The Chosen

by Patricia Bell

  Rachel nodded. A bit of fear departed as she stared at the kind-looking man.

  “Hi Rachel, my name is Todd Tanner. I’m Hannah’s husband.”

  Rachel nodded again.

  “See,” Hannah said. “I told you he wasn’t a big scary monster. He’s just a person like the rest of us.”

  Rachel could do nothing but nod. It was true. The guy looked no different than Jacob. A bit older, but no less human. The whole demon-looking idea had been conjured up in her own imagination, but still, she’d been taught at a very young age to fear them. To never speak to them ― not ever. And here she was going against everything she knew, once again.

  “Come on. I will show you guys in,” the man said.

  Rachel hesitated, but Shelly wrapped her arm through hers and gently pulled her along. “It’ll be okay. Remember what we talked about?”

  Rachel nodded. Luna’s mother was looking for her. She was sorely afraid for her. Rachel had an obligation to help her if she could.

  And she could.

  Hesitantly, she followed the others inside and was escorted into a small room where one woman sat behind a large desk cluttered with papers. As soon as she entered Shelly squeezed her arm gently and said, “We'll be right outside the door.”

  Before Rachel could protest, the door closed and she was alone with Hannah's husband and the woman behind the desk.

  “Hi, Rachel. My name is Chief Erika Collins, but you can just call me Erika if you like.”

  Rachel nodded and tried to comprehend her situation. Women held no positions at all within The Chosen. Their only job was to have babies, take care of their families, and make wares to sell at market. No woman had ever even suggested she do otherwise. And that was just the way it was.

  “Why don’t you have a seat?” The woman nodded to the chair across from the desk. “Tanner, grab her a bottle of water, please.”

  Tanner left the room, and it was just the two of them. Rachel sat down hesitantly, and took in her surroundings. It was a small office, barely big enough for a desk and two chairs. Behind the woman was a big picture window that faced the parking lot. And there on her desk amidst the piles of papers was a picture frame that held a photo of a teenage girl. She looked to be just a couple of years older than Rachel. She bent forward to get a closer look.

  “Oh.” The woman reached over and picked up the frame. “This is my daughter, Desiree. We call her Desi.” She held it up for Rachel to see.

  “She is beautiful,” Rachel whispered.

  She didn’t dare tell the woman that graven images were forbidden in her community.

  “Thank you. You are beautiful as well.”

  Rachel blushed. To receive a compliment with pride was a sin. She nodded.

  “So, Rachel, could you tell me about your current circumstances? What’s going on with you?”

  “I . . . I am with child. I was fleshed . . . uh banned from my community.”

  “What exactly does that mean? You are not allowed to go back?”

  “No, I am not welcome there any longer.”

  “Where is the father?”

  “He is there.”

  “Why did they banish you but not him?”

  “I do not know.”

  Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to her, the unfairness of it all. Why had they fleshed her out and not Jacob? Why had he been allowed to stay? Why was it only her sin? And where was he? Did he care at all about her, or had he just moved on? The questions kept coming, yet there were no answers. She forced back the lump that formed in her throat.

  “Rachel, I understand this is hard for you, but Officer Tanner said you spoke of a girl in your community who had recently arrived. Is that usual? Do people join your community often? Is this something that happens on a regular—”

  “No, it is not. Rebecca is the first. We were told that she had been saved from a horrible situation and that she would be one of us as soon as—” Was she saying too much? Although she was upset with the decision of the High Prophet, she could not be angry. God had spoken, and you cannot argue with Him. The High Prophet had only been doing His will.

  “Rachel? As soon as what?” The woman watched her intently

  “As soon as she is married to the man who saved her life. Then she shall be brought into the fold. She shall be one of God’s chosen.”

  “Married? When?”

  “This month. After the last Sunday Sacrament.”

  Chief Collins swiped at the papers spread across her desk. Below was a large calendar, much bigger than the ones that hung in every kitchen in every household of The Chosen.

