The Sons of Man

by Laura Ellison

  Chapter Six

  “After all these years, you don’t expect me to have wondered what was going on?” Annie’s father asked. “I haven’t had a real conversation with you in years. You couldn’t even be bothered to talk to your mother...”

  He continued to drive, Annie next to him in his truck. He had picked her up from the bus station in downtown Marine.

  Annie could have turned accusatory, bringing up the drinking, how she had raised herself, her parents only interested in the next drink. Instead, she maintained a cold silence, while her father, dressed in a thick camouflage hunting coat, navigated the icy roads.

  Annie looked over at him; now seventy, bald with deep wrinkles, jowls and hazel eyes almost yellow. He wore dentures, his face and body bloated. She wondered how he had made it to seventy, her mother dead years ago.

  “And if he is following you–“

  “He will never get me to go back,” Annie said.

  “Why did you stay as long as you did?”

  “I was devoted to The Mission, Dad. The immortality of the spirit...”

  “The only things those assholes care about is money. Power.”

  Annie didn’t reply. She knew he was right, but Timothy and Frieda didn’t know how to live outside of the cocoon of The Church. Timothy had tried, when he was very young and in the military, but his experience in Kuwait had only made him cling tighter to The Church after coming home. He had not been diagnosed with PTSD or Gulf War Syndrome, but had not sought psychiatric help. Instead, he received his therapy from fasting, prayer, meditation, and past life regression or whatever else The Church offered. The retreats in the desert; where he was treated like prince, the son of the prophet.

  The prodigal son had returned, humbled by war.

  “And if he dares to come on to my property, I’ll kill the little bastard–“

  “No, you won’t. If he wants to talk, fine. I’m not running anymore.”

  “Do you think that kook will give you a divorce? Just walk away?”

  The truck’s tires started to slide, but he slowed down. “Dad, I’m not sure what Timothy wants. I don’t think he even knows.”

  “Then he is dangerous, Annie. You know him best–“

  “No, I don’t. Not since Marshall died. Timothy was always controlling, but I thought it was because he wanted to protect The Mission.”

  “What is their Mission?”

  “To lead others in understanding that our souls are on a great journey. Life on Earth is more profound than we think. Life after life, we get closer to becoming more like Jesus, the Christ consciousness. But we can only move forward-evolve-by having as many past lives revealed to us as possible, along with cherishing the humanity in ourselves and each other. Mankind can evolve and bring us closer to a Second Coming. This knowledge–“

  “All of this doesn’t sound so bad, Annie. But it’s not why you ran away.”

  “The Mission has been forgotten in favor of money and power. What I believed in is gone. I don’t think Timothy can accept that. The Church was supposed to be his life before he was born. He never questioned his father about The Mission until he joined the military. Marshall disdained war, but Timothy needed to go, to have a different life for a while, to grow up. But his experience in Kuwait just brought him right back to The Church and his father. That’s when I met him.”

  Annie’s father stayed quiet until they arrived at the old house. She looked through the flying snow and the darkness to find something familiar, a reminder of her life here. She wondered if she had been gone for too long. “Dad...”

  “We put some new siding on, a new deck.”

  “I never thought I would come back here...”

  “Annie, there’s something you should know. About The Church.”

  “Yes?”

  “The Church of Mankind has come to Marine. They’ve taken over the old Unitarian church downtown. The pastor’s name is Hawkins. Matthew Hawkins.”

  Sonya took in all of the lively chatter in the school cafeteria Monday. Everyone, in all classes, was talking about the explosion at Fletcher Brothers Funeral Home and Danny’s funeral being abruptly moved to a mortuary in Falls River.

  “There’s, like, four other funeral homes in Marine,” Bobby said. “But Danny went to Falls River? Forty miles away?”

  Sonya was sitting with Bobby, Piper’s cheerleader friends close by. Usually, they would talk to Sonya if Piper was there, but at least Kelly and Courtney said hello to Bobby, because snubbing Piper’s best friend in her absence was rude, for some reason.

  “I’ve been getting my lunch at Mack’s store for so long,” Bobby said,”I forgot about Meatball Mondays in here.” He looked down at the little meatballs in brown gravy, topping a mound of instant mashed potatoes. “Comfort food.”

  “We’re going to be locked down for a while,” Sonya said. “It’s too cold to walk over there, anyway.”

  “I tried getting on The Blue and White last night,” he said. “The site is down.”

  “Do you think SkolClik is scared?” Sonya asked.

  “Of...what?”

  “Of being unmasked. SkolClik has gone all this time without anyone knowing who he or she is. Nobody seems to care as long SkolClik doesn’t write about them.”

  Bobby picked at a meatball with his fork. “I could go for a taco.”

  Sonya popped a meatball into her mouth. She chewed for a moment, then swallowed. “Tasty. They’re okay. Try one.”

  Bobby, at Sonya’s request, put a small bite in his mouth. “Yeah, okay.”

  “Tomorrow is Taco Tuesday.”

  “Oh, joy.”

  “Did you get your history paper back?”

  “I got an A.”

  “Awesome.”

  “Sonya?”

  She turned around to see her cousin Kaitlyn, a senior cheerleader, standing beside her. Sonya hadn’t spoken to Kaitlyn, once Bill’s step-granddaughter, in months. Kaitlyn lived with her mother Tara and her grandmother Sue, Bill’s ex-wife.

  “Hi, Kaitlyn,” Sonya said.

  Kaitlyn hesitated for a moment and then sat down beside Sonya. Kaitlyn was dressed in a green cable-knit sweater and leggings. She worked for her clothes as a cashier at L+M Market. Tara had never really worked, Sue supporting them both.

  “Mom and Axel are engaged, you know,” Kaitlyn said.

