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As soon as we entered the diner, Trinity bolted up from the booth she had been sharing with Winston and a pair of SATURN agents and flung her arms around my neck. I stepped back in surprise as Winston glared at me. I could bet he didn’t get a welcome like that when he arrived.
“Scott.” Trinity sobbed and buried her tear-streaked face in my neck. “I was sure...”
She took a step back and looked at me, gasping when she saw the dried blood on my hand and the smear of blood on my jeans. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I rubbed my hand fiercely against my leg, embarrassed by her attention. “Just some splinters, that’s all. I’ve been hurt worse in football practice.”
Her hair brushed softly against my ear as she squeezed me tightly again. I looked desperately over her shoulder, hoping for Chris and Matt to rescue me one more time. They just grinned as if they were enjoying my discomfort.
“I thought I would never see you again,” she whispered.
“God protected us.” I pulled away from her and held her at arm’s length. “Just like we asked him to.”
“Your God had nothing to do with it,” Winston snapped. “It was my appeal to that terrorist’s mercy that saved us.”
I glared at him angrily. It was one thing to try to take the credit from me, it was entirely another to try to take it from God.
“Cadet Daytona.” Chris rolled his eyes. “If I were you, I would be careful about taking the glory from the One who made you. He might not be so willing to help you next time.”
Winston crossed his arms, slid down in the booth, and fell silent, apparently not willing to argue with a secret agent.
Trinity gave Chris a thoughtful look, seeming impressed that even he believed in God. She turned back to me and nodded slowly. “I think I’d like to hear more about your God.”
I grinned at Matt. This was turning out to be a pretty good day after all. “Why don’t you let me and Matt take you home? We can tell you all about Him on the way.”
“You guys go back to school.” Chris stepped forward and laid his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I’ll be by sometime tomorrow to get your statements.”
“You want to ride with us, Winston?” I faced the still glowering teen. I could feel both Matt and Trinity’s eyes burning into my back. I ignored them. “You might learn something.”
“If I want to learn about God, I’ll go to my parents’ church,” He scoffed and rose to his feet. “Besides, I wouldn’t dream of riding in your death trap, especially after what I’ve just been through. My car is parked down the street.”
With that parting shot, he marched out the door and down the street. I wasn't too disappointed he'd declined my offer. I'd spent enough time with him today to last a lifetime.
After saying goodbye to Chris and the other SATURN agents, Matt, Trinity, and I left the diner and piled into my car. I opened the front passenger's door for Trinity and rounded the car to the driver's seat as Matt climbed in the back.
“I was really scared back there,” Trinity admitted. Her blue eyes looked at me with a shadow of terror creeping back into them. “In the warehouse, I mean. I really thought that guy was going to kill us. I’m... I’m not ready to die.”
“I know, Trinity, believe me.” I pulled the car onto the road and shuddered as my mind replayed the fear I'd felt in the Snake’s office. “I’m not really ready to die either, but at least I know that I would go to heaven if I did.”
“I'd like to know that, too,” Trinity said softly, her eyes moist. “Can you tell me how?”
I glanced back at Matt in the rear-view mirror. He folded his hands in front of him to indicate that he would be praying for me.
Please, God, help me say the right words.
“The Bible tells us there is only one way to heaven.” I guess I’m not really good at being subtle. Besides, it was a pretty short trip back to the Academy. “That’s by believing that Jesus Christ died to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead three days later.”
“Why would Jesus die to pay for my sins?” Trinity asked doubtfully.
“Because He loves you.” We were stopped at a red light, so I turned to look at her. “He wants you to be able to go to heaven with Him.”
Trinity paused for a moment to digest the information. “You say he rose from the dead?”
“Jesus wasn’t just any man.” I returned my gaze to the road as the light turned green. “He was God come to earth as man. Not even death can defeat God.”
“But what do I have to do?” Trinity asked. “There’s got to be something I have to do to prove that I deserve to go to heaven. Is that why you guys go to church all the time?”
“No.” I hurried to explain. We had already passed through the front gates of the Academy and were turning toward the faculty housing. Trinity lived in the last house on the left and I could see the picket fence surrounding it just up ahead. “Nothing we could do would be good enough for us to deserve heaven. Jesus paid for the penalty for our sin for us. He wants to give us heaven as a gift. All you need to do is accept it.”
“Wow,” Trinity said. Awe, uncertainty, and more than a little skepticism were packed into that one word. “That’s a lot to think about. I guess I... well, I sort of expected you to tell me I needed to come to church with you guys and do nice things for people. I’m going to need time to think about what you said.”
As I pulled into her driveway, I wanted to beg her not to wait, but I didn’t want to pressure her to make a decision she wasn’t ready for. Or worse, turn her off entirely. “When you’re ready, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks, Scott.” She looked at me gratefully as she stood in the open car door. “You too, Matt. I’ll see you guys on Monday.”
Matt and I waved as Trinity closed the door and went into her house.
At Matt’s insistence, I paid a quick visit to the nurse’s station to get my hand taken care of before heading to our dorm. Winston was nowhere to be seen. If he was half as tired as I was, he probably went to bed as soon as he got back.
When we finally returned to our room, Matt and I changed our clothes and tossed our exhausted bodies into our beds.
My body may have been tired, but my mind wasn't so cooperative. I dreamed that I was on a picnic with my parents, just like one we had gone on last summer. The dream was so vivid and real I could hear the birds in the nearby trees and smell the freshly cut lawn and the fried chicken Mom had packed in the picnic basket. She spread a blue tablecloth on the ground and set out our lunch while Dad and I tossed a football nearby.
“Come on, you guys,” Mom called to us. “Get your lunch before the ants do.”
“Smells delicious, Marisa, like always.” Dad kissed her forehead as he sat down beside her. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
“Eric.” She pushed him away with a giggle. “Not in front of Scott!”
“Scott’s a big boy now.” Dad gave me sly smile and a wink. “He needs to see that his parents love each other very much.”
I already knew how much my parents cared for each other, and right now my attention was on something else. A black sports car like the one the Snake had escaped in pulled into the grass behind my parents. Two thugs climbed out and circled the car. I opened my mouth to warn my parents, but no sound came out.
The men grabbed my parents and yanked them to their feet, spilling the contents of the picnic basket all over the tablecloth. I tried to take a step forward to rescue them, but my feet were rooted to the spot. I screamed for the men to stop, for someone to help, but no sound escaped my lips. The thugs stuffed my parents into the back seat of the car and climbed in after them. As the car pulled away, my parents looked out the rear windshield at me, their eyes begging me to help them. I couldn’t. I was helpless.
With a gasp, I sat upright in my bed. My clothes and hair were plastered to my body with sweat. My heart was pounding and I was breathing hard. The dream had seemed so real.
“You okay, Scott?” Matt murmured as he flipped on the lamp on the nightstand between our beds.
I swallowed hard and tried to steady my shaking hands. “Just a nightmare.”
“About your parents?” Matt propped himself up on one elbow and looked at me sympathetically.
Confused, I looked at him. How does he know I was dreaming about them?
“You called for them just before you woke up,” Matt explained.
“I dreamed we were at a picnic together when two men took them away. I couldn’t do anything to help them.” I paused and looked at Matt, clenching my fists with determination. “I’m going to find them, Matt. No matter what it takes, I will find them.”
“You know,” Matt said as he turned the light back off and rolled over in his bed, “I think I’m beginning to believe you.”