  “That’s—” The woman looked up with a face of shock. “This Sunday. Only two days away.”

  Rachel nodded.

  The woman shuffled through the folders and papers until she found what she was looking for. She opened it up and pulled out a picture. She laid it on the desk and slid it toward Rachel.

  “Is this her?”

  Rachel recognized the girl immediately. It was her. She nodded

  “Rachel, I’m going to need you to write a sworn statement about this. Everything you have told me. I need you to write it down. The sooner I get it to the judge, the sooner I can get a warrant and get her out of there.” The woman grabbed for a piece of paper and a pen and set it in front of Rachel.

  “I cannot,” Rachel said firmly.

  “But you have to. If you know she is there, it’s your responsibility to help us.”

  “I cannot,” Rachel repeated.

  “How can I make you see? The judge will not grant a—”

  “You do not understand. I cannot write.” Rachel dropped her head in shame. “Women are not taught to read nor write.”

  The chief of police stared at her for an eternity. An expression filled her face that Rachel could not discern. Surprise? Confusion? Compassion? A mixture of all three? Something else?

  “I see,” the woman said, regaining her composure. “We do have a dilemma.”

  Rachel nodded.

  “Tanner!” The woman yelled, startling her.

  “Coming, boss.” Tanner came into the room, holding a bottle of water. “Sorry, got sidetracked.” He handed the bottle to Rachel.

  “Thank you.”

  “Hold down the fort for me, Rachel and I are going on a little field trip.”

  “Where to, Chief?”

  “The courthouse.”

  Chapter 34 - Linda

  Guilt consumed Linda that she’d been having such a great time with Blake and his three kids while Luna was out there somewhere, possibly scared and alone. She needed some time alone. To think. To sort things out. After breakfast, she’d politely excused herself and headed out the door before Blake could protest.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy their company. Blake and Blake Jr had shared the couch while the two girls slept in Luna’s room. She’d allowed them to occupy the room, but it bothered her that they’d made themselves so comfortable, touching her daughter’s things, cuddling up with the childhood stuffed animals that still lined her bed. Luna had loved her stuffed animals. She didn’t care that she had long since outgrown them. And now strangers were embracing and playing with them. Sweet or not, it bothered Linda.

  Now, as she drove the long stretch between Canyon Rock and the neighboring town, she contemplated her menial existence. She’d dreamed of Blake all these years. She’d had a seventeen-year-old affair with the memory of her high school sweetheart. The boy she’d thought she loved. Maybe she had loved him, but now, they were grown. They had separate lives.

  He was a lawyer and a single dad, raising three kids in an entirely different state. And Linda, she hadn’t done a thing with her life. She’d taken a couple of college courses when Luna was younger, but something had always got in the way. “Maybe next year,” she’d said each year, and now she was a thirty-five-year-old manager at the local grocery store. She made little more than minimum wage, and after the stunt she’d pulled, she may not even have a job to go
back to.

  They were no longer compatible. He’d followed his dreams while she’d raised their child. He’d become a lawyer as her life went nowhere. Jealousy overwhelmed her as she exited the freeway.

  It had been years since she’d come to this place, and she hadn’t planned on being there, now. It was like the car had a mind of its own.

  As she parked and got out, she regretted her decision. She should just go home and talk it out with Blake. Even if they weren’t meant to be together, it wasn’t too late for Luna. He could still be a father to . . . Luna.

  Where is my baby girl?

  She ambled to the front door. The place would be mostly empty during the daytime. As she entered, she was right. Except for a couple of guys playing pool, the place was as deserted as her heart. She sat down at the bar she’d once frequented but had long since stopped.

  “How ‘bout a Jack and coke?” she asked the bartender.

  “Linda?” the woman asked. “It’s been years. What are you doing here?”

  Linda stared at the woman for a moment. She glanced down at the tag. Andy. The woman barely resembled the Andy she once knew.

