Page 6 of So Far Gone

“She didn’t want a funeral,” Asher said. “She got cremated.” Then, he leaned forward, as if confiding in his grandfather. “That means turned into ashes.”

Kinnick wanted to go back a few steps. “So, wait, you’ve been in Spokane... this whole time?”

“For about five months,” Leah said. “Mom wants to go back to GrantsPass now. But Shane has been wanting us to move here for a long time. He says it’s safer up here. Because of the redoubt.”

“The—” Kinnick cocked his head.

“Redoubt,” Asher said. “The safe zone for Christians.”

“It’s different places in the mountains of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana,” Leah added helpfully. “Like a fortress built in a bunch of different places.”

“It’s where the Rampart is,” Asher said.

“The Rampart?”

Before they could explain, Anna Gaines stepped in. “Mr. Kinnick, I have to ask, are you...” She looked around the house. “I mean, can you take care of the kids for a while? Until Bethany comes back?”

“Tell him about my tournament,” Asher said from one of the chairs, his legs pressed together, big snow boots swinging above the floor.

Mrs. Gaines looked pained. “Asher has a chess tournament tonight.”

“Tonight?” Rhys ran his hand through his hair.

“Yes. At six p.m.,” Asher said. “I was the number-five ranked player in Southern Oregon. This will be my first tournament in Spokane. Mom registered me for it.”

Anna said, “He’s very worried about missing it.”

“I’m a prodigy,” the boy said.

Leah sought out her grandfather’s eyes and gave him a small shake of the head meant to convey,No. He’s not. Asher had, indeed, been the fifth-ranked eight-year-old in the Southern Oregon Chess Club. But that was among the seven eight-year-olds who had qualified for ranking.

“Dad and Pastor Gallen are praying about whether chess is a Godly endeavor,” Asher said. “It comes from the Arabs, which Pastor Gallen says is bad, and Dad is worried the board represents the illuminati and has graven images. But Mom says I can keep playing while they’re discerning.”

“Discerning.” Kinnick closed his eyes, overwhelmed by all of it: redoubt and Rampart and the illuminati and discerning whether chess was a Godly endeavor. He breathed in heavily, and back out of his nose.

As she watched him, Leah remembered her mom describing Rhys as “eccentric,” “half as smart as he thinks he is,” and “twice as antisocial.” She wondered how long it had been since he’d talked to other human beings.

Finally, he opened his eyes. “Wait. Can we back up? Your grandma got sick and a few months ago, you moved up here from Oregon with your mom?”

“Yes,” Leah said.

“And you live in Spokane?”

“Shane wants us to move to Idaho once our lease is up,” Leah said. “He’s been bringing us there for church summer camp and tent revivals the last two summers. To the Church of the Blessed Fire.”

Asher picked up the story now: “Dad’s a member of their men’s group, the Army of the Lord. They train out at the Rampart.”

“Blessed Fire? Rampart? Army of—” Rhys kept repeating details, as if saying them out loud would make them make sense. He turned from Asher to Leah. “And you don’t... you don’t have any idea where Beth—where your mom went?”

“Shane thinks she might have gone back to Grants Pass,” Leah said carefully. “She has a lot of friends there. We all do.”

“Or maybe Dad killed her,” Asher said.

The air seemed to leave the room, Kinnick steadying himself on the table. Leah spun on her little brother. “Why do you say things like that?”

Asher shrugged, looked at Rhys, at Anna Gaines, then at the ground.

Anna put a hand on Asher’s shoulder. “I’m sure that isn’t what happened, Asher.” Then she looked at Kinnick. “We’ve been worried, even before Shane left. Bethany has confided some things to me... she’s been depressed since her mom died. And she’s worried about Shaneand this new church.” She leaned in. “My husband and I aren’t exactly Shane’s biggest fans. He can be kind of—”

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