Noah more or less dragged Danni through the Lesterfields’ home. Had it merely been Ezekiel, she was certain she could have fought him off, maybe found a way to escape. But, despite his seemingly endless deformities, the so-called Jersey Devil was far too strong.
She began to understand Sophie’s dismay. One clawed hand was at the back of her neck, holding on just tightly enough to let her know that any false move would end badly for her. His other hand held onto her arm, occasionally letting go to readjust his grip and grope her in the process, something that made her want to vomit.
Danni tried to focus on the layout of the compound as well as any possible venues of escape. After a few minutes, it became obvious this was no mere shack in the woods. Wherever they were, it was both massive and very old – rusted girders visible through collapsed wall panels were a testament to that. She could see where rotted beams had been replaced with newer supports. Crumbling masonry made up the majority of the walls, although it still seemed pretty solid to her.
Whatever it once had been, the Lesterfields now claimed it. The various repairs that had been done suggested they’d been here for some time.
Most of it was dank and dirty, but she could see signs of habitation where members of this damnable family had set up home. A distant hum that seemed to be present everywhere outside of the prison suggested gas generators were used to power the place.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have much chance to gawk. Every time she saw something of potential interest, Noah would give her a shove from behind, often punctuated by an excited grunt. Though still wearing the threadbare shirt they’d given her, Danni had never felt more naked.
“Come along, Sarah,” Ezekiel said with eerie calmness from up ahead. “Adam shouldn’t be kept waiting.”
She’d almost given up trying to correct him. It was like talking to a wall. Her own family had always been close, but nothing compared to the cult-like mindset here. It wasn’t even that her objections were met with violence – just a continual chiding that her name was Sarah now. Danni could understand how someone could break under that constant reinforcement, day in and day out. It was a form of brainwashing, infesting their victim’s mind a little at a time until their will was imposed.
“Danni,” she said defiantly, feeling Noah’s hand momentarily tighten its grip on her neck.
“You will soon be dissuaded of that notion,” Ezekiel replied. “All are. You may think you’re different, but you’re not. Just another Sarah to be welcomed into our family and loved as one of our own.”
“Loved? Is that what you call it?”
“Of course. You’ll want for nothing here, I can assure you.”
“Except my freedom.”
“Freedom is irrelevant when one is in tune with God. For it was written, ‘Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.’ We are your freedom now. In our family you should put your trust and in me in particular ... just as soon as Adam gives us his blessing.”
“I can’t wait.”
He stopped and turned toward her, his eyes intense in the dim light of the hallway, although it seemed to go beyond mere lust. “Neither can I, for I had very much hoped my previous dear Sarah would conceive. We’ve had but one viable birth in the last three years. You are our hope for the future, my new, darling Sarah.”
“What about that girl you took before I got here?”
Ezekiel shook his head. “Ah, Ezra’s wife. Much like my Sarah, she was weak, not fit breeding stock. I am sad to say the child lived for an hour, no more, before being taken back to God’s flock. Ezra was beside himself with grief. His reaction to his dear wife was ... unfortunate. Poor boy. It’ll be some time before Adam deems him worthy to wed again.”
She didn’t need to be told more. Danni wasn’t a particularly religious girl, but she recalled that some parts of the Bible were perfectly fine with men disciplining their wives as if they were little more than cattle.
Just try that with me, asshole.
The threat was half-hearted, however, even inside her own mind. The mounting panic of what was coming, knowing she was being led to an unspeakable horror, was starting to take hold. Each step was harder than the last and, despite her best efforts, she began to tremble with fear.
Then, finally, Ezekiel spoke the words she’d been dreading ever since being dragged from her cell. “Ah, here we are.”
They stopped in front of a closed door. Though it was inlaid into the same ancient masonry as the rest of the structure, it looked much newer.
“Our patriarch appreciates his privacy,” Ezekiel said, almost as if reading her thoughts.
“Don’t k-know why,” Noah replied. “I l-like it when they ssscream.”
“Now, now, child,” the older man chided him, “there’s no need to scare my blushing bride. This should be a joyous time for her.” He turned to Danni, smiling at her with crooked teeth. “Soon, Adam’s seed shall be planted within you. You’ll be one of us. You’ll be my Sarah. And if it’s God’s will that his seed takes hold, then I shall rejoice just as if it were my own.”
He knocked on the door, producing a hollow boom that echoed ominously in the long hallway in which they stood – almost as if it were a gong summoning an ancient horror from a dark place that humanity was never meant to know about.
After a moment, the doorknob turned and was pulled open. The figure standing within was silhouetted by the light coming from behind it, but Danni could see enough to know she was right to be afraid.
♦ ♦ ♦
“Pa, we brought Sssarah to you, just l-like you said.”
“I can see that, boy,” Adam replied in a gruff voice, his large frame filling the doorway. After a moment, he stepped forward and Danni was able to see him fully, though she wished she hadn’t.
He was a big man, six and a half feet tall, almost as large as Noah. His deformities weren’t nearly as pronounced as his son’s, but that somehow made it worse. It was as if he were half a devil, stuck in some awful in-between place that ensured there were few places outside of this accursed dwelling where he would fit in.
Yet one would never have guessed that by the surety with which he carried himself. He stepped forward, wearing a button-down shirt and stained overalls, and glared down at Danni with his one good eye – the other a fleshy ruined mass overgrown with scaly, discolored skin.
He had a thick grey beard, making it difficult to see the rest of his facial features, although Danni caught a glimpse of a pug mouth and bent nose. When he smiled, he showed off teeth very similar to his son’s – long and sharp, more fitting for a predatory animal than a man.
“I like this one,” he said after a moment, still leering at her. He lifted a misshapen hand to caress Danni’s cheek, two thick calloused fingers more reminiscent of a lobster claw.
She backed away, but Ezekiel was there to shove her toward the big man. “She’s a feisty one, my Sarah.”
“Not your Sarah yet.”
“Of course not, Adam. It is, as usual, my sincerest hope that you properly break her in. And if it pleases you afterward, to bless me with her as my wife, so as to ease my aching heart.”
“I got other aching parts that need tending to first,” Adam said with a snicker, before turning his head and hocking a wad of discolored phlegm at Noah’s feet.
“I l-like h-her too, papa,” Noah said in a small voice.
“I already told you, she ain’t yours. There’s too much work to do, keeping folks out of our woods. Can’t be having you distracted by her womanly charms.”
“But when?”
“When I say so, boy.” He raised his claw hand in Noah’s direction, and the devil actually flinched.
Rather than smack him, Adam placed the hand on Noah’s shoulder in an almost affectionate way. “You’re a good boy. And you will be rewarded for your diligence. But for now, there’s work to do. You must have patience. Can you do that for me, boy?”
The devil nodded to his father and turned away, but not before giving Danni one last covetous glance. It lasted barely a second, but it was enough to make her skin crawl.
If she thought that was bad, though, she was quickly proven wrong as Adam latched his hand onto her arm and squeezed. He was dreadfully strong, and Danni had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out.
He pulled her close, his rancid breath making her gag.
Adam’s one eye drank in the sight of her. Without turning to the other two, he said, “That’s enough squawkin’. You both get out of here. Me and Sarah need some time alone to get to know each other, and I expect there to be no interruptions.”
Noah grunted in affirmation while Ezekiel simply nodded once, a smile upon his face.
Then they were gone from her sight as she was dragged into Adam’s room and the door slammed shut behind them.