“Let me finish. This is going to take a really long time if you keep interrupting every time you don’t understand something rather than just saving your questions for the end. Got it?”
“I’m good,” I said, puffing up my chest and pulling Felicity slightly closer to me.
“We have nothing but the greatest compassion for them. That’s why we care for them.”
“By keeping them penned up like animals?”
“Are you going to let me tell this story or not?”
I shook my head and Felicity squeezed my hand.
“Go on,” I said through clenched teeth.
“We don’t believe in killing people unless we have to, for self-defense,” he said. “These poor souls aren’t hurting anyone in there. We believe they are the dead that are referred to in the final book of the Bible, Revelations. We believe that when Christ returns to walk the earth he will be able to heal them, just as he did with the lepers of Galilee.”
“He shall raise them up just as he did with poor Lazarus,” Jonah said, “who had been dead for four days and returned to life as Christ commanded.”
“That’s right,” Darren said. “So until then we do our best to care for them and keep them out of harm’s way.” He stopped and stared at me, crossing his arms and waiting for me to say something harsh.
“What if they get out--” Felicity asked.
“It’s never happened,” Darren said before she could finish her sentence, shaking his head in disapproval. “Not once in all the time we’ve kept them here.”
“We are blessed with some very talented brothers and sisters,” Jonah said with a pleasant smile. “We like to believe the Lord is watching out for us.”
“What about the children?” I asked.
“What about them?” Darren cocked his eyebrow in surprise.
“They seem to run free all the time. It’s like Lord of the Flies out here. You know the kinds of trouble young kids can get into unsupervised. What if they were to fall in?”
“Like I said,” Darren repeated. “It’s never happened. Our kids may be young and free spirited, but they are smart enough to know when something is dangerous and avoid it.” He turned and shot me a challenging stare.
“What?” I asked defensively.
“I’m waiting for some insensitive comment. You seem to get such a kick out of spitting on our faith.”
“Sorry. I never considered keeping them penned up like this. I’ve spent the majority of my time since the outbreak either killing them or running from them. I never saw them in this light before. I couldn’t afford to be compassionate. I was fighting for my life and the lives of the people I cared about. This is just blowing my mind.”
“I guess I have had more time to adjust to it,” Darren said, softening at my confession. “I come up here every day.”
“Every day?” Felicity looked at him.
“Without fail.”
“Wow,” I replied. “Why are you so committed to them?”
“You see the woman with the ponytail?” He pointed to a zombie in dirty, sack like clothes not unlike the ones we’d worn the night before.
“Yeah.”
“That’s my wife, Nicole.”
Felicity leaned in and stared hard.
“Do you mean Nicole Boschard?”
“I do.” Darren fought back tears. His overreaction was starting to make a lot more sense. “We were married right after I got out of high school. We were trying to start a family when the outbreak happened. I can remember how afraid she used to be watching the news reports. It wasn’t until she accepted Jesus into her heart that she came to know peace. It doesn’t seem fair that she ended up here.”
“The Lord works in mysterious ways, brother,” Jonah said, putting his hand on Darren’s shoulder. Darren shook him off. “Let’s not relive this again now in front of our guests. Come away and let them talk among themselves while you regain your composure.”
Darren looked like he might punch a hole through Jonah’s face for a minute, but in the end he relented and they walked off a distance.
“That was . . .”
“Awkward.” Felicity finished my sentence.
“These people are crazy. Keeping zombies caged up like this and all the God talk. I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“You seemed to be enjoying yourself last night,” she said, looking up at me with a smile.
“I don’t know how to say this, so I am just going to come right out and ask.” My voice shook. “I don’t remember anything from last night. I am pretty sure we were drugged.”
“Me too. I’d say it was ecstasy or GHB from what I remember of my very short club days. So what’s your question?”
“I woke up with no clothes,” I said. “Did I get naked in front of everyone?”
She laughed at me. “Don’t worry. Almost everyone was naked. I didn’t see too much.” She gave me a wink.
“Wow. This is embarrassing.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the least of our worries.”
“What is it now?”
“You mean aside from being held captive on a creepy religious compound?”
“Right,” I said.
She stopped laughing and got serious. “Bryan asked me to join his harem.” She looked down at her hands.
“When? Last night after he drugged us out?”
“No. He was a perfect host last night, aside from slipping us drugs. I think he was trying to be on his best behavior.”
“So when did he ask you to join his tribe of child brides then?” I noticed that my fists had clenched up in anger.
“This morning at breakfast. He asked if he could speak to me. I thought he was going to talk about Benji, but the next thing I knew he was telling me how beautiful I was, how God had a special plan for me. He said that God told him I should be his seventh sacred vessel or something like that.”
“I ought to cut his lousy head off,” I said as an ugly jolt of hatred surged through me. “Who does he think he is?!”
