02 The Enemy Closes In Read online

  Other Bill Myers Books You Will Enjoy

  The Elijah Project

  On The Run

  The Enemy Closes In

  Trapped by Shadows

  The Chamber of Lies

  The Forbidden Doors Series

  The Dark Power Collection

  The Invisible Terror Collection

  The Deadly Loyalty Collection

  The Ancient Forces Collection

  Teen Nonfiction

  The Dark Side of the Supernatural

  For Drew Sams:

  A man of compassion with a heart for youth.

  ZONDERKIDZ

  The Enemy Closes In

  Copyright © 2009 by Bill Myers

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

  ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86607-7

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zonderkidz, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

  * * *

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Myers, Bill, 1953-

  The enemy closes in Bill Myers with James Riordan.> p. cm. — (Elijah project ; bk. 2)

  Summary: Zach and Piper, with divine assistance, continue to seek their kidnapped parents and protect their little brother, Elijah, from the evil Shadow Man, who places temptation in their path in the form of a beautiful runaway.

  ISBN 978-0-31071194-0

  [1. Supernatural — Fiction. 2. Christian life — Fiction 3. Runaways — Fiction. 4. Healing — Fiction. 5. Adventure and adventurers — Fiction. 6. Brothers and sisters — Fiction. 7. Angels — Fiction. 8. California — Fiction.]

  I. Riordan, James, 1936 — II. Title.

  PZ7.M98234Ene 2008

  [Fic] — dc22

  2008001426

  * * *

  All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street #200, Colorado Springs CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com.

  Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

  Editor: Kathleen Kerr

  Cover illustration: Cliff Neilsen

  * * *

  09 10 11 12 13 14 15 • 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One The Chase Continues

  Chapter Two The Plan

  Chapter Three A New Friend

  Chapter Four Real Power

  Chapter Five A New Day

  Chapter Six Darkness Closes In

  Chapter Seven A Strange Customer

  Chapter Eight Conflicts Grow

  Chapter Nine Deception

  Chapter Ten Tensions Build

  Chapter Eleven Confrontation

  Chapter Twelve Showdown

  About the Publisher

  Share Your Thoughts

  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against

  the rulers,

  against the authorities, against the powers of this dark

  world and against

  the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

  — Ephesians 6:12

  Chapter One

  The Chase Continues

  The tires of the old RV squealed around the turn.

  Piper flew across the motor home, slamming hard into the door. “Zach, slow down!”

  Of course her big brother didn’t listen. What else was new? But this time he had an excuse. Driving the RV up the winding mountain road was tricky. Especially when people were chasing them.

  Especially when those people wanted to kidnap their little brother.

  Especially when they had guns.

  He took another corner, throwing Piper the opposite direction. “Zach!”

  He grinned, pushing aside his handsome black hair — handsome if you like haircuts that look like they were trimmed by a lawn mower.

  Throwing a look out the back window, Piper saw the green van closing in.

  She glanced at six-year-old Elijah. He was sound asleep. Although she loved him dearly, the kid was definitely odd. He seldom, if ever talked, but he always seemed to know things no one else did.

  Then there were the miracles — healing a girl in the hospital, raising a puppy from the dead. Of course they tried to keep the stuff secret, but people always found out.

  Which was probably why the bad guys were after them.

  Which was probably why their parents had been kidnapped and hidden in these mountains. Someone very evil was using them as bait. And Piper and Zach were the only ones who could save them.

  “What if it’s a trap?” Piper had asked as they started out on the journey. “What if Mom and Dad didn’t send that message wanting us to rescue them?”

  “Then it’s a trap,” Zach shrugged. “What other choice do we have?”

  Of course he was right. It was just hard to remember little details like that when you were being thrown around a motor home like a human ping-pong ball.

  They took another corner, faster and sharper than all the others.

  “ZACH!”

  The driver of the green van was a skinny guy by the name of Silas. He was shouting to his red-haired passenger, Monica. “Are you sure they’re going to break down?”

  “That’s what Shadow Man said.”

  “Right, but — ”

  “Has he ever been wrong, before?” she asked.

  “No, but — ”

  “Then shut up and keep driving!” (Monica was not exactly the polite type).

  A third voice called from the back. “Shadow Man — he’s like my hero.”

  Silas and Monica rolled their eyes. They always rolled their eyes when Bruno spoke. He was a huge man with a tiny brain.

  “Wanna know why?” he asked.

  “Why?” Silas said.

  “’Cause he brought me and Monica together.”

  Monica stole a look over her shoulder. As always, the man was all misty-eyed and ga-ga over her.

  As always, she felt her stomach churn.

