by Daphne Lamb
“…and then my sister goes, ‘If that wasn’t you I caught with my sister, then report yourself to science for the awesome clone job!’”
I joined them, laughing along despite having no idea what made it funny and took a seat, hoping for their acceptance. I cleared my throat, smiling big. There was immediate awkward silence, and Bruce looked down, suddenly too interested in hands.
“Has anyone seen Priscilla?” I asked.
Debra didn’t answer, just looked up at me, covered her mouth and let out a fake cough. Robert mashed buttons on his BlackBerry and Bruce’s fingers had taken on a new level of fascination for him.
“Anyone?” I asked.
“Is this a new friend of yours?” Debra asked.
“No,” I said. “Priscilla. Remember? The woman you keep mistaking as the help.”
“Now I keep thinking her name is Lupe,” she said. “I have got to write these things down.”
Robert didn’t look up from what he was doing. “I sent her out for more food,” he said.
“But she said she wouldn’t go alone!” I said. “It’s dangerous out there.”
“Like you care,” Bruce muttered. “Probably just want to keep Darren to yourself. Well, he’s not going to give you a very good girlfriend review.”
“How are those options coming?”
He rolled his eyes and shifted around in his chair. “About as good as your support for others.”
“Then why am I the only one worried about Priscilla?”
There was a heavy silence again. I grabbed my jacket that hung on the back of an empty chair. I marched outside, zipped up the coat and headed in the direction of the RV community. The sun had almost all but gone down, and my skin prickled at any moving shadow or sound that came up.
I made my way to the RV camp and slowly approached it. People gathered around where there was a brightly lit fire and a delicious smell that wafted from it. I hung by a tree, waited to see Darren or Priscilla, but neither showed up.
It didn’t matter. I slyly joined in the commune anyway by sidling up to different members, trying to blend in. Darren entered and he nodded in my direction as he passed by. His thin, small frame was wrapped in a terry cloth robe, which he wore grandly.
“Welcome, my child,” he said. He reached out and grazed my cheek with his hand.
Once he was settled in a lawn chair decorated with sheets and toilet paper, his followers brought out a feast on trays and plates put on a long picnic table covered with a sheet. We stood around the table and waited for Darren’s blessing, which was just a hand gesture. His fingers fluttered and lowered, and everyone immediately sat and began to eat. We ate everything I loved in this world, except I wasn’t allowed to eat any meat. Every time my hand hovered over a meatball or burger patty, one of his followers slapped my hand away, so instead I went for the mashed potatoes, the dinner rolls, the pitchers of watered down cherry Kool-Aid. It was insulting, but I didn’t want to seem rude, so I just stayed away from it. The group sang stupid songs I hated when I heard them on the radio, but I sang along too, enjoying the feel of community for the first time. When that was over, I got to use the showers to clean up. After the sun came up, I crept back to the house and crawled into bed as if I didn’t know anything. The next day I snuck out again before anyone was up and made my way to the camp.
I was about to cross the threshold into the site when something grabbed my arm and jerked me backward. Startled, I lost my footing and fell directly onto the ground. I whipped my head around as a hand covered my mouth. Panicked now I went to scream when I realized it was Bruce.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
I reared back. “What, are you following me now?”
“I’ve thought about it,” he said. “We need to be more understanding of other people’s needs. Like mine.”
I wrestled out of his mouth grasp. “I could ask you the same thing!” I hissed.
He let go of me and let me get to my feet.
“I got suspicious,” he said. “Thought you and Priscilla were going to hog Darren Warren for yourself.”
I brushed leaves and dirt off of me. “Trust me,” I said. “That sounds like an awesome and logical plan and something we would totally do.”
At that moment, Darren emerged from a RV, and Bruce gasped.
“It’s him!” he whispered. “It’s really Darren Warren! I was hoping you wouldn’t be lying and you weren’t!”
“Why would I lie about that?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe you wanted to win me back.”
“Again,” I said. “Another awesome and logical plan I should have tucked away.”
He grabbed my hand. “I’ll take it all back if you introduce me. Everything. We can even get back together. If that’s what you want.”
I looked into his eyes and saw the desperation. “Why do you want to meet him so badly?” I asked. “Any of these people will probably give you pretzels or whatever. I think I saw a bag of Oreos yesterday.”
He shook his head. “Networking! When this is all over, who knows what kind of deep relationships we’ll have built, and you know a good review from him can get me any part in the community theater circuit. Maybe Robert’s right.” He took a deep breath and stared at the sky. “We’ve been given a gift. I can feel it.”
“This is the quarantine situation all over again,” I said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You wanted to follow that actor,” I said. “We could have found my family, or you’re family, but you cared more about what Steve Harks was doing.”
He rolled his eyes. “That’s nonsense. You know I only cared about you, but it’s time you cared about something other than how things look. The time is over to stop worrying about how others see you.”
