Chapter 10

Wednesday

Somewhere, a bell struck midnight. Reverend Hicks raised his hands.

“All hail to our sovereign lord, Lucifer, prince of darkness, master of the pit, in whose black light we anoint ourselves. Bless us this night and every night.”

“Amen,” the congregation chorused, all but two at the back.

“Welcome. Please be seated.”

He paused while people settled themselves. There was an undeniable buzz in the church. An air of strained excitement kept in check.

“We have with us tonight, for the first time, Nick and Peri. Welcome to the church of the midnight mass,” he went on. “Let us pray.”

Heads were lowered. Merlin rolled her eyes. So far, it was exactly what she’d expected. Lots of rhetoric which he could’ve picked up from any number of gothic novels or old movies. It meant nothing. If Lucifer himself had been sitting in the congregation, he would have squirmed with embarrassment. True evil wasn’t about preaching to the converted, it was about bringing pure souls into corruption.

She shut herself off slightly and listened with only one ear while her mind turned to considering everything else about the town.

Merlin found it strange. Okay, it was another dimension and strange things happened here but that wasn’t the reason she was suspicious. A choice. Two halves. Multiples of two. Good and evil. On the surface, she understood all that. But something somewhere was definitely off.

Nick was also not totally concentrating on Hicks’ words. Five rows down and on the other side of the central aisle, Liz and Kevin Sumner sat engrossed in the sermon. They appeared to be completely buying in to the whole setup here. It disturbed Nick to see Liz like this. She was the mother of two small children, and she couldn’t care less. As far as she appeared to be concerned, they didn’t exist. Maternal instinct had shriveled up and died under the onslaught of easy material possessions.

Eventually, some time after one, the service ended and people began to depart. For some, the night was young and, really, their day was just starting. For others, like Aquila, their work was about to begin. Merlin intended to stick with reading and re-reading the notes until she drilled down far enough to get at what was making her suspicious. Nick decided he’d have an early night because he couldn’t get Liz to safety yet and he didn’t want to meet with her alone. That would just make a bad situation worse – as well as saying again all the things he’d said once before, he’d also have to apologize. There were times when it really was better not to fight.

“Can you lock this door?” he asked as they arrived home.

“Sure.”

“Hey, Nick, Peri! Aren’t you gonna party till dawn?” a guy shouted from the sidewalk.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Nick called back. “We got a little .. private business to take care of.”

“Right … ” the guy laughed and winked.

“Why is it,” Merlin asked, sighing, “that, when you do tell the truth, no one believes you?”

“Cos they’re used to lies an’ they hear what they wanna hear.” He opened the door and they escaped inside. “If this whole town is evil, it must be wearing you down.”

“I’m okay. I’ve been in worse places, an’ spent longer in ’em too.” Merlin put a hand on the door. “Put your hand here as well. Then we’ll both be able to open it but no one else will.”

That done, Nick poured himself a glass of brandy, Merlin made a pot of coffee, and they retired upstairs. Nick stripped, climbed into bed and picked up the list from the file.

“There are a lotta names here. When we break ’em out, will they age as if they hadn’t been here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Usually happens but it may not this time.” Merlin sat up, a thought occurring to her. “No one has aged since they got stuck in here. They do different things each day, but, in essence, it’s the same day. Sun rises an’ sets at the same time. The weather patterns repeat. It’s like the town’s on a loop.”

“That mean something important?” Nick frowned.

“Only that it’s more rules,” she replied. “This place has more rules than a Legacy house.”

He laughed quietly. “Well, I’ve been known to disregard a few when there’s a need,” he admitted. “You gonna be working late?”

“At least till Aquila gets back.”

“Wake me when you turn in,” he said with a suggestive grin. “Might as well make the most of all this lust while I have a legit reason.”

*****

“None of them,” Philip said.

Aquila frowned. “That’s strange.”

“Why?”

“Because the town only accepts multiples of two. The odd one – ”

“George told us. They have to choose who will live and who will die,” Philip recalled.

