Children of Eternity Omnibus Read online

  “Why?”

  “Otherwise they would become lax and our community would plunge into chaos.”

  Samantha stabbed at her food with her knife, but didn’t feel like eating anything. “I don’t know what’s wrong with being able to play games or tell jokes or sing songs,” she said.

  “Frivolity is how the devil convinces us to neglect our responsibilities.”

  “There’s nothing evil about playing, singing, or reading.”

  “Not by themselves, no. It is the purpose behind them that is evil.” Reverend Crane set down his knife and folded his fingers into a tent. “We face many difficulties in Eternity. We are few in number and beset by evil on all sides. If we let our guard down for a moment, it will mean our doom.”

  He stood up and came around the table to put a hand on her shoulder. “I sensed from the moment Mr. Pryde found you that you were different, Samantha. You’re stronger than the others, here.” He tapped her chest. “It is a tremendous gift from God if you find a way to properly harness it.”

  “How?”

  “Everyone here performs the task best suited to them. You need only to find the task best suited to you.”

  “I can’t do anything right,” she said. “Everything I’ve done today has gone wrong.”

  Reverend Crane rubbed his chin as he pondered something. “Miss Brigham told me she caught you reading today.”

  “Yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t know—”

  “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I believe with the proper guidance it could be the solution to your problems. Tomorrow, I will put you in Miss Brigham’s care during the afternoon. In time you will be able to conduct lessons so she can concentrate on other tasks. Agreed?”

  Samantha couldn’t believe what she heard. The reverend wanted her to become Miss Brigham’s assistant! That would make her more important than all the other children. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Helena’s face when she heard the news. “Yes, of course Reverend Crane! Oh, thank you so much.” She threw her arms around him, ignoring the pain. He patted her on the back and smiled, his whole face seeming to glow.

  “You’ll find a place yet here in Eternity,” he said. “Now, finish your meal. I don’t want you going to bed hungry.”

  Samantha took a bite of her meat and then stopped. “But, what about my family? There must be someone out there looking to find me.”

  “We’ll find them. I guarantee it.” From his smile, she knew he meant it.

  Chapter 9: Exile

  Samantha left Reverend Crane’s house skipping until a voice echoing Prudence’s warned her she shouldn’t. She settled instead for walking briskly, the rocky path now as soft as clouds beneath her feet. She still couldn’t believe what had happened in the reverend’s kitchen. When she pinched her arm, she winced and then smiled at the realization this was no dream.

  The sun was beginning to set when she returned to Eternity. As she approached the dormitory, she heard a growl behind her. Then came another one to her left, followed by one to her right. She saw Pryde’s dogs all around, closing in on her. Samantha raised her arms, closed her eyes, and shivered from head to toe. “Mr. Pryde?” she called. “Are you there?”

  “What’re you doing out here?” he rasped.

  “I was visiting the reverend.”

  “Don’t let me catch you out here after curfew again.”

  “You won’t. I promise.” The growling stopped and Samantha opened her eyes to see the dogs had gone. She waited a moment to collect herself and then dashed into the girl’s dormitory.

  Inside, she found the girls kneeling beside their beds, whispering a prayer. She squatted down next to the doorway, mumbling a prayer of thanks for the gifts Reverend Crane had given her. When Miss Brigham looked in her direction, Samantha held up her arms. By now the angry red streaks had faded to a pink blush; the reverend’s potion had cured her.

  “Amen,” said the girls in unison.

  “Goodnight children. I shall see you in the morning,” Miss Brigham said. She went to the doorway, inspecting Samantha’s arms up close. “Your wounds look much better now.”

  “They feel better too,” Samantha said.

  “That’s wonderful, dear. In the morning we’ll discuss your new assignment.”

  “You know?”

  “Of course, dear. The reverend discussed it with me this afternoon. I think it’s a wonderful idea to make the best use of your talents.”

  “Thank you, Miss Brigham. I won’t let you down.”

  To Samantha’s surprise, Miss Brigham gave her a hug. “I’m certain you won’t. Now, off to bed with you. We have much to do tomorrow.”

