“What now?” Cameron’s cheeks were bright red, and I could see the gleam of sweat on his forehead. The blue jumpsuits were hot and heavy, and I considered stripping off and leaving it in the middle of the bush. But I knew my white flesh would be more noticeable than a more camouflaged blue, so I decided to suffer and leave it on.
I looked over at Cameron and Henry, not knowing what to say. The next phase of the plan was to meet Aggie in the bush, with the car. But she hadn’t appeared, and we’d run so far, I hardly knew where we were anymore. I rubbed my temples in frustration, willing Aggie to appear in front of us, and lead us to the car, where we would drive away into the distance. To freedom.
The crunch of leaves in the distance interrupted my thoughts, and we suddenly forgot about our exhaustion. This time, it was Henry who led the way, and we continued to run aimlessly. We ran until my lungs felt like they were on the verge of bursting. The pain in my chest from where Wanda had pinned me down throbbed mercilessly. Darkness started to spread throughout the bush, our vision slowly fading.
“Please, we need to stop!” I begged him.
“Just a little further, come on!” He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me along with him, which eased some of the pain in my chest. Voices rang out in the bush, and we threw ourselves underneath a damp log. The log was so big, it sheltered us from all points of view, and we huddled together tightly against the dark, cold wood. In our haste to get inside the log, we failed to noticed that Cameron wasn’t with us, and I crawled out from the log, and peeked around the side to see if I could spot him.
Cameron was lying on the ground some distance from the log, and I realised he must have tripped on a vine or a tree root as we were running. I felt a rush of guilt, as two TGHL soldiers appeared and stood above him. Cameron’s eyes met mine, and as they tied the rope around his neck. I thought he was about to throw me under the bus with him, giving away our location. Instead, he opened his mouth and began to scream. An ear splitting, blood-curdling scream that would haunt me until the day I died.
His terrible screams echoed through the still night, as they dragged him through the dense bushland. Cameron screamed and screamed, until the sound faded into the distance, leaving nothing but a ringing in our ears.
Fearful that the TGHL soldiers would see me, I crawled quickly back into the log next to Henry. I had a fair idea where they were taking him, although I tried to push the notion out of my mind. As far as I was concerned, the chances of us all ending up in the Experiment Room were fairly high; particularly as our escape hadn’t gone as planned so far. More had gone wrong than right, and my confidence in the entire plan was fading fast.
“What now?” Henry said, his voice wavering. I hated seeing such fear in him, as it reminded me again how dire the situation was. We couldn’t stay hidden in this log forever, although I wished it were possible.
I didn’t respond, and we sat silently, until sleep took hold and our situation was forgotten for a short while.
I don’t know how long we were out for, but when we finally awoke, I cursed myself for falling asleep when there were TGHL soldiers roaming around. The short sleep had energised my mind again, and I had figured out the next phase of the plan before Henry awoke.
“We need to go back to camp.” I told Henry, as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
“Are you crazy?” he grimaced. “We just escaped from there, and you want to go back?”
I felt the irritation rising in my chest. “Clem is there… Aggie is still in there somewhere. All we need is the car. We’re lost out here… it’s not doing us any good staying under this log. I’m not leaving without them.”
I didn’t want to tell Henry the finer details about the Plan B that Aggie and I had concocted, for the fear he would try to talk me out of it. But I knew my own mind; I knew I could handle whatever the Experiment Room had to throw at me. We had to try at least.
“Please don’t be so resistant,” I pleaded with him. “I’m positive this can work.”
The only part of the plan that was flawed was how we were going to make it back to The Land. I hadn’t the faintest idea where we were. The morning was coming fast, and I knew all the soldiers would be back at The Land for their official duties. We had a short window of time before they were out here again looking for us.
After a bit more convincing, Henry and I crawled out from the log. I still had no idea where we were going, as we walked aimlessly through the bushland, trying to find a familiar plant or tree to guide us, with no such luck.
