WnW 2.9

I stared blankly back at Beth, trying not to give any tells on my face.

“Jason!” Beth barked out. I heard his footsteps running away.

She sighed. “That boy needs to learn to listen to his mother. Come along now.” She walked back towards the house. The circle of vehicles was still there, although some of the engines were now running. Aaron seemed to have finished his speech and now the group was talking amongst themselves. One man wearing a straw hat turned to look at me. He had an eyepatch over one eye.

I turned away. When we entered the house, the baby, Julie, was crying from the kitchen. Beth went to her and so I followed.

The moment I stepped inside the room with its spotless tile floor and sky blue cabinets, Julie stopped crying from where she was seated in a high chair. She had a wispy head of blond hair and bright blue eyes that stared at me.

“Sit,” Beth ordered.

I sat across from Julie, fighting the urge to run from this situation. The person in the plant-filled chapel had been afraid of Beth harming me if I was found out. I couldn’t let it slip that I knew more than I was letting on.

Beth rummaged around in a cabinet, pulling out a jar of baby food and slamming it shut. She yanked open a drawer and found a spoon before closing it with force. Her hands met the countertop and she leaned into it, breathing in deeply. When she turned around, she was smiling once more. She pulled up a chair next to Julie and opened the baby food.

The spoon raised to Julie’s mouth and she accepted it, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Some orange mush dribbled out of her mouth as she watched my chest.

After a few spoonfuls, Julie refused to eat any more. Beth’s smile slowly faded and she placed the spoon down onto the table, orange gunk forming a small wet circle on the table cloth. Then she took the wedding ring out of her pocket, turning it gently in her hands.

“You’ve been poisoning my children.” Her tone wasn’t accusatory. She was stating a fact. “Things had been going so well. The tree was nearing completion. Then suddenly,” she tapped the ring against the table, “complications. Jason starts acting out, Gail won’t follow simple instructions, and she demands that Aaron stop donating his own flesh. All because you showed up.”

Jason had told me that his abuse had ramped up long before I showed up but I didn’t mention that. I could feel Beth’s eyes burning a hole in my skull, so I didn’t look up from the tablecloth.

“I wish you had tried to run. I could have killed you and claimed I just squeezed a little too hard.”

She stood up from the table, walking closer to me. My heart pounded in my ears.

“Aaron insists that you will be enough to complete the project. That you will be a powerful final sacrifice.”

I squeezed a fistful of the tablecloth and Beth seemed to notice. 

“Yes, did you think you were making it out of here alive? The only reason I haven’t killed you yet is because the tree might reject your flesh if your death wasn’t recent enough.” She paced in a circle around my chair. “Aaron believes that your appearance was a divine act. While I support him fully, I’m more rational than that.”

“Y-you don’t believe in your God?” My words came out as a whisper.

“I didn’t say that,” Beth said from behind me. “We are certainly reaching out to something beyond our understanding. But in time it too will become understood.”

“But the gifts,” I said.

 “The gifts are not mere supernatural tokens. I’ve seen how they sprout from the flesh. That potential was lurking inside of humanity all this time. You don’t seem to understand the significance of what we are trying to accomplish. Humanity has been trying to record every star and dredge up the ocean’s secrets, but we have yet to unravel the secrets within.” 

Beth’s hand suddenly came over my shoulder and pressed against my chest. I lurched out of the chair, knocking it clattering to the floor. Julie’s eyes followed me. Beth just smiled wickedly. This was too much, I needed to regain some control.

“You aren’t the one pulling the strings,” I said, steadying myself on the counter behind me. “You’re taking orders from someone. I heard them at night talking to Aaron about some vials.”

Beth frowned. My heartbeat was so loud that I could barely hear the vehicles revving their engines in the yard. “There are some days when I wish she hadn’t recruited us. Aaron isn’t himself anymore. The power she gave him is intoxicating.” Her eyes went back to the wedding ring. “But the cause is worth it.”

My gift hadn’t emerged since its first showing, although sometimes it felt like I could feel it under my skin, like a muscle I didn’t know how to use. “Why did you give me a gift?”

“We didn’t,” Beth paused, then walked back over to Julie and patted her head. “We don’t have any more vials. I assumed you had gotten your hands on one previously.”

My head spun with these revelations. “What? I thought you had to sacrifice flesh to gain these powers.”

Beth stared at me for a moment, then a peal of laughter burst from her lips. “No! No… I had forgotten what it must look like for all those fools we lead. The vials are the source of the gifts. No mutilation necessary, although we don’t tell them that. We dispense the gifts in exchange for… materials.”

I wasn’t given a gift on the farm? Then when did I get it… Was it possible that Chase had given it to me at some point? 

I looked down at Julie. As weirdly still as the baby was, I realized she wasn’t entirely motionless. Julie’s head jerked back a little, a motion that was fairly normal for babies who couldn’t hold their head still yet. But that wasn’t it. The jerks were rhythmic and the beat was…

My own. My heart beat in my ears and Beth jerked with every pulse.

“She can see my heart,” I said, the words slipping out with my dawning horror.

Beth’s expression of surprise was all the confirmation I needed.

