CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sarah
No more moping around on the bus for me. Suddenly I’m charging into action. My sister needs me, and I’m not going to let her down. I get off at the next stop and hail the first taxi I see. On the way to the airport I figure out how to use my phone to buy a ticket, and thank God there is a flight departing for O’Hare in a little over an hour. It’ll be tight, but I’m hoping to make it just fine given the fact that I have no luggage to check.
The taxi lets me off at the terminal, and I hurry to security. I drop my shoes, phone and keys into a tray and hurry through the line to the metal detector. I raise my arms up just like the diagram in front of me shows me, and then it’s time to slip my shoes back on and figure out where I need to be. I find my gate with just a few minutes to spare. I need to use the restroom, but I can do that on the plane.
I consider buying something to eat or drink, but I’m out of time, and I’m far too keyed up to eat anyway. They’ve already starting the boarding process when I get there. Since I’m one of the last to get on, I get stuck in a middle seat way in the back.
The smell of the bathroom is noxious, and the breath of the man next to me rivals the funk. But none of that matters because I’m just relieved to have made it on board. It’s a short flight from Peoria to Chicago. Had it not been for the time sensitive nature of my trip, I never would have bothered flying such a short distance.
I sip water from a plastic cup as my mind alternates between thinking of Amy and replaying the scene with Vorek from earlier today. After I made it through security, I called Amy briefly to let her know what time my flight would land. I noticed before I put my phone in airplane mode that I had five voicemails from Vorek.
There was no way I was going to return his calls. He didn’t even deserve a breakup via text message. If he were here beside me I would slap him. I can’t even begin to describe how furious I am with him for trying to dictate my life. How dare he try to control me? Had it ever even crossed his mind to consult with me on a single thing? His betrayal was like an arrow, and it had been fired straight into my bleeding heart.
I don’t know what I’m going to do about the internship, and don’t feel mentally capable of making any decisions right now. I feel as if I have no choices in my life, and I hate the helpless feelings this evokes. I have spent the last few months trying to forge my own destiny and take control over my life. The cult has taken my mother’s and my sister’s free will. I have fought with everything I have to not be a powerless puppet. But in the end I just found a new monster to take advantage of me.
Maybe I won’t go back to Peoria at all. Amy and I could simply start over somewhere new, somewhere no one would ever think to search for us. Somewhere people leave better tips for their waitresses, because by this point I highly doubt I’ll ever manage to obtain a degree in anything. Not with my sister and a baby to provide for. My future seems even more bleak than usual, which saddens me, but doesn’t change what I am about to do. I love my sister and will do whatever it takes to save her.
My traitorous mind conjures up Vorek’s face and I relive all of the tender moments we’ve shared together. He had always seemed so respectful and courteous. His generosity had appeared to be boundless, but it had all been a ruse. His seemingly kind acts had disguised a blatant manipulation. He’d been working systematically to strip away my free will. Would he eventually have beaten me like my sister’s husband?
The thoughts in my mind whirl in vicious circles. When the plane lands I’m no closer to figuring out what I should do than I was when the aircraft took off. As I step out of the plane and make my way down the platform, my thoughts shift entirely to Amy.
I’m overwhelmed by guilt for leaving. It’s my fault that she was married off so young. I left her alone to fend for herself with the perverts at the compound. I knew my mother was unfit, but I still couldn’t make myself stay. I was so selfish, trying to avoid being forced into a marriage I’d never wanted.
If I could go back I would do everything differently. But I can’t, and now there is no changing what has happened to my sister. How was I to know that my mother would stoop so low as to marry her fifteen year old daughter off? I need to be strong for my sister, but deep down I’m terrified. How am I ever going to fix this?
I exit the section of gates and make my way to the Southwest Ticketing Area. I see Amy standing close to a crowd of people. She looks scared. Really scared. I smile and give her a little wave, but she doesn’t acknowledge me. As I continue to close the gap between us I can tell she’s seen me, but she still isn’t walking over to me.