“What’s that, on the tree there?” Henry called out to me. He was some distance in front of me, and was pointing up at a giant gumtree.
I moved closer to the tree, and suddenly saw one of the TGHL symbols that Wanda and I had etched into the tree, for the TGHL members who hunted for our food. There, carved into the tree, was the same symbol that was embroidered onto our jumpsuits. The yellow snake. Our saving grace.
“It’s this way,” I almost shouted in relief. Soon enough, more and more trees emerged with the same symbol, and we found ourselves back at the fence of the compound, and back to where we had started.
Henry pulled out a pair of wire cutters, still in his pocket from the work duty we had abandoned the night before. Henry placed them on the fence, ready to cut, before he stopped and turned towards me.
“Do you really want to do this?” Henry looked doubtful again. “We can find another way. We can escape, and go back for them later. We could come back with help.”
I shook my head. There was no other way, and with that, Henry cut the fence open and we scrambled back into the grasp of the TGHL.
Saxon had waged war on The Land since our escape, intending to weed out the moles with nothing but destructive forces. Buildings smouldered, the ground outside the cabins scorched. The paddock that held the vegetable garden had been destroyed, obviously to eliminate any TGHL members hiding in amongst the plants. The only building that appeared untouched was the Church, and we made towards it, hoping to find it empty. An angry voice rang out as we entered the Church, with heavy footsteps following. I suddenly regretted not going with Henry’s plan, as I realised the chances of us getting to Clem, or Aggie, or even Cameron were almost impossible. How on earth did I think we would get back into The Land completely undetected? Henry and I dashed into the Church, and wedged ourselves underneath the pews at the front. I clung to him, our blue jumpsuits pushed together tightly underneath the pew. It wouldn’t shield us forever, and we both knew it. Walls and rubble began to fall, plumes of toxic dust in the air, Saxon’s voice echoing around the crumbling Church. His voice was filled with rage and contempt, a man intent on destruction, a man who wanted to devastate those who had upturned his sanctuary. This was the end, this what it looked like.
As I came to terms with what awaited me, I began to think about how I’d wanted to live a full life, full of adventure, of stories, of experience. And here I was, ready to die, no wiser or smarter than I was before. The extremities of life – you’re either not living full enough, and you die alone, heavy with regret and resentment at the life that could have been. Or you go too hard, you only have one life to live, but one day, you end up lying helplessly, waiting for death to take you, wishing you’d slowed down a little. Old or young, we all die with regrets. Nobody can get off scot free, and there’s no in between.
I had almost made peace with my fate, when a hand grabbed me by the leg and dragged me out of our hiding place. I kicked and thrashed wildly, knowing it was futile. I knew exactly where I was headed. Saxon’s face gleamed with twisted pride as he, and four other TGHL soldiers wrapped the rope around my neck, and dragged me across the ground like an animal. Other congregation members stood around, trying to hide the horrified looks on their faces. I wondered if Henry was behind me. I groaned softly, bemoaning what was in store for me, the ground beneath me burning the bare skin on my arms where the fence had ripped my jumpsuit. Every inch of my body was aching, and I closed my eyes for a moment’s peace,
before being jolted awake by two hands closing in on my torso, lifting me up into the air.
Saxon threw me onto the Experiment Room table, the equipment buzzing around me. I tried to scream, feeling the sound get caught in my throat. I was paralysed, the fear taking over my body. I closed my eyes and tried to breath, feeling the cold leather being bound around my arms and legs. I can’t look, I won’t look.
“This is what you get when you tamper with God’s will. You will pay.”
I felt the prongs against my temples. For a moment, the room was completely silent. Then, the pain came. The impulses running through my body. I tried to scream again, but the sound was lost. I felt my jaw locking, my teeth crunching together in agony. I can take this, I can take this. It has to be done. Soon it will be over, so soon it will be over. But through the pain, all I wanted was to find Aggie, and run away together. Forget the plan, forget it all, let’s just go home. But just like everything else in my life, I had failed. Another jolt of electricity ran through my body, and then the darkness came.