  Samantha nodded and bounced away, rushing over to Prudence. “Did you hear?” she asked.

  “Hear what?”

  “The reverend wants me to be Miss Brigham’s assistant. And he promised to find my family. Isn’t it great?”

  Prudence nodded, but didn’t smile. “It is good news.”

  Samantha knelt down in front of her friend’s bed. “Aren’t you happy for me?”

  “I am happy for you. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up. There are some things not even the reverend can do.”

  “If he does find them, you can come with me.”

  “Leave Eternity? I don’t know—”

  “Why not? Don’t you want to see what’s beyond the island? It’ll be fun. And I’m sure whomever my family is, they’ll be more than happy to have you around. If I like you and they’re my family they should like you too, right?”

  She heard someone shush her and saw Helena sitting up in bed with her arms crossed. “Be quiet, you stupid savage.”

  “I’m not a savage!”

  “Yes you are. You’re a stupid smelly savage,” Helena said.

  “If I am, then how come the reverend made me assistant to Miss Brigham, huh? I’m going to help her teach class from now on.” Helena’s face turned red at this announcement.

  “You’re a liar. The reverend wouldn’t make you Miss Brigham’s assistant,” she said.

  “I was at his house and he told me himself. So there.” Samantha stuck out her tongue and turned her back on Helena. During the exchange Prudence had pulled her blanket over her head, pretending to sleep. “Where’s my bed?”

  Before Prudence could answer, Helena pointed to the corner near the door. “You sleep over there. That’s where bedwetting babies sleep.”

  “I’m not a bedwetter! I had an accident.”

  Helena and the other girls laughed at this.

  Samantha looked down at Prudence, who continued to feign sleep. “Fine. I don’t want to sleep near you anyway.” She turned on her heel and marched down the row of beds to find an empty one pushed against the very corner. The toddlers slept all around her, sucking their thumbs as they dreamed. Samantha changed into her nightgown and collapsed onto the bed, pulling the blanket over her head so no one could see the pain on her face.

  Chapter 10: Nightmares

  Darkness presses all around her. She can’t see anything. The smell of something wet and decaying fills her head, a wave of nausea rising from within her. She tries to escape, but her arms and legs won’t move. She’s trapped in this dark place with no way out. She tries to scream, but nothing comes out. Someone help me, she thinks. Get me out of here!

  Then she hears a voice that sounds distant, as though she’s hearing it from the bottom of a well. “What do we do with her?” the voice asks.

  “Toss her into the sea. By the time she washes up we will have long since departed.”

  She struggles against the bonds holding her, whipping her body around like a caged animal as she tries to escape. “She’s awake,” the first voice says.

  “No matter. She can’t escape from there. Put her on board and let us be gone from here.”

  “We can’t do this,” a third voice says. “We can’t kill her. It’s not right.”

  “It is necessary. Sacrifices must be made. I thought I had made that abundantly clear to
you already.”

  “Take her with us. Make her one of us.”

  “I will not have one of her kind living with us. She’s far too dangerous. She could destroy us.”

  “But think how useful one such as her can be.”

  She stops struggling then, awaiting the judgment against her. “Yes, she could be an asset, if controlled. Very well, she will come with us.” There’s a pause and then she finds herself suspended in midair. A moment later she’s flying, only to slam into something solid. Colored stars pulse and explode before her eyes as her world spins out of control. “You had better be right about her,” the second voice says.

  “Stop it! Leave me alone!” Samantha cried out. She sat up to find herself still in the girl’s dormitory. Around her the other girls continued sleeping. Rebecca sucked her thumb and kicked at her blanket on the pallet next to Samantha.

  A familiar odor came to Samantha’s nostrils. Samantha thought Rebecca had wet the bed until she felt a wet spot beneath her. Samantha’s underwear and the back of her nightgown were soaked through. Not again, she thought. She got out of bed and went to the door to escape before the others woke up and made fun of her again. Before she could open the door a crack, she heard the growl of one of Pryde’s dogs. She remembered what he’d said earlier and closed the door.

