; ; She could not see Father Abraham, nor Mother ; Sarah, nor their son, Isaac. She hoped they had ; escaped. She felt so alone, so helpless. It was the ; first time in her life that she was outside, away from ; home, without supervision. She had never before ; had to ask herself where she should go next. She ; was not sure she could decide now.
; ; Suddenly, the door at her back opened. A hand ; grabbed the loose cloth of her garb and dragged her ; into the building. The door shut, and she found ; herself in a dim hallway which smelled of urine. ; Beside her was a slim girl about her own age, ; fourteen. The girl still held the black cloth of ; Rebecca's long, loose, hooded dress, a dress which ; resembled a medieval nun's habit. With her gloves ; and sanimask, Rebecca was completely covered, ; indistinguishable from any Godly girl her size. The ; other girl was practically naked.
; ; "What's your name?" the strange girl said.
; ; "Rebecca. Rebecca Rausch."
; ; "I'm Marva. You could get hurt out there. You'd ; better come with me." Marva led Rebecca into a ; small, cluttered room. "Sit. Make yourself at home. ; Would you like something? A Coke?"
; ; "No, no, thank-you. I mustn't eat or drink ; anything. Could I use your phone, please? I'll just ; call the police, and they'll come and get me."
; ; "Phone's not connected. We move around a lot," ; replied Marva. "Wait till my mother comes home. ; She'll know what to do." Marva looked for a while ; at Rebecca, who said nothing. Frightening noises ; from the street filtered through the old brick walls ; and boarded windows, but there were no police or ; fire sirens. "What's a Godly like you doing ; downtown in an alley?"
; ; "I don't know. It's all some awful mistake." ; Marva coaxed Rebecca to go on. "About a year ago, ; we moved to Uncle Noah's farm, north of the city, ; but we still attend the Godly Church in Centerville. ; While we were driving home on the interstate, there ; was an accident up ahead, a trailer truck blocking ; the road. Traffic was all backed up, so Father ; Abraham turned off at an exit, to try to get around ; the blockage. People in the street blocked our way. ; We turned this way and that; we tried to get back on ; the interstate, but then, out there, we ran over ; something and our tires went flat. When the car ; stopped, someone threw a gasoline bomb. We had ; to leave the car or burn to death. I jumped out and ; ran to the alley. I don't know what happened to ; Father Abraham and Mother Sarah, and Isaac. I ; hope they are all right." Having spilled it all out, ; Rebecca began to cry.
; ; "I hope so, too," said Marva. "There are crazies ; out there. It's like Sodom and Gomorrah. I wouldn't ; dare go out there now, and I live here."
; ; Rebecca sniffed behind her mask, unable to wipe ; away the tears, ashamed that she could not control ; herself, especially in front of Marva. Rebecca ; forced herself to look at Marva, who was dressed ; obscenely in a tee shirt and jeans. Marva's hair was ; loose and uncovered, and Rebecca could see the ; shape of Marva's breasts, the smallness of her waist, ; the curve of her hips, and the tightness of the fabric ; covering her thighs. It was disgusting, but she ; reminded herself that Marva was trying to be nice. ; "Why did they do it?" Rebecca asked.
; ; "Envy. Is it any wonder? Of course, most of us ; wouldn't dream of hurting you, but those are crazies ; out there. The virus gets to the brain, eventually, ; and people go out of control -- no sense of right and ; wrong."
; ; "Can't the police control them?"
; ; Marva laughed. "You must have strange ideas ; about the police. But I suppose you would. You ; don't get out much, do you?"
; ; "No." Rebecca sniffed again.
; ; "Why don't you take off your sanimask? It's kind ; of strange, talking to a mask."
; ; "I can't. I'm not allowed to. The virus. It's not ; true, what they say, that you only get it from intimate ; contact or dirty needles. There are mutations out ; there. You can get it the way you might catch a ; cold. It's God's vengeance."
; ; "What's it like, being Godly?" asked Marva.
; ; "Living behind electrified fences and all that."
; ; "I don't know. What do you want to know?"
; ; "Do you go to school?"
; ; "We do our lessons on the screen, at home."
; ; "Do you always wear that mask?"
; ; "Yes, except when we eat or bathe."
; ; "Why do you wear those funny black clothes?"
