Page 7

7

Nash

Standing at the back of the main building on the farm, I listen as Adam explains what happened with Maren out at the house. He sounds like he’s rambling, but if he thinks I’m going to jump in and save him, he’s out of his mind.

He shot her. Let him take the heat.

This room, like everywhere else on the farm but Micah’s private quarters, has no air conditioning, but if our leader is uncomfortable in these temperatures, he doesn’t show it. He simply listens as Adam gives him every damn detail of our trip to Maren’s and how she ended up dead in the grass. Surprisingly, he hasn’t dogged me out and blamed what happened on me. I expected him to, and I stand ready to jump in and correct any incorrect information he decides to give our leader.

When he finishes, he bows as he must and steps back. Then it’s a matter of waiting for Micah to give his opinion and dole out any punishment.

After he confers with Nadine, he looks over toward me and beckons me forward. “Nash, come here. I want to hear what happened from your point of view.”

Adam spins around to look at me, frantically staring at me like he’s trying to telepathically tell me exactly what to say so he doesn’t get into trouble. He’s wasting his time. His welfare is not my problem. Maybe he should have thought about the consequences of his actions before he pulled out that damn gun and shot her for no reason.

I stop in front of Micah and Nadine and bow. Then I wait for him to let me stand up straight again.

“Very good, Nash. Now tell me exactly what happened. Leave no detail out.”

As I stand up to my full height, I see Micah watching me intently. He thinks I’m going to lie for Adam because we’re both guards. Nadine just glares like she hates having me or anyone here interrupting her and Micah.

So I go through every moment we spent out at the farmhouse, concluding with how he shot Maren and then drove back here. When I finish, I bow and step back to wait for his judgment.

“Tell me, Nash, did Maren ask you to tell me anything?” Nadine asks, almost as if she knows she did.

I look at Micah for a moment and then direct my attention to Nadine. “No. She made me promise to tell Micah that she never stopped believing in the light.”

“And why didn’t you tell me that before?” he asks.

I stand tall and look him directly in the eyes as I answer, “It seemed like it would be a private thing and not something to say in front of anyone but you.”

The edge that had been in his voice evaporates when he says, “Agreed. I appreciate your discretion, Nash.”

He and Nadine whisper again, and when she steps back, she’s smirking. “Adam, you get four hours in the box. Be thankful I’ll postpone it until tonight,” Micah announces.

Behind me, my fellow guard protests, “But she was running. What was I supposed to do? If anyone deserves punishment, it’s Nash. He was supposed to control her. I wouldn’t have had to shoot her if he didn’t let her run away.”

Fucker! I knew I couldn’t trust him not to lay this all on me.

Spinning around to face him, I snap, “She was five and a half feet, tops. How far do you think she’d get compared to someone my size chasing after her? I would have caught up to her, but you had to put her down like a rabid dog. This mistake is on you and only you.”

I’ve broken The Golden Light rules by raising my voice to a fellow member, but I’ll take whatever punishment Micah gives me in exchange for finally telling Adam the truth. He’s dangerous, and everyone needs to know it like I do.

“Enough,” Micah says as Adam begins to blame me again. “You’ll go in the box tonight. As for Nash, I’ll decide what punishment, if any, he deserves.”

When Adam won’t stop defending himself, Nadine’s private guards, who are even more powerful than us, appear in the doorway. She and her men lead Adam away, leaving me alone with Micah. I turn around to see him smiling, which hopefully is a good sign.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken out like that, I know. I just didn’t want you to believe I’d let Maren die like she wasn’t important. But I am sorry, Micah.”

Nodding, he sighs like all that’s happened weighs heavily on him. “I understand, and I’m happy you appreciate how important every member of The Golden Light is to me. I’m their leader, and it hurts my heart when anyone suffers.”

We aren’t equals, so I don’t respond like we’re having a conversation. Micah is the supreme leader of The Golden Light. I’m merely a lowly guard whose job is to protect him and do as he orders, like this morning’s job that was supposed to be a simple ride out to a farmhouse to retrieve two members and bring them back to the fold.

He stands up from his chair and stretches his arms above his head. “I just got word that we’re getting five new recruits today. I want you to be there when they receive their introduction. I’ve noticed you’re quite perceptive, Nash. I want to know your impressions of the new ones.”

Surprised he’s given me a new job, especially since Adam and the other guards usually handle new people, I nod and wait for more instructions. When he doesn’t say anything more, I ask, “Do you want me to come to see you immediately after they’re finished?”

Micah looks up toward the beamed ceiling like he’s thinking and then smiles. “Yes. And if you think there are any that I should meet immediately, bring them along. Otherwise, I’ll meet them when the time comes.”

“Okay.”

He focuses intently on my face and asks, “You know what I look for, don’t you?”

I don’t answer with anything more than a nod. I know what he likes in women. Innocent looking. Small. Big tits. Big eyes. Nice mouth.

