She Without Sin

by J. P. Barry

  “How many, and what type of sick? Can they move on their own?” Liam questioned.

  “Aside from me, seventeen others, both male and female, varying in age. Physically they’re healthy, mentally, they’re suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, as well as a host of other issues. They trust me. I’ve been helping them, holding sessions, but they won’t go willingly.”

  “Where are they now?” Liam inquired.

  “All over the house–first floor and basement. Only one is on the second level.”

  “Round them up,” Liam instructed.

  Leaving Jillian and Liam in the kitchen, I sprinted to the staircase, the most central point of the house. “I need everyone in the kitchen, straightaway. This is an emergency,” I shouted at the top of my lungs. Within seconds the entire ‘flock’ rushed to where I stood.

  “Is this a new Brother and Sister?” Ruth asked.

  “Yes. This is Brother Liam and Sister Jill. They only arrived a few moments ago, but came with an important, dire message. We need to get out of this house as fast as possible. We’re in danger. I trust them. You should too,” I said.

  Sarah approached from the right, clinging to my side. Suspicious brown eyes sized my wife up. “No,” she replied, calmly. “I’m not going anywhere, and neither can you. You’re my special partner and will be punished by God if you abandon me.”

  “Sarah, I need you to listen carefully. Now is not the time for this. You have to have faith in me when I tell you, and all of our family, we must go,” I explained.

  Confusion spread amongst the ‘flock’. None of them were sure of what to do, whom to listen to. Most began experiencing panic attacks, others stood frozen in a state of shock. There was no way I’d be able to convince them to leave freely.

  “Jill, phone,” I barked, waiving my hand at her.

  Taking the device, I dialed nine-one-one.

  “Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?” a female operator asked.

  “My name is Nicholas Winters. I was abducted. There’re seventeen others who were as well. Our captor is Warren Lessor. He’s away from the house with his cousin, Noah Lessor. I don’t know when they’ll return, but they will in the near future. We’re in danger. Please send help.”

  “Do you have an address, sir?” the operator inquired.

  “I’m unsure of what it is, but,” I started, before Sarah pounced, knocking the phone out of my hand.

  “No,” she shrieked, tackling me to the floor.

  “Sarah, stop,” I shouted, attempting to subdue her without causing bodily harm.

  “You’re mine. If we leave, you won’t be. They’ll rip us apart, and I won’t let that happen,” Sarah screamed, the chef’s knife I’d dropped earlier was currently being wielded in my face.

  “Think about what you’re doing. What you’re saying, Sarah,” I said, lowering my tone, finally able to take hold of her wrists, pushing them with all my might against the tile floor. The cleaver resting beside her head.

  “I am. If we die together, we’ll always be together.”

  From where I was on the floor, view obscured by Sarah’s frame, I didn’t see Jillian approach from the side. What I did observe was Sarah’s body ripped out from under mine. The force so strong, my grip instantly released. By the time I could get on my feet, Jillian had her slammed against the wall.

  “I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but what I can tell you is Nick Winters is my husband, and he’s leaving right now. I’ll be damned if he’s not getting out of this freak show, house of horrors with me, today. You can stay if you’d like, but if you ever try to hurt him again, I will end you. Am I making myself clear, you fucking psychotic freak?” she threatened. Eyes wide and white, wrists shaking from the force used to keep Sarah in place.

  The ‘flock’ simply stood, staring, unsure of how to develop the morning’s events. After a pregnant pause, six made a break out the front door–Liam chasing after. Releasing her hold on Sarah, Jillian approached the others.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you, but what Sarah just did wasn’t all right. I’m going to level with you. I’m Nick’s wife. His real wife. The man who brought you all here, Warren Lessor, abducted you, which is illegal. You may like living in this house with him and all of your friends, but this isn’t a healthy or safe environment. I promise, there’s no need to worry or stress out. I won’t allow anything bad to happen to any of you. This is a scary situation, I understand that, but the same way Nick wants to help is the same way I do too. I’m asking a lot, I know, but please, trust me,” Jillian spoke, kindly.

