The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) (123 page)

             
“So, you're the famous Mary Bachum.”

             
“Introductions clearly aren't in order.” Her arms were around me before I could even mentally prepare for close proximity to such a snake-like creature. To avoid being stoned to death, I patted her b
ack but did not squeeze her with both of my own arms.

             
“I am so glad that they managed to get you and your sister away from those people.” Her claw- like fingernails were digging into my cheek as she grasped my chin. “I can't imagine how scared you must ha
ve been, living with those mutated freaks.”

             
She insulted them so casually, I almost laughed.

             
“Where is my sister?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level. I couldn't afford to be perceived as overly confrontational. I was outnumbered laughably so a fight
was out of the question.

             
“She's with your mother, of course.”

             
“Maura isn't my mother.”

             
“Mary, I was just about to tell Violet about who we've arranged for her.”
             
“Oh, yes!” Mary clapped her hands together once gleefully. “He is a very smart boy, your b
oyfriend. It took no prodding for him to realize that this is where he is supposed to be. I can see that you're smart in the same way.”
             
“What?” I asked, furrowing my brows, “Who are you...”

             
“Violet!” A voice said behind me in thrilled relief.

Good thing
I wasn't like Brynna who firmly believed she would melt at the slightest physical contact. I was rolling my eyes skyward at having to endure another awkward embrace. But just as the irritation reached its peak, his smell overtook me and I was squeezing hi
m so tightly, I was sure that he couldn't breathe.

             
“Nick...” I fought the tears of relief that rushed into my eyes.

             
“Are you alright?” He asked me softly so that Mary and my dad, who were listening closely, couldn't hear.

             
“I'm fine. Are you?”

             
“I'm perf
ect. Isn't this great? We're finally away from those freaks! We're safe up here. We're going to win the war.”

             
His eyes betrayed his lies only to me.

             
“Yes.” I replied, following his lead, “It's great, isn't it? Maura and Dad are here, and you know how I'v
e missed them.”

             
“I love you.” He told me randomly.

             
“Wha...”

             
His mouth on mine cut off my dumbfounded reaction to such an emotionally heavy statement. We were dancing in a charade that I didn't understand. I kissed him back to keep up with him. Clearly,
Nick had a plan that I was meant to follow.

             
“I love you, too.” I smiled despite my vast confusion.

             
“That is very sweet.” Mary was grasping her heart, grinning gigantically.

             
“He's a good man, Vi, just like Mary said. He knows where his loyalty belongs.
Plus, he's proof that you’re normal and thank God for that! Compare him to that freak your sister is dating.”

             
“
Shh..
.” Mary whispered, grasping his arm, “We are not going to speak of those awful people. God wouldn't want their names to cross our lips.”
             
“
You're right.” My dad smiled at her, “Well, Vi, I know it's sudden and you're probably going to be a little surprised, but Mary and Rich have a couple of rules that you have to follow. One of them is that everyone, except for those under the age of fifteen
, has to be married.”

             
A little surprised was the understatement of the thousands of years that the Earth and Pangea had existed. I grasped Nick's hand tightly in my own, my eyes wide. His face wore a similar expression of horrified disbelief.

             
“Why?” He
asked.

             
“Because if you love someone, you get married, of course!” Mary replied with another bright grin. She put her arms around both of us and walked us along. “It's a huge step but it's the right step. Here, we live by a strict moral code, one that has
been outlined for us by God. Following His laws has led us to victory. While that awful man, Abba, believes that people can govern themselves, we believe that people must live by the laws of God. Alcohol and the drugs that grow in the ground here are forbi
dden. People must uphold the traditional values of marriage; one man, one woman. That's how it's written, after all.”

             
“What else are we not allowed to do?”

             
“Oh, sweetheart, don't make it sound so restrictive! We do require all of the people we're feeding
and housing to attend church services in that building.” She pointed to the large wooden structure in the dead center of the village's square, “That's our church. We have services three times a day.”

             
That seemed a bit excessive...

             
“We did take some cues
from your people, though. The people we had in your camp reported that you all grow your own food. They taught us how to do it, so we can thank them for that.”

             
“
Only
that.” My father added with a scowl.

             
“Yes. Only for that. Your sister will attend class
es everyday. We have several teachers in our group who will teach her the ways of the Lord. Of course, she'll also learn math.”

             
Wow. How progressive of them to teach Math.

             
“The men work while the women take care of the house. So Nick, you'll be helping t
o harvest the crops. Violet, you'll make sure that he has a nice dinner waiting for him when he comes home.”

             
“When are we getting married, exactly?” I tried to sound as though I was looking forward to the forced union.

             
“Three days.” Mary replied, “Just a
simple service. Now, gentlemen, I'd like to talk to Violet alone. Nick, if you'd like to go to the Temple, Rich will fill you in on all you need to know about your duties.”

