Them-2 Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty Eight – Near White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia

Moses heard a growing noise outside and walked to the window of his suite to look down at the sprawling lawns below. Two women and two kids were heading for the main entrance followed by a growing crowd of annoying believers. Moses could not see the figures very well but something about the way one of them walked triggered a latent memory. As they grew closer, the woman in the lead glanced up and smiled.
“Shit!” Moses spat. It was Beth; the Apostle he assumed had deserted the congregation. Where has she been and who is that with her? He thought. He watched them walk through the front security checkpoint and disappear into the lobby.
Moses wore his pajama bottom and signaled for one of the girls to bring his bathrobe. All of his bathrobes were pure white fluffy felt and they were now all he wore, even in public. The paintings of Jesus he remembered as a boy always portrayed him in a pure white robe with a golden halo around his head. He couldn’t do anything about the halo, but the bathrobe now contributed to his holy persona. He sat in his recliner and waited for the security personnel to bring Beth to him. It would be unseemly if he went out of his way to greet them in the lobby.
Moses had a smile on his face as the guards ushered the small group into his presence. Beth was clean looking and her cleanliness made her very attractive, but Moses remembered why he had dumped her. The frightened girl standing next to her was also very alluring, in an Italian sort of way. Moses liked Italian girls. Moses liked all girls. The two brats appeared to be around nine or ten years old.
“Beth.” Moses held up his arms in mock welcome. “We thought you lost or captured by savages.”
“Detained, Lord Moses,” Beth smiled. “The FBI prick who came to our camp captured me and took me to a secret underground bunker complex. They have a real cool set-up there, plenty of food, security, safety, power, everything.”
“You must tell us all about it. And, who are they?” Moses pointed to Kathay and the children.
“The bitch is the daughter of the new President of the United States,” Beth grinned. “The brats are insurance policies. One belongs to the FBI prick’s girlfriend, the other to the lead scientist in the complex. I though we might be able to use them as bargaining chips.”
Moses’ eyes lit up and he absentmindedly started to drool. “The President’s daughter. My goodness, what a treat you have brought to us. We are very pleased that you have returned safely.” Moses turned back to the guards. “We want you to take these people and lock them up and put a guard on them.” The guards quickly and efficiently ushered Kathay, Jacob and Caitlin from the room.
“Join us on the couch.” Moses pointed to a couch sitting across from him. “Tell us about your incredible adventures, Beth.”
Beth tilted her head and observed Moses as she complied with his request. His ugly harry legs were exposed and the bathrobe made him look like a cheap porno star. But, there was something about the man that was different. Something she couldn’t quite catch.
Moses motioned for everyone to leave the room then raised his eyebrows to Beth as a signal for her to begin her story. For half an hour or more she explained what had happened and described the secure bunker in every detail. Moses interrupted only to ask her simple details.
“The answer to our dreams, rather our prayers,” Moses said when she finished. “We are blessed to have such a devoted follower. The base complex will suite our purposes quite well. You do realize that the ants have turned on themselves, do you not?”
Beth nodded. “I didn’t know.”
“They have and therefore we are no longer protected by their gift.” Moses was referring to the green slime. “We need a secure place to operate from until the ants are gone and we are strong enough to expand and overcome the enemies of God.”
Moses held up his glass of wine and finally noticed that Beth had nothing to drink. He rang a small bell sitting on the table beside him. A pretty servant quickly answered the ring. “Bring us another glass and bottle of wine.” Moses ordered. “And tell Ignatowski I want to see him immediately.”
“Will you join us in a glass of nectar?” Moses raised his glass.
Beth looked around the room. No one else was there. It finally hit her. Moses had constantly been using we and us instead of me and I. The man had finally gone bonkers.
“We would love to,” she curtly replied.
Moses checked to make sure she wasn’t mocking him then gave her a genuine smile. “I suppose you will want a small reward for what you have done?”
“To be back with you is reward enough,” Beth smiled. “Just like it used to be, just you and me.”
“Impossible!” Moses suddenly yelled. “No one is worthy enough to hold personal claim to the Prophet of God. We need to offer our services to all who earn it.”
“You’re saying that I don’t mean enough to you for you to give up those other bimbos?” Beth shouted back. “They’re just a bunch of conniving whores!”
