Five Smooth Stones
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C:\fivesmoothstones\fivesmoothstones.txt Friday, June 07, 2013 2:20 PM Five Smooth Stones A Novel by T.L. Winslow (C) Copyright 1998 by T.L. Winslow. All Rights Reserved. In accordance with the International Copyright Convention and U.S. federal copyright statutes, permission to adapt, copy, excerpt, whole or in part in any medium, or to extract characters for any purpose whatsoever is herewith expressly withheld. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, apply to copyright holder. This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Table of Contents Chapter 1. The Last Sunday. -1- C:\fivesmoothstones\fivesmoothstones.txt Friday, June 07, 2013 2:20 PM Chapter 2. The Week Before. Chapter 3. The Day After. Chapter 4. Win One for Allah. Chapter 5. The Turban of a Turk. Chapter 6. A Sleuth Saves the World. Chapter 7. The Eagle Stops. Chapter 8. Living Off the Land. Chapter 9. Remember the Alamo. Chapter 10. Dead Man's Curve. Chapter 11. The Armageddon Racket. Chapter 12. The Kill Club. Chapter 13. The Mother of Battles. Chapter 14. The Baptism of Fire. Chapter 15. The Lame Satan. Chapter 16. The New Dark Ages. From The Book of I Samuel, Chapter 17 33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 David said unto Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Your servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with you. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five -2- C:\fivesmoothstones\fivesmoothstones.txt Friday, June 07, 2013 2:20 PM smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him; there was no sword in the hand of David. From The Book of Daniel, Chapter 11 29 At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south; but it shall not be this time as it was before. 30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and give heed to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 34 And many shall join themselves to them with flattery. -3- C:\fivesmoothstones\fivesmoothstones.txt Friday, June 07, 2013 2:20 PM 35 And some of those who are wise shall fall, to refine and to cleanse them and to make them white, until the time of the end, for it is yet for the time appointed. 36 He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of Gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is determined shall be done. 37 He shall give no heed to the gods of his fathers, or to women; he shall not give heed to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these; a god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god; those who acknowledge him he shall magnify with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price. 40 At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him; but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with many chariots and horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand. From The Book of Revelation, Chapter 13 1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's. And -4- C:\fivesmoothstones\fivesmoothstones.txt Friday, June 07, 2013 2:20 PM to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. 4 Men worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authorithy to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" 5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming His name and His dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. 8 And all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb that was slain. 9 If any one has an ear, let him hear. 10 If any one takes captives, to captivity he goes; if any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Chapter 1. The Last Sunday. I Pennsylvania, 6 P.M.: -5- C:\fivesmoothstones\fivesmoothstones.txt Friday, June 07, 2013 2:20 PM "Kids, this is the the Dopey Turtle. He just dropped off your birthday presents..." The Kids Net went off the air. Sirens wailed, then suddenly went dead like a mistake had been made. Dr. Pete De Gaygarden looked up from his high-backed easy chair in his simulated walnut-paneled, soundproofed study, an open laptop computer in front of him. The computer had gone dead. A pitcher of Amway ready-mix virtual-alcohol margaritas was in one hand, about to be poured into a glass on an end table. He had on Sunday summer clothes, shorts, sandals, Hawaiian shirt, and his trademark Panama hat. Guaranteed not made in Panama. By Amway. Everything they used practically. He and his wife were Amway distributors, to bring in extra money. It was late October, 2033, but there was a heat wave due to an El Nino and there was summer in the air. His little daughter and son were peeking around from the living room at him, their eyes wide and blinking, staring. The study was sunken and with the door open he could see the back of the sofa and keep one eye on the kids. He had taught them never to come past the shagged steps while he was working. He saw the snow on the wall screen immediately, next to the big picture window that was wide open to the street and the big blue sky. Snow was unusual. Usually the screen just turned into an artistic painting simulator, when it wasn't being used as a sound and light show. Otherwise, it was now quiet. Without the all-entertaining screen they would be all over him and he didn't want that.