Judgment Day (24 page)

"She's little," Floyd said. "She didn't know what she was saying. Daniel won't say those things about us. Daniel and I have always been close."

Daniel was brought in next, avoiding eye contact with either his father or Mark. This time Rosa Quigly left the little boy in the witness box and went to sit in the spectator's gallery. Mark realized that with Rosa behind them they could not watch Rosa's body language. Daniel was sworn as Faith had been, his head hanging the whole time.

"Daniel, I know this is difficult for you, but it's important for you to tell the truth," Hanson said. "Did your father ever touch your private parts?"

"Yes, he touched my penis," Daniel said firmly.

Hanson seemed surprised by Daniel's easy use of the word "penis," but immediately adopted it. Mark looked at Floyd, whose face was white.

"Did Pastor Mark ever touch your penis?"

"Yes."

"Did your father ever make you touch his penis?"

"Yes."

"Did Pastor Mark ever make you touch his penis?"

"Yes."

"Did your father and Pastor Mark ever make you do anything else that you thought might be wrong."

Now Daniel's face reddened, and he looked up, past his father to Rosa Quigly. When Mark turned she was sitting like a statue.

"Yes."

"What, Daniel?"

"They put things inside me."

"Do you mean in your anus?"

"Yes."

"What did they put in you?"

"Their fingers."

"What else?"

"Their penises."

"Did they ever do that to other children, Daniel?"

"Yes."

"Who, Daniel?"

"Tommy and Brady."

"What about Faith?"

"Yes."

"It's a lie!" Floyd roared, jumping to his feet. "I never did any of those things to you, Daniel. Why are you doing this to me?"

Judge Tucker-Cannon pounded her gavel and shouted at Floyd and Stephen. When Stephen pulled on Floyd's arm he was pushed away.

"You're hurting your mother too, Daniel. You'll never get to come home now, Daniel. You'll never see your mother again."

Two guards grabbed Floyd and pulled him across the table as he struggled to get free, trying to reach his son. "May God forgive you, Daniel. May God forgive you," he shouted as they dragged him out of the courtroom, the camera tracking him all the way to the door.

Now the courtroom was silent except for the whir of the electric motor as it turned the prying red eye of the camera from the now closed door back to Mark. Daniel sat on the stand, fingers in his mouth, tears running down his cheeks. Then Rosa Quigly moved to stand next to him, holding him and comforting him like a mother would.

CHAPTER 46 LANDING

Men visiting the moon would miss the protective features of an atmosphere . . . Surface temperatures where the sun is directly overhead are estimated to rise to about 250° Fahrenheit, far above the boiling point of water (212°).

—
WE REACH THE MOON
, JOHN N. WILFORD

P
aul and Glen checked in from the spheres, ready to separate from the
God's Love and
descend to the lunar surface.

"I've got all green here, Shelly. Pressure's good, all backups functional," Paul said.

"All my indicators are green too," Glen said.

"Gravity is zeroed out, Shelly," Gus said.

"Bob, release the locks," Shelly ordered.

The
God's Love
gave a shudder as the mechanisms that held the spheres to the larger ship released.

"Paul, Glen, acknowledge separation, please," Shelly said.

"The
Jesus Wept
is separated," Glen radioed from his sphere.

"The
John Henry
is free," Paul echoed.

Shelly checked the monitor. The lag from the Earth was noticeable now since the signals were sent from lunar orbit, through the relay satellite, to the space station, to the ground station, to the network studios, and then broadcast back again with the network audio added. The three-second lag allowed Shelly to reexperience what had already happened in her time. She

saw particles blow away from the docking rings that held the spheres to the
God's Love, and
then the spheres drifted away, the high-contrast surface of the moon serving as a dramatic backdrop. It would play well on the HDTV screens back on Earth.

Shelly lingered on the sphere named for her dead husband, guilty because her thoughts were of Micah. She repeated the "until death do us part" segment of her wedding vows, reminding herself that God had separated her from John.

