by Emma Easter
Rachel hurried out of the house with the other women.
Outside, she stood staring at the house, wondering where the fire had started from. She wrapped her arms around herself to try to ward off the cold. She had cried herself to sleep, angry with herself for surely ruining Mike’s plan to break her out by challenging Margaret’s authority, causing her to post a squad member at her door. Mike had not come again. He had probably tried to break her out already and then found that he couldn’t because of the guard assigned to her.
Depression settled over her again. This would be her life now. She had drifted off to sleep depressed. Now, she was awake and still depressed. She wasn’t sure she would ever be happy again. Not until she finally left this house and saw her daughter once more. She resisted the urge to cry and instead listened in on the conversations around her.
A group of women beside her were talking about the fire. She knew most of them but didn’t know their names. One of them said, “Do you know where it started?”
Another shook her head. “Are you sure it’s really a fire? I mean, I cannot see any smoke or any sign of a fire.”
“But why would Margaret lie and tell us there’s a real fire in the house?”
The other woman said, “I was with Margaret when Patricia came to tell her a fire had broken out somewhere. I think Margaret truly believed there was a fire. Maybe Pat…”
Rachel suddenly gasped as someone grabbed her from behind. She opened her mouth to scream, but the person clamped a hand over her mouth. She tried to struggle, but whoever it was that had grabbed her was too strong for her. The person pulled her away from the house to the back of a white jeep.
The hand left her mouth and just before she screamed, swung her around. Her jaw dropped and then she exclaimed, “Mike! You are here!” Her fear immediately melted away, replaced by overwhelming relief. For the first time in her life, she was truly happy to see Mike.
“Why do you look so surprised to see me?” he said. “Didn’t you get my message? I told you that I would get you out tonight.” He looked past her and glanced around.
She stared at him in amazement. He had truly broken her out. She knew without a doubt that the supposed fire alarm was planned and caused by him. How he had managed to do it, she did not know. She asked him.
“Get into the car, Rachel,” he ordered.
Without wasting time, she got in. Joy flooded her heart at the sight of Emily sleeping in the backseat. Mike came and sat in the driver’s seat and she turned to face him. “Thank you so much, Mike. Thank you.”
He started the car, drove out into the road, then said to her, “We are not out of the woods yet, Rachel. And to answer your question, I had an ally in Victor Keller. In exchange for his help, I gave him money… lots of money.” Mike kept his eyes on the road as he spoke. “Victor paid someone on the squad to start the false fire alarm. He probably had some help from someone in the house. The squad member was also paid to divert the attention of the squad team posted around the house and to make sure that none of them would be looking in your direction when I came this evening to get you.”
Rachel sank back on her seat in relief. She already knew the insider in the house was Patricia. She could just imagine the look on Margaret’s face when she found out Rachel was gone. She turned around to look at Emily again. Emily looked like a sleeping angel and Rachel smiled widely. She turned and faced Mike. “Who knew that there was greed amongst the elders,” she said, slightly amused.
Mike said nothing. His eyes were still planted on the road as he drove.
The drive brought back memories of the night she’d tried to escape, and her heart began to pound with anxiety. The further they drove, the more her anxiety grew. She said to Mike, “You said we’re not out of the woods yet. What will we do about the guards at the border?”
She bit down on her lip in nervousness as she waited for Mike to answer. It was all good that he had broken her out of the Restoration House, but if they were apprehended at the border, that would be the end of their plans to escape. They would never be able to leave Fallow Creek again. And she would most definitely be returned to the Restoration House.
Mike finally said to her, “The squad member who Victor paid to divert the other guards’ attention at the Restoration House was instructed to immediately drive to the border once he succeeded in his mission. He would tell the squad team at the border that there was an emergency at the Restoration House and that the elders wanted them all there immediately. And they would find an emergency truly once they got to the Restoration House. I just hope he is at the border right now because there’s a probability that we left before he did.”
Rachel put her hand on her forehead, feeling slightly faint. “Maybe we should slow down to give him time to get to the border and get the other squad members away from there.”
“I can’t, Rachel. There are other squad members stationed around this road. If I slow down now they will surely get to us. I’m pretty sure one of them is following us now.”
Rachel instinctively looked back but couldn’t see much in the darkness. She looked briefly at Emily again and then turned back to Mike. “So, what if we get to the border and all the squad team are still there? Once they see me with you, they will know what our plans are.”
“Then I’ll have to go to plan B.”
Rachel’s stomach twisted with worry. What on earth was Mike’s plan B? She was too anxious to ask what it was. Her strong desire to escape Fallow Creek was not just because of her own wellbeing, but Emily’s as well. She didn’t want her daughter to grow up in a place where women were treated like property.
Her heart pounded as they approached a large group of squad members in the distance. Their SUVs blocked the road. “Mike, they are all still there,” she said in a shaky voice. “What are we going to do?”
“Calm down, Rachel,” Mike said. “Stop panicking.”
