Paradise Escape

by Mia Rodriguez

  "Boom!" he yells, his laughter erupting louder. "It's too bad that you can't hear me. I'm not going to kill you this way."

  I stare at the ground, so he won't see me glaring at him. I still don't want him to know we can hear him.

  "We have to have a ceremony to show everyone what we do with the unfaithful!"

  I clench my hands.

  "But to be honest with you, you did me a favor. You got rid of Alcott and other Elders. Now I don't have to put up with their constant watch over me. I’m the one who is the son of the Great Master! I rule here now!"

  The church bells ring loud and clear. I look at Miguel and he looks back at me. Our eyes are weary. We have absolutely no idea what this mad man has in store for us.

  "I rule! It's now as it always should've been!"

  I want to vomit at his assertions.

  "The True Faith will now have a chance at thriving!"

  "Archibald, everything's ready," Guard Donavan says, coming back. "Everyone is at the square."

  "You heard him! Walk!" Grinder demands of us as he points his shotgun to the square. Miguel and I slowly move towards where he's indicating. My stomach churns with burning acid as I go through Paradise Village. I walk the streets I've walked a million times before. I hate every single one of them.

  In the square, people are shocked with the sight of us. I see the familiar faces. Little Haley cries out with anguish and rushes towards me.

  "Get her!" Grinder demands from a guard with fury. "I can't have my destiny-wife soiling her hands with trash!"

  The guard grabs her as she's about to get to me. She shrieks and sobs until her cries become muffled down. Tears fill my own eyes when I see the pain hers are in. I desperately want to tell her that help is on its way. Even if I may be dead by then, but she won't be condemned to live the life I did.

  Felipa is going to put a stop to this.

  She has to.

  I can't even think about little Haley getting stuck with Grinder--one of the most evil people I had ever met. She won't get stuck with him. She won't.

  "Stop!" Grinder yells and then he indicates to us when we're in the middle of the square. We're surrounded by some gleeful faces but mostly by terrified expressions.

  "Faithful followers," he roars, "we're here today to do justice! These two have been in alliance with the evil creature and have killed some of our greatest citizens here!"

  Gasps resonate in the air.

  "The Great Master in his great power and mercy has allowed us to capture Monica and Miguelito so we can avenge our brethren!"

  "Avenge! Avenge!" some voices in the crowd say. It never ceases to surprise me how a mob can get so blood thirsty in a matter of minutes.

  "We have to do honor to the Great Master!"

  "Yes, Highest Holy Grinder! Yes," those same voices chant. I'm relieved, though, that those horrid voices are few. Almost everyone else is quiet with fear on their faces.

  Helga then catches my eye. She's next to Grinder, and her face is full of disgust. I had been made to leave her black bag on the delivery truck. I wish I could tell her that not all of the escape had been a bust.

  "From this day on, we'll be double blessed for having done away with these heretics! For having honored the Great Master with our sacrifice and dedication!"

  "Sacrifice and dedication," the same voices chant.

  Helga sadly shakes her head.

  "Let's start the blessings!" Grinder gleefully announces. "Where's Jory and the dogs?"

  My mouth turns completely dry. I now know Grinder's evil plan for us.

  "I'm here, Highest Holy Grinder." Jory's voice is coming from a distance. The crowd parts, and Jory starts going towards Miguel and me with the dogs.

  "Okay, Jory," sneers Grinder. "Do the Great Master's bidding, and tell the dogs they can have at Monica and Miguelito!"

  Chapter Forty

  I'm not sure that the dogs will tear me apart. What I am sure is that they'll do it to Miguel. He looks at me with agony.

  "I have to tell you that I love you, Frida," he whispers to me.

  "I love you too, Miguel."

  "Jory, what are you waiting for?" snaps Grinder.

  Jory eyes us with anguish. He doesn't want to give the order. A normal person can't stand the idea of murdering someone, and he must know that that's exactly what he'd be doing through the dogs.

  "I need to say something!" I look into the crowd. If I'm going to die then they're going to hear me out before I take my last breath.