“Really. I didn’t know that. The odd one – chosen by the group – is ritually decapitated and the body ejected from the town into the area by the trees. Rachel discovered this from examination of the bones.”

Philip swallowed and shook his head. “That’s a hellish choice to make.”

“Nothing about this place is easy, Philip. Don’t think you have the monopoly on misery.” She halted and looked around. “Here?”

“Yes.”

Aquila got to work removing rank grass and weeds. “Hicks is a single in a town which doesn’t accept them.”

“Perhaps he’s the one behind it all.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe so. He’s human. Evil, yes, but he has no real power except the power of words. He can’t do what I do.” The ground was being leveled and dug over. “You do realize this is short term.”

“I do, yes. But the children don’t understand that. They’re lonely, homesick, and hurting for their parents. They’re innocents and, so, protected from the influence of this place. Because of that, they remember what they’ve lost, what life was like before. Now, they have very little and that’s all different. They see their parents but they can’t go to them. They call .. but their parents turn away. It’s as if their mothers and fathers have forgotten them, or, worse, don’t want to remember.”

“So this play area will take their minds off the bad feelings.”

“For a while, or so I trust. Children, I’ve noticed, do everything a hundred percent and time isn’t perceived in the same way we do. Or I do, anyway. There’s no halfway measures with children,” he confided. “They run everywhere, play hard, throw temper tantrums, want excessively and celebrate the sheer energy of life. This playground will keep them busy, raise their spirits, and, I devoutly hope, wear them out so they sleep easier. It’s the nights which are the worst. They have terrible nightmares and wake in a strange room with strange people to comfort them. I’m not very good with children but hearing them sob … It breaks my heart.”

Aquila regarded the heap of lumber. “How long would this take you?”

“Days. I’m no carpenter, God knows.”

“Then .. for the children … ” She waved her hand in a semi-circle. The cool, damp night air shimmered and a play area was made. The rough ground at the edge was smooth and lawned over. A few trees were put in but the rest of the landscaping waited to be completed.

“You might not be a carpenter but you may be a gardener,” Aquila remarked and turned to the housing. Again, she held her hand palm out and spread it in a semi-circle. The outward appearance didn’t change but Philip knew everything inside was fixed.

“I’ve left paper, pens, crayons, books. You may want to begin education classes,” Aquila murmured.

“Thank you. You’ve done a wonderful thing here tonight.”

“You’re welcome.” She paused, head lowered, then looked up. “When you say you’re bringing the war to us, what did you mean?”

*****

No one has died here because no one’s grown old enough to die. It’s only the chosen ones, literally, who are killed and that’s before they enter the town. There’s a lot of sex taking place, but no woman has gotten pregnant .. because, if she did, it would upset the balance. A single baby would mean it would have to be sacrificed or the family would have to face a fresh decision – which one of them will die. Twins wouldn’t be a problem. But, rather than risk it, it doesn’t happen. And it doesn’t happen because, in effect, it’s the same day endlessly repeated.

Merlin scribbled notes and added them to the file of information.

Yeah, it makes sense. There is a feeling of stagnation here. Nothing ever changes. The lines never move. We have our side, they have theirs, the street is the common ground. No one makes an advance, no one ever retreats. They have the day, we have the night. We never get a chance to fight each other …

Nick muttered and rolled onto his back.

Derek’s written that he got the clear sensation that this town is a prison with no way out. And it isn’t necessarily just the town. Each side of the town is a prison …

Merlin sipped her coffee and only distantly noticed that it had gone cold. She felt she was starting to edge closer.

*****

“We’re going outside, onto the street,” Philip replied. “We’ll hold an open air service. Invite anyone from your side of town to come join us, if they want. I doubt they will, but it signals our defiance. And, if we get showered by missiles, we’ll throw them back. Harder.”

“Didn’t Jesus teach you to turn the other cheek?” Aquila asked.

Philip chuckled. “I’m not going to get into another discussion with you about the scriptures. Last time, it was a draw. This time won’t be any different. Let’s just say .. this place is outside the real world and therefore the usual civilities don’t apply. I’ll fight for what I believe in, but only if I’m attacked first.”

