Islands In The Sea: City On A Hill! Book IV – Sample Chapter
Table Of Contents
Acknowledgments – – – ix
Introduction – – – xi
1 AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING – – – 13
2 GROWING PAINS – – – 31
3 TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE – – – 41
4 OPERATION TUNNEL VISION – – – 61
5 CAVE MAPPING – – – 77
6 HIDDEN TREASURES – – – 93
7 ALL THAT GLISTENS – – – 107
8 RACING AGAINST TIME – – – 119
9 REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE – – – 137
10 ONE LAST SHOT – – – 155
11 ALL THE GOLD – – – 167
12 NEW DISCOVERY – – – 177
13 A STRATEGIC NET – – – 191
14 A SINISTER SCHEME – – – 201
15 TO THE OUTER REACHES – – – 211
Author’s Comments – – – ?
About The Author – – – ?
Special For You! – – – ?
Islands In The Sea: City On A Hill! – Book IV
Sample Chapter
Chapter 1
AN UNEXPECTED BLESSING
The three evil sentinels had relocated to a new vantage point further from the area so that they could remain hidden and monitor more territory. Now, they were joined by a fourth, a prince, one more powerful than they. He had come to oversee this new attack and to make sure their plans would not fail again. He had called on other regions for more help. Their army had been diminished significantly by the last battle in the city and now, there was a lot of infighting and division within the ranks. They were awaiting reinforcements and had regrouped to come up with a more sinister scheme. The light had become so bright over this area that it was very difficult to move around unnoticed for now, but there were still some areas that remained hidden and dark. If they planned it right, they might be able to take advantage of it and regain some of the ground they lost.
The prince said, “This time there isn’t any room for mistakes. Get your army back in order and be ready for when the reinforcements arrive.”
One of the sentinels responded, “We will!” It was clear he was trembling before the prince’s malevolent presence. “We won’t fail this time. We can see almost everything from this point and we’ll send our troops to reinforce those small areas of darkness until the others arrive.”
The prince continued with his overpowering authority, “We can’t afford to lose this strategic area. There are things hidden here that will expose our global strategy and we can’t afford to let that happen. I’ve been told to go all out on this attack, no matter the cost.”
Two months had passed since the bombs went off in Culverton, the city below. Spring was in full swing as the new property was starting to take shape. Donations poured in from all around the world to help Dan and his team get a tremendous head start on building out the plans of their new city. What had been a tragedy had also become a blessing. It’s fortuitous they had a large portion of the land preplanned as the building started immediately. They decided to call the new town, Kingsview.
The RV park area had exploded overnight and looked like a small city unto itself. Construction crews used the heavy equipment to lay the electrical lines, water lines, sewer, and communications cables to each of the concrete pads. Some companies from the nearby areas, contracted for cheaper prices on their cabins and cottages. Many hired on extra help to produce extra units, so that those who had lost their homes in the flooding would have a place to live. Bit by bit, tents were taken down as those living in them found permanent places to live.
The massive cleanup was well underway in the submerged areas of Culverton and the multistory Law Firm building that had been bombed had been almost completely removed. The building across the street that it had fallen on, had been demolished as well since it was determined to be unsafe.
Approximately one–third of the city had been condemned as unsafe, because of the flooding and the collapse of some of the caves below that had created sinkholes. Construction crews, with heavy equipment had dug a new channel for the river to be rerouted back to it’s original riverbed, just a short distance downstream. One goal was to eventually reroute the river back to its original riverbed and restore the lost area of the city, but they weren’t sure that was going to work with all of the caves below. It would be a very slow and tedious process. The water was slowly being pumped out of the submerged area back into the new channel. Demolition crews were demolishing structures that had been underwater as they were able to get to them. The residents were allowed to go into their homes to salvage what they could as each area became safe again. It was going to be a long process before this area of the city would be cleaned up.
The city had several new subdivisions being planned and built on the southeast side, and the new lots were quickly sold with plans to build new houses on each. There was a shortage of construction workers so many were coming in from other towns and states.
The narrow road up to Kingsview had been quickly approved for the construction of a new multi–lane highway from the city below. Road construction crews had begun new construction as soon as the new plans were approved. They were building a new bridge across the river just upstream from the cave that goes from the new property to the city below. The cave had been outfitted with lights and equipment to transport people and supplies up to the property. The city council had voted to provide emergency funding to seal up all entrances to any of the flooded caves in order to stabilize the rest of the underground area under the rest of the city.
