Chapter 62

Rain sighed and used her good hand to brush her red hair back out of her eyes. She’d really screwed up this time. And there was no way for her to easily fix it. The conversation she was listening to wasn’t meant for her ears after all. She’d have to figure out some way to let Adam know that she wasn’t excluding herself when she said “someone.” That seemed easier said than done.
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Seth replied to Adam’s inquiry. “There are a couple of girls in town I’ve taken out. We have a lot of dances around here, and one in particular, Hannah Cooper, is usually my date. But we haven’t talked about getting married or anything.”
“How old are you?” Adam asked, again sparking Rain’s curiosity as well.
“I’m twenty-three,” he said. “You?”
“Twenty-one,” Adam said. “Same as Rain. I think all of us are the same age.”
Seth was quiet for a long time before he said, “I’m sure you don't want to talk about it, but I’m really sorry about everything you had to go through. That must’ve been... awful.”
“Thanks,” Adam said quietly. “I appreciate that. And… I don’t want to talk about it. Or think about it.” Silence settled between them, and if Rain hadn’t been listening carefully for the sound of the front door, she would’ve almost thought they went inside. Eventually, Adam said, “But if it hadn’t been for Rain, I would’ve lost my mind. She was the only bright spot in a horrific existence.”
Seth seemed puzzled. When he asked, “She used to… visit you?” his voice went up at the end.
“Yeah, but she wasn’t like the others. She was… kind. She didn’t have any choice. All women are required to go to IW,” he went on, standing up for her, not that Seth had said anything negative.
“Right. That’s what we’ve heard. I bet most of the stories that make it to us aren’t true. At least, I hope they’re not.”
Rain thought about all the bruises she’d seen on Adam’s backside when she’d stolen a peek at the river. She swallowed hard as he said, “They are. And worse.”
Unfortunately, what he said was accurate. The horrors the Mothers visited upon their people were enough to make people like Seth and Esther cringe, people with a conscience, people who understood that all people are just that--people. Even men.
Rain had always had an understanding about that in the back of her mind, even if she’d been taught since she was a small child not to see men as people. From the time she was old enough to learn anything at all, the Mothers had taught her, along with every other woman, that men were little more than animals. They were driven by carnal urges. The men in IW actually enjoyed what they were doing, despite being strapped to chairs and given shots to make them capable of performing. The men who worked in construction and elsewhere had no freedom, tethered to specific locations through ankle monitors. Those were the ones who were not capable of serving women through IW, so they had to do hard labor to pay for the sins of the past.
Those weren’t their sins, of course. They were the sins of men who came long before them. The Motherhood taught that, throughout history, up until the time of the Claiming when Michaela Torres and her followers overthrew what was left of the men after the end of World War III and forced them into bondage. Up until that point, Rain and the others had been taught, men had held women as slaves, essentially, raping and taking them whenever they wanted, stripping them of dignity, forcing them to perform the same work for less pay, and a thousand other atrocities.
None of it ever sat right with Rain, but she was also taught not to question the Motherhood. And she hadn’t. Until the day the lights had come on right after she finished a session in IW with Adam, who didn’t have a name at the point. Like all other men, he was known by a number and a letter--24C. He hadn’t had the chance to say much to her during the rebel’s mock attempt at taking over the IW unit so that they could later break out the men held there, with the help of a few insiders, such as Adam himself and some of the women in training in communications and other important areas that would lead to an easier extraction. The next thing she knew, Rain was being recruited to join the effort. She couldn’t say no, though, not after she’d spoken to Adam, not after she’d seen what a good soul he was. Even if everything the Mothers said about men in the past were true, Adam and Walt, the other men in IW, the other men in Michaelanburg, didn’t deserve to be treated the way the Mothers were treating them. No one did.
Adam and Seth continued to talk, with Seth asking questions about what it was like for him, just the day to day activities. Adam talked about the gym and other aspects--taking supplements, etc. Rain’s mind wandered. She should get up. She should let them know she could hear. But then, a third voice entered the conversation, one she didn’t recognize at all. One she instantly didn’t like.
“Hey, Seth!” a male voice, higher pitched and grating but still masculine, called out. “This one of the rebs you pulled from the river?”
“Yeah, Daniel. This is Adam.”
“Hi,” she heard Adam say and then there was the smack of flesh on flesh that made her think they must’ve shaken hands or something.
“How’s it going?” Daniel asked, his voice still irritating. “You likin’ it on the outside?”
“It’s definitely better than being in Michaelanburg.” Adam’s response was guarded. Clearly, he didn’t trust this person either.
“I imagine. Especially with two of your rapists right here in the house with you.”
Rain’s mouth dropped open and her blood ran cold. Did he actually say what she thought he’d said? Was he calling her and Mist rapists? Every fiber of her being froze as she listened for Adam’s response, part of her wanting to dart out the door to defend herself, or at the very least, to defend Mist. He had no idea what he was talking about….
“It’s not like that. Not at all.” Adam’s voice was strong this time.
“Daniel….” That was Seth. He sounded… embarrassed. Mortified? “Don’t start, please?”