  And, as always, she answered in her most pleasant screech. “Put a sock in it!”

  “Yes, my sweets.” He sighed dreamily. “Whatever you say.”

  The RV gave a loud clunk.

  “Oh, no!” Piper cried “What’s that?”

  “I don’t know.” Zach pressed on the gas, but it did no good. CLUNK! CLUNK! They were definitely slowing.

  “There’s a gas station,” Piper pointed to the right.
“Pull in there.”

  “And just wait for those creeps to grab Eli?” Zach argued.

  CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK!

  Piper glanced to her little brother, who was now wide awake and looking out the side window. Not only looking, but grinning and waving.

  Piper followed his gaze to the road. No one was there.

  CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK! CLUNK! The engine finally stopped.

  Zach dropped the RV into neutral and coasted the rest of the way into the station.

  “LOOK OUT!” Monica screamed.

  Silas looked up just in time to see an old hitchhiker standing in the middle of the road. He hit the brakes. They skidded out of control and swerved, barely missing the old man.

  “WATCH IT!”

  Now they slid toward the guardrail and a 200-foot drop-off.

  Silas cranked the wheel hard, and the tires smoked … until they hit the rail and bounced back onto the road.

  “WHAT WERE YOU DOING?!” Monica demanded.

  “I’m trying to keep us alive!”

  “You almost got us killed!”

  “I’m not the one standing in the middle of the road!”

  “The old coot!” Monica looked back over her shoulder. “He could have gotten us all — ” She stopped. “Wait a minute, where did he go?”

  Silas glanced into the mirror. Try as he might, he could not see the old man.

  “Did we, uh, squash him?” Bruno asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Silas started to slow.

  “What are you doing now?” Monica said.

  “We better go back and check.”

  “We’re not checking anything!”

  “But — ”

  “If he wants to get hit, that’s his business. We got some brats to catch!” Monica turned back to the RV in front of them. There was only one problem.

  “Where is it?” she asked.

  Silas searched the road before them and saw the same thing.

  Nothing.

  The motor home they’d been chasing all this time was nowhere to be seen. “Where’d it go?” Bruno asked.

  “I don’t know.” Silas frowned. “They were right in front of us a second ago.”

  “Well step on it!” Monica shouted. “Don’t let them get away!”

  “Did you see that?” Zach asked. He watched as the green van continued up the highway, passing them and the gas station.

  “They didn’t even see us!” Piper said. “They were too busy swerving and skidding.”

  Zach searched the road. “I wonder why.”

  “Maybe they were trying to miss a deer or something.”

  Zach shook his head. “No, there was nothing there.” He glanced into the mirror to see Elijah sitting in his seat smiling back at him.

  Piper spotted him too. “Looks like the little guy knows something we don’t.”

  Zach nodded and let out a weary sigh. “So what else is new?”

  Mom and Dad sat chained to opposite walls in the cold, dark room.

  “How are you holding up?” Dad asked. His voice was hoarse and cracked from lack of water.

  “I just can’t stop thinking about the kids,” Mom said.

  He heard the worry in her voice and nodded. “We just have to …” He swallowed back the emotion in his voice and tried again. “We just have to be strong.”

  Outside, there was the rattling of keys. The door creaked open, and a guard just slightly smaller than a semitruck entered the room. “Time to see the boss,” he grunted as he stooped to unlock their chains.

  “Please …” Mom’s voice quivered. “Not again. There’s nothing we can tell him.”

  “It’ll be all right,” Dad said. But inside he didn’t believe it for a second.

  “I just can’t face him.” Mom began to cry. “The way he burrows into my thoughts with those awful eyes.”

  “Stop your whining.” The guard hoisted each of them to their feet. “It’ll be over soon enough.” He pushed them into the dimly lit hall. “If you’re lucky.”

  Chapter Two

  The Plan

  “I just feel like we deserted them,” Cody said as they entered the cluttered garage.

  “Them?” Willard, his pudgy friend with curly hair said. “Or her? ”

  “Her, who?” Cody asked.

  “Her, Piper,” Willard answered.

  “What are you talking about?” They walked around another one of Willard’s failed inventions, The Nuclear Powered Dental Flosser — a giant, two-story machine designed to automatically floss your teeth while you slept. Not a bad idea, except instead of cleaning your teeth, it sort of yanked them out.

  “I see the way she looks at you,” Willard teased. “Course, it’s no big deal ’cause all the girls do that.”

  “Yeah, right,” Cody scoff ed.

  Willard had to smile. Cody was clueless over his good looks and the effect he had on girls, which is probably why the two of them were still best friends.

