by Mark Tilbury
‘Praise Jesus,’ Tweezer said.
Ebb smiled. ‘Praise Jesus.’
Did you smile like that when you killed my father? Ben thought. When Tweezer smashed his skull to a pulp with a hammer?
Ebb looked at his watch. ‘How the time flies. Jesus must have given it wings today.’
The group responded with polite laughter.
Ebb raised a hand. ‘It’s seven-thirty. Benjamin’s inauguration will take place at nine prompt. I believe Sister Alice has prepared the robes?’
Alice bowed her head. ‘All done, Father.’
‘Thank you, Sister Alice. You are commended for doing such a wonderful job at such short notice. Sunday will be a day of rest for you.’
Alice thanked him as if he’d just offered her a cottage in the country complete with housemaids and gardeners.
Ebb dabbed his forehead with the same napkin he’d used to wipe his mouth. He turned his attention to Bubba. ‘Your task is to erect the apparatus for Benjamin’s inauguration in the Gathering Barn, okay?’
Bubba nodded.
Ebb pursed his lips. ‘Don’t let me down.’
Bubba shook his head.
Ebb clapped his hands at Bubba as though addressing a servant. ‘You are relieved. Go to your duties.’
Bubba ambled from the room, shoulders stooped. His bones poked through the yellow overalls like tent poles beneath canvas. Ben’s mother would have described Bubba as someone who looked as if he’d been through the wars.
Ebb turned to Alice. ‘You and the sisters can attend to the dishes. After that, get ready.’
Alice bowed her head. ‘Yes, Father.’
Ebb waited for the women to set about their duties and then sat down. ‘How are you settling in, Benjamin?’
As well as a cat in a kennel. ‘Fine, thank you, Father.’
‘What do you think of our humble abode? Do you think you’ll fit in?’ Ebb asked.
‘Yes, Father.’
‘I’m afraid the place needs a makeover. I believe autumn is pencilled in, Brother Tweezer?’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘The Lord has set us a heavy workload. I’m afraid the farm has suffered as a consequence. But we do as best we can. Do you have any special skills, Benjamin?’
‘No, Father.’
‘Everyone has a skill. Sometimes it’s just a case of digging deep to find it. I’m sure you can use a paintbrush?’
Ben hated painting. Gloss paint always gave him a sore throat and brought him out in spots. ‘I don’t mind painting.’
Ebb pursed his lips. ‘Do you like animals?’
A vision of a snarling Alsatian popped into Ben’s head. ‘I don’t mind them, Father.’
‘Perhaps you could help Bubba with the goats. We sell their milk to a local shop. It’s good for allergies.’
Ben thought Tweezer could do with some goat’s milk to help with his hay fever.
‘Are you a vegetarian?’ Ebb asked.
‘Not really.’
‘That’s a strange answer.’
‘Yes or no,’ Tweezer prompted.
‘I only like chicken.’
Ebb studied him with those button brown eyes. ‘We don’t believe in slaughtering animals. We believe the Lord made all creatures to live a life free of persecution. We believe that we should respect the wishes of the Lord.’
‘Amen,’ Tweezer agreed.
‘Only the ill-informed resort to killing and eating animals, Benjamin.’
Ben wondered how Ebb’s philosophy squared with Jesus feeding the five thousand with fish.
‘It’s a savage world you have left behind, Benjamin. But you are free now. Free of the burdens of greed and barbarity.’
Ben could think of better ways to describe the world he’d left behind. Sane, for instance. ‘Thank you, Father.’
‘Abstinence is sustenance.’
What the hell was that supposed to mean? ‘Yes, Father.’
‘Less is more,’ Tweezer elaborated.
Ebb glanced at Tweezer. ‘Precisely, Brother Tweezer. I’m sure Benjamin understands the concept of greed well enough.’
‘Yes, Father. Sorry, Father.’
Ebb turned his attention back to Ben. ‘I’m told you were previously homeless, Benjamin?’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘Walking the streets of your own volition?’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘Why did you leave home?’
Ben’s stomach tightened. ‘I didn’t get on with my parents.’
‘Why?’
There was no room for errors now. ‘I didn’t like the way they lived. It was all for show.’