  "You can plead for your life, but the Great Master has already spoken," hisses Grinder.

  "I'm not pleading for my life."

  "Are you repenting for all your sins?"

  "Destiny-brides, wives, servant-girls and servant-boys, you've been lied to!"

  A loud gasp fills the air.

  I speak before Grinder can stop me. "The Elders made up the True Faith to keep us and our minds in captivity! I heard Bledsoe say it on the night he died!"

  "Shut-up, you heathen!" Grinder yells as he furiously starts going up to me with his shotgun.

  "Wake-up! Wake-up."

  I avoid looking at the weapon that's probably going to kill me.

  "Shut up," he says, pointing it at me.

  "Take your minds back!"

  His eyes are spitting fire. "This death would be too easy," he roars as he lays his shotgun to his side with one hand. With the other he pulls out his discipline club.

  "Don't be fooled anymore! No great creator of the universe wants you to be slaves!"

  Whack!

  Whack!

  Whack!

  I slump to the ground.

  "They've lied to us, told us our parents didn't want us, but it's not true!" Miguel explains.

  "Where's your stutter?" Grinder stops beating me to ask the question the crowd is wondering about.

  "It doesn't matter! What matters is that what Frida is saying is true. Frida is Monica's real name. Do you remember your real names before having been stolen?"

  "Shut up!" Grinder roars as he leaves me to go to Miguel.

  Miguel eyes me telling me to keep talking.

  "Aren't you sick and tired of living in fear?" I question. "Of being married off to whatever Master the Elders want you to marry? Of never having any freedom? Of being at your Master's disposal 24/7?"

  Grinder turns away from Miguel and starts beating me.

  "Just because we're not Elders or Masters doesn't mean we should be slaves!" Miguel tells them.

  Grinder turns back to him and furiously beats him with his discipline club.

  "Look around you," I implore, "There's not that many Elders and Masters left. You can take back your freedom! Take it back!"

  An Elder rushes up to us with rags in his hand. He roughly pushes one in my mouth. Then he gives the other one to Grinder who slams it in Miguel's mouth. We've been muted. I just hope the crowd had listened carefully to what we said.

  Faithful followers," Grinder roars, "you are to disregard the nonsense these two have spewed out. The evil creature is in full control of them. They're trying to steer you away from your righteous path with the Great Master. Don't be fooled by them!"

  The crowd seems restless. Concern covers the faces of the Elders and Masters. They know they have to do something quick. I prepare myself to die.

  "We need to rid Paradise Village of this evil!" Grinder snaps. "Jory, command the dogs to take their evil apart!"

  Jory stares at us, a pained look in his eyes.

  "Jory!"

  "Sorry, Highest Holy Grinder. I just can't."

  "I'll deal with you later," Grinder barks. "I'll have to do this myself." He starts to stride over to Jory. Faster than lightning, Helga grabs his shotgun that's loosely hanging from his right hand as she fiercely knocks him to the ground. Pointing the shotgun at him, the whole crowd is dumbstruck.

  "Put it down, Helga or we'll shoot," one of the guar
ds say. But if they shoot her they have to risk the crowd going chaotic since she wouldn't be a clear shot. Too many people are in the way.

  "I'll shoot him if you shoot me!" Helga states.

  "Don't do anything!" Grinder orders the guards.

  "Helga, come to your senses," implores Guard Donavan.

  Helga glares at him. "I've finally come to my senses!"

  "Please don't kill me," pleads Grinder.

  "I'm not going to stand here and watch as you keep murdering my friends!"

  "Helga, you're under the influence of the evil creature," says an Elder with soothing tones as Grinder wreathes on the ground with a terrified expression on his face. "We'll help exorcise him out of you. We know it's not your fault you've been possessed."

  "What do you think I am?--stupid? What you'll do is put me to sleep!"

  "We wouldn't do that."

  Helga smirks loudly. "You do it all the time! You kill us at a drop of a hat."

