“And I’m glad you’re still alive.” Macy rested her head against Lottie’s.
“Not for long, unless something changes.”
Macy pulled back and stared into her eyes. “There’s a huge search effort.”
Lottie frowned. “Not that it’ll help us much, I’m afraid.”
“It will.” Macy leaned closer and whispered in Lottie’s ear. “We have to believe it’s true. You’re going to be a grandma.”
She froze and stared at Macy. “You’re…?”
Macy nodded.
Lottie took a deep breath. She needed to think of a way to save Macy from the executions, but how?
Lose
Alex gripped his steering wheel. Luke was making it hard to keep up, and it wasn’t like Alex was a stranger to driving fast. He used to street race in high school, and even a little after. Despite having the world’s crappiest car, he’d won more often than not.
Luke blazed through an intersection and then the light turned yellow. If Alex tried to speed through, he’d run it for sure. He slammed on his breaks and swore. He watched as Luke’s car grew smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared from sight.
Just as the light turned green, Alex’s phone rang. He answered it, putting it on speaker, and sped through the intersection. “Where are you, Luke?”
“This is Nick.”
Of course it was. Alex turned the radio down. “Any news?”
“Helicopters are flying over the forest, but given the size of it, we’ll be lucky to find them anytime soon.”
“Are you there yet?”
“Still on my way.”
“Thanks for the updates.”
“No problem,” Nick said. “I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
“Sounds good.” Alex ended the call and studied the sky, trying to see any helicopters up ahead, but he was too far away still. At the next stoplight, he called Luke.
“Hey, Alex. Sorry for losing you back there, but I can’t slow down. I’m close. I can feel it in my bones.”
The light turned green and Alex put the pedal to the metal. “I'm trying to catch up. Anyway, Nick just called and said there are helicopters searching the woods. If you see them, head in that direction.”
“Will do.”
The call ended. Alex ran a yellow light and narrowed his eyes, trying to see Luke’s car up ahead. His brother-in-law had to be going twice the speed limit to stay that far ahead. Alex’s respect for Luke doubled.
He turned up the music and bounced his head back and forth, happy to lose himself in the music. Five or six songs played before Alex realized he still hadn’t caught up with Luke. But now the forest was in sight. There was a long, winding road in between him and it, but it was at last within reach.
Alex came to a stop sign at a deserted intersection. He grabbed his phone and called Luke. It rang five times before going to voicemail.
“Call me.” Alex ended the call and pressed the gas pedal. Had Luke already made it to the woods? Alex grumbled. Why hadn’t Luke at least let him know what was going on?
Once he finally reached the thick forest, he studied the side of the road, looking for a turnoff or his brother-in-law’s car. Alex turned down the music and rolled down the windows. Helicopters sounded in the distance. He couldn’t see them, so his only option was to keep following the dark, narrow road.
His phone rang. Alex picked it up and checked the screen. It was Nick.
“Did they find anything?” Alex asked.
“The helicopters still haven’t found anything—it’s literally like finding a needle in a haystack, Alex. We could be here all night and not find the commune. Especially if they’re actively trying to blend in.”
“So, what’s the update?” Alex asked. “You wouldn’t be calling me if you didn’t know something, right?”
“I just got here. The K9 units are heading into the woods as we speak. Just hang tight. I’ll keep you updated. Have you heard from Luke? My partner has been calling him, but he’s not answering his phone. Strikes me as odd since his pregnant wife and his mother are missing.”
“Maybe he fell asleep,” Alex fibbed. “He’s exhausted, you know.”
“Well, if you hear from him…”
Alex slowed as he came to a turnoff. It was a dirt road with No Trespassing and Private Government Property signs. Exactly the type of place psychotic cult leaders would choose to build a secret commune.
“Are you still there?” Nick asked.
“Yeah. I’ll tell Luke to call you. Thanks.” He ended the call and went up the steep, narrow road.
More reflective signs warned him away. Alex’s heart raced. He had to be getting close—he just had to be.
Judgment
Silence echoed all around the courtroom as Jonah looked at the adoring crowd. All eyes were focused on him, with each person loving him and eagerly waiting for him to speak. He took a deep breath, relishing in the admiration. It was more than that, really. They worshiped him. The venerate crowd would do anything he asked. Anything at all.
It was glorious and exhilarating. The thrill of it all was enough that he almost believed he could soar in the air above them.
He’d waited for more than a decade for this, and it had been worth every moment.
Luckily, he had plenty of time to revel in it because now he needed to carry on with the trials.
Jonah whacked the gavel onto the desk. Several people before him jumped at the sound. Every single person kept their attention on him—fully and wholly. Could anything be more wonderful?
“Trial number one.” Jonah rose his heels, standing slightly taller. He turned to the guards standing near the prisoners. “Bring forth Bilhah.”
The guard nearest her grabbed her arm. She cried out.
“No, Jayla!” called one of the prisoners.
