by Emma Easter
Rachel felt like screaming at him. Why was he telling her what she already knew? He had failed in keeping his promise to get her and the baby away from Fallow Creek. More than whatever fate awaited her there, leaving her baby was the one thing that caused her the most heartache.
She stood up and faced off with Mike. “I am not leaving my child, Mike. They will have to cut off my hands in order to separate her from me.” She held her baby tight.
The doorbell sounded and she grimaced. She pressed Emily to her breast, panicking, until her baby cried out. Biting her lip, she loosened her grip and kissed her daughter. “I am so sorry, little one,” she said. “I won’t let anyone take you away from me.”
“Rachel, they are here,” Mike said. “You have to go willingly or they might call in the security squad to bundle you out.”
She bit her lip. The security squad! She’d heard others talk about members of the squad literally dragging people who resisted them on the ground and across the street. She also clearly remembered her experience with them that had led to the accident. They were trained to be brutal, and she detested them and the people who had given them so much power. Thankfully, neither she nor her baby had been hurt in that accident. If she held onto Emily now, who knew what kind of hurt would come to her daughter when they tried to forcefully separate both of them? She looked at Mike, who was staring at her impatiently. She didn’t trust him to protect Emily from harm if the security squad tried to take her away by force.
Mike looked at her for a few seconds more and then left the room. She rushed to the bedroom window to see if there was any way she could climb out and run without being seen, but it would be too dangerous to climb out with Emily. Plus, as usual, some members of the squad still patrolled the house.
She sat on the floor holding onto Emily and sucked in her breath sharply as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Tears poured down her cheeks and she felt as if her heart was shredding into tiny pieces.
The footsteps came closer and closer while she clutched Emily to her chest. The elders finally walked into the room, and Rachel whimpered at their determined and fierce faces. Her heart pounded as Victor Keller, the oldest of the three elders, said to her, “Rachel Cadwell, you are about to be taken to the Restoration House where you will be purged thoroughly of all your sins. You will come willingly with us or be taken by force.”
Two squad members came into the room with their fatigues and guns, and Rachel knew she had to relinquish Emily to Mike. She stood up stiffly, feeling completely numb with sorrow, and then looked at Mike. “Please take good care of her,” she said, and then kissed Emily’s forehead. Mike reached out to take Emily, but Rachel wasn’t ready to hand her over yet. She held on and wept.
Emily began to cry and Rachel rocked her while she wept. One of the squad members began to come toward her, and Mike said firmly, “Hand her to me, Rachel!”
Rachel held onto Emily for a few seconds and then she reluctantly handed her over to Mike. The squad member who had walked up to her started to grab her hand, but she shook her head. “Don’t touch me!” she warned.
Victor Keller nodded at the squad guard and he backed away.
“Are you ready to come willingly now?” Another elder asked her.
She said nothing and picked up the small bag she had packed a few of her things in. She began to follow the elders down the stairs, but just before she stepped out of the house, she turned once more to Mike, who was behind her with Emily in his arms. “Please take good care of her, Mike,” she said in a voice choked with emotion. She wanted to break down and start crying all over again, but she thought better of it. If she started now, she would not stop.
She followed the elders outside to a waiting car. A squad member opened the door for her and she got into the car. She stuck her head out of the window and stared at Mike, who was standing on the front porch, still carrying Emily. She felt overcome with longing to hold Emily one last time and turned her head away. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she asked the Lord to help her deal with the agony of being separated from her baby.
The drive to the Restoration House was short. When the driver parked in front of the house, Rachel looked out the window and stared at the huge three-story house. She had seen it a few times, but usually when driving past in a car. She had never come this close and she had only known one person who had been brought here, though for what, she didn’t know. She didn’t know what to expect, but in a way she did not care. There was nothing that could be worse than being separated from one’s baby.
Once again, the car door was opened for her, and she stepped out with her bag. She walked to the house with two squad guards behind her. One of them opened the door and she stepped in. She expected to see a furnished living room, but instead the space was empty except for two benches, one on either side of the room, and a small coffee table at the center.
She dropped her bag on the ground and looked up when she heard what sounded like a large group of people chanting from up the stairs. She turned to the squad members for an explanation, but they said nothing to her. Curious, she began to climb the stairs and then stopped when someone called her name. Turning around, she blinked in surprise. Victor Keller, one of the elders who had come to the house to tell her it was time to come here, was looking up at her.
“Wait, Rachel. I need to tell you what to expect in the house,” he said. He told the guards who had followed her in to wait outside. When they left, he beckoned for Rachel to come near once more.
She scowled and then came down the stairs. “How long am I going to stay here before I can see my Emily again?” she asked angrily.
He came closer and whispered, “I have a note for you from your husband.”
She blinked. “Mike? I just left him. Why didn’t he give me the note himself?” she asked incredulously.
“You will know once you read the note,” Victor said and shoved a piece of paper into her hand before turning around and striding out of the house.
She stared after him and then opened her hand. Straightening the crumpled piece of paper, she read the words written in Mike’s handwriting. Stunned, she read it again.