Why isn’t she moving? She just stays where she is. Tears are running down her face, giving testament to the fact that she is still scared out of her mind. She has every right to be terrified, heck. If I’m being honest with myself, I am too. They don’t exactly make it easy to leave the Covenant of Man. Poor baby. I’m here to take care of her now.
“We’re going to have good days, this is not the end of our story,” I say before I’m even close enough for her to hear me. I’m bolstering my confidence so that maybe I can believe myself before I try to put on a show for her. I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her tiny teenage body.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbles.
“Shh. There’s nothing to be sorry about.” How could she possibly think that any of this is her fault? I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to her for leaving. She deserves so much better than what I have to offer.
“You have to understand,” she says, and she’s getting worked up again.
“Yes, I know,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“No, you don’t,” she says. “Sarah, I had no choice.”
“I know you didn’t, sis,” I assure her. “It’ll be okay now. You’ll see.”
Suddenly I realize that a tight crowd of people has enclosed us in its center. I lift my head and look over Amy’s shoulder, only to realize that there are so many people that I can’t even see past all the bodies. I feel a firm pair of arms enfolding me from behind and pushing me toward the exit. I open my mouth to scream, but a cloth is pressed firmly over my mouth and nose.
I dig in my heels, trying to fight them. I take in a big breath, trying desperately to scream. But that only makes it worse. A sweet smell fills my nostrils, and I realize in horror that there was chloroform on the cloth. Instantly paralyzed, I feel myself go limp. I look at my attackers helplessly as I am stuffed inside a huge garment bag. The zipper closing in front of my face is the last thing I see before I become oblivious to the world.
***
I have no idea how much time has passed by the time I begin to claw my way back to consciousness. I don’t open my eyes because I don’t want them to realize I’m awake. So, I lie limp and still as I try to make sense of what has happened. I know I’ve been abducted by the cult. That much is clear. Poor Amy must not have realized that they were following her.
How am I going to get us both out of here now? I’m frightened of what her psycho husband Jeb will do to her now that he knows she tried to escape. For all I know he’s beating her right now. I can’t help the tears that leak silently from the corners of my eyes. Why is all of this happening to us? It’s not fair.
I wonder how they figured out I was somehow keeping touch with Amy. But then again Jeb has always been very cunning. My guess is he suspected that Amy had a way to get ahold of me. Maybe she forgot to log out like I showed her. I wouldn’t have put it past him to beat her just so that she would call me.
The more I ponder it, the more sense it makes. However it happened, I’m almost certain they used her to get to me. She was an unwitting lure, too innocent to understand how low they would stoop. She probably had no idea she was being followed. I pray to God they haven’t hurt her, which shows how desperate I am because growing up in a cult has made me wary of religion in general.
I slit open my eyes the barest fraction and look through the veil of my lashes, taking in surroundings. From what I can make out, I’m on a cot in what appears to be one of the dormitory rooms in the church compound. I know from living here that there are several buildings used to house single people on base. I had never spent much time here, because I’d always been in the home my mother shared with my stepdad.
Only married people and families with children get to live in the individual houses at the Covenant of Man home base. I wonder if Jeb has taken Amy back to their place. Once again I’m worried about what he may do to her in the privacy of his house. Of course no one would try to stop him, not even in public. So far as they were concerned she was his wife, and therefore his property. It was getting harder to pretend to be sleeping because all the nausea brewing inside of me was threatening to spill out in a very vocal way.
I roll over, and sling an arm over my forehead, pretending to still be asleep. I wish I was a better actress, because I’m pretty sure I’m botching it. Looking through my eyelashes I see the door to the room is closed. It’s safe to assume it will be locked, so I resist the urge to bolt towards it and start tugging like a madwoman.
Because I’m alone in the room I presume that there’s a camera trained on me and someone is no doubt monitoring it. I no sooner have that thought than the door opens. I try to close my eyes the rest of the way and play possum, but it’s no use. Of all the terrible people it could have been, lucky me, it’s my new brother-in-law.
