Long Way Home (11 page)

         She
arrived at the compound at noon on Monday, was waved through the checkpoint and
directed to the Main House where Nathaniel and his brother, Paul waited to greet
her.  Paul was in his late thirties, similar in height and build to his
brother but she found his eyes to be a bit colder than Nathaniel’s.  Here
was the nasty side of the operation, she thought.  Paul definitely
reminded her of Harrison Kelly.

         “So
glad you could make it, Madelyn,” Nathaniel greeted her when she got out of her
Lexus.  “Paul, this is the lovely young lady I had the pleasure of
spending the afternoon with yesterday, Madelyn Parker.  Madelyn, this is
my brother and Associate Leader, Paul.”

         “Pleased
to meet you, Paul,” she beamed at him.

         “Miss
Parker,” Paul replied coolly, his eyes assessing her.  

         Tessa
had to fight the urge to shudder under his scrutiny and kept a bright smile on
her face.  Nathaniel kissed her cheek and placed his hand on the small of
her back to lead her up the steps of the Main House.  The satellite images
hadn’t really conveyed the opulence of the buildings.  This was definitely
no Branch Davidian compound.

         “This
is your home?” she asked Nathaniel, taking his arm when he offered it.

         “This
is it,” he confirmed.  “We live here in the Main House with a few select
others.”

         “Look
around at everything, Tess,” Shane reminded her.  Just the sound of his
voice in her ear sent a shiver down her spine.

         “Are
you all right?” Nathaniel asked, feeling her shiver.

         “Just
got a chill,” she said, smiling when he rubbed her arm.

         Nathaniel
stopped walking and turned to face her fully.  “You are absolutely
stunning, Madelyn.  Your smile is brighter than the sun.”

         “Thank
you,” she said, ignoring the gagging noises she was hearing from the guys in
her ear.

         “Nathaniel?”
Paul said from behind them, “May I have a word with you, please?”

         “Not
just now, Paul.  I’m giving Madelyn a tour of the grounds.”

         “Oo,
tension amongst the brothers,” Joe said.

         “Use
that, Tess.  Play them against each other,” Gibson advised.

         “Thank
you, Captain Obvious,” Pete replied.

         Tessa
cleared her throat, hoping they would get the message to shut up.  It was
hard enough to concentrate without them carrying on all the time.

         “If
you’d like to talk, I could make a quick trip to the ladies room,” she offered.

         “Certainly,”
Nathaniel said, “Just around the corner, first door on the right.  I’ll be
right here.”

         “Then
if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you to talk.”  She walked off, acutely
aware that both men’s eyes followed her as she went.

         “Do
not under any circumstances speak to us when you get in there,” Gibson ordered.
 “Chances are they have the restroom monitored.”

         “Again,
Captain Obvious? You’ve known her for years, I’ve known her for weeks but I
know she’s not that dumb.  C’mon,” Pete said.

         Tessa
tapped the mike twice to let them know she was turning it off and removing the
glasses briefly while she used the restroom.  When she put them back on
and tapped the mike she was standing before the mirror.

         “Hey,
babe,” Shane’s voice sounded, “Just me for a few.  I sent everyone else
out for a minute.  Look directly in the mirror and give a slow blink if
you can hear me.” She did.  “Look, it’s obvious Nathaniel is attracted to
you.  Are you OK with encouraging him? One for yes, two for no.”  She
blinked once, slowly, an apologetic look on her face.  “You don’t worry
about me.  I’m a big boy; I can handle it.  I know you love me.
 You’d best head back out.  You’re doing great, babe.  I love
you.”

         She
gave him a wink then headed out.  When she rounded the corner, Nathaniel
was talking to two women, one older, one younger.  The older woman, who
looked to be in her fifties, had salt and peppered hair pulled back into a braided
bun at the nape of her neck and wore a white shirt with black slacks.  The
younger woman appeared to be in her early twenties, wore her brunette hair long
and flowing and wore a long white shift dress with sandals.  From all she
knew from their research, she knew that the older women acted like “Dorm
Mothers” to the younger women.  

         There
was a stern look on Nathaniel’s face as he spoke to the women but it was
completely masked when he spotted Tessa.

         “Joyce,
take Olivia to see Paul in his office,” he instructed the older woman.

         At
his declaration, Olivia paled and grasped his hand.  “Please, Nathaniel,”
she cried in a soft whisper.

         “Our
rules are in place to assure your safety, Olivia,” he said in a fatherly tone.
 “Now, go with Joyce.”

         Olivia
dropped her hand from his and slowly followed Joyce from the room.  

         “That
girl was terrified, Nathaniel,” Tessa said when he approached her.

         He
offered her an indulgent smile.  “Not to worry.  Just a small matter.”

         “But
why would she be scared?”

         “Don’t
push too hard right now, Tess,” Shane cautioned.

         “One
of the reasons for our success in maintaining a peaceful, harmonious atmosphere
with so many people living together is our adherence to structure.  Rules
are set to maintain everyone’s happiness and safety.  Those who choose to
live within our walls do so of their own free will and with the knowledge that
rules are set, maintained and enforced for the greater good of the community.
 Everyone works together and it runs smoothly; however, there are times
that rules are broken.  Consequences are severe in order to keep
violations to a minimum.”

         “Consequences?
 You sound as if you are speaking of children.  Olivia can’t be much
younger than me, but it seems as if you were sending her off to be punished
like a child.”

         He
once again raised her hand to his lips, something she supposed he was fond of
doing.

         “Not
like a child, Madelyn.  Like a beloved woman of the Naturalist fold who
just needs a reminder of why she chose to be here.”

         “I’m
afraid I don’t follow.”

         “You’re
supposed to be buying into the lifestyle, Tess,” Gib reminded her.

