by S. M. Shade
Shit, is he jealous? If so, I can’t blame him. I would freak out if a girl was locked around him like this. “Not like that, Air.”
“It’s okay. It doesn’t bother me. Honestly, I’m glad because that means he’ll always look out for you and help me keep you safe.” He nuzzles my neck.
“I’m a lucky girl.”
“Let me out of this tent if you plan to get lucky,” Joseph says, stretching and yawning.
“Says the man cuddling my wife.”
“She’s so warm.” Joseph scoots closer to me. “Besides, you were too far away.”
After we eat breakfast, we’re on the road again. We were hoping to reach Carbondale today, but the weather is hindering us, along with the detours around traffic jams and abandoned vehicles. It gets worse as we approach larger towns, and there are more than a few bodies. Thankfully, most have been reduced to skeletons, but it’s still creepy.
It begins to rain in the early afternoon and gradually becomes a steady downpour. Joseph strains to see the road.
“There’s a hotel,” Airen suggests. Joseph pulls into the parking lot of the Sleep-n-Eat. Needless to say, it’s no paradise, but it will do to get us out of the weather. Airen breaks the glass on the office door and reappears, grinning, with two keys.
“Lucky they’re old school, no key cards.” Except for being dusty, the rooms are clean at least and have an adjoining door. Joseph plops on the bed.
“Let’s order a pizza.”
“Oh, what I’d give for a pizza.” Airen sighs.
“You’ll just have to settle for chili tonight.”
“You’re feeding Airen chili? I’m glad I have a separate room.”
We eat an early dinner and play cards for a while to pass the time. The rain begins to let up as the sun goes down. “I’m going to bed, guys. Good night.” I kiss Airen’s lips, and give Joseph a hug.
“I’ll join you in a few minutes. I want to finish this hand.”
“Take your time and have fun. I can’t hold my eyes open.” I crawl under the blankets and drift off until I feel the weight of a sleeping bag being placed over me. When I drag my eyes open, Joseph grins at me, dimples flashing.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Where’s Airen?”
“He’s unloading the truck. Are you warm enough?”
“I am now.” I smile. “Thanks.”
“Get some rest.”
I fall back to sleep immediately and barely register when Airen joins me a few hours later. I’m so exhausted. It’s nearly dawn when I wake suddenly. Something feels wrong. Airen is asleep beside me, and Joseph is snoring lightly from the next room. It’s pitch dark in here. Perhaps I just had a nightmare.
“Ab? You okay, darlin’?” Airen mumbles.
“Fine.” As soon as the word leaves my lips, a hand lands over my mouth and another yanks me out of bed.
Airen yells, “What the fuck? Joseph! Your gun!” A figure hits him in the head hard enough to knock him out. I can hear Joseph struggling from the next room. The person holding me is covering my mouth and nose, and I can’t breathe. The last thing I hear before I lose consciousness is Joseph calling my name in a panic. Oh, don’t hurt them, please don’t hurt them, I silently plead as I’m drawn down into the dark.
I can feel movement and the floor is hard and unyielding beneath me. I’m on my side and my hands are tied with plastic zip ties in front of me. It’s dark, but a thin strip of light beams in through a crack or a seam.
“Abby?” Joseph whispers. He’s lying next to me, but I can barely make out his outline.
“Where are we?”
“Thank god you’re awake.” Relief sounds in his voice.
“Airen?” I ask frantically, remembering how they had attacked him.
“He’s on the other side of me. He’s breathing, but they knocked him out.”
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay, honey. What did they do to you?”
“He kept his hand over my mouth until I passed out. That’s all I remember. How long have we been moving?”
“Maybe five minutes.”
I hear my own fear reflected in his strained voice, and I scoot closer to him, dragging my sore ribs along the floor to slip my tethered hands around his neck. Trying not to cry, I stroke his hair and press my forehead against his.
“Oh, Abby, we’re in trouble,” he whispers, his voice trembling.
