Fletcher shrugged.
“It's religion,” said Lark. “Before Earth was destroyed there were a number of them. And many believed there was a God or creator of humans and Earth. Brent thinks he's a messenger from this being.”
“How come we haven't heard about this before?” I asked.
“The Elite believe the wars which ravaged the Earth were because of religion. I think they wanted to make sure they were the leader, not an invisible being called God.”
“Okay,” Brent's loud voice echoed through the hall making me jump. “I've got representatives here from your host families. Two of you will stay with each family.”
Brent was followed into the hall by a woman and two men. I recognised the woman, as Alice had run to her after Ebony shooed her away.
“Domino and Maya, you will be with the Baxter's. Sue will take you with her now and get you both settled in,” said Brent.
“I'd prefer to stay with my partner,” said Lark. “Why can't we all stay together here?”
“This is no place for us to house guests. This is a place of worship, the house of God. We use it as our church not a home. The Baxters are only comfortable hosting two women, which I'm sure you'll understand. You will be staying next door with Vega at the Stiller's.”
“I'll go with Maya so Domino can be with Lark,” offered Vega.
“If you would like to remain guests and not prisoners in our camp then you'll do as I've requested. If you're unsure you're more than welcome to ask Aurora and Braven what they thought of the hole.” Brent's eyes glared over us all. Message received. Although staying in the hole seemed it may be the better option. Something was going on with the way he was splitting us up and I didn't like it.
Lark clenched his fists at his sides but they relaxed as Domino wrapped him in a tight hug and whispered in his ear.
The four of them left the building with their families' representatives, leaving Fletcher, Braven and me behind.
“Aurora, you will be staying with my lovely wife Lula and I, along with Tyler and his sister Alice who I've heard has taken quite a liking to you already,” instructed Brent.
“I would like it if Aurora could stay with me. We've been separated for four years,” said Dad.
“I understand why you'd want her to stay with you. Given how unexpected your reunion was, I think it would be best for your relationship if you didn't live together. Give yourselves time to build your relationship back up.”
“You think we're going to scheme against you, don't you? It's why you're separating us,” said Braven.
“Yes. You most of all. I don't trust any of you and not one of you have given me reason to. So yes, for now I'll keep you separated until I decide you are deemed worthy of my trust.”
I gulped at his words. Did he expect to get something out of me if he got me alone?
“Come Aurora. Ben, would you kindly show Fletcher and Braven to your quarters. Seth will be staying with you too. I'm sure you're all ready for a comfortable bed,” said Brent.
Fletcher stepped towards him and I wrapped my arms around him.
“I just got you back and it feels like I'm losing you again,” he whispered in my ear.
“I'm not going anywhere. Keep your eyes and ears open,” I replied.
He released me and we locked eyes before Braven distracted us.
“You'll be okay. I might not be under your roof but I've got your back,” said Braven.
“And I've got yours,” I replied.
“Talk soon sweetheart, okay?” said my dad.
Unable to answer with my throat constricting, I swallowed hard and straightened my spine. I had to stay strong. I watched as the three of them left the hall followed by Seth leaving me alone with Brent and his wife.
Lula was quite an attractive woman with her long straight blonde hair flowing over her lean shoulders. Her high cheekbones were flushed a light pink and she wore a pink floral dress.
“I promise you'll like the small room I've set up for you Aurora. You'll be staying in Alice's room and she's excited. I hope you've always wanted a younger sister.” Lula's sweet voice sounded as though it was covering a secret. It was too sweet, sickly so.
“I've been happy being an only child, but seems I don't have much of a choice in the matter,” I replied.
Brent gritted his teeth, his nostrils flaring before he drew in a deep breath and his tight lips settled into a smile. “I suspect your late mother taught you manners and you will respect my wife while you're in her home.”
He knew nothing about my mother. Manners were not on her list of priorities. She was happy if I could take care of myself without bothering her most of the time. I chose to keep my mouth shut and followed Lula as she left the room. Brent stopped to talk in a heated tone to Marg and Bess, and I stepped through the doorway to find Seth's eyes trained on me from a few dwellings away. What was the guy's problem? Hadn't he seen a fellow redhead before?