I shook my head. “Maybe one of us is missing the point in this situation.”
“Thank you,” he said. “It’s about time you figured at least that out.”
He took a step forward and tried to jerk me along, but I held back.
“I don’t think you should just barge in on them like this,” I said. “They don’t respond well to random strangers coming in.”
At that time, a chant arose as the people of the commune came together. They raised their arms high and raised their voices. Four people stepped forward into the center, each holding part of a thick stick with a charred body tied to it. The voices started to cheer as they hung the stick over the pit and let the fire erupt suddenly.
I was horrified and I drew back.
“What’s going on?” Bruce whispered. “Is now a good time to introduce me?”
I shook my head. “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this,” I said. “We should just find Priscilla and get out of here.”
“Wait,” Bruce said. “You were here to find Iris? Or is it Priscilla?”
“What did you think I was here for?” I asked.
“I thought you were here to make me jealous.”
“Stop saying that!” I said.
He folded his arms and looked away.
“Fine,” I said. “Stay there and sulk, but something’s wrong, and we need to get as far as we can from these people.”
Darren stepped out into the middle. He wore his usual bathrobe and held a crudely made staff.
“Friends!” he announced. “We are here tonight to celebrate the gods who have granted us another day of survival.”
Bruce crept away.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“It was foolish of me to think you’d ever think of anyone other than yourself.” His voice was distant as he disappeared into the bushes.
I rolled my eyes. “Well, at least be careful out there!”
“The granting of lives is never free!” Darren said. “And for that, there is always a payment due.”
The group stared at him in reverence.
“And that’s why anyone who trespasses in our holy sanctioned community must pay the price for the breaths we breathe on this evolving planet.”
“We hear and we appreciate!” the crowd murmured in unison.
“We bring this sacrifice,” Darren said. “This woman who entered our domain without permission and without the respect we deserve. Her charred flesh is a reminder of how fragile our lives are without the gift of sovereign protection.”
“It will educate our minds and satisfy our bodies.”
“Perhaps she had a name,” Darren said. “We’re going to assume her name was either Maria or Rosa.”
“Maria,” said the crowd.
“The gods have shown their will for Maria, and we are to benefit from it.”
“All paths will be made evident.”
“Amen,” Darren said.
He lowered his arms and then rubbed his palms together. “Let’s eat, folks.”
A girl came up behind him with paper plates and handed them out to the people around the fire.
I had a horrible feeling. An awful and sickening feeling, and I couldn’t shake my own intuition. Not Priscilla, please not Priscilla, I prayed. I prayed that she would come through the bushes at any moment and that this would all be one big misunderstanding. The body shape over the fire, the remnants of clothing now being used to burn underneath her—it was Priscilla. The smell was enveloping me, and I hated that it smelled like anything I’ve ever smelled at a cookout or a steakhouse. I was sick to my stomach. The nausea rolled around in my stomach, expanding and moving without any of my own control.
So much so my knees buckled and I vomited on the ground. I tried to keep it as quiet as possible, wiping my mouth. When I got back to my feet, I spotted Bruce on the other side of the compound, creeping around, seemingly oblivious to the horror that happened in front of him.
I couldn’t let him go through it so I went after him the long way around, trying to move soundlessly through the branches and leaves. My heart beat heavy and quick as I tried to catch up with him, stomach still making waves. He stepped into the clearing, and the crowd noise automatically stopped. As did my heart.
I watched him through the tree branches as he walked out, waving both hands.
“Hey, how y’all doing?” he asked in his overtly friendly way. He had a big goofy grin on his face, almost as though he were about to host his own talk show.
The RVers stared at him. No one smiled back. No one waved. They just stared in creepy unison, and he just kept walking closer. He spotted Steve Harks, gave him a goofy smile.
“Hey, man.” He offered his hand in greeting.
Steve ignored him and kept on walking.
He finally stopped walking and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “Is Darren here?”
The people put down their plates.
“And what’s this I hear about appreciating surviving another day?” he asked.
They continued to stare at him. I cut through the clearing and took him by his jacket sleeve.
“Bruce,” I said, quietly.
He turned around and looked at me.
“You’re here.” He sulked. “Great. Turns out Steve Harks is a member. Nice of you to keep that to yourself too. I suppose you’ve been buddies with Liam Neeson this whole time.”
“We have to go,” I said. “Please.”
They closed in on us. The look in their eyes was pure malevolence, their hands clenched.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “I don’t understand this.”
He started to back up and tripped over my feet. I went to steady him, gripping him tightly as I threw my arms around his chest.
“Let’s just go.”
Darren stepped out of the crowd, his lips tinged slightly red, as if he’d eaten marinara instead of blood.
“You!” he said. “You’ve returned!”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, trying to pull Bruce away. “He wandered away. I know he has no business here.”
