Darkness upon the Land

Reuben’s conscience cringed again. By no means had he been out here having fun, but his concern for the residents had interfered with his duty to her.

“She’s all right now.” Father Nick was quick with the follow-up on his news. “She wasn’t hit or anything like that, and she’s up and about and helping with the kids since I came looking for you.”

“What happened? That is – tell me on the way there.”

“We’re not exactly sure what happened.” The priest began weaving through the thinning crowd, and Reuben kept pace. “She said it was a hypoglycemia episode exacerbated by the attack. For obvious reasons she was worried about you.”

“What about the gunman?”

“Miraculously nobody got hurt and he was taken down because … he tripped over some chairs.”

He might have tangled up in some chairs all right, but Reuben would bet a seven-course meal it had been with Alexia’s help.

“How did he get in there?”

“Well, that’s where the mystery continues. He shot our sentry in the back. At close range. In order to do so, he would’ve had to have come right up to the house and get between it and the guard. I don’t think the poor fellow would have been so careless.”

“Like something or someone was distracting him?”

“And that’s where our mystery deepens. I suppose it’s possible one of the gangsters figured out our uniform and donned a bandana, but somehow I don’t think so. The gunman was too … clean.”

A chill settled over Reuben as he thought of the shadowy Brent Rayburn marauder. “You think he was one of ours turned outlaw?”

“We have our own riffraff who had a limited association with the gangsters when they came in, but I don’t believe he was one of those, either. He was washed up, clean cut, almost respectable if not for the grungy clothes.”

Liana’s words to him resurfaced with full force: He reminded me of you, only not as dark. But did the gunman’s actions match those of her attacker? He did deceive her and then launched a physical assault after the Carvel cousins showed up. Did he deceive the sentry, shoot him in the back, and then get himself shot because a skinny girl tripped him up with chairs? That seemed too easy.

“Nobody knows who he is?”

“He’s laid out with the other unidentified bodies, so hopefully someone will claim him soon.”

He wished he could transport Liana here. “Could I take a look?”

“You’re welcome to, but if you recognize him I’ll be surprised. With so few people in town knowing who you are, it made it hard to keep track of you. The last news we had was that you successfully got away from the station before it blew. Then you never returned to the infirmary. Once the fighting settled down I checked out the casualties we had, then walked the street to the gas station. Luckily I heard the final assault was taking place at City Hall, so I came here hoping you’d only been seriously sidetracked.”

“Sorry about the worry I caused. I made the mistake of assuming Alex was safe and thought I should help clean house. It would be a relief if Liana didn’t have to keep watch for conspirators with the council charging up her road.”

“Well, as you saw, the council’s lost their influence. But I’m still concerned that this Brent Rayburn imposter might have his own agenda.”

“Wouldn’t it be a relief if we knew he’d been killed tonight?”

The priest was silent for a few seconds before he replied. “That would be too easy. The attack at the infirmary also has too many unanswered questions.”

He better understood why Father Nick’s attitude had seemed so grave. The two of them were thinking alike.

“Like why?” Reuben accompanied him onto a quieter street, and he almost missed the light cast from the absent aurora borealis. “If Brent Rayburn was behind the attack at the hospital, was it because Alex was there? Did he want to take her out in order to further isolate Liana?”

The priest shook his head. “There’s too many unknowns. If he did target Alexia, how did he find out she was there? Is he really that close to our own circle? Or does he have an inside man who’s close enough? Either way, I find the matter very troubling.”

“Even if he’s not still in shenanigans with any council members, it might be worth questioning them to see if they can throw any light on the matter.” He just became exceptionally glad the lives of those people had been spared, but then he remembered the priest’s rebuff toward the woman who tried to approach. “Who was that woman there tonight?”

“LaDonna Warren? She’s a Baptist minister. But she doesn’t know enough about Liana’s case to quiz any of the council tonight.”

“No, I’m sorry, the other woman. The one with the council.”

“Why do you ask?”

“She’s not Marcelle Bellamy by chance, is she?”

Father Nick hesitated for a couple of seconds before responding. “Where did you hear that name before?”

“When you visited the first time after Liana became conscious, she told you that Marcelle Bellamy and a couple of men were out there the week before making her the offer that in exchange for protection she would provide the council and the council only with any goods.”

“You sure that’s the name she used?”

It seemed to him the priest was stalling. “She’s not the same woman who told you before that your church was relieved of the responsibility of helping to provide food and toiletries, is she? That the council was going to take care of those matters so you wouldn’t be a target for looters? And she got all offended when you told her the Church couldn’t cease to give charity. Let you know that you wouldn’t receive any assistance or cooperation from the local authorities if anybody got hurt or killed because of your foolishness.”

He hesitated again for a couple of seconds. “You have a very good memory.”

“Thank you. So yes, that is the name Liana used, and I want to know if it’s the same woman. If so, she’s the first one we need to question.”

“Don’t worry, she will be questioned.”

Father Nick’s indirectness was oddly annoying him. “Why are you protecting her?”

“I’ve done nothing to protect her. I simply prefer to abstain from using names in order to help guard people’s reputations.”

Reuben completely understood what he just said, but under the circumstances felt like the priest had erred too much on the side of caution. “I hope your effort to safeguard her reputation doesn’t get any more of us killed.”

He didn’t respond, but did let out a long, slow exhale.

That sigh tweaked Reuben’s conscience again, and he immediately regretted the insinuation. “I’m sorry. I was out of place. I guess I just haven’t got all the fight out of my blood yet.”

