by Tim Miller
He was positive there were children there last night. Could they be in the barn? He had to know. Somehow he had to get into that barn. Tonight, they would get in there. He didn’t know how to pick locks, but there had to be a way. Finally, The Prophet dismissed everyone as he walked over to Bronson.
“Well, how was your first service with us?” The Prophet asked.
“It was great. You’re an excellent speaker.”
“Oh, thank you. Just lots of years of practice is all.”
“So you ready to do that interview?”
“Now?”
“Sure. We can just take a seat, you got your camera all set up. May as well go for it, unless you’re not ready.”
“Oh no. This is great.” Bronson said as he pulled up a chair. Julia smiled and patted him on the shoulder. The Prophet sat across from him as Manuel adjusted the camera.
“Hey everyone, Bronson Sinclair here. I’m with The Prophet Drake the leader of the Church of the Fertile Fields. He’s been kind enough to agree to sit down for an interview with us. Prophet Drake, thank you for having us.”
“Thank you Bronson. It’s an honor to have you here.”
“So first question, what made you start up this place? To come out in the wilderness and set up a whole community?”
“Oh sure. We’d been traveling around the country trying to find a home for several years. Being in the Bible belt, you can imagine how hard it may be for a pagan-like church to get along. No matter where we went, our homes were vandalized, people sent us death threats. One of our buildings had been set on fire. It was just not safe.”
“I can understand that. How is it you find new members way out here? I know you have some who just joined recently. How is that possible so far removed?”
“Oh we have internet out here. I have a work area in my house our recruiters work out of. We have satellite internet and some other things to reach out to hungry souls looking for a meaning to their existence. Our arms are open to all of them.”
“Just what is the Church of the Fertile Fields? I’ve seen people say it’s about the goddess Freyja.”
“Yes, yes that is right. Instead of worshipping a god who tells us to behave, to not have sex and not enjoy life. We worship a goddess who truly embraces love and human sexuality. We are sexual creatures who are here to enjoy sex as well as populate the earth. Even though you didn’t see it today and I’m sure this will be nice and titillating for your viewers, is that we do sometimes have sex rituals. Just part of communing with the Goddess. And no, you can’t film that.” He said, chuckling as he said the last part.
Bronson laughed as well.
“I’m sure that is quite an intimate event. I wouldn’t want to intrude on that,” Bronson lied. “So I want to ask you about the missing girls I’d written to you about. I know what you said off camera, but I wanted to get you on the record for our viewers if that is ok.”
“Sure. I will tell you none of those girls have ever shown up here. I greet all newcomers and I’d know it if they had been here, and they have not. I’m not sure why their families have blamed us. My heart goes out to them. If there is anything I can do to help you find them, feel free to contact me. I’d be happy to lend you any of our resources. As a father myself, I can’t even imagine missing a child.”
“You said you have children. Are they grown? Are they a part of the church?”
“They are as a matter of fact! They’ve been life long members and are also on my leadership board.”
“Do they, take part in the rituals as well?”
The Prophet let out a laugh and shook his head.
“Now Bronson, that’s a bit out of bounds don’t you think?”
“I guess so. My apologies. One more question for you.”
“Go ahead son,”
“I assume Prophet Drake isn’t your real name. Can you tell us what your real name is, and how you became The Prophet Drake?”
“My birth name isn’t important. It reflects who I came into this world as, but I am no longer that man. Once I discovered the Goddess Freyja, and pledged my devotion to her, I became Drake. Once others recognized my ability to communicate with her they began calling me The Prophet and it stuck. So here we are.”
“One last thing, I know I said one more question, but this is bugging me. The big barn in the back of the compound. I noticed its locked up pretty tight. When I asked Eli about it, he looked almost frightened. What is in the barn? Can we have a look in there?”
“I’m afraid not Bronson, once again, we are getting out of bounds. I think it is time to wrap this up.”
“Great sir. Thank you so much for your time.”
“Sure son. Thank you for being here. I need to head inside. It will be lunch time soon. You folks enjoy yourselves. Remember, make yourselves at home here,” The Prophet said as he walked off. Bronson watched him go, and despite how smoothly the interview went he couldn’t get the images of the children being raped during that weird ritual last night. It made him wonder what tonight would bring.
Chapter 7
When night fell, Manuel wanted to get his footage. He’d been waiting all day for it. The rest of the crew was going to go with him, but they had fallen asleep before it was even dark. How could they sleep? After today and the stuff they saw last night, he was wound so tight no way was he sleeping. He grabbed the handheld camera and headed toward the barn.
He’d been working with Bronson for several years. They went to film school together and had always made a good team. Bronson was more of the visionary. He saw things behind what was really going on. The story beneath the story he called it. Manuel’s skills were on the technical side. He was good with cameras lighting, knowing just what lenses to use and when. Manuel could shoot on a Go Pro and make it look like it was shot with a high end camera. That wasn’t easy to do. Together, their skills complimented each other and they were reaping the rewards. He hoped this excursion would bear even more fruitful.