"The spheres have been released from the mother ship," Powder said after they separated, and "The spheres are now operating under their own power," when the spheres moved away from the
God's Love
.

After a minute of Powder's needless comments, Micah said, "He could work for the department of redundancy department."

Gus's giggle encouraged him and he mocked Wyatt's deep voice.

"The pilot is breathing now. His chest is going up and now it is going down. Here it goes again, his chest coming up and now down again." Now the entire flight crew was laughing. Sandy's face appeared on the monitor and she asked, "What's so funny?" They sobered until Shelly said, "Sandy is now asking the flight crew what is so funny?" It was a full minute before they could speak without chortling.

"The seals are tight," Bob said, bringing them back on task.

Shelly acknowledged Bob's report that was meant to reassure them there were no leaks at the points of separation.

The cameras mounted on the
God's Love
continued to follow the spheres as they dropped toward the moon's surface—a surface so painfully bleak it was beautiful. Sandy appeared on the monitor again.

"The netwrork wants the signals from the spheres."

"Paul, Glen, turn on your cameras," Shelly said.

Shelly looked over her shoulder to see two monitors come on above Bob's head; both showed the moon in detail.

"The network is taking the signal. . . now," Sandy called.

Shelly watched the monitor and listened as Wyatt announced they would be "switching to the video camera in the sphere piloted by Glen Swan." She noticed Powder avoided using the name of the ship—
Jesus Wept
—he avoided all the ship names except for
John Henry
.

Glen's video was still being fed to the network and showed him nearing the surface, coming in at a steep angle. Now he leveled out and the ship shot across the surface of the moon just above the craters and ridges below. The picture was spectacular. Even Powder was quiet, now only uttering an occasional "fantastic" or "breathtaking." Glen slowed, then turned the
Jesus Wept
. The surface disappeared briefly, whited out when the camera caught the sun. As soon as the signal reached Sandy back at New Hope station, she radioed a warning.

"Tell Glen to be careful," Sandy said. "The network camera can't take direct sun."

Shelly acknowledged, passing the warning on to Glen. The video from the
Jesus Wept
was mesmerizing, the bleak but beautiful surface of the moon filling wall screens all across planet Earth. It was fantastic television but there was more to tonight's show. Shelly called to Paul.

"Paul, are you almost there?"

"Yes. I'll circle until you give the word."

"Sandy," Shelly said. "Paul's ready, is the network?"

A minute later she said, "Send him in," and the signal switched to Paul's ship.

Paul raced across the surface like Glen, but then slowed, dropping lower. Soon he was diving below the lip of craters, ridges towering above him. Occasionally climbing to clear obstacles, he gave the viewers a roller-coaster ride across the lunar surface. The ground was rocky and pitted with craters of all sizes. Some sections were nothing but rock, looking like cold lava fields. Other sections appeared smooth with a gray, powdery surface.

Bob spoke to Sandy giving her the distance to the target and soon the network added a musical backdrop to the footage and the sounds of "Thus Spake Zarusthustra" were broadcast into viewers' homes, the timpani booming digitally. Then Paul slowed, coming to a ridge, then climbing and dropping into a plain on the far side. It was less rocky here, with open spaces, littered with pebble-sized rocks. In the distance the sun glistened off an object. The craft slowed again, letting the music build suspense, Wyatt Powder now mercifully silent. The object took on definition—sharp angles appeared marking it as man-made. It was a lunar lander—at least the bottom half that served as the launch platform.

The
John Henry
approached slowly, swinging wide of the lander, revealing an American flag planted in the lunar surface. Closing on the flag, the camera zoomed in until it filled the screen, and then the
John Henry
was past, and turned toward space again, filling the screen with stars. Wyatt Powder said something then, but no one heard—nothing could detract from the power of the moment.

"I guess we're on," Micah said, picking up his checklist.