; ; "We believe that's the Godly way, to avoid ; tempting any man to sin. God says a woman must ; cover her hair and all of her body except her face ; and hands, when ever she might be seen by a man ; who is not a close relative. And then, of course, we ; cover our faces with sanimasks and our hands with ; antiseptic gloves, but that's not God's commandment; ; that's just good sense, to avoid exposure to the ; virus."
; ; "You wear that stuff always? You sleep in it? ; What about sports, or taking a shower?"
; ; "No. In your bedroom, anywhere in the women's ; part of the house, you can wear anything you like. ; And, of course, a husband and wife alone together ; don't have to wear the Godly garb."
; ; "What do you do for fun? Do you go out with ; boys?"
; ; "Oh, no! That's not Godly. Do you?"
; ; "Sure, I have lots of fun. I have a steady boy ; friend. Why do you call your parents Father ; Abraham and Mother Sarah?"
; ; "They are not my real parents. I went to live with ; them when I was ten. When I'm fifteen, I'm to marry ; Isaac, so Father Abraham will be my father-in-law."
; ; "What happened to your own parents?"
; ; "Nothing happened to them. I see them every ; Sunday in church."
; ; "Then why do you live with Abraham and ; Sarah?"
; ; "That's the way we do it. A girl goes to live with ; her future in-laws, so that they can make sure that ; she is clean and chaste. And she can get used to her ; future husband. He serves her at meal times. Then, ; when they are married, if she is disobedient, he can ; say, `How can you not obey me, I, who raised you ; from a little girl?'"
; ; "Ugh!" said Marva. "How did you choose them? ; Or did they choose you?"
; ; "My parents arranged it. They were lucky they ; had more daughters than sons. The Hopewells, that's ; Father Abraham and Mother Sarah, had two boys ; and a girl. Ishmael, the eldest, could exchange his ; sister for a wife, but they had to buy me for Isaac."
; ; "Buy you?"
; ; "Yes. A Godly girl child is very valuable. They ; agreed to a hundred thousand down and twenty ; thousand a year for five years."
; ; "Wow!"
; ; "If I took my sanimask off in a place like this, or ; did anything else which might expose me to the ; virus, why then they might send me back to my ; parents and demand a refund. And if my parents ; couldn't prove I was clean, I would be sent away."
; ; Marva whistled softly. "That's...that's ; incredible. You're worth two hundred thousand?"
; ; "Yes, as long as I'm virus-free."
; ; "Well, you are safe here, Rebecca. Just don't go ; near the windows or anything. If the crazies found ; out you are here... Well, Mother will be home in a ; while. She'll know what to do. She'll bring some ; food home from work. You can eat, then, if you ; want."
; ; "What does your mother do, at work?"
; ; "She's a waitress in a restaurant, down the street. ; She brings home leftovers. That way, we can use the ; food stamps for other things."
; ; "She works in a restaurant? Is that legal?"
; ; "Hey, the whole world's not Godly. People still ; have to eat."
; ; Rebecca looked uncomfortable. After a while, ; she asked, "Marva, could I... could I use your ; bathroom?" Marva indicated a door. Rebecca went ; in, locked the door, and stayed a long time. When ; she came out, she looked embarrassed, as much as ; one can when wearing a sanimask. "There's no ; bidet," she said.
; ; "Bidet? What do you need a bidet for, Miss ; Godly? What's wrong with ordinary toilet paper? I ; haven't sneezed on it or anything."
; ; "I can't use toilet paper. It's the chastity belt."
; ; "God! A chastity belt? What's it like?"
; ; Rebecca was ill at ease. "It's... it's like the ones ; you see illustrated in the dictionary. Well, mine's ; nicer. It's titanium, lighter than steel, perfectly ; stainless, and a lot stronger and harder to cut off."
; ; "How," puzzled Marva, "do you go to the ; bathroom?"
; ; "Well, there are sort of doors, front and back, but ; when they open, they stick out, with spikes, so no ; one can get at you. You can't even touch yourself. ; Mucous membranes are terribly susceptible to ; infection."
; ; "You wear it every time you go out, like you are ; afraid you will get raped or something?"
; ; "Yes, of course. Actually, Mother Sarah makes ; me wear it all the time. You can't be too careful."
; ; "You've worn it all your life?"
; ; "No, there are different things that little girls ; wear. My sister, though, has worn a belt since she ; was very small. That's expensive, because you ; outgrow them so quickly, but it was necessary. She ; used to, you know, touch herself in bed."