“How-” she began, then shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

“That’s how you’ve been tracking me. You gave one of these gifts to a damn baby?!”

Beth viewed me coldly. “After my husband was given power by that witch, I was desperate. I begged them to let me stay with him. She agreed on one condition: that I would partake in a certain experiment. What would happen if a pregnant person took the vial?”

She cupped her hands together, holding nothing but air. “Can you guess what my gift is?” She asked, smiling sweetly at me.

I stood frozen on the spot. If Julie could see a person’s heart…

“I’ll give you a hint, let me know when you get it.” Beth moved her hands closer together, diminishing the space between. My heart slowed, but my fear hadn’t diminished. It was like my heart had been lowered into a thick, binding sludge. I swayed, light-headed. My chest felt tight. I gasped, but no amount of air seemed to be enough. 

I turned, attempting to run, but fell crashing to the ground. My vision flickered as I crawled over to the overturned chair and tried to use it to rise. I’m so tired. My vision began to blur. Light reflecting off the tiles became streaks that stayed in my sight when I turned my head.

Beth was crushing my heart. My remaining strength was sapped away and I sank to the floor.

Sounds were muffled, like there was a thick wall between me and the rest of the world. Someone with a low voice was speaking. A response, higher pitched. Then the pressure on my chest released. My heart sped up and my vision slowly cleared. The voices grew louder and clearer.

“-matters into your own hands!? We both know what happens if we fail,” Aaron said angrily.

“He was speaking to Jason in the garage,” Beth replied. “He’s poisoning their minds. We can’t let him live.”

There was a rustling of clothes and a moment of silence. “Just a little longer…” Aaron murmured.

“No. He knows too much. He knows about the vials. I’m worried there’s more.”

Aaron was quiet. Then he sighed. “Fine. Tonight. I was hoping for one or two more donations before his, but the neighbours are getting stubborn. I’ll notify her, you finish the preparations.”

“Let me finish him.”

“No,” Aaron said sharply. “He’s different. He’s like me. I can feel it.”

“All the more reason that we shouldn’t give him a chance to upset our plans,” Beth said sullenly.

“Beth. I need this. I need a challenge.”

I heard someone storm off and the front door opened and slammed shut.

Footsteps approached me. I stayed still, holding my breath.

“Get up boy, I know you ain’t dead. Beth barely touched your heart.”

I picked myself off the floor resignedly and faced Aaron. He nodded and walked over to Julie, reaching out to wipe baby food from her chin. “I suppose the cat’s out of the bag,” Aaron said, licking his finger. “It was never in the cards for you to go home.” He gazed at me with a kind of anticipation. The same look he had given me before. Egging me on. Trying to get me mad. Why?

Suddenly, Aaron seemed like the less dangerous of the two parents. What was I supposed to do if Beth could kill me with little more than a thought?

“So, I’m going to be donated,” I said.

“Yes. But I need something from you, first,” Aaron drawled.

“And you expect me to help you?” I said, glaring.

Aaron’s mouth turned up into a smile. I shivered. A true smile, on a face that seemed molded specifically to scowl. His bushy brows raised high over his eyes that shone with zealous passion. “Because you’re caught. Hook, line, and sinker. So you may as well struggle while you’re on the line. Hell, I’m giving you a chance to kill me. Isn’t that enticing?”

“Why are you doing this?” I asked.

Aaron studied me for a moment, then spoke, “Imagine having a car and never drivin’ it past fifty. You want to, real bad, but the roads ain’t suitable for it.” He leaned forward hungrily. “When I found you on the side of the road, I saw somethin’ truly miraculous.” He pointed at me, hand shaking. “You were like me. And I was given my opportunity to see what it’s like.” 

He turned, shouting up the stairs. “Gail!”

There was silence for a moment, then footsteps came slowly down the stairs. Gail poked her head into the room. She had a fresh bruise on her eyelid. Aaron placed a hand on her head.

“Take Nick to your room and keep him there. If you disobey Beth and I again, you’re going to be in the worst trouble of your life.”

Gail nodded and went up to me, taking my hand. I let myself be led up the stairs and into a room with walls painted bright pink.

Gail shut the door quietly and flopped onto her bed. I watched her roll around for a bit.

Suddenly, she stopped and sat up. “Do you know that Jess Jance doesn’t wear perfume because it makes her pets sick?”

“That’s nice of her,” I said weakly.

“Yeah, and she wears these beautiful dresses on the red carpet. I’ve seen pictures. Momma is going to buy me a red carpet just like that one, so I can practice my moves.” She hopped off the bed and started to strut around the room on the tips of her toes. I entertained her for a few minutes until I heard the door open downstairs and Aaron’s heavy footsteps went outside.

“I’ll be right back, Gail,” I said, opening the door.

Gail spun around, eyes wide. “Stay,” she said.

I looked out at the stairs. “I’ll be right back,” I repeated. Then I left…

Except I didn’t. I stood still, just staring at where I wanted to be.

“Close the door,” Gail said.

I didn’t see a reason to obey her. My life was at stake. I needed to leave.

Without stepping outside, I shut the door.