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Magic placed a plate in front of me, and my mouth dropped open in awe. My new favourite word, hell, broke into my mind. There were two thick pieces of bread filled with ham, I think the meat was, lettuce, tomatoes, juicy ones, and cucumber. I sat there waiting for approval to eat as Magic stared. A light clicked on in his eyes, and he frowned.
“Rule four, I put something in front of you. Don’t wait for permission!” Magic said, and I snatched the food and took a huge bite.
I groaned as flavours hit my tongue. I’d tasted nothing so delicious. The meal was amazing. Much of the foodstuff I’d eaten in my life had been to nourish my body. But this, this was heaven. Hungrily, I devoured the sandwich and licked my lips before draining the glass of coke. A little burp escaped, but I raised my hand and covered it. Magic watched in amusement as he placed a second on my plate, and I attacked. This was different meat, chicken, I thought, but I didn’t care. Magic also put chips on my plate. Chips!
Again, they were snacks I’d seen but never eaten. The Ministers ate them, but not us ordinary folk. They tasted of cheese and onion and were crunchy. Wow! The outside food was fantastic. I licked my fingers and stared at Magic.
“Okay, honey, let’s talk. Because I can’t let you loose on the world alone. Some fuckin’ perv would snatch you within hours. Did you have a plan? No, forget that. Tell me about your life,” Magic requested, sitting. Kind eyes bored into me, and I bit my lip. Discussing the church was against every rule. But then I’d broken so many today, so who cared?
“I grew up in the Whispering Willow Church of Godliness. I don’t recall my mother. Mother died when I was three. Father is the Eighth Minister and has three wives. Sadly, I was his only child. Father claimed I was to be the First and Second Minister’s wife because I was perfect. So God had already blessed him.”
“Tell me about the church,” Magic asked, his fingers drumming on the worktop.
“We pray for an hour every morning. One minister will lead the service. Everyone not a minister must attend. There is no excuse, even if you’re sick or in labour. You must be there or be beaten. Then the Ministers disappear while the women begin our endeavours with the animals and harvesting the vegetables and salads in the fields. Then a Disciple rings the bell for lunch, and we eat for thirty minutes before returning to work.
“We all have different roles. Some ladies do laundry, and others serve in the kitchen. A few are cleaners, child carers, and workers in the fields. We have a dedicated team to look after the elderly and sick, but they are high-ranked women. I worked in the fields as I loved growing things.”
“What do the men do?” Magic said, but with an odd tone, almost as if he’d guessed.
“Well, the new recruits watch us working and ensure we are safe from outsiders. They are called the Recruits of God. The next level for the fellows is the Servants of God, who do important things like guarding the church and our homes. They ensure no outsider sets foot on sacred land because they are heathens who don’t love God. Once they have progressed beyond Servants of God, they become Voices of God. They teach the women and children lessons, which we have every night between seven and eight. The Voices also take classes with the youngsters during the day, teaching them God’s Words and their roles in life.
“Then there are the Disciples of God. Once you reach that high level, you may start taking wives. They can marry as often as they wish because that is what God wants. It is not unusual for them to share wives, either. The woman’s role is to serve her husband first and then God. Because God put men on earth to protect women, we owe them allegiance first. Women are thereto serve men and have children to ensure our church remains strong. We are ready to marry as soon as we begin our first bleed…” I broke off as Magic loudly ground his teeth.
“S’okay baby, continue,” Magic said.
I hesitated, but Magic nodded in reassurance.
“Above the Disciples are the Ministers. There are twelve of them, and they speak with God’s voice and tell us what God wants. They watch over and protect and ensure the rules are kept. The Ministers also confirm or deny marriages and arrange them, too. Suppose a woman is reluctant to marry a man. In that case, they take her into the Reaffirmation Centre, so she remembers her place in God’s Creation, Laws, and Rules.
“When she leaves, she marries who the Ministers say. It is frightening in there because God is so angry at them. They come out skinny and silent and often have bruises from where God makes the Ministers punish them. And they have to be taken in front of the congregation to prove their love and loyalty to their husband.”
“Taken?” Magic demanded, his voice a low growl.
“Yes, the entire church has to watch them copulate, so we know she belongs to her husband and has capitulated fully to God’s commands.”
“And what if she cries or fights?” Magic asked.
“Oh, they often cry. The Ministers say it’s joy because of knowing they’ve obeyed God. But I see the pain in their faces and eyes. Magic, I disagreed,” I answered and covered my mouth. It’s the first time I’ve commented on it.
“Why were you running?” Magic inquired, trying to keep his voice steady.
“Because today I turned seventeen. Father claimed I was to wed the First Minister and then the Second. And I don’t like them. I didn’t want to visit the Reaffirmation Centre either. So I broke God’s Law and pretended, but God didn’t seem to payattention because I plotted to escape, and he didn’t stop me. And my escape was successful. So, God couldn’t have wanted me to marry them.
“The First Minister is old. He’s sixty-one and rules everybody and everything. The Second Minister is fat and smelly. He is tall, and I’ve seen him be cruel to others. I didn’t wish to couple with them. Plus, I had to do it in front of everyone, which shamed me. I didn’t want people to see my body or copulate, either. So I escaped.
“The women are not allowed outside the church, but I know what cars are and motorbikes as we have them. Once, I climbed a tall tree and watched the world and spied a road in the far distance with many vehicles. So I planned to escape through that. Yesterday, Father came to me in the morning and told me it was time to fast. I was given toast and nothing else. Then last night, the ladies bathed and shaved me in preparation for the wedding, and today they dressed me.
“I asked for a moment to pray to be an obedient wife, and Father granted me prayer time. That was when I escaped and ran. A hole had appeared in the fence near where I worked, so I climbed through that. I heard the hounds and knew they would catch me, and God sent me you. Which means I did nothing wrong, and God did not want me to marry the First Minister or Second Minister,” I stated firmly.
“Fuckin’ cults!” Magic muttered under his breath, and I tried to figure out his meaning. “Baby girl, what was your plan once you escaped?”
“Oh, I didn’t have one. Magic, I trusted God would set my feet on the right path.”
“Fuck me! Luckily, I found you! There’s a load of evil in the world!” Magic exclaimed.
I flinched, and Magic cupped my chin.
“Don’t. As often as you need it, Alexis, I’ll keep saying it until you believe me. I will never harm you. But I see physical punishment was something your fuckin’ whack job cult practised?”
