“What are you going on about?”
“Don’t go playing dumb with me, new guy. Word came down off the wall. Folks saw ya’ll chatting it up last night. You got no business with him.”
“We were just talking, I think you’re overreacting. You need to dial it back before you give yourself a heart attack. This heat, you getting all worked up, it can’t be a healthy combination.”
Toby closed the gap and buried his finger in Dominic’s sternum. “You don’t tell me shit, you understand? Zach ain’t someone we want newcomers mingling with. There’s still issues with him we’re sorting through. You don’t know Scripture. You ain’t strong with your faith. If it were anyone else, we wouldn’t worry. These are rules. We ain’t asking. Now, them things you heard about us, you might want to take them into consideration before you go breaking rules again. We clear?” Toby pressed a little harder with his finger, sending a sharp pain shooting through Dominic’s chest.
It took every ounce of self control not to break Toby’s finger in half and toss his fat ass off the wall. “Yeah, Toby, we’re clear.”
“Good.” Toby lowered his arm and nodded, satisfied with exerting his dominance. “Mother ain’t gonna be around forever. Who do you think is gonna be steering this ship when she’s gone? It’ll be better for you to stay in my good graces.”
“Understood.”
“Get back to work.”
Dominic’s trigger finger twitched with desire as Toby wobbled off. He couldn’t recall many men that had put hands on him and then walked away under their own power. As far as he was concerned, Toby was now living on borrowed time.
Lerah hated working the greenhouse. Even with the philosophy of plants and life buzzing in her brain, it wasn’t enough to stamp out the misery. Her fingers were raw and her eyes burned from the constant influx of sweat. Belinda had shown up late again, bearing the same red rings around her eyes and apologizing profusely for her tardiness.
“So, how long have you been doing this?” Lerah was genuinely curious how someone could suffer through such a hellacious existence and keep a semblance of sanity.
“Oh, it’s been too many years to count.” Belinda got down low, examined a leaf, weighed its condition with a slight tilt of her head, plucked it free, and sent it flipping to the floor. “It wasn’t just me. My… uh, my daughter, she used to help in here. She loved it. She just had a passion for it, guess she got that from me.”
“When do I get to meet her?”
That empty smile, like thunder before a storm, quickly turned into a trembling chin and leaky eyes. “Oh, gosh, I don’t know what’s the matter with me, I’m sorry. Please, excuse me.”
Lerah wrapped her arms around the woman’s bony shoulders. “What is it? What did I do?”
Belinda caught herself on the table and quickly lost all composure. Lerah crouched slightly, prepared to catch her if she fell. “I’m fine, dear. You’re too kind. I’m okay.”
Lerah slowly released her hold, keeping her arms extended just in case. “What happened?”
Belinda shook her head. “We probably shouldn’t talk about it.”
“The hell we shouldn’t, look at you. You can talk to me. What you say goes no further than this room.”
“Mother and Scripture, we shouldn’t—”
“Mother isn’t here and I don’t know a whole lot about Scripture. What I do know is that something has you upset and you need to get it out. Talk to me.”
Belinda wiped her face, leaving black streaks of dirt across both cheeks. Lerah could see now that it wasn’t sadness that had been keeping her awake at night. It was fear. Her face was a knot of terror and uncertainty.
“I promise, what you say to me, it stays with me.”
It took some time, and a fair bit of soothing, but Belinda relented. She took Lerah’s hand and leaned back against a stout wooden table covered end-to-end with flourishing plant life. “Have you heard of the Fall?”
Lerah nodded. “Unfortunately, yes, I have.”
“For so many years my husband and I, we stood out there and we watched people take the Fall. We cheered for it. We rejoiced at the spectacle of it all. We felt that it was necessary for the survival of Reeman.”
“Necessary how?” The sympathy Lerah felt for Belinda was quickly fading. She had this image stuck in her head of Belinda cheering on the death of Michael and Susanna, eyes wild, mouth frothing, fist pumping the air.