The FBI had found and disabled a few more underground bombs that had been placed strategically in some of the caves for maximum damage to the remaining cave system and city above. Two–thirds of the city could’ve been destroyed had it not been for the advance warnings and visions from the Lord. For now, all seemed safe and life was slowly getting back to normal for most of the people.
A vast army of angels had invaded the whole area and were working side by side with their Kingdom counterparts of flesh and blood. The Lord was watching over the area and it brought joy to His heart to see His people working together to build His Kingdom. This was a start and there would be many more battles to go, but He found a group of people willing to follow His lead no matter the cost. They weren’t in competition with each other, but rather, they were all working together to help each other fulfill their dreams. The byproduct of this, was their dreams were being fulfilled at the same time. He could see another wave of darkness coming in the distance, but for now there was a tremendous amount of peace. Alex, Dan’s assigned angel, had been standing next to Him and totally understood the whole situation. He was so glad that he was assigned to be a part of helping this group.
Dan and Susan just arrived back from an extended trip to the UK with John and Nikki. They were still in their safe house, but their new house was finally under construction. Because of the devastation to the city, they had to move their plans back so that others had places to live. On the trip, they met with Lord Tobias, who was one of the Lords they met on their first trip to London. He was so happy to see them and as he promised, he took care of all of their needs while they were in the country. They also met with Angie, their SIS agent friend there as well and Frank and many of the other leaders they had met on their first trip. It was like one big, happy reunion for them all with the exception of the business matters they had to deal with. They were able to see a lot of the new construction going on in the London and the surrounding area as well. A sense of new hope was coming to the area and many people were sensing it. Even the sun was shining more over the land and that was a very welcomed blessing.
“I’m so glad to be home,” said Dan as he practically fell into his recliner. “That was a long trip. I’m glad we got to have some fun to break up the seriousness of the investigations.”
“Me, too,” Susan replied, as she sat in the chair next to him. “I’m really frustrated that so many of the cult have disappeared without a trace. I was hoping that we could get away from all of this FBI protection and constant security. I feel like we don’t have any privacy at all.” It was clear to see she was annoyed. The agents were doing what they could to be discreet in their security detail, but there was the awareness that they were constantly being watched that bothered them, but at least it wasn’t the cult keeping watch from planted bugs and intrusions like before.
“I agree,” Dan said with a bit more energy. “I’ll take what I can get, and we are alone together now.” He reached over to her and grabbed her hand. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too,” said Susan as she set aside her frustration and responded to his love. “Sometimes I just want a perfect life, and, well, that’s just not possible. However, it’s always perfect when I have you near.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss.
After the cult fled from Culverton a few months earlier, they split up across the world. INTERPOL and other agencies had some of them on their radar and were able to make some arrests, but others just seemed to disappear into thin air. They were looking deeper into this, because it was clear there were others in higher places helping them. The fallout from the last few months, as more people in prominent places have been uncovered, has produced a lot of instability and anxiety in the world’s economies. The world had become a much more dangerous place to live, and many in law enforcement have to watch their backs as they don’t know how high some of the corruption goes in some of the agencies.
John and Nikki were next door in their safe house and had arrived the same time as Dan and Susan. They too, were sitting in their living room chairs after an exhaustive trip.
John began with a yawn, “I’m grateful for the journey we’ve had since Dan started seeing those visions. I just wish it weren’t so dangerous. It would be nice to build this new city and invite people to come, but no, we have to fight every step of the way. I am truly grateful that the Lord watches over us the way He does. It makes me want to stay that much closer to Him and listen more intently.”
“Ah, honey,” Nikki began teasingly, “you know you love the adventure and all of the traveling!”
“Yes, I do,” said John, knowing she was right. “It sure isn’t boring. I have a strange feeling though, we haven’t seen anything yet. I sense a change coming and I don’t think it’s good. It feels like it’s still in the distance, but I do want to be ready. Perhaps we’ll have a little time to rest and regroup before it arrives.”
Nikki added with a serious face, “I know, I sense it too, and I agree about the rest. I wish Dan and Susan had a little more time to have some fun in this new life of theirs. Everything has been so intense for them that they really haven’t had much time to really enjoy each other since the wedding.”
“Yes!” John agreed. “But, it’s like they were born for this. They just take it all in stride and make the most of every opportunity. I am so glad for my brother. Susan is such a perfect match for him. The Lord truly knows how to put us together,” he said as he got up, pulled Nikki up out of the chair and gave her a great big hug.
