Chapter 31 ― Abigail
Abigail sat in her cell and contemplated her options. Either Daniel or Malachi had been by each day to bring her food and water, but the lack of sunlight and the smell from the waste in the corner was making her ill. At first, it hadn’t been a big deal because she wasn’t eating or drinking so her output, so to speak, was minimal. But she could not hold it for long.
Eventually, she had no choice but to make a restroom in the farthest part of the cell she could reach with her leg chained to the post. With her bare hands, she’d managed to dig a small hole in which to use. The smell was no different than the outhouse she grew up using, but she never had to live in that outhouse either.
The High Prophet had not returned, and Abigail was unsure why. Even she knew that a person could not survive too long without water. Without the knowledge that she was getting basic nutrition along with her new love, Twinkies, he was sure to have assumed her dead. But why had he not at least come to dispose of her body? And what would he say when he found out she was not dead? She hoped to not find out.
“Hey,” a voice called from outside the vent.
“Hi, Malachi,” she answered. “How did it go?”
Malachi bent down so that his face was eye level with hers. They had agreed not to open the vent unless he needed to pass something through. It would be much easier to hide if someone happened by, without having to put the vent back in before doing so.
“I met with them at the market as planned, but our meeting was cut short when Elder Joseph sent Jonah out looking for me. We will meet again tomorrow.”
“Do they have a plan?”
“Not really, not yet. They are going to try and come up with something. Hopefully, you will be out of here soon.”
“If you cannot get me out of here, please tell my sister I love her.”
“We will get you out.”
“But—”
Malachi looked up. “Hold on. Someone is coming.” Malachi disappeared, and Abigail shrunk down to the floor to pretend she was sleeping.
At the sound of two sets of feet shuffling outside, Abigail’s body shook with each step toward the room. She’d never been so tuned into outside noises in her life as she was now. Every sound made her cringe. From the howling of coyotes at night to the critters that scurried along the ground. She’d never realized how safe she’d been in her own home. If only life could go back to the way it was.
“It is only Daniel,” Malachi’s hushed voice called out.
Abigail stood and went to the vent.
“I brought you some bread and Twinkies.” Daniel opened the vent and slipped the items through to Abigail. She took them readily. He also handed her a bottle of water.
“Thank you.” Abigail tried to smile, but she wished they would stop coming. Prolonging her life would only make things worse on her when the High Prophet came to find her still alive.
“I got caught the last time.” Daniel grinned, looking so much like his evil father. “I told the High Prophet that the can and wrapper were from me. He thinks I hid in the garage and gorged on junk food. He won’t dare question it. He still feels bad about ripping my face open like a wild animal.”
“He is remorseful?”
“Oh, yes. I have been spreading it on like butter. And then my mother, she gave him the third degree about it. She was even more upset that he let the cook stitch me back up.”
“That is going to leave a scar.”
“I do not mind. Every time he sees my face, he will be reminded of what he did to me. What he did to you.”
“I am afraid. What if I do not get out of here? What if I die?”
“I have a plan,” Daniel said.
“What kind of plan?” Malachi asked.
“It’s not a full plan yet, and I am not sure how I can pull it off, but I have found out where my father keeps the key to the door. It is in his desk, in the way back of the drawer. The only problem is, if he catches me in there snooping again, he might just rip off the other side of my face.”
“The key will do us no good until we can get a way out. But when the time comes, we will need it.”
“That is what I was thinking. There is no use freeing her if she cannot get past the fence.”
“But what if he comes back for me? What will he do if he finds me still alive? I should be dead by now, you know.”
“I have thought about that as well. Right now, my father is preoccupied with the whole Naaman thing.”
“What Naaman thing?” Abigail asked.
“I was not going to tell her about that,” Malachi said.
“You know?” Daniel asked.
“Yes, Jonathan told me.”
“What happened?” Abigail asked again.
Daniel looked at Malachi.
“Go ahead. You brought it up,” Malachi said.
“He’s dead,” Daniel said flatly.
“What? Why? What is going on in our community?”
“It is a long story, but my father blames Naaman for everything. He insists that as soon as Naaman brought Luna to the community, things changed. Younglings began to disrespect their parents, rebelling, asking questions they would not ask before. He told Naaman to take care of her, but he knew he was too weak. Well, that is what my father calls it. I do not call it weak that you do not want to murder someone.”
“So, they killed him because he wouldn’t kill Luna?” Abigail sat on the ground.
What in the world was going on? She had to admit that things had changed since Luna had shown up. She and Malachi had talked about it before. “You cannot go killing people because you think they caused disobedience among the younglings. That is a sin, right? Murder?”
“So as far as the High Prophet,” Malachi pointed to Daniel. “Your father, is concerned, is he getting this from God?”
Daniel shifted and turned for a moment. “No,” he whispered. “He thinks he is God.”
“What?” Abigail and Malachi said in unison.
“I think he has got some screws loose.”