“We do not go by our worldly names here.” Jonah hit the gavel three times as hard as he could. “Not unless, like our beloved Chester, someone has not had the opportunity to receive their true name yet.”
“Jayla!”
“Whip her!” Jonah demanded.
One of the guards grabbed Lois, the eldest prisoner, and dragged her away from the group. Heather—who wanted to be called Macy—clung to her, but another guard pulled her off and shoved her into a wall. A third guard pulled a whip from his belt and lashed Lois until red colored the white fabric on her back.
She screamed.
“Now stay quiet,” Jonah ordered.
The guard holding Lois threw her to the ground.
Jonah turned back to the front of the room. Bilhah now stood below, held down by two guards. She glared at Jonah.
“Strike her.” Jonah narrowed his eyes at one of the guards.
The guard did as he was told, hitting her hard enough to leave his hand print on her cheek.
Jonah bore his gaze into hers. “Do not disrespect me even with your expressions, woman.”
Her mouth formed a straight line, but she didn’t otherwise react.
“Speak to me, prisoner.”
Her nostrils flared. “Yes, Great High Prophet.”
“Much better.” Jonah banged the gavel until his ears rang. “Now to begin.”
She stared at him, shaking, but said nothing.
“What are your crimes against our people?” Jonah leaned forward, holding her gaze.
Bilhah kept quiet.
“Hit her again.”
“Attempting to escape with the others,” she said quickly.
“And?” Jonah leaned even closer. Any more, and he was likely to tumble off the platform.
Her expression tensed.
“The more you continue to ignore me, the more of a beating you’re inviting.” He glanced at the guard on her left.
“I told the authorities about—”
“The worldly authorities,” Jonah corrected.
Bilhah swallowed. “Yes, I told the worldly authorities the secrets of the community.”
“And what d
id that lead to?” Jonah tilted his head and tensed his expression.
She sighed disrespectfully. “The—”
“Beat her for such insolence.” Jonah leaned back and crossed his arms as the two guards struck her several times each.
Gasps sounded from the others awaiting trial.
“Enough.” Jonah waited for the guards to stop, then he leaned forward again and bore his gaze into hers. Blood dripped from her nose, and one eye was swelling. “Are you ready to speak respectfully? No sulky sighing and no haughty expressions.”
Bilhah nodded, her bruised mouth twisting.
“And what do you say?”
A beat passed. “I apologize.”
“I missed part of that. What?” Jonah cupped his ear.
Her eyes widened, and she flinched as though expecting to be hit again—not that Jonah had ordered it. “I apologize, Great High Prophet.”
“That’s better. Now back to my question. When you broke the trust of every single person here by telling our secrets to the worldly authorities—which are no authorities at all—what did that lead to?”
She swallowed. “The breakdown of the community.”
“And?” Jonah furrowed his brows.
“You and the other leaders went to jail.”
“But that’s not all, is it?”
Bilhah hesitated.
Jonah turned to one of the guards and opened his mouth.
“No,” Bilhah said quickly. “It wasn’t all. Everyone had to leave their homes and go back to the world.”
“And many people were homeless, right?”
“Yes.”
“But you weren’t one of them, were you?”
“No, Great High Prophet.”
“What happened with you?”
“I went back to my family. They found me and took me back.”
“And you got to live in a big, expensive home with anything you wanted at any given moment, didn’t you?” Jonah leaned forward again.
“Yes.”
He leaned back and tapped his nail on the desk. “Did you think by moving away, you would escape your inevitable punishment?”
She swallowed, but didn’t reply.
He let that slide. “We found you, though, didn’t we?”
Bilhah nodded.
“It never pays to turn your back on your true family, does it?”
She shook her head.
Jonah cupped his ear again. “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“No, Great High Prophet.”
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t speak.
“Nothing? This is your chance to defend yourself.”
Bilhah’s mouth gaped.
“No defense?”
“If I say anything, you’ll call me a traitor. I’m already guilty in your eyes.”
“Now you claim to know the thoughts of the Great High Prophet?”
She sighed. “See? No matter what I say, I condemn myself.”
“You were never this mouthy before. Look at how the world has polluted you.” Jonah turned to the guards. “Beat her.”
They struck her all over until she fell to the ground, gasping for air and glaring at Jonah.
He picked up his gavel and struck it on the desk. “My judgment is guilty. Take her to the holding area.”
The guards hefted Bilhah up and dragged her out of the courtroom.
Jonah turned to the other traitors and tapped his fingernails. “Who should come up next?”
Some of the prisoners leaned against each other. He made eye contact with one, then another until his gaze landed on Heather. “Don’t worry, Heather. You won’t be chosen for a while.”
She clung to the old woman all the more. That gave Jonah his answer.
He struck his gavel again and looked at the old woman. “You’re next, Lois. Let’s discuss your sins.”
“No!” Heather cried out.
“Strike her.”
A guard punched Heather across the face.
“Bring the old woman over.”
The same guard turned to Lois, grabbed her arm, and yanked her away from the others. He shoved her to the front of the platform, not letting go of his grip on her.