There’s something about rattling off a laundry list of physical features he wants me to keep an eye out for that feels slimy. That’s the main reason I’ve always been satisfied to be a guard and nothing more.

Micah laughs and slaps me on the back as he passes me by. “You know what I’d love? A redhead. If you see one who has what I like, move her to the head of the line.”

He leaves me standing in the main meeting room alone, so I hurry to leave, just in case Nadine comes back. Dealing with Micah is intense enough after the day I’ve had so far. Having to endure one of her interrogations isn’t on my list of things I want to go through again.

Once was enough.

I watch as Nadine gives the usual introduction to the new people. The light means unconditional love. They’re chosen ones. All the potential in the world exists in them.

It’s all very inspirational and positive. It’s also nothing vaguely close to what we do here.

Five women. Three remind me of the girls who work on the farm down the road. Nothing much to look at but they seem like they can bench press a tractor. The other two might work for Micah. Neither is a redhead, but the one looks so innocent she might be a virgin.

As for the last one, on second thought I can’t see him wanting her. I can’t put my finger on it, but something about her seems far too smart for him.

Or this place.

“We’re all about bringing out the best in every one of us here at The Golden Light. Each human being deserves to achieve as much as they can, and we’re here to help you with that. You’ll each have a few days to acclimate to the group, and if you find it’s not for you, then you can leave and take whatever you gained here with you. How does that sound?”

Nadine smiles at the five women, and for a moment, I actually want to think she believes what she just said. The problem is nobody ever leaves here. Not for long, at least. Poor Maren is proof of that.

If only she’d just accepted her fate.

All of the new recruits nod, and Nadine claps her hands like she’s thrilled she can be part of them achieving all they can be. That self-help positivity shit is just that. Bullshit. Oh, this group may have started out to be a kind of new age gathering of people looking to improve their lives, but those days are long past for The Golden Light.

None of these new people notice that Nadine doesn’t ask if they have any questions. That should be their first clue none of what we do here is to help them be anything but followers of Micah. Instead, they excitedly listen to her talk about how finding your true purpose and greatness in this world is truly finding the highest form of love. It all sounds wonderful, and their expressions tell me they buy it hook, line, and sinker.

“Okay, the first thing we need to do is get you something to eat and something cold to drink. This heat has been oppressive, but like with everything else here at The Golden Light, we want to set you free, so let’s go over to the mess right now.”

That should be their second clue. We don’t call it a dining hall. It’s a mess, just like it’s referred to in the military. And just like when you join the service, once you sign your name on the dotted line, your life is no longer your own.

The big difference here is there’s no getting out. Ever.

I study each woman as she walks out behind Nadine and silently decide only the one with the virginal look to her is worthy of mentioning to Micah. As for the four others, well, the three muscular ones will be welcome additions to the farm. I have no idea what the fifth one will be assigned to. She’s not Micah’s type, so I doubt she’ll be welcomed as one of his favorites. I imagine Nadine will find something for her to do. She always does.

As I follow behind them on my way back to his quarters, that last one looks around like she’s searching for something. Her head swivels left and right with each building they pass on their way to the mess while the others simply look straight ahead. What’s she so curious about?

The women file into the building near the center of the compound to get their first taste of The Golden Light food and drink. They have no idea that’s the first step to keeping them here forever, whether they like it or not.

Micah walks out of his rooms and waves me over to him, so I hurry to where he’s standing on his porch and bow. Pointing toward the mess, he asks, “What did you think of them?”

I answer him directly and without including any of my opinions about the women. “Very much like the usual new recruits. Enthusiastic. Eager to find their highest potential.”

“Any I’d like?” he asks, cocking a single eyebrow.

Nodding, I answer, “One, possibly. Maybe a virgin. She looks it. The others I don’t think so. Three look like they can lift me over their heads, and the other one…”

Before I can find the right words to explain how she seemed a little too curious, he shrugs. “Oh, well. One out of five isn’t bad. Twenty percent, right?”

I smile, unsure what that percentage has to do with anything. About a hundred yards away over near the garage, the group member who drove the bus into town so the girls could find the new recruits unloads the other important cargo he had to get while he was away from the farm. With each brown paper bag he takes out of the back of the bus, he sets it down carefully on the dirt before grabbing the next one.

“Did Nadine tell you about the stuff she found that’s going to work even better than the stuff we’ve been using in the food?

I shake my head. I’m the last person she’d tell anything to. Whenever she wasn’t gushing about how much we all can’t wait to help them reach their full potential and be the people they’ve always been meant to be, she was glaring at me as I stood in the back of the room as Micah ordered.

He doesn’t elaborate about what the bus driver brought back and turns to walk back into his quarters. “Bring the virgin when she’s done being fed.”

“Yes, Micah,” I say and bow as he closes his door.