“We’ll be ready,” Aquila nodded. “We’ll do our best to help without blowing our cover.”

“Appreciate it. Well, I’m away to my bed. Goodnight to you,” he nodded.

“Sleep well, Father Callahan.”

Aquila vanished and reappeared in the shadows on the sidewalk. The night was in full swing over the other side of the street. Philip’s side was in darkness, all the doors firmly shut. It was raining. On Nick’s side, it was a warm, clear night. There was balance here but no equity. No fairness.

She moved to the exact center line of the street and looked down the length of the road. There, in the distance, was the barn and the way out. It stood on its little hill, its roof just visible above the trees in the park. Aquila turned one eighty degrees. No one had explored the other end of town yet. She didn’t know why. The church of the midnight mass was the farthest they’d gone and that was only about halfway down the long, unyielding road. The church, now abandoned for the night, stood slightly back from the sidewalk, in its own neat garden.

Aquila’s eyes tracked along the road and watched it climb, arrow straight, toward a bank of trees. Balance and now symmetry. Trees at one end, trees at the other. But the road continued, she saw. It didn’t end. It climbed on and, just visible beyond the trees, she saw the roof of a house. A house on a hill. The road led directly to it.

*****

When Aquila returned, Merlin put a finger to her lips and glanced around at Nick. She beckoned. Aquila rejoined her shell and the update from both was accomplished quickly and without words.

The same day repeated over?

As far as I can figure it out, yeah, it’s the same day. No Mrs Hicks?

The Reverend is a single.

I see .. or rather I don’t but there has to be a reason. Can you try getting another message out to Derek? Ask him to investigate that guy.

I’ll try but how will he get the answer back to us? I don’t even know if the first message got thru. I could be spitting in the wind during a hurricane.

If we try .. maybe he can try as well. It could give him something to do beside brood.

Okay, Aquila accepted.

And there’s a house on the hill?

Yes. It isn’t what I’d call obvious.

Then it has to be worth checking out .. in the morning .. after Philip’s held his service. If the road’s common ground, how about Alex or Philip coming with us?

Maybe not the first time, Aquila replied. It may be dangerous. But, later, once we’ve assessed the risk and it’s .. acceptable, sure.

Okay. I’m gonna hit the hay. Good luck.

She heard Aquila sigh.

*****

In his motel room, Derek was fast asleep. There had been no more violent storms and the summer air was becoming oppressive. The air conditioning unit hummed in a soothing background noise. He rolled onto his back. It was a little past two thirty in the morning.

And he dreamed …

Pictures without sound came to his mind. He was in the town again but it felt different. The emotions he sensed on one half were the same but, on the other, there was a stark change.

He smiled in his sleep.

Aquila was there. She pointed at a building. He looked at it and saw it resembled a church. He looked back and she was holding a prompt board which read ‘Reverend James Hicks. Who is he?’ Derek frowned and shook his head. The words changed. ‘Investigate for us.’ He nodded. The last board in the sequence read ‘Try to get a message back.’ Then Aquila went on to show him other boards with a progress report. Finally, she pointed way down the street. Her last message was ‘Checking it out tomorrow.’

The dream faded and Derek slept on.

*****

Rachel’s first act on rising was to call Kat. “Hi, sweetie. I’m still here, still okay. Still no news either but maybe that isn’t all bad. How’s everything at home?”

“Okay. I’m fine. James an’ I hit the stores yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“He’s getting ready for college so we went book buying. That kinda thing. He’s doing some really interesting courses. He said he’d let me help with his studies. He said I’m more mature than I look an’ he’ll probably need my help.”

“That’s great,” Rachel said, and meant it. She always had a concern at the back of her mind that the Legacy was corrupting Kat’s childhood and innocence. She wanted her daughter to have a chance to lead a normal life before she decided to join the Legacy or not. Rachel might not like the age gap between Kat and James but she couldn’t deny that James was giving Kat a normal life.

“I think he’s being optimistic,” Kat went on, laughing. “But .. it will be interesting to try.”

