“What? Kissed me?” Her smile is shy and a wave of relief washes through me. “I don’t know if we’re promised or not. The Circle will decide if maybe in the next world, we should be united.”
Shit. The next world. The end of this world. My hands shake, not sure what to do or say anymore to convince Melanie.
I glance at Lila but she’s eating her oatmeal with a wince. I push my bowl to her so she eats a bit more. Sounding nonchalant requires all my strength. My hands clam up.
I have to believe my sister’s still in there. That I didn’t lose her the same moment I found her. “I want to see the stars,” I tell her and her eyes widen for a second.
“We can’t. Jeremiah and I watched the stars once but then he got in trouble with Master Abram. I don’t want him to get in trouble again.”
“Is Jeremiah Master Abram’s son?” I need to figure out the dynamics. I need to understand how her kidnapper works if I want even a small chance of escaping, of leaving a trace.
She shakes her head and sits next to me. “He’s not his son via blood but he’s his son spiritually. Abram saved him. Jeremiah was kicked out of the Circle for breaking the rules. Now, he obeys them. He obeys for me too.” Her voice is so familiar, but the way she speaks is almost foreign. She sounds like him. She has the same twang—more Georgian than Texan, and she has the same intonation. Those differences may be small, but they feel like punches to my heart. He changed her. No matter what comes next, he changed her.
I take a deep breath. She’s still there, sitting next to us. She’s looking at both Lila and me almost expectantly. I tilt my head to the side. “Do you remember the night we went to look at stars on the roof?”
She hugs herself and frowns like she’s straining to remember.
“It was the day Chris asked you out.”
She nods slowly. “He wanted to go with me to the Spring dance. He took Sheila instead.”
I jolt back. “How do you know he took Sheila?”
“Jeremiah told me. He showed me pictures.” Her voice becomes harder and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s really mad or because she’s still hurt by everything. “He showed me pictures of you laughing, of the ‘for sale’ sign in front of our home.”
“You don’t understand.”
She raises an eyebrow, and in that moment I want to throw my arms around her and hug her tightly. This eyebrow raising, despite all the changes, shows me Mellie, my Mellie’s still there. “I don’t understand?” Her laugh is sad. “I sent you letters. I never received any answers, and once the house was for sale? I knew you’d all moved on. Without me. He told me Dad left. He told me you and Mom were always together.”
“Because she needed me to not fall apart” I cry out. She doesn’t understand. She doesn’t want to understand. “You think they received the letters? You’re more lost than I thought. He never sent them!”
“They always came back not accepted. You guys moved and didn’t even care about me, you didn’t care if that was the only place I knew!” She rocks herself back and forth. “He’s the only one who cares.”
“He lied to you!” I am trying very hard to not raise my voice. “Why don’t you come out and see for yourself? If he really cared about you, wouldn’t he want you to make your own choices?” I tilt my head to the side. She’s biting her lip. And I don’t know what this means. I should know what it means. “And Lila? She can’t stay here forever.”
Her face turns ashen. “We won’t. We’re leaving tonight. The end of the world is coming. We need to be ready.”
My blood freezes. “What do you mean?” I thought I had more time to convince her or to escape or to find a solution.
She recites lines as if she’s learned them by heart. “And one day, when the time comes, the Circle will gather to see the Masters past and present reunite into the new world. The old will be new. The past will be present.”
Lila whimpers, “It’s the book. It’s the end of the book.”
Mellie smiles at her and reaches out to her, but Lila slides as far away as she can. “You’re right. You’re going to be home soon.”
Mellie slowly opens the latch again. “I know you’re thinking about escaping. I did too when I first arrived but it’s better here, I promise. Outside, people hurt you. They lie to you. They don’t care. They don’t accept the rules of Master Abram.” She frowns and bites her lip again. “Master Abram only wants the best for us.”
“You don’t believe that,” I whisper and she startles. “You believe your Jeremiah but not Master Abram.”
