Karen Duvall, Author | Desert Guardian

Desert Guardian continued . . . Page 2 of 3

Her eyes softened, no longer frightened, and she slowly closed her lids to show him she’d calmed down. He braced himself and lifted his hand from her mouth.
Kelly pushed herself up to a sitting position, tugging the thin blanket up to her chin. The short sleeves of a faded blue t-shirt covered her shoulders. So much for being naked.

Fear had melted from her expression like ice in an oven, her eyes squinting in defiance. Sam hadn’t expected Frank’s daughter to be beautiful, especially since her buck-toothed, gray-haired old man was no prize. Her chestnut hair cascaded in thick waves to her shoulders, her tanned face emphasizing the whites of her eyes. The irises were vibrant blue and seemed to glow with annoyance as she continued to stare without blinking.

She licked her full lips with the tip of her tongue, and in a voice still froggy from sleep, she said, “Thanks for going to all this trouble, mister...”

“Reed. Sam Reed. But I’m better known as The Arrow around here.”
She snorted, unimpressed. “Thanks anyway, Mr. Arrow, or whatever your name is, but I don’t need your help. I know what I’m doing.”

Sure she did. “Mind if I ask what that is?”

“Yeah, I mind. It’s none of your business.” She peered at the empty bunk and sighed. “Besides, Jake’s not here. He’s away on some kind of recruiting mission, but he’ll be back tomorrow. And I’m not going anywhere without my brother.”

Ah. He was on a recruiting mission. How convenient. “Are you sure he’s where they say he is?”

She looked puzzled. “Why would they lie?”

“To keep you here. They’ve probably already started your conditioning.” Though she seemed fine, not frightened at all, and not nervous or edgy as he’d expect from someone the cult had gotten their hooks into. And physically, she appeared unmarked. She looked fit and healthy, and not too hard on the eyes, either. “How long have you been waiting for him?”

“I arrived day before yesterday. And by the way, no one’s conditioned me for anything.” She rolled her eyes, then cocked her head to one side. “What’s up with the arrow bit?”

Sam gave her only half a smile. “I’m known for arrowing in on my target and getting a bull’s eye every time.” Almost every time, he chided himself. He’d failed one time too many. And that one time would haunt him till the day he died.

“What kind of target do you arrow in on?” she asked, her words coated with sarcasm.

“I’m a cult intervention specialist. I rescue victims of mind control, people who can no longer think for themselves. After they’re rescued, I counsel them back to health.”

“Give me an example.”

“You want my resume?”

She shrugged. “The Reader’s Digest condensed version will do.”

Though pressed for time, he could afford a few minutes to enhance his credibility. She wouldn’t cooperate if she didn’t trust him. He scratched his jaw, trying to recall an example that might come close to the Star Mother cult’s profile. “Okay. One example. Have you ever heard of the Children of God?”
She shook her head.

“River Phoenix was a member before he died. It’s a cult that’s now referred to as The Family of Love, or just The Family. They preach on the dangers of a de-Christianized society. Like Star Mother, their members are required to cut all family ties.”

Kelly tilted her head down and peered up at him through thick, dark lashes. “But Star Mother is happy to have me here.”

“I’m not finished,” he said. “The Family’s leader encourages female members to practice what he calls ‘flirty fishing,’ which means attracting men to conversion with the promise of sex. The media call these women ‘Hookers for Jesus.’”

“That’s sick.”

“I agree.” He crossed his arms and pinned her with a serious stare. “I helped one of their members escape a life of prostitution last year. As for Star Mother being happy you’re here, it’s because they want something from you.”
“They want me to be a hooker?”

“Maybe.” He remembered back to the time when a pretty teenage girl he knew had been used by Star Mother to help convince a new convert to give a charitable donation. Tax deductible, of course.

Kelly laughed, revealing deep dimples in both cheeks.
He failed to see the humor. “There’s nothing funny about innocent people getting robbed and lied to.”

She shook her head. “I meant no disrespect. What’s funny is that you’re here to save me when I don’t need saving. I have everything under control so go back and tell my father...”

The humor disappeared from her face and she stared solemnly at the floor.
“Tell your father what?”

She looked up, stabbing him with a glare of pure malice, though he doubted it was meant for him. She hadn’t known him long enough. “Tell him he’s too late.”

“Too late?”

“He had his chance to fix things with Jake, but he chose not to. He kicked his son out, disowned him. Disowned me, too, whether he meant to or not. I’ll never forgive him for giving Jake no choice but to find himself a new family, and because of me...” She broke off and swallowed, her eyes shining in the dim light of the tiny trailer room. “It’s my fault he’s here. I have to get him out.”

“How is it your fault?” Sam recognized the anguish pulling at the corners of her mouth, the shadows beneath her eyes and worry lines etching her forehead. He knew guilt when he saw it. He stared it in the face every time he looked in a mirror.

She shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it. Just go away.”

Forcing himself to ignore the sadness in her eyes, he stood and snatched an apple from a bowl of fruit on the counter. “Did you eat any of this?”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t. It’s probably laced with acid. Hallucinogens help them turn you to their way of thinking.”

“Boy, are you paranoid.” She crossed her arms but didn’t move from the narrow bunk, the blanket still covering her from the waist down. “I’m not brainwashed, and I have no intention of joining Star Mother, ever. I’m only here to talk my brother out of killing himself.”

This brought Sam up short. “He wants to kill himself?”

She nodded. “I’m not surprised my father left out that little detail. Jake sent me a goodbye note that to anyone else would sound like an innocent farewell letter, as if he’s going away on a trip. But I know better. All that nonsense about a spaceship was a sure giveaway.”

Sam’s blood rushed to his toes. Damn Star Mother, they’re really going to do it. His mother used to talk about it all the time, praising the day that Star Mother’s followers had waited for all their lives. Anston’s comet was closing in on Earth and the cluster of asteroids would soon become visible as it skimmed the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. The cult expected to catch a lift on the starship that rode the comet’s tail. Destination: Atria, Star Mother’s supposed home planet.

continued . . .