Living The Way (The Way Trilogy Book 1)

by Ellie Aiden

  Well, I can agree with that I’m definitely paranoid. I’m so numb right now, between the cold, and everything that’s happened, I feel like a deer in the head lights; can’t move, can’t talk, can’t breathe.

  “I think we should go in, its late, not to mention freezing, plus, I think Anna needs to get some rest. Come on chick, I’ll sleep over.”

  The tables have certainly turned quickly tonight. Not too long ago, I was comforting Ash with promises of a sleepover, and now here we are. This is me, as an emotional basket case. Just look away people.

  The three of us make our way down the wall to head back to our rooms for the night. Suddenly, each of us pauses at the same time. So, ya’ll heard that noise too huh? Crap.

  No one moves as we wait to see what will happen next. But nothing happens, so as one, we continue on our trek.

  As we reach the edge of the barn prepared to walk out into the open field leading to the main building, a silhouette emerges from around the corner.

  “What are you children doing out here?”

  Aww, shit!

  ***

  A tiny sliver of moon peeks through the clouds to illuminate the face of the Enforcer, and my heart drops out of my chest. It would be one thing if it was just Ash and I out here. I could come up with a lot of excuses that would be plausible, but with Chase. Well, two girls and a boy, in the dark, behind a barn? Yeah, this isn’t good.

  “David, over here. I found him, and he’s got a couple friends with him.” The Enforcer yells, with one hand cupped around his mouth.

  So they were looking for Chase, but why?

  David, I assume, walks around the corner and makes a tsking noise in our direction. “Well this is not good, not good at all.”

  The Enforcer grabs Ash and I by the arm, yanking us painfully toward the main building. Looking over my shoulder, I see David manhandling Chase similarly. I stumble three times before we reach the back door, but the Enforcer doesn’t let me fall. I’m proud to say Ash and I are both keeping it together, all things considered. I know crying won’t do us any good. In fact, I’m pretty sure the Enforcer gets off on making little girls cry.

  When we make it to the main hall, Ash and I are dropped on the same bench we sat on not that long ago, but Chase is taken down the hall disappearing around the corner. Where are they taking him?

  But its Ash who asks my question out loud, “What’s going on, where are you taking him?”

  The evil smile that spreads across the Enforcers face, sends a shiver throughout my whole body, and I know Ash has just screwed up.

  “Well, that answers that question. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.” Pointing at me he warns, “Wait here, I’ll be back for you.”

  Grabbing Ash by the shoulder he drags her two doors down, and then the two of them disappear before I can say a word.

  Behind that door is a set of stairs leading underground. My father said they lead to an underground storm shelter. I’ve seen Elders use them, but I’ve never been down there myself, and in all the years, all the tornados, and floods, and crazy storms, not once have the Elders evacuated everyone down there.

  I don’t think it’s a storm shelter at all.

  What could he be doing to her down there, and where did they take Chase? I have never heard of anyone being tortured or killed, swats with a switch yes, all the time, but that seems to be the worst of it, but as I sit on this bench and my butt goes numb, I’m starting to think they might just be really good at covering things up.

  I’m not sure how much time passes, but I know it’s getting late. My internal clock tells me; the sun should be coming up soon. Is this my punishment? Sitting here, waiting, and wondering, thinking the worst. Well, if that was his goal, A for effort. You get a medal. Because I am definitely freaking the fuck out.

  Just as the sun starts to rise, the light peeking through the picture window at the end of the hall, the door my best friend slipped through opens. Ash steps through first, making it only a couple steps before the Enforcer appears behind her. Leaning down he whispers something in her ear, before she turns, giving me her back and heading in the direction of her apartment.

  Well, that was terrifying.

  He watches her go for only a moment, before turning his gaze on me. Raising a hand and crooking his pointer finger at me, he says, “Come.”

  I kind of want to tell him to kiss my ass, I’m not a dog, but I also don’t want to die today. So I stand and make my way over.