“Where’s he going? What college?”

“Berkeley. His father wanted Stanford but James doesn’t want to travel that far. And he won’t be in residence. He’s staying at home.”

“He’ll be nearby then. Kat, I’m really pleased you have such an .. understanding friend. He’s a really nice young man.”

“Yeah. I like him a lot.”

“Well .. I have to go. I’ll call again tomorrow. Same time.”

“Okay, Mom. The house is fine. There’s plenty of money left. I love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie. Bye.”

The line clicked and went dead. Rachel sighed and shook her head but smiled. A normal life … Well, at least Kat was lucky enough to have that chance.

A half hour later, Derek was knocking on the door. “Are you awake yet?” he called.

“Of course!” Rachel laughed as she opened it. “Sleep well?”

“Yes, I did. And I think I had a dream. I know I had a dream but it could have been another message.”

“Really? What happened? Come inside!” she urged.

Derek stepped into the room. “I received an update in the usual silent movie fashion. An intriguing theory .. the day is the same day. Philip has established a church and morale is a lot higher. I felt that. There’s still some sadness but the hopelessness is gone. There’s a house on a hill which Peri is checking out today. But I think the important part is .. a man called James Hicks.”

“Who’s he?” Rachel frowned.

“That’s what we’ve been asked to find out,” he replied. “Aquila pointed out what seemed to be a church and this Hicks person calls himself Reverend. But the church is on the nice side of the street.”

“Oh. The evil side.”

“Yes. And, somehow, I have to get the information back to them.”

“How will you do that?” Rachel asked. “I mean .. you have the sight, Derek. You’re not a telepath. The visions and dreams came from outside to you. You can’t send.”

“Neither is Aquila a telepath but, if she is trying and succeeding, it may be because of the phenomenon. The interface. I don’t know. I do know the least I can do is try in return. Maybe .. a hypnotic trance.”

“All right. Has to be worth making the effort,” Rachel agreed. “But, first, we have to find something to tell them.”

*****

Nick slept late, past daybreak. His body clock was ringing the usual alarm but, this morning, he flailed a metaphorical arm and hit the off button. There seemed no point in rising and going out to run. Run where? In what? There were no sweats in the closet. A small, cynical voice said he could try running naked because no one would care enough to complain but the cynicism made him think ‘what the hell … ’ and stay asleep.

Merlin was no different than on any other day, despite the late turn in and the few hours of sleep she’d had. Aquila was an alarm clock which couldn’t be turned off. She was up at daybreak, in her jeans and T-shirt and boots, and she jogged along the sidewalk. No one else was about, not at that hour. The late night parties were over, the night birds were asleep, the day birds were only just rising to prepare breakfast and face the day. She ran idly, trying not to think of what she already knew, trying to let her mind drift and remain open to fresh input. Merlin jogged past the church and continued on into as yet undiscovered territory. She wanted to see the hill for herself.

Nick eventually surfaced at around seven thirty and lay there for a while longer. His mind felt a little fogged and he yawned in an attempt to force some oxygen into his brain. When he felt ready, he rolled out of bed, dragged on a pair of pants and slouched downstairs.

“Merli, you here ..?” he called, yawning again and scratching his head. “Anyone here?”

Receiving no answer, Nick went into the kitchen because his main priority now was food. He put on a pot of coffee, opened the icebox and found orange juice, and a selection which made his eyes light. Before long, he was busy at the stove, a fry pan sizzling and spitting. Life was never this good at Angel Island. He wasn’t rationed but Andrew knew the value of good nutrition. He didn’t buy that much junk food for Nick to indulge his occasional urge.

As he sat down with an overflowing plate, Nick considered what else was good about here. No pressure. He didn’t have to work another day in his life. No boss standing behind him, asking for progress reports or giving him yet another new project to start. No stress. No putting himself on the line. There was just the day, stretching out before him, pristine, unmarked, ready for him to do anything he wanted and that was only if he wanted …

With a belated jolt, Nick realized what he’d been thinking. He swallowed. This isn’t a good place at all! Ready for me to do whatever I want ..? What can I do? Nothing. Is it any wonder people here turn to narcotics? Anything to lift the endless tedium of being alive. And sleeping in ..? What was that about?