“I do,” she replies way too quickly.
“You said Jeremiah protected you from Master Abram. And now he wants to take you there. To die. Because that’s what is going to happen.”
She glances away. “The Circle knows best.”
She closes the latch again.
It seems Mellie’s been back upstairs forever. I’m not even sure Jeremiah is here. She could open the latch and let us all go.
Lila hasn’t moved from her spot in hours. I scrape the leftovers in the oatmeal bowl with the spoon Melanie gave us and nudge Lila. “You’ve got to eat something. You have to get strength for when people will find us.”
“Do you think my mom’s coming?”
I nod, even though her mom isn’t the person I want to see either. She’s into all of this. But if what Mellie said is true, she might be convinced to let us go.
“My mom used to hit Lacey and Luke,” she whispers. “But then she was crying, saying she was sorry. When Luke and I left I didn’t want to at first because I wanted to stay with Mom…but then I got to play soccer and go to school and I could laugh all the time.” She sounds conflicted and like she’s thought about this a lot. “I want to see Mom but I also want to keep on playing soccer.” She pauses. “If the end of the book is happening, Mom said we’d all go to sleep for a bit and then we’ll wake up happier.”
My throat tightens and fear grips my stomach into a tight fist. I can’t tell her how scared I am about this. I don’t want to die. I don’t want anyone to die. I need to think about something else. I close my eyes and force myself to breathe in and out, to think about Luke’s smile and what he’d do if he was the one here with his little sister. He’d distract her. “Do you want me to tell you another story?”
She shakes her head no and turns away from me, drawing something on the wall with her fingers. Then she nudges me, takes my hand in hers and brings it to the wall.
Someone’s carved letters, sentences on there. “What does it say? I can read but not everything yet and the letters are weird.”
“I don’t want to die – Isabel.”
Isabel. That’s the name Melanie said, that’s the one she said she killed. I can’t tell that to Lila. Sweat runs down my spine and my stomach clenches. I’m not only nervous and scared, I’m sick. I feel sick. This all seems too real. My hopes, on the other hand, seem like they’re the drops of sweat dying on the floor.
“What does it say?” Lila asks again, and it takes me another thirty seconds or so to gather my nerves back.
“I’m not sure,” I reply—lying never felt more necessary.
“There’s more,” Lila continues and my finger follows her path.
“I love you all and I miss you – Day 10 – Melanie”
“I will get out. I know I can – Day 35 – Melanie”
“Why didn’t you find me? – Day 100 – Melanie.”
“I’m going to die here. Day…- Melanie”
My heart breaks and my lower lip quivers. I’ve been trying to talk to Melanie like she was only gone yesterday or last week. She’s been gone for almost seven years; she lost all hope and she recreated herself with him. She thinks he saved her from us. And I’m starting to believe he may have saved her from someone worse.
“We’re going to leave a message too,” I tell Lila.
“For Luke?”
“For everyone.”
I grab the spoon and slowly, methodically, I carve somethi
ng on the right of the messages. And then I gently raise Lila’s index finger to it.
It says, “We love you.”
Lila nods and takes a bite of our leftovers.
We love you.
Lila & Tessa
Chapter Forty-three – Luke
The sun rises in the horizon—for someone it’s going to be the beginning of a fun day. For us, it might be our last.
I rub the back of my head. I can’t think like that. My eyes sweep through the rest of the shed. Maybe there’s a tool I can use. Something. Anything.
I take the chair and slam it on the ground until one of its legs gives in. Not much of a weapon, but that’s all I have.
The air smells like burned wood. In any other place, this may be synonymous with bonfire or barbecue, but here it is much more sinister. Maybe a member disobeyed and got punished with fire.
