A Place Called Destiny

by Emma Easter

  She sucked in her breath sharply and her head buzzed. She said in a shaky voice, “What do you mean, taken care of?”

  Mike tilted his head as he stared at her. “I mean that the pastor is dead, Rachel.”

  Her knees buckled, and she would have fallen to the ground if she weren’t being held up by the squad guard. She shook her head and screamed, “You are a liar, Mike! Keith is not dead! You just want me to think he is!”

  Mike chuckled and nodded. He turned around and told the other security guard who had taken Emily away from her to give him his phone. Mike began to punch some buttons on the phone. “He is dead, Rachel. I knew you were not going to believe me so I made sure my man took pictures.” He held out the phone to her and said, “Look.”

  She stared at the picture on the screen and then let out a scream as horror and revulsion filled her. On the screen was Keith lying on the ground, unmoving. A short distance away was his red Honda mangled beyond repair.

  Mike withdrew the phone again and said to her, “So you see, I am not lying. That Keith is truly dead.”

  This time she strained to tear out his eyes. “You did this!” she spat. “I knew you were evil, but I did not know you were the devil himself.” She couldn’t stop screaming and trying to get out of the guard’s grip so she could get to Mike and wipe that evil smirk off his face. She wanted to draw his blood the way he’d drawn Keith’s.

  Mike said, “That pastor tried to take what belongs to me. He messed around with the wrong person.”

  “I don’t belong to you!” she screamed. She glared at him. He had wanted her to stay with him at all costs and because of that, he had killed Keith. She would rather die than be with Mike now… but he had Emily. She began to sob and angrily sobbed. Mike seemed to be enjoying her agony, and she had to gather herself together. But she could not get the image of Keith lying on the ground beside his mangled car out of her mind. She began to weep again.

  Mike turned around and left the room. The guard holding her let go and walked out of the room as well, closing the door behind him. She rushed to the door to try to open it, but it was locked. She banged on the door and screamed for her daughter. When it was clear they were not going to open it for her, she walked to the bed and collapsed onto it. She curled up into a ball and thought about Keith, about the last time she’d seen him; the way his eyes had looked when he’d gazed at her and told her he loved her.

  Sadness and weakness consumed her body. She shut her eyes and forced herself to go to sleep to escape the crushing sorrow she felt.

  She jerked awake at the sound of loud voices approaching the room. She sat up on the bed and shifted back, leaning against the wall as the door opened. She narrowed her eyes as three of the town elders walked into the room with Mike. When Taylor walked in behind them, she leaned forward, surprised. Outside the room were about five guards.

  She sprang out of the bed and went to hug Taylor, happier to see him than she had ever been. Taylor put his arm around her as she struggled through her anger and tears to tell him everything that had happened. Finally, after she finished, she said to him, “Can you please help me?”

  Mike and the other elders stood around, looking at her and Taylor with interest and derision. She focused on Taylor and asked him again to please take her and Emily away from Mike’s house.

  Mike said, “You’re definitely leaving the house soon, but without Emily. Like I said before, you will be going to the Restoration House.”

  She ignored him and said to Taylor, “Emily is my daughter. She has to come with me.” She turned to give Mike a cold stare. “I do not want her staying with him. He is a monster.”

  One of the elders said, “You will be going to the Restoration House, but you cannot take your daughter there. Babies don’t go there, as they do not need to be restored.”

  She glared at the man who had spoken. Mike had also fled Fallow Creek and yet she was the only one being punished.

  As though he could read her mind, another elder said, “Your husband has been pardoned by us on one condition; that he swears he will never try to leave Fallow Creek again. He has sworn that he never will. You, on the other hand, are clearly unrepentant. You will go to the Restoration House, but since you have tried to run away before, twice, you will not stay there to work and attend just the regular classes. You will have continuous teachings to help you renew your mind faster. This time, there will be no one to help you. And don’t even bother trying to escape. The elder that helped your husband with your escape has been removed from our ranks. From what your husband has told us, he regrets leaving Fallow Creek, and from your defiant attitude, we see why.”

  The oldest elder amongst them, Rayford Young, shook his head and said, “That’s the way women are. Just like Eve deceived Adam, they end up leading men astray.” He looked at Mike and added, “Your wife led you astray, Brother Mike, but we are glad you have come back to your senses and returned to Fallow Creek where you belong.”

  Rachel listened to them with growing anger and despair. They were going to force her to leave her daughter. For how long, she did not know. She tried to remain calm as she asked the elders, “When will I be able to see my baby again?”

  One of them answered, “When your mind has been sufficiently renewed and we know that you have completely changed. You will return then to your husband’s house and submit to him completely, and then you will be reunited with your daughter.”

  Another elder said, “You will not be released until we are completely satisfied that the wicked rebellious nature in you has been crushed.”

  Mike’s eyes searched her face, and he said in a cold voice, “I did everything for you, Rachel. But you chose to repay me by leaving me for another man.”

  The elder who told her Mike had been pardoned said, “You will never get the chance to escape Fallow Creek again to spread lies about us.”