I bumped into someone from behind. I turned and looked to see four of the members now holding me stationary.
Darren shook his head. “Sarah—”
“It’s Verdell,” I said.
“Why correct me?” he asked. “On your last night on earth, does it really matter?”
I swallowed hard, squeezed Bruce tighter.
“Please,” I said. “Just let us go. No harm done. We’re just lost, and we’ll survive on the other side of the hill.”
Bruce rolled his head back. “Darren?” he asked. “May I call you Darren?”
Darren stared him down with steely eyes.
“I would love to send you my reel,” he said. “Just to look at whenever you have a moment.”
“Your reel?” he asked.
“I was in a play that you reviewed,” Bruce continued. “I played the lead. Probably the most rewarding role I’ve ever experienced. You were nonplussed by the whole production. Frankly, I blame my costar. She didn’t understand the gravitas of her character.”
“Excuse me?” Darren asked.
“You called me Brian,” Bruce said. “You called me Brian Meals, but really, my actual name is Bruce Helio.”
Darren smiled and then withdrew his long, ragged homemade stick. Without an ounce of hesitation, he stabbed Bruce directly in the arm, grazing the side of my chest. Bruce immediately collapsed and gasped in pain. Blood oozed from the wound. He convulsed for a while, and I sank to my knees and threw my arms around him.
“It’s going to be okay!” I said, feeling panic grow. “It’s just your arm!”
“If I die,” he said. “Find my mom and tell her being an actor is a real job.”
“Well, no,” I said, trying to prop him up.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head, briefly making contact with mine as Darren poked the side of his body with his fancy foreign sneaker, which now had a ragged hole forming.
Hands grabbed me and pulled me to my feet, forcing me to let go of Bruce. Darren braced his stick. My mind reeled and the world seemed to move in slow motion, but in the far reaches of my memory, I saw myself as a twelve-year-old in karate class. I saw my old instructor.
“Strike the weakness,” he’d said. “Keep your head.”
With all my might, I stomped down on the foot of one of the robed men and jabbed an elbow into his side. He let go for long enough for me to slip through his hands. One of the other members tried to grab me as Darren aimed for me but missed. I held the palm of my hand out and shoved it with force into the other attacker’s nose. He screamed in pain, and I ran.
I ran and ran, tripping and falling, and at some point I banged my knee into a tree trunk, and it was then I stopped, out of breath and my mind reeling in fear.
I stopped long enough to hear the chanting below.
“He was not worthy for another day on this Earth!” Darren exclaimed.
The crowd cheered.
Poor Bruce. He was finally the center of attention and most likely getting a good review from Darren Warren. My body shook so badly the only thing I could do was fall to the ground.
It was so dark out, but I could make out the shadow of a cabin up ahead. The last thing I wanted was to die alone in the forest, so I took my chances and ran for it instead of the house.
Chapter 6
Humanity is a Two-Way Street
THE CABIN REEKED worse than anything I had ever smelled and I gagged after taking a step inside. I felt something soft and squishy under my feet, which made me thankful it was dark. In the corner by a window was a chair, and I moved toward it and then grasped the back of it, vowing to not sit on the floor.
I covered my face with the lapel of my jacket to block some of the stench.
At least it makes for an easier
breakup… a tiny voice in my mind sputtered.
It was shocking that a thought like that even existed in my head.
“People are going to be much more sympathetic when they hear about it….”
I’m really not sure what I was more horrified about. The fact that I thought it or the fact that I agreed with it.
A shuffling came from outside, and I froze up again, nose still under my jacket. There were voices muffled and hazed, and I shivered in fear. I whispered a prayer under my breath and sank deeper into the chair, asking first for forgiveness for the horrible thoughts I’d had just moments prior.
“…and my BlackBerry still doesn’t work!” I heard the voice exclaim.
I jerked my head up and looked through a nearby grimy window only to see Robert shuffling through the dead leaves and holding up his device to the sky.
I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but the stench wouldn’t allow it. Immediately, a reflex in me, made me suck back in the breath, which caused me to retch on the floor.
Which was when Debra entered the room and saw me.
“Dammit,” she said. “A homeless person beat us here already.”
“It’s just me,” I said.
“That smell is you?” she asked.
“I don’t know what it is,” I said. “But it’s not me.”
“I don’t think there’s any way we can’t prove it,” she said. “So I’m just going to assume it was you.”
“How did you find this place? What are you doing?”
She covered her face with her hands as Robert entered.
“Debra made the toilets flow. Is there a working outlet in here?” he said. “What the fuck is that smell?”
“She says she doesn’t know,” Debra said, rolling her eyes. “I have my suspicions.”
“It’s not me!” I said. The hurt and desperation from everything was building and my voice cracked under its own weight. “I don’t stink and I’m not a bad person.”
“If you’re going to cry, you should pick something better to cry about,” Debra said. “Bruce was right.”