Desmond would survive this. He would kill the monsters and find his way out. Then he would kill the traitor. Desmond took silent aim at the clicking, no longer worried about his itchy trigger finger, eager to use it in fact, and thankful for the darkness that made accidents easy.
John had betrayed him, lured him into a cave to get swallowed by death. He had probably been mocking him with all that insincere hokum about The Prophet and The Word. Desmond didn’t know what kind of mind fuck or game John was playing, but he would pay for it all, and with interest, for this and for leaving them stranded last October.
Desmond inched forward, but his foot found a wrong step, followed by a second that made the first look graceful. He fell forward, hard, trying to catch himself with the balls of his palms. He missed, landing with the point of his chin instead. His gun didn’t go off but landed and bounced with a clatter into the darkness and out of sight.
SHIT!
Desmond felt around for the gun but found nothing, the ground cold, wet, and sticky to the touch.
That’s when he stood and the panic got mean.
Something brushed his arm and the clicking screamed in his ear, like an army of aluminum cockroaches. Piss flooded the front of his pants, rolling down Desmond’s leg. Desmond fell to the ground, searching frantically for the gun. The weird lights beneath the creatures’ skin pulsed and faded, never “on” long enough for Desmond to get a bead on exactly where they were. Desmond wondered if they’d evolved a way to turn their lights off when hunting.
The clicking intensified, and he felt the thing next to him, surely ready to strike.
Desmond’s hands were everywhere, but the gun wasn’t. And the clicking was now loud enough to be the last thing he ever heard. Without his gun, Desmond was dead. The clicking promised just seconds of breath. Desmond inhaled and prepared to die, just as invisible hands found him in the darkness.
The hand over his mouth made him choke on his panic. He fought hard to keep the whimper inside, and wasn’t sure if John’s sudden whisper in his ear made things worse. “Shh, they’ll hear you,” he said.
John’s left hand dragged Desmond to the back wall of the cave, slowly, a half step at a time, none of them tentative. John could feel John’s right hand, holding the gun in front of them, sweeping back and forth, probing the darkness for “demons.” When they reached the wall, John released Desmond and took a step to the side, still silent.
Desmond’s heartbeat was thunder in the cave. The clicking grew indecisive, suddenly flying this way and that, in and out of earshot like a bad connection. Just when the clicking sounded like it had receded, it was suddenly on top of them. Desmond lost it and finally screamed. John didn’t. He opened fire, nearly making them deaf five times in short succession.
Then silence, save for Desmond’s pounding heart, which he swore echoed back to him off the cave walls. John’s flashlight returned from the dead, momentarily blinding Desmond’s sight. He squinted in agony to make sense of the scene. After a few more seconds, his eyes better adjusted, the full carnage came into view: two fallen monsters lay still, their bodies oozing goo and cast in an artificial glow. The lights in their skin pulsed slowly and fading.
Desmond listened for more clicking, but after hearing nothing but the ringing in his ears for a minute, he exploded at John. “What the hell?!” he shouted.
John said nothing, which he was clearly good at. Desmond spotted his gun under the dawn of John’s light, then knelt to retrieve it. “Why didn’t you answer me?”
“Because I didn’t want to die.” John waited half a minute, maybe he wanted to let it sink in, or maybe he thought Desmond would want a turn to speak. Or maybe he didn’t think he needed to explain himself further. He finally said, “My light died, then I heard the Demons. Soon as I heard their clicking, I closed my mouth so I wouldn't draw any attention. That’s when you started getting loud and moving around and generally letting the Demons know where the party was. Naturally, that’s when they started closing in. I couldn't exactly yell at you to stop moving, so I just kept hoping you would. Only break we got was when you fell, and then only for a moment.”
John could have mentioned the piss, since there was no hiding the scent of ammonia mingling with the ancient sour inside the cave. Or he could have mentioned Desmond’s scream, or anything else really. He had saved his life after all. Desmond felt a wave of guilt as he realized he’d cast John as Judas in his head just a few minutes earlier, ready to end his life.
