Page 75 of Malachi
“Why would he take her to St. George? Especially at a time like this?” she questioned.
“My thoughts exactly, but apparently she wanted to experience Abditory. So he loaded her up, along with his kit of things, and took her into the city. They didn’t make it far enough to actually get to Abditory, thank God, but someone followed them,” I continued on, leaning over until my elbows rested against my knees.
“Jesus,” she exclaimed in a breathy whisper. “That could have ended so badly. Who followed them?”
“The Reverend.”
“Oh shit,” she swore.
“Yeah. Gideon caught on a little too late and the Reverend pulled them over about a mile outside of St. George. He searched their truck, finding the kit of rope. Gideon is a rigger, if you remember.”
“Yeah, I remember. So what happened?” she asked quietly.
“Gideon was able to talk his way out of it, stating that they were in search of parts for his boat. He had only brought his jute rope, so it passed well enough as rope for the boat. But the Reverend saw what he needed to see. He surmised that Gideon’s… desires ranged far outside of Zion’s limits. And that was enough reason to decide to teach him a lesson. One he thought we all needed to learn,” I explained, the image of the burning boat still etched in my brain. I doubted I would forget it anytime soon.
“That was stupid,” she sighed, mirroring my posture.
“Yeah it was. So they dragged all of us out to Gideon’s house and burned it down,” I explained.
“They burned the house down?!” she shrieked.
“No, not the house. His boat,” I clarified, not that it made it much better.
“They burned down the Ataraxia?” she uttered, shocked.
“You know about the Ataraxia?” I questioned, surprised, as she had never been to Gideon’s house.
“Of course. Us women talk, you know,” she explained, bumping her shoulder into me.
“Yeah, they burned it down, clear to the ground, while they made us watch.” Her hand moved to my back, running over it in slow, soothing circles.
“I can’t believe it,” she sighed.
“I can. They are maniacs, complete tyrants hellbent on getting their way. Anyway, everyone will be heading our way shortly, meeting out at the pole barn again.”
“Why the pole barn? Why wouldn’t they just come here?” she asked.
“Because we’re being watched. There’s no way they’d not watch us after all of that.” With a huff, I stood, helping her to her feet. “Let’s get a quick bite to eat and head out that way.”
“I have a better idea,” she said with a small smirk. Her support and quiet comfort were not lost on me. We went inside and she surprised me once again, making a tray of sandwiches and snacks to take out to the pole barn.
“Snacks?” I questioned.
“You can’t tell me that any of us will be in the mood to cook a whole dinner tonight,” she shrugged. Her thoughtful, giving attitude warmed me. I simply smiled at her, helping to gather everything up before we made our way to the garage. We loaded up the UTV and headed out to the pole barn in silence. By the time we pulled up to the pole barn, Levi, Ruth, Zeke, and Talia were walking up from Zeke’s house.
“Hey guys,” Zeke greeted, the same exhaustion clear in his voice. Eden set the tray of food down on one of the workbenches before turning to embrace Ruth with open arms.
“Ruth,” she sighed with a smile. It did my heart good to see her getting along so well with my new sisters. I wasn’t a fool. I knew these women were going to be a part of my family for a long time. Whether Eden would as well, remained to be seen. It was a conversation we had not had. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if it was a conversation I was ready to have.
“Hey, Eden,” Talia greeted softly. I watched as both Eden and Ruth touched Talia’s stomach softly, the three women smiling at one another.
“She’s right there, safe and sound, and I still can’t get rid of the fear in my gut,” Zeke whispered beside me, his eyes locked on his pregnant wife. She was just starting to show.
“They won’t be truly safe until we are away from this place,” I agreed in a grumbled tone.
“This is one fucked up mess,” Levi agreed beside us.
“That it is, brother. That it is.” Soon, Ollie and Gideon joined us, along with their wives. Gideon didn’t venture far from Naomi, soothing her with a hand on her back, much as Eden had soothed me only a short time ago.
