Time Next

by Carolyn Cohagan

  “I felt this loss, but Ram made up for it with promises of safety and education. And after I pledged myself to the Savior, I walked on water! It was so incredible. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt anything like it. I’ve always had faith, but I never expected to perform a miracle.” My body thrills at the memory.

  Tabby scoffs. “Please. You don’t actually believe that twaddle.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You didn’t walk on water. It’s a trick.”

  My body twitches with anger.

  “Ram uses resin or, like, something in the water, so that you can step across. You can’t really be such a twit that you think you walked on water.”

  “Why was everyone shouting and clapping if it was such an obvious trick?”

  Raising an eyebrow, she says, “People believe what they want to believe.” The Tabby I know has returned, spiteful and superior.

  “You mean like you and Adam thinking you could not possibly set off your lady bug?” I say, feeling cruel.

  Her eyes go dark as she leans forward. “Mr. Tanner is right. You’re nothing but a parasite and your people should be wiped off the planet.”

  She turns toward the wall, and we don’t say another word.

  An hour later, Marjory opens the door, and I bolt up, assuming there’s news about the hunt for the others. She says, “Ram is ready to speak with you, Tabby.”

  Tabby stands. She’s shaky as she smooths her hair and pats her wrinkled yellow clothes. She gives me a look of bile and hatred as she passes, but by the time she reaches Marjory, she looks as demure and virtuous as an angel.

  Thirty-Seven

  I sit on the hard concrete, my rear end aching, dying to know what’s happening. Tabby has been gone for hours. Is she coming back?

  Occasional murmuring seeps through the door, but I can’t hear anything distinct, and it’s maddening.

  Did I make the right choice? Are the others safe? Will Jeremiah reach them in time?

  The time alone gives me plenty of time to think. Being locked in this room, hearing about Tabby’s impending punishment, learning my walk on water was a hoax—I now know that I cannot stay with the Unbound, and I cannot return to Manhattan.

  I’m tired of being told what to do by men. I thought the Unbound were different, but they’re not. They want their girls to be genteel, modest, and docile, just like at home.

  And I love Juda, but I can’t return to the island with him. I want to help the Laurel Society, but what could I possibly do? I’m just one person. Nana wants me free. She would be furious if I returned. At least, I think she would be.

  I want to go west with Silas, find out if there’s another way to live.

  How can I possibly tell Juda? We never talked about it, but I know, deep down, he hopes I’ll decide to help the Convenes. Will he forgive me? Maybe I can convince him to join us. If Rose has improved enough, she can join us, too.

  I feel better thinking this is my next problem, convincing Juda to travel west. I refuse to believe that anything could’ve happened to him or the others. They’re safe, and Ram will let us go wherever we want, just like he said. They’re safe, and I did the right thing. This becomes my new loop: I did the right thing. I did the right thing.

  The door opens, and a Sentry I’ve never seen before walks in. He’s absolutely massive—like he could pick me up with his pinky.

  “Come with me,” he says, pulling out another plastic cord to tie my wrists in front of me.

  After my hands are secured, he leads me straight through the waiting room and out the front door. Marjory and Ram are nowhere to be seen. Stranger yet, the crowd inside the Leisure Center has disappeared.

  At the base of the stairs is a black van like the one I arrived in. The Sentry opens the back doors. “Get in,” he says.

  I look inside, and my breath catches. Mary, Silas, and Juda all sit inside. Juda’s face lights up when he sees me, and Silas grins.

  My wrists are tied, so I’m not sure how to get in the van. I attempt to raise my leg high enough to step into the cargo hold, and after I fail, Juda and Mary rush forward to help.

  Their hands are cuffed as well, but Juda can still grab my hand and hoist me up. My entire body is barely inside, when the Sentry slams the doors shut.

  Mary throws her secured wrists over my head and hugs me, while Juda gives me a once over, making sure I’m uninjured. Once Mary has released me, he hugs me hard.

  “I was getting worried,” he says.

  “Me too,” I say.

  He kisses me.

