The speaker stood on a sedan-sized boulder. He extended his arms out to the small gathering as if he were a conductor before an orchestra. Or more likely, a puppet master who pulled the strings of his followers. The gathered throng ate up every word. Some nodded as the preacher continued his spiel.
“It is God’s will to rain hellfire down on those who have afflicted you. When our divine decree is revealed from heaven,” the man raised his arms to the sky and shook his fists as if in fury, “we, His mighty angels, will bring vengeance to those who don’t know our Creator. And those who don’t obey the good news of our holy divinity? They will pay the ultimate penalty.” The preacher’s eyes narrowed into slits. His voice boomed. “Eternal destruction will come to anyone who refuses the face of the Lord. From the glory of His might, we will become his earthly warriors.”
“Amen.” The men shouted their approval. Some of them thrust their guns toward the heavens.
“My good brothers,” the preacher’s thin, rat-like face twisted into a sneer, “our beloved leader is gone. Slain by the hands of a heretical cow and her ungainly offspring. Are we to suffer these heathens to live?”
A raucous cry of “no” echoed up out of the glade as the men grew even more frenetic in their appeal to the heavens. Luke knew exactly who the preacher was referring to—Luke’s wife and kids.
“Remember, it is by the grace of our divine Creator that we have survived the fires of nuclear apocalypse.” The preacher jabbed a finger down at the men gathered about his boulder. “Do not seek to place yourselves before Him as our enemies have done. Down that path lies the destruction of your immortal soul. We are the chosen. We will claim this land and all its resources for His holy kingdom. His will be done.”
The men raised their arms into the air and shouted with glee. “His will be done.”
Luke had seen enough. As he carefully snuck away from the glade, he took note of the small cabin’s location. He had to tell the others about this. They were all in great danger.
3
Three days earlier …
Derek leaned against the rough stones of the cabin’s fireplace. He crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to Luke’s report on the cult meeting. Apparently, Luke had stumbled upon them by pure luck. Until now, they hadn’t known for sure if the cult had regrouped. It was clear they had and that they’d continue to be a threat.
“… so that’s what we’re dealing with now,” Luke finished.
“I’m sorry.” Liz pursed her lips and glanced at each person with a worried frown. “If I hadn’t killed their leader, they wouldn’t be out for revenge.”
“Please don’t apologize for killing a terrible man, dear.” Sandy patted her on the shoulder. “If I’d had that son of a bitch in my sights, I’d have pulled the trigger for sure.”
“For the love of God.” Edwin scowled at his wife of thirty years.
Sandy shrugged. “Well, I would.”
“I would, too.” Kyle slapped a fist into his palm. His eyes shimmered with the mischief of a thirteen-year-old. “I’d stick a grenade up each and every one of their—”
“That’s enough,” Liz snapped.
Kyle grumbled a bit before falling into sullen silence.
“As much as I hate to admit it, my son might be right.” Luke rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He stared at something far away. “The cult remains a constant threat to all of us. We’re going to have to do something about it. End this for good.”
Liz turned to her husband. Mild disdain furrowed her brow. “I can’t believe after all the violence visited upon this family, you want to go out and start another fight.”
“Yeah.” Sierra shifted her attention from her notebook to her father. “Live and let live, right? We don’t bother them, and maybe they won’t bother us.”
Derek held his tongue, though he wanted to berate the foolish teenager for her ignorance. Fortunately, Luke did it for him.
“After all you’ve been through, and all that nearly happened to you, I can’t believe you want to give these people the benefit of the doubt.”
Liz laid a restraining hand on his forearm. “We don’t know if the new preacher’s just trying to bring his people together, or if he’s actually trying to incite a mob to attack us again. Winter will be here soon. They’ll be too busy trying to survive. There’s a good chance they won’t mess with us.”
Derek couldn’t remain silent any longer. He pushed away from the wall and cleared his throat until he had everyone’s attention. “I agree with Luke. We need to deal with this. There are only so many resources on this mountain, and we’re in direct competition with the cult for them. If we let them overfish the water and overhunt the forest there’ll be nothing left for us. As far as I’m concerned, it’s kill or be killed at this point.”
Luke nodded. “We can’t expect peace from them. The Children of the Bomb will kill anyone in their way. They’ll consider it the fulfillment of their divine right. The only thing that’ll deter them is bloodshed. We have to strike them before they attack us.”
“Of course, the two military guys want to start a war.” Sierra rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you tired of fighting? You should be.”
“Yes, I’m tired of fighting.” Luke sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve been fighting since the bombs dropped. I can still hear the screams of the men I sent to Hell. But if I have to send a few more there to keep this family safe, then that’s what I’ll to do.”
“No,” Liz said.
Luke’s gaze snapped over to his wife. He opened his mouth to protest, but she ignored him.
“We can’t subject our family to more violence,” Liz said.
“What if the cult comes to our cabin? What should we do then?” Luke demanded.
“Then we fight.” Liz made a fist.