  “Jill is a safe person,” I assured. “She’s your friend. She won’t harm you.”

  The terrified, beyond frightened expressions spoke volumes. Some latched onto others, while the rest simply remained frozen in place.

  “There’s no protection out there from the sinners, Brother Nicholas,” Sean, a middle-aged man, rationalized. His voice trembled. Limbs shook. How he remained in the upright position would always be an unsolved mystery.

  “You have me, Brother Sean. You will always have me,” I comforted.

  “What will happen to us? What will happen to Brothers Warren and Noah?” Sean questioned. The wheels were turning inside his head. Answering his questions with kid gloves was key, or else he’d remain in place.

  “You’ll be free from Brother Warren’s hold. You’ll be able to experience life in a healthier, happier way. I realize your pasts were traumatic, abusive, filled with negative hardships, but I will personally make sure you receive the help and assistance you need to get better, stronger, empowered so you can move on and find true, pure happiness and fulfillment. As for Warren and Noah, they’ll be given the same options as all of you. Don’t worry about them. Focus on yourselves, and your own needs. It’s okay to do that. Self-care and self-love are not selfish acts.”

  The ‘flock’ split fifty/fifty. Half refused to listen. The rest were onboard.

  “Let’s take this slow, as a group. We’ll all walk out the front door, together, and see how we feel,” I suggested.

  One by one they lined up, including the ones who resisted the change, even Sarah. Guiding them from the kitchen to the front porch felt like a million-mile journey. It appeared Liam wrangled the runners and had them sitting on the ground, leaning against his car. He spoke with them, but exactly what he said, I couldn’t hear. They were six less to worry about.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Liam

  Up until Nick all but demanded we help the other abductees inside the house, things appeared to go smoothly. Stupidly, I believed the stroke of luck–finding Nick alive and well had all the makings of a happily-ever-after fairytale. To be honest, and please forgive me if I come across as an uncaring dick, between the nine-one-one call Nick placed before his psycho cult life partner tackled him, and Jillian’s spy pin broadcasting all over social media sites, if we left the others behind, they would’ve eventually been rescued. The whole point of this suicide mission was to save Nick, not liberate the world. But, never-the-less, here we were. An overweight, out of shape smoker chasing six lunatics dressed in white down a rural country road in the freezing cold. If anyone were viewing this as an outsider with no prior knowledge of the current setup, it would’ve resembled a mental institution breakout. All that was missing was me wielding a butterfly net. Panting, knees on fire, I kept booking it, screaming for them to stop–which, spoiler alert, they did not. Finally, I was able to catch up to one of the slower ones, tackling his chubby body to the ground. Once this happened, the others stopped, turning, approaching in a circular confrontational fashion.

  “Look, I’m not trying to hurt any of you. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. Just hear me out,” I explained, helping the man to his feet, clutching the stitch in my side.

  The words were met with confused stares.

  “I have no idea what happened before and after Lessor abducted you people, but I’m going to take a wild guess it was pretty severe, and mentally damaging.
You’re scared, hurt, disoriented–I get it. There’s a choice to be made, though. Right here. Right now. You can keep running, or we can take a nice calm walk back to the house, and share a nice chat. Either way, the police will find you. I can’t stress enough–no one is in trouble. Nobody is going to jail. Nothing bad is going to happen. You’re safe. I promise. I wouldn’t lie,” I said, finally being able to breathe normally again.

  The six formed a huddle. Hushed whispers filled their private space. Not being able to hear what was being said irritated, but quite frankly, if they decided to make a run for it, I had zero intentions of going after them. I’d call Jamison and have him keep a lookout–they wouldn’t be too hard to spot, and inform the cops whenever they decided to show up. It wasn’t as if they had many options. The road extended for miles, void of heavily trafficked areas. The authorities would be able to locate them with ease. After a few moments, I spoke again.

