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We were speaking rapidly back and forth to each other.
“Matthew, I believe they are evil and lying to us. I don’t know why, but things aren’t what they seem.” I racked my brain on how to convince him. A fact popped in my head. “Oh, right before I left I overheard the Keeper talking to John. I was to be married to John even though The Light hadn’t blessed the marriage. They wanted to use me to get an heir.”
The blood drained from Matthew’s face. “They told me that you wanted the marriage. That you went with John to ask The Light.”
“No, I didn’t. I promise.” Disgust rolled throughout me while relief washed over Matthew’s.
I kept pressing forward. “The policed were told what was suspected. They said they came and couldn’t find anything. Not even the graves.”
A light clicked behind Matthew’s eyes. “There was a private meeting with the Watchers. The Keeper said The Light had warned him about someone visiting from the doomed world and trying to upset our way of life.” He paused. “He also said those who had died of the illness needed to be disposed of. They were tampering with our purity. After the police left we slowly burned the bodies to cleanse our unity.”
My heart sunk. Somehow The Society had been tipped off. “Matthew, I think they got rid of the evidence. We have to stop them.”
Matthew closed his eyes as he tried to process everything. “Sarah, if what you’re saying is true . . .”
The implication lingered out there. “I promise it is. Trust me, Matthew. Please.”
“What are you wanting me to do?” That wasn’t a commitment, but it was a start.
I took out a pen and paper from my purse to scribble my information on as well as seventy-five dollars. “Here’s my phone number and some money.”
Taking everything, Matthew asked, “What do you want me to do with this?”
“If you can find anything that links The Society to something illegal, call me. I go to the school in Fayetteville, Arkansas. You can take the bus from Nevada to me. It’s how I left.”
For the first time ever, I saw tension in Matthew’s crystal blue eyes. It broke my heart what I was doing to him, but I knew Matthew would never want anyone to suffer.
Matthew studied the piece of paper. “I need some time to think about this.”
“They can’t know I’m alive.” Fear rushed through as I thought about them finding out. I’d become the hunted if they knew.
“I would never betray you, but you’re asking me to go against my beliefs.”
“I know.”
Matthew reached out and touched my hand. The familiarity came rushing back. Through my entire life, I’d trust Matthew. It was hard seeing the doubt in his eyes. Many times, I’d wondered what would happened if we ever saw each other again. This wasn’t how I’d imagined it—at all.
The door chime sounded and Matthew glanced around and lowly said, “I need to go. The Keeper is here.”
“They can’t know I’m alive.” I had to put that out there one more time to imprint the imperativeness of the situation.
The solemn look in Matthew’s eyes told me he was making a vow to me. Vows were something Matthew never broke. “I promise. Not a word.”
Matthew stepped out into the main part of the gas station as I heard the icy voice that had me flattening myself against the wall, wishing I could be invisible. “Matthew?”
That voice meant death. That voice had robbed me of so much. That voice needed to pay for all the wrongs. It took everything within me not to run out there and demand answers. I wante
d retribution for my mom’s death.
“Yes, Sir.”
Why hadn’t he called him Keeper? We were never to address the Keeper so informally.
“We’re ready to depart, Matthew.” The sound of the Keeper’s voice was still like nails on a chalkboard.
“Yes, Sir.”
Matthew walked away. Resting my head in my hands, I tried to keep my heart intact. I hoped I made the right decision to tell Matthew, to make him part of this mission.
