Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society) (16 page)

"That would be fantastic? Where?"

"The shore of the lake at sunset."

Chapter Eleven

"I didn't know there were so many of them," Aaron said softly to Marina.

Hundreds of people in green robes stood on the shore of a pristine natural lake near a forest. Shafts of orange sunlight streamed through the trees and made the surface of the lake glitter in spots. Nobody spoke, not even a whisper, and the only sound was the constant buzz of insects.

Simon stood on a boat in the lake at a safe distance from his people. He was a very tall man. His multi-layered robes seemed to flow like a waterfall of green silk from his shoulders. Instead of tattoos like his followers, Simon had a grid of fine copper wires woven into the flesh of his face. The wires were green from corrosion. His scalp was shaved perfectly clean.

His audience consisted almost entirely of women and children with particular emphasis on young women.

It's a giant harem
, Aaron thought.

The relatively small number of men were all guards. Six stood at the edge of the water and carried 12 gauge shotguns. Five more guards with high power rifles were either in the boat with Simon or in nearby boats. Another four guards were widely spaced along the far shore of the lake, and they had rifles with sniper scopes. Even more were patrolling the woods. All the weapons were legal as far as Aaron knew, but just barely. The guards were watching the audience rather than Simon.

"Welcome, my beloved flock!" Simon's voice boomed across the water without amplification. "It is another glorious evening. Before I begin, I must mention we have three guests." He pointed at Marina, Victor, and Aaron, who stood apart from everybody else. "They will enjoy the first part of tonight's sermon. If you happen to meet our visitors tomorrow, remind them of my words. Help them understand our ways."

Aaron kept the brim of his cowboy hat down over his eyes. Brittany Waters was probably in the group, and he couldn't let her recognize him.

"As I begin," Simon said, "I must state that I am not blind to the suffering of my people. I know food is in short supply. Many of you sleep on the floor instead of a bed. These are hard times, indeed, for all of us, but I'm very gratified to report that I have not heard any complaints. You have shown me courage and discipline, and I could not be prouder.

"These challenges are an opportunity to grow stronger. The angel Sraosha told me the road to salvation goes across a lake of pain and blood. Those were her words. The small inconveniences that we endure now are like ripples on the water. We must not let them slow us in our journey to our ultimate goal, the unification of all mankind."

Aaron looked at the faces in the crowd. The sun was setting, but he managed to spot Brittany near the trees. He didn't see her parents anywhere.

Simon continued, "That goal grows closer every day. All of our men are now fully engaged in the Great Project, and we are in the final stages of preparation. They are working day and night in the secret places. Armageddon is nigh, at last! A new world will rise from the ashes of the old, and we will rule supreme! We will live in golden palaces with servants at our beck and call. We will dine on the finest delicacies like royalty!"

The audience remained silent and still, as if they were half-asleep.

"But beware!" Simon said. "Our enemies press us on all sides, as we witnessed the other day when we were savagely attacked. There may be spies and traitors in our midst as I stand here. Never speak to strangers. Trust not the outstretched hand nor the friendly smile, for it may conceal evil intent."

He looked directly at Aaron, Victor, and Marina. Aaron pretended not to notice.

"That is why we must be so careful with information," Simon said. "Follow my orders without question, and do not try to understand my intentions, for they are subtle and sublime. Have faith that my goals are the same as your goals.

"So I command you. Do not dwell on the difficulties of today. Do not allow them to darken your thoughts, for that way leads to doubt and critical thinking. If you must contemplate pain, instead consider the suffering that our enemies will soon endure. For, as Sraosha told me, the blood of man will turn the oceans red. The cities of man will burn like erupting volcanoes. The heart of man will be crushed by despair until the new age dawns."

Marina sighed. Aaron glanced at her and saw her jaw was tight and her eyes were smoldering.

Simon continued in a voice that thundered, "You, my chosen few, will carry the true gospel to the four corners of the Earth. I will be the savior and king of humanity!"

His voice flowed like pure honey, and it had a hypnotic cadence. With his unusual height and striking features, he seemed larger than life. Aaron could understand how people might fall under Simon's spell.