Nikki loved it. She was so caught up with her romantic husband. “You sure know how to get my mind on other things. I love you so much.” They held each other for a bit and let the romantic moment lead the way.
Alex had left his vantage point with the Lord and was watching both couples. He didn’t understand the concept of marriage, but he really liked it when these four were having fun. It brought him a lot of joy watching them. He was by their side to help at the Lord’s bidding. He had been around others in centuries past and he was hoping for some great victories this time. That night passed without incident and the two couples had a peaceful and refreshing sleep.
Dan and Susan were enjoying a cup of coffee in their kitchen when a knock came from the front door. It was John and Nikki. They had walked over from next door.
“Hey guys,” said Susan as she opened the door. “Good morning, and come on in. We haven’t seen you in ages, and it only seems like yesterday,” she teased.
“Ha, ha,” said Nikki. “We come bearing gifts.” Nikki and John had cooked up a complete breakfast and made some breakfast tacos.
“I hope you have some really good salsa,” John piped in, “‘cause we are out and these tacos are hot and I’m ready to eat.”
“Only the best!” said Dan with a grin. “Susan’s friend gave us some fresh salsa yesterday on our way home. We put it on almost everything.”
They started off the day having a bunch of fun together and enjoyed the breakfast. After they had finished eating, they decided to meet together before they drove over to the office.
As they were just about to go into the living area to sit down, another knock came at the door. Dan opened the door and to their surprise it was Roger and Jessica.
Dan welcomed them in. “Wow! Look who else just happened by.” Then he pretended to look both ways out of the door. “Is there anyone else stopping by this morning? Grand Central Station!” He joked.
After they had all greeted each other, they sat down next to the fireplace. Dan began, “Okay, so what’s up?” he said as he looked around at everyone.
“You’re the one who sees all of the visions,” John replied, teasingly. “We figured we’d just come over and get the scoop before we get to the office.”
“Oh, all right, I see how you all operate,” he countered with a jab of his own. “But seriously, I don’t have anything. I finally had a really good night’s rest and am so grateful.”
“We did as well,” said Nikki after she took a sip of her coffee.
“So, what’s on the agenda then?” asked Roger. “The construction projects are going full steam ahead.”
“And everything at the office is going smooth,” said Jessica. “We keep getting new projects, and our hiring process is going well, too. The new offices in the building are really nice.”
“One new piece of information,” Roger began, “we checked into constructing a new road from the back of the property to connect with the interstate highway and the county said it would be an easy approval. They even offered to create the access there. Larry Jenkal, the County Works Director, said he would schedule a vote this week. I think they are more eager to get this accomplished than us. To them it will be a shortcut to most of the areas they need to access. There is already a right of way next to the property that was set aside a few years back for this purpose, so it’s more like just getting an approval from the board to begin construction. The emergency situation in Culverton has people already talking about building a multi–lane highway to connect the interstate and our property to the new area of the city below.”
“Everything is moving so fast,” said Susan. “We thought it was going to take a long time to build out the property, but now it seems that there are so many who want to be a part of it. We wondered where all of the money was going to come from, but it seems the Lord is sending those to us who already have a vision from him. All we have to do is help them find the location.”
“Yeah, who would’ve thought that such a horrible tragedy could have become such a blessing,” said Dan as he marveled at the way the Lord was working out the visions He had given him.
“It reminds me of the 7,000 prophets that the Lord kept hidden in Elijah’s time,” John began. “They weren’t hidden doing nothing, but they used that time to prepare for what was coming. They were faithful to follow His lead everyday, even when things seemed hopeless.”
Roger kept the thought going, “That’s what people have been telling me. Some have been working on inventions and ideas for years and thought they were getting nowhere, and then this all happened and they found that they were ready to just plug into the opportunity. They are really excited.”
“We have all kinds of business structures in the planning stages right now,” added Jessica enthusiastically. “The retail and office areas are being developed as we speak. It’s like this village is being built all at once.”
“I’m glad we got the master plan ready before all hell broke loose,” said Dan, referring to the catastrophe to Culverton. “The Lord sees things in the distance and will get us ready for it, if we will just listen and obey.”
“That’s for sure,” said John. “That seems to be the hard part for most people.”
“Yeah, too many give up too soon and miss the blessing,” said Nikki with a sad look on her face.
