A few moments later a couple of servants appeared with plates full of everything you’d ever want in a breakfast: pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, even a couple links of sausage. There was no way I could finish a plate that huge, but I was going to try. After we were all served, no one really spoke, we just ravenously dug into the mound of deliciousness in front of us. I didn’t know if it tasted any different from the food I normally ate, but it did taste amazing.
There was a knock on the front door followed by a clunking and a shuffling of feet. Elisha immediately rose from her seat when we all saw Beth walking toward us, using her cane for support.
“Am I too late?” Beth asked with a smile.
It was such a strange sensation watching her walk toward the table. She was exactly identical to Elisha, but old. And sweet. Beth wasn’t faking that. She was genuinely a kind person, some things you just can’t pretend.
“Of course not, sit down next to me.” Elisha made room so that Beth would be between her and Roland.
“Mother. Always good to see you.” Roland stood up and pulled the chair out for Beth to sit.
I noticed a strange expression on Beth’s face, but it was gone before I could even form an opinion. File that away for later discussions with the gang. Thinking about the gang, I felt a sudden pang for Ryan and my palms started to sweat. I really didn’t like not knowing where he was and my gut was screaming at me that he was in danger.
“Good to be seen, Roland.” Beth smiled and kissed his cheek lovingly. “Though probably not for much longer, I’m getting old.” Beth winked at us in friendly way, but all our faces dropped.
How could she talk about death so casually? She’d said it with a smile and a wink? What was up with that? It scared me. But I had to remind myself that these towns thought differently about death. Purposely not taking Age-pro because they believed in their religion so much was a concept that eluded me.
“Why so grim?” Beth seemed genuinely bothered as she sat down. “I’m not dying today. At least I hope not.” She turned to Elisha and patted her sister’s child hand lovingly, “Not when I’ve just reunited with my sister.”
A servant brought in a plate for Beth and she began to eat with the rest of us.
“So what do you plan on doing with all those pregnant women?” Jason apparently had enough of small talk.
Roland didn’t even skip a beat, as if he was expecting any and all questions. “I plan on keeping them here and raising them in our faith.”
“The children too, or just the women?” Jason appeared casual, but I could tell he knew he had the news exclusive of a lifetime and he was probably doing everything in his power not to salivate on the table.
“Both. I believe the children being carried in these women are theirs. Science is the devil’s work.” Roland acted serious, but I could tell it was an act. Everything about him was an act.
“Who’s the devil? Is he some kind of scientist or something?” Nancy asked thinking she was making the conversation lighter.
“Well, I’ll teach you all about the devil, though the minute you start taking Age-pro you’ve already given into his temptations.” Roland nodded his head toward Nancy as if this confusing sentence said it all.
“Okay.” Nancy had attitude face which made me smile.
“There’s nothing funny about Satan.” Elisha’s eyes scolded me.
“If I knew who that was, I might agree with you.” I was tired of faking my complacent attitude with Elisha. “But I’m assuming by the sudden change in both of your attitudes and the seriousness of your tones that these guys Devil and Satan are bad dudes. I just know the difference between good and evil, and frankly I’m not so sure about you two.”
I stood up as if everything I had been through was about to boil over in an explosion all over the table.
Roland stood up with me, his hand waving a placating gesture. “Please, I don’t wish you any harm. Sit. We’ll talk this out.”
“Talk what out? How you’ve kidnapped my boyfriend and refuse to let me see him? Or that you’ve kidnapped 7,000 babies from their real parents? Or that you haven’t made one peep about I.Q. Farms since I helped Elisha escape? You were supposed to expose them or shut them down or something: what happened to that? Or that you and Elisha are planning something and keeping us here against our will.”
Then I turned to Elisha, and with as much confidence and viciousness as I could muster, I said, “Or the fact that you’ve been poking around in my brain since Tuesday!”
Elisha stood up then, angry herself. “Well, I wouldn’t have to if you had just been honest with me!”
The others at the table were keeping silent, not sure where this confrontation was going. I wasn’t so sure myself, but now that I was airing everything out…
“Honest?! That’s a joke! Why did Turner tell me that Samuel and John weren’t brain dead?” I said this more to see Elisha and Roland’s expressions and less for any kind of truthful answer.
“Samuel and John have nothing to do with this,” Roland said a little too quickly. “And I have no idea what goes on in the head of that psychopath, Geoffrey Turner. He probably said it just so you’d distrust us. He doesn’t want us to join forces. He’s terrified of that.”
I slowly sat down as if their words were sinking in, but honestly it was because I was afraid if I pushed them too far I would put my friends in more danger than they already were.
Roland and Elisha took this as a victory and sat down as well, their expressions relieved.
Elisha tried to re-iterate Roland’s point. “Your grandfather has been trying to kill you since he knew you existed. Why would you start trusting him now?”
I threw them a bone. “Maybe.”
What I wanted to say was that I didn’t trust Turner or them. One was that Devil guy and the other was that Satan dude. “Honest about what?” I asked as calmly as I could. Maybe I could suss out what Elisha was doing in my head in the first place.