  "The Great Master--"

  "Why would the Great Master create us in order for you to kill us? If he's the Great Master then why doesn't he just have us die at thirty automatically without interference from you, huh?"

  Vociferous gasps reverberate from the crowd. They are getting more and more restless.

  "It's bad to question the ways of the Great Master."

  "Helga, stop questioning the Great Master!" one of the family-wives say. "It's blasphemy!"

  "We can't let this happen to our spiritual leader!" roars another family-wife.

  Will the crowd turn on us?

  Chapter Forty-One

  Miguel looks at me with concerned eyes. We're both thinking the same thing. The brainwash must've gone too deep.

  "Is Grinder really a spiritual leader?" I ask. "Do you really think he's a good person?"

  "He's the son of the Great Master!" a voice yells.

  Grinder nods fervently. "I am the son of--"

  "He says he's the son of the Great Master," snarls Miguel. "Why should we believe him when he's done nothing but abuse us? Does he have any special powers? Is he ever worried about our well being?"

  "Seriously, how can this jerk be the son of the master of the universe?" Helga questions angrily. "Seriously?!"

  "He can't be," I state. "If he was he'd be a different kind of person."

  "That's blasphemy!" yells a voice in the crowd.

  "Maybe this whole situation is a blasphemy!" another voice roars.

  "They've been lying to us!" a third voice rages. "I'm not going to stand for this anymore!"

  Furious voices start popping from everywhere. The crowd is definitely getting more and more restless. And they had listened to what Helga, Miguel, and I had said.

  "I'm not going to be a slave anymore!"

  "I deserve freedom!"

  "They aren't better than us!"

  "They're pure evil!"

  Miguel and I look at one another with relief. Most of the crowd is with us.

  "The guard with the keys to the shackles had better unlock them within the next minute or Grinder gets it!" Helga demands.

  "Unlock them!" demands Grinder, chilled fear in his tone. "Unlock then immediately!"

  Guard Donavan steps over to Miguel and me. His hands are shaking as he sets us free.

  "All guards set your weapons down."

  In stunned silence they refuse. Helga puts the shotgun to Grinder's forehead.

  "Set your weapons down! Set them down!"

  They let the shotguns drop to their sides.

  "Gather over here, guards, Masters, and Elders!" Helga demands.

  "No!" an Elder shouts. "Guards, pull up your weapons! We need to take control again!!!"

  The buzz in the crowd turns into frenzied fury.

  Chaos!

  It's happening so fast that I'm having trouble assimilating everything. Those next to the guards snatch away their weapons. Those next to Elders and Masters tear away discipline clubs.

  Explosive bullets reverberate. Heavy whacks sound through the air.

  Furious noises and painful sounds permeate the air.

  I finally realize that the guards, Masters, and Elders have been completely disarmed. The weapons had been accidentally fired when they had been confiscated. I pray that no one got hurt by stray bullets. I scan the crowd and it doesn't seem like it. What is happening, though, is that our captors are being beaten to death by the crowd. Unfortunately, those few destiny-brides, wives, and servant-boys still loyal to them are throwing themselves over them and are being beaten too.

  "Stop!" I tell them.

  But the crowd is bloodthirsty. Anger from years of servitude boils in their blood. Their faces are contorted with pure rage. Helga and Miguel eye me with a worried expression.

  I rush to one of the girls who had confiscated a shotgun. She readily gives it to me. Pointing it upward and away from anybody, I fire until the crowd calms down. They stare at me in stunned silence.

  "This is getting out of hand," I tell them. "People are getting hurt."

  The captors and their followers are on the ground with blood running out of their ample wounds. Deep purple bruises, black eyes, and open scarlet cuts permeate their skin.

  "They deserve to get hurt," snaps a destiny-bride.

  "I know a lot of damage was done to us, but remember that our captors aren't the only ones getting hurt. Some of us are still brainwashed. It's hard to get something out of your head that has been planted in there and watered over and over again."

  A silence echoes through the crowd.