“What? We’ve all heard what women in Michaelenburg do. Strap men to chairs and force them. Isn’t that what these two have done to you and your friend in the past? Over and over again?”
“No,” Adam said with conviction. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Geeze, man, calm down. You’re getting awfully defensive.”
“You’re talking about his friends, Daniel. Two women that helped them escape.”
“Yeah, but aren’t they all the same down there? I mean, they might be sorry now, but what’s done is done. Rape is rape, dude.”
“No, there’s definitely a difference between what Rain, Mist, and the other women who visited IW because they were forced to do so have done and actual rape.” Anger was evident in Adam’s voice now. Rain bit her bottom lip, wishing she could reach out to him, to calm him. He knew the difference. He knew first hand.
Surely, this Daniel person would know better than to keep pushing, wouldn’t he? Couldn’t he see that Adam was beyond agitated by his judgmental comments? Daniel either didn’t read people well or was just a jackass. His next comment wasn’t any less insensitive than the others. “I guess so, man, but anytime a dude has to put his dick in a woman he doesn’t want to, I call that rape.”
“Daniel!” That was Seth. Louder, more forceful. Too late.
“No, rape is when a mob of Mothers twice your age use electric prods to force you down on the ground, when they hold you down and shoot you up with double the amount of the shit they usually give you to get you hard so you have no choice but to react, so that all of them--all ten or twelve or so many you can’t keep track anymore--take a turn riding you like you’re a not even human, not even an animal, but a machine, like an unfeeling, plastic dick not attached to a mind or a soul. That, Daniel-whoever-the-hell-you-are, is rape!”
The sound of rushed footsteps and the front door opening and then slamming, followed by the same cadence down the hall and another door shutting further back in the house, was only drowned out slightly by the sound of Seth’s voice. “Daniel, what the hell is the matter with you, man? Couldn’t you see you were pissing him off?”
“So what?” Daniel asked. “We don’t even know these people.”
“They are guests in my home,” Seth said sternly. “Adam is a good guy. Obviously, he’s been through a lot. A person doesn’t tell a story like that unless they’ve lived it. As for the girls, Mist is smart, kind, and helpful. She’s going out of her way to help my mom as much as she can. Rain was shot. I haven’t gotten to talk to her much, but from what the others have said, she’s incredibly intelligent, sweet, and brave. We don’t know how these people were brought up, how they lived. The Bible says, ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged,’ but you came in here ready to condemn without even trying to understand.”
“I guess I just can’t see it the same way you do, man. Wrong is wrong in my book.”
“Okay--then maybe you should stay away from here until they go. Adam said they won’t be here long.”
“Fine. Will do. But… if I run into one of those girls by themselves, I’ll probably be forced to teach them a lesson.” He laughed at the end of his statement, an evil cackle that made Rain want to reach through the window and punch him in the face. She couldn’t even see him, so she wouldn’t recognize him if she saw him later on, though she’d know that voice anywhere.
“Daniel, we’ve been friends for a long time,” Seth said, his voice echoing the tone Adam had used earlier. Measured. “If you touch either one of them, you’ll have me to answer to.”
“Whatever man. You going to the dance tonight?”
“I don’t know.” Seth was still angry and didn’t seem to like how nonchalantly the other man tried to change the subject.
“Be there, or I’ll be dancing with your girl. See you around.” Daniel laughed again and then his footsteps faded away.
Rain could easily see now, if most of the men before World War III were like Daniel, how women felt trapped and belittled by them. She could hear in his voice that he thought he was superior to women, her anyway. He thought she’d purposely made Adam and other men do things they didn’t want to when in actuality, she’d never wanted to go to IW herself. Never, not once.
A few minutes later, the front door opened again, but it wasn’t Seth coming in. It was Esther going out. “What in the world is going on?” the worried mother asked. “Adam came in so upset…. He went straight to the back room.”
“Daniel Redd stopped by,” Seth said, his voice slightly more relaxed than it had been before.
“Oh.” That one syllable said enough that Rain could tell she’d been right about the other man. “He’s… not nice.”
“I know.”
“I wish you weren’t friends with him.”
“I wish I wasn’t too, Mom. But he has no one else.”
“Well, there’s a reason for that, Seth. I’m going in to check on Rain. Maybe you should talk to her in a bit, see what her ideas are for them leaving. I’ve talked to the others. They want to be on their way. But I don’t want her moving until she’s well.”
“I’ll talk to her if I get a chance,” Seth said. “But Mom, she’s not going to talk me out of it, and neither are you.”
Esther let out a deep sigh. “We’ll see,” she said and then the door opened again, and two sets of footsteps walked down the hall. She imagined Esther was headed to the kitchen and would be in to see her in a minute, like she’d said. What was it that she was trying to talk Seth out of? Rain didn’t know, but she hoped he’d come in to talk to her for more reasons than she could quite put into coherent thought.
She hoped Adam would come in, too. She hated hearing him so angry, so… upset. He hadn’t ever told her that story before, though he’d eluded to it. The idea of anyone hurting him made her fists clench and her stomach tie into a knot. More than ever, she wanted to get out of that bed and fly to the Nation of Quebec so that Adam and Walt could be free forever.