, “And you’re all invited. Every one of you,” pointing at the crowd. “Spend the day with your loved ones. Enjoy those turkeys and ring out those carols. And at six in the evening, come on down to the stadium at Reliant Park. We’ve got room for all of you.” He beamed, and the crowd erupted into even louder cheers.
Darby waved to acknowledge his audience and put a guiding arm behind the priest for the best photo op he could have asked for, then herded him away from the crowd toward the hangar to their right.
“We’re moving away from the crowd now,” Gracie told Roxberry as she and Dalton followed, continuing their live transmission. “We seem to be headed for”—she heard the chopper’s engines whining up and saw its blades start to spin—“We’re headed for a chopper, Jack. Father Jerome is about to be choppered out of here, which is probably the only way out right now. I guess we’re going to lose our connection, but we’ll keep rolling the camera and get the pictures over to you as soon as we land.”