The Forsaken (The Chosen Series Book 2) Patricia Bell (acx book reading .txt) 📖

question it. He still feels bad about ripping my face open like a wild animal.”

“He is remorseful?”

“Oh, yes. I have been spreading it on like butter. And then my mother, she gave him the third degree about it. She was even more upset that he let the cook stitch me back up.”

“That is going to leave a scar.”

“I do not mind. Every time he sees my face, he will be reminded of what he did to me. What he did to you.”

“I am afraid. What if I do not get out of here? What if I die?”

“I have a plan,” Daniel said.

“What kind of plan?” Malachi asked.

“It’s not a full plan yet, and I am not sure how I can pull it off, but I have found out where my father keeps the key to the door. It is in his desk, in the way back of the drawer. The only problem is, if he catches me in there snooping again, he might just rip off the other side of my face.”

“The key will do us no good until we can get a way out. But when the time comes, we will need it.”

“That is what I was thinking. There is no use freeing her if she cannot get past the fence.”

“But what if he comes back for me? What will he do if he finds me still alive? I should be dead by now, you know.”

“I have thought about that as well. Right now, my father is preoccupied with the whole Naaman thing.”

“What Naaman thing?” Abigail asked.

“I was not going to tell her about that,” Malachi said.

“You know?” Daniel asked.

“Yes, Jonathan told me.”

“What happened?” Abigail asked again.

Daniel looked at Malachi.

“Go ahead. You brought it up,” Malachi said.

“He’s dead,” Daniel said flatly.

“What? Why? What is going on in our community?”

“It is a long story, but my father blames Naaman for everything. He insists that as soon as Naaman brought Luna to the community, things changed. Younglings began to disrespect their parents, rebelling, asking questions they would not ask before. He told Naaman to take care of her, but he knew he was too weak. Well, that is what my father calls it. I do not call it weak that you do not want to murder someone.”

“So, they killed him because he wouldn’t kill Luna?” Abigail sat on the ground.

What in the world was going on? She had to admit that things had changed since Luna had shown up. She and Malachi had talked about it before. “You cannot go killing people because you think they caused disobedience among the younglings. That is a sin, right? Murder?”

“So as far as the High Prophet,” Malachi pointed to Daniel. “Your father, is concerned, is he getting this from God?”

Daniel shifted and turned for a moment. “No,” he whispered. “He thinks he is God.”

“What?” Abigail and Malachi said in unison.

“I think he has got some screws loose.”

The two looked at him confusedly.

“You know, a little cuckoo.” He did the finger circles to his ear.

“Daniel, what are you saying?” Abigail asked.

“He has gone insane. He is not right in the head.”

“What do we do?” Abigail asked. “He cannot just continue to kill anyone who gets in his way.” She didn’t want to die. She wanted to see Rachel and the baby. That reminded her.

“How is Rachel? Has she had the baby?”

“She is well. They both are well. She has delivered a healthy baby boy.”

Abigail’s heart soared. Oh, how she wished she could see her sister once again. She took in a deep breath to avoid crying in front of them. Daniel was just a boy, still a youngling, but to her, he was heroic. He had a heart for people. He would someday make a respectable High Prophet. That was if the community made it without being murdered off one by one.

Chapter 32 ― Luna

Luna sat at the dining room table in her mother’s house with a notebook, scotch tape, and colored pencils. She ripped out four pieces of paper and taped them together to make one big map.

Her mother was off to visit with Blake, and Jonathan was still at work. He would be back soon, and she wanted to be more productive than just putting in applications all over town.

She drew a line just inside the pages into a sort of rounded sort of square.

“This is the fence.” At the front, she drew two lines to represent the gate. Then she drew another at the back where Malachi had said. She then mapped out the entire community as best she could. She drew houses and labeled each with their family names on them. She didn’t know all their surnames, but a good deal of them stuck in her head. She placed the church, the factory, and the supply building. All the cotton fields, cornfields, and gardens. She even drew stick cows and horses.

As she stood over her work and admired her ability to place everything, the front door opened.

“In here,” Luna called out.

Soon Jonathan was there with her, looking at her map. “What are those?” he asked as he bent to get a closer look.

“Cows. Can’t you tell?”

“They only have two legs.”

“The other two — oh stop it. That doesn’t matter.”

Jonathan chuckled. “These are horses, right? Two-legged horses?”

“The legs are on the other side!” she said exasperated. You can’t see them from this angle. I learned that in art class.”

“Oh, well excuse me, miss artsy pants.” He gave her a face. His vocabulary was getting more polluted by the day.

“Anyyyywwaaayyyyy.” She rolled her eyes. “I thought maybe with this map, we could figure out what our next move will be. Or should I say, our first move?”

“What is this with all the jagged scribbles on it?” he asked, pointing to the electrical bolts she’d skillfully drawn along the fence.

“Don’t touch that. It’s electric.”

Jonathan pulled his finger away in mock horror, but then his face got serious. “Wait a minute. What if we dig under the fence?”

“How far do you think it