Messiahs by Matt Rogers (bookstand for reading txt) 📕

After enough sessions, they’d do whatever she wanted.

She was a drug.

Mother Libertas was an addiction.

And he couldn’t deny it felt good.

She kept talking in her own soothing way, relaxing him, coaxing him into a state of ecstasy. When she finally told him to open his eyes, the world flooded in. Colours were brighter for a beat. It took his eyes a moment to adjust.

He sat bolt upright in the armchair and decided to shiver for dramatic effect.

She said, ‘Do you see what Mother Earth has to offer?’

He nodded, then drew on the cigar one final time and tamped it out in the ashtray on the table.

She said, ‘You’re going to do fantastic things for us, Jason. Your limitations are perceptions. Together we’re going to liberate the world.’

He said, ‘I can’t fucking wait.’

‘Tomorrow,’ she said, raising her hands in admittance of the late hour. ‘We’ll speak tomorrow. Thank you for your time. Elias is out front, and he’ll show you to your room.’

‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I mean it.’

She lowered her voice like she didn’t want her husband to hear. ‘I’m excited to get to know you better.’

She put a look on her face like she wanted to tear his clothes off right there.

He knew it was just her way of gaining his devotion, but the primal part of his brain believed it all the same.

He nodded to her, got up, and walked out.

Before he reached the front door, he took stock of his own mood. He was buzzed from the cigar, relaxed from the guided meditation, and had to admit her words were soothing. He was more in touch with his body, aware of every muscle, his movements smooth.

Vivid memories flashed in his mind. First, a naked woman suspended from a meat hook. Then a kid ripping the skin off his hand so he could get out of his restraints and commit suicide.

He met Elias on the front porch and the blond man led him wordlessly down to the commune.

49

Slater lay on the bottom bunk in a room that was barely larger than a supply closet.

The walls were damp in places, the floorboards chipped and faded, and the bunk frame creaked every time he shifted his weight.

He calmed himself. We’re in. Not long to go.

All they had to do was assess the routines, find an opening, and execute the Riordans.

Deep down he knew it wouldn’t be as simple as that. There had to be over a hundred people living here, religiously devoted to Maeve and Dane, and they wouldn’t take an upheaval of their life lightly. There’s a time and place for all-out war, and with this many potentially innocent lives in the mix, that time wasn’t the present.

The door opened and Slater tensed up in anticipation of an attack.

King stepped in. He was calm as ice.

Slater said, ‘How’d it go?’

King mouthed, ‘Bugged,’ and swept a hand around the room.

Slater nodded knowingly.

King said, ‘That was some crazy shit. They’re onto something.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Maeve told me about what they’re doing here. Showed me a few of the practices. I … can’t even explain it. It was fucking wild. You’re going to love it.’

‘You reek of smoke.’

‘We had Cubans.’

Slater grumbled like he was discontent at being left out.

King said, ‘Start showing more appreciation and she might want to involve you.’

‘We hardly know a thing about this place.’

‘Now I know more than you do,’ King said. ‘Because I’m pleasant to be around. You should try it.’

Slater said, ‘I’ll give it a crack tomorrow.’

Their fake conversation completed for the benefit of any microphones that might be listening, King turned out the light and vaulted into the top bunk.

They lay there in silence, wanting to say so many things but not being able to.

It made the atmosphere crackle, and as a consequence it took them an eternity to fall asleep.

50

Alexis woke at dawn.

She listened, waiting to hear Violetta stir, but heard nothing. Eventually she peeled herself off the thin mattress and stood up, at eye level with Violetta’s bunk.

Violetta opened her eyes and swept blond hair off her face. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey,’ Alexis said. ‘I’m taking a walk.’

Violetta opened her mouth to ask a question, then remembered the room was probably bugged and clamped it shut. She nodded quietly, and mouthed, ‘Careful.’

Alexis nodded back.

She stepped outside into the cool morning air. A fine layer of mist swept slowly away from the commune as the sun rose over the prairie. It was a scene straight from the Wild West. The community was already alive with people, most of them trending younger — mid-twenties or early thirties. Everyone had a place to be, something to do. The disciples operated as a well-oiled machine, an amalgamation of parts tasked with some divine manual labour job to keep Mother Libertas running smoothly. Supplies were carried between buildings, clothes were washed and hung up to dry, loose dirt was swept off pathways. Each of the followers moved with purpose, like their every movement mattered, which they probably thought it did.

With this level of coordination and synergy, Mother Libertas would never stop growing.

Alexis turned in a half-circle and saw Slater across the commune.

She froze.

He noticed her at the same time, and their eyes met with sharp understanding.

She didn’t outwardly react, but relief flooded her.

They made it. They’re here.

She realised she could go talk to him without ruining their cover. She’d been the one to recommend them to Dane, after all, and she’d told him she’d met King and Slater at a bar, so it made sense that they’d be familiar with each other.

She started for him.

Addison stepped into her path.

The young woman had materialised out of nowhere, as if she’d been waiting for an opportunity to catch Alexis alone. Her face was still shy, and Alexis could tell it made her uncomfortable to approach a stranger.

‘Hi,’ she said softly.

Alexis stopped in her tracks, because to do otherwise would have seemed suspicious to anyone watching. She took her eyes off Slater and trained them on Addison. ‘Hi. Nice to