A handful of other men from the Colony were heading our way, their eyes focused on me.
They knew who I was, there was no doubt about that. I hadn’t changed much since I left I guess, and right at this moment I probably looked exactly like that defiant teenager they knew so well. The one who stood her ground even with fear in her eyes.
The four men stood behind my eldest brother like they were soldiers, ready to leap in and fight in the blink of the eye if they were given the word. I had no doubt if they did, shit would start to crumble really fast, and Jess and I would be in a whole world full of trouble.
One thing my sister had informed me of after her escape was that my brother Abel, the eldest of all my father’s children and the most brainwashed, was working with The King’s Militia. They were like the Colony’s own personal law enforcement, I guess. They trained like the army, in the bush, learning how to shoot guns and were told they were essential, in case the tyrannical government tried to come and destroy the Colony and tried to stop our celestial path to heaven. They were the first line of defense.
In reality, though, they were used to instill fear amongst the members. They would show up at people’s houses if there had been rumors that someone was not being entirely faithful to the group, or had been speaking out against its teachings. If people second guessed the prophet, these guys would come and they would take them away for weeks, sometimes months, and when they returned they were suddenly completely faithful.
The King’s Militia had blood on their hands, and I had a grave reason to be fearful of what they might do.
When a member of the Colony came of age, we were all made to sign blood atonement contracts, giving the Colony the right to spill our blood for our god if we ever turned our back on our faith and its teachings. While the contract granting someone the ownership of whether I lived or died because of what faith I believed, was completely stupid and ridiculous in the real world, to these men and women it was law and they were more than willing to follow through with the punishment of that betrayal.
I could feel Jess was getting nervous having these men standing over us, looking menacing. Her mouth kept opening and closing like she wanted to tell them to go fuck themselves, but she knew it probably wasn’t a good idea.
“Why don’t you come for a ride with me, little sister. We can chat, catch up on all these years we’ve missed out on,” Abel said, his voice sounding to anyone passing by like a brother who missed his sibling, but to me, sounding like a snake trying to draw me closer so he could strike.
I wouldn’t be drawn into his den to be poisoned, and I wouldn’t let him stand here and make me feel inferior. I’d escaped him once before. He fell asleep while he was watching me. Abel was the one that had to go to my father empty handed with no daughter to marry off the next day, while I disappeared into the night to create this new life for myself. I can only imagine what punishment he would have endured for letting me escape.
It may sound sick, but that alone brought a little joy to my heart, and I found myself standing a little taller, a smile forming on my face. “What did father have to say when you had to go to him and tell him that I was gone? That your sixteen-year-old sister had slipped out while you were nap—”
The strike of his palm across my face brought a tear to my eye, but I refused to let him see it, wiping it on my bare shoulder before I turned back to face him. My body wobbled, I was lightheaded, and the pain that vibrated through my brain was almost enough to make me sick.
His eyes widened only slightly at the realization of what he’d just done in front of people who were not inside the Colony, people who would not have his back. For a man to reprimand a woman in that way was fine and dandy behind the closed doors and in the safety of home—hell, at fourteen, I’d seen a man beat on his wife with a bat because she was sick and had coughed too much during church—but to do that shit in front of this many strangers, holy shit, my brother was mad.
There were people around us who saw the assault, many of them standing in horror as if they couldn’t believe what they had seen as he stood over me like a predator with its prey.
Jess wrapped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me in and holding out her other hand like a line of defense. “You need to back your ass up,” she said sternly, a steely gaze in her eyes. That was the thing about Jess. She could be a bitch, but when push came to shove, she would stand with me in the face of danger and try and protect me.
“It’s okay,” I told her softly, not wanting to cower. Abel was my flesh and blood, and he would take my life without a second thought if he believed it would give him more respect, more power. He was just like my father, he craved control and dominance, and in that world he got it every single damn time.
But not here.
No fucking way.
He was in my world now.
“Make you feel good to stand over a woman and hit her? Does that make you feel so fucking powerful,brother?” More people were coming over now, men as well as women who were tugging on their husband’s hands, drawing attention to the drama. Some looked like they were fucking furious, glaring at my brother as though daring him to touch me again so they could step in.
“You should know your place,” Abel hissed, keeping his voice low.
I snorted. “Did you hit your head or something? I don’t have to bow to you anymore. I’ve grown. Yet, you’re here, still playing games, still pretending to be the all mighty something. Sorry to burst your bubble, but these people don’t give a shit who you are or whose genes run through your blood. To them, you’re nothing… to me, you’renothing.” I screamed the last word.
Abel was starting to sweat. He wouldn’t look away from me, but I could tell he was noticing the attention he was drawing in. The men behind him were openly a little more wary, shifting from foot to foot. Abel took another threatening step forward, he was losing his shit, but he froze when a voice came out of the crowd.
“Abel, Abel, Abel,” a deep rumble came from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see four men walking toward us wearing cuts. I couldn’t read the club name, but people stepped out of their way nervously as they came forward. “For a smart boy, that’s an extremely stupid thing you just went and did.”
The front man had a short cut goatee which was almost wholly gray even though he didn’t look quite old enough for the gray hairs to make sense. His hair was much the same color, cut short and sharp, reminding me of the army general of the cartoon movie Small Soldiers. All four of the men stood at least a head over Abel and his friends, like damn giants in riding leathers.
Sexy giants in riding leathers, even Jess took a minute from the drama to just appreciate these men.
My brother rolled his shoulders. “This is none of your business, Rivet.”
Rivet chuckled, the deep baritone of his voice making the sound far more menacing than humorous. “Unfortunately, you made it my business when you put your hands on a young woman who belongs to a club where I have some very close friends.” The deep, distinct rumble of Harley’s in the distance, growing ever closer, was almost damn perfect. “Naturally, I had to give them a call to let them know what was going on.”
Abel was fighting to control his temper, and just like my father, I knew there would be a breaking point. The Colony was here to try and look good, their booth set up with pamphlets and booklets and pictures all about how loving and caring the community was. They even had three or four young women standing behind the table greeting people, wearing their full-length modest dresses. This was something which was new to me, given we were never allowed outside the city in which the group resided.
Had things changed?