  “Guys, it’s the easy way, or the dirt road.”

  “Will you protect us if Brother Warren finds us, or sees us walking back to the house? He will be mad. We’re not supposed to leave the property,” a somewhat young Asian woman asked.

  “Of course,” I assured.

  “What happens when the police arrive?” she pressed. Apparently, she was the spokesperson for the group.

  “They’ll want to speak with each of you. Find out what happened. Again, nobody is in trouble. The cops will not be arresting anyone. They have absolutely no reason to.”

  “Where will they take us? Back to our old homes?” Voice trembled when suggesting she, or any of them, might have to return to their old lives.

  “Probably to the hospital for a checkup, to make sure you’re all okay and healthy. From there, I don’t know. What I can offer is if your home lives were abusive or bad in any way, tell the police and the hospital staff. They won’t make you return to a harmful situation. There are places all over the state to assist people enduring circumstances such as yourselves.” I paused. “Listen, it’s freezing cold out here. None of you have coats on. I don’t know when Lessor and his cousin will come driving down that road, or when the cops will get here for that matter. Let’s start walking back to the house. We can sort everything out there. Sound like a plan?”

  The group shot glances back and forth before nodding.

  “Okay,” the Asian woman replied, drawing closer.

  With that, we began the journey back. In an attempt to keep moral up, and avoid a sudden change of heart moment where they might take off like a bat out of Hell again, I began talking about myself. I told them about my career, family, hobbies, and things of the sort. Four of the six engaged, the other two kept silent. As long as they stayed with the pack, I could’ve cared less. On the surface they came across as simple, kind individuals. Hopefully, once this was over, they’d receive the necessary treatment to deprogram and heal, go on to live happy, fulfilling existences. Upon reaching the apron of the driveway, I didn’t see Nick or Jillian outside.

  Damn it!

  Not wanting to leave the six defectors alone, and having no desire to re-enter the house, I lined them up against my car where an easy eye could be kept on them. Gut instinct suggested all would adhere to the directive to not move, but who the hell really knew? Eventually, Nick and Jillian would have to exit, but if they didn’t, the cops could go in and deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, I felt deeply for each and every single person who’d been abducted, but a scenario like this was out of my scope of knowledge. All I could do was pray the police would show up before Lessor, and we’d be long gone before the shit hit the fan. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Nick, Jillian, and the others all in a line, heading in my direction.

  “See? There’s Nick. He’ll be able to answer any questions you may have better than I can,” I said, thanking God the two finally moved their asses, were safe, and close.

  Dear Lord, please get me the hell out of here as fast and safely as you can.

  “What’s the plan, Jill?” I heard Nick whisper.

  “Between your nine-one-one call, and the live feed I’m streaming, it shouldn’t be too long before help arrives,” she answered.

  “What if Warren comes back before then?” I spoke up.

  “We deal with it. Buy time,” Jillian replied.

  “My ass, Jill. We’re playing with fire. If that nut cake returns and we’re all standing around blowing up his spot, he’s going to flip out. No way I’m sticking around to find out what happens next, and neither should you. Don’t you realize how dangerous this is? This isn’t a movie. It’s real life,” I rationalized, attempting to remain calm, but failing miserably. The position we were in was no joking matter. Too many lives were at stake due to too many unknown variables.

  “Then what do you suggest we do?” she countered.

  “Get the hell out of here as fast as humanly possible. We can call the authorities once we’re back on the main road. If anyone requires immediate medical attention, we’ll take them with us, but I can’t squeeze everyone inside my car.” My God, why was this turning into a debate? Why was I the only one who had any common sense, any healthy logic of fear?

  Before Nick or Jillian had a chance to respond, the sound of gravel crunching under heavy tires sliced through the thin frosty air. Glancing to the left, a tan van slowly rolled up the driveway. An older gentleman drove, while a younger one sat in the passenger seat. It had to be Lessor and his cousin.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I hissed, under my breath.

