CHAPTER TWELVE Luke

The room quieted down, all of us anticipating our leader, Franklin. I glanced at my younger brother David, verifying that he was dressed properly, buttons buttoned, and sitting attentively beside me. My mother sat on the other side of David, her first inclusion in a community meeting in nearly six years.

The dining hall was in the middle of the community, with dorms and other outbuildings circling this central structure; meetings, prayer services, all meals, offices for our leaders—basically the center of everything. It was where we gathered for important events. The set-up was similar to a small village that had been plunked square in the middle of a ranch.

Three dorm buildings were to the left of the dining hall, where our members lived and raised their families. Franklin had his own large home, styled like a grand southern estate, with columns and everything. Four additional residences, smaller, of course, were for the officers who served under Franklin. My family used to reside in one of them. Barns and equipment sheds completed the expansive area.

Our family had been excluded from meetings since my father died, but today's assembly was labeled mandatory, even for the ‘undesirables,' as we'd been labeled, along with a few other members. Any members who had been close to my father during his leadership were punished after the change in control. Some moved away, but some, my mother included, wouldn't leave.

If our family was included in this meeting, there must be a major announcement regarding the compound and our members. Ma did her best to engage with others sitting nearby but was quickly rebuffed because of her shunned status within the group. My heart broke as I witnessed her shrink after former friends disregarded her smiles or attempts at connecting.

Finally, just to the side of the stage, the door to Franklin's office opened, and he filled the doorframe with his massive size. As soon as he was spotted, nervous murmuring spread across the room like waves invading the shoreline.

The mere sight of him caused my breath to hitch as I fought my fear of the man. I knew to focus and to breathe. Having a panic attack would not sit well with our revered leader, particularly since I was an ‘undesirable.'

Funny how I was the one referred to as an undesirable, considering the man had a hard time keeping his hands off me. I immediately felt the monster in my mind creeping forward. "Are we ready to run yet, Luke?" the voice of panic spoke. "He's going to get you. Again, and again, and again."

"Ouch," David hissed, turning to look at me. "That hurts."

His voice woke me from the anxiety ride I was currently on. I hadn't realized I was gripping David's hand so hard as I fought my demons.

"Shhh," I whispered.

"But that hurt," David whined.

My eyes flashed a warning to him that he correctly understood. "Say nothing," I muttered, as Ma placed an elbow into his ribs. He was about to yelp out loud until I reestablished my grip on his hand.

Sister Ella Mae spun around and glared at the three of us. I remember when she used to sneak sweets to me, and love on us when I was a boy. She and her mate, Jobe, never had children, allowing Jobe to add another mate to his home, so Ella Mae babied David and me until we were forced from good standing. Today she treated us like we didn't exist unless she had some correction to make or insult to share.

I smiled kindly and patted David's knee, assuring her I had everything under control. She made a noise of disgust and turned back toward the stage just in time. These were the times I wondered why Ma put up with how we were treated amongst those who were once considered family.

The assembled crowd became dead quiet after Franklin approached the front of the stage. He wouldn't need a microphone to speak to us. His voice boomed, and he knew he'd have complete silence from his flock.

"I come to you today with a heart filled with extreme disappointment," he began, moving his eyes across the room, making sure we all saw this disappointment he spoke of. "You have all let me down."

A faint buzz caught fire and spread throughout the room, members looking from one to another in fear. We all knew what this meant. Whatever the issue, we knew where the blame would be laid. Right at our feet. Franklin was infallible, so it wouldn't be him, since he was God's divine choice to lead us. It also wouldn't be any council member sitting behind him. The group of men who had sufficiently cowed down to Franklin would also be immune to his upcoming rant.

"Many of you are not doing enough off the ranch," he stated, pointing a finger around the room, occasionally discontinuing the motion, and glaring at whomever the finger stopped on. "Sales are down across our businesses. Businesses I created for you so you could live free and valued lives."

His voice was rising, and I'd been correct about the subject. This was always the topic when the entire population was required to attend a meeting in the main room of our compound. Business. His businesses.

"God did not put you and your family's spiritual growth into my hands so that I would fail to guide you," he asserted, his voice getting more powerful and bitter in tone. "I have expectations of my flock and let me tell you…" he began again, pausing as he locked eyes with a few members for effect. "I do not fail, and I will not allow you to fail my godly mission here on earth."

He let the crowd focus on his words before he continued to his favorite tactic, imposing the fear of losing their afterlife.

"We all depend on each other, my children. And some of you are letting the others amongst us down," he roared, waving his hands above his head, really letting go of his normally reserved demeanor. "I do not like having to remind my flock that we need to be strong, to be focused, and to be willing to sacrifice for the greater good."

And by ‘the greater good,' he meant him and his needs. The flashy cars, the fancy suits, the fifty-gallon cowboy hats that looked ridiculous on a man who had never ridden a horse or farmed a day in his lazy life. All things that I would never utter in public. None of us would. And I knew with certainty that he was about to tell us what would happen to each and every one of us if we failed him this time.