  “Hey, Andy. How ya doing?”

  “Oh, I’m still kicking,” Andy said as she made the alcoholic drink for her. “How about you?” She slid the glass in front of Linda.

  Linda took a long swig. The taste was harsh, and it burned all the way down the back of her throat, yet, it was revitalizing.

  “Go easy there, tough guy. There’s plenty more where that came from.”

  Linda laughed. Already she felt easy. The alcohol hadn’t hit her yet, but it would soon. At one time, the place had been her standard routine after work. She’d come in and have a drink or two before going home to Luna and the life of being alone.

  Luna was great entertainment, but she wasn’t a man. She wasn’t Blake. No man had ever been able to take his place. She took another drink. This time it burned less. Emotion hit her like an anvil at the thought of the man she’d waited for all her life. The man who was at her house, while she drowned her sorrows at a bar she’d promised never to revisit.

  “What brings you all the way out here?” Andy asked, making conversation.

  What brings anyone anywhere? “Just needed a little time to think. Unwind.” Drown my sorrows. Cry about what will never be.

  “Anything you wanna talk about?”

  Linda contemplated dumping all her regrets on the lady but decided against it. What good would it do?

  “Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t think of it until this very moment but isn’t your daughter the girl who—” Andy stopped as if maybe she thought better of it. “Never mind. Can I get you another?” She nodded to Linda’s drink.

  So much for not dumping. Linda took a long drink and swirled the remaining ice at the bottom.

  “Yes.”

  “Coming right up.” The woman reached for a clean glass.

  “No. I mean yes that my daughter is the one who went missing. She’s been gone for almost four months, now.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You do need another one.”

  Linda’s phone rang. She reached into her purse and pulled it out. As she fumbled with it, the device fell to the floor.

  “Damn it,” she cried out, her head feeling heavy.

  She bent down to pick up the still ringing cell and, as she turned it over, the screen was cracked. Black fluid that looked like bruising filled it from the inside as if it were dying a slow death.

  Aren’t we all?

  Didn’t look like she would be taking that call anytime soon. It stopped ringing. She sighed.

  What am I doing here?

  She’d promised herself years ago when Luna had entered her rebellious stage, that she would stop drinking and focus on her daughter. Luna was twelve or thirteen at the time. And she had been getting into trouble in school, her grades had plummeted, and her attitude had hit rock bottom. Linda had quit drinking cold turkey. She’d gotten herself together, went back to church, and dragged Luna along with her. Luna was her life. She’d have done anything for her. Given up her own life for her.

  God, please let her be alive. I need her.

  Ashamed, she stared at herself in the mirror behind the counter. She should be out looking for her daughter. Instead, she was doing what she’d promised she’d never do again. She and Blake were two peas in a pod. Neither of them could take the heat. When times got rough, she ran just like the scaredy-cat she was.

  Linda pulled out a twenty, set it on the counter, and thanked Andy.

  “That’s it? You haven’t even touched your second drink.” Andy smiled.

  Linda pushed the drink away from her. “No, thanks. I better get on home and figure this all out,” she answered.

  There was nothing to figure out. Blake had a life with his three sweet kids, and Luna was gone. Soon Blake would go back to San Diego, and she would be left to wallow in her sorrows.

  Linda walked to her car, light-headedness coming over her. She’d only had one drink, but it had been so long since she’d touched an ounce of liquor that she was a little more affected by it. But still, she wasn’t seeing double or feeling dizzy. She got into her car and headed back home. Might as well get it over with.

  Instead of getting on the freeway, Linda took the back streets home. It would be much safer. Not that it mattered.

  What would happen if she died on the way home? Would anyone care? Blake would care. She was sure of it. But it just couldn’t work for them. It just couldn’t. He had a thriving business in San Diego, and she couldn’t leave Canyon Rock . . . Not without Luna.

  The sound of her ringing phone startled her.

