The Light of His Sword

The Light of His
Sword

Alaina Stanford

By Alaina
Stanford

Published by Alaina
Stanford for Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Alaina
Stanford for Smashwords

No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise, without written
permission of the author.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Jack Martin of Gossamer
Publishing for the fantastic cover.

Thanks to Jemma Scarry with Jem’s
Editing.

Reviews and comments
are welcome and appreciated. You can contact
Alaina Stanford at [email protected]

The shadows writhed and churned between the
white frame buildings of the rural compound. They beckoned to the
young mother slipping slowly into the darkness. Alyssa grabbed her
six-year old daughter, Samantha’s, hand and moved slowly past the
tallest building known as the gathering hall. A low unearthly hum
came from within that slowly sucked all hope out of the air. It was
a familiar sound. A sound that said the elders were deep into their
worship.

A sorrowful moan came from inside the
gathering hall as Alyssa pulled Samantha toward the far end of the
building. A chill ran through her at the thought of what was
happening inside the sanctuary as a scream of desperation filled
the air. The elders were totally committed, now was the perfect
time. Ritual night was the only time they brought the dogs in from
the perimeter and took them into the sanctuary. It would be an
entire month before the dogs were pulled inside again.

The wind bit at their ears as it shoved them
back toward the compound. Ignoring it, they rushed across the open
area between the living quarters and the tall, wire fence. They
stopped at a tall tree near the fence. Alyssa used the tree for
concealment as she removed a large clump of grass revealing a
shallow hole under the fence. Pulling the fence up as best she
could, Alyssa helped Samantha slip underneath, and followed her.
They crouched low and ran across the meadow. Rising as they reached
a small line of young trees, Alyssa took hold of Samantha’s hand
and ran as fast as her child could manage through the tall
grass.

It wasn’t long before Samantha began to
whimper. She pulled on her mother’s hand wanting to stop. Alyssa
forced herself to stop and point out a star as it shot across the
sky. Samantha stood next to her mother trembling in the cold autumn
air. Draping her arm across Samantha’s shoulders, Alyssa forced
herself to smile despite the intense urge to run through the
darkness. She gazed into Samantha’s big, blue eyes and said, “Isn’t
it pretty? It looks like the star is chasing a fairy across the
sky.”

Samantha’s eyes opened wide with wonder
forgetting the cold, damp air that caused her threadbare dress to
cling her bone thin form. “Could it be an angel?” She
whispered.

Alyssa’s eyes filled with tears as she
answered, “There are no such things as angels.”

She began to move again, pulling Samantha
along behind her. They stumbled through the thick layer of leaves
trying not to trip on the holes and stumps hidden beneath. The
meadow offered no protection against the winds forceful onslaught.
Yet Alyssa pushed on, knowing they had to put as much distance
between them and the compound as possible. Once the alarm sounded
over their disappearance, they would have only minutes before the
search began.

It seemed like hours before they reached the
shallow creek on the edge of town. The tall grass was thick with
thorny weeds. Alyssa wrinkled her nose at the foul smell of the
stagnant water and jumped as a slimy creature slithered past her
foot. “We just have to reach the trees.” She told Samantha.

The scent of rain quickly pushed away the
sour smell of the creek as they moved deeper into the forest. The
wind whipped Alyssa’s long, blonde hair across her eyes, making it
difficult to maintain a quick pace. She glanced toward the tall
evergreen trees up ahead. The trees offered shelter from the
approaching storm and would mask their passing, unlike the trampled
grass they left in their wake.

When they reached the tree line, Samantha
began to whimper. “It’s so cold mommy; my fingers are stinging, and
my legs itch.”

Samantha wore a smaller version of the
short-sleeved, gray, cotton dress as Alyssa. Alyssa knelt and
rubbed Samantha’s bare legs. Pulling several burrs from Samantha’s
sock, she ran her hand down the length of her daughter’s long,
golden hair. It was full of burrs and weeds. Reaching in her pocket
Alyssa pulled out two dark black ribbons. She tied Samantha’s hair
back in a ponytail, and then did the same with hers. “It’s okay
sweetie. Bury your hands inside the collar of my dress. That will
warm them up.” Alyssa picked Samantha up and hurried deeper into
the woods. It was past midnight; the ceremony would soon be
over.

Despite the bumpy ride, Samantha fell
quickly asleep on Alyssa’s shoulders. By the time she reached the
sidewalks of the small town located several miles from the
compound, Alyssa was exhausted. She fought for breath as she placed
Samantha on her feet urging her to wake. “Samantha, we are almost
there, and I’m a little tired. I need you to walk.”

“No, mommy, I want to sleep.” Samantha
yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her pale cheeks and tiny nose were rosy
from the cold.

“It’s a little further, and then we can stop
and rest.” Alyssa cooed, kissing Samantha’s cheek and giving her a
quick hug. Alyssa chastised herself for her recklessness. It was
careless to allow her urgency for escape to interfere with her
judgment. She should have grabbed a blanket to wrap around
Samantha.

The rural town was no more than a few short
blocks of small, boxy houses and a handful of stores. The main
street through town stood before them. A short row of stores lay
directly ahead. Taking Samantha’s tiny hand in hers, Alyssa led her
toward the nearest building where the sidewalk began. The town was
dark and quiet as it should be at the late hour. Leaves and small
debris skittered across the damp pavement as they rushed across the
narrow street deeper into town.

