by Valerie Puri
“Do you think it has something to do with what happened last night?” Travis asked.
“I don’t know,” Jennie said. “But we need to find out what’s going on. Be prepared for anything.”
“If we run into Sash, we may not be able to come back here, so bring anything that you can’t leave behind,” Ethan added.
“Ethan is coming with us? What if someone sees him?” Travis asked.
“I really don’t think it makes a difference now,” Belle said scornfully. “I hope people do see Ethan. Maybe then they will start realizing all of the lies Victor and this Order have been feeding us.”
“It’s something we have to take a chance with,” Jennie said, a little uncomfortably. She didn’t want anything to happen to Ethan, and she wasn’t sure wandering the streets was safe for him. “Get your things.”
The four of them gathered their belongings and climbed down the loft ladder. Jennie felt saddened at the prospect of not being able to return to her horses. She pushed the notion from her mind and resolved to address the possibility if it should come up, and only then. They left the warmth of the stable behind, and Jennie slid the barn door shut behind them.
They walked together in a group through the narrow streets leading to the town square. As they got closer, more people emerged from buildings and alleys, joining the four of them as they walked. Jennie could overhear the uncertain conversations of the people around her as they walked closer to the source of the ominous tolling.
“What is happening?” one woman said to a stout man.
The man leaned in close to her as they walked and said in a hushed voice, “I heard we don’t have enough food for winter. The fall crops have all gone bad, that’s what that smell is.”
The woman cried out with concern. Another woman spoke to the stout man urgently, “That’s not what I was told. There was an accident in the medical facility, and now some people have gone missing.”
Jennie tuned out the chatter around her. The chances were high that these statements were grossly inaccurate and nothing more than rumors spawned by desperate people seeking answers. They approached the square where a large crowd was gathering. Jennie’s hand found Ethan’s, and she interlaced her fingers in his. She linked her other arm with Belle’s and noticed Belle put her arm around Travis’ shoulder. At least now they couldn’t get separated, Jennie thought.
They pressed forward into the dense crowd and tried to blend in. The four of them stood silently beside each other and looked up at the bell tower above the school. It was strange facing the school building where this had all begun for Jennie. The bell finally stopped tolling, and the crowd fell silent. The silence was deafening. Jennie trembled with anticipation. Ethan gently squeezed her hand and Belle pressed closer to her.
A figure emerged from the bell tower and stood on the roof of the schoolhouse. Jennie’s mouth fell open, and the crowd around her murmured with confused sensationalism. This was not at all who Jennie had expected to see calling the Commune together. The name of the bold figure standing on the roof escaped Jennie’s lips in a whisper, “Marlene.”
Jennie had never seen Marlene look as she did now. She was not wearing the long purple robes of a Commune Elder, but she was wearing the lightweight leather armor of a warrior. The early sun silhouetted Marlene’s body, and a blade hung from her belt. Marlene spoke in a voice that commanded the attention of everyone gathered.
“People of the Commune. You have all been taken for fools.” Cries of protest spread through the crowd. Marlene held up her arms beckoning for silence. “There is darkness gathering at the wall. The lemerons are coming to destroy us. This is no accident. This is the work of another darkness which has taken root within the Commune.”
Marlene paused and scanned the crowd. No one said a word. “There is a group of people seeking to overthrow the framework of our society. In doing so they have created – created – dociles. Anyone who has stood against them has been taken and forcefully turned into a mindless creature. James Townsend, Eleanor Townsend, Madam Marie, and Belle Joiner. All of these people were taken. If they are lucky, they are dead.”
Jennie realized that Marlene wouldn’t know yet that Belle was safe – at least for the time being. Jennie looked the crowd. The majority of the Commune people were completely fixated on Marlene and what she was saying. There were other people in the crowd who were moving deliberately toward the schoolhouse. Something about the way these people moved seemed threatening. Could these be members of the Order? Jennie wondered as a chill ran down her spine.
One of the people walking to the building stopped. It was a man with a hooked nose and he wore an expression of malice. He shouted up to Marlene. “Victor explained to us that these people wandered outside the walls and were taken by lemerons. There is no evidence that they were abducted by anyone here.”
Another one of these people, presumably from the Order, stopped and shouted out, “That’s right. Where is your proof?”
Belle cleared her throat as if she were about to speak. Jennie pulled her close and hissed “No,” in her ear. Jennie knew that Belle could easily debunk what these Order people were claiming. Jennie must have missed the announcement that Belle supposedly wondered off and was taken by lemerons. “You do not want these people finding out that you escaped.”
Belle nodded. “You’re right. It’s better that they think I’m still their prisoner,” she whispered.
Jennie looked around the crowd again and saw that they were riled up. Confusion was giving way to frustration. Many in the crowd murmured agreement with the two people from the Order. Jennie’s legs were quivering. Where were the Truth Seekers to offer the truth?
“Do not listen to them.” Marlene barked. “These are the very people who have brought destruction to the Commune. They call themselves ‘The Order’ and they want nothing more than to destroy everything the Commune was built upon. Their plan is to slowly remove all those they deem undesirable. They feel that we, the undesirables, are syphoning their resources and pose a threat to them. They want to create a society full of mindless dociles where the Order members are the only ones who retain their free will.”
The crowd was quiet again. Jennie’s excitement was growing. Marlene was doing it. She was spreading the truth and actually doing something. Jennie eagerly looked at the faces around her and saw that her fellow townspeople were equally outraged by what they were hearing.
