Thrust into a bloody crossfire between rabid Zionists fighting to recapture Israel’s glory, militant Muslims determined to stop them and fanatical Christians anticipating rapture, a young Nebraska veterinarian holds the key to an event prophesized for over two millennia. Is Annie the chosen of God, destined to fulfill the ancient prophecy of the red heifer? From the isolated prairies of the Great Plains to the holy ground of the Dome of the Rock in Israel, Annie must choose. Her own life. Or an apocalyptic war. The future of the world. Or the ashes of the red heifer.
Excerpt
“It might just mean the calf is premature. We’ll see when it’s
born.” Although she continued working, she kept a close eye on
Hassan. She never relaxed until the inhaler kicked in.
Hassan, breath coming more naturally, turned worried eyes
to the ceiling as if expecting bombs to crash at any moment. “Bismillah
al-rahman al-rahim,” he whispered.
His prayer meant he was upset; she wished she could make
him feel better. “Hassan, go to the shelter. David, fill a bucket
with hot water, put a healthy dose of antiseptic in it. And put on
that darned mask.”
She snatched two new gloves and pulled them on as she hurried
back to Esther, refusing to let the thought of failure into her
head. The calf would live. It had to. When it did, it would prove
Annie’s vaccine worked.
Would that make up for everything else she’d mucked up
in her life?
Hassan dogged her heels, fluttering in his lab coat. He looked
terrified.
“Go to the shelter,” she said.
He shook his head. “I won’t go unless you do.”
Unless David went, more likely. Hassan hated for Annie
and David to be alone together. But she wouldn’t leave Esther
now. She studied him briefly. His asthma seemed to be under
control. “Okay. If you’re going to stay, put on your mask and get
the chains.”
Reaching inside the heifer a second time, Annie felt for two
front hooves. She found one and gently worked it out the opening.
The other was bent back but with some manipulation she
had both shiny black hooves dangling from Esther.
She and Hassan worked quickly and quietly, like an old married
couple knowing what the other would do next. They looped
obstetrical chains to the hooves and hooked the chains to a metal
cable with a jack, attached to the wall.
David manned the jack. “Take the slack out of the cable,”
she said. “When she begins a contraction, crank the jack and
work with her. Stop when she relaxes.” Although Annie hadn’t
had children of her own, she empathized with the painful labor
of the cows.
She listened as David drew up the slack, never taking her eyes
from Esther. When the heifer lowered her head and moaned, Annie
waved her arm at David. “Now.”
The next contraction brought the calf’s head free; the little
ears lay back, the eyes closed. Annie pulled away the mucus lining
covering its face. “It’s still alive. Let’s get it out, now.”
David’s surgical mask showed dark stains of perspiration
around the edges. His eyes had darkened with concentration.
“It’s not coming anymore. I can’t crank it.”
Hassan hovered between Annie and David, moving a step
in one direction, then back again.
“Get ready to crank.” She ran halfway between the jack and
the heifer, took a deep breath and lowered herself to sit on the
chain.
Suddenly, harsh shrieking of sirens exploded into the barn.
The walls screamed back.
Annie jerked, her blood freezing. This drill was going too
far. “Criminy.”
David shouted at Annie, “We’ve got to go!”
Annie turned back to Esther, inspecting the front half of
the wobbly calf protruding from her. “You two go. I’ll stay with
Esther.”
When Esther strained, Annie gave one strong lunge on the
chain with all her weight and the calf’s hips slipped free. The calf
shot from the heifer and landed on the barn floor with a crack
of knees and hooves. Annie crashed to the floor and flung herself
toward the calf.
The sirens stopped, leaving an eerie echo in the barn.
The calf lay with his eyes open, barely breathing. A cloudy
film began in the corner of his eyes.
“You aren’t going to die now, you little bugger.” Annie ripped
the mask from her face. Saving the calf took precedence over protecting
herself from BA 23.
“Annie, no.” David’s hands on her shoulders tried to pull
her away.
She tugged loose and put her mouth over the calf’s nose.
With all the will in her soul she breathed her life into his weakness.
The birth fluids tasted coppery on her tongue, the softness
of his tender muzzle tickled her lips.
One breath for the calf, one for her. “Come on, baby. Don’t
quit me. Please live, please live,” she whispered. Thoughts of BA
23 faded; she wanted to save this one little life.
The calf shuddered. His fragile legs kicked and his head
slammed into Annie’s mouth, making her bite her lip, mingling
her blood with Esther’s.
A low rumble sounded then the sirens blared to life again.
The calf took a breath on its own. Annie sat up, triumph surging
through her. She thrust her fist in victory. “Yes!”
She looked up at Hassan and David. “We did it.”
Neither paid attention to her. Their faces turned up, staring
at the ceiling.
That was when Annie recognized the sound. A plane. It wasn’t
a drill. The sirens....
David reached down and grabbed her arm, jerking her toward
the barn door.
Too late.
The explosion ripped through the barn. A flash of light—roaring
in her ears. David’s hand tore from hers. Shattered glass bit
into her arms. Hassan’s wild curls disappeared in an avalanche
of debris.
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