  "Let's gather them together with Grinder like Helga wanted it done."

  The captors are made to stand up and forced towards Grinder. Their brainwashed followers are prevented from joining them by the crowd. Strange how these men looked so much larger-than-life before today. So ominous and powerful. Now they peer at us with terrified faces and look as small as mice.

  "What do we do with them?" snaps a boy.

  "Shoot them!" growls another.

  "Please don't kill us," pleads Grinder.

  "Shoot them," repeats a voice.

  "No!" Helga commands. "Let's put them in the discipline room while we decide what to do with them!"

  "Yes, please put us in the discipline room," begs Grinder. "But don't let the crowd have us. Please."

  "Shut up!" yells Helga. "I don't want to hear your voice!"

  "Please be merciful with us," a guard blurts.

  "That reminds me. Any guards left on the guarded road?" I ask Miguel with concern.

  "None. Grinder had them all here. He must've thought he had everything under perfect control."

  "Let's take them to the discipline room!" states Helga. "Get up!"

  The captors stumble off the ground. It takes a while for some of them to make it to their feet.

  "Move!" Helga commands of them. We walk behind them. It looks like a death march.

  As we walk on the roads I had been on so many times before, I can't help thinking how different Paradise Village now seems to me. In fact, it looks like a completely different place. With the change of power, the air and scenery have transformed.

  "Keep moving!" Helga demands when some of the captors stumble.

  When we reach the road in front of the True Faith church, I stop. Wincing and with a severe twist in my chest, I glare at it. The overwhelming rage inside of me boils. The sanctum was the place of the worst torture.

  How can a church be used for such a thing?

  How?

  How can people be so cruel to each other just to keep their power?

  If I could I'd destroy the True Faith church with my bare hands. I'd first destroy the marble slab used to murder my friends. I'd take down the walls. I'd break the statues in the image of the Elders.

  Apparently, I'm not the only one with rushing emotions because the rest of the crowd had stopped walking too. They're staring at the True Faith Church with disg
ust and wet eyes. They remember what I remember.

  Pure torture.

  Pure agony.

  Pure evil.

  A voice pierces the silent air. Grinder.

  "Run!" he commands. "Follow me!"

  The captors are escaping!

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Having taken advantage of our comatose state at the church, the captors had used our pain to their advantage like they always had.

  Run, run, run.

  The captors are rushing towards the jungle. Even the ones who are severely hurt are moving fast.

  Some people in the crowd start pulling up the shotguns that were confiscated while others try to catch up to the captors.

  "Stop!" Miguel yells. "Let them go!"

  The crowd does as Miguel says in stunned silence.

  "But they'll escape!" Helga shrieks, her voice very upset.

  "No, they won't," Miguel states, his voice weary and firm.

  "What do you mean?"

  "What they know is wrong."

  "Get on the ground and cover your ears!" I tell them as I hit the dirt. The crowd starts doing the same even when they don't know what's about to happen.

  Click.

  BOOM!

  This happens several times since more than one off the captors must've stepped on landmines. One by one, the people in the crowd start getting off the ground. Luckily, the blasts had happened at a distance from us, but our hearing is still impaired. It doesn't matter. Not any of us feel like speaking.

  We stand around in stunned silence as we stare in the direction of the blasts. The captors are dead. We're alone in Paradise Village. No Elders, no Masters, no guards. Just us.

  Its too mind boggling for words.

  We hardly notice when our hearing starts coming back. Then one of the brainwashed followers throws herself on the ground with agonized shrieks.

  "They're dead! What are we going to do! The Great Master will never forgive us."

  A few others start to cry out with similar words. We try to soothe them, but they are so disconcerted that they don't listen to us.

  "We need to pray!" one of the helper-boys says as he starts rushing to the church. Others follow him.

  "It'll take time for them to get their minds back," states Miguel sadly.

  "But we'll help them do it," I assure, trying to make my voice as confident at possible. "This nightmare is over."

  "We're free!" Helga cries out.

  "Free!" The chanting begins.