Chapter Six
“It must've been quite a shock,” said Lula, she waved to someone calling her name as we walked down a pathway.
“What was a shock?” I asked.
“Finding out your dad was alive and well. And living in our camp.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, but I've had a lot of shocks lately.”
“That doesn't sound nice. Would you like to talk about it?” she asked.
It was then I realised she was sweet talking me into telling her the truth. They didn't believe a word of Lark's story.
“No, not really.” I replied.
She stopped in front of a dwelling. “This is our place. It's the biggest in town but with two kids it can get a bit crowded. If you ever need to talk, I'm always here.”
I ignored her offer as we stepped up onto the front porch. The door swung open before we reached it and little Alice burst through.
“Aurora! Did you know you get to sleep in my room? I have to sleep on a cot but you'll let me sleep with you if I'm scared, won't you?” Alice took hold of my index finger and led me inside.
“Let her settle in first Alice,” Lula called after us, but Alice ignored her dragging me through the doorway.
Catching a glimpse of the small living area at the front of the dwelling I could make out what looked like a place for a fire and a brightly coloured woven rug on the floor with cushions scattered around it. She dragged me down a narrow hallway with doorways leading off it and through a beige curtain into a small bedroom.
Stepping through the doorway Alice's room was smaller than I'd expected. They'd divided the room in half, with one half being bare except for a bed and a small cupboard and the other with a cot, cupboard, and handmade toys on the floor. You could walk across it in two big strides.
“I drew you a picture to hang on your wall,” she said releasing my hand and rummaging through her things.
She held out a piece of paper that'd been folded at all sorts of angles and she bounced on her toes excitedly as she waited for me to look. Unfolding the paper I found myself staring at curved lines of all different colours and an animal of some sort in the bottom corner.
“You know, I'm not from here so you might have to tell me what you drew.” I knelt down to her height and she came to stand beside me and peer down at her picture.
“This is a rainbow. Have you seen one?” she asked me.
“No, we didn't see much weather at all on Utopia,” I replied.
Her mouth dropped open in shock. “What about rain? Or storms, have you ever seen a storm?”
“We could see the flashes from lightning sometimes on Utopia. But I've been in my first storms here on Earth.”
“Rainbows come out in the sky after it's rained. They're beautiful.” She pointed to the curved coloured lines on the paper.
“If your drawing is anything to go by they must be.” I gave her a wink. “You know we didn't have animals on Utopia either. What's this?”
“Oh, this is my most favourite animal. It's a pony.” She beamed.
“A p
ony hey, what should we name her?” I tapped at my lips with my index finger, in fake thought.
“Sparkle Princess,” she answered with a sharp nod.
“Sparkle Princess. I like it. How can I hang this over the bed?”
Alice took the drawing from my hands and rummaged through her cupboard before climbing up onto the bed and pushing a sharp pin through the picture and into the wall.
“Beautiful,” I said.
“I hope you like it. I know you don't want to be here and my friends weren't being nice to you, but they've decided they like you now.”
“I love it. Thank you,” I said before being wrapped in Alice's arms.
I may not have liked anyone else I'd met in the camp, but Alice's naïve and genuine personality made me relax. I had to make sure it didn't let down my guard.
“Aurora,” Lula's head appeared through the curtain making me jump and Alice stepped away from me. “Hope you aren't annoying Aurora, Alice.”
“Not at all,” I said, giving Alice a reassuring wink.
“Good to hear you're getting along then. Dinner is ready and I've found you some spare clothes that should fit. Your guard uniform is unnerving some of our residents. Come on Alice, we'll get you washed up for dinner.”