But Aaron was not one of those people. He already hated Simon with a passion. This sermon was cruel and manipulative, the product of a sociopathic mind. Clearly, Simon didn't give a damn about anything except his personal ambitions, and he would cause any amount of suffering to achieve them.

Aaron couldn't listen anymore, so he studied the cult members instead. They hadn't moved or spoken since Simon began his speech. With their blank expressions and sagging postures, they seemed ready to collapse from exhaustion at any moment. Even the children lacked energy.

A few minutes later, the sermon ended. Aaron, Marina, and Victor were told to leave, and they did so gladly.

As soon as they were safely in the woods, Victor whispered, "Can we just kill this fucking bastard now? It's always the same shitty philosophy with these assholes. I packed a sniper rifle. A bullet between his eyes will do the world a lot of good."

"No," Marina said. "Our mission is to capture and interrogate. We need to know Simon's secret plan, his so called 'Great Project.' We also need to find where all his men are hiding because they're not here, and that really worries me. The enemy's army is missing." She rubbed her fingernails.

"What about the Waters?" Aaron said.

Victor snarled. "You go find them tonight, when it's dark. Marina and I will reconnoiter the security around Simon."

"That's fine. I don't mind working alone."

"Aaron," Marina said, "if you're caught...."

"Hey!" Aaron said. "You recruited me because I'm good at this stuff. I won't get caught."

"Just locate the hostages, and don't let the DEA see you. Don't try to rescue anybody, either. We'll get together and work out a complete plan of attack after we finish our recon. We'll do this properly."

"Agreed."

* * *

Aaron walked along the southern boundary of the campgrounds, where it met a corn field. To his left, the parking lot was a vast field of black asphalt, and to his right there was a sea of corn stalks. His cowboy boots crunched on the dirt margin in between.

The pebbles in his left boot hurt so much they felt like golf balls. He was forced to walk on his toes to avoid aggravating the pain. It didn't help that a crescent moon provided inadequate light, and he kept stepping into unseen holes. Anybody who saw him, either the cult or the DEA, would think he was crippled or drunk.

He swung a whiskey bottle back and forth in his right hand. Every few seconds he stopped to take a long drink. The bottle contained water, but he grunted and coughed as if it were hard liquor.

He wandered into the corn field and fell sideways, pretending he had passed out. He lay still for several minutes as he listened to the breeze.

He slowly and silently peeled off his outer clothes. Underneath he wore skintight elastic printed with the standard Society camouflage pattern. It was the perfect color scheme for night operations. Night vision goggles were hidden under his cowboy hat, and he flipped them down over his eyes. Now the moon seemed to produce as much light as the sun. He kicked off his hated cowboy boots, revealing black cloth ninja shoes.

He crawled through the field on his elbows and knees. He had to reach the forest before he could raise his head above the level of the corn stalks. It was a grueling trip, made worse by the fact he had neglected to bring knee pads, but he made it.

Once in the forest, he was able to travel faster, although he still used as much cover as possible. His caution proved worthwhile when he spotted another man sitting on a high tree branch. Aaron carefully worked his way around the sentry.

He felt excited and very much alive. He was already enjoying his new life as a member of the Gray Spear Society. He didn't care much for the strange religious stuff, but it looked like he would get his fill of intense action.

He picked his way north until he had a good view of the rental cabins. He found a particularly dark shadow and knelt down. He didn't want to stumble into a guard on patrol, so he would observe for an hour or so to learn the security scheme. There was no reason to hurry and every reason to be cautious.

Perhaps half an hour had passed when he saw a person sneaking out through a door. Judging by her stature, it was a girl. She carried a pen light, which looked as bright as a blow torch in Aaron's night vision goggles. Crouching, she crept into the forest. She passed close enough that he could see her face clearly, and he was surprised to discover the girl was none other than Brittany Waters.

Where are you going?
Aaron wondered.