  She crept down the row of beds to the back of the dormitory, searching for a clean nightgown and underpants to get through the rest of the night. She couldn’t find any cabinets with spare clothing. Where did they get clean clothes?

  In desperation, Samantha crawled over to Prudence’s bedside. Prudence snored louder than Pryde’s dogs, the sound rising from deep within her flabby stomach and roaring out her nostrils. When Samantha shook her, Prudence growled like a wounded bear. “Prudence, wake up. You have to help me.”

  “What?”

  “I need some clothes.”

  “I’ll make you some tomorrow.”

  “No, please, I need some right now,” Samantha pleaded, but Prudence had already gone back to sleep. She didn’t stir when Samantha tried to wake her again.

  Samantha felt her way along in the dark to the room where she’d first woke up. The bed was still there, a fresh sheet covering the one she’d soiled. Samantha stripped and crawled naked into the bed, pulling the covers over her. As much as she tried, she couldn’t sleep.

  She shivered beneath the covers as she thought of the nightmare. Could the dream be true? Had someone abducted her from her home? In which case, how did she wind up in Eternity? Minutes became hours, the darkness fading to gray and then orange as the sun rose with her still pondering the dream and dreading the moment when the others found her.

  At the sound of the other girls stirring in the dormitory, Samantha pulled the covers over her head and curled into a ball. “Samantha? Where are you?” Prudence called out.

  “She probably ran away and got eaten by Mr. Pryde’s dogs,” Helena said with a touch of joy in her voice. Some of the younger children squealed at this.

  “She’s in here!” one of the other girls shouted.

  She heard them gathering around the bed. “She smells like pee again,” Helena said.

  “And she’s naked!” another girl said.

  At this everyone backed away from the bed. “I told you, she’s a savage. A smelly savage,” Helena said. The other girls took up the cry of, “Smelly savage!”

  Samantha curled more tightly into a ball, tears coming to her eyes. The children continued the chant, some laughing and poking her as well. Beneath the covers, Samantha’s tears dried up, her sorrow replaced by a hatred that turned her body white-hot as if made of fire.

  She threw back the blankets and leapt from the bed, towards an unsuspecting Helena. Samantha’s body spun in midair, her left leg whipping around to strike Helena in the jaw. Helena stumbled backwards, putting her hands up to protect herself as Samantha lashed out with her right leg. This time she hit Helena in the back of the knees, sending her crashing to the floor. Helena lay in a sobbing heap, grabbing her left knee in both hands.

  Samantha turned to face the other children, who’d pressed themselves back against the wall. The toddlers buried themselves in the skirts of the older girls, who stared at Samantha with wide, frightened eyes. Samantha stood in the center of the room, her body quivering with unspent rage. When someone touched her shoulder, she grabbed the offending hand and twisted it around until she heard a snap.

  “Samantha, what are you doing?” Prudence wailed, clutching her injured hand.

  A rush of cold air seemed to wash over Samantha at the sight of her injured friend. She saw the frightened line of girls against the wall, who cringed as one when they met her eyes. At her feet, blood dripped from Helena’s nose down to her chin. What have I done? Samantha thought.

  Outside she heard Pryde’s dogs howling and clawing at the walls. One leapt high enough that its angry black snout appeared in the window. The dog’s claws caught on the windowsill for a moment before it slipped and fell back to the ground. The other girls screamed, kneeling down to form a protective circle on the floor. Amidst all this confusion, Samantha fainted, reentering the darkness of her dream.

  Chapter 11: By the Sea

  When Samantha awoke, she felt something wet on her forehead. She reached up and pulled away a damp rag someone had placed there. “You’re awake. I thought you might sleep all day,” Miss Brigham said.

  Samantha sat up and found herself in a cottage like Prudence’s, but instead of a loom there was only a desk on which sat a Bible three times larger than the one Prudence had shown her in the meadow. “Where am I?” she asked.

