“Anne, what’s going on?” I demanded, out of breath.
“It’s David. I—”
At that moment, I heard him yell. Violent and ugly, it was the sound of someone losing their mind. The group of Gathering members standing outside the door moved aside as Pastor Carter and two other men—Stanley and Clement, of course—came outside, all but dragging my brother. He had collapsed and become dead weight.
I ran to them, my heart pounding so hard in my chest I felt dizzy. “David, are you all right?” I tried to grab my brother’s arm but one of the men pushed me back.
Pastor Carter nodded to Clement and Stanley and they walked him down the steps, not saying a word to me.
“Where are you taking him? David!” I screamed.
Pastor Carter smiled at me, the bastard. “Your brother will be fine. But his outbursts won’t be tolerated here.” The way he spoke—so calmly, so matter-a-factly— made my skin crawl.
I clenched my fists, willing myself not to hit him. I had a vivid fantasy of grabbing him by his greasy ponytail and pummeling his smarmy face. “Where. Are. You. Taking. My. Brother?”
“He will be spending some time in The Refuge. You don’t need to worry about him.” Pastor Carter started to walk away, following the men who were taking my brother off to god knows where The Refuge was.
“Wait!” I started to run after him. I didn’t know what I was going to do but it most likely wouldn’t be good.
A hand grabbed my arm, holding me back. “Stop, Bastian. Just stop.”
Sara’s insistent voice was firm. I tried to shake her loose. “Let go of me, goddamn it!”
She used both hands to pull me to her side. “You’ll only make it worse for David and for yourself. You need to calm down.”
“Where the hell are they taking him?” I asked through gritted teeth.
Sara’s eyes were full of grief. Her lips pressed together fretfully. “The Refuge. It’s where disciples are taken to—” She let out a noisy breath as if too distressed to continue.
“What happens in The Refuge, Sara? Tell me now.”
Her face was unnaturally pale. Her breathing labored. “It’s where we go if we aren’t following the path,” she whispered, closing her eyes. She appeared in agony.
“Have you ever been to The Refuge?” I asked, trying to soften my tone but failing. I could see how stressed she was, but I could only think of one thing. I had to get to my brother.
She nodded. “Many times.”
I didn’t want to hear any more. I could tell that whatever this fucking place was, it was bad. I wouldn’t leave David there. I would get him out. I would do whatever I had to.
“Take me there,” I commanded.
She balked. “I can’t—”
“Please. David needs me. I won’t leave him alone.” I took her hands, covering them with my own. “Please, Sara.” I’d beg on my knees if I had to.
Anne came over, her cheeks tear stained. “I’m so sorry, Bastian. I don’t know what happened.” She started to cry again.
“Start at the beginning, Anne. He seemed better when I left.” I still held onto Sara’s hands. As if losing that physical contact would be my undoing.
“Hewasdoing better. He was even smiling. I had gotten him out of bed. He and I—.” She blushed. I could infer what she wasn’t saying and I didn’t want to hear about what they had been doing. “Pastor Carter arrived. Said he needed to speak to David alone. He asked how he was doing and I told him about how he’d been in bed most of the day but he was up now.”
I could feel Sara’s hands shaking in mine. She was having a visceral reaction and I didn’t know why. But I kept my focus on Anne. “What did Pastor Carter say to him?”
Anne covered her face with her hands, her shoulders heaving. “I don’t know. He made me leave the room. I was standing outside when I heard David cry out. I tried to go back inside but the elders barred the entrance. They wouldn’t let me go to him.”
I was shaking with fury. My suspicions that Pastor Carter was a destructive, malicious man were confirmed. I wanted to kill him.
But I had to play this right. If I wanted to get David away from this awful group, I couldn’t commit murder.