  “There’s only one difference,” Willard said.

  “What’s that?”

  “I also see the way you look at her.”

  Cody glanced down embarrassed. “It’s just that she …” he caught himself and tried again. “It’s just that they are all alone in that motor home up in the mountains.”

  “Not exactly.” They stopped in front of another gigantic pile of junk. Willard reached in and dug out a laptop computer along with a pair of night-vision goggles.

  “Cool,” Cody said. “You get those goggles from the Army?”

  Willard shook his head. “It’s another one of my inventions.”

  “Uh-oh …”

  “No, listen, these are way cool. Check ’em out.” Willard pulled a cable from the pile and began attaching it. “These will let us watch Piper and her brothers wherever they are.”

  “I hope they work better than your helio-hopper.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “’Cause that almost killed us … twice.”

  “No,” Willard insisted. “These are perfectly safe. You just plug them in, like so …” He fi nished attaching the cable to the computer and then the goggles.

  “Willard, I don’t think — ”

  “Then you put them on, like so …” He fitted the goggles over his thick glasses. “Then you enter their email address, like so …” He typed Zach and Piper’s email address into the computer.

  “Willard, are you sure — ”

  “And then finally you turn them on, like so.” He flipped a switch on the side of the goggles and waited.

  Fortunately, nothing happened.

  Cody gave a sigh of relief.

  Unfortunately, Willard wasn’t done. “Maybe there’s a short.” He looked to the keyboard. “Maybe … Wait a minute! Of course! I forgot to hit Enter.”

  “Willard, I really don’t — ”

  He pressed the key, and the goggles lit up like a Christmas tree. Only it wasn’t just the goggles. It was also…

  “Willard!” Cody shouted.

  The boy’s face glowed like a nightlight and his body shook like a bowl of Jell-O on a jack hammer.

  “T-t-t-turn i-t-t-t off fff …” he cried.

  “How?” Cody yelled. “Where!?”

  “D-d-d-de-leeet-e!” Willard shouted. “Hit-t-t-t D-d-de-lete!”

  Cody reached over to the computer and hit the Delete key. Instantly the goggles went off and everything was back to normal.

  Well, almost everything…

  It seemed Willard’s hair was still smoldering. Actually it wasn’t so much hair anymore. Now it was more like smoking peach fuzz.

  “Are you okay!?” Cody asked.

  Willard pulled off his goggles and sighed. “I hate it when that happens.”

  “Boy, you did a number to this baby.” The old mechanic slammed shut the engine compartment to the RV.

  Zach and Piper traded nervous looks.

  “How much is it going to cost?” Zach asked.

  “Well first you got your alternat
or. That’s a hundred sixty bucks. Then you got your battery. That’s gonna be — ”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Zach held up his hand. “We don’t even have the one sixty.”

  “Then I’d say you got yourself a problem.” The mechanic wiped his hands on an oily rag and limped away. Zach and Piper ran to catch up.

  “There must be something you can do,” Piper said.

  “I can let you use my phone to call your folks.”

  “I wish it was that easy,” she mumbled.

  The old man blew his nose into the oily rag, then checked it for results. “If I ain’t fixin’ it, you ain’t leavin’ it here,” he said.

  “Right.” Zach looked around, trying to figure out what to do.

  “Can we get back to you?” Piper asked.

  The old-timer shrugged. “If you ain’t got the money, you ain’t got the money. ’Less, you’re expectin’ some sorta miracle.”

  The word touched off an idea in Zach’s mind, and he turned to Elijah. As usual, his little brother was clueless, playing with a caterpillar on a nearby tree.

  Zach glanced over to the roadside diner next door. “Can we grab a bite to eat before we give you an answer?”

  “Suit yourself. Just don’t take too long.” The mechanic blew his nose again and checked for results. This time he was more pleased.

  Mom and Dad entered the dark office. In the shadows, a huge man sat behind his desk. They’d seen him before — felt his chilling power.

  “Welcome,” he hissed.

  Mom shifted, trying to get a better look. But no matter how she moved, his face seemed to stay in shadow, even when light hit it.

  “What do you want from us?” Dad demanded. His voice sounded strong, but Mom could tell he was terrified. Who wouldn’t be?

  “SSSILENCCCE!” the man shouted. “I am the one who assksss the quessstionsss.” The room grew very, very still. Ever so slowly, he rose from his desk. “Where isss he?”

  “You’ll get nothing from us.” Dad said.

  “Really … ?”

  Mom didn’t like the man’s tone. She liked it even less when he started toward them. Maybe he walked, maybe floated. She couldn’t tell in the dark.