Heller's Punishment (20 page)

Chapter
13

It seemed like
only a second after I closed my eyes that everyone was stirring in
the dormitory. I opened one eyelid, decided it was far too early
for my liking and closed it again, rolling over. I buried my head
under the hard, lumpy pillow to block out the noise of the others
moving around. A hand grasped my shoulder and shook me.

“Come on,
Recruit Tilly. It’s time to get up. You don’t want to waste a
moment of this beautiful day the Lord has given us.” Well, that
just showed what she knew, because I would have been quite happy to
waste most of the day sleeping.

But I wasn’t
given the opportunity, being forced out of bed. I staggered
blearily to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. I decided
I needed a shower and went back to get a fresh shift from the pile
given to me by the Head Farmer. I opened my little cupboard and
noticed immediately that someone had looked through my belongings.
It had been done subtly, but things hadn’t been put back exactly
the same way.

“I’ve taken
your iPod, tablet and makeup into safe keeping if you’re concerned
about where they are,” I heard the Head Farmer’s voice right behind
me. I jumped and turned around quickly. “Those items aren’t allowed
here. I’d like you to hand over your phone as well, please Recruit
Tilly.”

“No,” I flatly
refused. There might be a hill or somewhere on the property where I
could find some reception.

“Recruits are
not permitted to disobey orders. Especially from me. There is
disciplinary action for such misbehaviour.”

“I’m not a
recruit,” I reminded her in an angry, low voice.

“I have to
treat you like one or the others will become suspicious,” she shot
back in an equally low voice. “Now, please hand over your
phone.”

“No. I need
it.”

“Recruit Tilly,
do as you are instructed or there will be consequences.” Her voice
grew louder and other Farmers looked over at us, eyes wide with
interest. “All Farmers must learn obedience to the Head
Farmer.”

She started
patting down my body with her large hands, touching me
intimately.

“Get your hands
off me!” I snapped, shoving her away. The onlookers gasped with
shock. I guess people didn’t talk back to the Head Farmer very
often.

She leaned in
closer and whispered furiously, “You’re causing a scene. Hand over
the phone and I’ll give it back to you later. All right? Don’t
undermine my authority here.”

Reluctantly, I
handed my phone over to her. She snatched it from my hands.

“Jye!” she
yelled out. He came running over immediately, like a faithful pet.
“Recruit Tilly’s been disobedient and she needs to be punished. Two
hours in the hot box.”

She strode
away.

There was a
general murmur of horror around the room, and Jye stepped forward
to clutch me around the upper arm. He nodded to another burly man
who took my other arm, and together they frogmarched me from the
dormitory. I struggled against them violently, but together they
were too strong for me.

They dragged me
to a small shed made entirely of corrugated iron. Jye opened the
door and they pushed me inside, closing and locking the door behind
them. The shed comprised a tiny empty room, one metre by one metre,
no windows or other ventilation, constructed on a bare concrete
slab. With the door shut it was completely dark and disorienting.
There was barely any room inside, and I could touch all four walls
without moving. I felt along all the walls and pushed against them,
but there was no escape.

The shed was
out in the open, strategically positioned so that it received full
sunlight all day. With no shade around to soften the harsh rays and
with the iron absorbing the heat, I soon understood why it was
called the ‘hot box’. After thirty minutes, I was already drenched
in sweat, feeling as though I was suffocating, and the sun wasn’t
even close to reaching full strength yet. I didn’t bother banging
on the walls as my instincts shouted at me to do. I wasn’t going to
give that bitch the satisfaction of seeing me panicked, although I
began to feel claustrophobic.

I heard a brief
scuffle outside, voices raised and the lock clattered against the
door, but then it fell silent again. I managed to sit on the floor
by pulling my knees up around my ears and wrapping my arms around
my legs. I stayed in that position for the rest of my time in the
hot box, zoning out by leaning against a wall and catching up on
some of the sleep I’d missed out on last night.