“He thinks he’s the Messiah!” She laughed a little at my overreaction. “Calm down, Xander. It’s not like I said yes.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him I was flattered.” She sighed, taking both my hands and twisting back and forth. Her cheeks flushed. “But that I didn’t feel in my heart that I belonged here. I told him I had feelings for someone else.”
“Yeah? Who’s that?” I was starting to lose all control. Usually I could just tell myself to calm down and things went back to normal. Ever since I had met this girl my emotions were all over the map. Now she was going to tell me that she was in love with her junior high crush Darren again and I was going to blow my top.
That’s why he gave her the tour this morning, I thought. They are sneaking away to confess their love for each other! He probably even wanted to get his wife’s blessing to take a new girlfriend. These people are sick and twisted!
Before I could get any more worked up, the unimaginable happened—Felicity leaned over and gently kissed me on the lips. Her lips were so soft and I could feel the slightest hint of her warm breath as she leaned in and pressed them to mine. For a moment it felt like the ground dropped out from under my feet. We were floating together in a bubble of light, far away from the cares of this messed up world. There was no Bryan Crowe, no zombies, only pure happiness and bliss that went on forever.
She pulled back first and stared nervously at me with her sea green eyes.
“Does that answer your question?” Her voice had a slight tremble in it.
It blew my mind that a celebrity like Felicity Jane could be worried in any way that I would reject her. In that moment she was totally vulnerable.
“It answers a lot of my questions about life,” I said with an impish grin.
She punched me playfully in the shoulder and bit her lip. I laughed. She took me by the hand again and we walked down to Jonah and Darren. I felt more confident than I can ever remember feeling in my life. Darren, o
n the other hand, looked sick to his stomach. His face looked pale and he avoided making eye contact the rest of the way back to camp. Jonah was just as oblivious as he had always been; blissfully unaware that anything had changed when, as far as I was concerned, everything in the whole world had just changed back up on that hill.
Chapter Twenty One
Bryan and Benji were waiting for us when we got back. They looked almost like a father and his son talking about the birds and the bees on a camping trip. Bryan rubbed Benji’s head, messing up his hair, and they both laughed. Smiles lit up both their faces when they saw us coming in.
“There they are,” Bryan said. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Great,” I said, meaning it for the first time I could remember.
“Fantastic . . . and you?” Bryan eyed Felicity with an unspoken intensity that made her squirm.
She gripped my hand tight. “I’m fine,” she said as pleasantly as she could manage.
“So,” he sounded like a used car salesman getting ready to wrap up a sale, “you’ve seen our lands, come to know our people and our way of life . . . what do you think?”
“It’s really amazing,” I said. “I admire the way you’ve managed to put all this together and keep everyone content.”
An unexpected smile flashed across his face, while Felicity turned and gawked at me in shock.
“That’s wonderful to hear.” He burst with glee. “The others will be so pleased to know you’re staying with us. You’re going to love it here. I can get you set up in your own dwelling by the end of the festival and then we just have to find you a job.”
I held up my hand to stop him. “That’s not necessary. We’re not staying. I need to get to my brother and let him know I’m okay. I appreciate your hospitality and ask for your blessing to leave.”
Bryan stared at us with a smile frozen on his face. He held his silence as if he was thinking hard—right up to the cusp of the exchange being truly awkward. “Does he speak for you as well?” He turned his full attention to Felicity, who seemed to almost wither under his glare.
“Yes. I’m not staying here. I’m with Xander.”
Suddenly, Darren turned and stormed off toward the road. I followed him with my eyes but the rest of the group just ignored him.
“Of course,” Bryan said, the fake note of sympathy returning to his voice. “I understand. I give you both my blessing. As of last night you may consider yourselves honorary members of our church. Please feel free to return any time you like and visit.”
This is too easy, I thought. There has to be a catch. It’s almost like he’s trying to get us to leave but I can’t figure out why.
“Okay then,” I said. “Now if we can just have our vehicle back, we’ll be on our way.”
“Jonah,” Bryan said. “Would you please bring their car around?”
Jonah wordlessly jumped to obey his command, running off toward the tree line. We all sat there for a while in awkward silence trying not to look at each other.
“What have you been up to?” I said to Benji to try to lighten the mood.
“I’ve been having the most amazing time.”
“That’s great,” I replied, feeling glad that Bryan had kept his word about not hurting children, other than the ones he illegally married.
“I’ve been playing in the woods and made all sorts of new friends. It’s wonderful here.”
Bryan smirked at his words, cocking his head toward us in an I told you so look.
“I’m glad you’ve been having fun,” I said.
“I’ve been learning a lot too.”
“Like what?” Felicity asked.
“Did you know that my family is alive and well right now in heaven? It’s true. I’m going to get to see them all again when Jesus comes back to lead the armies of the righteous against the children of the damned.”
It was like something from a horror movie come to life. They’d used the kids against us to turn Benji’s head and fill it full of religious nonsense. They were manipulating him with the death of his family. I glared at Bryan, who returned my burning gaze without shame or remorse. How could they do this to children? How could they fill him with fairy tales about the death of his family, then use that hope to make him do what they wanted?
