Under His Rule

“It’s a start,” I spit back.

Suddenly, a large explosion rocks me to my core, and I duck, and so does Noah.

“What was that?” I yell.

“I don’t know,” he says, which makes it even scarier.

How does he, a patriarch, not know what’s going on in his own community? They set the rules, they govern, they punish … which means if he doesn’t know, someone’s gone rogue.

Noah helps me up from the floor, and asks, “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I reply, even though I’m still mad at him.

“Stay here,” he says, and he immediately runs out the door.

I rush out toward the staircase and peer over the banisters. All the guards and even the regular helpers around the house are scattering and running around, most of them heading for the door with what looks like buckets and hoses. What the heck is going on out there?

I tiptoe down the stairs to have a closer look. I know he told me to stay in my room, but I can’t help it … I’ve always been a rule breaker.

The front door is wide open with no one in sight. Should I take the chance?

Clutching the doorframe, I gaze outside. Out in the distance, there’s a hut … or what remains of it. It’s completely in shambles, and a fire’s destroying the wooden rubble as well as the grass surrounding it.

“Oh my …”

I can’t even finish my sentence as I witness the onslaught down below. Several huts are on fire, and it’s spreading so quickly there’s no stopping it. The people are gathering around the fires, throwing buckets filled with water from the wells, but it’s like throwing a glass of water into a giant burning pile. They have hoses, but even those can’t fill up quickly enough to fight the fires.

Another explosion follows. I duck again and cover myself as debris flies everywhere across the community grounds.

That’s when I spot her … the woman huddled in a corner of one of the burning huts …

My mother.

“Mom, no!” I yell, but it falls on deaf ears. “Someone save her!”

There’s no one around, so I run down the steps onto the pavement and across the grass.

But then her eyes home in on mine, and the dark, blank stare she sends in my direction is chilling to the bone. She rigidly shakes her head at me. At first, I think I’m seeing things again, that what’s happening isn’t real, but it is. I know it is because people swarm all around the buildings in an effort to save them … and to stop the fires she started.

A single look is all it takes to tell the truth.

Just one look … and I know she did this.

On purpose.

She mouths two words. “Go. Now.”

My breath catches in my throat as my lips part and tears fill my eyes.

I want to shake my head at her, scream, run to her, save her from the fire all by myself, even if it kills me, but a strongly non-worded, “No,” from her mouth as she shakes her head stops me from doing just that.

My lips rub together as I struggle to keep the tears at bay. And then she smiles. It’s a simple smile, but a smile that could light a thousand hearts.

I give her back the best smile I could ever muster.

And then I run.

Chapter 29

Noah

“Stand in line! Hand each other buckets!” I yell across the crowd as they hurry to get together in a straight line and pass along the water to douse the fire, but it’s not enough. I delegate the helpers to bring the hoses, and for some of them to open the faucets to our emergency tank. This brings down the fire significantly, but it’s still razing in several places, and it’s hard to break through.

Some patriarchs and guards are standing watch to keep the crowd calm so there isn’t a fight and to keep the women and children out of danger. I do my best to keep the fire at bay and to make sure everyone’s working in sync.

Something like this has never happened before in our community.

A fire, yes … but not of this scale.

Who did this? And what set it off?

An explosion is all I heard, and when I stepped outside, the fire was already consuming everything. There was no time to lose and no time to think. I had to act.

But then I see her … the woman in the back of the hut … and my pupils dilate.

Marsha.

“Quick! Get an ax, something to break open the door!” I yell at one of the men.

Smoke quickly envelops her, and I can no longer see where she is, but I know she’s in there. Did she cause this? I don’t see anyone else in there, nor do I hear any screams. There’s no other explanation, but why? Just to get revenge on me? Or is there more at stake?