Alice ran towards Lula's outstretched arm and took her hand before disappearing behind the curtain. I let out a long breath I hadn't realised I was holding. There was something in the way Lula spoke I couldn't put my finger on. Her personality appeared kind and it was disarming, but there was an underlying unease it wasn't genuine. Brent had separated me from my friends and my dad for a reason and I was going to have to be careful befriending Alice didn't mean I let them in. I hoped my friends were okay. At least they weren't completely alone.
“Aurora, it's on the table. I don't want it to go cold,” Lula sang out from the kitchen. This lady had said more words to me in the past few hours than my own mum had said in four years. But I'd felt safe with my mother despite the lack of conversation.
Drawing in a deep breath I exhaled loudly, straightened my back, squared my shoulders and stepped out through the curtains into the hallway. My nostrils were instantly greeted by the delicious smell of meat and herbs and I followed it to where Lula and Alice sat around a wooden table with Brent and Tyler. When they'd arrived back I didn't know, but I wasn't exactly comfortable having to play happy families with them all. Although Tyler didn't look too impressed at my being there either.
“Aurora, I trust you're settling in well,” said Brent.
“I drew her a picture of a rainbow and a pony,” said Alice, “she loved it.”
“I bet she did,” replied Brent “but remember, we let Aurora answer for herself, don't we?”
Alice dropped her gaze to the table, “yes.”
“Yes who?” he asked.
“Yes Dada,” she replied.
“Here Aurora, have a seat beside Alice,” suggested Lula and I pulled out the wooden chair beside Alice's and sat.
In front of me was a bowl of steaming soup and my stomach growled at the smell. Lifting my spoon the booming sound of Brent's voice made me jump and I dropped it with a clang on the table.
“Aurora! We don't eat until we've said grace.” The second half of his sentence was much calmer, but I couldn't help but think he was struggling to rein in his frustration with me.
“She doesn't know what a God is. She doesn't know what religion is. And you're going to make her do this?” snapped Tyler like a moody teenager.
Brent gritted his teeth. “Yes. Aurora has lead a sinful life and wasn't taught what our saviour did for us. But it's not her fault and it's up to us to teach her our ways.”
“Your ways. These were not the ways of mine and Alice's parents,” Tyler argued.
Brent's nostrils flared and his knuckles went white as he clenched them tighter. “Lula and I are your parents.”
Tyler rose from the table. “No, you aren't. My parents died because you sent them into dangerous territory then you claimed us without asking what we wanted. Come on Alice let's get out of here.”
Lula rose from her seat her hand pressing down on Alice's shoulder to keep her seated. Lula's eyes burned into Tyler's but he didn't back down. “You ungrateful little brat,” she spat at him. “Your parents died protecting this camp and we were gracious enough to take you in. Now sit down and eat the meal I prepared for you.”
“You didn't prepare this, you got your slaves to do it,” Tyler leaned closer to her face.
Lula reached her hand up and slapped Tyler hard across the face. A red mark welting up on his cheek. “You will sit down and eat your dinner or you'll be thrown in the hole.”
I gulped, remembering the darkness and the filthiness of the hole. Tyler thought for a moment, his eyes flitting to his sister who had silent tears running over her pink cheeks. He slowly sank back onto his chair and bowed his head. Satisfied she'd gotten her point across Lula sat down, her scowl now replaced with a friendly smile.
I sat stunned unsure where to look. Was Tyler rebelling to show me what Brent and Lula were like? Or was it all staged to show me I wasn't to argue?
Brent bowed his head as did the others and I followed suit. “Thank you, Lord, for the food we are about to receive, and for the nourishment to our bodies. Blessed are we to have our beautiful children and we pray you watch over them and guide them as they continue through this life. In Christ's name, Amen.”
The word Amen was echoed around the table then everyone picked up their spoons and began to eat. Following their lead, I picked up my own spoon and began to scoop the soup into my mouth.
“Alice honey, why don't you tell Dada what you did today,” suggested Lula.