         Nathaniel
smiled indulgently, tucked her hand in his arm and began walking. 

         “Think
back to when you were in grade school.  With a few exceptions, you
generally loved and respected your teachers, did you not?”

         “Yes.”

         “No
one would dare sass a teacher back then because the consequences were more
severe than they are now.  Discipline was key.  Here within the walls
of the Retreat, we have brought discipline back and our members are happier
because of it.”             He
took her into a building to the back left of the Main House.  “This is our
single women’s dormitory, where Olivia lives.  There are three floors,
with the Main Floor being the common areas and study rooms.  As you can
see, this is where we allow our men to visit the ladies, supervised of course.
 The upper floors are dorms and Paul and I are the only men allowed on
those floors.  The safety of our cherished females is our top priority.”

         “Look
at as many people as possible, Tess,” Shane reminded her. 

         He
led her to the elevator and they took it to the top floor.  As soon as he
stepped out of the doors, dozens of young, beautiful women surrounded him,
calling out his name and smiling like star-struck teens.  They all wore
the same long, flowing white shift Olivia had worn, all with long hair, all
thin, none larger than a size 8 she would guess, and all pretty; not a fat,
ugly duckling among them.

         “Holy
David Koresh, Batman,” Joe said and Tessa had to fight hard not to laugh.

         A
stern woman dressed as Joyce had been emerged and firmly clapped her hands.
 “Ladies, step back, let Nathaniel breathe for pity’s sake,” she scolded
them.

         The
women all took a step back and instantly hushed.

         “Thank
you, Deborah,” Nathaniel addressed the older woman.

         “I’m
not seeing the Senator’s daughter,” Crownover said.

         “Me,
either.  Are you looking at everyone in the room, Tessa?” Gib inquired.

         Tessa
wished she could tell them all to be quiet.  They were very distracting.

         “Have
you brought us a new sister, Nathaniel?” a starry-eyed petite blonde asked.

         “Well,
Tina, I’m not quite sure.  Ladies, this is Madelyn Parker. She is my Very
Special Guest.”

         A
unison feminine gasp sounded from the room and as one they all bowed their
heads and curtsied as if she were the Queen of England or something.

         “What
the hell?” the men in her ear all gasped at once.

         “Oh,
um, OK,” Tessa said, taken aback by their gesture. “Nathaniel? Am I missing
something here?”

         He
chuckled.  “Not at all.  They are merely showing deference to you as
my Very Special Guest.”

         “Welcome,
Madelyn,” Deborah said.

         “Um,
it’s Maddie, actually, and thanks.”

         “Madelyn
is such a distinguished name,” Nathaniel said, stroking a lock of Tessa’s hair.
“I prefer it.”

         “OK,
well-”

         “Relax,
Tess,” Shane’s soothing voice sounded, calming her.  She was thankful for
his voice; she was beginning to be weirded out by their behavior.

         “Come,
let’s resume our tour,” he said, again kissing her hand.  She was
beginning to feel like she’d need to disinfect her hand as soon as she got back
to her condo.  As it was, she had to fight the urge to jerk her hand away.
 He led her through the dormitory, showing her where the women slept.
 She noticed that the rooms were plain, with very little personal items or
decorations, and exceedingly neat.  The clinical feel saddened her.
 These women were being programmed, stripped of their personalities to
become like brainless Stepford Wives.  

         One
door they came to was closed.  Nathaniel immediately demanded an
explanation from Deborah. Tessa took that to mean closed doors were not common.

         “It
is Stephanie.  She’s just returned from the Arena,” Deborah explained.

         “That
could be her,” Gib said.

         Tessa
tuned out the Captain Obvious remarks from the men and watched when Nathaniel
opened the door.  Tessa saw a dark haired girl lying on her stomach on the
bed, her dress pushed down to her waist and a poultice of some sort on her
back.

         “Excuse
me just a moment, Madelyn,” he said, going to the girl on the bed.  She
watched him sit on the edge of the bed and gently place his hand on Stephanie’s
head.  “Stephanie?”  Tessa watched the girl slowly turn her head
toward Nathaniel.

         “That’s
her,” Gibson confirmed.

         Tessa’s
breath caught in her throat when Nathaniel carefully removed the poultice.
 There were bloody, criss-crossing stripes on the girl’s back.  Tessa
thought she was going to be sick.  Nathaniel was talking in soothing tones
to the sobbing girl but she couldn’t make out their words.  

         “Tess?”
Shane’s voice sounded in her hair.  “Keep it together.  I know you’re
pissed.  You can’t show that to him.  Not yet.”  She closed her
eyes a moment, listening to his voice.  He knew her so well.  She
wanted to rush in and pummel Nathaniel, pull Stephanie away from this awful
place. She gasped when Nathaniel’s hand touched her cheek, her eyes flying
open.

         “I’m
sorry you had to see that on your first visit,” he said softly.
 “Stephanie is one of our newer members and is having a bit of a hard time
adjusting.”

         “Why
not just let her leave?” Tessa asked, unable to keep the shock from her tone.

         “She
was given the option.  She chose to stay and accept the consequences of
her actions.”

         He
led Tessa from the building, casually strolling with her in the sunshine.

         “What
could she have possibly done to warrant that, and what’s this Arena you
mentioned?” she asked.  “I take it that is where that was done to
Stephanie.”

         “It’s
nothing you need ever to be concerned with,” he said, stopping in a flower
strewn gazebo that very much reminded her of the one back home in Indian
Springs.  “What do you think?  Beautiful here, isn’t it?”

         “Very
much so.  But, Nathaniel, what was done to that girl-”

         “You
know, I couldn’t help but notice how much you outshone all those beautiful women
back there,” he said, dodging her remark.  “You are truly stunning,
Madelyn.  You take my breath away.”