  Mike took a step toward her and stopped in front of her. He said, “If the thought to escape even crosses your mind, you will never see Emily again. Your future happiness relies on your ability to submit and be fully obedient.”

  She looked at Taylor, pleading with her eyes for help. As children, they had been very close and somehow could read each other’s feelings. She hoped there was something of that closeness still left between them. She prayed he would remember and speak up for her. But instead, he said, “I’m sorry, Rachel. The elders are right. You should submit to your husband. The Restoration House will do you good. You’ll see. It’s just to renew your mind and...”

  “It’s not just to renew my mind!” she shrieked. “Have you ever been there, Taylor?” She stared at him. Of course he had never been there. Why would he? He was a man, and a wealthy one at that. There was no reason for him to ever visit the Restoration House. He was on his way to take a second wife. Men like him enjoyed everything about Fallow Creek. It was how the elders ensured that everybody in the community remained obedient to all the strange rules. It greatly favored the strong and powerful — usually the men, who in turn silenced the weak and made sure they lived in complete compliance.

  Taylor said nothing and Rachel closed her eyes, feeling totally hopeless.

  Rayford Young said to her, “You can pack a few things now and you will be taken directly to the House.”

  She stared at him, fear racing through her. “Now?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  She began to pace the room and then stood in front of the men again. “I thought I would have some time with Emily before being taken away to the Restoration House.”

  Rayford Young immediately glanced at his wristwatch and said, “We have other matters to take care of, so you have to hurry and pack your things now.”

  She turned and stared at Mike. “At least bring Emily to me so I can say goodbye to her.”

  “There is no time, Rachel,” Mike said. He turned to the squad member he had referred to as her bodyguard, the man who was to watch her constantly when she returned to the house. “Help her pack her
things, Ben.”

  The guard approached her, but she barked at him, “Don’t touch my things!”

  She flung the closet door open and then stepped back and groaned when she remembered that all her things had been with Keith. The night they’d strolled through Destiny, he had told her he would bring her things the next day, but now he was no more. A sob rose up in her throat again, but she swallowed it. She would not break down in front of these men.

  She turned to them and said, “I have no things to pack.”

  “Then we will take you to the house now,” Rayford said.

  As they walked down the corridor and past Olivia’s room, Rachel heard Emily crying. Everything in her wanted to push past the men and guards and rush into the room to get her child, but she knew there was no use. She would not get far, not from the elders or Mike, and especially not from the guards.

  She walked down the stairs, in front of her the elders, Mike and Taylor, and behind her, the squad guards.

  Inside the black jeep that would take her to the Restoration House, she looked up at Mike’s huge home and at Olivia’s bedroom window upstairs. If only she could have a glimpse of Emily now. She turned to look at Mike, who was standing in front of the house. His countenance was like stone. She turned away, distressed. The elders walked away. Taylor stared at her through the car window for a few seconds with sympathy in his eyes and then he, too, walked away to his car.

  She sat in the back seat with a squad guard while the driver got into the vehicle. She stared straight ahead as they drove to the House, numb. When they arrived, she sighed. She did not want to get out of the car. All she wanted to do was run away to Mike’s house to get her daughter, and then flee Fallow Creek. But her thoughts were just useless imaginations. She could do none of the things she was thinking about.

  She finally got out of the car when the squad guard opened the door for her. He walked behind her while she made her way to the front door. He opened the front door of the House and she walked in. She glanced around. It looked exactly the same as the last time she was here.

  Margaret, the sour-faced woman who had promised to make her life a living hell the last time she was here, came down from the stairs and walked up to her with a triumphant look on her face. She nodded at Rachel. “You’re back,” she said gleefully. “Well, then. The elders tell me you are unrepentant and therefore are to attend the special classes for people like you.”

  Rachel said nothing. There was nothing to say. No punishment that Margaret could mete out and no brainwashing in one of those classes she talked about would be a greater punishment than leaving her daughter for an unknown period of time. None.

  Women in plain dresses made their way up and down the stairs, some with mops and buckets, all with their heads bowed. None of the women were talking to each other.

  Margaret said scornfully, “So, what are you still standing there for? Come along. The classes will start in a minute or two.” She walked off and Rachel followed her slowly, her mind only on Emily and Keith.

  They walked upstairs, down the corridor, and into the large classroom that Rachel had seen the last time she was here. She immediately glanced at the blackboard, but this time it was wiped clean. “Sit right here.” Margaret pointed at the middle seat in the front row.

  Rachel sat down and turned around. The class was empty except for a woman who sat at the back, staring out the window. Rachel frowned. The young woman looked familiar, but not in the way the other women in this place did. Most of the women here looked familiar because the town was small. Most people were acquainted or knew about each other. But she was sure she didn’t only know of the woman at the back. She knew her well. And then it dawned on her. She had been Rachel and Taylor’s childhood playmate. She and her parents and siblings lived near the house they’d grown up in when they’d arrived in Fallow Creek. When their mother and stepfather moved them away to another part of the community, they’d lost touch with her. Later on, Rachel saw her around town once in a while, but by then they had grown apart.