  “Elder Jacobs, I…”

  Before I can finish he cuts me off. “Do not speak!”

  Well okay then.

  CHAPTER 12 — I WANT MY MOTHER

  I really didn’t expect to die so young. Seriously, I’m only seventeen years old, eighteen in less than two weeks. I’ve never been kissed, never made love, hell, never be in love. I mean, I never thought I would grow old and grey before I died. Too much crazy in this world to hope for that. But I had thought and hoped I would live longer than seventeen years.

  Doesn’t really seem to matter now though, as I’m led down three flights of dark stairs. The stairwell is devoid of any sound, save for our footsteps. It’s nearly pitch black, only slightly lit by a light that seems to be coming from below. I wonder what they’ll tell my parents?

  When we reach the last step, a room the size of a stadium stands before me, with eight tiny wall sconces on each side, leaving the room barely lit. A few feet in front of me, a chair. Should I cry? Kind of seems like this would be a good time to cry. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction, but it’s taking all my strength right now not to lose it.

  “Sit, my child.” And I do.

  There’s no point in arguing at this point, he’s at least three times my size, and we’re wholly alone down here. I can’t run, where am I gonna go?

  “Have they had sex? Don’t lie. I’ll know.”

  That wasn’t what I was expecting, but okay, I’ll play. “No. She would have told me if they had.”

  “And why is that?” He cocks his head to the side, as if he can’t possibly imagine that’s true.

  Ohhh, I want so badly to make some smart ass comment like, well if you had any friends at all, you would know that best friends tell each other everything, but instead, I go with something that is less likely to result in my death.

  “Ash is my best friend. We tell each other everything. Nothing happened. I swear.”

  “Would you be willing to swear on your God? Are you so confident of your closeness, that you would risk your eternity?”

  “Yes.” Without a doubt.

  He hums in the back of his throat, placing both hands behind his back, never breaking eye contact with me. The Enforcer is a mountain of a man. Towering over me he has to be several inches over six foot, and probably weighs a good two-hundred and fifty pounds. Most of its muscle, and considering the grey streaks starting to show through just above his ears, I’d guess he’s probably in his fifties. The gleam in his eyes tells me he’s enjoying every minute of this. What a horrible life he must have had growing up, to have made him into the man standing before me.

  “Tell me child. What were you, and this best friend of yours, doing then, in the dark, with a young man?”

  Crap. I don’t know what Ash told him, or what Chase will say. I need to keep this as vague as possible. “Just talking.”

  “Just talking, hmmm. And what were the three of you talking about?”

  Here’s where things get a little tricky. I could come up with a whole lot of lies, and if I get out of this alive, remind me to get with Team Praying Mantis, get it? No? It’s a work in progress, but remind me, in the future, the team needs to come up with our story in advance.

  “Andy.” Crap, it was the first thing that came to mind. From the raise of his eyebrow I can tell he’s intrigued, so I go on. “Andy, Chase’s cousin, was stabbed today, on a supply run. I saw him being brought in. I’ve had a crush on him since I was ten years old. I know he’s married and nothing will ever happen, but I was just worried. I drug
Ash with me to check on him at the infirmary, but of course we couldn’t just go in. So, I managed to catch Chase’s eye and he followed us outside. Chase was clearly worried about his cousin, and not in his right mind, he would normally have never broken the rules. I just wanted to make sure Andy was okay.” I take two deep breathes before finishing. “Chase and Ash might lie to protect me. I mean, how bad is it that I snuck out, drug my friend and Chase out in the middle of the night, to find out if a married man is okay? I know it’s bad. I’m so sorry.”

  He gives no indication if he believes the tale or not, but I think it sounded pretty good if I do say so myself.

  “Anna, Anna, Anna,”

  Enforcer, Enforcer, Enforcer. Gaw, get on with it all ready. The suspense alone is enough to kill me.

  “I have known you were a bad seed since you were just a child. I warned the Vater that if we did not step in, you would only become more of a problem as you grew older. And now look where we are.” Tsking, on silent steps he circles around behind my chair.