I woke up in a large room. It looked like a museum, but I had little time to look around properly. The reality seared into my brain by the Experiment Room was oddly convincing, but I told myself that everything was real, and that everything in our plan could be still be accomplished. I hadn’t completely lost my mind like Wanda said I would. Doomed to wander around this alternate reality aimlessly forever. I saw Aggie in the corner, leering at me, and I knew we were in action. Our Plan B was in motion. The best part of being manipulated was also learning how to be the manipulator. So I feigned panic, I feigned interest in the ceiling above me. I knew they were watching me, so I hammed it up. The blood on my hands from my fight with Wanda still remained, and as I ran out of the doors, I caught my reflection in the windows. The mud and dirt was still caked on my face and body from where we’d grappled in the yard, and where Henry and I had crawled underneath the log. I noted mentally that not much time had passed, and there might be still be a chance to catch Saxon. All we wanted to do was get him in the Experiment Room, where he couldn’t escape us. Because this was my mind, and I was in control of it. Nobody else.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Aggie following me, although I was careful not to make it obvious that I had seen her. She was doing a mighty fine job acting as though she wasn’t on my side.
I moved onto the street, banging hard on the bonnet of a taxicab to make it look as though I was losing my mind, that I was out-of-control. Neil was behind the wheel of the car, and he smirked at me through the windshield before zooming off. I shook the shoulders of a few strangers to make my panic seem more convincing, and I saw Aggie laugh and set off in the direction of the taxicab. I knew she had vowed to settle the score with Neil, while I took care of Saxon.
Saxon then appeared across the street briefly, and I pretended to be terrified at his appearance. I cupped my hand to my mouth and widened my eyes. I blinked, and he was gone again. But I knew not for long, and I ran down the street, weaving in and out of the crowd. I stopped for a second and looked around for him, before a pair of large hands came out of nowhere and grabbed me tightly around the neck.
“Did you think you could outsmart me?” Saxon sneered into my ear, hot breath on my skin. He began to drag me into a nearby alley, and I threw myself about wildly, trying without success to escape his grasp.
“You’re just like your mother! Thinking you can escape God’s will!” Saxon breathed again on my neck.
“You know nothing about my mother,” I whispered back hoarsely. I stopped struggling, and succumbed limply to Saxon’s tight grip around my body.
“Oh?” I felt Saxon’s cheeks rise in a horrifying grin. He held me tighter against his body, and I felt him becoming hard through the fabric of his pants. I thought of poor Chloe in the Church, and I held back the vomit in my throat. “Your mother was a member of the TGHL.” I knew Saxon was taking much sadistic pleasure in telling me this. “Didn’t you ever wonder?”
I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes. I began to struggle again, trying to break free and was suddenly struck on the side of the head.
“There, there…” Saxon pulled me further into the alleyway, away from the sight of anyone who might want to intervene. I would not let him do to me what he did to Chloe. I could fight him. But the blow to my head had made me dizzy, and I felt the nausea in my stomach again. I was slowly becoming powerless.
“Your mother was supposed to sacrifice you to me, to the Gods. Just like Aggie, just like Indigo.”
“No…” The words fell out of my mouth. I could taste blood.
“Yes… Yes she was.” Saxon chuckled evilly. He grabbed my hand and slid it down his pants. This time, I couldn’t hold back the vomit and it sprayed out of my mouth and onto the ground. I began to cry softly.
Saxon didn’t seem to notice that I had vomited, but he let me go, throwing me onto the ground, with such a force that I grazed both my hands and knees.
“Your mother ran. Like a coward. She couldn’t sacrifice a single thing to anyone, let alone God, selfish woman that she was. Not even you, the one thing she’d promised us. And all these years I’d wondered, what happened to that child that was supposed to be our offering to God? And lo and behold, you walked right in our door. All these years later…”
I continued to cry, my moans becoming louder. They echoed hauntingly throughout the alley.