The way Brent and Lula attempted to look like a 'normal' family made me queasy. They were completely oblivious to the way Tyler squared his jaw and swallowed hard. And the way Alice's voice quivered as she answered, trying to remain her happy joyful self. Dad had been right. We couldn't trust these people, they were freaking nuts. But how were we going to escape when Brent had separated us and we couldn't talk? Lark would work it out, he always did. But how long did I have to live with these terrible people before he did? Looking to Alice I yearned to save her from them. It would be hard to travel to Eden with a child in tow, but I couldn't imagine leaving her to live a life with those horrible people.
I paused in my thoughts. Could I trust the argument was real? Were they trying to get under my skin? Looking towards Tyler's scowl and watching his deep swallows I couldn't believe his raw emotion was an act. Alice feared these people, the colour had drained from her face and there was an underlying tension in every exchange. Tyler wasn't in their alliance. He was there out of fear for his sister, not because he chose to be. Tyler was the key. I needed to speak to him alone. How I was going to convince him to listen to me I had no idea.
After dinner Brent and Lula carried on as though the scene at the dinner table hadn't occurred. After my shower I dried off and picked up the pile of clothing Lula had given me. I unfolded a knee length, light pink shirt, and a pair of underwear. The shirt looked like a dress with frilly short sleeves. I hated it. And it made me hate the fact I had to stay with her and her deranged husband even more. When I woke up in the morning I was going to demand she give me something normal to wear.
After begrudgingly pulling it over my head I stare at myself in the small round mirror running my fingers through my clean auburn hair. It was refreshing to be clean again. Pulling my hair up into a ponytail revealed how much my escape to Earth had impacted me. My cheeks were much more sunken than they'd been on Utopia making me look older than I was. My skin was a few shades darker and dark rings had formed under my eyes. As much as I hated to admit it, some food, and a comfortable place to sleep was going to do me some good. At least my shoulder would get a chance to heal.
Making my way to my shared bedroom, I tiptoed so I didn't wake a sleeping Alice. Lying in bed I stared at the ceiling.
“Aurora? Are you awake?” A
lice's small voice sounded from the other side of the room.
I rolled over onto my side to face her. “Sure am. I thought you were asleep.”
“I was waiting for you.”
“Well, I'm here now, you can go to sleep.”
“Are you scared?” she asked, her bottom lip quivering.
I thought on it for a moment. Part of me wanted to lie to her, tell her I wasn't scared of anything. But look where lies had gotten me. “Yes, but I'm also brave.”
“How can you be scared and brave?” she asked confused.
“You can only ever be brave if you're scared first,” I said. “Being brave means facing whatever is scaring you.”
She thought on my words for a moment. “I hope one day I'm as brave as you.”
“You already are,” I told her.
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
“Aurora?”
“Yes Alice?”
“I know you don't want to be here with us. But I'm glad you are.”
Chapter Seven
In my dreams I ran through the trees of the rainforest, dodging low lying branches and fronds whipping me across the face. Someone chased closely behind me, the sound of their ragged breaths and crunching feet had my heart thumping rapidly in my chest. As I pushed another branch out of my way my legs began to grow heavier and despite how fast I tried to run my body was moving in slow motion. Struggling to lift my feet, as though I was moving through thick mud, I turned to come face to face with my pursuer.
“There you are,” the deep voice of Officer Banks growled at me.
I opened my mouth but no words came out as he raised his fire arm towards my forehead. Flashes of memories paraded through my mind. My mother's body slumping over, Alan's blood-soaked body on the floor of the flight deck, Alber's grey skin and empty eyes.
“I told you I'd find you,” he said, pulling me from the frightening images, and squeezed the trigger.
* * *
My eyes tore open with a start and my arms flailed as I attempted to turn over, but I found myself wrapped up in my blanket. Untangling myself I looked across to Alice who was sleeping peacefully. Her chest only rising and falling enough to show she was breathing. Laying back on my pillow I stare at the ceiling waiting for my heartbeat to slow and to be able to catch my breath. I would've given anything to have Fletcher there to talk to. He'd have known what to say to help me shake the horrible visions in my dream. It was another stark reminder I was alone.
Eden (Secrets of Aurora Book 2) Page 5