“I know, but I’ve been here before, Joseph. Sort of. We’ll make it out, but we have to stay calm, okay? Did you see how many of them there were?”
“Four. Three men and a woman.”
“Did they say anything?”
“Not to me...but...it was weird.”
“What?”
“They prayed. I heard them. They thanked God for bringing us to them and swore to lead us into righteousness.”
“Fuck.”
“My thought exactly.”
“That doesn’t sound like they intend to kill us outright, at least.” I place my lips against his ear and whisper, “I have my gun. I forgot to take my holster off before I fell asleep, and I can feel it on my thigh.”
“Don’t do anything stupid when we’re so outnumbered,” he warns.
“I won’t, but in case you’re the one with Airen when he comes to, let him know.”
The van slows, and I kiss Joseph on the cheek. “Go along and do what they ask, for now, please. Don’t give them a reason to hurt you again.”
“I love you, Abby. Just in case we don’t make it.”
“I love you too, Joseph, so much, but we’re going to be fine.” I let go of him as the bright sunshine floods in the open door.
“I’ll carry the girl, you two get the hero, and we’ll come back for the other one. Watch him, Katie,” a man orders.
When I see Joseph and Airen for the first time in the light, my eyes fill with tears. They both have their hands tied behind them. Airen has a black eye, and his jaw is swollen. A jagged cut on his forehead is clotted with blood. Joseph’s cheek is bruised and swollen, and his eye is black as well. It appears I got off easy.
I grit my teeth as they pull me out of the van and the floor grates against my sore ribs. A tall, clean cut man picks me up and carries me toward a large, wooden building. It looks like it may have once been a stable for boarding horses.
“What do you want with us?” I ask, striving to keep my voice calm.
“To save you.”
“From what?”
“Yourselves, the devil. We’re going to help you know God.”
“Are you going to kill us?”
“Thou shalt not kill,” he chants.
“My husband is really hurt. He could die,” I point out.
“We have a doctor, and he’ll take care of him.” He stands me on my feet and leads me through the stable door.
“What is this place?”
“It was a fancy horse house before we fixed it up. Now, it’s your home until God enters your heart.” Cots rest against the walls, one made up neatly with a blanket and pillows. A man appears from around a partition, a look of total shock plastered on his face. He instantly drops to his knees and puts his hands behind his back.
“You have three new roommates coming, Troy. Please show them around and explain the rules.” The zip tie is cut from my wrists.
“Yes, sir.”
The other men carry Airen to a cot and cut the ties on his hands. They return to the van and lead Joseph in a few seconds later. A chain rattles at the door as they leave, and I dart to Airen’s side.
“Airen! Wake up! Please, wake up!” I cover his flushed face with kisses. Troy brings me a wet cloth, and I wash the blood from his face and forehead, laying the cool cloth across his head before taking his hand. Troy and Joseph are talking. He’s telling him where the toilets are, I think, but all I can concentrate on is Airen.
The chain rattles as they remove it from the door again. “Get on your knees! On your knees!” Troy pulls Jos
eph down beside him. “It’s a rule, girl!” I shake my head and turn back to Airen.
A small, rodent like man with thinning hair enters carrying a medical bag. He’s followed by the man who carried me in and one of the two who carried Airen. They’re obviously bodyguards. I ignore them as the doctor approaches us.
“He’s still out?”
“Yes, he was hit in the head with something. You were a doctor before the plague?” I ask. How the fuck did he get mixed up with these people?
“Yes, ma’am, a general surgeon. You can call me Dr. Mike,” he offers politely.
“I’m Abby, and this is my husband, Airen.”
“His pulse is good.” He checks his blood pressure. “He should be fine. If he doesn’t come around in an hour or so, break this smelling salt packet under his nose. He’ll wake up.”
“Thank you.”
He feels the bones in Airen’s face and then examines Joseph. “There are no broken bones. I’ll leave you a few ice packs for the swelling. They activate and become cold when you squeeze them.” He produces a blister pack of pain pills and hands them to me. “He’ll have a headache when he wakes. No more than two pills every six hours. That goes for you too.” He gestures to Joseph.