             
“Alright. Violet, I'll see you at dinner.” My dad told me. Nick kissed me again a
nd very discreetly indicated both of my eyes. After that quick gesture, he widened his own. Message received: Keep your eyes open.

             
An awkward silence perched malevolently between Mary and me. At least, it was awkward for me. That deceptive smile remained
plastered on her face at all times. Her soft hands grasped my own as she sat us both down on a stone bench.

             
“I know it seems like a lot to handle. I know it seems a little over the top. We had some people suggest that we had taken away their basic freedom
s. That's not the case, Violet. We have these rules because human beings
need
to have rules. We are human beings, despite what Don and his band of brutes would have you believe.”

             
“What are the consequences for breaking the rules?”
             
Her smile widened and t
hat wicked gleam in her eyes intensified. This was a woman who enjoyed seeing people punished brutally. How that fit into the Godly creed, I didn't know.

             
“They are severe. The rules have shaped our lives, down to the very foundation. We wouldn't be here i
f Rich hadn't put them into effect. Men work to ensure that we have enough food to eat. Women cook, clean and sew, amongst other things. The roles are of equal importance.”

             
“Do you mandate how many children we have to pop out, too?” I asked before biting
my tongue. The sarcasm was inherent, as I'm sure you've realized. Her smile faltered when she realized that I was being facetious. I scrambled to cover the misstep.

             
“That's what Don told us. He said that you make people have lots of babies even if they do
n't want to. He said that you make people...” I lowered my voice to a dramatically timid whisper. “You make people have
relations
whenever you say they have to.”

             
She closed her eyes, her smile vanished completely. I wondered if it had ever existed, given
how quickly it was erased from her face. Her hands tightened around mine.

             
“What an awful thing for him to tell you! You poor child...”

             
“I've never done that before and I'm afraid to.”

             
“Of course you've never done that before! Your father raised you well
. Though, he did permit Maura to infect you with her cynicism and her, if I may be frank, less-than-moral ways when it comes to men. Violet, no one will ever tell you when you have to do that. You'll only do that with Nick when you're ready to and only aft
er you're married. That man spreads his vicious lies because he knows that what he is doing is wrong. A part of him knows that he deserves to be struck down for what he has allowed people to do in that festering, sinful place he called a home. That wasn't
a home, Violet. That wasn't a family. You don't have to live in fear of men soliciting that from you. We all value marriage here so don't worry about that for a second. You don't have to worry about being tempted with drugs or alcohol, either, because like
I said, we don't allow either here. We just live our lives in peace, in the light of God. It's the best way to live, I promise.”

             
There was a warmth to her voice that hadn't been present before. I almost believed her. I know that she believed herself. She
and Rich both believed exactly what my father did; they were acting with the needs of others in mind. They were promoting the greater good. I wished that I could believe the
promises she was making. Besides the unequal gender roles and the brutality that
they evoked when punishing those that broke their rules, the place seemed to be alright. Living under Don's lack of rules had bred some sticky situations that were whispered about while we worked. His belief that we were not fit to judge even when one of o
ur own committed a cruel act had allowed men and women to harm one another without fear of consequences. Here, at least, I didn't have to worry about being stolen from or assaulted.

             
But I wasn't staying. Nick and I would be escaping long before they could
force us to get married. We would take Penny and run as far from that deceptively perfect place as we could. I would not be taken in by her promises. I could see that while she insisted the laws were for our benefit, they were simply the way that she and
her husband controlled others. Those other people were scared survivors of the cataclysmic event that had taken our Earth. They would follow anyone who promised them safety. The laws they lived under were comforting to them because to adhere to the restric
tions meant shutting off their brains and towing the line without hesitation. It must have been nice, to have no reason to think.

             
“Violet!”

             
Her girlish squeal of excitement jolted me out of my reverie. I pulled my hands from Mary's grasp and turned just
in time to catch her when she jumped towards me. Penny's small arms wrapped around my neck and her lips pressed to my cheek.

             
“I missed you, Vi!” She exclaimed with both of her tiny hands on my face.

             
“I missed you too, Penn. Are you alright?”

             
“Maura and
I went for a walk and she showed me where this gigantic eagle lives. It has these really big eggs and it saw us and flew away!”

             
I had to love her excitement and how she had no idea that we were in danger. I wanted to preserve her innocence by allowing her
to believe that we were safe.

             
“When are Brynna, James, Eli, Allie, and Quinn getting here? Maura said they would be here soon. I want to show them the eagle!”
             
“Uh...” I looked back at Mary to find her scowling at Maura darkly. “They'll be here soon.”

             
I
should have rectified Maura's mistake by saying that the rest of our family would never meet us there. That's what Mary wanted me to say. Her eyes screamed but one command: Tell that little girl that her family is dead. But I couldn't break her little hea
rt. I couldn't even pretend that Brynna, Elijah and James were gone. My avoidance of saying such a terrible thing was for both Penny’s benefit and my own. I just couldn’t bear the thought of it.