  How is it even ringing?

  She pulled it out of her purse as she made a left on Ellsworth. Almost the entire screen was a globby, black mess. Still, it rang. She pushed the screen where the answer button would be, and it stopped.

  Huh.

  She put it up to her ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Linda?”

  “Yes? Who is this?”

  “Linda, -is - is Chi- Col- ca- yo- ear- me?”

  “Chief? You’re cutting out. Can you hear me?”

  “da- - -na - we are - ding - way- -ow”

  “Chief, I am not catching a word you’re saying. What’s going on?”

  “I - ink we - nd - na.”

  “Ugh!” Linda cried and threw it onto the floorboard. “Stupid phone!”

  She couldn’t see the screen to dial out anyway. She’d have to call her back from the home phone. She was almost there anyway.

  Minutes later she pulled up into her driveway. Blake Jr was out in the yard, throwing a football with his father. The two girls sat on the porch with their dollies, watching the boys. All four of them waved when she pulled in. It amazed her just how un-helpless the man in the wheelchair was. He didn’t need her.

  Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself.

  That was easier said than done. She put the car in park and headed to the porch to sit with the girls for a moment before going in to call the police station.

  Just as she sat, the landline rang.

  “It’s been ringing all morning,” Blake called as he threw the ball to his son.

  That would have to be Chief Collins. Whatever it was, it must be important. She got back to her feet and headed in just in time for it to stop ringing. It was one of those days where you should not get out of bed at all.

  She picked up the phone and dialed Chief Collins’s cell. She’d called the woman so many times that the numbers were burned into her skull.

  “Linda?” Chief Collins answered.

  “Yeah. What’s going on?”

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes. What’s up?”

  “I think we have a lead on Luna. I’m sitting at the courthouse now, waiting to speak to the judge about getting a warrant. He’s in session right now so it might be a while.”

  “What? Are you sure? How strong a lead?” Linda sat down at the t
able.

  “Pretty strong. I have a young lady sitting here with me who is sure Luna is — Oh, Linda, I’ve gotta go. Court is letting out now. I’ll call you as soon as I get the warrant.”

  “Okay. Call my home phone. My cell is broken.”

  Linda hung up and stared at the wall. Could it be possible? Had they found her baby girl? The front door opened, and the sounds of Blake and his kids laughing and talking made its way to her. As a slice of hope returned to her, she headed to the door.

  “Blake!” she called.

  “What is it?” Blake rolled himself into the house. Ceecee sat in her special spot on his lap.

  “That was the Chief of Police. They may have found Luna!”

  The kids jumped up and down and cheered as if they’d known their older sister more than just seeing her grow up in scrapbooks.

  “Where is she?” Blake’s face displayed a bit of worry.

  Linda explained what the chief told her on the phone. It wasn’t much, but it was something. What would Luna think of her new family? Linda couldn’t think that far ahead. She hadn’t even gotten her daughter back. It could still be a false alarm.

  As Blake came closer, he leaned in and then pulled away. His eyes told it all. “Hey guys, why don’t you go turn the television on in the living room. I’d like to talk to Ms. Linda for a moment.”

  “Okay!” they answered and ran to the other room.

  Linda stared at Blake, waiting for the sound of the television to vibrate throughout the house.

  “Have you been drinking?” Blake asked.

  “I . . . I’ve been really stressed out, Blake. It was just one drink.”

  “Their mother was . . . is . . . a heavy drinker. It caused a good deal of pressure on our marriage. I do not want my kids around anyone who drinks. This is your house so—”

  “No, Blake. Don’t leave. Please. It was a one-time thing. It’s all just been too much for me. I’m scared. Everything has been so—”

  “Crazy. I know.” He took her hand. “I understand. But I can’t have my children around someone who drinks. I just can’t.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I promised myself I would never drink again, and I haven’t until . . . it won’t happen again. I just ... I’m so scared.”