“Didn’t you ever wonder how you ended up Miller Creek? Miller Creek, that hidey-hole… that swift move from the city? And then… Your mother, she left you, she ran away again because she thought we were coming back for her. To punish her for what she did.”
Saxon leaned down close to me, and I covered my face. His hands found my neck, and he lifted me up off the ground, and held me against the cold, brick wall. I had no energy left to even struggle.
“But we have no business with her. Because we only want you now. I’m taking back what rightfully belongs to me. To the TGHL. And to God.”
Saxon’s hands tightened around my throat, while I wished that somebody around us in this godforsaken reality would notice, would save me. The world began to swim before my eyes, as I felt myself losing consciousness.
“Everything you do or say, then should be done in the name of Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through Him to God the Father.”
Colours began to fade and my vision began to blur. I made my peace with death, when suddenly I felt myself falling to the ground. I had been released, I gulped at the air, feeling the burn as it re-entered my lungs. Saxon stood frozen, a stunned expression on his face as he began to rock unsteadily on his feet. As he fell to the ground, I saw Aggie standing behind, holding Saxon’s sword in her hands. Blood began to pool around Saxon’s lifeless body, as I ran to Aggie. She was wearing Neil’s pendant wrapped around her wrist, and we fell to our knees in a tight embrace, crying tears of relief. It was over. Saxon was dead, and we were finally free.
20
The Temple of God’s Holy Light was still out there somewhere, but it was safe to say, we had escaped their grasp for the meantime. I never forgot the look of relief on Tabitha’s face when we entered her kitchen, dishevelled and broken, not wanting to speak a word of what we’d seen or heard on The Land. Tabitha didn’t stop crying for hours afterwards. She never pressed us to tell her where we’d been, or what had happened in the weeks we were gone. In her heart, she probably knew she couldn’t handle the truth.
After finding our way back to reality, Aggie and I left Saxon’s body in the Experiment Room, and set out to find Clem, Henry and Cameron. We never told anybody else about the sword, or about the way he had perished. His body vanished with the rest of the TGHL, and we agreed that if by some miracle he had lived, he had probably acquired another new name and was already manipulating a whole new crowd of unsuspecting people.
We found Henry and Clem hiding under a bed in the cabins, Clem clutching her knee and moaning softly. Her knee was checked out at a hospital after we fled The Lan
d, and although they said she’d be out of dancing for a while, she was expected to make a full recovery. As for Cameron, we found him thrown mercilessly into the bushes behind the Experiment Room, body battered and bruised from unspeakable tortures, inflicted by Saxon and his soldiers. It was a miracle he hadn’t ended up like those members confined to The Pen. We managed to carry Clem and Cameron to where Aggie had uncovered our car, and with that, we sped away from The Land forever. Nobody said a word for two days as we drove back to civilization. The only sounds came from baby Indigo, who was found unharmed, lying in a crib in Saxon’s cabin. She gurgled cheerfully every so often, making us all wish we were too young to understand the gravity of what we’d escaped.
The police investigated each of us after we arrived home, after weeks of being gone without a trace. They weren’t able to find any trace of the TGHL, Saxon, Neil, or even Wanda. When they went to The Land, all they found was a pasture full of healthy and thriving crops, which apparently belonged to a farmer who lived nearby. The Church, the Experiment Room, the cabins… they had all completely vanished, not a trace of them left behind, as if they were never even there at all. They came to believe that Saxon was an alias, and who he really was would always remain a mystery. No birth records, death records, marriage records… Saxon Montana was nothing but a ghost.
Months passed, turning into a year, and over time, the healing process began. I knew I could never go back to Johnny’s, so I decided to start my own freelance photography business. It was a slow start, but for once in my life, I was happy to just be.
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