“Sorry.”
John said, “Don’t worry about it. Just ...”
The sudden crackle from John’s radio finished his sentence.
It was Lenny, one of the soldiers at The Sanctuary. “Brother John? We found ‘em.”
John lifted the receiver to his lips. “Where were they?”
A crackle of static, then, “They were down by the river if you can believe it. Having a picnic.”
“Are they in custody?”
Another crackle, then, “Yes, sir. Brother Eli and I are headed back with them now.”
“Thanks, Lenny,” John said, “See you back at The Sanctuary.”
They never finished their conversation. John said, “They’re safe. It’s time to get back.” He stepped past Desmond, then left the cave and headed back over the hill toward the Audi. Desmond followed close behind, a chill accompanying the crunch of every leaf.
* * * *
REBECCA SNOW: PART 2
The white Suburban drove through the front gates of The Sanctuary, then pulled into the courtyard. The driver’s side door opened and Lenny, the man Rebecca overheard Desmond call an “all-purpose grunt,” opened the back door. Rebecca and Carl stepped from the vehicle, heads hung, and were met by Eli who got out from the passenger side, then led them across The Sanctuary courtyard to the site of the unfinished church. A group of watchers were waiting and working, including some of the new people: the man-boy Luca, Paola and her mother, Mary, and the weird old guy, Will.
Mary smiled at her, but she could tell it was a fake smile masking sadness, like there were words she couldn’t say. Paola’s mom seemed so nice, not like Mother at all.
Mother had been terrifying for a while, especially when they were alone. Rebecca couldn't imagine how Mother was going to respond to her getting caught on a picnic with Carl, but she was terrified. Mother would give her a beating for sure, and might make her do the starving secret, where she was only allowed to eat if someone was watching. Otherwise, she had to spit out most of her food for a week. That’s what she made her do the last time, when she asked if God was wrong for leaving them behind.
Whatever happened, it was going to be terrible. While Rebecca wasn’t afraid Mother would kill her, she was pretty sure she’d make her wish she was dead. Mother was almost always quiet in front of others, particularly the men, whom you were supposed to always obey. But behind closed doors her hiss was loud and her fangs sank deep.
Rebecca trembled with every step, doing everything she could to keep her knees from knocking. Carl walked beside her. Rebecca could feel her hand drawn to his, could feel herself wanting to take it. Could feel him wanting it, too. But she ignored the feeling and kept walking forward, both arms dangling limp at her side. Their picnic had been so magical before the men showed up. She’d never met anyone so interested in what she had to say, and who seemed to find her so pretty.
Mother was crossing the courtyard from the far end, approaching Eli and the juvenile outlaws. Her walk was steady and chin straight, eyes sailing straight through Rebecca on their way to Eli.
Mother stood a few feet from them. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Eli, her voice barely above a whisper.
There were a few dozen eyes on Rebecca, but they felt like a million. In addition to her friend Paola and all the other “new people” watching her, Rebecca could feel the judging eyes from Brother Rei, standing at the edge of the onlookers, eyes moving from Mother to the open book in the palm of his hand.
Brother Rei took a
step forward and opened his mousey mouth. “You realize The Prophet will have no choice but to hold court and declare judgment, don’t you?”
Mother nodded.
Brother Rei held the book open for Mother, then led her eyes to where he wanted them to go with his finger. He cast a disapproving glance at Carl then turned his stare to Rebecca. Mother didn’t need to see whatever Brother Rei had in the book. Rebecca thought The Prophet and Mother seemed to share a brain. Most of the time when The Prophet was speaking, Rebecca thought it sounded just like Mother, only fancier. She knew the Book of The Sanctuary Law as well as any of them.
“Of course, Brother Rei,” Mother said. “I completely understand. The Prophet has my full support. What is done is done, and whatever is needed to right the ship before it sinks is fine with me. The child’s soul must be saved.” Mother was still looking at Brother Rei, but directing her words at Rebecca when she said, “She made her bed; she deserves to lie in it and sleep beneath the soiled covers.”