  Axel, Tara’s boyfriend, was a Blue Diamond.

  “Was Axel at–“

  “No,” Kaitlyn said. “He wasn’t at the funeral. He’s been sick with the flu. I heard your step-dad was there...”

  “Yeah. He’s okay, but it really scared me when I saw it on the news. He went home from the hospital the next day.”

  “I’ve never met any of those people. Axel comes over to Grandma’s house alone.”

  “How is she doing?”

  “All right. She’s done with her chemotherapy, so we just have to wait.”

  “Radiation?”

  “She got that first. They had to remove the left breast and the lymph nodes.” Kaitlyn pulled out her phone, and showed Sonya a photo of Sue. “We went wig shopping.”

  A series of photos, Sue making comic faces with each wig. Sonya chuckled. “I like the red-haired one with the spiral curls.”

  “She always wanted to know what she would look like with different hair, but she settled for some hats instead.”

  “Wigs can be hot. My mom didn’t like them, either.”

  “Have you spoken to Kristen Beck lately?”

  Kristen, one of the Ravisher’s teen victims, who suffered a miscarriage after her assault, was a senior and once Kaitlyn’s best friend. They had a falling out because Kristen didn’t like Kaitlyn’s boyfriend, Dane Lock, the school quarterback.

  “Not since the Ravisher was caught,” Sonya said.

  “I called her at home, but her mom said she moved out. She turned eighteen last month.”

  “She didn’t drop out, did she?”

  “She hasn’t been to class since Chris
tmas. She doesn’t work at Chester Chicken anymore.”

  “I can’t blame her for quitting that place. She was attacked behind the dumpster.”

  “Her cuts were healing well. Not as deep.”

  “I like Kristen. I hope she’s okay.”

  “Dane and I broke up.”

  “I read it on The Blue and White.”

  “That stupid site better stay down.”

  “Did you read the last entry?” Sonya asked.

  “Yeah. About the car. I didn’t see anything. I was inside.”

  “Why wouldn’t Kristen’s mom tell you where she went?”

  “I didn’t ask. What about your friend Jessica?”

  “She’s...not good.”

  “I’ve seen her talking with Todd Kemp. I don’t know about Emily Watts.”

  “Missionary work with her parents.”

  “Oh. Well, if you see Kristen, tell her that everything she said about Dane was true. I wouldn’t listen.”

  “Maybe you can tell her yourself.”

  “No. I don’t think so.”

  Kaitlyn rose from the table and left the cafeteria. Bobby had heard the whole conversation, but Kaitlyn hadn’t seemed to care.

  “How can two best friends stop speaking over some dumb jock?” Bobby asked.

  “Because someone didn’t want to be friends anymore.”

  “Jealousy?”

  “Sometimes we tell our friends things in confidence. We want them to keep our secrets, but people talk.”

  “Betrayal, then?”

  “Yeah. I think having a big mouth breaks up friendships more than anything else.”

  Bobby had lived at Lakeshore Apartments for almost three years. The area was peaceful, with only occasional theft. Many families lived at Lakeshore, plenty of single parents like Bobby’s mother.

  A divorced father named Brad Jensen and his eight year old son Tyler were coming back late from ice fishing. They had gone thirty miles out of town to an uncle’s property. Brad had enjoyed seeing Tyler try to learn the basics of ice fishing in that metal shack on the frozen river. Brad worked long hours, so he liked spending time with Tyler when he could.

  Brad had taken a week’s vacation from Marine Steel, and Tyler was spending time with him after school. A trip to the nearby Big Wolf Lodge was planned for the weekend. One part resort, casino, and indoor amusement park, Tyler couldn’t stop talking about the trip.

  They took the fishing poles and tackle out of the back of Brad’s small SUV. He hadn’t been a victim of theft at Lakeshore, but he didn’t take any chances, keeping his valuables inside.

  Brad and Tyler had spoken of Danny Brooks and the funeral home explosion. Brad figured that he and Tyler were safe.

  They were at the front door of Brad’s unit, not paying attention to the old black Jeep that was approaching from the road. Brad pushed his key into the lock, Tyler standing behind him, still bundled up, carrying the tackle, the poles under his arms, at his chest.

  The driver’s side door of the Jeep opened, just a few yards from Brad and Tyler. The first shot hit Tyler, the tackle and poles falling with him. Brad only had a moment to yell out, the next shot taking Brad above the ear.

  Bobby and Delia looked out the window, taking in the sirens and red lights. The tenants were told by police to stay inside.

  They had been in their pajamas, watching TV, when they heard the two shots, two brief popping sounds, just one unit away.

  “That’s it, Bobby,” his mother said. “You’re on lockdown here, too.”

  “Mom, it’s too cold to go anywhere except school.”

  “And how do I know this maniac won’t open fire at your bus stop? I can’t believe this...”

  “The bus driver won’t pick me up at the door.”

  “Maybe Mr. Neslund–“

  “Sonya’s dad is too busy with his brother. He has Alzheimer’s–“

  “Maybe I can take you...“

  “What makes you safe? He could shoot us both. Or when you’re driving to work.”

  “Wear your helmet.”

  “Oh, Mom...”

  “You won’t be the only one. Helmets are called brain-buckets for a reason.”

  Bobby, in order to quiet his mother down, actually took his old motorcycle helmet to the bus stop. He wore the helmet going out the door, knowing he would be ridiculed. He walked past the crime scene tape and lingering police and FBI to the crowd of kids and parents waiting at the stop.

  Delia’s idea had not been original; several more kids were wearing head-gear, even a few football helmets.

  What if the sniper stops aiming for the head? Bobby thought.

  Bobby didn’t notice, as he was walking out of his unit, that Archie was watching him through the window.