“That’s perfectly understandable. Believe me, I’ve second-guessed myself plenty of times over the last few weeks.”

“Well, from what I’ve noticed, you’ve done a pretty incredible job of helping people through all stages of this crisis.”

“The stages are only getting worse. Many of our resources have been depleted now. Disease and illness are already becoming more common. Pretty soon prayer is going to be all I have left at my disposal, and while that is a powerful asset, I would prefer to save lives over simply providing comfort on the journey to the next life.”

“Can’t we resurrect the underground supply train and bring it to the surface? We still have the outlying farmers. And because of Alex, Liana is thoroughly skilled in natural healings and medicines. I’m sure we can get enough people with all their talents together to make the future a little less grim.”

“Liana is still trying to heal herself.”

“If you think that would stop her, then you don’t know her very well.”

Father Nick chuckled softly. “You know, we’re charged to care for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. It’s not supposed to work the other way around.”

Alexia was sitting in the parlor of the DuBois house, her chair stationed near the entrance of the chamber where three girls who hadn’t yet been claimed by their parents were sleeping. She heard people enter quietly at the front door in the next room, and her attention focused on the other end of the parlor. In the dim light of the single oil lamp perched on top of a derelict piano, she spied Father Nick step into the entrance. Before either of them could say anything, Reuben walked past the priest and into the room.

Her heart leapt even before she sprang to her feet. As she strode toward her wayward warrior, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and hold him closely, or wrap her hands there instead and begin wringing.

She refrained from both and came to a stop before him. “Are you all right?”

He regarded her with that analytical expression she knew well. “I thought I was supposed to be asking you that.”

“What took you so long?”

“I’m sorry. When I wandered off it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“I can’t take you anywhere!”

He broke into a grin. “Just don’t tell your mom that.”

Alexia smiled as she stepped toward Father Nick and briefly clasped his arm. “Thank you so much for finding him.”

“It wasn’t hard once I went where all the commotion was. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other people to badger.”

She turned to face Reuben again as the priest left. He was pulling out the spare pouch of pemmican he had been carrying.

“Father Nick mentioned you gave some of yours to the kids,” he said as he offered it to her.

“Not good, huh?” She held the pouch in her hand. “I guess we’re going to have to admit what happened to Mѐre, aren’t we? Too many people know about it.”

“Well … we could forget to mention it for the first couple of days. How are you feeling?”

“A little tired and shaky, but another dose of pemmican and a few hours’ sleep should take care of that.” She wasn’t going to mention that relief he had safely returned made her more invigorated than she had been just a few minutes ago.

“The chair thing was brilliant. Everybody thinks he tripped over them.”

“The chairs weren’t planned, they were just in my way. And the only reason they think he tripped over them is because everybody was scrambling in different directions.” She sighed as she pinched off some of the high-energy snack. “Rube, the chairs became airborne.”

He seemed to contemplate her statement for a couple of seconds. “They didn’t just flip over?”

“They came several feet off the floor and slammed into him. The only reason I didn’t blow out every window in the room is because I do seem to have learned how to focus this thing. Now, the question is, was this one actually bigger than the one at Baton Rouge when that guy grabbed me by the shirt, or does it just seem that way because more of it went in one direction?”

“Um … there could be a third option.”

“What’s that?”

“Maybe it’s both.”

She stared at him for a few seconds as his suggestion settled into her thought processes. “My God,” she murmured. “What am I becoming?”

“Try a positive contributor to society.”

Alexia slipped the bite of food into her mouth as she walked back across the room to retrieve her glass of water. “Good suggestion. I’ll give it a try.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

She took a sip from the water to help her swallow the food, and carried the glass with her as she stepped back over to him. “Did Father Nick tell you about all the mystery behind this attack?”

“He gave me the full rundown. Everything that happened is awfully suspicious. Unfortunately that means we can’t let our guard down yet.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? We came here to protect the town and ourselves from the gangs, only to go back home and continue to wait on pins and needles for the next attack.”

“It’s better to know we need to continue to be prepared than to be caught flat footed.”

“Do you have to see the silver lining to everything?”

“Believe me, it’s not easy.”

She gazed down at the glass in her hands. The water rippled slightly, and she wasn’t sure if it was from a minor outburst or if she was still a little unsteady.

“It would be too easy if the attacker was our so-called Brent Rayburn, wouldn’t it?”

“That seems to be the consensus. I did get a look at the body before Father Nick and I came over here, and I seriously doubt he’s our man. This guy had a tattoo on his left forearm. That’s a distinguishing mark your mom wouldn’t have left out.”

“It figures.”

“The good news is some of the council members were taken into custody. Maybe we can start getting some answers and a lead on just who this Brent Rayburn is.”

She frowned. “But we’re going home tomorrow morning.”

“Father Nick will take care of it. The other good news is I can bring our prisoner back here and he won’t be our problem anymore.”

“What do you think they’ll do with him?”

“That all depends on the tribunal that’s organizing. Since he’s a local they might not execute him, but since he associated with the invaders that’s still a possibility. I’m just relieved I don’t have to be the one to do it for a change.” Reuben sighed, long and slow. “I just hope to God I don’t ever have to do it again. Tonight … it was too easy. The killing, that is.”

She released the glass with her right hand in order to place it on his shoulder. “You told me once about how the killing of all the people who were plotting genocide was a necessary evil in order to bring about a greater good. It’s what we’re stuck with while we live in a broken world.”

A slight smile touched his lips. “You almost got that word for word. I must be rubbing off on you.”

“Oh, please.” She removed her hand from his shoulder. “I’ve had enough trauma for tonight.”