“Are you hurt?” he asks me.
“She’s...” Joseph begins.
“Fine!” I interject. “I’m slightly anemic, but I haven’t had any symptoms in months.” I don’t want them to know I’m pregnant. Somehow, I don’t think it will win me any favors, and who knows what they would do with that information? The doctor nods and packs up his stuff.
“If the smelling salts don’t wake him, send for me,” he tells Troy, who nods from his position on the floor. They chain the door behind them when they leave.
Troy sighs with relief and rises. “Every time one of them enters you have to kneel.”
“Why?”
“It’s a rule.”
“And if I don’t?”
“They’ll punish you.”
Joseph’s eyes widen. “How?”
“In different ways, but it’s all painful.” He gestures to the scars on his knees. “In the beginning, they’d force me to kneel on dry rice or rock salt for hours. You wouldn’t believe how bad that can tear up your skin.” He hesitates before continuing. “I don’t want to scare you, but you have to know what kind of people you’re dealing with here, and what they’re capable of inflicting on you.” Appearing embarrassed or ashamed, he turns and pulls his shirt up to his neck, exhibiting a gruesome display of scars, criss crossing his back.
“They whipped you?” I ask, in shocked disbelief.
“Caned,” he corrects, quietly. “It’s a narrow wooden stick, and I pray you never give them a reason to use it.”
“All because you didn’t kneel?” I question.
“No, those are for being attracted to men,” he replies matter-of-factly.
My eyes dart to Joseph as they fill with tears again. “You’re gay?” I whisper.
He nods as he answers, “No, not anymore.” He signals that they may be listening to our conversation.
“We’re safe there, at least. We’re all straight.”
“Do you believe in God? And in Jesus?” he asks, nodding his head emphatically.
“Of course,” Joseph replies.
“Good. Just obey them, for your own sakes, obey them,” he pleads.
I understand that’s the smartest move, at least for now. I’m going to have to keep my issues with authority in check. I’m terrified for Airen, however, because I know he’ll fight them tooth and nail. He’s so stubborn.
“What are the other rules?” Joseph whispers.
“We have to pray with them, memorize bible passages, and swear to their truths. No sex unless you’re married. I guess you’re safe there. Were you married by a minister?”
I glance at Joseph. “Of course. There was a traveling group that included a minister, and he agreed to marry us,” I lie.
“They’ll probably be okay with it then.”
“What religion are they?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know how they label it, but I can tell you the basics.” He drags three oversized bean bag chairs near Airen’s cot and begins. “The Trinity is real. Do you know what that is?” We nod, and he continues. “Jesus was divine, born to a virgin, but they don’t worship Mary or the saints. They aren’t Catholic. The bible is the literal word of God and reads like an instruction book as far as they’re concerned. The Ten Commandments are the basis of their teaching, but they have an inordinate fondness for Leviticus, as you can imagine. If you don’t know the Ten Commandments or The Lord’s Prayer by heart, you should learn them because they expect it to be recited from memory.
“Heathens, non-believers, and gays are inherently evil. They’re devil possessed and must be killed if they can’t be reprogrammed. Women must always be subservient and obey the man, especially her husband.”
Women are slaves. What a shock. It seems we’re always worthless and expendable when it comes to religious beliefs.
“They’ll be observing your behavior to see if you’re evil. This isn’t going to go over well.” He gestures to Joseph, who has his arm around my shoulder. “You can’t show affection to a woman who isn’t your wife and never to the same sex.”
Joseph tightens his hold on me. “Airen’s my brother, and Abby’s my sister-in-law. We’re family.”
Troy nods. “That may make it more acceptable.”
“Do they feed you?” I ask. He doesn’t look underweight.
