What the hell was going on?
I didn’t have an answer, but as the plates of food drew closer, I found myself sinking to the mattress without realizing it, pulling Ava with me.
The plates were set on the floor in front of us, and before they’d even taken a step back, other people had come into the room. Two men carried a chair—no, the soft, red cushion made it look more like a throne—while a third brought a glass pitcher. The liquid inside was clear but with a slightly yellow tint to it. Wine, maybe?
The final two people—both women this time—entered carrying everything we’d need for a feast. China plates and crystal glasses, and silverware that gleamed in the firelight. There were cloth napkins, too, and all of it was laid out in front of us like we were sitting at a table in a finely furnished dining room, not the floor of a dank and musty prison.
Once it had all been set up, everyone but the old man and the teenage boy left. No one had uttered a word since the man asked us to sit, and despite my growling stomach, I couldn’t stop myself from shifting uncomfortably.
“Please,” the old man said, nodding to the plates of food and the pitcher, “help yourselves.”
Ava looked at me but didn’t move. I didn’t either. There was no way I was going to take a bite of anything set in front of me until this guy did first.
“After you,” I said, holding his eye.
The man’s mouth twitched, but he managed to keep the smile from stretching across his face. He didn’t take his eyes off me before nodding. When he did, the teenage boy moved, first pouring some of the liquid into a glass and handing it to the man, then loading the plate, taking a little bit of everything. When I still didn’t move, the older man proceeded to take small bites of everything on his plate, chewing it all slowly, barely taking his eyes off me the entire time. Once he’d sampled it all, he put his fork down and nodded again but said nothing.
I turned to Ava. “Eat.”
She said nothing as she piled food on her plate. Bread first, then some of the cheese. It was soft—possibly goat cheese—and herbs had been mixed in. She took the fruit, too, but paused to study the meat before finally taking a slice and putting it on her plate.
She’d had the same thought I did, I knew. Once the shock of having the delicious-smelling food in front of me had worn off, I’d found my mind wandering to The Walking Dead. Or, more specifically, to the group’s arrival at Terminus. This was dark meat, probably from a cow. Human meat was lighter, closer to pork or chicken, and it crossed my mind that this had been served specifically to put us at ease. Why?
Ava was already eating by the time I finished piling food on my plate. I ignored the pitcher, having taken a whiff and confirming it was, in fact, alcohol. I needed to keep my wits about me.
The man had started eating again, chewing slowly while watching us with interest. More than once his gaze moved to the teenage boy as well, but he didn’t utter a word to the kid. I ate, too, wanting to buy myself some time. Not only to size this situation up, but also because I wanted to get some food in my stomach and possibly gain back a little strength. Just in case.
Finally, when I could stand the silence no longer, I set my plate down and cleared my throat. “Why don’t you tell us why we’re here?”
The man put his fork down, not taking his eyes away from me when he nodded to his plate. The boy moved, still saying nothing, and in seconds the plate had been removed from the older man’s lap.
“I saved you, just like I said.”
“We were doing fine until your men jumped us,” I replied, my tone challenging him to give me a better—and more reasonable—explanation.
“I’m sorry for the violence, I really am. My men are instructed to take people quietly if possible, but unfortunately, most people don’t make it easy on them.” The old man’s mouth turned down. “The ten stitches my man received more than justifies the slight force he used with you.”
“Why. Are. We. Here?” I said, punctuating each word so he’d know I was running out of patience.
“To be given a mate and restore the human race.”
That was probably the last thing I ever would have expected him to say.
“I’m sorry?”
It was all I could get out. I probably should have been worried by the declaration, but I actually couldn’t force myself to be. Not with as shocked as I felt. Plus, there was something about his words that made me think this wasn’t a rape situation. This was more of an arranged marriage situation, as crazy as that sounded. At least I hoped so.
“Years ago, shortly after the fall of mankind, an angel appeared to me, revealing God’s will for my life.” He folded his hands in his lap and smiled like he was about to give us the greatest gift imaginable. “I’d been on the road for some time looking for a safe place, and after days without food and water, I stumbled upon this place. I’d had almost no energy left and barely made it inside, but once I did, I discovered it was overflowing with food and supplies, as if it had been set up as a refugee center but never used. That night, I gorged myself, and later, after sleeping for nearly a day, I woke to a blinding light. That was when the angel appeared. He had a white robe and flowing hair, and he told me that God had a purpose for me. I was supposed to help repopulate the Earth.”
I stiffened and shifted closer to Ava.
“Have no fear,” the man said, lifting his hands, chuckling. “I’m not supposed to be the father of the next generation. I’m not mad.”
Wasn’t he?
“I am simply the organizer,” he said as if that explained everything.
“Organizer?” Ava asked.
“Yes.” The man nodded, his eyes moving over her. “Tell me dear, how old are you?”
“Fifteen,” she responded hesitantly.
“Excellent. The perfect age.”
Again, I shifted closer to her. “The perfect age for what?”