The door of the shed opens and Mason enters with a gun. I hide the chair’s leg behind me but then Mom follows him, glances down at the chair and shakes her head. “Always getting yourself in trouble. No respect for anybody else. Did you even care that Lacey would get hurt once you left?” She slides past Mason. “Let go of whatever you’re hiding behind your back—it’s not going to save you.” She pauses. “You’re like your father. Selfish.” She spits the word out. I don’t remember my father. He left when I was only two with one of Mom’s friends.
I hold myself back.
“What happened to Master Peter?” I force myself to the say the word “Master.” Showing any signs of disrespect would be a big mistake.
“The Creator called him back, but we will see him soon—as soon as we purify ourselves for the end.”
I clench my hands into fists. “I heard he drowned. Which is weird since he hated swimming.”
“Hate is not a word we like to use,” Mom says with a frown. “Master Peter wanted to give everything a try. Unfortunately, the Creator decided it was time for him to join him.” Mom pauses and hands me a piece of a small paper bag. “I brought you some food. The Book of Truth says not to hate your enemies.”
“I’m your son, not your enemy.”
“You became my enemy when you stole Lila away from me, away from her family, away from the ones who could prepare her for this.”
“For what? You do realize the world isn’t coming to an end, right?”
Her eyes widen. “Do not talk like this. Do not doubt more than you already do. Master Abram has to purify you with fire before the end of the world.”
I force myself to not react even though her words create a hurricane of panic in my chest.
“We’re going to get Lila and the others. We’ll be back.”
Lila. Tessa. If they come here, they’re going to die too. It can’t happen. I can’t let it happen. “Mom, please,” I beg and she glances at me with surprise in her eyes. The only other time I begged her was when Abram beat Lacey. “Please, Mom, listen to me. This isn’t true. None of this is true. Ask Abram about Meredith. Ask him about his first wife and why he’s doing all of this. He wants revenge. He wants power.”
Mom purses her lips. “You still haven’t learned to believe.” She clears her throat. “Mason and Emanuel will watch the shed. You can’t do anything.”
They smirk their superior—fucking—asshole smirk, one I hope to never have in my life, and they slam the door behind them.
I pace around the shed.
But nothing comes to me. No solution. No escape plans. Nothing.
I punch the door with my bare fist again and again. Blood gushes out but the door doesn’t even crack.
Desperation claws at my throat, making it hard to breathe.
I slide to the floor.
I don’t want to die.
Chapter Forty-four – Tessa
The darkness around us is no longer threatening. It gives me enough courage to come up with a plan. They’ve unlocked Lila’s chains but I still need a key for mine. I guess they trust her more than me. That and she wouldn’t be able to pull the crawlway open since they also locked it. There’s only one way. “You have to call Mellie,” I tell Lila, who whimpers. “You have to say I’m hurt.”
“But you’re not, and I’m not supposed to lie.” She sounds like she’s conflicted.
“I promise you that this lie is not to hurt anyone. It’s so that we can leave this place. Do you want to?”
She nods. “I do but I also want to see Mommy.”
“You will.” I believe it. No matter what happens, she’ll see her mom again. And hearing her hope breaks my heart. She doesn’t understand her mom’s not well. She doesn’t understand she’s in danger.
“At three. One, two, three,” I prompt her.
She uses what little strength she has to scream Mellie’s name.
“Again,” I prompt her.
She does it again and she taps her clenched fist on the door. “Melanie! Tessa’s hurt!”
After a few seconds, Melanie shows up. She hurries to where I’m lying. “I don’t feel good.”
And it’s true. I feel sick to my stomach looking at her and wondering if I could have done something differently. I will save Lila and I will get help. Help for Melanie.
“What’s wrong?”
“My stomach’s hurting. On the right side.” Appendectomy. Based on what Luke said, I’m thinking that’s what could have killed Jeremiah’s mom. She got sick, complained about pain on the side.
I cry out and Lila holds my hand. “Help her.” She’s not playing anymore. She probably thinks I am indeed in pain. And even though seeing her panic sends waves of guilt down my spine, I can’t reassure her.