Marlene’s voice rang out as clearly as the bell she had been ringing. “By abducting anyone who stands against the Order and by turning them into dociles, the Order has created a sensory beacon for the lemerons. The lemerons are drawn to the dociles as well as each other. I have been to the wall, and I have seen the storm that gathers there.”
“What is the meaning of this?” A commanding male voice interrupted Marlene. Jennie looked in the direction of the voice, and there stood Victor on the steps of the Sanctuary. “My friends, do not fall for such folly. This tirade of Marlene’s is preposterous and unfounded.”
“Listen not to what this man says,” Marlene shouted. “There are hundreds of lemerons gathering at the walls, and more are coming every day. This is all a direct result of the atrocities committed by the Order. Victor wants to call my claims baseless, because he is the leader of the Order. The smell in the air is the stench of the lemerons. If you do not believe me, let your nose decide. Go to the wall and see for yourselves if you must.”
“Preposterous,” Victor managed to say before the crowd drowned out his voice with angry shouts. Jennie saw her father, Jack Caraway, and a couple of farmers move toward Victor. They took hold of him, and Jack secured Victor’s hands with rope. She felt a surge of pride that her father was on the right side. The crowd cheered as the corrupt Elder, Victor Glassman, was deposed.
Marlene raised her hand, and the crowd fell silent. “This started because of the creation of more dociles. This can end with the saving of the dociles. We are not beyond hope. We must no longer take ill advice fr
om those who seek to destroy us from within. Only then can we continue our scientific research towards the reversal of the docile condition. Once we return them to their human state, the beacon within our walls which draws the lemerons to us will be no more.”
Cheers of consent rose from the crowd. “Once we have achieved this, we can face the problem of the lemerons gathering at our wall. The wall is sound, but it may not keep out the growing number of lemerons for long,” Marlene paused, as if to let the gravity of the situation sink in. “We require aide to defeat the lemerons. I must leave the Commune to seek out assistance from beyond the wall. I will return within a fortnight with our allies from the forest.”
Indistinguishable questions filled the air from everyone talking at once. Jennie knew the people were likely reacting as Jennie had when she found Ethan and learned that they were not the last remaining humans. She has done it. Jennie thought with newfound respect for Marlene, She held nothing back, everything is in the open now. Jennie squeezed Ethan’s hand to acknowledge that Marlene was talking about his people.
“She didn’t abandon you,” Jennie told Ethan. “Marlene thought it would be safer for you if you didn’t remain here. She wanted to protect you from the Order.”
Ethan looked at her with those green eyes that she adored, and he squeezed her hand. “Thank you. I’m starting to understand now,” he said. “And I remember where I saw the horse symbol before.” Ethan took the picture of him as a baby on Marlene’s lap from his back pocket and let it fall open in his hand. “The symbol is a pendant she is wearing.”
Jennie studied the photo with new eyes. Sure enough, hanging around Marlene’s neck was the symbol of the rearing horse surrounded by a circle of leaves.
“I can’t believe neither of us noticed it before,” Jennie said. “Marlene knows what it means, I’m sure of it. It must be significant if she has it embossed on her journal and for her to wear around her neck.”
“When I first met you, I said I probably wouldn’t be able to stay here very long.” Ethan’s emerald eyes held deep remorse as he spoke. “Now that we have come this far and after everything that we’ve been through, I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to leave you.” He looked up at the roof where Marlene was standing. “But there are too many questions that need to be answered.”
“I understand,” Jennie said. “If I had a second chance with my mother, I would take it too.” Jennie watched as Marlene turned to enter the bell tower. “She will be looking for you in the forest, you know?”
“I know.” Ethan nodded. “Not just me, but the rest of my people, too.”
“And she could probably use our help out there against the lemerons.”
“Our help?” Ethan raised an eyebrow and gave Jennie a playful smile.
Jennie returned the smile. “You didn’t think you were going alone, did you?”
This is the end of Book One in The Secret Archives Trilogy. Keep an eye out for Book Two in 2019.
Acknowledgments
There are many people who supported me throughout the process of writing and publishing this book. Without them, this story might have never made it onto paper. I would like to thank my wonderful husband who encourages me to keep writing and to keep finding new stories to tell. My family has been behind me every step of the way for which I am eternally grateful.
I would like to thank the great people who helped transform the early workings of this story into a published book. Thank you to my beta readers who took time out of their busy lives to read this story and provide their valuable feedback. Thank you to Brass Rag Press and Juli’s Elite Editing for providing their editing services. Thank you to the amazing Rene with Phycel Designs for making the interior of my book shine. Thank you to Covers by Christian for creating an amazing cover to help bring my vision to life.
A special thank you to my readers who chose to read this book. You have many books to choose from, and I am honored you selected my story. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this book. Thank you!
About the Author
Valerie Puri has always had a lifelong interest in all forms of artistic expression. She has tried her hand at many things, yet she always found her way back to reading and writing. With inspiration everywhere, she finally put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard) with the intent of publishing her stories.
Writing has always come naturally to Valerie, and for a time she even worked as a technical writer. She continues to hone her skills by having at least one writing project in the works at any given time. Her true passion lies in the freedom that comes with writing the stories that pour from her imagination and real life inspiration.
Valerie believes that the experiences we have in life are just stories waiting to be written.
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Previous Works:
The Crimson Tree
Second Chance in St. Louis