Page 9

Chapter Nine

Eden

“Where are we?” I ask when I open my eyes. I can see we’re in a small compartment of some sort. It reminds me a bit of the elevator, but it’s smaller, and it has seats. Papi is holding me in his lap.

“We’re in a pod on our way to the mothership.” He grins and tips me up so I can see out the window next to us.

I gasp. My heart rate picks up so fast it’s going to beat out of my chest. “You weren’t kidding.”

“No, Baby girl. I’ll never lie to you.” He points. “Look that direction, and you can see Earth.”

I turn my head. “Holy moly.” I blink several times. We really are traveling away from Earth.

Papi points the other direction. “You can see the spaceship better now. From Earth without binoculars, it just looks like a cluster of lights. That’s why your elders were able to lie and tell everyone the lights were stars.”

I’m fascinated by the size of the spaceship. It’s huge. When I lean back into Papi’s arms, I say, “Are you sure the elders lied? Maybe they didn’t know.”

“They knew, Baby girl. There is no way they didn’t know. I did a bit of research while you were sleeping. I even suspect where you came from. There’s a cult about a half hour north of Club Zoom. It’s the only one known to be in the area. Does it have a large iron front gate with ornate biblical scenes?”

I nod. “Yes.”

He grins. “The FBI has that cult on their watch list. They have long suspected there are many women and children being held against their will, brainwashed, or even abused. The leaders—the ones you call the elders—often leave the compound to get supplies. They are well aware of the laws they are breaking and what’s happening in the world. They lie.”

I draw in a long breath. I’m not shocked. I’m angry. I’ve been lied to my entire life. I wonder how many things I’ve been lied to about. I guess I’ll find out in the coming weeks as Papi informs me.

“Eventually they will have enough evidence to raid the compound and rescue the women and children.”

It’s hard to fathom. “Most of those people will be so shocked. They won’t even be able to function in society. They have no skills, not enough education, and no Papi to save them from themselves.”

He smiles. “I know, but the government will help them, Baby girl. They won’t be abandoned.”

“Okay. That makes me feel better.”

He lifts me higher and kisses my forehead. “No one will ever know what happened to you.”

I think about the possibilities. “They might figure out I escaped in the delivery van, but that driver knows nothing, so he won’t be able to tell them a thing. I could have also climbed a wall and run off on foot into the night.”

“Did you have friends or sisters you left behind, Little one?” Papi asks me gently.

“I wasn’t very close to many people. I never really felt like I fit in. I was always too inquisitive and had bigger dreams. Mostly I kept my thoughts to myself, but I’ve wanted to leave for years. I wanted to see what was outside. I learned to keep that dream to myself to avoid punishment, but I always watched and wondered how I might escape. When I found out I would be married to Marcus soon, I knew I had to get away before he had a chance to hurt me.”

“I’m so glad you did, Baby girl, and so proud of you.”

I smile. I like how he looks at me and how he listens. No man has ever paid this much attention to me. No man or woman has ever looked me in the eye or cared what I had to say. I’m not used to the way he focuses on me and leans into my every word as though I matter, as though what I have to say is worth hearing.

I have concerns, starting with the fact that I’m only wearing a diaper. It feels so strange wrapped around me, but having the rest of me exposed is far more unnerving. At least he has a blanket wrapped around me. It’s very soft. I’ve never felt anything this soft. The clothing I’ve been wearing my entire life was not comfortable. It was itchy and rough. I don’t think we were meant to enjoy anything in life.

I turn and stare out the window, mesmerized as we grow closer to the spaceship and eventually fly into it and dock. Papi holds me close as he carries me out of the pod and into what looks like an extremely sterile building. It’s all shiny silver and gray. So clean and modern.

I snuggle into his chest because I don’t want anyone to notice me, but everyone does anyway. Every man we pass congratulates Papi and offers me a warm smile. They are all shockingly tall and large like Papi.

There are no women, but Papi told me there were no more women living on his planet. I have to assume that extends to this spaceship.

Finally, we enter a room. An office, I think. A man stands behind the desk. “Hey, Little one. So nice to meet you. I’m Jefared. My job is to get your information entered into the system and clear you for transport to Eleadia.”

Papi sits as Jefared does.

Jefared looks at the screen in front of him. I think it’s a computer. I’ve seen them in the offices at the compound, but this one looks far more modern. “I understand you have no identification?” he asks, glancing from me to Papi.

I shake my head.

He frowns as he clicks away on this machine. “We’ve never had a female arrive with no ID, so we’re going to have to come up with a way to get her entered and coded.”