“I need the keys.” Her voice quivers. She’s wearing a long blue sleeping gown like I’ve seen in old movies before. She scrambles to go back up. Jeremiah talks to her.
“Why?” He sounds worried too. “Her side is hurting?” Now, he sounds panicked. “We can’t bring her to the hospital. We can’t. I can’t. Not again.”
I was right.
“Let me unchain her and then we can look at her upstairs. Please. We need to find a way to help her. Maybe we can get a doctor. Or Master Abram.”
“I don’t know where he is. He should be here already.” He’s pacing above. Faster and faster.
Shit. I need to hurry up. I scream in agony. Jeremiah’s the one who comes back downstairs, unchains me and pulls me back upstairs. Once I’m there, he carries me carefully to the couch. “We need to check her temperature. And we still have some aspirin from the one time you got a fever.”
They both turn around and my gaze scans the small place. There’s a pan and a gun. The gun might be more efficient but the pan is closer. I don’t think. I jump up and with two steps grab the pan. “What are you doing?” Melanie’s eyes widen in surprise and then her shoulders slump in a disappointment I don’t want to analyze. She should be happy. Happy we’re going to get away.
Jeremiah’s eyes follow my movements and he strides to where the gun is, but adrenaline kicks in and I’m faster. I slam the pan on his head and he falls down.
“Let’s go,” I tell Melanie but she crouches next to him. “Lila, let’s go!” Lila emerges from the crawlway.
I don’t stop to check if he’s dead or just out of it. I rush to Lila and grab her hand. I force myself to ignore Melanie, who seems like she’s in full panic mode.
“You killed him,” she whispers. Like she can’t believe I did it.
I pull Lila with me and we run. I check the area, but I’m not sure where we are exactly. I’m not sure in which direction to run. I hesitate. And then see lights of a car pulling our way. They must come from a road, but it’s probably Master Abram. My heart beats in my ears. “We need to run in the other direction.”
The car screeches to a stop. A door slams and a silhouette jumps from the driver’s seat. Abram runs after us. But he’s still far. We can make it. If Lila catches a glimpse of her mom, she might refuse to go. I need to save her. I run but Lila falls down. She doesn’t cry though. “I’m sor
ry,” she whimpers. I grab her in my arms. She’s heavy and I haven’t really eaten in a while but I can do this, I need to do this.
“You can’t run from us!” Abram yells and he sounds close.
And then he shoots.
Pain radiates through my shoulder and I drop Lila to the ground.
Tears fall down my face. I thought I could save us. I thought I could save all of us.
Chapter Forty-five – Luke
I remember Master Peter talking about the end of the world. He only said that when the fire engulfing the sins occured, members of the Circle would be the only ones coming back, but Abram wants to cleanse everything and everyone by fire. He’s reinterpreting the text, saying that the members should use fire to cleanse the souls of those who wronged them before the end of the world.
He interprets and reinterprets words written by the first member more than a hundred years ago. When I overheard him on the phone, he thought that since I was only eleven, he could bullshit his way through, telling me the Circle had asked him to say this to trick people. He cited a paragraph that talked about protecting the Circle. I even doubted myself, especially when Mom didn’t believe me and when Master Peter told me lying wouldn’t be tolerated.
And when I was fourteen, I used to argue with him that there were a hundred ways to look at one sentence and people just read what they wanted to read. That if one looked at the text the way it was written then it wouldn’t make any sense.
He used to whip me for my insolence, as he called it. And then he’d always give me that little smile that made me want to either crawl back into a corner or fight him, and he’d say, “Master Peter and I are the only ones who understand the meaning behind those words. That’s why we’re your leaders.”
Bullshit.
I lean to the small window to see what’s happening on the camp. People are milling around like nothing’s happening.
“Abram is coming back!” There’s a flurry of activity around the camp. I turn to look at the path. This car is different than the one Mom drove to take me here. It’s the newest Audi model—way too new and expensive for what he should be able to afford. It speeds down the path.
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