FORREST WAS outside the bathroom.
“Happy now?” she said.
“About what?” said Vivian.
It looked like all of Forrest’s features had been gathered into a couple of square inches in the middle of her face. The sinews of her jaw twitched.
“You’re already Glenn’s favourite, honey. You don’t have to try so hard.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You just couldn’t let me have my moment, could you? My one little bit of joy. Well, Vivian, the Lord does not look kindly upon the likes of you.”
“The Lord?”
“God forgive me for saying so, but you’re some liar. You ain’t seen John of Telos. I seen him. I had the vision. Me. But you couldn’t bear not being centre of attention for once.”
“I did see him, actually,” said Vivian. She couldn’t believe she was arguing the point.
“Then what’s he look like?”
Vivian shrugged. “He was like you described him, I guess.”
“That’s convenient. When you see him?”
“I don’t know. Three nights ago. Maybe four. Can’t remember.” She genuinely couldn’t.
“She can’t remember. Been here less than a week and thinks she’s seeing Ascended Masters already. You got some nerve, Vivian.” She suddenly stuck her tongue out and smacked her lips like she could taste something rancid. “What is that?”
“What’s what?”
“Something in the air. It ain’t right. Why you in here by yourself, anyways?”
“I just needed the bathroom.” She paused. “My energy’s all shaken up by what happened with that woman. That’s probably what you’re feeling.”
Forrest squinted.
“Aura looks fine to me,” she said. There was no fooling these people at their own game.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” said Vivian.
A few tense seconds passed. Forrest jerked her head around like a bird, as if listening for something.
“You seemed awful friendly with Shelley,” she said at last.
“Oh please, I barely know her.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I didn’t tell her anything. I just made sure she was okay, and got her son to come and get her.”
“Made sure she was okay?” Forrest was smiling incredulously. “Well, good for you. That won’t last long.”
“Forrest, I’m sorry if I’ve offended you in some way. I really am. But—” She stopped. “What do you mean, it won’t last long?”
“You think Shelley’s going to get away with a verbal warning?”
“What are you going to do?”
“Why you want to know? You want to tell Glenn you came up with the idea? I told you, Vivian, you don’t have to butter him up none.”
“What’s the idea?”
Forrest mimed sealing her lips. Vivian remembered something.
“Wait,” she said. “That other school. In the old church. The one that burned down. Was that you?”
“That’s awful. You can’t do that, Forrest. You could have killed someone.”
“You got a problem with it, you better come out and make yourself heard.” She turned to go and then turned back again. “And if you don’t tell Glenn about your little ruse back there, then so help me God I will.”
As if summoned by her, Glenn himself came hobbling past the bathroom door, supported by Carl. Forrest tried to get his attention.
“Glenn, sir, I’m sorry, but I think Vivian would like to say something.”
Carl waved her away.
“Go help clean up,” he said. “Glenn needs a rest.”
Forrest looked put out.
“Yes sir. Only—”
“Later, Forrest.”
“Yes sir. Shelley won’t get away with this. All shall be well! In Telos’s name!”
She gave Vivian a final bitter glance and went through to the main room. Glenn limped back to his office at the rear of the Sanctuary and didn’t say a word.
Vivian decided she should go out and be with the others for a while, at least until Forrest’s suspicions were abated. There wasn’t much left to do upstairs. The floor had been swept clean and someone had hung a large black tarpaulin over the broken window. It snapped and rippled in the wind and the noise of the traffic from the 55 was loud. The Sanctuary felt cold and sad and very different.
She busied herself tidying up the lobby and the gift shop. She tried to fix the totem pole. The other initiates were keen to talk to her about her vision of the violet man, but after what Forrest had said she only threw more doubt on it. Besides, it was probably in her interest to deny it now, since Glenn hadn’t seemed at all happy with the idea of her going up the mountain in the first place.
In the evening she came up the stairs to find a small group of initiates sat around the dining table. Forrest was at the centre of things again. She glanced up at Vivian and went on talking very quickly.
“You can see it from the bus route,” she said. “Those big round things. We can just take a pickup and jump the fence.”
“Can we though?” said one of the other girls.
“Sure we can.”
“Isn’t there security?”
“Can’t be that much. Why would anyone want to steal from it?”
“You want to steal from it.”
They laughed. Vivian went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
“Has Glenn come out yet?” she asked.
The others shook their heads sadly. Forrest ignored her.
“And the cops never come up that stretch,” she continued. “Ya’ll know that.”
“What are you talking about?” said Vivian. “Is this about Shelley?”
There was a brief pause while it seemed everyone was weighing up whether to tell her or not. In the end it was the man called Peace or Pete who answered.
“We just want to restore the balance,” he said.
“The balance?” Vivian looked around at their faces. “I think Shelley’s already had a hard enough time. I don’t think she needs punishing.”
“You seen the window?” Forrest cried. “You know what kind of crystals she was throwing in here?”
“No. A bad kind, I imagine.”
“The worst kind, Vivian. Malachite! Do you have any idea what that would have done to the alignment of the Sanctuary? After all Glenn has done for us?”
“What are you going to do?”
“Sewage works?”
“She wants to throw her shit in here? We’ll throw it right back.”
“You mean real, actual sewage?”
“She’s got to learn.”
“Aren’t you a Catholic or something?”
“Methodist. And no! And who cares anyway?”
“She’s a single mother, Forrest. It’s not exactly Christian. Anyway, Glenn wouldn’t want you to do it.”
“You sure about that?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Shows how much you understand about Glenn. Thought you two were in each other’s pockets?” She folded her arms as if this had conclusively won the argument. “This is exactly what he would want. Whose idea do you think it was to burn down the Telurian Mission?”
“Glenn told you to do that?”
“He didn’t need to.”
“But did he?”
Forrest left the question hanging. Glenn, an arsonist? She couldn’t square it with the glasses and the wrinkled nose and the grandfatherly chuckling. Then again, he was the one who’d told Carl to put Shelley out of business in the first place.
“I need to speak to him,” she said.
“Oh no,” said Forrest, wagging her finger. “No you don’t. You are not spoiling the surprise.”
“The surprise?”
“He’ll love it!”
Vivian got up and made for the stairs.
“Where’s she going now?” said Forrest, to no one in particular. “Vivian, you come back here!”
Vivian didn’t stop. She went through the lobby and out of the door and started off into town. When she was halfway to the 55, Forrest unpinned the tarpaulin that covered the broken window and screamed at her.
“The lowest circle of Hell is reserved for traitors, Vivian!”