“Hey, sis. Welcome back,” Jeb says in what I’m sure he believes is a playful and friendly tone.
I sit up in bed. I’ve always loathed the man, and that was before he defiled my kid sister. I used to go to great lengths to avoid him when I lived here in ‘The Promised Land’, as they all call it. If this was the “Promised Land” I’d much rather go back to the desert. Back in the day, Jeb was constantly finding situations to accidently put his hands on me. The man set off my creep radar big time.
He’d always stand a little too close, or brush up behind me pretending it was an accident. He’s in his mid-forties now. He was probably good looking when he was younger, if you like the former high-school football jock type. As he’s aged, and developed a taste for beer, his neck has gotten thicker and thicker, while his gut has gotten larger and larger. I am repulsed to think of this neanderthal impregnating my baby sister. He’s old enough to be her father.
Jeb slinks closer and looms over my bed. Does he do it to feel more powerful? Does he need to be bigger to confirm that he’s some kind of alpha male? I try not to look at him, because I’m not sure I’ll be able to hide the revulsion on my face.
“Sit up,” he commands.
I’m quick to comply, sitting up exactly like he wants because I don’t want to give him an excuse to touch me. I’m not stupid enough to believe I’d stand a chance against him in a fight, but that doesn’t mean I won’t if he backs me into a corner. As his horrid proximity brings his bulging crotch level with my eyes, I begin to fear that’s exactly what he’s planning . . . to remove all my options.
My eyes dart away, and he laughs out loud. I need to think of a way out of this and fast, but it’s not as simple as just trying to get myself out. I can’t possibly leave without Amy. I will not abandon my sister to this monster.
“What’s wrong, sis? Don’t be shy. We’re just keepin’ it in the family and all.”
I scramble across the bed and jump to the other side. The room begins to spin from my quick movement after being drugged. He steps to one side and laughs as I try to dart the other direction I’m suddenly brought to my knees by a wave of dizziness. The drugs are still wreaking havoc with my system.
He saunters lazily around to my side of the bed and stops right in front of me. He grabs my hair roughly and jerks my face up until my mouth is positioned directly in front of his fly again. I can see where this is going, and there’s no way I’m going down on the toad. The only way I’m putting his penis in my mouth is to bite it off.
“Now where were we?” he says with anticipation. He’s gripping the back of my head, forcing my face into his vile erection. I jerk away leaving some of my hair in his hands, and start screaming. It’s a long shot, because even though I’m not Jeb’s wife I can’t really envision someone caring enough to intervene. For all I know he’s been sent to punish me for running away.
I’m very weak from being drugged and I hope there is someone around who isn’t one of Jeb’s goons who might come to my rescue. The door slams open and I am actually relieved to see it’s Cain. Maybe he still feels like I’m meant for him because I was about to be married off to him before I fled. Or maybe he just wants to ensure that he gets a turn.
Cain is the son of the cult’s founder, Moses. Moses really is a piece of work, and no I really don’t think that’s the name he was born with. Moses goes around proclaiming to everyone that he’s been sent by God to bring them all into ‘The Promised Land’, and these suckers all buy it hook, line, and sinker. The Covenant of Man has a pretty low IQ overall. But Moses isn’t looking for individuals capable of thinking for themselves.
He wants followers, people who will do everything he says. Covenant of Man members worship him with blind adoration. They actually believe he’s God’s chosen one, sent to lead them through the end times of the Krinar invasion. This old farm, AKA the Promised Land, is a five hundred acre property surrounded on all sides by barbed wire fences. I doubt it would do much to keep the aliens out, but it does manage to keep most of the world at bay.
Cain has always had a thing for me, even though I’ve never encouraged him. He’s at least attractive and a hell of a lot nicer. I really hope he’s not so angry at me for running that he’ll let Jeb rape me. For all they know I’m still a virgin!
