The Father
He watched discreetly from a bench at the reflecting pond as Jeb ascended the silo at the far side of the adjacent acreage, a bucket in one hand. It probably wasn’t safe to climb so high single-handed on a rusty old ladder, but it was the only way to get food and water into the silo without opening the lower door. The last time they’d done that, Zeke had come away with a face striped in blood. Of course, the Father wasn’t about to take on such a potentially risky task himself. If the Father fell to his death, what would become of his people? Jeb, on the other hand … Well, Jeb was expendable. He followed orders without question, but if he perished there were half a dozen others who stood ready to take his exalted place as the Father’s right hand.
Jeb reached the top of the ladder. He propped the bucket on a rung and untied the length of rope attached to the top of the ladder. After tying it to the handle of the bucket, he slid open the rusty panel on the curved steel dome that topped the silo. At this distance, the Father couldn’t hear the anguished wail of the woman inside, but he was certain she’d be putting up some sort of fuss. Stupid bitch. All she’d had to do was follow his simple instructions, do as she’d been told, and she could’ve avoided this whole mess. This was all her fault, really.
As Jeb began to lower the bucket into the silo, the Father noticed a few of the women look up from where they were gathering cantaloupes in the compound’s garden not far from where he sat. Among them was Juliette’s mother.
“Hello, sisters!” he called, raising a hand and standing from the bench. “Looks like your hard work paid off. Never in my life have I seen so many cantaloupes!” Fortunately, the women turned his way, his attempts to distract them successful. But damn it, could Jeb move any slower and be any more obvious?
He needn’t have worried. The women sent smiles back his way and returned his wave.
“We’ve got them coming out our ears!” Sister Elisabeth called back as she placed another cantaloupe in her wheelbarrow.
Sister Amy chimed in. “They’ll be a nice treat at dinner tonight.”
“They most certainly will. I can hardly wait.” By that time, Jeb had descended out of sight. This is almost too easy.