Following her through the forest was simply a matter of chasing the bouncing light. She approached a lean-to made of natural sticks and leaves. The embers from a dying campfire illuminated two guards, and two other people were in sleeping bags under the lean-to.

Brittany approached the guards and had a quiet but lengthy conversation with them. Eventually, one of the guards nodded. She leaned down and spoke a few soft words to the people in the sleeping bags.

Aaron angled in for a closer look. The people under the lean-to had cloth gags in their mouths.

Bingo!
Finding the hostages so easily had been an unexpected gift, and he wondered whether God had intervened in some small way. On the other hand, plain good luck was an equally valid explanation.

The trip back to the cornfield took a while, but he had a smile on his face the whole way. He put his original clothes back on, including the hateful boot with the pebbles in it. He staggered and shuffled back to the RV.

* * *

A tap on the shoulder startled Aaron from a deep sleep. He opened his eyes to find Marina leaning over him. Victor stood behind her.

"Hi," she said.

Aaron blinked. "What time is it?"

"Three in the morning."

"You guys work late. I went to sleep hours ago." Aaron was lying on one of the very narrow beds in the RV. He swung his legs over and sat up.

Marina still wore black and gray camouflage. The tights looked incredibly sexy on her athletic body.

Victor was stripping off his outfit in the confined space, apparently unconcerned she would see him naked.

"Did you find the hostages?" she asked.

Aaron nodded. "They're in the woods. Two guards."

"Good work, but you have to be careful when you rescue them. Don't let them see your face. They can't know you're here."

"I understand. What about Simon?"

"We found his cabin," Victor said. "It wasn't hard. It's the largest one in the camp, and it's surrounded by guards. We spent a long time looking for gaps in the security, but we didn't see any that looked useful. Simon knows how to protect himself."

"So, what's the plan?" Aaron said.

"The obvious one. Heavy weapons and full armor. We'll hit Simon's cabin tomorrow night, shoot anybody who gets in our way, and snatch him. You can come with us or go rescue the captives. It's up to you."

Marina frowned and looked down. She clearly wasn't happy with this proposal, but she kept quiet.

Aaron stared at Victor. "That's your plan? You don't see a problem with it?"

"Not really," Victor said.

"I may just be a rookie here, but I see plenty of problems. First, you'll have to kill a bunch of people and not just guards. I'm sure Simon has some women with him, maybe even kids. They'll try to protect him."

Victor shrugged.

"And the battle will be chaotic," Aaron added. "Bullets will be flying everywhere. You'll be tripping over dead bodies left and right. At some point, the DEA will join the party. While that's going on, you'll have to chase down Simon, knock him out, and carry him away. Without you or him getting killed." He shook his head.

"We'll be quick and quiet. Most of the enemy will die before they even know we're there."

"I thought the Gray Spear Society is supposed to keep a low profile. This kind of massacre will make the news. Are all your operations this inept?"

Victor glared at Aaron.

"Do you have a better idea?" Marina said.

Aaron faced her. "I might. We need a distraction. Fortunately, we have a perfect one right outside the camp. The DEA."

"Go on."

"We'll get the DEA to enter the camp and arrest the cult. That should smoke out Simon. He'll run into the woods, and we can ambush him there. We don't even have to wait until nightfall."

"Interesting." She furrowed her brow.

"Sounds complicated to me," Victor said. "How are you going to make Simon walk into our ambush?"

"I'll show him the way," Aaron said, "and manipulating the DEA will be easy. They're looking for drugs. We just need to convince them drugs are here."

Marina nodded. "OK."

"What?" Victor yelled. "You're letting a fresh recruit call the shots?"

"It's a good plan. Relatively few risks, and any deaths will be blamed on the DEA. They'll do the cover up for us."

"And," Aaron said, "the DEA can rescue the captives for me. I won't have to show my face at all."

Victor snarled at Marina. "You're taking his side because you like him."

"I'm taking his side because he's smart," she replied. "Smarter than you. For once, stop thinking with your fists."

They stared at each other. Even though the muscles on his bare chest were as big as her head, she didn't back down an inch. Aaron was proud of her.