Page 17 of Taken

“Well, you’re kidding, right?” he said, waving a hand toward the picture.

“I don’t think it’s funny to joke about the Great Reckoning,” I said stiffly. “Billions of people died. I know they were sinners, but still, it was a terrible time. Our God did notenjoy punishing the world. He simply had to.”

The mirth faded from his eyes. “Jolie, these pictures are all stills from stupid old apocalypse movies. You know that, right?”

I shook my head slowly. I remembered movies, vaguely, but these were photos. Why was Mason lying? Was his experience in the Wastelands so terrible that he found it easier to deny that anything happened out there?

I was so confused by him that I did not speak for a full minute. I turned back to the photo and stared at it, wondering just how badly Mason’s mind had been affected by whatever trauma he had gone through. Could he be saved?

“There you are.” A curt voice sounded from the entrance. I stiffened. It was my father.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him stride in. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he went on as he approached Mason. I didn’t dare turn and look at him, but I could tell he was furious from his tone alone.

“Sorry, Mr. Chastain. I couldn’t find my way back to the meeting spot. I must’ve taken a wrong turn after I left the bathroom, and it’s like a maze down here. Wound up finding my way into this room. I’ve just been waiting and admiring your… er, pictures.”

“You didn’t speak with my daughter, did you?”

I dared a quick glance at my father. His eyes were steely.

“You mean her?” Mason said, pointing over at me. “We didn’t speak, no. But is that really little Jolie? Your daughter?”

I silently praised our God that Mason was lying on my behalf. Lying was usually a sin, but in this case, I felt it might be acceptable. After all, Mason and I weren’t doing anything wrong. We were just innocently talking about our lives. My father and the Elders were harsh, though. I might’ve been punished by having my lips sewn shut for a week if Mason told the truth. At best, I would’ve been beaten severely.

“Yes,” my father replied, his voice softening slightly. “I apologize for my tone, Mason. When I walked in here and saw the two of you, I presumed you had spoken.”

“Of course not. You made the rules very clear.”

My father stepped over to me and pulled on my arm so that I was forced to turn around. “What are you doing in here, Jolie?” he asked sharply.

“I…” My tongue was tied all over again.

“I believe she was dusting,” Mason said. “At least that’s what she was doing when I walked in here.”

“Dusting? With what?”

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief and pointed to the cleaning materials I’d left by the entrance a few minutes ago. “The feather duster,” I said, finally regaining the ability to form words. “But I left it over there for a moment so I could polish this photo with my sleeve. There was some sort of smudge on the frame.”

“I see,” my father replied with a slow nod. His grip on my arm loosened. “I think the girls in the kitchen need some help. You wouldn’t want dinner to be late, would you?”

“Of course not.” I turned to leave, and he escorted me to the door. As I picked up my broom, pan, and duster, I gathered the courage to ask him a quiet question. “Father, will this outsider be staying with us?”

“No,” he said curtly. “He will be spending the night with us, and part of tomorrow as well, but after that he will return to where he came from.”

I felt as if he had slapped me right in the face. For a few seconds, I couldn’t even breathe. How could this happen? After all these years, Mason had finally returned to the ranch, just to see me… and he wasn’t even going to remain in the safety of New Eden?

It didn’t make any sense.

“Come along. Both of you,” my father said, stepping out of the Museum. I risked a look back over my shoulder as Mason trailed behind us.

He was staring right at me, interest and confusion sparking in his eyes.

I wanted to talk to him again, wanted to ask him more questions. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed.

Then again, I had already sinned a lot today, and I hadn’t been struck down by a bolt of lightning yet. Surely saying one more thing wouldn’t hurt.

I looked into Mason’s eyes and mouthed two words at him. ‘Please stay.’

---