“And why shouldn’t I panic, Mike?” she yelled at him. “Emily is at the back of this car. The squad chased me down when I tried to escape the last time and caused an accident. If anything happens to Emily while we are trying to escape, I will never forgive myself… or you!” she cried out in despair, “We will never be able to leave Fallow Creek!”
Mike did not look at her or react to her tirade. He kept driving and Rachel closed her eyes as the squad team turned their eyes to them. She opened her eyes again just as Mike came to a stop in front of the men. Her heart kept pounding in fear. She saw Daniel, the man who had interrogated her the day she tried to escape Fallow Creek, coming towards them and swallowed. “Mike, we’ve been caught,” she said.
“Hush, Rachel!” Mike ordered.
Daniel reached the car and poked his head into the window on Mike’s side. When he saw her, his eyes grew as round as saucers. “You!” he said. Her heart sank as he turned around and waved over two other men.
“Lord, we need a miracle right now,” she whispered.
As the men began to approach their car, an SUV drove up from behind Mike’s car and stopped right between them and the men with horns blasting. The squad team turned as one to stare at the driver of the SUV that was blasting his horn, including Daniel. He turned back to look at Rachel and Mike, and then put his hand on his rifle. “Don’t move,” he ordered. “I’ll be watching you.”
He moved away and Rachel said urgently to Mike, “What are your plans now? What are we going to do?”
“We wait, Rachel.”
She turned to look at the squad team and her jaw dropped. They were beginning to enter their cars and drive in the opposite direction. One squad car remained after the rest had driven away. A young man stepped out of the car and came to them. He reached their car and said to Mike, “They are all gone now. They left me in charge of this place.”
Mike smiled at the young man and nodded. “Thank you,” he said.
The young man stepped back from the car and Mike started the car again and sped off.
Rachel blinked and stared at th
e road as he drove. Mike had come through for them. She let out a huge sigh of relief and joy flooded her heart. They were going to escape. They were really going to succeed in escaping Fallow Creek. She nearly cried from relief and then turned back in excitement and said in a hushed tone, “Emily, darling, we made it. We are leaving Fallow Creek for good.” She thought about something and then turned to Mike. “So where are we going, Mike? And what about Olivia and the children?”
Mike did not say anything for a few minutes and then he answered, “That squad guard back there, the one who helped us, he will drive to the house and get Olivia and the children. Since the border is now free, he’ll be able to drive them to the airport where they will meet us. He will be rewarded handsomely for all his help.”
Rachel nodded and then asked again, “So where are we going, Mike?”
He turned briefly to her and said, “We are going to the town where my grandfather grew up. A place called Destiny.”
Chapter 8
In spite of the days spent trying to rebuild the town, Destiny still looked like it had the first day the hurricane swept through it. Since that day, Keith had struggled to make sense of the destruction in the town, asking the Lord a series of questions in order to understand why their beloved town had almost been laid to waste. But there was one thing he was grateful for; a huge miracle the Lord had worked, considering that many houses here had been destroyed. It was the fact that, as far as Keith knew, no lives had been lost. There were people who had sustained serious injuries, who were receiving medical treatment, and many with mild injuries, but everyone was alive.
Still, the fact that many people were now homeless and living with families whose homes were still intact or mostly intact bothered him greatly. What bothered him the most, though, was the destruction of the old and new churches.
As he walked around the town looking at all the damage that had been done, he silently talked to the Lord. “If anyone had asked if it was a good idea to build a new church before the hurricane swept through this town, I would have confidently told them that you wanted me to do so. Now, I don’t even know what you’re saying anymore. Maybe I have been delusional for a long time, thinking you called me to spread the gospel. Maybe being a pastor is not even what I am supposed to do with my life. If I thought you wanted a church built and now it turns out that wasn’t the case, who is to say I haven’t heard wrong about my life’s calling?”
He walked around the town almost every day, questioning everything — his mission in life, the things that mattered to him or had mattered, and, in some ways, his faith. He still knew that the Lord loved him, but he could not tell what was on God’s mind or what God’s will for him was.
Mary had called a day after the hurricane, frantic. After she had been assured that he was okay, she had given him a piece of her mind. “I warned you, Keith,” she had said to him on the phone. “What if something had happened to you? I would never have forgiven myself… or you.”
He had tried to calm her down, but the more he spoke, the more agitated she sounded. She had asked him again to leave Destiny and come and stay with her and her husband and kids in Denver. He had, of course, refused, but she told him she would call again, obviously to try to get him to change his mind.
He had no intention of leaving Destiny, especially at a time when the town needed him. He’d given away most of the snacks and basic necessities he sold in his store to help many of the people who had lost their homes and everything they had. Two families were staying in his house with him. He didn’t know how long they would be there. No relief workers had reached Destiny yet and the work of rebuilding the town was still on his shoulders and those of a few people who had volunteered their time and resources.
He raised his hand in greeting when a few people on the other side of the road called out his name with smiles on their faces. He smiled. That was the thing about the people of this town. They were very resilient. Most of all, they were grateful for the things that really mattered — and that was each other.
