Chapter 71
Chapter
Seventy-One
TEN YEARS AGO
Christian knew the car had stopped moving because the bumps beneath him disappeared.
Everything went quiet.
He lay still in the back seat with the cloth still covering his head.
“Can I take this off now?” he asked.
No one answered.
Christian swallowed.
He wanted Marlowe or Wren. He even wanted Nora, although Nora would probably fuss at him for going into the woods when he wasn’t supposed to.
He wouldn’t care. He’d let her fuss all she wanted if that meant she’d come get him.
A door opened. Then another.
“Come on.” A hand closed around Christian’s arm.
He pulled back. “I want to go home.”
“You are going home.”
Christian frowned beneath the hood. “No, I’m not.”
Glowworm Guy tugged him forward, and Christian stumbled out of the car.
Gravel dug into his bare feet. He almost fell, but the hand caught him.
“Careful.”
Christian’s heart beat faster.
He tried to listen for something that might tell him where he was.
Cars. Music. People.
Anything.
But all he heard were crickets and the crunch of their footsteps.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“You’ll understand soon.”
That wasn’t an answer.
Christian knew because grownups did that sometimes. They said something that sounded like an answer when they didn’t really want to give one.
He started counting his steps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Maybe if he knew how far they walked, it would help when Dad came to find him.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
A door opened.
The ground beneath his feet changed from rough gravel to smooth floor.
The air smelled different in here. Old. Almost like the basement at church.
The man guided him farther inside.
Christian tried to remember how many turns they made.
Left. Then right. Maybe another left.
He wasn’t sure.
Another door opened, and the hand stopped him.
“You’re going to stay here for a while.”
Christian’s stomach hurt. “How long?”
“Until it’s time.”
“Time for what?”
The man didn’t answer.
Christian reached for the cloth over his head, but a hand caught his wrist.
“Not yet.”
He dropped his arm, but his eyes started burning. “I want my mom.”
“I know.”
“I want my sisters.”
“You’ll understand someday.”
Christian shook his head. “I don’t want to understand. I want to go home.”
The person crouched in front of him. “You’re special, Christian.”
He didn’t feel special. He felt scared.
“You were chosen.”
Christian’s throat tightened. “Chosen for what?”
A pause. Then, “For something important.”
“I don’t want to be chosen.”
The man laughed softly. “One day, you will.”
Before Christian could ask anything else, the cloth lifted from his head.
Light hit his eyes.
He squeezed them shut.
The door closed. A lock clicked.
Christian opened his eyes slowly.
A small room came into view. A bed sat against one wall with a thin blue blanket over it. Another bed was on the opposite side.
He saw a dresser. A lamp. No windows.
Christian turned around toward the door and grabbed the knob. “Hey!”
It was locked.
He hit the door with both fists. “Let me out! I want to go home!”
“Don’t.”
Christian froze. The voice had come from behind him.
He turned.
A boy stood near one of the beds.
Christian hadn’t noticed him at first because he was in a shadow.
The boy looked about Christian’s age. Maybe seven. Maybe eight.
And he had dark hair, almost the same color as Christian’s.
Christian wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Who are you?”
The boy hesitated. “Isaac.”
Christian looked toward the locked door again. “Do you live here?”
Isaac gave him a strange look. “Maybe.”
Christian’s stomach twisted. “How long have you been here?”
Isaac didn’t answer right away. Instead, he sat on the bed closest to him and pulled his knees close to his chest. “They told me I was chosen too.”
Christian stared at him. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.” Isaac glanced toward the door, then back at Christian. “I’m sorry.”
Christian frowned. “For what?”
Isaac’s expression went strangely serious. “For everything.”
~~~
Thank you for reading Weight of Guilt. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.
Read Nora’s story in Veil of Silence.