Christ's Return [The Rapture]

Chapter 11 / Courageous

**Note: The end times events portrayed in this story are based off of those predicted in the Bible. They are not necessarily in the right order and may not correspond exactly with Biblical prophecy. For further study into the rapture, I would suggest going through a published study book on Revelation.

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Please vote and comment after you read! I pray that this story will help you grow closer to God, wherever you are. (: 

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Summer's POV

Summer woke up to her eye being pried open under an intense light.  A masked face peered down at her, pale blue eyes wide, searching.  She wanted to scream, or fight, or even twitch a finger, but her body ignored her mental commands.  Panic swept through her as she realized that she was completely paralyzed.  

"Yep, she's clean."  The blue eyes disappeared, and Summer's vision was constricted to a small section of off-white ceiling panels.  She forced herself to pay attention to the commotion going on around her to distract herself from the prison that her own body had become.  She could make out hushed whispers coming from farther away, drowned out by the beeping of unknown equipment and the tinking of metal against metal.  

A small particle of dust slowly drifted through the air, entering Summer's vision and settling on her open eye.  She winced internally, feeling her open eye watering up.  Her brain willed her eyelid to close, but it was no use.  Whatever they had done to her had left every inch of her completely immobile.  Her eye seared with shooting pain, and Summer prayed that the doctor (or whoever it was that got the bright idea to leave her eye open in the first place) would return to close it.  She layed there for what felt like hours, feeling her eye practically evaporate.  She wasn't sure if she'd ever felt such a strong need to blink in her entire life.  

Oh, Papa... 

Woah.  Where had that come from?  She had just called God... Papa.  

Fathers had always been meaningless to Summer.  She had never had a real dad.  Her "birth father" nearly killed her and her stepmom, for crying out loud.  One night, her father and stepmother had stumbled into the house, utterly wasted.  Summer huddled with her little stepsister, on the couch, where they thought she was asleep.  Her father had pulled out a knife and was attacking her stepmom.  Summer had to walk all the way back to her mom's apartment.

 Then, when Summer's mom remarried, her new husband verbally abused them for five years before Alisa finally divorced him.  She'd gone through a few boyfriends until she'd found Kyle.  

The word father had always meant nothing to her.

Until now.

God... Papa.  It's me, your daughter...  

Warm tears flooded Summer's eyes, temporarily relieving the dryness as she prayed.

I love you, Papa.  Please... just take me now.  Take me home.

Summer felt a warm sensation in her fingertips, and they began to wiggle slightly.  Mustering all the strength she possessed, she managed to close her eye.  She blinked several times, and the dryness began to ebb.  She silently thanked God for restoring her mobility, but secretly wished that He had taken her to heaven right then.  She slowly sat up and glanced around the room.  She was laying on a hard examination table in the middle of a bare room with white walls and no decorations.  Several machines lined the walls, with all sorts of monitors and flashing lights.  A large mirror covered the wall to the left of her.  Slightly panicked, Summer swung her legs off the table and yanked on the handle of a huge metal door next to the mirror.  It didn't budge.   A blaring siren sounded, startling Summer.  She searched frantically for a quick exit.  The metal door opened swiftly, and a petite, dark-skinned woman with short black hair and spotless white scrubs strode into the room.  She grasped a pink clipboard in one hand and promptly shut the door with the other.

Summer eyed her nervously, standing awkwardly in the middle of the tiny room.  The woman smiled brightly.  

"I'm Jackie."  She grasped Summer's hand in a firm handshake.  "You must be..."  She glanced at her clipboard.  "Summer Theis?" 

Summer nodded.  Jackie was the type of person that didn't leave any space for people to speak.  That's okay; Summer was preoccupied coming up with different ways to escape.  She didn't feel safe at all.

"Do you believe in God?"

Summer looked her in the eyes for the first time, caught off-guard.  What was this?  A test?  She was extremely wary talking about her faith openly, considering she was so new to it and had just been kidnapped for proclaiming that she was a Christian.  Jackie's icy stare felt like it could penetrate straight to Summer's soul.  

"Well?"  Jackie demanded.  "Are you a Jesus freak or not?"  

Summer swallowed nervously.  She wanted to go to heaven, but was she ready now?  Were they going to kill her?

"Yes," Summer whispered before she realized what she'd done.  How stupid can I be?  The last time I told someone I was a Christian, they kidnapped me.  Jackie advanced toward Summer dangerously.

Summer closed her eyes, ready to be dragged away again.  She felt Jackie's small arms wrap around her, but to her surprise, they didn't move.  Her eyes flashed open to see Jackie standing there embracing her, clipboard laying the ground, forgotten.  

"Wait,"  Summer stammered, completely confused.

Jackie pulled back, smiling hugely.  "Welcome to the family!" she declared.