  No, stop that. I need to be able to see you. Get back here.

  When I feel his breath tickling the hairs on the back of my neck, I nearly pee on myself. Okay, if we’re being honest, I did pee on myself. But only a little.

  “You must be punished before it’s too late, my child. Stand.”

  I’m not sure what kind of punishment we’re talking about here. Like swats? I got three swats for eavesdropping. How much worse can sneaking out in the middle of the night actually be?

  “Good girl. Now come, stand here.” He motions for me to stand beside the chair, facing it.

  I have a really bad feeling about this. I kind of want my Mother.

  “On your knees.”

  Fuck.

  His last words are my undoing. “Bend over.”

  Tears stream down my face, but I obey. I said I wasn’t going to cry, wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction, but that was before. Before I knew how bad this was going to be.

  I don’t see any way out of this. This is what happened to Ash. This is why she looked empty.

  I feel the air being displaced as something comes hard and fast toward my bottom. It’s his hand, not a switch. His bare hand hits my clothed bottom with a resounded crack. The sting left in its wake, isn’t the part that hurts the most. After the spanking his hand doesn’t leave my bottom, as he begins rubbing the sting away.

  I choke back a sob. I definitely want my Mother.

  His hand moves away, only to return seconds later with another loud crack. Again, he rubs the sting away, only this time instead of pulling his hand away it slides down. Down, down, down.

  I can’t breathe. I... I’m having a panic attack. The room around me starts to fade, my vision slowly turning black. I need to go someplace else in my mind. I need to turn my thoughts off and imagine I am some place is entirely.

  My brain snaps back to reality as I hear a loud bang above, and then footsteps barreling down the stairs. Sounds like two sets. Please let this be someone here to save the day. I have a horrible feeling this punishment is about to get far worse.

  I feel him stand and step away from me, but whoever it is he doesn’t seem to be worried about them catching him, with me bent over a chair. When I look up, Elder Thompson and Mutter Vera stand stone faced at the bottom of the stairs. I see a tiny flicker of pity in each of their eyes, before either of them speak.

  “Jim, there’s a problem at the west wall. It needs to be dealt with, immediately.” Mutter Vera signals for him to go.

  I’m still bent over the chair, the blood rushing around in my head, not knowing if I should get up or stay put. The Enforcer turns from them to look at me, then back again. Seeming to come to some sort of conclusion, he huffs, and steps further away from me.

  As he walks past the two, Elder Thompson stops him with a hand on his arm. “This,” shaking his head in my direction, “is over Jim. It won’t matter much longer anyway. Are we clear?”

  “Are you telling me how to do my job, Thompson?” He’s angry, his words coming out as a growl.

  Mutter Vera tsks them both, “Boys, no sense in fighting, but Thompson is right, and never the less, her punishment is complete.”

  Her words only serve to anger him further, but he doesn’t comment, merely pushing past them and stomping up the stairs.

  ***

  The Mutter helped me to my room shortly after the Enforcer left to deal with whatever is going on at the west wall. I enter my family’s apartment, but don’t go to my room. I’m only here long enough for her to leave, then I need to check on Ash. I think she got it far worse than I did.

  I wait ten minutes just to be safe, walking down the hall and stopping outside Ash’s apartment she shares with her brother. I don’t knock. She wouldn’t answer it if I did. The main doors to each apartment are without locks, only each bedroom has one.

  Given that it’s now the middle of the morning, there are people making their way through the hall, so I rush inside quickly shutting the door behind me.

  Cody’s home. That’s not normal.

  “Hey. Sorry. I let myself in.”

  Nodding toward Ash’s room he says, “She’s in pretty rough shape, but I think she may have finally fallen asleep.”

  Instead of going to her room straight away, I plop down on the couch leaving a cushion between us. Cody and I have never been especially close, what with the whole, don’t talk to boys you aren’t related to thing. But he is my best friends brother, and she clearly told him what happened tonight. So maybe, it would be nice for me to have someone to talk to too.

