Chapter 4
Kaia Treon paced across the dirt floor of the old barn, nervously glancing at the cell phone she held with every step. “Come on, Tara!” she whispered impatiently. “Read the message!”
Nothing. Kaia kept pacing, going over to the hole in the old wood wall where she could watch the gathering. No one knew she was up here and she had to keep quiet so they wouldn’t become suspicious. It was difficult though. She wanted to rush down the barely stable ladder, walk into the middle of the crowd of worshipers and yell at all of them, beg them to understand that they were being abused and controlled by an evil man.
However, she knew from past experience that her yelling, talking, coaxing, or any other form of communication would go unheard. Especially right now, since there were men and women worshiping together. In this “church”, women were not allowed to speak in mixed company. According to their interpretation of the Bible, women were to be silent during worship services – and since they believed that the entire world was the church, women were never allowed to speak when a man was present.
But even if the group contained only women, Kaia still would be ignored. These women had been brain-washed into believing that all women were inferior to men. She’d heard the Bible verses that the cult used to justify the male members’ violent abuse of women over and over again. In fact, she had the scars, proving that she was “unworthy” of the grace of their god because she asked too many questions about the verses that were their “proof”, the verses that all women were required to memorize and recite whenever a man considered her actions to be outside the bounds of appropriate behavior.
At last, the phone buzzed. Kaia's eyes darted down to the screen, quickly absorbing the message. A wave of relief engulfed her so profoundly that she almost let out a laugh, but she stifled it just in time. Silently, she descended the ladder.
Kaia paused long enough to check the cameras she’d installed, ensuring that they were all still working properly and were still well hidden. For a moment, she considered remaining in the barn, wanting to hear more of what was going on. But in the end, she opted to leave, well aware of the danger of overstaying her “welcome”. The temptation of lingering too closely had nearly trapped her in the past.
So instead of waiting for the prolonged worship service to conclude, Kaia skillfully vanished into the woods, embarking on the three-mile trek to her car.