I fell into an
uneasy sleep and dreamt that I was on a beach with Heller,
complaining about how hot it was that day and that maybe we should
go back home. He held my hand and smiled at me as we walked back to
his Mercedes and I urged him to walk faster because it was so hot
and I really needed to get into the air conditioning. He promised
to buy me an ice cream and a cold icy drink with lots of ice cubes.
I awoke then, groggy with sleep and heat, feeling cramped and
shaky. The sweat poured from me, and my mouth was so dry I could
barely swallow.
How long does it take to dehydrate?
The heat
and darkness played tricks on my brain and I began hallucinating,
seeing vivid fireworks in the dark.
What if they forgot about me
in here?
I panicked. I would surely be dead by the end of the
day.

The lock
rattled and the door slowly opened. The Head Farmer and Jye peered
in at me. I slowly stood up, stretching my jellied muscles, trying
not to gulp in the fresh air. Although weak and disoriented, it was
a matter of pride for me to stalk past them without a word, even if
I wasn’t sure my legs would hold me up.

I went directly
to the dormitory and fetched fresh clothes from my cupboard. In the
bathroom, I gulped down litres of water straight from the tap. I
stepped into a cold shower, washing off the sweat and enjoying the
cool water on my skin. As I showered, I decided that I was leaving.
I didn’t care if Heller lost money on this assignment, I wasn’t
staying here another second. I no longer felt safe.

I quickly
changed into my own clothes and stepped out of the shower cubicle.
The Head Farmer was waiting for me in the bathroom, her beefy arms
crossed against her massive boobs.

“Take those
clothes off and put your shift back on, Recruit Tilly.”

“No. I’m
leaving.”

“
Do not
disobey me again!
” she screamed at me.

“Drop dead,
bitch.”

I tried to push
past her, but she grabbed my upper arms, her fingers biting into me
painfully.

“Recruits must
learn obedience.”

“
I’m not a
recruit!
” I shouted back at her. “Let me go! I’m leaving. You
can sort out your own problems. You’re all a bunch of weirdos.”

“Jye!”

And he came
running in as if he’d been waiting at the door. He and the other
man took hold of me again and though weakened, I struggled
valiantly against them. But it was futile and they dragged me back
to the hot box and threw me in, slamming the door shut.

Tears sprang to
my eyes and I instantly suppressed them, not wanting to waste a
precious drop of my internal water reserves. I settled back down on
the floor, wishing that I had changed into another shift and not
into my jeans, which were already heavy and clammy. I dozed and
woke, dozed and woke, not sure how long I’d been in the hot box, my
brain bleary and dazed. When the door opened again I wasn’t capable
of standing up on my own, my muscles too weak. I crawled out of the
hot box on my hands and knees, immediately throwing up the meagre
watery contents of my stomach. I collapsed onto the ground, gasping
in the fresh air, blinking in the bright light.

I managed to
push myself up on to my hands and knees again and slowly crawled
towards the dormitory, my arms and legs shaking uncontrollably.
Simon and a kind-faced older woman rushed forward to prop
themselves under me and together we somehow made it to the
bathroom, where they helped me drink some water. I gulped it down
greedily, but then threw it back up. After spluttering and choking,
I tried again, taking slower sips despite my raging thirst, and
this time I managed to keep it down.

They walked me
into a shower cubicle and I stood under it fully clothed. Simon
fetched a clean shift for me, while the lady assisted me in drying
and dressing myself. Simon then helped me to my bed where I fell
gratefully onto the scratchy blanket.

He thanked the
lady for her help and sat on my bed, holding my hand. “Tilly,
please stop disobeying the Head Farmer. It makes her very angry. I
know what she’s capable of when she’s angry. I’ve borne the brunt a
few times myself, so I speak from experience.”

“I’m leaving,
Simon,” I croaked out.

“Perhaps that’s
for the best. This life of obedience doesn’t seem to suit you.” His
eyes were sad.

“I’m not here
as a recruit. The Head Farmer hired me as security because of the
threatening letters you’ve been receiving. I work for a business
called
Heller’s Security & Surveillance
in the city and
the Head Farmer is paying me to be here. So she has no right to be
punishing me for anything. My being a recruit was merely a cover
story not to disturb the rest of the Farmers.”

