But here was an impossible situation. Prophecy was once again coming to life before his eyes, and he would not be able to turn away. At the west building, the eight members of the culling team were checked in past the outer fence, and then again at the main entrance.

Buck was assaulted by the stench as soon as they had cleared the main corridor. Inside a huge cage milled more than a hundred male teenagers, some looking tough, others petrified. The cage was surrounded with four to five guards on a side, weapons in hand, smoking, reading magazines, and looking bored.

The teenagers jumped and cheered and applauded when the team entered. "Freedom!" one shouted while the rest laughed. "They've come to free us!" And others jeered and mocked.

Athenas stepped away from the others and put up both hands for quiet. Buck sidled to a guard, who dropped his magazine and straightened up. "Sir?" he said.

"What's the smell, soldier?"

"The cans, sir. In the corners, see?"

Buck looked to the four corners of the cage where 55-gallon drums stood. Each had a makeshift wooden set of steps next to it and was covered by an ill-fitting toilet seat. "This building has no facilities?"

"Only for us," the guard said. "Just down that hall."

Buck shook his head. "They can't be led there periodically?"

"Not enough of us to risk that."

Alex Athenas had finally commanded the prisoners' attention. "You are privileged to be among the first to display your loyalty and devotion to His Excellency, the risen potentate of the Global Community, Nicolae Carpathia!"

To Buck's amazement, this was met with enthusiastic cheering and applause that went on for almost a minute. Some teens broke into chants and songs, lauding Carpathia.

Athenas finally quieted them again. "In a few moments you will be led to the central building, where you will tell the staff whether you want your loyalty mark on your forehead or your right hand. The area you choose will then be disinfected with an alcohol solution. When it is your turn, you will enter a cubicle, where you will sit and be injected with a biochip, while simultaneously tattooed with the prefix 216, which identifies you as a citizen of the United Carpathian States. The application takes just seconds. The disinfectant also contains a local anesthetic, and you should experience no discomfort.

"Any acts of disorderly conduct will be met with immediate justice. For you illiterates, that means you will be dead before you hit the floor."

This was met with more hooting and hollering, but Buck found himself staring at a boy in the middle of the crowd. He had black, curly hair, was thin and pasty, and wore tilting glasses that appeared to have one lens missing. The boy looked barely old enough to be in this crowd, but what caught Buck's eye was the shadow on his forehead. Or was it a smudge? Or was it the seal of God?

"Excuse me, officer!" Buck said, striding past Athenas and peering into the cage. The hooting stopped and the prisoners stared. "You, there! Yes, you! Step forward!"

The young man made his way through the crowd to the front of the cage, where he stood quaking. "Someone open this door!" Buck barked. No one moved. He ~\^ whirled to look at the guard he had spoken to, who shuffled nervously and looked at Athenas.

"The rest of you back off," Athenas said, and he nodded to the guard, who unlocked the cage.

Buck marched in and grabbed the boy by the arm, his ratty, gray sweater bunching under Buck's fingers. He dragged him out of the cage, past Athenas and the other guards, scolding him the whole way. "You mock Global Community Peacekeepers, young man? You'll learn respect."

"No, sir, please-I, I-"

"Shut up and keep moving!"

Buck dragged him past the guards at the entrance, who called after him, "Wait! Who is that! We have to process him out!"

"Later! "Buck said.

"Where are we going?" the boy pleaded with a Greek accent.

"Home," Buck whispered.

"But my parents are here."

"Give me their names," Buck said, and he wrote them down. "I can't guarantee they'll get out. But you're not going to die tonight."

"You're a believer?"

Buck nodded and shushed him.

They blew past the guards at the outer gate, and Buck marched him to the GC jeep across the road. Past the lights and into the shadows, few heads had even turned to watch. "Front passenger side," Buck said. "Any other believers in the cage?"

The boy shook his head. "Never saw anyone."

"Give me the name of one of the guys in the cage, just one."

"Who?"

"Anyone. Just give me a name."

"Ah, Paulo Ganter."

"Got it. Now listen. You are to sit here, right here in this jeep, until I get back. What you must not do – are you listening? – is make sure that no one is watching. Because if you discover that, you might be tempted to make a run for it and not stop until you are somewhere safe. Then I would get back out here later and wonder whatever happened to my prisoner. Understand?"

"I think so. You don't want me to do this?"

"Of course not. I don't know what I'd do about an escapee. Do you?"

The boy managed a weak smile.

"You know what?" Buck said. "I don't think anybody's watching now." Feeling like Anis, the mysterious border guard who had discovered Tsion under the seat of the bus so long ago, Buck put one hand on the boy's shoulder and another on his head. And he said, "And now may the Lord bless you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and give you peace. Godspeed, son."

Buck trotted back to the gate, and when he glanced over his shoulder, the boy was gone.

The gate guards let Buck through and the ones at the building asked, "Who was that?"

"Ganter, Paulo," he said. "Transferred custody to the United North American States." They were flipping'"-\ through their printouts as he hurried back in.

Alex Athenas was finishing. "Are there any here who will be choosing to reject the loyalty mark?"

The group laughed and waved derisively at him.

"None then? No one? Anyone?"

The prisoners looked at each other and quieted. Buck waited and watched to see if the boy had been wrong and there were any other believers who might take a stand.

"What if we say no?" a tough called out, smirking.

"You know the consequences," Alex said. The boy drew a finger across his neck. "That's right," Alex added. "Any questions?"

"No rebels here!" someone shouted. "All loyal, upstanding citizens!"

"That's what we like to hear. No questions?"

"Do we get to choose what image we want?"

"No. Because of your circumstances, you are allowed only the basic chip and number tattoo."

The prisoners groused loudly, and Athenas signaled to his team and the other armed guards to get into position. "This will be done in an orderly fashion," he said. "Or you will wish you had opted to reject the mark."