The back door suddenly burst open and two men came through. They wore all black, ski masks covering most of their faces. They looked to Sarai through the eye slits in the woolen material. She was still holding the gun.
“Are you Sarai?” one of them asked.
Sarai nodded her head and then the men turned to us. “Are these the whores?”
“Yes,” Sarai answered. Mae’s hold tightened into a grip.
“We’ve got the van in the alleyway, out back. We need to get to the meet point.”
The men stepped forward, and a cry slipped from my lips. One of the men gripped my arm, and the other took hold of Mae and Lilah. In seconds their large bodies were dragging us from the church. All three of us fought against their holds, but they were too strong. It was no use. I glanced behind to see Sarai following, and beyond Sarai I could see Pastor James’ body sprawled on the floor, blood flooding the hardwood beneath her.
Feeling nauseous, I fought back the vomit traveling up my throat. Then I caught Sarai’s eyes, and my blood chilled. The look in her eyes was the same look that Brother Moses wore when he took me as a child. The look that said he believed one hundred percent in what he was doing. That he was fueled by the power of the Prophet. That he was fueled by God himself.
“Sarai,” I whispered, my heart beating at what she had done. She was so young, yet she had just killed an innocent, without remorse. “Rethink this! Please!”
Her blue eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “You have been led astray, Whore. All of you have. And you all lie with the enemy. Each and every one of you lies with one of the devil’s men.” Sarai tightened her grip on the gun and said, “He told me you were corrupted, but hearing of it and seeing it with my own two eyes; they are two entirely different things. But he will see that you are punished. He will see that you all pay for what you have done.”
The man gripping my arm threw me forward and I landed in the back of a van. Lilah and Mae were sitting opposite me. Then we were plunged into darkness, only a small crack of light sneaking through the van’s doors. The engine fired up. My heart beat too fast and I felt I could not breathe as the darkness closed in.
“Lord…” I heard Lilah whisper, her voice trembling in fear, “What is going to happen to us? How did this happen?”
“Sarai,” I whispered back. “She was lying all along. Her appearance at the compound was a set up. For the Prophet. Ky and Styx had proper cause to doubt her intentions after all.”
Silence followed, then Mae said brokenly, “And I convinced Styx to let her stay. Lilah took her in and cared for her.” Mae’s head dropped into her hands and she said, “I always believed Cain was truly, underneath it all, the man I got to know as Rider. That he was just as lost as we three. Brainwashed, raised to believe wrong and hurtful things. But Sarai said we were to be taken to him. I… I…” Mae trailed off. Even in this darkness I could feel the sadness engulfing her body.
Silence reigned as the van began to move, then Lilah said, “Neither of you have seen New Zion. It is nothing like our old commune. And the Elders and Disciples to Prophet Cain… they are worse, if that is possible.” Lilah’s voice cut off, and she sniffed back her emotion. “I fear we will not see Ky or Styx again.”
My heart missed a beat at the pain in her voice, and I added, “Or my Flame.”
Mae and Lilah did not say anything in return, and feeling tears trickle down my cheeks, I confided, “He kissed me. Yesterday, we kissed…” A sob built in my throat but I managed to add, “and he held my hand. He touched me, and I cherished it. He kissed me. Against all odds, we kissed… and it was just as you both described… it was everything, and now I have lost him…”
“Maddie,” Mae whispered.
Then my fear spiked as I thought of what could lie ahead. I felt my body seize as my mind took me back to the memories I had pushed way into the dark recesses of my mind. Back to the commune. Back to when Mae had run away and the people were in panic. Back to the day that all four of the Elders came for me, to rid me of my family’s original sin…
I scurried into the corner when I heard footsteps approaching our quarters. But it was not a single set of footsteps. I could hear many. Many footsteps approaching our door.
“Maddie?” Lilah called from across the room. But I did not look to where she sat. I could not. My eyes were transfixed on the door. Transfixed on the many shadows moving in the hallway.
My arms wrapped around my legs, and I held on tight. For a fleeting moment I had the silly thought that if I made myself small enough, that if I pressed myself against the wall as small as I possibly could, then the Elders might leave me alone.