  “You’re in my house. I thought it best after what happened.” Samantha thought back to what had happened. The other kids laughing at her. A hatred building inside her until she felt ready to explode. Kicking Helena twice until she fell down. Breaking Prudence’s hand. Prudence, who was only trying to help.

  Samantha tried to sit up, but Miss Brigham pressed her back down. “You shouldn’t get out of bed yet, dear,” Miss Brigham said. Miss Brigham went over to the desk and returned with a sandwich and glass of water.

  “I’m not hungry,” Samantha said.

  “Nonsense. You need your strength.”

  “That doesn’t seem to be a problem,” Samantha said. Nevertheless, Samantha took a bite of the sandwich to appease Miss Brigham. “Is everyone all right?”

  “The reverend is taking care of them. They’ll mend nicely,” Miss Brigham said. Samantha sighed with relief. She couldn’t bear the thought of hurting someone, even Helena. Samantha thought back to the scene in the bedroom and the rage she’d felt. How could she have done something so terrible?

  “I’m so sorry,” Samantha said. “I don’t know what happened to me. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” Her eyes watered, but she bit down on her trembling lip to keep from crying.

  “I know you didn’t, dear. But you must learn to control your temper if you want to remain here.”

  “I’ll try harder,” Samantha said. “I don’t want to let you and Reverend Crane down. Is he mad at me?”

  “No, dear, of course not. The reverend is disappointed. As am I. We had hoped giving you responsibility would help you find your place, but perhaps you aren’t ready yet.”

  “I’m ready. I promise, I won’t lose my temper again. I’ll behave from now. Give me another chance, please.” Samantha bolted upright until Miss Brigham put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, dear, you’ll still be my assistant as the reverend promised. For now at least.”

  Samantha threw her arms around Miss Brigham. “Oh, thank you! I’m going to make you proud of me.”

  “I don’t doubt it, dear,” Miss Brigham said with a laugh. “Finish your lunch and then we’ll see if you’re up for a walk.”

  Samantha did as instructed, tearing into the food with ravenous bites. She gulped down the rest of the water and then bounded to her feet. “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “
Oh my, you are fit enough. Very well, come with me,” Miss Brigham said. She took Samantha on a tour of the cottages around town where the other girls prepared dinner, cleaned the dishes, and folded the laundry. Samantha felt a pang of guilt that the others worked so hard while she did nothing. “Everyone in Eternity has his or her purpose,” Miss Brigham said. “In order for our community to thrive, we must all work together for the common good.”

  “What’s my purpose?” Samantha asked.

  “For now your purpose is to learn as much as you can from me. In time you’ll help me manage the other children to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.”

  “Why me? Prudence or one of the others must know better.”

  They stopped at the window to Prudence’s cottage, where Prudence worked at the loom, her hand good as new. “Your friend is a hard worker and has a good heart, but she’s not strong like you, Samantha. She’s not strong inside.”

  “Me? I’m not strong inside.”

  “You’re much stronger than you think, my dear,” Miss Brigham said. They started down the forest path towards the meadow. “The moment I met you, I knew there was something special about you. You are meant for great things.”

  “What kind of great things?”

  “I’m not sure yet, dear. There’s no hurry to find out. You’re still young.” Miss Brigham smiled and patted Samantha on the head like a small child.

  They took the path out to the meadow and then down the hill to the tool shed. A group of the youngest boys doled out water to the older ones as they returned from the fields. In the fields, boys Samantha’s age went without shirts for the painstaking task of weeding each row of wheat and checking for bugs. Miss Brigham and Samantha stopped in the barns, where those not old enough for the fields fed the chickens, milked the cows, and slopped the pigs. The smell of manure overpowered Samantha to the point where she had to hold her apron over her nose. She didn’t know how the boys could stand it.

  “We have to be careful with the livestock,” Miss Brigham said. “Their milk, eggs, and meat have to be carefully rationed to last us for the entire year.” They went outside into a pasture, where a flock of sheep grazed. “Before winter we shear the sheep so Prudence can turn their wool into new clothes.”