The two looked at him confusedly.
“You know, a little cuckoo.” He did the finger circles to his ear.
“Daniel, what are you saying?” Abigail asked.
“He has gone insane. He is not right in the head.”
“What do we do?” Abigail asked. “He cannot just continue to kill anyone who gets in his way.” She didn’t want to die. She wanted to see Rachel and the baby. That reminded her.
“How is Rachel? Has she had the baby?”
“She is well. They both are well. She has delivered a healthy baby boy.”
Abigail’s heart soared. Oh, how she wished she could see her sister once again. She took in a deep breath to avoid crying in front of them. Daniel was just a boy, still a youngling, but to her, he was heroic. He had a heart for people. He would someday make a respectable High Prophet. That was if the community made it without being murdered off one by one.
Chapter 32 ― Luna
Luna sat at the dining room table in her mother’s house with a notebook, scotch tape, and colored pencils. She ripped out four pieces of paper and taped them together to make one big map.
Her mother was off to visit with Blake, and Jonathan was still at work. He would be back soon, and she wanted to be more productive than just putting in applications all over town.
She drew a line just inside the pages into a sort of rounded sort of square.
“This is the fence.” At the front, she drew two lines to represent the gate. Then she drew another at the back where Malachi had said. She then mapped out the entire community as best she could. She drew houses and labeled each with their family names on them. She didn’t know all their surnames, but a good deal of them stuck in her head. She placed the church, the factory, and the supply building. All the cotton fields, cornfields, and gardens. She even drew stick cows and horses.
As she stood over her work and admired her ability to place everything, the front door opened.
> “In here,” Luna called out.
Soon Jonathan was there with her, looking at her map. “What are those?” he asked as he bent to get a closer look.
“Cows. Can’t you tell?”
“They only have two legs.”
“The other two — oh stop it. That doesn’t matter.”
Jonathan chuckled. “These are horses, right? Two-legged horses?”
“The legs are on the other side!” she said exasperated. You can’t see them from this angle. I learned that in art class.”
“Oh, well excuse me, miss artsy pants.” He gave her a face. His vocabulary was getting more polluted by the day.
“Anyyyywwaaayyyyy.” She rolled her eyes. “I thought maybe with this map, we could figure out what our next move will be. Or should I say, our first move?”
“What is this with all the jagged scribbles on it?” he asked, pointing to the electrical bolts she’d skillfully drawn along the fence.
“Don’t touch that. It’s electric.”
Jonathan pulled his finger away in mock horror, but then his face got serious. “Wait a minute. What if we dig under the fence?”
“How far do you think it goes down?” she asked.
“Probably not far, if at all.”
“I think we would still need to cut the electricity. I mean, Malachi is a pretty big guy. We might have to dig for days to get him out. And speaking of, I don’t think he likes me.”
“Sure, he does. Who could not like you?”
Luna laughed. “I have a list. You wanna see?”
He bent down and kissed her forehead. “I’m not on it, and that’s all that matters. So, as you were saying, you think we should still figure out how to cut the electricity to the fence? That is going to be hard. Do you know anything about electricity?”
“No, but my good friend Google does.”
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. She’d tried to show him some different things on her laptop, but the only thing that had interested him were YouTube videos.
“You know. The search engine.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Luna rolled her eyes. It was obvious he had no idea what she was talking about.
After hours of searching and plotting, they had come up with a plan. She could hardly wait to meet Malachi the next day to explain it to him. It would be imperative that he played a part in it. They could think of no way to pull it off without him.
Chapter 33 ― Daniel
Daniel sat at the table with his parents and ate his dinner. He wanted to be out with Abigail. He worried about her all the time. It was unusual for his father to eat dinner with them, but on rare occasions, the High Prophet would demand it. Usually, Daniel looked forward to those times. But lately, he could no longer stand to look at his father.
“I have an announcement,” his father said, making Daniel drop his fork.
“Yes, father?” Daniel asked.
His mother looked to the High Prophet.
“God spoke to me last night. He told me that you have not been chosen to be the next High Prophet. Your mother will conceive again.”
Daniel stared in stunned silence at his father. Something like this had never, ever, happened. God had ordained each High Prophet. From Daniel the first, all the way down to him. Each of them married, gave birth to one son, and that son became the next prophet. No girls had ever been born to a High Prophet, and no other children had been conceived. One prophet, one wife, one son. That was the standard. God’s standard. And now He was changing His mind?
“But High Prophet—” Daniel’s mother spoke but was cut off by his father.
“God has spoken. Would you challenge God?”
Daniel had the distinct idea that his father was speaking of himself again in the third person.
“No, High Prophet.” She bowed her head in silence.
Daniel wanted to scream at his father. It wasn’t that he wanted to be the next leader but more that his father had lost his mind. His stability. He was dangerous.
“You will no longer be called Daniel. God has now ordained you Achan.”