  “I don’t know what he did to her Cody. He left me upstairs, and when he finally took me down, it was pretty bad. Luckily, my punishment got interrupted.”

  Letting out a deep breath Cody eliminates the space between us, placing his hand over mine. “Thank God Anna. He…He, touched her, under her dress, and spanked her. I…As her brother, I don’t know what to do Anna. I want to fucking kill him. I want to rip his fucking head off for touching either one of you. But, if I do that. I don’t know what happens to us. I’ve never heard of the Church executing people, only exile but…exile might be just as bad.”

  Staring straight ahead I don’t speak. I don’t know what to say.

  When he speaks again I can’t look at him. “I think we have to leave. If I thought that we could turn him in, and that they would exile him instead, and this would never happen again, then that would be one thing. But, I don’t think that’s an option.” His head drops in defeat.

  “How much has Ash told you Cody?”

  “Oh God, this has happened before?”

  Squeezing his hand and shaking my head, I know I need to tell him everything.

  “There’s a lot more you need know.”

  ***

  I fill Cody in on everything that’s happened. About what happened in Bonham, about how Elder Thompson and Jayson lied. I explain about the proof we have regarding the Church selling girls, and why they sell them. I even tell him about Chase and Ash. I don’t know if she told him that part when she got back, probably not, and I hope I’m not breaking the friend code, but he needed to know. I don’t go into details about make-out sessions. I keep it strictly about how the Church chooses matches, and that Chase found out Ash was his only compatible match. I express my concerns about my rapidly approaching Placement. It feels good to get everything off my chest. I have Ash to talk to, but with the level of crazy that has been our lives lately, she has her own stresses to deal with, and I haven’t wanted to delve into feelings, but with Cody, it was easy.

  While I talk, he remains silent with the exception of a few disgruntled, or concerned noises in the back of his throat. There’s a good five minutes of silence when I’m done, before he finally speaks.

  “I always knew the Church was weird, but you gotta expect that with a Cult, right?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond. “Understanding that, I never would have imagined all this. Selling girls? Sexual assault? They have
to be stopped but, this could get us killed, and while I might be willing to risk that, I’m not willing to jeopardize my sister’s safety, Anna.” He pauses, as we both hear Ash’s door open, and turn as one to see her emerging.

  “I love you Cody, but that isn’t really your decision to make.”

  I knew that’s what she would say before she said it. Ash and I neither one are the type to sit back and allow someone else to dictate our futures. That fact, is why it surprises me we have silently gone along with the Church all this time. Sure we questioned things on a daily basis, and it’s not like we can control that we’re only just now finding out about the worst of it, but it makes me sick to think of all the girls who’ve been hurt or sold.

  Cody stands, and goes to help his sister to the couch. She’s limping slightly, maybe walking a little bowlegged, the sight making my gut clench. What did that asshole do to her?

  When Ash is seated next to me holding my hand, Cody chooses a seat on the small red coffee table facing us, his hands hanging loosely between his legs, his head bowed in thought.

  Turning to face me with a stray tear slipping down her cheek, Ash asks, “Are you okay?”

  Am I okay? It’s pretty clear I’m more okay than she is. Pretty clear her punishment was far worse than mine.

  “I…” I’m openly crying now, but I don’t think the tears are for me. “Are you okay?”

  She throws her arms around me and now neither one of us are trying to hold back the sobs. Cody drops to his knees in front of us, pulling us both down to the floor with him in a protective embrace.

  We stay like this for what seems like forever, before Ash speaks again. “I need to know if Chase is okay.”

  With a nod of understanding Cody stands, and walks to the front door of their apartment before turning over his shoulder to speak. “It’ll be easier for me to find out. I’ll find him, and make sure he’s okay.”

  Standing, Ash rushes to him before he can close the door, and whispers, “Please, don’t do anything reckless. Be careful.”