  They don’t know yet that I ratted them out.

  Silas is the only one who doesn’t stand to greet me, and I’m startled to see his ankle is bandaged.

  “What happened?” I say, sitting next to him.

  “Jezebel,” Mary says.

  “We heard the Sentries coming and made a run for it.” He frowns. “We didn’t count on Jezzie being with them.”

  “Is it bad?” I ask. First his wrist and now this.

  “No. Jeremiah stopped her before she did real damage.” He looks at Mary. “Good thing she was with your brother, or she might’ve chewed my foot off.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Yeah. Good thing my brother betrayed and arrested us.”

  The word “betrayed” hangs in the air.

  With a lurch, the van starts moving. “Where are we going?” I ask.

  “I was hoping you knew,” Juda says.

  I shake my head, but Ram made me a promise. Now’s the moment when I’ll learn if he was telling the truth. When the van doors open, will we be at the edge of town or back at the Forgiveness Home? I hate that my hands are cuffed, because they’re shaking, and I can’t hide them.

  “How’s your mom?” I ask Juda, trying to focus on the reason we escaped in the first place.

  He smiles slightly. “She’s stable. She was really happy to see me, and Dr. Rachel said that after I arrived, Ma looked better than she had in days.” He looks at the three of us. “Thank you. I can never repay you. I know it wasn’t worth it for you, but it was for me. No matter what happens now, at least I got to see her.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mary says. “It was totally worth it for me. I got to breathe outside air, scale a wall, and save you from being ripped in half. I exercised more than I have in a decade. And I got to see my brother, even if he was just there to arrest me.”

  Silas laughs.

  Juda smiles, grateful for her kindness.

  I want to laugh, but I’m too on edge—wherever we’re going there’s a chance that these three will hate me soon, and the thought is devastating.

  “Where’s Jeremiah?” I ask Mary.

  “He didn’t pick you up?” she asks, surprised.

  “No,” I say. “Just the big guy.”

  “He drove us to get you. That’s weird,” she says, looking concerned.

  “Do you think he’s in trouble?” Silas asks. “Because we were at his house?”

  “No, of course not,” she says, but her voice is shaky. It hadn’t occurred to me that Jeremiah might be in trouble. He had no idea where we were hiding.

  The van stops sooner than I would like. We haven’t traveled far enough to be outside the town. When the Sentry opens the doors, I don’t recognize our location—an empty parking garage.

  “Let’s go,” says the Sentry.

  We climb out of the van, and the dark silence puts me on edge. We seem to be deep underground.

  “Where are we?” I ask the Sentry, but he doesn’t answer.

  I look at Silas and Mary, but they shake their heads. They don’t know either.

  The Sentry leads us through the creepy garage and then up dank stairs. The space feels old and decaying, like we’re back in Manhattan. Our footsteps echo through the abandoned stairwell; none of us says a word. Silas limps a bit on his injured leg.

  Several flights up, the Sentry bangs open a metal door, and we’re assaulted by the sound of people. Men in headsets rush around carryi
ng clipboards. They dodge the cables and lights that lie on the floor.

  I exhale. The Worship Hub.

  “Maybe we’re here for a service,” I say to the others.

  “Some public repenting?” Silas guesses, sounding as relieved as I feel.

  “Maybe we’re just here to see Ram,” Mary says.

  “I have a few words to say to that guy,” Juda says, and it occurs to me that he’s never met Ram. He’s probably picturing someone very different than the man he’ll eventually encounter.

  The Sentry leads us adroitly through the mayhem. It’s hard to imagine the last time I was here—the joy and pride I felt as I walked through this hallway, fresh off of my “miracle.” I was so full of hope about Ram and the Unbound: the promise of a gentle God and Savior, a reunion with my friends, school and an education. Now my best-case scenario is that they will let me and my friends run off into the wilderness to starve to death.

  We’ve almost reached the stage, when the Sentry stops us. “We’ll wait here,” he says.

  We’re hidden behind curtains, but we can see into the auditorium, which is flooded with people.