“Jebediah! Get your filthy hands off of my woman,” Cain spits as he shoves Jeb away from me. Relief fills me instantly, and I back away as far from Jeb as the mattress will allow.
“I didn’t mean no harm, Cain. I was just showin’ her she won’t be gettin’ off scot-free after runnin’ off like she done.”
“She is mine, and you know it. I’ll be the one to say what happens to her. Go back to your wife, and leave my woman alone.”
Cain looks crazy angry at Jeb, but he is solicitous as he lifts me to my feet, and brushes the hair from my face. He plants a gentle kiss on my temple, and I’m not sure what is going on. How has he gotten the impression that we are a thing? Oh yeah, he thinks we’re getting married. Has he convinced himself that I was experiencing a mild case of wedding jitters when I left?
I think back to when I lived here and how all of the young girls threw themselves at Cain. But he was never interested in them. All of the time he strutted around like a peacock, he made it clear that I was the one that he wanted. I wasn’t rude, but I certainly didn’t go out of my way to further his advances.
He’s the reason I started wearing ugly bulky clothing. I thought it would turn him off so he’d leave me alone. He must have had a really good imagination as to what shape lay below the yards of ugly fabric, because it didn’t turn him off in the slightest. Honestly, I think the only reason he wanted me so badly was because I was the only girl who didn’t throw herself at him.
Cain is very good looking, and I’d have to be blind not to have noticed. His wavy dark blonde hair dips over his stunning baby blue eyes. “Come, Sarah. It’s time to talk with my father. Be not afraid, Sarah. For I will protect thee.”
My mind is in a fog, but I’m going to play along with him for now, because I’d much rather let him touch me than Jeb. I let him lead me by the hand. I guess he offers some layer of protection here. But Cain is crazy if he thinks I’m going to suddenly swoon and willingly become his woman.
When we exit the room, I see that the council has assembled. Moses sits on a chair that is higher than the others, almost throne-like. My step-father, Ezekiel is next to him, and there are two empty chairs for Jeb and Cain. Of course, there is no chair for me, because that would imply that they somehow view me as an equal, which they do not.
“Kneel down, Sarah,” Cain instructs me as he takes his chair.
I kneel in front of the council with my head lowered subserviently. I wish I knew where they were keeping Amy! Do they have her locked up somewhere too? There is a crowd of spectators crammed into the meeting hall to observe the proceedings, but I don’t see any sign of my sister. I do see my mother stationed off to the side with a frightened look on her face. My feelings for the woman who gave birth to me are complicated, to say the least.
“What do you have to say for yourself young woman?” Moses asks.
I just sit there with my head down, and my eyes closed, hoping this nightmare will end. I can’t think of a lie fast enough, at least not one they’ll believe. When the silence stretches on for too long, Moses speaks out again.
“I warned you about this Ezekiel. Didn’t I tell you the Lord says, spare the rod, and spoil the child?” Moses says, speaking to my stepdad.
“You surely did, Moses. I regret now listening to my wife. She was always pleading with me to give this one more time to adjust to our ways. Now I see what a tragic error that was.” He looks accusingly at my mother, like somehow it’s her fault that I ran away.
Moses continues in his booming preacher voice, “Oh Lord, we are thankful that Sarah hath returned to the fold so that we may teacheth her the errors of her ways, and thereby save her soul.”
“Amen,” all of the cult members chant in unison.
“Child, if you repenteth not, we have no choice but to enforce the administration of the rod,” Moses warns.
“I have done nothing that I need to repent for,” I say defiantly, and almost instantly I wish I could swallow back the words. But it’s too late.
Ezekiel is furious, and I can see in his eyes that I will pay for making him look less of a man in the eyes of his church. As the leader of the Covenant of Man, he cannot afford to be seen as weak. With deliberate intent, he strides toward me. “Jebediah, bind her to the pole!”
