Holding Their Own VII: Phoenix Star (18 page)

It was Terri’s turn to question one of the laws. “A curfew? I don’t understand,” she questioned.

Nodding, Pearson explained. “At the time society ceased to exist, we had 40-plus teenagers enrolled in our troubled youth programs. These are inner-city youth who had been in hot water with the law, some for serious offenses. Without county law enforcement or the court’s support, we had to establish control quickly or things would’ve gotten out of hand.”

Nodding, Terri returned to reading. As she continued down the list, she thought most of the community’s rules made sense. But there were a few items that seemed Machiavellian. Whoever had complied the regulations had done so with a heavy hand, obviously intent on maintaining control. In principle, the flavor of the entire thing seemed at odds with a Christian philosophy. She was mentally distracted by that analysis when her husband’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Mr. Pearson, we’ll pass. My wife and I wish you no ill will and appreciate the offer, but I don’t think we would fit in to your community. Thank you again.”

Terri was a little surprised Bishop had made that decision without at least discussing it together, in private. Pastor Pearson was flabbergasted.

“I… I… I don’t know what to say,” the man stuttered. “Is there something wrong? Did something happen while you were on your tour?”

Bishop hesitated, glancing at T
erri and then back at the reverend. “No, nothing happened. To be frank, there are some of your rules that just go against my grain. It’s as simple as that. We’ll be on our way.”

Terri returned to the list, scanning ahead. Bishop had always been a faster reader than she was, so she assumed he saw
something deeper in the document that flipped his switch to a firm “off.”

As she progressed down the items, her feelings began to align with her husband’s. “No public postings, bills or other written material without approval from the administration staff,” caught her eye first. Then
came the clincher, “No personal firearms.”

Something in the tone of the camp leader’s voice changed. “I don’t understand. We’re building a wonderful community here, and while these rules are strict in some regards, our people have been through a traumatic experience. We had to establish
order and do so quickly, or things would have spiraled out of control.”

It was difficult for Bishop to read the man’s demeanor. Clearly flustered by the rejection, it seemed like Pearson was vacillating between anger, insult and… and fear.
Well, now that is odd.
Why would he be scared?
  

By now, Terri had read the entire list. “I’m afraid I have to agree with my husband, sir. Again, thank you for the offer to join your community, but I think Bishop’s right. We should continue on our way to Utah.”

The preacher stood, a little too abruptly, anger clearly winning the internal contest of his emotions. “This is unheard of! Why would anyone in their right mind….” He then caught himself, taking a deep breath, a forced smile returning to his face. “I see,” he softened. “I’m sorry you’ve reached this decision, but it seems there’s little I can do to change your minds.”

As Bishop and Terri stood to leave, Pearson glanced out the window. “
The sun will set soon. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to try to negotiate the mountain road in the dark. Please, at least accept our hospitability for the evening. You can be on your way first thing in the morning if you so choose.”

The rema
rk caused Bishop a sudden bout of indecision. On one hand, his instincts screamed for him to get his wife and infant son as far away as possible, as soon as possible. On the other hand, towing the camper over the mountain had been difficult enough on the way in – doing so at night would pose substantially more risk.

Glancing back at their host, he replied, “Why, thank you
, Pastor. Your suggestion is probably wise. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, we can sleep in the camper tonight and be on our way first thing in the morning.”

Nodding and smiling,
a polite façade now in full control, the preacher stepped around from behind his desk and put his hand on Bishop’s shoulder. “That would be fine. Perhaps you’ll even change your mind after a peaceful night’s rest. You can leave your rig right where it’s parked.”

The couple left
the HQ building, Terri needing to feed an increasingly fussy Hunter, Bishop anxious to set up the camper before the light faded. He had just popped open the accordion-like top when a woman appeared, a pre-teenage boy under each of her arms. Bishop recognized the two young men immediately – the fishermen Terri and he had spooked at the lake.

“Mister, these two
young’uns have something they need to say to you,” the lady said. Then she gently rattled both kids.

“Thank you for not turning
us in,” they both mumbled, staring down at their feet - ashamed.

The woman
continued, “I want to thank you as well, sir. I heard what Dean said, and it would have been easy for you to turn these two over. They’re good boys… mostly… they just love to go fishing and ignore the rules sometimes. If they had gotten caught poaching fish, well, I don’t know what the pastor would have done.”

Bishop nodded and smiled at the
boys, not quite understanding what was going on. “Well, ma’am, truth be told, as a youth I was known to slip off from time to time, ignoring my dad’s wishes. Perfectly normal behavior, I guess. So what would have happened if they had been caught?”

The lady actually shuddered. “I’m… well… I’m not sure. They would have at least spent two days in the brig.
When it’s kids, they often reduce the parent’s rations, too.”