‘The vulgarity of pretentiousness.’
‘They were more concerned about their Persian rugs than they were about me.’
Ebb looked pleased. ‘Bourgeois pigs.’
‘They were constantly on at me to do this and do that. Be more like them. But I didn’t want to. I just wanted to be myself?’
Ebb banged the table, making Ben jump. ‘You are made in God’s image, Benjamin. How dare they try to mould you in their own?’
Ben crossed his fingers beneath the table. ‘I’d just had enough. Me and Maddie drew out our savings and hit the road.’
‘How long have you been away from home?’
‘Six months, Father.’
‘I’m informed your possessions were stolen?’
‘Yes, Father. We were staying at a campsite down by the river. We went to get a shower, and when we came back, everything was gone. Tents. Money. The lot.’
Ebb raised his hands. ‘Don’t you see what this means?’
Ben didn’t.
‘It was God’s plan to bring you here. The Lord chose you, Benjamin. Hand-picked you. Do you believe in destiny?’
‘I don’t know, I—’
‘Do you believe that anything is possible?’
Ben nodded. It was a damned sight easier to agree with Ebb than challenge him. A damned sight safer, too. ‘Yes, Father.’
‘The Lord has shown you the sin of opulence. He has shown you the vulgarity of competition. I’m told your father is a banker?’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘A greedy banker who rubs his hands together in glee, whilst the poor rub their hands together to stay warm.’
‘A parasite,’ Tweezer added.
Ebb brushed something off the front of his robe. ‘A parasite, indeed. Just like the energy bosses who condemn the poor to freeze in order to furnish their yachts and private jets. Sunning their bodies in the Mediterranean sun whilst the poor have to choose between eating and heating.’
‘Hypocrites,’ Tweezer shouted.
Ebb took a deep breath. ‘Corrupt to the core. But you have been chosen, Benjamin. Chosen to stand against them. Are you ready to accept the Lord’s challenge?’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘The Sons and Daughters of Salvation allow no room for Satan. We believe in hard work and honest endeavour. We shall stand shoulder to shoulder and be resolute in our purpose.’
‘Amen,’ Tweezer agreed.
‘Are you ready for that challenge, Benjamin?’
Ben looked into the black abyss of Ebb’s eyes. ‘Yes, Father.’
‘Are you ready to commit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ?’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘You can have no contact with the outside world. The outside world has no place in The Sons and Daughters of Salvation.’
Ben remembered the tower and the man standing guard at the top with a rifle.
‘The Sons and Daughters of Salvation is not for the faint-hearted. You are about to be inaugurated into a cause from which there will be no return. Are you ready for the journey, Benjamin?’
Ben’s heart fluttered like a wild bird trapped in a cage. ‘Yes, Father.’
‘Brother Tweezer will prepare you for your inauguration.’
‘Yes, Father.’
16
Dressed in a white gown secured around the
middle with a bright yellow sash, Ben followed Tweezer down the stairs and into the kitchen. The tops of his feet were sunburnt. The coarse fabric of the robe rubbed against them as he walked. Tweezer had pre-warned Ben not to speak unless in direct response to a question from Ebb.
All the other members of the group, except for Marcus, stood around the table like nervous guests at a wedding. They were all dressed in matching white robes with yellow sashes, except for Ebb, who had a distinctive black sash with purple embroidered edges.
Ebb clapped his hands together. ‘Brother Bubba is ready for us. If you’d like to follow me outside, we’ll begin.’
Tweezer held onto Ben’s elbow and guided him into place behind Ebb. The rest of the group fell in behind them. They walked out of the kitchen, along the hall and out of the front door. A slight breeze whispered among the trees. A plane flew overhead; Ben wished with all his heart he was on it.
Ebb led them through the courtyard and into the barn Bubba had been working in when Ben and Maddie had arrived. The barn was cool after the stifling heat of the farmhouse. Lanterns cast shadows across the walls. Bubba stood at the far end of the barn, hands on hips, back against the wall. He didn’t look up or acknowledge their arrival in any way.
Ebb stopped and turned to face the group. ‘Get into place, please.’