“Mother always told us that it was the will of the Creator. That if we wanted to survive and remain under His blessing that we had to do these things.”
“And you just believed her?”
“It’s hard at first, sure. The first time you see someone killed like that, it isn’t easy. But then we saw Reeman thrive as a result. We continued to survive and prosper, against all the odds. It’s hard not to buy into her message.”
“Did you ever think that all of that thriving could be attributed to the ingenuity and the will of the community, rather than some invisible sky person?”
Belinda looked slightly insulted. “It’s hard not to go along. Mother is persuasive. Out here we don’t really get the luxury of analyzing things that closely.”
“But I’m guessing you stopped going along with it once your daughter was the one up for slaughter.”
Belinda nodded and buried her head in her hands, sniffing loudly. “She didn’t do anything, she didn’t. She was such a good girl,” her voice was a muffled echo.
“The same rationale that was used to kill so many others was the same one they used to justify killing your daughter. You see that, don’t you?”
“I thought the Fall was doing us good. I thought that only the Cursed were suffering. But my Kati, she wasn’t Cursed. She just loved a boy. They loved each other. That’s not a sin. It’s not a Curse. They didn’t deserve what Mother did to them.”
As Lerah stood there and listened to Belinda describe the slaughter of those two young souls, a sickness and anger began to rise in her stomach, and for the first time she began to doubt whether she and Dominic could conquer such entrenched evil. If the people of Reeman were indoctrinated to the point of cheering such heartless butchery, could they really be saved? Were they even worth saving? Perhaps it would be better to burn the place to the ground and just call it a day.
40
“He knows, he was telling you that he knows. Pull your head out of your ass and let’s get the hell out of here.” Lerah stood by the bed in her panties and protested.
Dominic stood by the front door, rubbing his temples, trying to fight off a headache. “No, Lerah, I wouldn’t be standing here if he knew. He was simply marking his territory, that’s it. Now, can we please go?”
“I can’t believe that you, with all of your supposed expertise, can’t see it.”
“Can’t see what?”
“Just… everything, every damn thing feels off to me. There are too many unknowns. We should be pulling out, not charging ahead.”
“Too many unknowns?”
She flopped down on the bed, her arms falling across her thighs. “Yes, and I don’t just mean Zach. It’s these people, how many of them even want to be saved? The lady I was working with today, she reminded me of my grandma. But she stood there telling me about how her and her husband would cheer for the slaughter of those that violated Scripture. It’s a big event around here. It’s when everyone gets to let their hair down. They get together and holler like wild animals while a couple of poor souls get disemboweled and pitched over a cliff. We’re really trying to save this place? Let’s burn it down and leave.”
“We knew about the Fall before we got here.”
“Do you really think you can just flip a switch and turn something like that off?”
“Men do it after war, all the time.”
“Do they? Or do they just cage the beast up until they need it again?”
The look on her face made it obvious she was talking about him: the bar, the inn, the settlement. Had he flipped a s
witch? Was the beast always there, waiting in the wings? “Either way, these people aren’t running around massacring each other in the streets.”
“Only because Mother hasn’t told them to.”
“No, you don’t believe that. What about Blake and his wife?”
“What about them?”
“Do you think they’re that feeble minded? That Mother could just raise her fist and they’d break out the blade?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know Blake. I don’t know his wife. And the thing is, neither do you. I had a different picture in my head before we came here.”
Dominic sighed and slid down the door. “And what picture was that?”
“These people aren’t miserable. No one is beating them with a whip. They’re here because they want to be here, Mother was right. They believe in this Creator and the horrible shit written in Scripture. What are we freeing them from?”
“Maybe they aren’t in shackles and chains, but they’re being lied to. What if the only reason they’re doing the awful shit they’re doing is because someone fed them that lie? What happened to you and your sense of duty?”