Sloth, his mind promptly replied. You were lazy, Nick. Plain an’ simple. That humongous breakfast you just cooked and ate? That was gluttony, pal. You’re falling under the influence. Wake up an’ smell the coffee .. before it’s too late.

Shaken, Nick rose and went to the front door. He needed to find Merlin, needed her to get him grounded, keep him focused on why they were there. They had control, they weren’t victims. She hadn’t succumbed to this place. She was out there, running, like she did every morning.

Nick was halfway down the path to the sidewalk when he glimpsed movement out of the corner of his eye. Before he could react, he was punched in the face and knocked backward, landing on his butt. He scrambled up to defend himself.

“You want my wife?” demanded a furious Kevin Sumner. “You wanna throw me into the street so you can move in an’ keep the bed warm? Like you did before? Think again!” he shouted, swinging another punch.

Nick was ready this time and blocked it. “Kevin, I don’t – ”

Kevin was too angry to hear anything. He managed to land an upper cut in Nick’s stomach which drove the air out in a rush and stopped any attempt to say any kind of coherent word. Nick tried to suck in some oxygen as Kevin rained blows on the man he knew his wife wanted more than him, but all it did was make Nick angry in turn.

He got in one hard punch and there was a lot of power behind it. Kevin’s feet left the ground and he actually flew thru the air for a yard before landing heavily and grunting.

“I don’t want your wife!” Nick growled. “I told her that!”

“Why? She not good enough for you?” Kevin spat with perverse logic, wiping blood from a split lip. “You throw her away like trash so she can find me? We’re both not good enough?”

Nick shook his head. “I don’t know what she saw in you back then. I sure as hell don’t know why she sticks with such a loser now.”

Kevin surged back to his feet. “You bastard ..! You fucking bastard!”

“Yeah, so what? Bring it on, big guy,” Nick invited, beckoning with both hands and grinning evilly. “Let me show you just how big a fucking bastard I can be.”

With an enraged howl, Kevin launched himself at the man he hated most in the world and, into this down and dirty brawl, Merlin arrived.

“What the hell’s going on here ..?” she began, halting and staring for a bare fraction of a second. Then she waded forward, grabbed Kevin by the collar of his now blood stained shirt and hauled him back. Nick was straight after him and she had to plant a splayed hand on his chest to keep them apart. “Time .. out!”

“I’ll kill him,” Kevin muttered. Blood was pouring from his nose.

“No chance,” Nick taunted. “You don’t have the balls for real violence.”

Merlin shook Kevin and pushed Nick away. “When I say time out, I mean time out!”

“You can’t be taking his side!” Nick accused.

“I’m not taking sides. You two have differences, you talk about them. You do not kill each other.”

“But he wants Liz,” Kevin flung out.

“I don’t want Liz,” Nick stated. “I loved her, once, a long time ago, but I didn’t ever love her enough to want to marry her. Okay? Is it clear enough now? Can your tiny brain get to understand that?”

“Nick, back off,” Merlin warned.

“If anyone’s gonna kill anyone, it’ll be me killing him,” Nick declared, stepping back and folding his arms. His biceps bulged. The stinging pain from his skinned knuckles felt good.

“Not today,” Merlin told him. “Kevin, go home. You have no reason to be jealous. Do you understand me? There’s no need to fight.”

“Says you,” Kevin grunted.

“I know what I’m talking about. I’m Nick’s wife. You think I’d just let him go?”

Kevin regarded her thru one normal and one rapidly swelling eye. “He really is married?”

“Yes, you moron,” Nick replied. “Why would I want Liz when I already got Peri?”

“That’s enough with the insults. Nick, go inside. Kevin, go home. Your fight isn’t here. You should talk with Liz.”

She released him and stepped between them. Kevin flung a bitter look at Nick but stumbled back to the sidewalk where he twisted round and limped away. Merlin turned to Nick.