The night was calm and humid. No other members were out and about. It seemed once it got dark everyone in the compound must head inside. That or go and fuck kids in the wilderness. He reached the barn with no trouble and looked around. The padlock was still on which he expected. He walked around the sides of the barn and toward the back where he found another door. This one was a set of sliding doors. It was locked also. Except being a sliding door it was on a track.
He pulled it and it pulled out almost a foot. Manuel was only five foot seven and thin, so he tried to squeeze through. Sucking in his gut, he pushed the door out as far as he could and kept sucking in until he was through, the door banged as it snapped shut. He held his hands up trying to keep the noise at a minimum. Inside the barn it sounded like a bomb went off.
Once the sound died down, he turned on the camera and looked through the night vision. Once he got a look through the barn, he almost dropped the camera. There were cages, the size of large dog cages. Dozens of them lined up. All were filled with kids. Some looked to be little more than toddlers. Others were in their teens. It seemed to be an equal mix of boys and girls. There was a stairway in the far side leading to a loft.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Manuel whispered. He turned the mic on as he walked.
“Ok, I’m inside the barn at the Fertile Fields compound. We were told this place is off limits and now I know why. What you are seeing here is dozens of cages of children. Not sure where they all came from. If they’ve been abducting kids, then someone has to be looking for them.” He walked to the steps and made his way up into the loft. Up there, was several more cages, about five or six containing women.
Two of the women were pregnant. The pregnant ones were asleep. The other three were awake and looking at him with blank expressions. He immediately recognized Karen Giles, Jennifer Rubio and Roxanne Martin. Except they were much thinner and Jennifer was one of the pregnant ones.
“Jesus Christ. Are you girls ok?” he whispered, but none of them replied. “I’m here to help you. Y
our families hired us to find you.”
“You better get out of here,” Karen said. “You can’t help us. Just go.”
“What? They don’t know I’m in here. We’re going to get you out.”
“How? With your camera?”
“Look, we got this footage. We’ll send it to the Texas Rangers. They’ll be here by morning.”
“I’m not getting in trouble over this guy,” Roxanne said and lie down with her back to him. Manuel was a bit confused. He thought they’d be glad to see someone coming for them.
“Well, it appears there is a fox in my henhouse,” a voice said from behind him. He turned just as someone turned on a flashlight. He could see silhouettes of four men standing there. Fuck. One of them stepped forward. It was Eli. He could tell by the hat and he was she shortest. Though his chipper tone had abandoned him.
“We invite you to our home. Give you free reign to film whatever you want here. And what do you do? You violate the one single rule we give you. That’s really upsetting Manuel. I had thought better of you. I thought we understood each other.”
“Look man, I…I had to see what was in here. I had no idea. Here. You can have my camera and just take the footage. We’ll leave right now.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be leaving after all my friend,” Eli said as one of the bigger men stepped forward carrying something in his hand. A cattle prod. Manuel figured out what it was only after it was jammed into his ribs and sending thousands of volts through his body. He dropped the camera as he fell to the ground. Pain shot up his side and through his whole body. His muscles constricted as if his body were clenching a fist. For a few seconds he couldn’t get his breath.
Eli stood over him and knelt down.
“There are certain lessons that come with breaking our rules. You are about to learn all of them Manuel.”
One of the other men grabbed Manuel’s hands and bound them behind his back with duct tape.
“These girls here. They’re not our prisoners. They are fulfilling their destiny. The Goddess has special plans for them. And now she has plans for you.”
“You can’t hurt me. Everyone knows I’m here. Bronson has connections. People will be looking for us.”
“That may very well be. And they may find you. But it won’t stop anything that is about to happen to you now. You can look at what is about to happen in two ways. You can look at is as the worst suffering you’ve ever experienced, or you can look at is as a cleansing. Few people are granted this kind of cleansing before their death. You should be honored. Your life will finally have some meaning.”
“You’re fucking insane,” Manuel said. “Let me go. Bronson won’t stand for this, neither will the authorities!”
“The Goddess is our only authority my friend. You’ll be learning that real soon.”
Manuel tried to struggle as they pulled him to his feet. Another jolt with the cattle prod took the fight out of him. He looked up as one of them stomped him in the face. The last thing he saw before it went dark was a huge foot closing in. As it made contact he prayed not to wake up again. His prayer would go unanswered.
Chapter 8
Sheri tossed and turned as usual. Coming along on this trip had been a bad idea. She fell asleep cuddled with Julia but moved to her own bunk when she woke up covered with sweat. It was so hot and sticky in that cabin. It was almost cooler outside. So much for some alone time with Julia or any actual adventures. This place just felt like a grown up bible camp.
Looking out the window, the sun was starting to rise. She had no idea what time it was and really didn’t care. Julia snored ever so lightly as she slept. How could she just sleep like that? Watching her girlfriend sleep, she couldn’t get over how amazing Julia was. Besides being smart and beautiful, she was the toughest girl Sheri had ever met.