“Honest about your grandmother and your distrust for me. If you had talked to me about this, Chelsan, your imagination may not have gotten the best of you.” Elisha was acting like I was her two-year old child who had just acted up. Like I was supposed to feel stupid for even having my doubts about her.
“Listen. We’ve obviously started out on the wrong foot.” Roland’s cheeky grin was back. “Why don’t I tell you all a little bit about Havenville and our beliefs, so you can see where we’re coming from. Sound good?” he asked.
We all nodded, though I don’t think anyone was all that enthused to hear a speech from Roland. We’d heard enough of him on television and, frankly, he was way too over the top for me. He started rambling on about his religion, and how there was something called a heaven and hell, which apparently the hell part was where this devil guy lived. I guess the devil and Satan were the same thing, oops, my bad. There were all kinds of invisible protectors called angels, while the devil guy had demons. It was all pretty elaborate and frankly, a little scary, but, just like one of Mr. Alaster’s lectures, I eventually tuned out.
What surprised me most was the fact that Roland and the people of Havenville were so dedicated to these stories that they refused to take Age-pro. They really believed that when you die you went somewhere else! And depending on how you lived your life, it would determine whether or not you’d go to heaven or hell. Just from what I’d seen so far, Roland and Elisha were definitely going down. Beth on the other hand… I truly wished there was a heaven for her sake. She really seemed so nice. It made me feel better about being related to my grandparents. If she could be genuinely good and still be related to those two, maybe I could, too.
All this new vocabulary was making my head spin, but it reminded me of some of the things Roberta had said to me before. I wondered if she had ever been religious at any point in her life.
I didn’t know whether to be impressed with these people because they were willing to literally die for what they believed or sorry for them because they could be wr
ong and it was all for nothing.
Roland went on for at least an hour without interruption. Aside from the fire and brimstone talk, I was bored to tears. The last thing I had expected that morning was a lecture about Christian Coalition towns and their belief system. I envied Ryan at the moment, but he probably knew about all this already. He seemed to know everything. And thinking of him…
I needed to stay focused. No matter what Roland or Elisha said, I was going to find Ryan as soon as we left this house.
I looked over at Jill and Nancy and they looked like they were about to doze off. Beth listened with a glowingly, proud expression. Elisha looked just as bored as I was. Bill was playing with his fork next to me and Jason was fully enwrapped in every word Roland said at the end of the table. Such a reporter.
“Well, I can see I’ve lost the youth.” Roland smiled and he stood up. “I hope you understand us a little better now?” He directed his eyes to me.
“Uh, yeah, thanks,” I said and turned to my crew. “We’d like to take a look around for ourselves, if you don’t mind?”
“Of course. This town is yours for the time being. Just try not to upset the locals with blasphemy.” Roland reached down and kissed Elisha’s cheek, followed by Beth’s, “If you’ll excuse me,” and he walked out of the house.
I didn’t really know what blasphemy meant, but I assumed he didn’t want us dogging his beliefs to the Havenvillers. I was pretty sure that never would have entered any of our minds, but I guess I understood why he said it.
A servant walked in from the kitchen. “Ms. Stearne, you’re needed in Building Sixty.”
Elisha’s eyes flickered in my direction, but she nodded to the servant. “Thank you, I’m on my way.” Elisha stood up and gave her sister a hug. “I’ll visit with you later.”
“Bye, bye, sweetie.” Beth’s whole face crinkled into a smile.
Elisha gave me one last glance as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave her sister with us, but then left quickly without a word.
“Well, I should be on my way, too. It was lovely to have breakfast with all of you. I hope to do it again soon.” Beth took some time to stand, using her cane to help her up.
“We’re going, too. We’ll walk with you a bit, if you don’t mind?” I wanted to figure out what those strange looks at Roland were about.
“That sounds nice,” Beth answered and we all started walking her to the door.
As we left the house and began to stroll down the cobblestone streets I made sure I was next to Beth. “So Beth, what’s it like seeing your sister again?”
Beth beamed. “It’s a dream come true. It really is. Our whole lives we wondered what happened to her and now she’s back and home safe.”
“Our?” Jason asked from behind.
For a brief second Beth’s face looked like she was the cat who ate the canary, but she recovered and smiled back at Jason a moment later. “Me and our parents, of course. They died years ago. I’m just sorry they never found out what happened to Elisha.” Beth turned to me and kissed my cheek. “This is my stop. Have fun, dears.” Before we could respond Beth hobbled hurriedly into her house as if we were the plague.
We all watched her go inside and then resumed our walk.
“She knows something,” Jason mused aloud.
“You think?” Jill said sarcastically.
Nancy looked like she wanted to smack Jill, but per usual Jason didn’t respond to the snideness.
“It’s just a matter of tricking her into spilling. A gift of mine. I’ll work on her at lunch.” Jason’s brain was already churning.
I looked around, making sure we were out of earshot from passers-by. “Look for Ryan?” I whispered to the gang.
“Elisha said he doesn’t want to see you right now,” Bill piped up and he might as well have punched me.
His face immediately retreated guiltily, but I could feel my nostrils starting to flare.
“No thanks to you!” I hadn’t realized how loud it came out until I saw some Havenville heads down the street turn toward me.