“Oh.” He took
all this in, then looked around warily. Everyone was currently
giving me a wide berth and we were alone in the dormitory. “I don’t
want you to go, Tilly. Can I tell you something? Now that I know
you don’t want to join us.” I nodded and he looked cautiously
around again. “There’s something going on here. I don’t know what
it is, but I’ve had suspicions for a while. Ever since she took
over as Head Farmer, this place has changed. She seems to be more
interested in making money than pursuing our religious beliefs.
When I’ve been out in the fields, I’ve noticed strange cars and
motor bikes in the compound a few times. I think Jye and her have
made some business arrangement that’s gone sour and that’s why
we’re getting the threatening letters. But I don’t know any
details. It’s only my suspicions.”

I sat up,
immediately revived. “You haven’t said anything to her about this,
have you?”

“I tried to
bring up what I’ve witnessed a few times, and she brushed me off.
But I’ve noticed that she treats me differently now. I’m not
included in decision-making anymore, even though I’m a Senior
Farmer and should be. I’ve become a pariah with her and Jye. They
don’t trust me. Do you think you could stay a bit longer, and help
me find out what’s going on here? A fresh set of eyes might notice
something that I haven’t.”

I was torn. I
really wanted to escape as soon as possible, but I didn’t want to
leave Simon at the mercy of that woman. I tightened my grip on his
hand.

“Okay Simon,
I’ll stay to see if we can get to the bottom of this, but I really
need to contact my boss. What are my options here? She’s taken my
phone and my tablet, not that they were any use.”

“There’s a
landline in her office, but I’m pretty sure she’s code-locked it so
that no one else can use it. There’s also a laptop in the office,
but it’s always locked away in the bottom drawer of the filing
cabinet. I saw her put it away hastily when I walked in on her
unannounced one day.”

“What? Jye told
me The Farm didn’t allow computers. What a lying bastard.”

He shrugged
apologetically. “They have dial-up, I think. Whatever’s going on
here, I think it’s connected to the top fields. I haven’t been
allowed to farm up there for a couple of years now, even though
it’s some of our best ground.”

“We need to
have a look up there to find out what’s going on.” I pulled a face.
“I’m going to have to grovel to her and pretend I’ve learned my
lesson. But I’m really starting to wonder why they wanted me here
in the first place. I have to try to contact my boss. I need his
advice.”

“Why don’t you
offer to become a field worker when you talk to the Head Farmer? I
supervise the field workers and that would give us plenty of
opportunity to talk together. And maybe explore the top
fields.”

“Good
thinking.”

We both stopped
talking and let go of each other’s hands when the Head Farmer
walked into the dormitory and came over to my bed, looking down at
me scathingly.

“Have you had
time to rethink your behaviour?” she demanded.

“Yes,” I lied,
keeping my eyes downcast in what I hoped appeared to be total
submission.

“Are you going
to cause me any more trouble?”

“No, Head
Farmer.”

An exultant
smile broke across her face. “Excellent. I didn’t enjoy punishing
you, Tilly, but I must maintain order and discipline at The Farm.
What have you and Farmer Simon been discussing?”

“He was telling
me about the crops and explaining the duties of a field worker. I
think I’d be interested in trying that for my assignment. If that’s
okay with you of course, Head Farmer.”

She regarded
Simon with dislike. “I guess. I wanted you to work with me in the
office, but it would be good for you to try the field first.” She
took my hand and leaned down, kissing me on the lips. I forced
myself not to shudder in revulsion. “I’m so glad that we’ve come to
an understanding. It saddened me to see you in such agony, Tilly.
Let’s make sure it never happens again, hmm?”

She stroked my
cheek with the back of her index finger, her touch repulsive to me.
She glared once more at Simon before leaving us alone again.

“Yuck! I feel
sick!” I spat, scrubbing at my mouth vigorously.

Simon was
angry. “She should keep her hands off you. She’s disgusting.
There’s no purity in her heart.”

“Careful. She
might hear you and this is your home. You have to stay here, I
don’t. I would hate to think of you being put in the hot box.” I
took his hand again.