HIS EVE: The Aftermath Chronicles (Book Two)

4 † Three Sparrows

† "Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." -Genesis 2:22 †

With the last of the candles burning and the last rations of food consumed, CiCi, like the others, tried to hide their suffering.  There was a war coming to the colony. Having heard the soldier's words in the classroom, a push was going to come to shove no matter what Abel's God promised them.

Abel holds his sermon, as always, head of their church where from the front pew, CiCi sits with Audrey. Alone in the row, they sit, with no one else allowed to sit within arm's reach of Audrey but her.

Abel preaches with the taste of a southern drawl, "There ain't no reason to fear the others. We've learned ta live day by day, ta trust in our Lord, ta trust in God, that we will flourish in the holy land. What this Sergeant Doyle don't seem ta understand is, that he's given us the final test to prove ourselves to God. The Reckoning is among us. Naw, it don't necessarily mean us against them. It's them, that's makin' it out ta be that way. But trust me, trust God when he tells you, that some of our own still live down there that are yet to find their way. An', in that same respect, there will be traitors in our church. The face of Judas will rear his ugly head, I promise you all before The Reckoning draws to a close. All of us will have to make sacrifices and there will be some of you, who don't."

Though Audrey's face is planted straight ahead and onto her captor she's always absorbed with, it's CiCi that takes a quick glance around the dimly lit room.

What used to be the parlor, now their church, no longer resembles the room it was when they took it over. No light graced from the windows with all of them veiled in dark heavy curtains.

Old furniture was moved, destroyed, or put into the row of chairs for part of Abel's insane preaching. Masses, that occurred twice a day.

CiCi put on a good face all this time, pretending to go along with this, as she read so many around her, also playing the game for their lives. Somehow, the psycho doing the talking saw something in all of them. Most of them in their desperation believed it. Others who were new, like her, lived in constant terror from Abel's next move or his visions from God.

Abel's constantly wavering, confusing accent, changes into a flat, higher pitch as he continues, "God has spoken to me. He says it's time for me to take on more disciples in our church. Someone, He trusts, that I trust, to see us through to the flourishing Eden. I have chosen to be anointed...Jael."

Every chair in the rows behind her creak. An echoing silence follows and the ill vibes cast onto her from Abel's disciples looking her way from the row beyond the aisle. All of them men. All anointed after months, even years, of proving themselves to Abel and their God.

Even Audrey, Abel's ultimate chosen, wasn't anointed. She's the mother, not a disciple. From what CiCi learned in her short time with this group, was that women in this group—outside of Audrey—weren't shown respect. They were treated like whores, like servants. From what Abel preached, his opinions on most women and their innate lean towards evil always rang loudest.

Her shock harder to mask than ever before, CiCi keeps her eyes closed to force her smile as Abel looks her way. When she dares to open them again, he's still looking at her. She sees the caution is still there, with his own wavering on choosing her.

Whatever voice in his head had called her out, was the argument waging on behind his steely eyes.

Abel watches her still as he says, "Soon. In a few days time, we will have the anointing for our sister, Jael. The protector and companion to our mother, Eve," much to CiCi's relief, Abel plants his attention to the redhead next to her as he continues, "After the anointing, there will be a wedding, at last. God has sent me three sparrows this morning. The sign, that it is time for the mother to take her seat at my side."

He holds his expectant hand out for Audrey to take, causing CiCi to cringe in his nearness. Those hands, she's seen grab other women—his slave girls. Some of them far too young, that he gladly hands off to his disciples to violate in the night.

As her friend gladly takes his hand and stands with him, CiCi can't bear to look. With precision in her memory, CiCi gazes up at the large crucifixion statue hanging at the head of the church. One of their first projects, to create a depiction that Abel could proudly hang. They'd failed twice to please him, till the artists in the group finally got it right.

It remains the focal point, for her last hold of her own sanity in this insane asylum. Silently, she prays. Hoping, for the real God to step in at any given point to stop this.

***

Later, as CiCi helps prepare what is stolen from the colony's harvest, it's the face beyond the group of women that gives her new hope.

He's with the other men, the servants. The men, most of them young, had failed at proving themselves or had yet to. This particular man's face is welted, healing from a cut across the bruise given. Of course, she's seen him as she's seen every other face in this forsaken place. However, it's how he looks at her as if they have the same fears and hopes in common, that keeps her looking back.

She tenses as he approaches.

He holds a vegetable in his hands that he's pretending to bring her way to chop. Their eyes are diverted from one another as he moves her way and she prays, that he doesn't do anything rash to get her in trouble with Abel. Or, now, with his watchful and loyal disciple in the corner.

He reaches forward from behind her, placing the weak carrot just an inch from her chopping hand. Quickly, in the motion, he whispers to the back of her head, "The church. One hour. I need to talk to you."

She wants to spin around, get a good look at his face up close and ask, just what the hell he thinks he's doing, but when Abel's chosen notices their proximity, both keep their cool.

The younger male around her age can no longer show his bruise to her as he walks back to his side of the huge kitchen.

Afraid to look up from her assigned job, CiCi doesn't make a foreign motion that might bring her further attention. Wondering if she could bring herself to go meet him, she's torn in expecting this could be a trap.

A test, sent to her early by Abel, that might prove her unworthy of the anointing. Should she fail as so many others, she could be disgraced, or worse—killed.

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