Rachel,
My plan is to break you out of the Restoration House this evening so we can leave Fallow Creek. I couldn’t tell you at the house because I had to make sure your distress at leaving Emily was as real as possible, or the elders and guards would have suspected that something was amiss.
I will see you soon.
Mike
She could not believe her eyes. She had given up all hope of seeing Emily in the near future, and definitely of ever leaving Fallow Creek. Now Mike was saying they were going to leave that very night. He had not told her how he was going to manage it, but she suddenly felt hope rising in her heart. And then joy coursed through her. She read the note again and whispered, “Lord, please let Mike’s plan, whatever it is, be successful.”
She would not have to be separated from her daughter again. She couldn’t wait to hold Emily in her arms. But that was if Mike’s plan succeeded. She told herself to lower her expectations. Mike’s plan might not be successful. But she could not hold down her joy and relief.
If they managed to escape Fallow Creek, she would be free to live the life she’d always dreamt of, and maybe eventually, she would be free from Mike. Because she could not continue to live with him, constantly living with tremendous guilt. It didn’t matter what he said or what the people of this town said. Mike was not her husband. He was Olivia’s. The earlier she could leave him, the better she would feel.
She jerked her head up when someone slapped her back. Astonished, she turned around and stared into the face of an angry-looking, diminutive woman. Margaret Foster. She had seen the woman around the community a couple of times and knew she was in charge of the Restoration House. She had never had any dealings with Margaret or spoken to her. But every time she’d seen the woman, Margaret was wearing a frown. It was clearly her default look.
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��What are you doing standing around?” Margaret said, glaring at Rachel. “This is not a hotel and you are not on vacation! You’re here to work and attend our renewal classes.”
Rachel blurted out, “Renewal classes?”
“Come with me,” Margaret ordered. She began to march away, but Rachel stood frozen in her spot. Margaret turned around and barked at her, “Come right now or I will call one of those boys outside to drag you up the stairs!”
Rachel glared at her and for a few seconds refused to obey. Margaret headed toward the door and Rachel moved. She began to climb up the stairs while Margaret followed behind.
Once at the top of the stairs, Margaret led her from one room to the other, rooms with only narrow beds, a desk, and a chair. Some of the rooms were occupied by several women, some by just two. A few were empty.
Margaret led Rachel to a huge space that looked like a large classroom. It had rows and rows of desks and chairs and a huge blackboard at the front with words written in chalk. Before Rachel could read the words on the blackboard, Margaret led her away again. From time to time, women passed by her without looking at her. Most of them stared at the floor as soon as they saw Margaret. Finally, Rachel couldn’t hold in her curiosity and asked Margaret what the large room with the blackboard was for.
Margaret glowered at her. “What on earth? You actually thought I have been giving you a house tour? Honey, I’m showing you all the rooms that you will be scrubbing, starting now. That is what we do to every new person who comes into this house. You are shown that hard work is one of the tenants of our faith and one of the things you will need to master in order to be completely purged.”
Rachel’s mouth fell open, and then, without thinking, she blurted out, “Are you saying that I will be cleaning all the rooms that you showed me, including that large classroom?”
Margaret chuckled. “What? You are way too pretty to clean? You will not just be cleaning, you will be scrubbing every inch of those rooms.”
Rachel shut her eyes. Now she knew why this house had a scary reputation and why Mike was scared for her. Even more baffling was that she knew that what Margaret had told her was not the worst that this place had to offer.
Margaret clapped her hands. “Now get to work,” she said. “Go into the room at the end of this hallway. You will find a woman named Patricia. She will give you everything you need to start working.”
Rachel didn’t move.
Margaret barked, “Why are you still standing here? Go now!”
Rachel hurried away and then looked over her shoulder. Margaret was still staring at her. She reached the end of the hallway and entered the room Margaret had pointed out to her. The room was filled with cleaning supplies, mops, and buckets. The place looked like a store that sold cleaning supplies.
A woman dressed in a long, black, long-sleeved dress appeared from nowhere. Rachel told her Margaret had sent her, and the woman nodded.
“Come with me,” the woman said.
Rachel followed her to a shelf filled with a variety of detergents, and the woman told her to pick one. After that, she gave Rachel disinfecting wipes, liquid soaps and floor cleaners, a mop and bucket, and then told her where to get water. Finally, she handed Rachel a scrubbing brush and sent her on her way.
Rachel lugged the cleaning supplies down the hallway, wondering where to start. Mike had told her he would come tonight to rescue her from this place and take her out of Fallow Creek, but she did not know if he was coming in the evening or at night. She could pretend to clean while she waited for him, but if he did not come until past midnight, she would not be able to get away without actually working. She might jeopardize her escape if she called any attention to herself by disobeying Margaret.
She looked into one room after the other and found they were filled with occupants. Many of the women had their heads bowed as if they were praying, and Rachel immediately knew that it was one of the requirements to stay here. They were all probably made to spend hours in reflection in order to “purge themselves of their sins.”