Jeb takes a rough rope and wraps it around my wrists, then uses another piece of rope to bind my feet to the pole. I’d resist, but I know that will only earn me more lashes to endure. My stepfather removes his belt and steps toward me. The crowd begins to chant, and it is soon a thundering roar.
Chants of “REPENT! REPENT! REPENT! REPENT! REPENT!” fill my ears in a relentless drone.
Ezekiel grips the back of my shirt, and the delicate cream colored silk rips in two. He does the same to my suit skirt. It falls to the ground. I’m grateful for the little bit of modesty my underwear provides. He swings his arm, and I feel the bite of the leather belt grip into my back. I barely manage to stifle a scream. Another strike hits my buttocks, and the end of the belt slaps around my thigh.
“Ezekiel,” I hear my mother pleading. “Isn’t that enough?”
And the fact that my mom is actually asking like she cares knocks off a couple of bricks on the wall I built around it to protect myself from her.
“Shut up, Pamela. Or you will be punished along with your daughter,” he growls.
It’s all I can do to keep from crying out, but as the beating continues to escalate I lose control of my vocal chords. I let loose with an anguished wail, and after that I don’t stop screaming. Over and over the belt bites into my backside. At one point I look over at my mother and see tears on her cheeks. How can she possibly love this despicable man?
“Enough!” I hear a loud shout close to my ears.
I turn and see it is Cain. Once again he’s leaping to my rescue. I should probably feel relief that he’s putting an end to the beating, but I’m still lucid enough to be fearful of what he will expect in return. Can I possibly suffer the touch of a man I don’t love? Thoughts of love send my mind to Vorek, but I’m not strong enough to think about him and I need to keep my wits about me and focus on the here and now.
“This woman is to become my wife. As a member of this council, and heir to the legacy of the Covenant of Man, I am asking that you grant leniency on her behalf. Behold before you the future mother of the one who is to come. Our prophecy foretells a descendent of my father will be the one to throw off the shackles of the aliens who have taken our Earth. Blessed is the womb of she who bears our Redeemer!”
“Blessed is she! Blessed is she! Blessed is she!” the crowd chants in a fevered frenzy.
I begin to tremble in horror as Moses motions for council to come in closer to discuss the issue. Their heads are bent close, and Cain is nodding yes to whatever his father is saying. Jebediah and Ezekiel have scowls on their faces, so they must not be in agreement with the verdict.
Marry Cain? Have his children? How can this nightmare be happening? I close my eyes, slumping into a faint. Vorek’s beautiful face appears in my troubled mind, and I realize how wrong I’ve been to lump him in with the losers from the Covenant of Man. What must he be thinking? I left his office so mad at him, and then I disappeared. He probably assumes I skipped town and want nothing to do with him.
My biggest regret is that I’ll never be able to see him again. Never be able to tell him I’m so sorry for the things I said to him. I’ll be locked up in this cult for the rest of my days, forced to make babies to become soldiers for their psychotic resistance against the K’s. I’ll be no different than a dog in a puppy mill. Vorek never beat me. And even though he lied to me it was so that he could help me financially. How could I possibly have thought that he was the same as these monsters?
I feel strong arms lift me and hold me close. For a moment I pretend that it’s Vorek carrying me. Somehow he has found me, and is rescuing me. I snuggle into his arms and whimper my gratitude that he has saved me from a fate worse than death. I open my eyes expecting to see his dark hair, but am shocked when I see blonde curls.
Not Vorek. It’s Cain who is carrying me out of the assembly. I look over his shoulder and I see my sister standing next to Jebediah. He has his arm around her shoulder, and she smiles and lifts her lips to his for a kiss. She turns and meets my gaze. Her eyes are unwavering, and with a knife stab to my heart, I know the truth.
They did not force her. They did not trick her. My sister betrayed me. I’ve thrown away my freedom, and all for someone who does not wish to be saved. I drop my head back down on Cain’s chest in defeat. My life is over.