“Yes, three times a day, and the food is good. We’re allowed outside to walk for an hour in the evening. There are pit toilets at the back of the stable and a pump for water to drink and wash up. Generators supply power to heaters that run when the temperature drops, but they aren’t used for the lights. We’re stuck with the battery operated lanterns.”
“How long have you been here, Troy?”
His dark brown eyes regard me as he considers the question. “What month is it?”
Oh my God, the poor guy. “It’s November fourth.”
“They picked me up the first week of February...so about nine months.”
“You’ve been alone in this place for that long?” Joseph asks.
“I wasn’t always alone. I was captured with my friend, Micah, and there was a girl here named Jennifer. She has since been saved and lives in the house with them.” He doesn’t elaborate, and I’m sure Micah’s story isn’t going to have a positive ending.
Joseph presses for more information. “And Micah?”
Troy shakes his head mechanically. “He wouldn’t obey, no matter what they did to him, and they did plenty. They shot him.”
“We have to make sure Airen doesn’t fight them,” I moan, pressing my face against Joseph’s neck.
“We will, honey. Don’t be afraid.” Joseph looks sufficiently terrified for all of us. “He’s stubborn, not suicidal.”
Troy regards Joseph hesitantly. “They’ll expect you to prove you aren’t gay.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
Troy looks uncomfortable. “They forced me to make out with Jennifer. We didn’t have to have sex, she only had to kiss me, but I felt like such an asshole.”
I try to reassure him. “I’m sure she understood.”
He turns to Joseph again. “They want to see if you get...um...aroused by women.”
I shake my head. This is a nightmare.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Airen grumbles, slowly sitting upright.
“Airen!” I race to his side. “How do you feel?”
“Royally pissed off, after everything I’ve just heard. My head is pounding,” he admits. “Are you okay, Abby? Did they hurt you?”
“I’m fine and so is Joseph. You’ve been listening?”
“Yes, we’re being held by some fucked up cult that wants to brainwash us.”
“Shh!” Troy hisses. “They’ll torture and kill us all! You two h
ad better make him understand!” He stalks off to the far side of the stable and slumps against the wall.
Airen sips some water, and swallows the pain pills the doctor left for him. While he holds an ice pack to his forehead, Joseph whispers in his ear, filling him in on the other rules, and the lies we have told so far. Our stories need to match.
“Airen, please listen to me,” I plead as I take his hand and sit before him. “I understand how angry you are. We all are, but they outnumber us. We have to be smart and do what they say. We need to play along. If I hadn’t done that when Mr. Disgusting took me, I wouldn’t have survived the day. You can’t fight them, Airen. We’ll find a way to escape, but we have to comply until then. Let them drop their guard.”
He nods and gives a little grunt. I know this response. It means he will decide for himself when the time comes. That isn’t good enough.
“I mean it, Airen!” I can hear the hysteria in my voice. “I can follow their rules and obey their orders, no matter what that may be. I can take it. What I can’t take is watching them hurt you or Joseph. It’ll destroy me. Please, please Airen, don’t resist them. Promise me,” I sob.
“Shh, Abby. I promise. Sweetheart, I promise, calm down. I swear I won’t give them a reason to hurt any of us.” He embraces me tightly as I cry into his shirt.
“Even if they separate us.” I sniff, regaining my composure.
“Yes, darlin’, I promise,” he croons.
Nearly an hour later, bodyguards number one and two return with containers of food. We all kneel while they remove the chains from the door. Airen’s face is red with rage and hatred. Please Air, keep it together.
“You taught them well, Troy. I’ll be sure to tell Abraham,” bodyguard number one remarks.
“Thank you, Cole.”
“This food is to last you through lunch and dinner, and there will be no exercise tonight. You’ll meet with Abraham tomorrow morning, so make yourselves clean and presentable.”
“Yes, sir.”
The look on Airen’s face is thunderous, and I can see his internal struggle not to attack Cole or at least demand answers. My eyes meet his, pleading silently.
Cole chains the door behind him when he leaves, and Airen waits until his footsteps fade before demanding, “How many of them are there?”