The group formed a semicircle behind Ebb, Tweezer and Ben.
Ben stared in disbelief at a full-sized wooden cross lying on the floor.
‘Are the preparations complete?’ Ebb asked Bubba.
Bubba nodded.
‘Come and help Brother Tweezer get Benjamin onto the cross.’
Ben tried to take a step back, but Tweezer held his arm in a vice-like grip. ‘We must do as the Father says.’
‘I’m not—’
‘Silence. You are to comply with all aspects of your inauguration.’ Ebb eyes looked like splotches of oil.
Ben bit down on his tongue. His bad knee threatened to collapse and spill him onto the ground.
Bubba untied the sash securing Ben’s robe. The coarse material slipped from his shoulders and formed a puddle of fabric on the floor.
Ebb stood over the cross. ‘We ask You to bless our humble servant, Benjamin, Lord. We ask You in the name of Jesus Christ to forgive his wretched soul.’
Tweezer told Ben to lie down on the cross
‘Why?’
Tweezer took a deep breath. ‘Do not question God’s will. Lie down on the cross with your arms stretched out over the crosspiece.’
Ben grappled with reality. ‘You’re going to crucify me?’
Ebb smiled. ‘Only metaphorically, Benjamin. We won’t use a hammer and nails. Jesus Christ suffered unimaginable horror on the cross to save our wretched souls. Your suffering is not quite of comparable magnitude.’
‘But why are you doing this?’
‘Your inauguration is not a questions and answers session. Please refrain from being disrespectful.’
‘I’m not being disrespectful. I just don’t understand why I—’
Ebb held up a hand. ‘That you are talking back is showing a distinct lack of respect. A flagrant disregard for the will of the Lord.’
Ben resorted to the truth. ‘I’ve got a bad knee.’
Tweezer stepped in front of Ben and hit him across the left cheek with the back of his hand. The sound echoed through the hollow acoustics of the barn. Ben staggered back and put a hand to his cheek.
‘Lie down on the cross, Benjamin,’ Ebb said.
‘I can’t.’
Ebb turned to the rest of the group. ‘Pray for Benjamin. Pray that he may find the strength to overcome his weakness.’
The group bowed their heads.
Ebb turned his attention back to Ben. Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead like tiny jewels. ‘Benjamin?’
‘What?’
Tweezer drew back his hand again, making ready to strike. Ebb stilled him. ‘Join the rest of the group, Brother Tweezer. Pray for Benjamin.’
Tweezer lowered his hand. ‘Yes, Father.’
Ebb smiled at Ben. A greasy doughnut smile dusted with sugar. ‘I understand you’re afraid. Fear is a natural response to the unknown. But I can tell you right now; fear is Satan’s greatest ally. That heinous beast feasts upon fear.’
‘I—’
‘What do you fear, Benjamin?’
Being stripped naked and pinned to a cross by a bunch of mad bastards in white robes. ‘I don’t know, Father.’
‘Precisely. You don’t know. But let me tell you, Benjamin, fear turns brother against brother, sister against sister and father against son. Fear is the stampede in the burning building. Do you understand?’
Ben didn’t. ‘Yes, Father.’
‘You only fear the cross because you don’t understand why I am asking you to lie upon it.’
Ben massaged his cheek. ‘Yes, Father.’
‘You have nothing to fear but fear itself?’
‘Yes, Father.’ Ben thought It was like being reassured by a crocodile it was safe to swim in the river.
‘Do you know what courage is, Benjamin?’
‘Overcoming fear?’ Ben tried.
‘Courage is not wanting to do something, but doing it anyway. Does that sound like a fair description to you?’
‘Yes, Father.’
Ebb pointed at the cross. ‘This cross represents courage. Think how Jesus must have felt being nailed to His cross. Do you think He blubbed like a baby in bath water and pleaded with Pontius Pilate to let Him run off home to His mother?’
‘No, Father.’
‘Damn right he didn’t, Pixie-pea. Jesus embraced death. He went to His cross with valour and dignity.’
Tweezer punched the air. ‘Praise Jesus.’