“You haven’t changed, dear Beth. We are not pleased with your impious attitude. Not pleased at all. You will leave us now.” Moses rang another larger bell next to the small one. Two guards opened the door and rushed into the room, weapons ready.
“Take her from our presence!” Moses commanded.
The guards looked puzzled. “Give her to Burt!” Moses exploded. “He’ll make good use of her.”
“You sorry son of a bitch!” Beth yelled. The guards grabbed her by each arm and half carried her from the room. “You stinking piece of crap!’
The guards knew that Burt was still away on a mission and would not return until later in the day. With no place else to take her, they locked her in the room with the other three prisoners. At least that would prevent them from having to ask for additional guards.
Beth looked at the hostile faces in the room. If looks were daggers she would have died three times over. “I’m sorry,” she told them. “I made a very bad mistake.”
“Where in hell have you been, Iggy?” Moses screamed as Iggy was ushered into the room. Iggy blubbered an incomprehensible few words. “Never mind. You know how to contact the people at that complex Beth called from?”
“Yes,” Iggy gulped. “Yes Lord.”
“Send them this message, word for word.” Iggy opened a notebook to write down the message. Moses never went to the computer room, a blessing for which Iggy was extremely happy. Unfortunately, he could never keep that deplorable Burt from barging in whenever he felt like it.
“I have in my possession the President’s daughter and the two brats. In exchange I want your complex. You will clear out immediately. I want a signed letter from the President that no hostile action will ever be taken against the Congregation of God, or myself, the Prophet Father Moses. I want free and clear title to all the land within one hundred miles of the bunker complex, which will forever more be considered a free and sovereign nation. I also want enough food to feed a congregation of five hundred for one year. Did you get that, Iggy?”
“Got it Lord.”
“Tell them I want a reply within one hour or I will start cutting off kid’s fingers and toes each hour until I get what I ask for.”
“Yes Lord.”
Iggy quickly left the room. Five hundred? We have nearly ten thousand people, he thought. Was the friggin fruitcake plotting another scheme? Iggy was more than relieved. For a second he feared that perhaps Moses had somehow discovered that he had persuaded another disgruntled member to leave a message in the camp of the hippies that they planned on attacking. Iggy and at least thirty others were thoroughly disgusted with Holy Moses and his perverted and false religion. They wanted out but knew they needed a safe place to run to.
Regrettably, Iggy did not have the communications room all to himself. Burt was smart enough not to trust anyone completely so he made certain that at least one or more of his own lieutenants was in the com room at all times. Which reminded him that he had to somehow get the goons out of the message room the next day between five and seven so he could contact the hippies.
Burt was not a happy camper. The attack was a total cluster. He didn’t realize the hippie commune had so much firepower and was so well organized. He’d figured it would be a piece of cake to walk in and take over. He was wrong and he paid the price. He walked up the stairs and burst into Moses’ inner sanctum.
“We wish you would let us know when you are coming!” Moses screamed as Burt flung his dirty weapon down on a sofa seat.
Burt walked over and helped himself to the bottle of wine sitting in front of Moses. “Damn hippies beat the shit out of us!” he blurted, taking a deep swig from the bottle. “Must have lost over a hundred killed and half again that many badly wounded.”
Moses glared at the man. Burt was uncouth and arrogant but he was loyal. At least Moses thought he was. “No big deal,” he replied. “We can afford to lose a few here and there. Too many mouths to feed lately as it is.”
“Could have gotten my ass killed!” Burt growled. “That’s a big deal to me.”
“We advised you to send that damn Army guy who helped plan the operation,” Moses returned. “No, you had to play soldier boy and lead the charge yourself.”
“Screw them hippies!”
“We have something better.” Moses changed his tone of voice, then went on to tell Burt about the information garnered from Beth. Burt was grinning from ear to ear by the time he finished.
“That sounds really good,” Burt blurted. “But why only take five hundred people?”
“Congregation members,” Moses corrected. “As I understand it, the complex is designed to hold a thousand people for a certain period of time. If we take half that number, our most devout members, we can double the occupancy time. That gives us breathing space to work with in case it takes longer for the scientists figure out a way to get rid of those damn ants.”
