Away From the Dark (The Light #2)(10)

Her head moved back and forth. “We only have rations for our own meal. No one can get more than one.”

She and I were sharing the same life, yet it wasn’t the same. Mine was chosen. Often Dinah or I would make a run for sandwiches for everyone at the lab. How had I not fully noticed or understood the hierarchy in The Light before?

“Oh. Then please go. I’m sorry, Mary. But the next time you see me, please don’t be afraid of me.”

“I-I’m not. You seem nice. Sister Elizabeth is nice and so is Sister Esther, our overseer’s wife. I don’t know any other chosen. I don’t even know your name.”

I tried to smile. “My name is St-Sara, Sister Sara. Please feel free to speak to me anytime.”

She looked back at her hands, waiting for me to dismiss her, as my stomach twisted. “If you hurry, will you have time to eat?”

“Yes,” she answered quickly.

“Then please go. Thank you for talking to me.”

“Thank you.”

I sat silently as she hurried from the chair to the line and then the counter. From the depth of her pocket, she removed a slip of white paper. It was her lunch ration ticket.

More questions came to my mind. Did everyone experience an “accident” upon arrival? Why? How many hours a day did she and her friends work? What did they do in the greenhouse? What did others do in the production plant?

Walking back to the lab, I contemplated the dichotomy of Mary and Mindy. No longer was she the confident woman who’d been my roommate, classmate, and best friend. Somehow The Light had turned all of us into Stepford wives.

When I entered the lab, Dinah looked up at me, silently questioning my unusual behavior. It wasn’t until we were alone that she finally asked, “Elizabeth? What did she want you to do?”

I licked my lips and lifted my shoulder in a shrug. “She wanted me to ask that follower about a memory she’d had.”

Dinah’s nose scrunched. “A memory? Of what? And why you?”

My eyes widened. “I don’t know. Elizabeth is our friend. I can’t imagine her asking me to do anything that I shouldn’t. Can you?”

“No. It seems odd.”

“I thought so too. It doesn’t matter. The follower didn’t remember.”

Though Dinah seemed satisfied, I silently said a prayer. Please, Father Gabriel, don’t let Dinah say anything to Elizabeth.

Before the end of our workday, Brother Benjamin came to my work desk. “Sister, this morning at Assembly, I learned that Jacob will be returning this afternoon. He’ll be home by dinner.”

A smile spread over my face, before I had the chance to respond differently. “Thank you, Brother Benjamin. That’s the best news I’ve heard in days.”

He winked. “Why don’t you go home early and get ready for his return. I’m sure he’s missed your home cooking.”

Although I was suddenly worried about facing him, the man who had worked so hard to make me believe I was his wife, my body and mind were conflicted. Truth be told: I had missed him.





CHAPTER 5


Jacob


I’d called our apartment telephone as I passed the final gate to enter the community. It was nearly five o’clock, and I hoped that Sara would be home from work. On this trip I’d been gone for three nights. I didn’t like leaving her for hours, much less days.

This trip had been spent solely at the Eastern Light. While Father Gabriel did whatever he did in his mansion, Micah and I stayed down past the pool and tennis court in the small outbuildings.

When I’d first started this assignment, I’d considered investigating the big house, until I saw the cameras. Every move Micah and I made on the property, or at least inside the outbuildings, was watched. Late at night I’d sit on the steps and watch the big house. In the darkness I was hidden, but the large mansion was visible, its windows often lit, the house looking like a Christmas tree. Even from the distance of the outbuildings, I could see the multitudes of people celebrating with our leader.

Although my job was to infiltrate The Light, my training told me that I could accomplish my goal only by following Father Gabriel’s rules. He specifically forbade my or Micah’s presence closer to the mansion. I wouldn’t have gotten where I was today if I’d broken that simple an order.

Whenever I was at the Eastern Light, I rarely left the grounds. If I did, it was to attend temple. Usually Elijah, an Assemblyman from the Eastern Light, drove us. This past Wednesday, Brother Uriel, the senior commissioner at the Eastern Light, had been with him. During our drive to and from the estate, I’d had the distinct impression I was being interviewed. If I was right, hopefully, my duties would be increasing and so would my knowledge of The Light.

I believed that I was very close to learning more about the pharmaceutical distribution. Each new piece of information was another step closer to getting away from this assignment and resuming my real life.

While that thought of leaving The Light used to motivate me, now it also saddened and worried me. As I walked up the stairs toward our apartment, the most recent piece of my life that demonstrated my obedience and commitment to The Light—my wife—was the one piece I couldn’t imagine living without.

I took a deep breath and pushed thoughts of the dark and life beyond The Light away. Reaching for the doorknob, I inserted my key, waited for the sound of the lock, and opened the door.