  Margaret glared at Rachel and walked out of the class.

  Rachel turned around again and said, “Lily! Lily Hunter!”

  The woman turned to Rachel and stared at her for a short moment. And then her eyes lit up. “Rachel! Stubborn little Rachel!”

  Rachel laughed and said, “Come on, Lily, I was never as stubborn as you.”

  They met in the middle of the class and hugged. “I haven’t seen you in years,” Lily said to her. “I heard you married Mike Cadwell.”

  They went to sit together on Rachel’s table. She said, “I have seen you a few times around, but always through the window of the car.” Rachel grinned. “I heard you refused every suitor that came your way and you’re still single. That is a scandal in Fallow Creek!”

  “That is why I was brought here,” Lily said, looking around.

  The class began to fill up quickly as women walked in and took their seats. Lily looked at Rachel and said, “I’m so glad that you are here. I feel like we will get along as well as we did when we were kids. We will talk after class.” She looked around and whispered, “But let me warn you about the classes. You have to guard your heart against them because...” She stopped talking when a woman in her late fifties with a stern face and an imposing stature walked into the class. “We will talk later,” she said quickly and then went to take her seat at the back of the class.

  When the lectures began, Rachel immediately understood what Lily had been trying to warn her about. They were made to recite over and over again scriptures and quotations that were twisted and taken out of context, made to fit into the terrible doctrine of absolute submission. Because Rachel was seated in front, she could not escape reciting the scriptures and then the stupid quotations that were written by some dead elder in the past. Quotations completely against everything Rachel believed in now. The stern tutor focused on Rachel as she told them to recite the words, “I will submit completely to my husband and the elders of Fallow Creek and obey them in everything, no matter what. For they are God’s voice on the earth to me.” Rachel said the words, but rejected them in her heart. She knew she had to pretend to submit to the brainwashing, at least for now, if she wanted to leave this place quickly and see Emily again.

  After the horrendous class was over, Lily walked up to her and Rachel shifted slightly so Lily could sit next to her.

  “How was the class?” Lily made a face.

  Rachel laughed and shook her head. “Awful.”

  “This is just the beginning,” Lily said. “I’ve been here for about a week and the classes go on and on. In fifteen or twenty minutes, another tutor will be back for more ‘mind renewal’ classes. Before the next one comes, I want to know what brought you here.”

  Eager to share with someone who was sympathetic to her, she told Lily everything in as few words as she could, starting with her attempt to run away the first time, then leaving Fallow Creek with Mike, and then being kidnapped and brought back here. Finally, she told her about the pain of being separated from her daughter and Keith. There were tears in her eyes when she finished. It had been difficult to talk about Keith, about his death. And yet she had told Lily everything.

  Lily shook her head slowly and placed her hand on Rachel’s back. “I’m so sorry, Rachel,” she said. “I hate this place. Actually, I did not mind Fallow Creek so much until the pressure rose to marry me off. I did not want to get married and, just like you, I felt like if I ever did get married, it would be to someone I loved. I kept refusing everyone, especially because most of the people who wanted to marry me were already married. Finally, my parents got tired and decided that I needed to come here so I would change my mind about marriage.”

  “One of the reasons I left Mike was because I gradually began to feel that God was displeased that I was married to someone who already had a wife.”

  “Actually, no true marriage takes place once someone has a wife. This is the United States. It’s illegal as well as immoral
.”

  Rachel nodded. “I know that. And that was why I left. Mike tried to tell me that I belonged to him, but I told him I didn’t. And then when I met Keith and fell in love with him, I wanted to be with him.” She pressed her lips together as sadness overtook her again.

  Lily said, “I wish we could escape from this place, but there is no way out. Trust me, I have tried.”

  Rachel gave her a sad smile. She was sure Lily had tried. She remembered the headstrong child Lily had been, forever going left when her parents or an older relative told her to go right.

  “I cannot imagine how you feel now,” Lily said. “I thought I was suffering here, but to think that someone you love was taken away from you so violently, and now you’ve been separated from your baby. I don’t know if I would be able to go on if it were me.”

  Rachel said, “I am barely surviving. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of being reunited with Emily one day. Because of that, I have to submit to whatever brainwashing is going on in these classes so I can quickly see her again.”

  “I don’t think we have much choice about the brainwashing thing,” Lily said. “Nobody leaves this place without having their minds broken and becoming totally subjugated. Soon we will be like most of the women here — completely compliant.”

  Another tutor walked in, a petite woman with an angry expression. Lily stood up and went back to her seat while Rachel’s mind went around and around what Lily had said. Soon, her mind and will would be broken, but then she would be able to leave this place and see Emily again. But that would also mean living as Mike’s wife again. She was growing in her relationship with God and the thought of being under Mike’s control again repulsed her. And yet she had no other choice.

  Chapter 20

  Keith woke up to pitch darkness again. He reached out and switched on the table light beside him. He was still attached to the IV pole. He took a deep breath and began to remove the IV tube from his arm. He could not lie in this bed in hospital when Rachel was most likely in danger. He had to find her.