That’s the real sin, I thought. Giving Benji false hope to use him against us as a weapon.
Bryan seemed so resolute in his faith. That’s what made it all work. I realized as he held my stare for an uncanny length of time that his real power was that he didn’t just say these things to his followers, he truly believed them. In his mind not only did God speak to him but he guided him to this place and kept him and his followers safe from the end of the world.
“Grab your stuff, Benji,” I said. “We’re going.”
Bryan Crowe didn’t offer a word.
“No. I’m staying here.”
My head spun around in shock and anger. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“I like it here. There are plenty of other kids my age and we get to play together, and best of all the zombies can’t hurt me anymore.”
“These people are strangers. How do you know they will protect you?”
“You were a stranger once too,” he protested. “And you took care of me.”
“That’s right,” I practically shouted. “I did. I’ve watched out for you since those kids picked on you at Vandenberg and I still am looking out for you. It’s my job to keep you safe.”
“This is where I belong now. It’s safe for me here. At last I don’t have to worry.”
“You said we were family now,” Felicity said softly, kneeling down to his level and brushing the hair out of his eyes. “You sure you don’t want to stay with your family?”
“All of these people are one big family too,” Benji said, getting a little overexcited. “Just like we are. Xander has to go to find his brother, but you could stay here with me. Maybe when Xander is done fighting he could come back and live here with us.”
“That sounds like a wonderful plan,” Bryan interjected.
“No,” Felicity said, looking up and into Bryan’s eyes. “I can’t stay here.”
“Why not?” Benji was practically pleading with her.
“You’re just going to have to take my word on it, little man,” Felicity said, kissing him on the head. “It’s not safe for me or Xander here anymore.”
“Enough,” Bryan said in a firm tone. “The child has decided to stay of his own free will. You must respect his decision.”
I turned to look at Felicity and she shrugged.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I asked Benji, and he nodded that it was. “Okay then. I guess this is where we part ways.”
I walked over to Bryan. He puffed out his chest as I approached and several of his guards readied their weapons just in case I started a fight.
“Please take good care of him.”
“You have my word,” he replied. “His soul is in my care now.”
“I will be back to check on him. If anything is out of place, you’ll have to answer to me.”
“There is no need for threats here,” Bryan simpered. “Particularly on this holy day. I’ve already told you that you are welcome to visit whenever you like.” He looked over to Felicity and she scowled at him in contempt. “Both of you.”
“You can count on it,” I said.
Jonah pulled up in our Lexus and stopped, getting out. He signaled to Bryan, who turned back to us.
“A full tank of gas as promised,” he said. “I give you my blessing and wish you peace and love in the Lord’s name as you head on your way. Amen.”
The entire congregation behind us sang out a matching chorus of amens that practically shook the leaves from the trees. I couldn’t believe we were really going to leave Benji behind, that this was actually happening. There was nothing I could do about it. I climbed into the Lexus and shut the door. Felicity kissed Benji goodbye one last time then joined me.<
br />
We pulled out slowly onto the road heading out of town. Felicity made a quick sweep of the vehicle to check for our belongings. They were all there, including the bear she had given Benji named Rasputin. She held it in her lap as we drove and didn’t say anything. A tear escaped her eye and she quickly wiped it away. I pretended not to notice as I was dealing with my own feelings as well.
The tents on the side of the road were abandoned now. The roads were virtually empty of people as we made our way out of town.
I turned to Felicity. “Don’t you think it’s weird that Darren ran off like that?”
“I thought you didn’t like him,” she said, not looking at me.
“I can’t honestly say that I do.”
“Maybe it was just too painful for him to say goodbye. Or maybe Bryan wouldn’t let him come. Maybe after he heard about Bryan trying to convince me to be his sacred seventh bride he was afraid he might flip out on him . . . or on you. For all we know, he could be locked up in cult jail right now somewhere back there.”
“That’s true,” I said taking her words in. “Did we do the right thing back there, leaving Benji behind?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “He said it’s what he wanted but he’s just a kid. He doesn’t understand how dangerous those people can be. It’s like he’s blinded by their sense of community.”
“He lost his entire family right before his eyes. I can understand the appeal of wanting to believe they are in heaven and that he is going to see them again one day, of wanting a loving, supportive family that repeats that message over and over again. That’s pretty irresistible stuff.”
“But why do they want him?” she asked. “Why go to such effort for just one kid?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s just what cults do. They recruit people and convert them. It’s their only function really if you think about it. Spread the message.”
“Like a virus.”
We drove for a while longer in silence until we reached the end of the winding canyons that led to a straight stretch back to the 101 Freeway. I was just getting ready to punch it when, without warning, a man came running out onto the highway in front of us, waving his arms. I hit the brakes and the Lexus came to a halt, skidding past and nearly clipping him. A few inches to the left and he would have been tagged by the tail end of the SUV.
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