Page 44 of Malachi
“I want to say that I did not tell Father about our plan. I’m still on your side.Ourside. But what happened that led to my lie is a complicated story,” he continued.
“So then, start from the beginning. Make us understand,” Zeke interjected tensely.
“I left for the trip, full of anxiety. We had a plan, and I was going to stick to it. Get the proof we needed to stop the Elders from ever taking another girl again,” he explained. Talia let out a shuddered breath, wrapping her arms around her body more tightly. I watched as Zeke rubbed her back soothingly.
“I was able to get some proof, though not enough. A few days into the trip, we met up with a few men who had the children ready. Ready for transport is how they put it.” Levi grimaced, and I felt the same sickness pool in my gut that he seemed to feel.
“I had names. I had locations. And then—” he cut off, gulping audibly as he seemed to have to force himself to stomach this next part.
“And then what?” Ollie urged.
“And then I got photos.” Levi stood abruptly, pacing around the room as he touched his stomach. He was either the greatest actor to ever live, or he was literally sick telling this story.
“Photos of what?” I forced myself to ask. Part of me didn’t want to know, but needed to hear him say it.
“Photos of the girls. Of the children they had kidnapped and the place they had them…” he broke off, swallowing slowly. “Stored,” he bit out.
Fuck. Fucking fuck fuck fuck. My gut clenched at the thought of what he had seen.
“So you got the proof, then? We can take Zion down and —” Gideon began.
“No, we can’t. Not yet,” Ruth interjected. As my gaze moved to my brother’s wife, I noted the way she was no longer cowering next to my brother. She had regained some of her confidence.
“Why the hell not? What are we waiting for?” Ollie agreed.
“I don’t have the proof anymore!” Levi shouted. We all went quiet at his words.
“Where is it, then?” I asked carefully, leaning forward on my knees.
“Destroyed,” he said with a sigh. “They caught me.”
“Oh, fuck,” Ollie muttered under his breath.
“Yeah, oh fuck is right,” Levi chuckled derisively. “One of the Elders noticed me with my phone. He took the information directly to Father and the Reverend and… well, the rest is history.”
“What happened?” Zeke asked quietly.
“I don’t know if I can talk about it,” Levi admitted with shame. He sat back down in his chair, Ruth rubbing a hand over his back comfortingly.
“Look, Levi, I want to believe you. But withholding information right now is not exactly the way to get back into our good graces, if you know what I mean,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I could tell something was going to happen, so I ditched my phone. Smashed it and tossed it at a gas station when we stopped. I didn’t want it on me in case they questioned me,” he explained quietly.
“What would stop them from retracing their steps and finding the phone in the trash can? They could have tracked you easily,” Zeke accused, mirroring my pose as his eyes narrowed at Levi.
“Like I said, I smashed it. I took the SIM card out and smashed it, too. The card I flushed. The phone I threw into a field behind the gas station. I’m not that stupid, Zeke,” Levi sneered. “When we stopped that night to sleep… that’s when it happened.”
“Had you taken the children, then?” Zeke asked gravely.
“No, that wasn’t the purpose of the trip. The men we met were the ones transporting the girls to Zion. The entire mission was to show me how their operation worked. So we met up with those men first, and then we were going to go to the cabin to see where they hold them, to basically brainwash them, and where they make the final decision if they are going to be sold or kept in Zion. That’s why the trip took a few more days.”
He took a deep, shuddering breath. None of us dared to speak as we listened.
“They woke me in the middle of the night, grabbing me. They took me to a location. I don’t know where. It was like a storage unit. Not very big, but all concrete. They questioned me. All of them. Father included,” he began shakily.
“I tried like hell to think fast on my feet, coming up with some story that was at least moderately plausible for the situation, but it wasn’t working. That’s when one of them suggested beating the truth out of me. Spare the rod, spoil the child and all that shit,” he scoffed. His own knee had started bouncing as he told the story, his eyes not meeting any of ours.
“That’s when Father stepped in. He offered to talk to me alone. Said that it was his duty as my father to beat me into submission if I wouldn’t be reasonable. For a minute, I thought they wouldn’t agree, that one by one they would each have their turn at beating me until I broke. That’s how it felt. I can’t explain it, but I knew in my gut that if I didn’t speak the truth, my life was on the line. But they surprised me. They listened to Father and one by one they each left the space, leaving only Father and I behind.” My stomach turned at Levi’s words, putting the pieces of this whole fuckery together as his story went on.