“Quiet down,” Jason urged.
“I don’t care if he doesn’t want to see me, I need to see him.” I didn’t want to give into my insecurities, but hearing Bill say that Ryan didn’t want to see me somehow made the whole notion real. And if Ryan didn’t want to see me… I couldn’t think about that.
“Let’s start with this Building Sixty, shall we?” Jason held his arm out for me and I took it with a relieved grin.
“We should split up,” Jill suddenly announced.
I stopped, making Jason follow suit. “Don’t you think we should stick together?”
Jill searched the area for unwanted ears and made us all gather in close. “I think Elisha wants you to go to Building Sixty and I think she’s trying to set you up for something.”
Bill, Nancy and Jason all exchanged glances that pretty much radiated that they hadn’t thought of that, but they agreed wholeheartedly.
Then Jill paused as if what she was about to say was going to be painful. “Chelsan and I should check out the building and you three should find out what you can from some of those pregnant girls. Maybe even that Doris lady that’s always on the news. And definitely find out what Beth knows.”
“I like this girl.” Jason raised his eyebrows in approval while Nancy gave him a look that could kill.
“I don’t,” Nancy grumbled. “Why you? Maybe Chelsan should take Bill?”
“Yeah, I’ll go with you,” Bill said a little too eagerly for Jill’s taste. (And for mine.)
“I don’t want to go anywhere with Bill,” I said more harshly than I intended.
Bill’s face fell instantly and I immediately regretted it.
Jill rolled her eyes and acted as if she were talking to children. “I should go because I’m the most manipulative and beautiful person here and we can use it to our advantage. Trust me, there’s not a guy I can’t flirt with. And if my radar is accurate, these old dudes are salivating for me.” She turned to Nancy. “You just don’t have that kind of confidence, and your crush on him will hold you back.” Jill eyed Jason knowingly.
Nancy clenched her fist and was about to attack Jill, when Jason grabbed her.
“She may be a little crass, but she’s right.” Nancy whirled on him with fury and hurt, but Jason held her face to calm her. “She’s just saying in a really nasty way that you’re sweet and you like me.”
Nancy was appalled and embarrassed. “Not anymore!”
Before Nancy could go on another Jason-hating tirade, Jason leaned in and kissed her. When he pulled away he looked serious. “It’s okay, Nancy. I like you, too, probably a lot more than you like me. Actually, I’m sure I do. You’re all I think about, and you make me crazy.”
Nancy sighed in what I can only describe as blissful relief. She kissed him back and for once in a really long time I felt happy. Happy for my best friend who finally broke down the impenetrable Jason Keroff and got him to admit his feelings for her.
But then they were just kissing and time was ticking.
And Bill looked like an abused dog, just standing there, not saying anything.
“Guys, I hate to break this up, but…” I said, really hoping Nancy wouldn’t be mad.
She wasn’t of course. She was grinning from ear to ear.
Jason casually reached over and held Nancy’s hand, which made her physically shiver. The girl was happy.
Nancy turned to me, her eyes now alight with excitement. (I figured in that moment, she could probably care less about Jill and her comments, or let’s face it, she could care less about me for that matter.) “We’ll find out what we can, but you two be careful. You got any dead things you can use?”
“So far, all the buildings seem to have me blocked, but I have access to the whole graveyard when I’m outside,” I said, then realized I had only told Jason about the blockage. So I filled them in. I also decided that, while I was spilling, I’d tell them about my strange encounter wit
h Roberta as well.
Nancy was appropriately annoyed. “So that’s what Elisha was talking about when she said you didn’t trust her. That’s hypocritical seeing as she’s stalking your brain without your permission.”
Jill was the most visibly upset by the news. “You’re not becoming friends with your grandparents are you? Because they killed your mom and my dad.”
“You don’t have to remind me, Jill. And, no: the last thing I’d ever feel for them is friendship. I’m in information-gathering mode here and they have information. All we know is that both Elisha and Turner want those twins. Let’s find out why.”
Jill’s arms were crossed. I could tell she didn’t believe my answer but seriously: didn’t care. In fact, the only thing I wanted to think about was finding Ryan. I honestly didn’t really even care about Samuel and John. I was kind of tired of being pulled into messes that weren’t mine. I just wanted my boyfriend back. Was that too much to ask?
“Let’s do this,” Nancy said, breaking the tension. “Just try and keep one foot outside if you can.” She turned to Jill, “If Chelsan gets hurt in any way…”
Jill rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you’ll kick my ass. I know. Can we go now?”
Jill. Jill. Jill.
Such a pleasant human being.
Nancy hugged me while Jason gave me a small salute and recaptured Nancy’s hand. I really hoped he wouldn’t change his mind again, for all our sakes!
Bill awkwardly hovered near me, waiting for a hug as well. I reached up and pulled him close whispering in his ear, “I’m sorry, Bill.”
“Me, too,” he whispered back.
When he pulled away we were both grinning uncomfortably at each other until Bill, Nancy and Jason all went back toward the center of town.
Jill turned to me. “I hate to rain on our parade, but where do you think Building Sixty is?”
The Riser Saga Page 49