  Sorry. You lose, Liam. Better luck next time … if there even will be a next time. Get down, stay low, and pray like you’ve never prayed before. Shit is about to get real.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nick

  “Crap,” I hissed.

  “Brother Warren! Brother Warren!” Sarah called, hands wildly waving, running into his arms. “Brother Nicholas and these two sinners are forcing us to leave. He called the police, and she assaulted me. They say you’re evil, and we need to run far away from you and Noah.”

  “What?” Warren shouted, taking her by the shoulders. Body language reflected true, raw, alarm. Panic in its purest form. “Did you do this? Did you invite these outsiders, these sinners, into my home?”

  “I did. You’re sick, Warren. You need help,” I said, approaching, cautiously.

  “What have you done?” he gasped.

  “It’s over. The police are on their way. If you let these people go, individuals you had no right to take in the first place, the authorities will go easier on you. I’ll make sure you’re placed in a facility where you can get better.” Remaining calm proved easier than expected.

  “You betrayed me. After all I’ve done for you,” he raged. Opening the passenger side door, he yanked Noah out by his right shoulder, shoving him to the ground. From my vantage point all I could make out was him digging around inside the van for something. Moments later, he stood before me, aiming a gun at my chest.

  “Doesn’t have to be like this. Do you really think this is what God wants you to do? Murder another human being? Who’d be the sinner then?” Inhaling deeply, I knew, in this moment, fear could not be a factor. Warren encompassed the ability to kill another without guilt, but if I kept him talking for a few more minutes, by then the police should be here, and would defuse the situation using force I wasn’t privy to.

  “I’m God, you idiot. What I say goes. My will. My desires. Not yours. Not theirs.” His eyes went wild. Frame tightened. An eerie smirk spread across thin lips. Head curtly jerked from side to side. He’d lost it. Anything occurring after this point would be a true, honest act of insanity.

  “All right, God. Tell me, why have you done this? Why haven’t you used your almighty power to assist others on a broader level?”

  Keep him talking. Make him think. The moment he stops you’re screwed, and dead. Jillian, Liam, and everyone else, too.

  “I thought you were smarter. Obviously, I stand corrected,” he balked. “Never once d
id I lay a finger on anybody living in this house. No harm ever came to them. I protected, loved, and guided them. I showed them mercy and the way to salvation. I did the same with you. With time we grew, and would’ve continued to if not for you, but all hope is not lost. You see, I anticipated something like this happening. One day I knew a wolf in sheep’s clothing would do this to me, to us. This gun has eight bullets, and there’s only three of you. Even if I miss, I’ll still have extras to spare. Once you’re out of the equation, my family will keep going. Only a true moron wouldn’t have a contingency plan. What’s the strategy, you ask? That’s my business. The best part? You’ll never find out because you’ll be dead, and no one will ever find your bodies. Eventually, society will erase you from their memories. The world will be free of three more ingrates, and I will be hailed a king among men.”

  Inching closer, the cold steal of the handgun pressed against my neck. It’s funny how you never feel as alive as you do when you’re moments away from death. Locking eyes, I took a breath. One false move and his finger could slip, ending me.

  “You’re a freaking deranged psycho,” Jillian said, disgust dripping off each accusatory word.

  “And you’re a nasty, dirty whore,” he sneered.

  The second his focus shifted position, I shoved him to the ground.

  BANG!

  Liam fell. His body sliding down the side of his Subaru.

  BANG!

  A forceful pressure slammed into my left arm. The impact birthed a pain so unreal, consciousness faded in and out within seconds of impact.

  BANG!

  BANG!

  My brain desperately wanted to make sure Jillian was okay, but couldn’t focus long enough on anything. Before a blanket of darkness covered, controlling thoughts and movements, or rather lack thereof, the blaring sound of sirens sliced through the air. Extremities iced over. A hazy cloud of blurriness stung eyes. Then, nothing.