“What about the other nine thousand?”
“We will strategically locate five thousand in a circle around the complex as a buffer against future attack. There are enough small towns to hold them all and they will be led by the Saints and thus will remain deeply loyal to the Prophet. They will have a backup refuge in the coal tunnels in case the ants find and attack them. Your military advisor will lead the remainder and they will attack and destroy the hippies once and for all.”
Burt’s face lit up. “Four thousand should be more than enough to crush those damn hippies. You’re a genius, Moses.”
“Lord Moses,” Moses corrected. “Don’t forget to call me Lord Moses or Father Moses.”
“This means we won’t have to do the cannibalism part?” Burt questioned.
“No change to that. We must adapt the congregation to a new way of life. Food will be scarce and hungry people are undisciplined people. Undisciplined and starving people may take into their minds to attack the holy church. A reliable source of sustenance must be readily available until new food crops can be harvested. Starting tomorrow, we will introduce a new message from God.’
It didn’t take long for word to spread that Beth was still on the no go list with Moses. The room in which they were imprisoned had a closed circuit camera, which was occasionally monitored by the goons in the communications room. They had been watching it a lot lately because the new prisoner, Kathay, was a real looker. It was not difficult at all for Iggy to create a glitch in the system. As soon as the video feed went out, the goons started complaining.
“It’s on the other end,” Iggy responded. “I need access to the room to fix the problem.” Of course, he was lying through his teeth, but the idiot guards wouldn’t know the difference.
They stood as they heard the lock to the door click. It was mid morning so they were not expecting breakfast or lunch, and until now, they had not been bothered by anyone. A short, scarecrow thin man entered the room. He wore thick-framed glasses, his short hair stood up in a rooster comb, and he had a pale mole like complexion. He was the epitome of a geek.
“I’m Iggy,” the man said, pointing towards the ceiling of the room. “I’m here to fix the video feed. As soon as the guards left, his shoulders slumped. “Remember me? Ignatowski, the one you talked with from the bunker.”
Beth nodded.
“I’m here because the guards think I’m fixing the video feeds. Actually, they work just fine. Word has it you and Moses are no longer an item?”
Beth nodded again. “Sorry bastard!”
“Wonderful! I had to make sure. I contacted the bunker complex and told them what Moses’ demands were.” Iggy told them word for word what he had sent. “Since the guards were out of the communications room at the time, I also took the liberty of explaining to them where you were, how you have been treated, and told them that I am a member of a group trying to escape from our wonderful fruitcake prophet.”
Beth’s face perked up. “How many in your group? Do you have a plan?”
“Only about thirty of us right now,” Iggy shrugged. “But as soon as everyone learns that the green slime will no longer protect them, I expect we’ll start getting lots of new recruits.”
“How’s that going to help us?”
“Well, I also told them about a large group of hippies living in the forest not far from here. Their main dude, Huck I think he was called, said he would contact these hippies and work on an escape plan. Burt attacked them the other day and got his ass handed to him on a platter. I also got a message to them and gave them information on how to contact me via ham radio, and gave them a map with the location for a rendezvous point. I plan on making a little trip tomorrow, under the guise of finding more equipment, and making personal contact.”
“Any way of sneaking us out in your truck or whatever?”
“Don’t see any way right now. The goons have been watching you on TV and they’ve become rather partial to your lady friend here. Even if I got you out, they’d know about it immediately when you didn’t appear on their TV monitors.”
Kathay glanced up at the ceiling, looking for the camera eye. She wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. “Is there a camera in the bathroom,” she asked.
Iggy smiled. “Yes, but I told them it was out of order and I needed parts to repair it. At least you have some privacy.”
A loud pounding hit the door. “What’s taking so long, Iggy!” The door quickly opened.
Iggy turned and motioned for the guard to leave. “All finished here.” He quickly followed the guard out of the room.
Beth removed her hand from behind her back and looked at the small two-way radio Iggy handed to her just before the guard burst in. A smile formed on her face when she saw the note taped to the back. It was a list of call signs:
OZ stood for the Base.
Scarecrow stood for Iggy.
She was Dorothy.
Lion was for the hippies.
Tin Man stood for Huck.
He’s got a weird sense of humor, she thought with a grin.