“Brig?” Bishop asked, not sure he’d
heard the word correctly. “There is a jail here? Used for minor teenage infractions?”

“Yes,” the woman nodded, her eyes scanning the area to make sure no one was within earshot. “It’s over by the main supply building. That’s where the
y issue punishment for
anyone
who breaks the law.”

Bishop nodded, trying to act nonchalant
so he could get an honest read of what she was saying. “And what type of punishment do they issue?”

The topic clearly made her nervous. Bishop was concerned she was about to turn and run. “Oh, it depends
,” came the low response. “These two troublemakers would have probably received a paddling, like they used to give in school back in my day. Older men… well… lashes are their most common punishment. Lashes or time in the brig.”

“Lashes?
Corporal punishment for going fishing? Seriously?”

“
You didn’t know? They make everyone gather and watch. I think for the kids, humiliation is worse than the sore fanny.”

“No ma’am, I had no idea. I’m glad the kids didn’t get caught though. Your secret is safe with me.”

Smiling, she turned to go, but then paused. Glancing back at Bishop, she added, “Oh, and watch yourself with Dean. That man is heartless. He controls the elders and has no mercy. From what I saw today, he clearly doesn’t like you much. Of course, he doesn’t like anybody who stands up to him… not that many do.”

“
Elders? Who are the elders?”

Again, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, she responded in a hushed voice. “Anyone you s
ee carrying a gun is an elder. They’re sort of like our policemen. But be careful, they also have undercover agents. You never know who’s informing for the elders.”

Bishop
grimaced, “Thanks for the warning. I’ll watch my back.”

Terri joined him, Hunter happy and sedate
after his meal. She watched the woman and two boys walk away for a moment and then asked, “What was that all about?”

His wife’s reaction to Bishop’s recounting of the conversation was as expected, emotions ranging from disbelief to outrage. “Bishop, I think you’re spot on about this place. The more I learn, the more I get the heebie-jeebies. Should we go ahead and leave tonight?”

“I was just thinking the same thing, but we’re both exhausted and that road to the camp was pretty challenging during the day. Being tired and driving it at night probably wouldn’t be wise.”

Terri agreed,
securing a now-sleeping Hunter back in his car seat so she could help with the camper. While the couple worked to set up their evening’s accommodations, Terri’s mind was racing with questions. “Bishop, do you think there’s any chance they won’t let us leave?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“I don’t know. There’s just something not right about all this… It gives me the creeps, like some old horror movie. You know, they never let the innocent people go in those old flicks. They may be plotting our demise right now.”

While Bishop laughed at his wife, he wasn’t completely sure she didn’t have a point. There was an undercurrent at the camp, and he was
positive those waters were deep and cold.

“We can’t let them go,” Dean insisted. “You know the rules – no one leaves.”

Boyd wasn’t happy, his voice low as he snapped back, “Of course I know the rules. I wrote them
, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. And I swore to uphold them – to help you enforce them. We can’t let them leave.”

The pastor stood, moving from his desk to the window and then gazing outside. After a long period of deep thought, he turned to Dean and declared, “I’m not sure we need to stop them. They didn’t see much, and I don’t believe there are that many people left out in the world for them to tell. Most wouldn’t believe them anyway.”

Dean shook his head in clear disgust. “We have no way of knowing who they might tell about us and this place. The last thing we need is to have a parade of desperate people wandering around the mountain, looking for our little slice of heaven. If you let them go, you’
ll be violating one of our fundamental laws.”

While Pearson nodded, it was clear the man wasn’t completely sold. “W
e’ve already made him promise that he won’t divulge our presence to anyone. That Bishop fellow seems like a man of his word.”

Dean grunted, “That
doesn’t mean anything… that promise might last until they got captured by some truly evil men. You don’t think they would sell us out to save their own skins? In a heartbeat, Pastor. Anyone would. That’s why we agreed on the law – no one leaves.”

Sighing, Pearson nodded. “I’m
not sure we have anything to worry about anyway. After a good night’s rest, they may talk things over and realize we are building paradise right here. Anyway, I am going to make one last attempt to change their minds in the morning. If they still insist on leaving, then you do as you must. Just make sure no one at the camp has any clue. Either do it far away from here, or make it look like an accident. That’s the last thing we need right now – a bunch of gossip and whispers about what happened to the nice couple that was visiting.”

“And what about the child they have with them?”

The preacher’s head snapped up, anger clearly evident in his gaze. “What do you think I am, Dean? A barbarian? Of course, you should make every attempt to save the baby. It is completely innocent. We’ll find a good home for him here. One day he’ll join our crusaders.”

Mother Nature didn’t seem to care about Bishop’s level of exhaustion. Shortly after darkness fell, the wind kicked up, soon followed by rolling claps of distant thunder.