“But we don’t have time for that,” Susan piped. “There’s too much adventure to go around for us to do that. So, what’s next?”
“Adrenaline junkie!” said Dan, as he looked over at his bride playfully. “I’m sure there’s more to come. Me, I’m enjoying the down time right now. Catching my breath! But seriously, I got our itinerary from Sharon this morning and we have some new invites to discuss as well. There’s even one from Alaska, but it’s still fairly cold there right now.” He drew out the word ‘cold’ like he was freezing. They all laughed.
John shared, remembering his trip to Alaska, “It has a beauty all its own. Nikki and I drove there a couple years back during the summer, the famous Alaska Highway during the time it’s daylight all night.”
“Yes, we did,” said Nikki with a serious tone to her voice. “The beauty was so incredible. I mean, photos don’t do it justice, but that drive. It seems like you’ll never get there.”
“Yeah!” Roger began, “We’ve heard about that road through the Yukon. I’ve always wanted to drive it, but so far, it’s only been a desire.”
John added, “Well, my recommendation is to drive it once and then fly or take a cruise back. Some of the Canadians, who live in the Yukon have told us some stories. They said that by the time some of the travelers from the USA get to their town in Watson Lake, they’re ready to sell their vehicle and take another route back and they’ve only crossed into the Yukon.”
At this everyone laughed.
“It really is an incredible journey though,” said Nikki. “It’s really worth it to see the Lord’s creation and all of the animals along the way. I can remember it like it was yesterday.”
“All right,” said Dan realizing they needed to get back on course, “let’s get back to business, shall we?”
“Of course, my master,” said Susan laughing and pretending he was a Jedi master from Star Wars.
“What a great way to start this day,” said Dan. “I really needed the laughter.”
They all agreed.
“Well, I have a feeling that Alaska is on the upcoming horizon somewhere,” Dan continued. “I just hope it’s during the summer when we go.”
“What else is on the list?” asked John trying to help his brother get back on track.
Dan continued, “Let’s see, Bob Fischer wants us back in Australia for a two week stint. Leaders from around his country have asked him to take us with him to their places, so that will be intense.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to go back,” said Susan, her eyes were sparkling at the thought of getting so see Sydney again.
“Me either,” Nikki piped in quickly.
“I think that goes for all of us,” Dan added, thinking back on the fun they had there separately from the attack on the Bob’s building. “We also have some places here in the States, some we know and some are new invites. There’s three invites from Canada; Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary. These are friends of John and Nikki. Let’s see, there’s Hawaii, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and our friends in Switzerland as well.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Roger. “That’s a whole year of traveling in itself. Well, you guys are going to be very busy.”
“Who said it was going to be just the four of us?” asked Dan with a grin. “You two are going to be going with us as well on some of these trips. Some of the leaders want your input regarding construction and command centers like ours at the office. It seems there are some inventions in the works both here and there that can solve a lot of issues and streamline a few things if we can connect and share information. While we have to watch what is shared concerning government regulations, we are Kingdom and there are things the Lord wants to us share with each other. Some of these businesses will be global businesses that will connect several local businesses in more than one country. It’s going to be interesting and exciting at the same time.”
“So, when were you going to let us in on this?” asked Jessica, a bit shocked.
“Consider it done,” said Dan. “I was thinking about this on our flight back yesterday, but with so much going on, I haven’t had the time to do more with it. As things were developing, and the fact that you came over this morning, it seemed like it was as good of a time as any to let you know.”
“We definitely have a lot to do now,” Roger said. “We will need to promote some people to take our place while we’re traveling.”
“Yes, we do,” Jessica agreed. “Dan, we need to figure out who can fill in for me. Do you have any ideas?”
“Yes, I have a few,” said Dan. “What about you, Susan?”
“I can think of two, but we need to discuss it some more, I think,” replied Susan. “We might need to divide the responsibilities at this point. I’d like to bring someone in, like we did with Jessica, but they would need to be able to promote our vision for the company.”
“I totally agree,” said John. “Perhaps the Lord already has someone in mind.”
“I hope so,” said Dan. “That would make it easy. Well, I think it’s time to head over to the office. We need to call these people back and we can use the command center to do that. We can determine their schedules and needs so we can decide on how to fill in the calendar.”
“Since it’s so close to lunch,” Susan began, “is everyone up for a food delivery from the diner? I’m taking orders and I can call it in on the way to the office.”
Everyone agreed and gave their orders to Susan, because they were all getting hungry.