“I’m all about following orders. That hasn’t changed. But the picture on the ground has changed, and I think we need to alter our approach accordingly.”
The floorboards squeaked as Dominic pushed himself back up. “Your thoughts have been noted, but ultimately, I’m in charge. I make the calls. Nothing changes. We push forward.”
“You’re such a stubborn jack ass!” Lerah bounced up to her feet and began tugging her pants on. “You can’t take input from anyone. It’s your way or no way. Fine, but when this goes to shit, right before we both catch a bullet in the head, I’m gonna be sure to say, I told you so.”
There was a heady anticipation as the three of them—Dominic, Blake, and Lerah—sat in a circle waiting for Zach to show. Riley and Judith were in the corner, on the other side of the dining table, playing with some of Judith’s toys. Riley glanced over occasionally, her face showing signs of distress; perhaps Blake had filled her in on the details of their little meeting. The guard hadn’t kicked down the door yet, Dominic took that as a positive sign.
“He’s screwing us, he’s not gonna show. We’re sitting here just waiting to get nailed to the wall.” Lerah was antsy, her arms folded across her belly.
“He’ll show, trust me. He wants revenge. But more importantly, he wants the throne; I could see it in his eyes.”
“If you’re just gonna put him there then do me a favor, just leave Mother in charge. At least we’ve grown used to her particular brand of psychosis.”
“One step at a time, Doc. We need him to help us. That means making certain concessions.”
“And getting us all killed,” Lerah mumbled.
Dominic ignored her.
There was the faintest sound of a knock at the door.
“That’s a new one,” Blake said as he stood to answer it. “He usually sounds like he’s trying to bust it off the hinges.” He pulled it open and allowed a slightly breathless Zach to slide inside.
“We can’t be too long. I don’t want no one noticing I’m gone,” Zach said, watching the door like a spooked dog.
“What do you mean you don’t want anyone noticing?” Lerah was watching the door now too.
Dominic stood. “You said they wouldn’t notice you missing.”
“Someone saw us talking last night and they ratted me out. Mother sent Toby over to give me a little message on her behalf. They reminded me that I got a whole other set of fingers to lose. They said if I wanna keep them then I need to be keeping to myself. So whatever ya’ll are planning to do, you better get to doing it.”
Dominic felt slightly vindicated by the fact that Zach hadn’t squealed when his back was to the wall. “Your brother paid me a visit today as well.”
“What’d he say?”
“Pretty much the same thing. He lacks a certain subtlety.”
“He ain’t never been one to hide his intentions.”
“Then it sounds like we need to wrap this up pretty quick before the wrong people come knocking,” Dominic said.
Lerah was focused in on the door handle. Her lips were ajar. Her eyes were pinned open. The only sign of life was the steady rise and fall of her chest.
Dominic snapped his fingers. “Lerah, you with us?”
“Yeah,” she shook the cobwebs from her head, “let’s get this done.”
“So, the service takes place the day after tomorrow?”
Zach nodded. “Yeah, just after sundown.”
“It’s the same day and time every week,” Blake confirmed.
“Okay, Zach tells me it’s going to be pretty light in terms of manpower. One guard with a rifle and then Toby with his hand cannon; should make for two guns total.” Dominic looked to Zach for endorsement.
Zach nodded. “Yeah, that’s always been my experience.”
“It’ll be dark, so we should have no problem making our approach. We go in strong; we catch Toby and the other guy with their pants down. The goal is to take that platform without firing a shot. We don’t want the guys working the wall coming in after us, that’d be a mess. We secure Toby and his backup, Zach tells his story to a captive audience, and that’s that. Doc, do you have a gun?”
“Yeah, but the only thing it’s good for is stopping small animals.”
“Doesn’t matter, folks don’t tend to think about the caliber of the bullet when there’s a gun in their face.”
“Am I just supposed to roll in there unarmed?” Lerah asked.
