Respect was earned, not given.
I stepped into her bedroom, finding the freshly cleaned woman lying in her bed, snoring, her hair braided back, nothing left of the tragedy but scratches and bruises.
One of her legs had come out from under the covers, the blanket just about falling away from her breast. She was clearly still under the influence of the drugs and alcohol she had consumed. Her breathing was still so shallow, it was almost nonexistent, her body as still as stone. In fact, upon first look, one might say she was already dead.
“Surviving is a feat,” I hummed, stepping up to the side of her bed. “You should be proud you survived such an ordeal and know that I don’t speak of tonight.”
I studied her face, using my cane to push back her blankets enough to view her hands. “You look similar,” I went on, turning my attention to her wrists, finding what I wanted. “Barely, but enough.”
I carefully pulled the bracelet off her lifeless body and pocketed it, finding her eyes again. “Thank you, daffodil.”
Standing, I gave her one last once over before heading for the door. Things were clicking into place that shouldn’t have been, but it wasn’t up to me to create the road I wanted to take.The road was the road, and I was but a vengeful god seeking retribution.
8
Scarlett
November 17th, 2019
We had to come to church early today, I wasn’t sure why. I just knew that nobody else was here except for the Leaders, the children of the Leaders, and me.
I had always wondered why they weren’t in attendance at these meetings more often. The children of the Leaders, of which there were six, all sons, knew almost as much as their fathers did about this church, yet Thomas was the only one in attendance for the majority of them.
They each had Favorites too, although none of them were allowed to go to these meetings, just me. I think it was because I had been the first of them to be picked.
I couldn’t be sure though. They didn’t discuss Favorites often.
“The one who held the party was dealt with,” Mr. Alascer said.
“Good,” Pastor Masters replied. “And the fliers?”
“All taken down,” Joseph Kels replied. “I can’t believe Marcus did that,” he muttered. “Starting a rumor that the church was abandoned just to have a party there?”
“It caused a lot of problems,” his father agreed. “We have since taken care of it, although the reputation will be hard to rebuild.”
“I say we tear it down and build another one,” L.J. Nelson suggested. “It wouldn’t take us more than a few months.”
“But the reputation still has a mark,” Mr. Kels replied icily. “How do we repair that? The Leaders of that church lost some kids, and that poor girl—”
“She’s been Claimed,” Mr. Alascer seethed. “She’s one of them now.”
“That is just a rumor,” Mr. Edgars muttered.
“The scar has been reported,” Mr. Nelson seethed. “She belongs to one of them now. She is a part of them. Which means she’s protected by them.”
“She’s your daughter,” Mr. Young reminded him bitingly, causing my interest to pique. “You should have taken care of her when you had the chance.”
“It was your suggestion to let her live andhavemy fun,” Mr. Alascer snarled. “I should have never listened to you.”
A terrible mistake to make for one so new. I had never heard of a Leader being sent to Absolution, usually that was reserved for Favorites or children not sold at auction. Everyone else was excommunicated, never to be seen again. But given the circumstances, it wouldn’t be an outrageous decision to send him there for what happened.
“But you did,” Pastor Masters replied, “and now we have a greater problem to deal with. The Family has hold of her, and while she may not remember what happened during her time in Absolution, there is a very good chance that one day she will, so we need to take precautions.”
“How?” Mr. Edgars asked. “They have more power than we do.”
“We need to send a message to the Elders and let them know what’s going on. Tell them that we’ve already taken care of the problem in California, but that other measures might need to be taken.”
“You can’t be serious,” Thomas said, standing up from the pew. “You’re suggesting that we take on The Family? We won’t survive that.”
