AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Fourteen
On the Horizon
Fiveyearsago,my brother-in-law had branded my sister. She told me she had an accident with a controlled burn. “I got a little careless with the lighter fluid. It shot up and bit my arm. No big deal,” she’d said as she brushed me off.
“Why were you adding lighter fluid when the burn had been going all day? It didn’t rain,” I questioned. She’d shoved her sleeve down as if that would erase its existence. I had noticed the bottom of the symbol, curved lines that resembled waves.
She motioned for me to move along with my chores. When she killed a conversation, there was no way to bring it back to life.
Dean had come over that evening, and I’d told him what I saw. He knew how to get people to answer questions – to confess. After a card game and some whiskey, they revealed everything. The Assembly of the Eternal had spread its roots in our little town. Tattoos must have been cliché, but stigmatizing a follower, that meant loyalty.
Later, Dean told me about their admission in confidence, confirming my suspicions. He told me that my sister was anxious about the branding and their conversation. “She will tell you during the weekend trip into town. She’s a grown woman, and she’s made her decision.”
I’d lain in bed, angry and numb, after he told me the news I had already known in my heart. Her family had bound itself to the will of a cult, the Assembly of the Eternal. Her arm would forever bear their mark. The mark had waves that intersected with a circle and a twisting of flames throughout. I knew what it looked like. I had seen the full branding in my dreams as a child.
I saw it again that night on Sam’s back.
A scarred circle around the edges of a faded design was all that remained of a failed attempt at removal. My fingers felt the rough skin when I traced the lines in disbelief. There was so much to each other’s story left to tell.
He awakened at some point, feeling my fingertips along the lines. He drew in a deep breath and turned to face me. “I was hoping to tell you about that before you saw it.”
“Who else has seen it?”
Sam paused in thought. “Oh, are you worried about Dean? At the clinic?”
“I don’t know, really. Anyone seeing that… it’s dangerous.”
“I changed myself into scrubs after they finished with the torture, er, I mean, medical attention,” he chuckled.
“I’m being serious. They hunted those left from the Assembly of the Eternal for sport. I can’t say it would be much different here.”
“Lots of things are different here. No one needs to worry about some long-dead cult.”
“Not all dead,” I whispered.
It was almost morning, and BeLew would be up soon. I didn’t want them to hear a discussion about the AOE. Anytime it came on the news or radio, they stiffened with fear. Once, in a food bank line, we’d heard a couple of men talking about survivors. The suicides had swept the country, but not everyone had obeyed. They’d spoken about killing those that were left. I was used to that kind of talk. Political correctness had been long gone, along with social decency. We were simple people, and taking the law into your own hands had become commonplace.
When the line had moved and I’d turned to usher the boys forward, I saw Beau had wet himself. Lewis had stood in front of him, protecting his brother. The intensity of their fear was justified, and I couldn’t do a thing to lessen their emotional scars. Their bodies weren’t branded, but their minds still felt the burn.
“We can’t talk about this now. The boys, my sister…” I trailed off, my voice giving out from the memory. “My sister was in the AOE. It killed her.”
“Did she take ′the swim’?” His forehead creased with worry. He reached for me, and I folded into his warmth.
“No. Her husband tried to take them. She died, and BeLew and I got out. Again, we can’t talk about this around the boys. Not ever. Do you understand?”
“You know I do. Row, I’ll just tell you this. I didn’t join out of belief or faith. I did it… I did it to save people. Do you understand? I was trying to get inside the organization. Do you believe me?”
“Yes, now go shower. You smell like sex and sweat.”
“Wow,” he smiled. “Way to end a conversation and kick me out. Has anyone complimented your skill at changing the subject?”
“Well, speaking of that, are we going to discuss the fight? Do you want to talk about that, instead?”
Sam blinked a few times and shook his head no. “I had to process what you said. Let’s agree to disagree, but I understand I can’t control much of anything here, not even your decisions. I’ll take what I can get with you… whatever that means.”
“I care about you,” I admitted. “More than I should… more than makes sense.”
Sam kissed me and stroked my hair from my face. “I care about you, too. You and the boys. More than makes sense.”