She had watched “Jail Bait” not long after they met and was blown away by that girl. Not only did she go undercover among the human traffickers, but she recorded a lot of it and managed to get away once her cover was blown. It wasn’t shown in the film, but because she had been “sold” during the movie, she’d wondered if Julia had to have sex with some of the men. She probably did, but never spoke about it and Sheri didn’t want to know.
Their relationship had been a good one so far if not a little strained. The straining was at Sheri’s own doing. Not on purpose mind you. Julia was just so intimidating. Everywhere she went, both men and women just flocked to her. Everyone wanted to be close to her. Plus, she was so tough and all around incredible. Here was Sheri, a waitress. What the hell could she offer someone like Julia?
Her insecurities believed Julia was just slumming with her until she found someone better. She didn’t want to believe that and Julia often assured her that wasn’t the case. Yet for some reason she couldn’t let herself believe Julia really was that into her. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Julia jumped awake as Sheri looked outside. It was Bronson.
“You guys seen Manuel?” Bronson asked.
“No,” Sheri said looking at Julia as she sat up.
“Manuel?” Julia asked. “Where’d he go?”
“I don’t know. We were going to check out that barn last night, but I was so exhausted I fell asleep. I’m worried he went to look himself.” Bronson explained.
“Shit. You think he got caught?” Julia asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Are we in danger?” Sheri chimed in. Each hour that passed, this trip made her more and more nervous.
“No,” Bronson said. “I’m sure its fine.”
A Land Rover came driving through the compound making a beeline for their cabin. After a minute, it stopped in front and a tall blonde haired man stepped out.
“I need you guys to come with us. The Prophet wants to see you,” the man said.
“Have you seen our friend?” Bronson asked. “He’s missing.”
“I know. Get in.”
They piled into the Land Rover as the man stepped on the gas and drove them out the back of the compound and up a small dirt road that wound through the hills. So, this was how you got to that big house. Within a few minutes, they were parked outside the large house. The man led them inside and into a huge living room with several couches and a big screen TV. If camp was some kind of religious pilgrimage, The Prophet wasn’t exactly roughing it.tr
“What do you think is going on?” Julia asked.
“I have no idea. Unless, he tried to look in the barn and got caught.”
“Shit, I hope not.”
“Me too, but why else would we be here?” Bronson said.
Finally, The Prophet came lumbering into the room using his cane. He stopped in the door way, looked at each of them and shook his head in disgust as he made his way to one of the couches.
“I have to say Bronson, I hadn’t expected this. I thought you were different from the others. You didn’t strike me as one of the other outsiders. Turns out, you’re just as bad, if not worse,” The Prophet said.
“What are you talking about? Where is Manuel?”
“Oh, he’s being tended to. I assure you. First, I want to say something. I opened my home to you. I invited you here in good faith. We fed you, housed you, and gave you free reign of the grounds. We only asked one thing from you.” He shook his index finger pointed in the air. “One thing! So what do you do? The one single thing I ask you not to do. And for what? For some cool footage for your film? So, you can destroy everything we stand for here and everything I’ve worked for? We all have choices and some of those choices come with consequences. I’m afraid you and your crew have made a seriously bad choice.”
He picked up a remote and turned on the TV. Instantly, on the huge flat screen appeared an image of Manuel. Except he was naked and tied with his hands behind his back to a large post. His forehead dripped blood. He looked like he’d been severely beaten.
“What the fuck?” Bronson said. “What are you doing? What is going on?” He jumped up but the doo
r burst open and several men came rushing in. Two men grabbed the girls easily. Julia tried to fight, but the man picked her up and slammed her on the coffee table. The table split in half as Julia busted through face first. She lie on the ground motionless as Sheri screamed. The man picked her up and threw Julia over his shoulder while the other grabbed a handful of Sheri’s blonde hair and dragged her out of the room behind the other man.
Two men stood before Bronson holding guns. Bronson put his hands up and looked at The Prophet.
“You’re making a mistake. A lot of people know I’m here.”
“Everyone tells me that, yet no one has ever come for anyone,” The Prophet said. “Don’t worry. You’ll all be well taken care of. I have special plans for each of you. You’re about to have a much greater impact on the universe than you would have with some silly movie.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Take him away,” The Prophet ordered as one of his men grabbed Bronson’s arm and dragged him outside. They loaded him into the back of an SUV. The girls must have been in another car as he was alone with his captors. They drove down the road and around the back of the compound and stopped outside the barn. As they walked him to the door, he suddenly no longer wanted to know what was inside.
Chapter 9
Bronson walked through the barn door as they slid it open. Once he was inside he froze. The sight of all the cages holding the children didn’t look real. It had to be something from some movie set. Most of them were boys, but there were a few young girls. They were filthy and the whole room smelled like shit and piss. Some were crying but most had dead expressions on their faces as they looked at the floor.