“Stay behind me. Once we secure Toby and the guard, you can take one of their guns.” It was obvious Lerah wasn’t a fan of the setup, but she relented and went back to staring at the door. “Blake, you’re gonna stay on the main door while Zach, Lerah, and I take the stage.”
“I can handle that. What are we going to do about the guys working the night Watch? They’re still going to be armed and dedicated when we come out of there.”
Dominic knelt down and began tracing lines on the floor. “How many?”
“Five or six,” Zach said. “We’ll have a lot of the day crew in the sanctuary, but they won’t be armed.”
“Well, there we go. Once we’ve got them on board, it shouldn’t be a problem swaying a few stragglers. After that, we take Mother out of commission and a new dawn rises on Reeman.”
“You three really think it’s going to be that easy?” Lerah addressed them as if they were children running around with sticks and capes.
Blake shrugged and deferred to Dominic.
Zach said nothing.
“Lerah, you know, not everything has to go sideways. If we’re playing the odds here, it’s about time something falls in our favor.”
“That’s what this is based on, the odds falling in our favor?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Listen, if you are just planning on arguing then I need to get back to my post before folks come looking for me. If they find me they find ya’ll.”
“He’s right, we’ll all be screwed,” Dominic said, disconnecting from Lerah. “We’ll meet back here tomorrow night, just for a few minutes to make sure we’re all on the same page. Think you can swing that?”
Zach nodded, already at the door. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good, everyone be sure to keep your eyes up and your mouths shut. We’re almost there.”
Lerah’s attitude didn’t improve once they were home.
“You know it’s going to be okay, right?”
“I don’t know anything and neither do you.” She smoothed the blanket out on the bed and kicked her pants off before sliding under the covers.
“This is the best way for us to walk out of here.”
“No, it’s the only way because it’s your way. I’m just along for the ride. You’ve made that abundantly clear more than once on this journey.”
“I’ve gotten us this far.”
She sighed and rol
led to her side. “That you have, Dominic. That you have.”
“What is that supposed to mean.”
“It means you should probably sleep on the floor tonight.”
“With pleasure.”
41
Belinda was late, again.
It was obvious to Lerah now that Belinda was always going to be late. She didn’t think much of it anymore. In fact, part of her was grateful. She hadn’t been able to rid her mind of the image of Belinda and her unnamed husband drooling over the disemboweled bodies of Mother’s victims. Just because the poor old bitch had fallen victim to her own machinations didn’t eradicate the sins of her past; to hell with her and her tales of woe. Lerah didn’t feel bad for her anymore. Over the past twenty-four hours she’d managed to draw the venom of sympathy from her bleeding heart and seal it over.
Besides, Lerah knew her way around the greenhouse well enough, she didn’t need anyone holding her hand; a little pruning, watering, and massaging, how hard could it be? Belinda tried to complicate things with philosophizing and cooing and coddling every little stem and leaf. Lerah couldn’t picture any circumstance under which she’d find it necessary to coo at a plant the way one might an infant.
She went from plant to plant, plucking and watering, just the way Belinda had shown her. She was quicker, more efficient in her craft. Belinda paused every few feet to wince and grab at her lower back, or to hold herself up by the table as she caught her breath. She was just an old, broken down, bag of bones, yet still capable of so much evil.
A snake is still a snake, no matter the color of its scales. These plants might be the only thing in this whole settlement worth saving.
Outside there was a gunshot.
Dominic saw Belinda coming up the middle of the street carrying the varmint rifle. He didn’t think much of it at first, and judging from the way folks were greeting her, neither did anyone else. It’s only when she stopped in the middle of the square and shouldered the rifle, with the business end pointed towards Mother’s house, that people took notice. The cries from the street below echoed up to where he stood. He was stuck in place, not quite sure what to do. He was a member of the Watch. Did he intervene to ensure his cover was maintained? Did he let this woman attempt to do his job for him?
The Fall of Man: The Saboteur Chronicles Book 1 Page 32