Papi nods. “She escaped from a dangerous situation. She was born there. There is no legal record of her existence. Only a few people knew she entered Zoom. An employee let her in the back door. He thinks she left on her own. The manager and Tekfan are the only other people who are aware of her being inside the club.”

Jefared leans back in his chair and taps his lips. “So we’re going to break our commitment with her government and not record her?”

Papi sighs. “I don’t see another way. The cult she escaped from will eventually write her off as a runaway and never know what happened to her.”

I grip the blanket around me and sit taller on Papi’s lap. What he’s saying is sad and depressing, but it’s true. “They won’t look for long because people who escape are rarely accepted back into the compound. Now that I’ve run away, I understand why. Especially women. If they leave and see things, they might come back and tell people what’s outside the walls.”

After all, a woman who did exactly that was part of my inspiration to flee.

Jefared nods. “Contacting them to get information about you wouldn’t even do any good. They wouldn’t give it up, and they have poor records anyway.”

“Yes.”

He taps his lips again. “I hate to move a female off the planet with no record. I’m waffling between entering her as a Jane Doe or not at all. If your government were to find out we took a female without recording it…” He sighs and rubs his eyes with one hand.

Papi leans forward. “Here’s the thing, no one is going to declare her as missing.”

Jefared nods slowly and looks toward me. “Do you think that’s true?”

“Yes. It would bring too much attention to the compound. They don’t like outside attention. Not many women run away, but boys do. They never search for them.”

“They don’t call the authorities? The police don’t come?”

I shake my head. “Never. They don’t trust the police. Or at least that’s what they say.”

Papi chuckles, but it doesn’t sound like he’s humored. “They can’t call the police. If they did, they would risk being exposed for whatever crimes they are committing, and I suspect it’s many.”

I nod.

“Tell me about the man who saw you enter the club.”

“He was taking out the trash, I think. And I was in the alley trying to figure out what to do next. He let me in to warm up.”

“Did you tell him your name?”

I shake my head. “No. I was afraid he might turn me in. I told him I would wait for him, but then I moved deeper behind the stage and when he came back, he thought I’d left.”

Papi speaks again. “He was breaking every rule in the book letting her into the back. There’s no way he’ll ever tell a soul he did it. He would get fired.”

Jefared nods. “And did anyone see you escaping the compound?”

“No. I snuck into a delivery truck. The guy never knew I was in the back. When he stopped and left the van, I got out.”

“So that leaves Zack and Tekfan?” Jefared confirms.

“Yes,” I say.

Jefared lets out a long sigh. “Okay, let’s do it.” He sits forward again. “I’ll enter you as Jane Doe with no details. Please tell me you’re over eighteen.”

“I’m twenty.”

“Blessed heavens,” Jefared mutters. “Any allergies?”

“No.”

“Medical conditions?”

I glance at Papi. “I’ve never seen a real doctor, but I can’t have children.”

“Okay. Do you not have a uterus?” Jefared asks.

“I don’t even know what that is,” I murmur.

Jefared smiles at me. “No worries. That won’t preclude you from going to Eleadia. Nothing would, really. Our on-board doctor, Dankin, will figure out exactly what’s going on. If something needs to be fixed, he will do it. If you were born without a uterus or fallopian tubes or ovaries or something, that won’t matter at all.”

I look at Papi again, eyes wide. I have no idea what Jefared is talking about.

Papi cups my cheek. “Don’t worry, Little one. It will all be fine. If you want to know what all your body parts are, I’ll teach you one day.”

I grin at him. I like that plan. I’m curious now. I’ve never asked many questions because no one would have told me the answers anyway. I would have been punished for trying to understand things that were not meant for girls to know.

Papi says he will teach me anything I want to know, and I’m excited by the prospect. In fact, I suddenly want to know something. “Do you have books? Can I learn to read them?”

Papi smiles broadly. “I will teach you to read better, Baby girl, and you may read anything you want.”

I’m so happy that I wrap my arms around his neck and then gasp when the blanket falls down to reveal my shoulders. I snag it back up over my chest. I can’t even look up. Jefared might have seen my breasts.

Papi rubs my back. “It’s okay, Little one. Jefared has seen many naked Little girls, but he didn’t see a thing this time.”

I nod against him, trying not to panic. I hold on to him tightly, hoping we’re done here.

“Okay,” Jefared says, “I’ll figure out how to upload Eden into the system. You two can go on through to the exam room.”