“To be married, of course.”
“She’s a child!” I shouted, and my words bounced off the cement walls, coming back to repeat themselves several times before fading away.
“All throughout history, girls were married at this age,” the man said. “It happens over and over again in the Bible. By most accounts, Mary, the mother of God, was probably between the ages of twelve and fourteen.”
“Yeah, well, this isn’t Biblical times,” I put myself in front of Ava, “and it isn’t going to happen.”
He smiled, his expression serene and unaffected by my outburst. “It’s God’s will, child. I cannot stop it any more than you can stop the zombies from walking the earth. We’ve been waiting for someone like her for almost a year now, ever since Gideon turned seventeen. I knew eventually God would bring us a woman of the right age, and here you are.”
“Gideon?” Ava asked uncertainly.
The man waved his hand, his gaze still on us, and the teenage boy stepped forward. He was still holding the plate, and he barely lifted his head when he raised his eyes. His expression was blank, but I couldn’t tell if he was brainwashed, or if he was here against his will, or even if he agreed with what the crazy man in front of us was saying.
Because the guy was definitely crazy. Just because he’d been able to get God only knew how many people to follow him didn’t mean he wasn’t out of his mind. As a teenager, Joan of Arc had managed to convince hundreds of people she’d heard the voice of God and had even led them into battle, but these days people would have just called her insane. History was full of shit like that, so it shouldn’t have surprised me to find it standing in front of me. The apocalypse was no different than anything else.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. This guy wasn’t stable, and yelling at him wouldn’t help our cause. It was doubtful that a reasonable conversation would either, but at least then I’d have a better idea of exactly what was going on here.
Once I’d relaxed, I took a seat on the mattress beside Ava. The older man gave me a placid smile that had the hair on my scalp prickling, while at
his side Gideon stood with his head down.
“Are you ready to talk?” the man asked.
“What’s your name?”
“How rude of me.” His smile stretched wider. “I am Matthew, the prophet sent by God to show this new world the way to repopulation.”
Oh, good Lord.
I had to work to keep my voice level. “What exactly does that mean?”
“My sheep go into the ruins of the world and wait for strays like you. Sometimes we see no one for months. Sometimes we get lucky and find several groups in a matter of days. Either way, it’s God’s will that we remain patient and dutiful, that we keep our hearts open to what He would have us do.”
I didn’t have a clue what that meant.
“Your—” I swallowed so I could say the word, “your sheep collect women and bring them back to you?”
Matthew’s smile changed once again, this time reminding me of a teacher who was trying not to tell an ignorant student how dumb their comment was. “They bring back anyone they find. Men, women, and children, young and old. Those who are not yet of childbearing age serve until they reach their fruitful time. Those who have passed the age of fruitfulness can serve in other ways. Everyone is welcome here.”
I sat up straighter, my interest suddenly piqued. “You bring men here, too?”
“We do.” His eyes sparkled, making him look more insane than ever.
Ava, who seemed to suddenly understand where I was going with this, leaned forward, her own eyes shimmering with excitement. “Have you found anyone else today?”
“We have.” Matthew’s eyebrows lifted at our sudden interest, but his smile didn’t fade. “Today has been a most blessed day in our journey. Only a few hours ago, we found a large group on the bank of the river and led them back here. They were injured and wet, so they came willingly.”
The river. Wet. They were from the boat!
“Who are they?” I jumped to my feet. “Where are they? Can we see them?”
Ava got up, too, and while I didn’t look at her, I could feel the change in her mood as surely as I could feel the hope swelling inside me. The others could be here. Kellan and Brady, Logan and Beth, even. And Ash. Was it even possible Ash had survived? I thought about that wave of angry water washing him away and almost cringed. Probably not, but crazier things had happened. Wasn’t the man in front of us proof of that?
Gideon looked up, a sudden interest in his eyes that hadn’t been there before, while beside him, Matthew’s expression didn’t change.
“You were on the boat as well,” the old man said.
It wasn’t a question, but Ava and I still nodded.
Matthew stood, groaning slightly. “Perhaps your arrival is even more fated than I could have imagined.”
He nodded to the door when he turned, a silent gesture for us to follow. I didn’t have to be told twice, and neither did Ava. Like me, she was practically trembling with excitement as we headed after him, crossing the room to the dark door with Gideon only a couple steps behind us.
It was on my tongue to ask Matthew who was in the group. To ask if there was a Native American man or a dwarf, but I couldn’t force out the words. I was too afraid his answer would be no.
17
We stepped out to find ourselves in a long, cement hallway. Like the room we’d just left, barrel fires had been set up to help light the way, but the soft glow they gave off did little to illuminate the area, and I still couldn’t get a good feel for where we were.
Matthew led us through the darkness in silence, not even looking back once we reached a staircase and he began to climb. My body was tense as I followed, the uncertainty making my heart thud harder with each step, but I went anyway because I needed to know if Kellan was here.