An occasional raindrop spurred Alyssa to
move faster. The last thing they needed was to be caught in a
soaking frigid rain. The only building that offered any light
beyond the occasional lantern style streetlight was the small brick
post office that sat in the center of town. That was their
destination.

No one was around to see them slip through
the glass doors into the post office. The short counter inside the
one room office was locked behind a chain-link security gate. On
the far side of the room was a small alcove lined with Post Office
Boxes. Alyssa went directly to a small box in the center of the
main section. She pulled a key from her dress pocket and opened the
little door.
Please let it be there, if it wasn’t, then their
escape had been for nothing.
Inside was an envelope addressed
to Resident. Her hand trembled as she pulled it out. Glancing
around the vacant room, she felt ridiculous assuring herself they
were alone. Ripping one end open she pulled out a small amount of
cash, a credit card, a set of car keys and a note.

Alyssa sighed with relief as she read the
note, then stuffed the items back in the envelope. All the planning
and midnight trips into town had finally paid off. It took her
nearly two months after she received word that everything was in
place to build up her courage and risk the escape. She only hoped
the car was still waiting for them. Alyssa turned to her daughter.
“We’re all set, our adventure is beginning. The car isn’t too far,
but we have to walk a little bit more to get there.”

“Oh no, mommy,” Samantha whined, “My feet
hurt. You said I could rest.”

“I know baby. I’m sorry,” Alyssa picked her
up and headed for the door. “I’ll carry you; everything is going to
be just fine.” She forced back the tears. It was so hard to take
Samantha out into the cold night air without a jacket. The elders
were the only ones allowed to wear jackets or coats. The women and
children weren't allowed outside in the winter. Therefore, there
was no need for coats. Shoes were considered unnecessary and
therefore prohibited until the winter months. Even then, the shoes
they provided were more like slippers. Her shoes were nearly worn
through from the walk through the damp woods. Alyssa knew it was
one way the compound kept them away from the outside world.

The outside world was barely more than a
dream to Alyssa. She remembered when her parents brought her to
live at the compound. Alyssa was the same age as Samantha. The
elders greeted them with smiles and hugs when they arrived. Despite
the high fence that surrounded the complex of white framed
buildings, it appeared to be a passive farming community. Yet a few
days later they took Alyssa’s dolls away, put her in a gray cotton
dress, and made her sleep with the other children away from her
parents. She’d been so frightened sleeping on the pile of rugs in
such a dark room next to the other children.

Then one night her father came to take her
home. They climbed through a hole he dug under the high fence and
rushed across the same meadow she and Samantha passed through. But
they never reached the town. The elders found them as they entered
the trees. Her father fought with all his strength, but there were
too many. Alyssa remembered screaming and clinging to her mother as
they beat her father unconscious. The elders locked Samantha in the
children’s room and took her parents to the sanctuary. She never
saw her father again. Weeks went by before she was allowed to see
her mother. Even then they were closely supervised in the great
room of the gathering hall. All her mother could do that day was
hold Alyssa and cry.

Not long after that, unspeakable things
began to happen. The elders came in one night and chose a child.
All the children hid beneath their covers and tried to act
invisible when the men came, hoping they would not be chosen. You
didn’t want to be chosen. No one could speak of what happened once
they got you alone.

Alyssa’s body trembled at the thought of
Samantha, who would reach the age to be taken in only a few weeks.
Soon they would come to take Samantha from her room and move her to
the children’s building. Alyssa vowed she would die before she’d
let that happen. She could still see the faces of the children that
had been taken. Their blank expressions, dead empty eyes void of
all life. They would not play and hardly ate. They never spoke
again. Then, one by one, on the night they were taken, they would
not return.

Lightning flashed across the sky, jolting
Alyssa back to the present as she headed down the street toward the
far end of town. The last two buildings on the edge of town were a
rustic second hand store and a four-pump truck stop with a 24-hour
diner. The note said the car was two thousand paces from the diner
hidden in a barn. Samantha shivered in Alyssa’s arms. She glanced
around as the diner appeared in the distance and considered
stopping to warm up.

The sound of men’s voices came from behind
them. Alyssa froze as she turned slowly to follow the source of the
voices. An old house with tall peaks and rounded corners sat at the
far end of the block. Several men in dark coats appeared out of the
shadows of the large tree in the front yard, just as a gentle rain
began to fall. The Elders!

Alyssa was grateful she’d kept to the
shadows so close to the buildings. Sinking further into their dark
protection, Alyssa kept her back against the cold brick wall of the
storefront. Moving quickly, keeping as close to the building as
possible, she ducked into a doorway and glanced back toward the
elders. They stood on the far sidewalk glancing around and
pointing, obviously discussing where to look next.

She dashed out of the doorway, rushed to the
side of the building and disappeared around the corner. Sprinting
across the street in the direction of the diner, Alyssa shivered as
the rain penetrated her dress with it’s cold wet touch. Alyssa ran
down the alley behind the row of homes.
Just keep going, don’t
stop
! She told herself. This time she didn’t look back; instead
she concentrated on speed.

The jostling movement woke Samantha, and she
began to whimper. “I’m getting wet!” She moaned, raising her head
to see what was going on.

“Hush, hush, my darling,” Alyssa cooed. “We
are going to stop soon to get warm.”

The end of the alley came quickly. Alyssa
could see the diner across the narrow side street facing the main
boulevard. The Elders were somewhere behind her. If they were still
on Main Street, they would see her enter the diner. She hoped they
had moved on. She also hoped there were enough people in the diner
to keep the elders from confronting her if they hadn’t.