“Feel better now?”

“He started it! I was just coming out to see if you were around an’ he hit me. He was waiting, right there!” he pointed.

“You need to put some antiseptic on those knuckles,” she remarked, pushing him into the house.

“I hit him good,” Nick declared, his jaw twitching. “An’ he deserved it.”

“Yeah, you hit him good,” she agreed. “I’m not so sure he deserved it. He’s jealous of you, Nick, an’ he’s as mad as hell. And he was drunk. Couldn’t you smell the alcohol on his breath? Liz isn’t hiding the fact she has the hots for you. She’s told Hicks, you, me, an’, I suspect, Kevin as well. He loves her. And, here, that’s his weakness. Outside, it’s his strength. This side of town exploits weakness an’ he came after you.”

She halted in the kitchen doorway. “That makes four outta seven for you.”

“Four what?” Nick demanded sullenly.

“Deadly sins. I count anger because I couldn’t really miss that one, pride because ‘you hit him good’, sloth because I went running on my own, and here is all the evidence I need for gluttony. You must have had one heck of an appetite this morning.”

“No more than usual,” he admitted. “It was just .. there so I ate it.”

“It’s okay. You’re not beyond redemption.” She poured coffee and sat at the counter to drink it. “I want you to try something for me. Next time someone picks on you and you’re tempted to swing a punch or get suckered in to another situation, focus on those nine decapitated kids. I won’t tell you anger is bad or wrong but be angry at the right people for the right reason. Kevin is a victim here, Nick. So is Liz, so are all the other people. They are being bombarded every second with temptation. They aren’t responsible for their actions an’ weren’t responsible for killing those kids.”

He looked so guilty that Merlin put her arms around his neck and kissed him. She felt him wince.

“Kevin hit you good as well,” she commented. “You want me to fix that?”

Nick shook his head. “It’ll help me stay focused.”

*****

“I’ll stay,” Maria offered.

The children were scrambling over the play area, swinging on ropes, sliding down the chute, climbing up the cargo net. The smaller ones were just playing in the sand. They were all laughing and squealing with pleasure.

“Someone should,” Alex agreed. “The rest of us .. will go into battle.”

Philip came to join them. “A resounding success, I see.”

“And all in one night,” Alex commented. “You must’ve worked hard.”

“I had help,” he replied with a grin. “And I didn’t do it all. The plants need to be put in.”

“Half a day’s work,” Maria shrugged. “Are you sure you don’t know Jenny?”

“Father Callahan!” Joanne called.

“What is it?” he asked.

“We need a rope. For jumping.”

“I’ll see what I can find for you,” he said. “No, Maria, we don’t know Jenny. She’s just a figment of their imagination.”

“She’s becoming more real every day,” Maria remarked. “Ever since you joined us, in fact. I thank God you chose to come to our side of the street.”

She went over to the play area, leaving Philip and Alex alone. “Aquila did a lot last night,” she murmured. “I was amazed when I woke this morning.”

“She fixed everything, Alex, with just a wave of her hand,” he shared. “But I think now we have to stop asking for help .. apart from the jump rope. We’ll go into battle, just like the crusaders of old, but that’ll only be the start. Aquila needs to conserve her strength for the ultimate battle, the one which will buy us freedom or condemn us to stay here for eternity.” He looked round into her suddenly solemn eyes. “It all depends on whether she wins .. or loses. All this is buying us comfort now but could be sentencing us to a very long time in prison.”

*****

“So, where’d you go running?” Nick asked as they strolled along the sidewalk.

“To the top end of town an’ back. Not a soul around.”

“Learn anything?” He kept a wary eye out for more ambushes while resolving sternly not to lose it again.

“Not really. But I understand this place now.” Merlin slowly shook her head. “You have to admit,” she said quietly, “this is a brilliant strategy. It’s awesome.”

Nick didn’t like the admiring, reflective tone in her voice. “You can’t possibly agree with this,” he accused, and promptly recalled how good he’d thought it was only a few hours earlier.