Reluctantly, Shelly pulled hers from the net bag. They had come to the moon for the money but she had been caught up in the excitement the network created, understanding the heroism of the first men who set foot here. They came in crafts far more fragile than the
God's Love
. Every ounce of the Apollo crafts had to be engineered to save weight and still carry out essential functions. Flying in Apollo capsules, landing on the surface of the moon in delicate crafts, and planting their flag was the work of heroes.

The network switched to shots from Glen's ship that approached another landing site, this time showing a lunar rover parked where men had left it decades before. As the
Jesus Wept
passed over the Lunar Rover, Micah paused in the middle of his checklist.

"Look at that. Parked in the same place for all these years and it still has its hubcaps," Micah said. "Must be a safe neighborhood."

Gus and Bob laughed. Shelly gave him an exaggerated frown.

When the checklist was done, Micah took control of
God's Love
. Shelly switched to the internal speakers. "Prepare for landing," she said as Micah rotated the
God's Love
, then nosed it over so they were plunging toward the surface.

CHAPTER 47 PRISON VIEW

Religious experiences which are as real as life to some may be incomprehensible to others.

—WILLIAM O. DOUGLAS

M
ark had lived in the high-contrast world of prison so long he could not appreciate the stark beauty of the moon. It was too bleak, reminding him of his surroundings. Still, his eyes never left the screen. Two cells away, another prisoner yelled to the guard to change the channel. Movies packed with violence and nudity were the favorites among the prisoners, who cheered murder, dismemberment, and rape. The guard ignored the prisoner. Mark was barely aware of the exchange.

The
God's Love
was now descending like an airplane, dropping out of orbit at an angle, the heavily cratered lunar surface slowly rising to meet the ship. Mark knew the
God's Love
could rise and fall like an elevator, and the angled descent was for psychological as well as dramatic purposes. The angled descent provided a panorama of the moon's surface that a vertical descent could not.

Mark lost himself in the rush of colorless landscape, briefly forgetting his surroundings. If someone hadn't accused him and Floyd of child abuse, he could have been at the controls of one of the spheres, circling the moon a hundred feet off the surface. The spheres were his favorite because they were all power with little mass to be overcome. They responded to the slightest touch, rotating and swerving on command.

The
Apollo 11
lander appeared again, the
God's Love
slowing to creep across the Sea of Tranquility, angling so both the lander and the flag were seen. Then the
God's Love
hovered, settling onto the surface. Shelly spoke from the cockpit saying, "People of Earth,
God's Love
is on the moon." Then Wyatt Powder broke in. "The Fellowship tends to put everything in religious terms, but what they are saying is that their spacecraft has landed on the surface of the moon. If you remember Neil Armstrong's words at the same moment, they were 'Houston, this is Tranquility base. The Eagle has landed.'"

The camera on the
God's Love
rotated, giving a panorama of the moon's surface. When it came back to the flag it angled down, zooming in on the footprints in the thick dust coating the surface, as perfect as when first impressed.

Wyatt Powder announced a break in the broadcast from the moon, so that the local news would cut in, allowing the crew of the
God's Love
to suit up for an EVA. "That's extra-vehicular activity," Powder explained. Then he told viewers to be sure and return and he signed off.

Mark returned to his bunk, thinking of the dangers Shelly and the others were facing. He was reluctant to let his people leave the safety of
God's Love
, but Shelly and the others sided with the network. They didn't want to travel that far without actually stepping on the surface. When the network agreed to pay the additional costs of the environment suits, the deal was struck. Still, Mark was living with the results of that decision—more anxiety. He slipped into prayer, and prayed through the newsbreak and two dozen commercials.

CHAPTER 48 FOLLOW UP

Religion, in short, is a monumental chapter in the history of human egotism.

—WILLIAM JAMES

R
osa turned off the engine but made no move to get out of the car. They had spent two hours together after the court hearing, sitting in her office, most of the time in silence. Then she had taken him to dinner where he had played with his food, too upset to eat. Now they were at Josh's.