Mother finally turned to Rebecca and pressed her fingers into her cheeks, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to let Rebecca know there was another round coming later, behind closed doors, hidden from the curious eyes of the congregation. She pursed her lips and hissed, “I will not raise another harlot.”
She released Rebecca’s face with a jerking motion and pinch, then turned to Carl. Her voice grew louder and she said, “You will both face the consequences.” Then, almost at a yell and with her finger just an inch from his face, she said, “You should know better. How old are you?”
“Fifteen, ma’am,” Carl said, eyes in the dirt.
“What did you do to my daughter?”
“Nothing, ma’am.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Mother growled. “Did you take her virginity?”
Carl looked up, visibly shocked. Rebecca cried out, “Mother!” embarrassed and afraid for Carl.
“No, ma’am,” he shook his head. “It was nothing like that. We just set down for a picnic, that was all.”
“I told you not to lie to me!” Spit flew from Mother’s mouth. She was losing her temper publicly, for the first time since arriving at Sanctuary.
“It’s okay Sarah,” Brother Rei said, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder, his beady eyes glistening with secret pleasure. “All is well and as it should be according to The Good Lord’s Plan. You need not worry about a thing. We’ll take it from here. Brother Paul,” he said, turning to the man in robes behind him. “Please take the boy to the stockade immediately. I will be in to question him shortly.”
“No!” Rebecca cried. No one responded out loud, though Paola looked like she was going to cry, and Mary looked like she wanted to pull Rebecca into a hug. Luca’s eyes were pointed right at her, but it looked like they were focused on something she couldn't see, off in “Luca land,” as some of the kids had commented behind his back. The soldiers all looked mad at her. The old man just looked mad.
Brother Rei turned to Mother. “Clearly, young Rebecca cannot be trusted, so we’ll be moving her from the girls’ quarters back to her lodging with you. That way you can keep an eye on her. If that’s okay, of course,” he lowered his head and waited for Mother to respond. Rebecca decided she hated Brother Rei.
“Of course,” Mother said, and turned to the crowd, though Rebecca could tell her words were meant mostly for the newcomers. “I apologize that my daughter caused all of this trouble, and for bringing shame to The Sanctuary.”
The old man, Will, said, “No trouble at all, ma’am. We’re just happy she was found safe. No harm done.” Rebecca didn’t miss the glance Will gave Brother Rei after the “no harm done” comment.
Mother gave Will a dirty look disguised inside a quiet stare, then shoved Rebecca into the first step toward their lodging, hand tight around the girl’s neck as she pushed her forward. It wasn’t until they were on the other side of the front door when Mother’s fingers twisted inside Rebecca’s hair and she yanked them at the root.
“You will get every bit of what’s coming to you, child,” she said. “And praise be to The Good Lord for making it happen. Thanks to His Glory, there’s hope for you yet.”
“Yes, Mother, thank the Lord.”
* * * *
DESMOND ARMSTRONG: PART 3
Desmond and John traveled back to The Sanctuary in near-silence. Desmond wasn’t much in the mood for conversation. Thankfully, John’s one-word answers to his sparse comments obliged. When they finally returned, the dust had already settled on the situation, and everyone had resumed their regularly scheduled stations.
John parked the Audi in the hangar and both men stepped from the car. John held his hand out to Desmond. “I’m going to see Rei,” he said. “I’ll take your firearm to him now and save you the trip.”
Desmond nodded, pulled the gun from his waistband, and handed it to John.
“You coming to lunch?”
John nodded. “See you there for sure.”
Will and Mary were digging in the dirt, each filling their own basket with ripe tomatoes. Desmond approached them from behind, then leaned to a squat and whispered. “These people are freaks. We need to get out of here, like yesterday.”
Will set a tomato at the bottom of the basket, then looked up at Desmond. “You got somewhere better for us to go?”
Desmond wore the same defeated look he always got when Will made his usual single sentence argument. He stood, deciding to say nothing about John’s overwhelming creepiness, or the two monsters they left lying in the cave. Desmond pivoted his gaze across the courtyard, along the short row of three houses, then over to the communication tower, and hangar, before looking over everything a second time and kneeling back down.