“I don’t. But I can admire it without ever agreeing with it. I mean .. it has so many layers an’ it works on every one, yet it’s so simple. It’s practically foolproof. How many strategies are there that you can say that about?”

“Go on,” he invited.

She gestured. “First, there’s the look of the place. On one side, you have beautiful, large houses. Million dollar plus houses with manicured lawns and fabulous gardens. Trees. The weather is always lovely. It’s paradise. An’, on the other, you have ugliness. Tenements. Hovels. Peeling paint an’ leaking roofs. Rats. You couldn’t give those houses away. It’s always grim over there. Dark. Oppressive. It automatically repels. Given a choice, which would you have? The sunny side of the street. No contest. But there’s a hitch. That side is evil. The nasty looking side, the dark side, is good.

“Then there’s the people,” she went on. “Most people go thru life not making big decisions. Taking this job over that one, getting married, buying a house, moving to another state – that’s about it. They never have to actually choose to be good or evil. It’s never presented to them as a genuine, valid option. Here, they do have to choose .. but it’s a loaded choice. It’s invariably instinctive that people do good so they’ll opt for that. Good. Works for me, I’ll have that. If they’re going to end up downstairs, they fall into evil, often by accident, often by circumstance. Here, it isn’t that simple. It’s a conscious choice. If one chooses good, the other has to take the other side. It defaults to evil.

“Then there are the differences between men an’ women. Most guys will not deliberately let their women go evil so they make .. a noble sacrifice. They go evil so their wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers, stay pure. And, here, what does that mean exactly? It means evil has an army of men. Mostly fit men. Good gets the physically weaker females.

“An’ then, don’t forget the families. What parent is going to, willingly and consciously, condemn their children to a life of corruption? None of them. They have to not only choose for themselves but for their kids as well. An’ they’ll look at the grim, nasty, dark side of the street, an’ at the beautiful houses, an’ they’ll agonize about sending their kids into all that filth and vermin, but they’ll do it because a nice house isn’t everything. It’s a surface consideration. There is no choice. Those parents will sacrifice themselves to evil so their kids stay pure. What’s the result? Again, evil gets fit adults. Good gets children – maybe some teenagers but, from what I’ve seen, it’s babies, toddlers, little kids. How can they fight? They can’t. This strategy strengthens evil an’ weakens good.

“But there’s even more. Once they’ve made their choices, the people who go good worry about what’s happening to the ones who sacrificed their integrity. The ones who go evil have a ton weight of guilt to deal with .. because they’re really not evil, not at the start. They’re living in the big, beautiful houses an’ what are they looking out at? The tenements to which they’ve sent people they love. Guilt an’ worry eat away at both sides until the only way they can cope with it is to give in. Not feel anything. Once they reach that point, when they’re emotional wrecks, the dark emotions take over and they are wide open to exploitation. Human beings are experts at rationalizing bad decisions, Nick. Eventually, they’ll tell themselves it’s okay to sell out. I’m here, I’m stuck, I may as well enjoy myself. No one else matters except me.”

Merlin shrugged. “It’s absolutely brilliant. I mean .. we deliberately walked into this but we had to make the same choice as everyone else. What did we do? We sent Alex an’ Philip over there, into those hovels, to keep them safe from danger. An’ we’re living in a mansion.”

“It wasn’t exactly like that,” Nick protested.

“Wasn’t it? Soon as I heard about this .. choice we all had to make, I gave up our right to have time to think. I didn’t want Philip making a mistake, an’ he would have done. He’s more use over there, we’re a better fit over here. But the reason behind what we did .. is the same as everyone else in this town.”

“Merli .. we won’t go evil, will we?”

She looked at him, shocked. “Are you kidding me?”

“I’m concerned. I .. came close this morning to falling under the spell,” he quietly confessed. “I thought this was a great place. It’s Wednesday morning now. We got here Monday, just before sunset. That’s forty hours. We’ve done nothing.”

“Nothing,” Merlin echoed. “Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?”