  “What’s going on?” Mary asks.

  “I don’t know,” Silas says. “It’s not Sunday. Maybe it’s another Revelation Day, like last week?”

  Everyone in Kingsboro seems to be arriving—men, women and children. This is why the crowd was gone from the Leisure Center. Everyone is here. Something big is happening. My skin prickles.

  Sitting in the front row with her family is Susanna, Silas’ friend. She looks completely different than the day I met her, sitting with her hands crossed delicately in her lap. Her face is vacant and bland and not at all passionate. As if feeling my eyes upon her, she looks up and spots us off stage. Seeing Silas, she sits up straighter. She gives him a sad little wave. He waves back.

  “She’s been a good friend to you,” I say.

  “My only one,” he says, smiling at her. Susanna’s parents notice her distraction and scold her. “Maybe my last one,” he says, backing away from the curtain.

  Resting my hand on his back, I say, “Don’t be silly. We’re your friends.”

  “There’s no chance Solomon and Kalyb will let us near each other again,” he says.

  He’s right, but if Ram keeps his promise, we won’t have to worry about them.

  All of a sudden, Ram is standing at our side. “Well, well, well,” he says. “Welcome back, my prodigal children.” Mary and Silas glower at him.

  “Juda,” Ram says in his squeaky voice. “So nice to finally meet you. I’m Ram.”

  Juda’s eyes bulge, as I anticipated. How could this little boy of a man control this entire community?

  “Mina cares very much for you, so you must be good people,” he says with a huge smile.

  Juda, over his initial astonishment, scowls at Ram. “You seem to enjoy locking up children for no good reason, so I can’t say I care very much for you.”

  We stand in flabbergasted silence. Juda grew up poor, but he grew up a poor boy. He will always have a boldness I lack.

  Ram breaks the tension with a laugh. “Wonderful. Exactly how I imagined you.” He turns to the rest of us. “Thank you for joining us here today.”

  Mary guffaws. “Like we have a choice.”

  “You would have been sad to miss it, I assure you,” Ram says. “I’m making a big announcement, one of the biggest in Unbound history.” When none of us react, he says, “And you all have a part to play in it, so I need you here.”

  We look at one another. What on earth could he mean?

  “We’ll speak more when the service is over.” He gives us a wink as he grabs his headset and walks on stage.

  Juda and I lock eyes. This can’t be good.

  If Ram plans to fulfill his promise and let us go, why would he involve us in some big announcement? I stumble a bit to my left.

  “Are you okay?” Juda asks.

  I’m not. I’ve made a horrible error, and I’m about to find out how catastrophic it was.

  Thirty-Eight

  The second Ram walks on stage the congregation goes wild. They continue to applaud until Ram raises his hands, motioning for them to be quiet.

  “Good afternoon! How wonderful to see you!” he says into his headset, his voice booming throughout the auditorium. “I know you’re wondering why I called you here today. What a special occasion it is! My heart dances, not only for you, but for your beautiful souls. Our dreams are about to come true!”

  His arms open wide, and someone yells, “We LOVE YOU, Ram!”

  He continues, “You know that I’ve been working on a treaty with the Propheteers, a treaty that will lead to wonderful things, and I’m here to tell you that today I have been successful. We have finally done it!”

  Some members of the Unbound applaud, while others whisper among themselves. A few people are angry, Purists obviously.

  “Beautiful people,” Ram says, smiling larger than ever, “don’t be afraid. This is the best of news. This is the path to our redemption, the path to our Ascension. As long as there is hatred and bitterness between us and the Propheteers, the Savior will not come, and is anything more important than His return?”

  “NO!” someone yells.

  “I am always looking forward, toward the light, toward His return. You know that,” he says, exuding calm on his angelic face. “I will never lead you astray.”

  His words act as a sedative. The whispering crowd grows still, a pond that’s absorbed the ripples of a troublesome stone.

  “And now for the best part. I knew that we had many things we could offer Uncle Ruho: fuel, medicine, food. However, I wanted to offer something that would make our bond everlasting. So I am bonding our two people not just with resources, but with blood.”