“So what happened with the kids?”
Will and Mary took turns telling Desmond what happened. Will’s story focused on Rei, Mary’s on Sarah.
“Where’s Carl at now?” Desmond said.
Will pointed to a set of double doors leading to a basement beneath the third house. “Looks like that’s where they keep the sinners,” he said.
Desmond shook his head, then threw a rock from the garden toward the dust of the courtyard. “It’s bad enough we ended up shacking at the bullshit factory, but it’s a crying shame we have to pick their tomatoes, too.”
Mary looked hurt, Will didn’t even look up. A door slammed in the distance, instantly attracting Desmond’s eyes away from his friends to the possible threats approaching from behind.
John and Rei were a few feet away and smiling. John held his smile as Rei opened his mouth. “Brother Desmond, Brother Will, we thought it would be a good idea if you came and witnessed the hearing.”
Desmond didn’t say anything since fuck you probably wouldn't have done much good, and might have put Will and Mary, and maybe the rest of their crew, in danger. Desmond didn’t care about himself, but he wasn’t willing to put anyone he cared about in jeopardy, at least not intentionally.
John stepped into Desmond’s silence. “If you’re going to be a part of The Sanctuary, you must know how our justice system works and see it in action.”
I have a pretty good idea, Desmond thought, but said, “What makes you think I’m gonna like what I see?”
“Nothing,” John shook his head. “I don’t think you’ll like it at all, actually. Which is exactly why you need to see it. If you want to live here, you must understand our law.”
He didn’t wait for Desmond to answer, simply cut through the courtyard a few steps behind Rei, expecting that Desmond, and whoever decided to join him, would follow.
***
Every stair creaked on the way down to the otherwise silent basement. The right side of the room looked like a carpenter’s workstation with hunks of painted wood, finishing tools, and an abandoned construction project, which filled the space with the scent of pine. The left side reminded Desmond of a dungeon.
Carl was on the left side, strapped to the wall like a medieval torture victim. Will and Desmond pau
sed in the doorway, as though their bodies refused to push them further inside. John and Rei entered in perfect step, stopping just three feet from Carl’s tortured face.
The boy was silent, though his eyes said plenty. A bead of sweat fled his forehead and spilled to the cement to punctuate his terror.
John took a step back and crossed his arms, watching. Rei took a step forward and started to pace, waving his hands in the air. “You know how God feels about liars, right?”
The way the kid flinched a second early, Desmond figured Rei’s act was a routine. Brother Rei’s palm met the side of the child’s face, sending Carl’s head reeling to the side. Carl righted his head and looked back at Rei. Rei smiled and tucked Carl’s damp hair behind his ear with a smile.
He turned his back to Carl and started to pace. “I’m going to ask you to tell me what happened again.” He turned back to Carl. “And this time, I pray you have the sense to tell me the Good Lord’s truth. Now, Carl, what happened between you and the girl?”
“Nothing, like I said. I asked her if she would have a picnic with me. She said yes, and we went near the river by her old house. That’s it.”
“Yet, you knew this was forbidden at The Sanctuary, did you not?”
At first Carl said nothing, but then he started nodding his head. “Yes, yes I did, sir. I’m sorry, really I am. I just wanted a moment with her, away from all this. I didn’t mean nothing by it.”
“It’s okay,” Rei’s voice softened. “Who could blame you after all?”
Carl looked confused, but hopeful. Rei continued. “She’s a pretty girl, isn’t she?”
Carl nodded.
Rei continued, “Fair skinned, long, beautiful red hair, and budding breasts. Who wouldn’t want to touch? Obviously the girl seduced you. You had no choice. You only took the apple because it was so freely handed to you.”
Carl was still confused, but it looked like he was starting to figure it out. He shook his head and said, “No, I’m the one who asked her. Rebecca’s real shy; she won’t even ask me if I’m thirsty half the time.”
Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone) Page 22