"Sadly, and apparently, not all of my flock want an afterlife!" he yelled, stomping his size fifteen boot on the wooden floors of the stage. "Some of you actually prefer to dwell right here on this living hell I call Earth."

David turned to me, fear evident on his face. He didn't handle yelling too well, and I'd recently sensed a change in him where Franklin was concerned. He'd stopped defending the man to Ma and me like he sometimes did. "He's after little David," the monster whispered. "You're too late, Luke."

I wrapped an arm around David's shoulder and pulled him against me. Affection was allowed if it was with a family member, so I had no fear of showing my protective love to my younger brother. He was trembling as I held him. I was horrified at what that could mean.

Franklin stepped from the stage and walked down the center aisle. There were a couple hundred members to his left, and another couple hundred to his right. We were on the aisle and sitting in the last row, relegated there due to our status as undesirables.

He stopped and stared at Brother Micah, raising a finger to Micah's face. "Do you plan on leaving your family behind, Brother Micah?" he asked, sneer on full display. "Are you going to let your children get raped and murdered by those outsider heathens?" Micah and his family recoiled in fear, one daughter burying her face in her mother's side.

He walked down the aisle further, and picked his next victim, four rows in front of my family. "And you, Brother James," he began, lowering his voice to nearly a whisper. I could hear him because he stood only ten feet away. "I chose you to lead one of my most prized businesses, and what do you do?" He turned around slowly, staring at the assembled group, and waited to make sure everyone could hear his coming words. "You failed me, Brother James! You failed all of us!" he hollered, turning back to glare at James and his family.

Brother James registered no emotion. He did not look away. He did not show a single bit of anger at being admonished in front of the entire group. He knew better than to do that. His mate, Sister Abigail, clutched a handkerchief to her mouth and silently wept.

"You'll go back to the fields now, James," Franklin decreed, ensuring everyone in attendance heard the punishment. "As a laborer! Is that understood?" he asked. A hushed rumble of shock ran through the assembled mass like aftershocks from an earthquake. Brother James nodded; his eyes now glued to the floor.

"And Sister Abigail," he said, making sure to wait until she acknowledged him. She looked up at Franklin, her lower lip trembling after she moved the hanky away from her face. "You no longer belong to any of the women's committees," he declared. "In fact, your husband has let you down. You married poorly, dear sister, and for that, I am sorry. Brother James has ruined your family's chances for an afterlife."

Abigail sobbed out loud, a huge no-no in front of Franklin. She couldn't contain her emotion as she wailed with agony. It was then that Franklin reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. He maneuvered her to the aisle, then walked her down and onto the stage.

The assembled members stared stone-eyed at the spectacle. We'd seen some difficult things done by Franklin, but this was a terrifying moment for all of us. Once on stage, Franklin wrapped an arm around Sister Abigail before pointing to the group with his free hand.

"I made a mistake," he stated. The room gasped. Franklin didn't make mistakes according to our teachings. He was divine, led by God. "I chose a poor mate for you, Sister Abigail, and for that, I apologize."

I looked at Ma. She was stunned, but something about her vacant stare told me she'd seen horror like this before. I watched as she steeled herself for what was coming. I felt sick to my stomach, pressing David's face closer to my chest.

Franklin moved his eyes from one side of the room to the other as we all stared back, silently and completely in shock. Once he was assured he had everyone's full attention, he made a request that no one saw coming.

"What man here today will open his home to Sister Abigail and her two children?"

Sister Abigail fell to her knees, sobbing hysterically. "Nooo!" she wailed. "Nooo!"

Every mated man, suitably aged for child rearing, raised his hand. Not a one thought to himself that he should pass. They knew what this could mean for them. Several women wept openly, clutching at their children. Brother James's head was still tilted down, numb and staring at the floor, as his two young children clung to each side of him.

Franklin scanned the room for a suitable man. Doing this favor for Franklin would mean advancement, a possible role in the council, and a better life for their family. Could the man who accepted the responsibility be blamed for volunteering?

"Brother Eldon," Franklin stated, choosing the man he wanted and waiting for Eldon to rise from his pew. "Will you accept Sister Abigail into your family? Will you raise her children as your own? Will you do what God commanded me to ask of you?"

Brother Eldon cleared his throat. "Yes, Father. I will do as you ask and pray for God's grace."

The folks in the aisle where Brother Eldon sat with his wife and three children immediately slid to their sides until there was a small gap for three additional bodies, a signal that one family had just grown, while another was destroyed.

I fought tears that even my eyes knew shouldn't be shed. Not in public, anyway. I was a man now, so tears were considered a sign of weakness. If God had chosen Franklin as his hand on earth, what chance did my family have? What chance did I have?

I was doomed on so many levels. For one, I couldn't imagine marrying a sister wife, and for the life of me, when I considered having a mate, I didn't understand why I thought of Tate.