Page 8 of Torn

He paused, and his smile vanished. A few people in the crowd began to look worried. I wasn’t worried, though. Whenever my father let his accent come out, that meant he was excited and ready to deliver some good news.

“You all know the new God has blessed me with the ability to hear His words and communicate them all to you. But as the old saying goes: with great power comes great responsibility. I am responsible for each and every one of you. Your words. Your actions. Your lives.” He paused and cast his steely gaze around the marquee. “You are my people. My flock. To me, the safety of you and your families is the most important thing in the world. And right now, with the new millennium approaching, we’re facing a dire threat.” He banged his hand on the pulpit, startling me and several others.

There was another pause, and then my father held up the copy of His Word. “Men, I trust that by now you’ve cast aside the Bibles you used to own in favor of this, the true testimony of the new God?”

There was a murmur as the men nodded and confirmed this. I yawned and glanced off to the left. Beyond the tent were miles upon miles of sugarcane fields, stretching almost as far as the eye could see. In the distance just beyond them, I could see smoke rising near the horizon. It was the direction Amiens lay in.

I nudged my mother. “What’s that?” I whispered.

She glanced over, quickly catching sight of the distant spiraling smoke. “Something must’ve caught on fire in the town. It happens easily on hot days.”

“Oh.” I hoped it wasn’t the school. I liked going there and learning. Most of the other kids didn’t, but I thought it was fun.

I returned my attention to my father’s speech.

“Those who have read every word of the book will know that our God is going to test us one day. We are all His creatures, but many of us have strayed from the path. The righteous path. He is sick and tired of watching this go on, and he’s going to punish the world. He will purge the lands with fire and poison all the great bodies of water. The sinners will perish on that day, and I believe it is coming very soon.” He slammed his hand on the pulpit again. “But we… we will survive, and from the fires of wickedness we shall emerge and continue to grow and prosper, like a new branch from a rotten tree. I have a plan to save us all, if you’ll let me.”

There was another cheer from the members, and my father raised his hands in the air again. “The details of this plan were spoken directly to me by our God. It’s been hard for me to keep it a secret from you, but it was necessary.” He paused for a few seconds. “I’m ready to tell you now. Are you ready to hear it?”

Everyone in the tent nodded, their eyes wide.

“He has commanded me to build a place called New Eden. A place we can go to be safe when the cleansing begins. So for the last couple of years, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.”

I looked at my mother again. “What did he build?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I’m not sure, honey,” she whispered back to me. “He doesn’t tell me much these days.”

“Oh.”

“Maybe he’s talking about that old church he wanted to refurbish. He’s been spending a lot of time on that part of the ranch with building contractors.”

“Maybe.” I frowned. The old white clapboard chapel looked as decrepit as ever when I looked at it earlier, but to be fair, it was quite far off in the distance. Maybe it looked better up close.

“I hope you’ll be ready to follow me when the day comes,” my father continued. “I’ve had many visions about it, and lately, they’ve been coming on even stronger. Every night for the last month. I know for a fact that the cleansing fire will be set upon this Earth very soon.”

A worried titter spread through the crowd.

“Unfortunately, that’s not the only threat,” my father said. “You see, many others out there know we are the chosen ones. They can’t stand it. Those wicked men want to see us fall, and they will do whatever they can to try and stop us from surviving the fires. They will persecute us, and they—”

He stopped abruptly, thick brows drawing together as his eyes snapped up and over the crowd. A few people turned around to see what he was staring at. I craned my neck and did the same.

Several dark vans were coming down the driveway. The vehicles stopped short of the marquee, and several men in black clothes and masks jumped out. They strode toward the tent, shoulders squared and steps purposeful.

“May He save us all,” my father said, eyes widening as he placed one hand over his heart. “They’re here.”

---