She finally found a room that was empty. She knelt on the floor and began to scrub it. She took her time scrubbing the floors, hoping the hours would pass quickly while she cleaned and waited for Mike to arrive. As she scrubbed, she kept wondering what Mike’s plan for their escape was. If they were caught, they would never be able to leave Fallow Creek again.
She could not spend any more time cleaning a single room and moved on to the next room. Two women who looked to be in their fifties glanced at her as she entered. She opened her mouth to greet them, but they hurried out of the room as though she had a contagious disease. She frowned and then bent down to begin cleaning. Just like the first room she’d cleaned, she took her time scrubbing the floor and making the bed.
By the time she finished cleaning the fourth room, she felt like lying on the floor. She sighed, exhausted, and then stared out the window, wondering what time it was. It was already dark outside and she could hear voices from down the hallway. The chanting again.
She stepped back from the window and made her way out of the room, leaving the cleaning supplies there. She had to find out what time it was. She remembered that she had seen a small clock on the wall downstairs and headed for the stairs.
She reached the bottom and looked around the empty room. There was no one around. Grateful for that, she looked up at the clock on the wall and her heart began to drum. It was already ten o’clock. Hopefully, Mike would come soon.
The lights suddenly went out, leaving her in total darkness, and she began to panic. What was happening? She could see absolutely nothing. She didn’t know the house well and Margaret had not shown her to her room. She sighed. She wouldn’t need a room if Mike just came now. Where are you, Mike? She did the only thing she could think of. She sat down on the floor and prayed that the lights would come on soon.
She heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Someone was coming down the stairs with a flashlight, which already dimly illuminated the room where she was. She stood up when she heard Margaret’s voice. “You!” Margaret glared at her. “What are you still doing here?”
Rachel didn’t answer.
Margaret walked up to her and shined the flashlight in her face. Rachel blinked and shut her eyes.
“Answer me!” Margaret bellowed. “What are you still doing here when it’s lights out?”
Rachel suddenly grew angry and barked, “How am I supposed to know it was lights out when no one told me? In case you forgot, today is my first day here.”
“How dare you speak to me like that!” Margaret snarled.
Rachel threw caution to the wind and said, “I’ve been working like a slave for hours and nobody has said a word to me. You did not tell me lights out was at this time and you didn’t show me to my room. I am not a mind reader, Margaret Foster!”
Margaret’s face grew red and she grabbed Rachel’s hand. Rachel winced in pain when she squeezed her wrist tightly. “How dare you!” Margaret spat out. “You might be married and related to the richest men in town, but in this house, you are nothing. I am in charge here and you will watch the way you speak to me! I promise I will make your life a living hell, Rachel Cadwell!” She began to pull Rachel up the stairs with her.
At first, Rachel wanted to yank her hand away and tell Margaret off, but she thought better of it. It would be the wrong move to antagonize the woman further. She already regretted her outburst. Margaret would watch her more closely than the others now. Had she destroyed her chance of escaping by provoking her?
She thought about apologizing to the woman but immediately decided against it. That would be too much. Besides, there was no point. Margaret didn’t seem like the kind of person who accepted apologies when offended.
She followed Margaret down the hall to an empty room that she had scrubbed and Margaret pointed. “This is your room for now. You will have a new roommate by tomorrow.”
Rachel heaved a sigh of relief when Margret marched out and then turn
ed when the older woman called her name. Margaret gave her a wicked smile that chilled her. “Tomorrow, I have a very special surprise waiting for you!” she said in a low voice. “It’s a surprise I give to every person who crosses me here. I think you will enjoy it.”
She began to walk away as Rachel’s heart drummed and then turned back. A member of the security squad appeared beside her. “And oh, I am placing Gavin here by your door to watch you and follow you wherever you go... just in case you try anything funny.” She left and shut the door behind her.
Rachel slowly lowered herself to the bed. “What have I done?” she whispered. Her stubbornness had gotten her into trouble here already and probably jeopardized her escape with Mike. How would Mike get her out of here with a guard standing right at her door? She had been stupid, challenging Margaret. Now, she might never have the chance to escape Fallow Creek. Worse, with Margaret angry at her, she might not be released from this house in a long, long time. When would she see her baby again?
She covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
Chapter 7
A loud ringing noise continuously sounded in Rachel’s ear and she turned on the bed. Where was that sound coming from? She suddenly opened her eyes and jerked up. She frowned at the commotion outside. People were shouting and running. She tossed aside her blanket and jumped out of bed. Quickly, she put on her robe and hurried out of her room to see what the commotion was all about.
The guard that Margaret had posted outside her door wasn’t there, but women were running past her, hurrying down the stairs. She frowned in confusion and then realized what was happening: a fire had broken out somewhere in the house. The ringing sound screaming through the house was a fire alarm. She started to head toward the staircase and ran into Patricia, the woman who had given her the cleaning supplies earlier that day.
“Do you know where the fire is?” she asked.
“No, but I need to make sure everyone is out of the house now.”