; ; "You mean she masturbated? Hell, I do that all ; the time. I thought everyone did."
; ; Rebecca recoiled. "Don't use that awful word. ; Please, don't. Doing that, it's a terrible sin. With my ; sister, they had to take her to a doctor. He injected a ; permanent nerve block, so she wouldn't feel ; anything, you know, down there. They thought it ; would stop her. I've heard of girls where they had ; the doctor sew them up. That proves they are a ; virgin. Then, when they get married, they visit a ; surgeon, so they can, you know, have babies."
; ; "Come on! You have to be exaggerating. What ; about boys? I never knew a boy who didn't play with ; himself."
; ; "Well, they can't do the nerve block thing with ; boys, because then they couldn't be fathers. But all ; the boys have chastity belts, a different design, of ; course."
; ; "Rebecca, I can't believe it. How can you live ; like that?"
; ; "Marva, it's the Godly way. How can you go ; through life knowing you will die an early death and ; burn in hell for having a boy friend and touching ; yourself? How can you be so... inhumanly animal? ; You know the virus is everywhere, yet you act as if ; you can live just as you please."
; ; "Who are you to be so critical, Miss Godlier Than ; Thou?" Marva shouted. "I may not live long, but, by ; God, I'm enjoying the life I've got. Yes, I touch ; myself. It feels good. I fool around with boys. That ; feels even better. In fact, I may be pregnant. I hope ; I am. My mother had me when she was fourteen, ; and I hope I live to see my children grow up, too. ; You Godlies may hold the political power, now, but ; we're in the majority. We die young, but we breed ; like rabbits, and we like it. What makes you so sure ; God wants it your way? The majority doesn't think ; so. You just wait. Some day, you'll see. Power to ; the people!"
; ; Rebecca was horrified. She cringed in a corner. ; "Don't talk like that. Oh, I want to go home."
; ; The door opened, and Marva's mother walked in, ; carrying a bag which had grease stains on it. The ; smell of fries penetrated Rebecca's mask.
; ; "Hello? What have we here?" asked the mother, ; putting down the bag. Rebecca thought the mother ; looked more than sixty, but she could only be about ; twenty-eight, if Marva was to be believed. She was ; certainly a sicky, maybe even a crazy.
; ; "She's a Godly girl, Mother," said Marva evenly. ; "Some crazies set fire to her car, and I took her in, to ; hide her where she would be safe. Wasn't that nice?"
; ; "I want to go home," whimpered Rebecca.
; ; "Mother," continued Marva, "we have to be very ; careful with her. She's a virgin, and if anything ; happened to her, why her parents would be out two ; hundred thousand. Her name is Rebecca Rausch. ; We've gotten to be good friends, haven't we ; Rebecca?" ; Rebecca nodded.
; ; "There, there, Rebecca," said Marva's mother, ; pausing to cough. "Of course you want to go home, ; but it's not safe out there on the street. We'll take ; good care of you. You wait here, and I'll go and call ; the police to come and get you. You'll be home in ; no time. Don't worry; just wait here."
; ; Marva's mother left, coughing softly. Marva ; began to wolf down fries. "You sure you don't want ; to eat?"
; ; "No, thanks, I'm sure," whispered Rebecca, still ; backed into a corner of the room. For a while, she ; had sort of liked Marva, even if Marva was a ; wretched sinner, but now Rebecca felt only ; revulsion. She longed to be home, safe on the farm. ; She fixed her eyes on the clock, willing the digits to ; change, counting the slow passage of the minutes.
; ; In twelve minutes, the mother was back. "Now, ; Rebecca, the police are on the way." The mother ; coughed, making Rebecca thank God for her ; sanimask.
; ; There was a gentle knock on the door. "That's the ; police, now," said the mother. She grabbed a ; handful of Rebecca's Godly garb and pulled her ; toward the door. "You just go with the nice ; policemen, Rebecca." The mother pulled open the ; door and pushed Rebecca through.
; ; Rebecca screamed as she saw three roughly ; dressed men, crazies. "You're not policemen!" she ; screamed, but her screams were muffled as one of ; the men pulled a bag over her head. The other two ; pushed her roughly against a wall, wrenched her ; arms, and began to tie her hands behind her back.
; ; Rebecca heard the mother yelling: "Remember, ; she's a virgin. You better get a good price, and I get ; half."
; ; Then she heard Marva squealing with delight: ; "Mommy! We're rich!"
; ; END ; ;