Jonah held her gaze for a moment. “Lois, Lois.”
“I go by Lottie—short for Charlotte, my given name.”
“You know how we feel about worldly names.”
She glared at him.
Jonah found that far more amusing than when Bilhah had done the same thing. “I never thought you’d turn on me, Lois. Not after saving you and your boy from the streets. Very few of our residents were ever as grateful to me as you were.”
Her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed, but she remained silent.
“Tell me, are you still grateful?”
The old woman shook from head to toe, but said nothing.
Jonah turned to the guard. “Hit her.”
He punched her in the stomach. She doubled over. Cries sounded from the criminals.
Jonah waited until she stood upright. “Let’s try that again. Are you still grateful to me?”
Searching
Nick pushed the branches aside and stepped out of the woods into the gravel parking lot. More cruisers had arrived, practically filling it. Shining his flashlight on them, he recognized police forces from all over the state.
Foster turned to him, tucking some loose hair behind her ear. “Are we going back in?”
“Yeah. I just need some water.” He headed for their cruiser, grabbed a couple water bottles from the trunk, and tossed her one.
She caught it and took a swig. “I hadn’t expected the trail to be that steep.”
“And I didn’t expect it to end at the edge of a cliff.” Nick shuddered thinking about how close they had come to falling to their deaths. He finished off the water bottle and glanced up toward the helicopters. “It looks like they’re headed in the other direction now.”
“Let me call in for an update.” Foster pulled out her phone and slid her finger around the screen.
Gravel crunched behind them. Nick turned to see a beat-up, gold-colored Tercel driving in. “That’s not…?”
Alex waved at him as he drove past and parked in one of the few remaining spots.
“Hold on,” Nick told Foster. He jogged over to the beater and opened the driver’s side door. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m going to help find my sister.”
Nick crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. “No, you’re not.”
Alex climbed out. “Actually, I am. Luke’s already out there.” He nodded toward a black sedan not far away.
“Why?” Nick exclaimed. “Why would you two do this to me? I was keeping you updated because of how close you are to the situation! Not because I wanted you involved in the search. It’s dangerous out here.”
“My pregnant sister is out there somewhere, being held by a murderous cult leader. I’m not going to sit at home twiddling my thumbs.”
“This isn’t the kind of stunt to pull if you want to join the academy.”
“I won’t do anything like this once I’m in. Scout’s honor.” He held up three fingers.
Nick rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Go home, Alex.”
Alex slammed the door shut. “I can’t—I won’t.”
They stared each other down.
“You can’t make me go home.”
“I can arrest you.”
Alex leaned against his car. “You really want to do that? I thought you wanted me on the force.”
“What am I supposed to do? You keep pulling stuff like this. Part of being an officer is taking orders.”
“I know.”
“You do?” Nick crossed his arms tighter.
“Yeah, and I’ll be the model cadet and officer once I’m there. I’ll be the dude everyone uses as an example to the others of what they’re supposed to be doing.”
“I’ll belie
ve that when I see it.”
“I thought you wanted to see me on the force? That I had potential.”
“Yeah, it’s going to take work. You have drive. You care. You’ve got life experience that most don’t. But you have to stop doing stupid things—and this is one of them.”
“You ready, Captain?” came Foster’s voice from behind. “Who’s this?”
Alex stepped past Nick and extended his hand. “Cadet Mercer. Pleasure to meet you.”
She shook his hand. “Officer Foster.” She threw Nick a confused glance. “Why did you bring along a cadet?”
Nick slapped his forehead. Yes, Alex had potential—a lot of it—but they were going to have to dig deep to pull it out. “I didn’t bring him along, but since he’s here, he’s going to join us.”
Alex’s eyes widened and he grinned.
“Let’s go.” Nick gestured toward a different entrance to the woods. Foster headed toward it. Nick turned to Alex. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“You won’t. I swear.”
Nick wasn’t half as sure as Alex sounded, but there was nothing he could do to keep Alex out of the woods, and he didn’t want to arrest him, so he may as well keep him close. “If anyone asks, I didn’t authorize this.”
“Authorize what? Who’s Captain Fleshman?”
“Glad to hear it.” Nick dug into his coat and found his smaller backup flashlight and tossed it to Alex, who caught it and turned it on. “You’re going to need that. Watch out for sudden cliffs.”
“I’ve hiked and camped out here before.”
“Here? It’s private government property.”
He shrugged. “That makes it all the better for camping, hiking, and hunting.”
Nick shook his head. “Come on.”
“So, who’s Foster? She’s hot.” He moved aside some bushes and held them back for Nick, who walked in ahead of him.
“I thought you were worried about your sister.”
Alex caught up. “I am. I just thought maybe you and her—”
“She’s one of my officers. That’s it. Stop talking. We need to listen.”
They walked in silence and caught up with Foster, who walked with a very feminine sway to her hips. Nick groaned. Now Alex was getting into his head. He focused his gaze ahead of Foster and listened to the helicopters, following their general direction.
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