"Daniel, you did what had to be done today. It was the right thing to do for you, your father, and Pastor Mark. Unless they face what they did to you, and deal with their issues, they will just go on hurting others like they hurt you."

Daniel thought she was right but his memories were fuzzy. With Rosa's help the memories had become firmer, but he was still unsure.

"Do you remember what your father said as they took him away? He said, 'May God forgive you.' You know what he meant, don't you?"

Daniel kept his head down, silent. He thought his father was asking God to forgive him for lying but he waited for Rosa to explain.

"He asked God to forgive you because he won't. He was saying goodbye to you, Daniel. He thinks you turned on him, Daniel, betrayed him and his God. But you didn't. He betrayed you when he stole your childhood. You took a giant step toward mental health today, Daniel. You separated yourself from your father and his religion which he was using to smother you. You'll blossom now, Daniel, like a flower pushing its way through the dark soil into the bright sun. It's a new day for you. Daniel. You're not completely free yet, but freedom is only a few steps away."

Too confused to respond, Daniel opened the car door and walked up the steps to the porch. He carried his burden into the living room where Josh was lying on the couch, reading. The stereo was playing jazz, Josh's favorite type of music. Josh sat up when he came in, using a remote control to turn off the music.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Josh asked.

Daniel shook his head. Turning on the TV, he sat cross-legged on the floor and stared at the screen. He tried to watch but he kept seeing the look on his father's face—but he did remember it happening that way—he was pretty sure. It was in his parents' bedroom but he couldn't remember what day or what time. He remembered doing it with Pastor Mark too. Somewhere in a field—but he also remembered Rosa saying, "Maybe he took you to a park or somewhere in the woods." He had been crying when she said that. "You must remember, Daniel, if you ever want to go home," she said over and over. "Now remember, was it in a park where he made you do it, or was it in the woods?" "In a park," he said tentatively. "Good, Daniel. But parks can be crowded and he wouldn't want someone to see, so was it really a park?" He thought for a moment, remembering the open land near where the church was built and then said, "Maybe it was a field." She praised him again and from that day he always remembered it as happening in the field near the church.

The commercials ended and the lunar landscape appeared. The parents of his friends were on the moon. His fingers went into his mouth. Every value he had been raised with was being challenged by Rosa and Josh. With anxiety beyond his ability to cope, the value system of his childhood began to crumble—he could no longer live in perpetual conflict. Since he couldn't trust his memories, he suddenly had no past. After his testimony against his father, his hope of going home was gone.

Unconsciously, his mind acted; now free of loyalty to his parents, his mind reconfigured the past, resolving all conflicts. Suddenly his memories of abuse firmed up, details were added, they became bright and clear, leaving no doubt what had happened, and as a result, his anxiety decreased. Now that he knew his father had lied to him he realized everything his family had taught him was a lie. Belief in God evaporated, the thought of church and Sunday school now repelled him. Free of family and church teachings he was open to alternatives. Josh had been right about his religion, and his mind now unconsciously accepted the values Josh modeled.

The memory of what happened in court still hurt, but a new feeling emerged—anger. How dare his father blame him for telling the truth? How could his mother support his father against him? Anger felt better than guilt and he nursed it. Self-righteousness swelled in him. He pulled his fingers from his mouth, never to return, took a deep breath, and felt better than he had in three months. He looked around at the house where he lived now. It was nicer than his old house. Here he was really loved and Josh didn't make him do things he didn't want to do. Here he didn't have to be afraid and that's the way a home should be. He knew then he never wanted to leave Josh.

Josh left the room and soon came back and handed him a big bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream—his favorite. It was the expensive kind, which his parents never bought.

"Do you want me to turn the station?" Josh asked.

"No," he said firmly. "I want to watch."

When Josh settled back on the couch, Daniel turned to him and asked, "Can I live with you forever?"

Josh was surprised.

"What about your parents?" he asked.

"I never want to see them again!"