The flood had almost totally receded from the entire town but the place he was wading through now was still water-logged. He climbed up a steep hill and then continued to make his way through Destiny. From time to time, he stopped to greet someone and then prayed for them. He had already visited a few displaced people, encouraging them with God’s word and letting them know he cared. He hated that he couldn’t do more. He had been extremely grateful when Mary, in spite of a constant pestering for him to leave the town, had made arrangements with a friend of hers who owned a food company. A large truck had driven into town a few days after the hurricane with hot meals. Once a day, a lot of people went to the truck to get food and water.
But there was still so much that needed to be done in town. The town needed to be rebuilt. Soon, people would begin to leave because two to three families could not keep sharing tiny accommodations for too long. He loved Destiny too much to bear to see the town deserted. Many had taken to doing what they could to help rebuild some of the homes, and Keith had joined them yesterday. But it was apparent to them that they could only do so much, as they were not builders. Most of the builders who had been working on the new church building had been from out of town and had left when the money ran out.
He stopped at a small house that belonged to Gary and Claire Weaver, a couple in their thirties with a young son. Two families were staying with them in the two-bedroom bungalow. He knocked on the door and then entered when it opened. Smiling at Claire, he said to her, “How are you?”
She looked tired, but smiled and told him she was doing okay.
“And where is Gary?”
“He went out to help with the building projects,” she said. “The Radfords also went out to see where they could help.”
Keith nodded. “And Debra and Shawn?”
“Their three-year-old son developed a fever during the night and they both had to stay up late to take care of him. They are all asleep now in the other bedroom.”
Keith said, “I’m sorry to hear that. I will come back later in the day to pray for their son.”
Claire said, “You can pray for him right now, pastor. They would really appreciate it.”
“But you said they were sleeping.”
Claire only smiled and made her way out of the living room, clearly wanting Keith to follow her. She entered a small room with two adults and a child lying on the bed. Before he could tell Claire not to wake them up, she said loudly, “Debra! Shawn! Pastor Keith is here to pray for Luke.”
The couple sat up rubbing their eyes and then smiled at Keith. Debra gently woke their son up and then told Keith he could pray for him. Keith went over to the boy and felt his forehead. He felt warm. He prayed that the Lord would heal him completely. After that, he prayed for Debra and Shawn and then for Claire and Gary. He promised to visit them again the next day and left the house.
He continued to walk through town and decided to visit the new family that had just moved to Destiny. He had thought it was a little weird when he’d first heard that a family had moved to town just after the hurricane had ravaged it, but he accepted they had their reasons. His job was to welcome them to the town and try to get to know them.
One of the couples staying in his house had told him where the new family lived. They’d moved into the big house at the edge of town, the couple had said.
Keith had raised his brows in surprise. “The old abandoned house?”
“It’s neither old nor abandoned now,” Eric had said. “A week before the hurricane hit, some men came and painted the house and mowed the lawn. They also changed the windows, the door, everything that needed changing, really.”
Paula, Eric’s wife, had said, “And I saw a truck parked in front of the house some days ago. A furniture truck. I haven’t been there for some time but I think the house will be furnished by now.”
Keith had narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t been in that area for a really long time. Maybe months. He’d had no reason to g
o to that part of town as the only house that stood there was that old abandoned house. The next house was some distance away. “Did you see the family that moved into the house?” he’d asked Paula.
“No, we did not,” Paula answered. “But from the way the finished house looks, I’m guessing it’s a wealthy family.”
“Like the man who originally owned the house?” Keith asked.
Eric shook his head and Paula shrugged. “I don’t know the original owner,” she said.
“I don’t either, but my grandmother once told me the house was owned by a wealthy man. I cannot remember his name now. When he died, his family moved out and the house went to ruins. The house was not destroyed in any way during the hurricane?”
“I don’t think so,” Eric answered.
Keith had told them he would visit the new family when he had the time. He had been busy for the past two days, but today he could finally pay the family a visit and welcome them to Destiny. He walked on, passing a couple more houses and then just trees and a wide field. He saw the house from a distance, built on a small hill. He couldn’t stop staring at it, amazed by the change. When he reached the house, he stood in front of it for a full minute, gazing in amazement. It looked totally different now, like a real home. A huge, magnificent home. And it had not been touched by the hurricane, which meant it was probably built to withstand them.
He opened the newly painted white fence and walked up a slope to the front door. He looked around the house. There were four vehicles parked on different parts of the grounds. He turned to the door again. The huge mahogany door was newly polished with a brand-new knocker and doorbell installed. He reached out and pressed the doorbell and then waited.
He frowned when no one came to the door and then smiled in self-mockery as he remembered there was still no electricity in town. He grasped the knocker, knocked on the door, and waited again.
The door opened and a beautiful young woman with dark hair that hung down to her waist and the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen poked her head out and gazed at him. “Yes, can I help you?” she said in the sweetest voice he had ever heard.