  People look at one another in confusion.

  Ram throws out his arm, gesturing to the other side of the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to the new divine first lady of Manhattan, the future wife of Uncle Ruho, Tabitha Dixon!”

  My head whirls toward Silas, whose mouth has popped open.

  Tabby walks onto the stage wearing a floor-length purple gown, her hair long, curled, and flowing down her back. The smile plastered on her face, her wide eyes, and stiff waving hand make her look more like a mannequin than a girl.

  “What in Hell is she doing?” says Silas.

  I shake my head, too stunned to speak.

  “Who is that?” Juda asks.

  “His sister,” Mary says, pointing at Silas.

  Juda looks at Silas. “You can’t let her do it.”

  “I’m not really standing in a position of power, am I?” Silas snaps.

  “Shhhh,” I say, trying to hear what Ram says next.

  “Miss Dixon will act as a diplomat of the Unbound,” Ram says, taking her hand, “and once she has children, our two societies will be connected by blood, in peace, forever, and then the Savior will be happy to liberate us all. Let’s hear it for the Queen of the Propheteers!” He raises her hand to the ceiling, and everyone cheers.

  “Queen?” I say. “Uncle Ruho isn’t a king.”

  “I don’t think he cares,” says Mary. “The crowd loves it.”

  She’s right. The congregation is in a frenzy.

  Tabby holds her impossible grin.

  “Why would she do it?” Mary asks, astounded.

  “She, uh . . .” I look at Silas, embarrassed. “She triggered her lady bug.”

  Silas’ eyes grow huge

  Mary whistles. “Whoa.”

  “What are you talking about?” Juda asks.

  “I’ll explain later,” I tell him.

  Ram keeps the crowd clapping for Tabby and praises the treaty several more times. When the audience seems enthusiastic beyond return, he says, “Go out and celebrate with your neighbors and loved ones! Praise God and let Him see your joy! And I’ll see you here next week, when we’ll discuss the royal wedding!”

  He dismisses them with a
“So be it,” and people rise to leave. Even from off stage, I can hear the crowd buzzing with the news.

  Ram and Tabby exit on our side of the stage. Glancing at us, Ram says, “Follow me.” The Sentry tells us to obey the order. Still stunned by the new development, the four of us look at one another and comply.

  Ram walks quickly through the backstage corridors, nodding and smiling at his staff. Silas and I catch up to Tabby, who’s struggling to walk in high heels.

  When we’re directly behind her, Silas whispers, “Tabby, are you okay?”

  She glances at Silas’ bandaged ankle but says nothing.

  “You can’t do this,” I say, voice as loud as I dare. “What about Adam?”

  “It’s this or the Fallen,” she hisses under her breath. “Easy choice.”

  Before I can respond, she catches up with Ram, whom she towers over in her heels. She adoringly loops her arm through his. What lies has he been feeding her?

  I’m so caught up in figuring out how to get Tabby away from Ram that at first I don’t notice that Juda and Silas have gone rigid. Mary emits a squeaking noise.

  I scan the hallway, and there’s Solomon, walking straight for us.

  Is this it? Is now when he takes us back into custody?

  He leers at us with disgust.

  I prepare to run. I am not leaving here with that man. Looking at my friends’ angry and determined faces, I know they feel the same way.

  Approaching us, Solomon says through gritted teeth, “Didn’t get very far, did you?”

  And then he keeps walking!

  Only now can we see that a Sentry walks behind him. The Sentry gives him a shove, causing him to stumble as he moves forward. His head whips around, and we can see he wants to throttle the Sentry, but this is not the Forgiveness Home, and he’s no longer in charge.

  Mary’s jaw is about to hit the floor, and I’m sure my face looks equally astounded.

  Ram calls to us from the top of a spiral staircase. “Up here, boys and girls. Shake a leg, please!”

  We walk up the stairs, taking our time. Our Sentry stays at the bottom.

  “Is Solomon being punished for letting us escape?” Mary whispers.