“You’ve helped Philip, Alex, all the good people. An’ that’s great. But .. as for getting this place shut down, getting everyone free an’ home again, no. We’ve done nothing. I’m not blaming you. I’m just as much at fault.”

“What about figuring out the strategy? Isn’t that a worthwhile use of my time?”

“Does it get us any closer to finding a way out?”

“Not exactly,” she admitted.

“Does it show us any weaknesses we can exploit? You said it’s practically foolproof.”

“I’m no fool,” Merlin retorted. “What it’s done is demonstrate, very clearly, that someone set this up for a reason. It has rules. Our job, now we’re come this far, is to inject a little more chaos into all this meticulous organization. Let’s make the stable unstable.”

“How do we start?” Nick asked.

She turned. “We don’t. He does.”

Nick turned. Philip was leading around thirty adults and ten older children onto the sidewalk. He looked resolved, unshakable.

“What’s he doing?” Nick murmured, frowning.

“Trying to make a stand. Trying to advance in his half of the war, gain valuable ground.” Merlin folded her arms and angled her head. “I wanna watch what happens.”

Philip arranged his troops. “Let us pray,” he called. “Oh Lord God, hear our prayers. Let us know we are not forgotten although we may be lost. Your mighty hand cradles us and protects us from the evil in which we find ourselves.”

“Will you keep the noise down, padre!” someone shouted from an upstairs, opposite window. “Some of us are trying to sleep!”

Philip turned on his heel. “Save us, oh Lord, from those who would seek to silence our worship!” he shouted. “Friend, you’d do well to join us,” he added. “Sleep long enough, you could find your soul damned to perdition.”

The window slammed shut.

Philip smiled and returned to his flock. “We’ll sing a hymn. Nice and loudly now, for our tired friends across the way.”

Merlin watched with amused interest. No one came onto the street to protest. A few shouted from inside their houses but not one person emerged to fight. A stone was thrown and she made sure it went wide of the mark. Then the Reverend Hicks came out, belting his terry robe around his substantial waist.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded, stopping short of stepping onto the opposite sidewalk.

Philip finished the hymn before slowly facing his opponent. “You’re a man of religion, or so I’ve heard. What does it look like this means?”

“It looks to me like you’re flaunting yourselves,” Hicks replied.

“We have a church, like you do,” Philip said.

“Then worship in it,” Hicks insisted.

“This is our half of the town, sir. We’re free to use it however we want, and you can’t stop us. If we want to hold a marching parade the length of the entire street every day at nine in the morning, we can .. and we will.” Philip saw Hicks’ face redden with angry blood and his hands bunch into fists. Philip moved to the very edge of the sidewalk. “Of course, if you’d care to join us, you’d be very welcome to celebrate the love of God.”

Hicks was so furious that he actually took a step closer then hauled up, shaking. “You’re making a mistake.”

“Really, and how would I be doing that? You worship every night. We worship every day. We’ve just decided .. to be open about it. You said this is a war. This is our opening salvo.”

“A few pathetic prayers? Some weak hymns?”

“Not only that,” Philip smiled. “What will reach into a mother’s heart more than the sound of her child crying in the night? The sound of her child laughing. Can you hear that?”

Hicks was going purple.

“Now look behind you,” Philip softly invited.

Hicks glanced quickly back over his shoulder. A handful of women were on the opposite sidewalk, craning their necks, trying to see.

“We might be trapped here,” Philip concluded, “but we’re not victims. We’re celebrating life, no matter where it happens to be. What are you doing for your congregation?” He turned and said, “May the Lord keep you and watch over you, all the days of your lives. Amen.”

“Amen,” they chorused defiantly.

“Good move,” Merlin whispered.

Hicks turned on his heel and stalked across the road, flapping his hands at the women. “There’s nothing to see. Only a group of fools parading in public. Go home.”

“But, Reverend Hicks – ”

“I said go home!” he snarled and they flinched back.

Philip led his people back inside and the street slowly emptied again.

“Now what?” Nick asked.

“Let’s walk,” Merlin suggested, looping her arm thru his.

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