Ebb seemed annoyed by Tweezer’s interruption. And then: ‘He suffered to save us, Benjamin. So don’t you stand there and fear the reaper when the reaper isn’t even in attendance. Lie down on your cross.’
Ben looked from Ebb to Bubba and then back again at Ebb. Surely they were all going to burst out laughing in a minute, pat him on the back and tell him this was all a silly joke in a stupid nightmare. Just like his mother used to when he was plain old Stutter-buck dreaming about the bullies who drove him up a conker tree.
Ebb held out his hands, palms up. ‘Embrace this night, Benjamin. This is your time. The Night of Naked Reconciliation.’
Ben shuddered and looked at the cross. Manacles were secured to each end of the crossbeam. He hadn’t noticed them before, not when his mind had been expecting nails.
‘Go to your cross, Benjamin. Brother Bubba will assist you.’
Ben knelt on the floor. He allowed Bubba to help him into position. He stretched his arms out over the crossbeam. Bubba secured his wrists. He then used a leather strap to secure Ben’s ankles to the bottom of the cross.
The wooden cross was hard and rigid beneath his spine. Every fibre in his body ached. At least Maddie wasn’t there to witness his humiliation.
Ebb stood over him and grinned. ‘That wasn’t so bad, was it?’
Nope. Just normal run-of-the-mill stuff you do every day. ‘No, Father.’
‘Brother Tweezer?’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘You and Brother Bubba may raise the cross now.’
As the two men hauled the cross into an upright position, the force of gravity almost wrenched Ben’s shoulders from their sockets. He cried out and twisted his head from side to side. He bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood. His right knee buckled and his shoulders jarred as the two men dragged the cross to the far wall. When in place, Bubba secured it to the barn’s timber frame with four massive screws.
Ebb stood in front of Ben. ‘It might be a little uncomfortable at first, but you will soon acclimatise.’
Ben tried to push up to relieve the pressure on his shoulders. His right knee collapsed.
‘It will pay you to keep still. Wriggling like a maggot on a fish hook will do nothing other than cause
stress to your joints.’
Ben tried to relax and take the tension out of his shoulders. He took several deep breaths. Bile burned his throat.
Ebb smiled like a salesman about to complete a rather good deal. ‘That’s better. You’ll appreciate my advice as the night wears on.’
‘I’ve got bad knees.’
‘We all have our cross to bear, Benjamin. Every single one of us. You are not unique. Anyway, we’re not here to discuss your knees. We’re here to observe The Night of Naked Reconciliation.’
Ben turned his head to one side so he didn’t have to look at Ebb’s grotesque face. It was getting more and more difficult to draw breath.
Ebb raised his right hand. ‘I call The Sons and Daughters of Salvation to order.’
The group shuffle forwards. All eyes were on Ben as Tweezer and Bubba joined Alice, Dixie and Emily. Only Marcus was absent, but Ben knew where he was: manning the watchtower, ready to shoot anyone who might be dumb enough to try to escape.
Ebb turned his back on Ben and addressed the group. ‘Brothers and Sisters. My loyal, faithful servants. The Lord is with us. Praise the Lord.’
‘Praise the Lord,’ the group chanted.
‘He shines His everlasting light upon you all. He recognises the invaluable contribution you have all made to The Sons and Daughters of Salvation. He wants you all to be assured that your effort and your sacrifice shall be rewarded in the Kingdom of Heaven.’
‘Praise the Lord,’ Tweezer shouted.
The rest of the group followed Tweezer’s lead.
Ebb raised both hands in the air. ‘Please join me in wishing well our humble servant, Benjamin, as he faces The Night of Naked Reconciliation. Let Jesus shine his light and love upon him as he sheds the shackles of his past. Let Jesus nurture him as he is born again into a world of sacrifice and servitude. Praise Benjamin.’
‘Praise Benjamin,’ the group chanted.
‘We ask you, Lord, to give Benjamin the courage and the strength he needs to overcome adversity. Praise Benjamin.’
‘Praise Benjamin.’
Ben noticed that Bubba made no attempt to speak. The big man stared at the ground as Ebb rambled on. It looked as if Bubba wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Ben wished the ground would open up and swallow all The Sons and Daughters of Salvation.