Ava was only a few steps behind me, and I could practically feel her own tension as we made our way up. Gideon followed as well, somehow even more silent than his leader so that he seemed to almost blend in with the darkness surrounding us.
When we reached the top of the stairs, we went into yet another cement hallway, this one much larger than the one below. Once again, barrels had been set up, their flickering lights illuminating the wide openings lining the other side of the hall, and all it took was one glimpse through them to realize where we were. A stadium of some kind.
Matthew walked, not talking or looking back at us, and I did my best to keep up while at the same time surveying the place, marveling at how a stadium that used to be a playground for sports fans and athletes had been turned into a small city. Alcoves that had at one time been concession stands now held families, their open doorways revealing couches and dining room tables and beds. Patio furniture had been set up in front of many of them, and people who’d been in the middle of talking or even playing cards paused to stare at us as we passed.
Inside the stadium, homes had been erected on the field, and gardens grew where once there had been AstroTurf. Rows of corn were visible on the far right side, as well as vines that had to be grapes. There were other crops as well, too far away for me to make out what they were, and the memory of the fresh tomatoes Ava and I had eaten not that long ago popped into my head when I caught sight of the spots of red and yellow decorating the greenery.
“This is incredible,” the teen said from behind me, keeping her voice low so only I could hear.
I nodded in agreement, too stunned to speak.
When I’d awoken in that dark and musty room, I hadn’t expected to find this, especially not after the menacing way the men on the bridge had called it the underground. Aside from Matthew and his crazy ideas, this settlement was amazingly similar to every other one I’d visited over the years. There were families and children playing, and the people we passed seemed relaxed and secure. Safe.
It all seemed so at contrast with how we’d gotten here.
“How many people live here?” I asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.
Matthew glanced back at me, a smile on his lips like he’d heard the awe in my voice and had been expecting it. “Oh, going on four hundred now.”
“Four hundred,” Ava repeated, her astonishment as evident as mine.
“They come to me lost, and I give them a home and a future.” Matthew lifted his hands as he walked, waving to the people we passed. “Thanks to my efforts, and with the help of God, I’ve presided over dozens of marriages. From those unions, we’ve had more than twenty successful births over the last nine years.”
Twenty.
On the surface, it didn’t seem like a big number, but considering how often babies died during the first five years after the virus, it was. It was huge. Even two immune parents hadn’t been enough to guarantee a healthy baby during those first few years.
“That’s amazing,” Ava said, and something about the shaky words made me look her way.
There were tears in her brown eyes, shimmering in the firelight as she walked. She blinked like she was trying to hold them back, and I looked away, not wanting to embarrass her.
Matthew, who seemed to sense something in her tone as well, slowed and turned to face the girl. “You’re sad, my child.”
“My mom was pregnant when the virus hit.” Ava had to pause to swallow. “My dad died, but Mom and I lived. Since only Mom was immune, we knew there was a chance the baby wouldn’t make it, but it didn’t make it any easier. He only lived for ten minutes.”
A pang twisted my gut. God, how horrible to go through an entire pregnancy only to have to face such heartbreaking results. Especially after already losing so much.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, reaching out to the teenager.
Ava nodded, her expression sad and nostalgic at the same time, but said nothing.
Matthew let out a long exhale. “The Lord tests us in many ways, and the death of those innocents was the biggest one I ever faced. But I remained faithful, and in time was rewarded. We haven’t lost a baby in more than six years.”
“Praise be,” Gideon murmured, speaking for the
first time since he stepped into our little prison of a room.
Matthew only smiled at the boy before he started walking once again.
This place might have seemed normal, but I couldn’t let myself forget how messed up it was, or that we’d been brought here against our will. Hopefully, we could find at least some of our group and get the hell out of here. Assuming Matthew would let us. I still wasn’t sure how far he was willing to take this marriage thing.
A group of people came into view, gathered at a few picnic tables a good fifteen feet in front of us. At first, I only studied them because I thought they were part of Matthew’s flock and I was curious about the people living here, but then a familiar face caught my attention, and I found myself moving faster. My heart leaping in excitement. Hope swelling in me once again.
Like me, Ava had started moving faster.
“Brady!” The word bounced off the cement.
At the sound of his name, the small man had turned. His entire face lit up when he spotted his adopted daughter. He pulled himself from the group and ran as fast as his short legs would carry him, smiling. When they reached each other, Ava dropped to her knees like it was the most natural thing in the world, bending over so she could throw her arms around Brady.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said, her words shaky and muffled by the hug.
“I’m here. I’m here,” Brady replied, his own voice none too steady.
He looked as worn as I felt. His clothes muddy and still a little damp, his hair a disheveled mop, and dirt streaked across his face, but he was alive, and that was what counted.
Brady kept his hands on Ava’s arms when he pulled back so he could look her over, his expression a combination of relief and pain. “You’re okay? Are you hurt?”
The Oklahoma Wastelands Series Box Set | Books 1-3 Page 73