“Achan?” Daniel asked. The name was familiar from his Old Testament studies. But he was not sure of the man’s story. “Why Achan?”
“Dare you question God?” the man bellowed. “What is wrong with my family that they would so willingly question their Deity?”
Daniel had no words. He stared at his mother as her eyes glossed up. His mother had always been the kinder, gentler one. She’d never disrespected his father. Ever.
The silence was eerie as they went back to eating their dinners. Only Daniel was no longer hungry. Not willing to test his father any further, Daniel choked down the last of his pork chop.
AS DANIEL LAY IN BED deep in thought about his father, he’d made a decision. He would ask Malachi to allow him to go with them. He could no longer watch his father slip into craziness. Achan? He still hadn’t looked up the man. Who was he? Daniel got up and went to his desk. He opened his laptop and did a Google search of the name. He clicked on the first one in his feed and read.
Achan, the son of Karmi...
He continued to read. Appalled, he closed his laptop and stared out the window. His father had utterly cracked. Achan, an Israelite, had disobeyed God and pillaged from the spoils of battle after being explicitly told not to. He hid valuables under his tent, making God angry with Israel. When he was found out, he was stoned to death and burned. There was more, but Daniel had gotten the idea. His father was labeling him as a traitor of the worst kind.
“Are you well, son?” his mother’s voice came from behind.
Daniel closed his laptop and turned. “Yes, Mother.”
“Come. I want to speak to you.” She sat down on his bed and patted the space next to her.
Daniel went to her.
She placed an arm around him. “You must never tell a soul what I am about to tell you,” she whispered. “Do you understand?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father is not well.”
That was the understatement of the year. Daniel nodded in agreement.
“You see, something has happened in the line of the Prophets. Your father, he was not the only child born to a High Prophet.”
“What do you mean?” His father was not an only child?
“This is not known by the community. I only know because the same has happened to you.”
“Mother, you are not making sense. I have no siblings.”
“You do.” She nodded, and a tear fell from her eyes. “You have three.”
Daniel stared at her. He could not make sense of what she was saying.
She wiped her eyes. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Three sisters. They are now, each of them in the Kingdom.”
Daniel’s face paled. Saliva rushed to his mouth. “You . . . he . . . They are dead?”
His mother nodded.
“But how? Why?”
“Your Great-Grandfather said that God had no longer counted us as His Chosen when your father was not the firstborn. Someone had fallen out of line, and God had forsaken them. That the curse would be passed onto the sons.”
“But, then why?”
“Your father was the third to be born in his family. Two sisters also . . . went to The Kingdom. One was a twin to your father. It has been said that the bond your father had with his deceased twin, had left him unstable. All his life he’d been unruly. When his father passed away, leaving him to lead the people, your father became power-hungry. Almost insane.”
Daniel tried to swallow the information his mother had given him. It was becoming more evident to him. His father was almost sixty years old, and Daniel had just turned eleven. They had tried three other times before having him.
“What if you have another girl? Will he kill her?”
His mother nodded. “He must have a boy.”
“You can’t let him, Mother.”
“I have no choice, son. You must pray that your father either changes his mind
about you or gives me another son.”
“I will pray, Mother,” Daniel said, but for the first time in his life, he was unsure God was listening.
“And behave yourself, son. Your father knows you have been visiting the girl. He knows she still lives.”
“I can’t let her die.”
“I know. I don’t want the girl to die either. Just be careful. And pray that God takes control of the situation before anyone else has to die.”
“You know about Naaman?” Daniel’s eyes widened.
She nodded. “You are not the only one who listens to the goings-on of the High Prophet. I know all that happens. All I can do is pray, but I fear God has turned His back on us.”
To hear that his mother felt the same way he did troubled his heart. His mother had always been his stronghold. The one he could go to when he needed anything. His lifeline. But now he looked at her differently. The eyes that always seemed distant now looked sad. And she had every right to be. She’d allowed her murdering husband to kill three of her offspring. Three girls.
“Did you name them? My sisters?”
Another tear dropped as she nodded her head. “Your father does not know. They are only named in my heart.”
“What are their names?”
“The first was Dinah. It means perfect, as she was a perfect sweet princess. I got to hold her for an entire hour before she was taken away. Your father had been away when I gave birth. As soon as he came home, he was furious. Immediately Dinah was taken away from me. I never saw her again.” More tears fell from her face.
Fury rose inside Daniel. He didn’t want to hear anymore, but he needed to. “And the second?” his voice wobbled.
“Edna. It means delight. I held her for only a moment before she was snatched away, but as she lay on my chest and smiled at me, I knew her name would be Edna.”
Daniel swallowed and wiped at his watery eyes. “The third?” He barely heard his own voice.
“Jael. It means one who ascends. As soon as I saw her, I knew she would be taken away from me. She had a full head of beautiful blonde hair. It looked just like a halo around her sweet little head. She was an angel who would soon ascend.”
The Forsaken (The Chosen Series Book 2) Page 15