"Come on, Alan. Where will you go tonight? Sleep in the woods somewhere? It's late."

I looked around, weighing my options, not sure that I had any. I still wasn't sure what El was capable of and I was definitely outnumbered. If I needed to escape, it would be better at night. "All right," I said.

El tapped his gla.s.s with his fork and the blue-haired man appeared. "DarEl, please show Mr. Alan to a suitable pod. Show him the restroom facilities as well."

"Yes, Master."

"Thank you for dinner," I said to the young man.

"It was my pleasure," El replied. "A most enjoyable conversation."DarEl showed me to the bathroom, which was unis.e.x with no stalls and no locking door, then he took me to a "pod," as they called it, a small bunkroom with six beds, just off the main room where we had dined. I claimed a bottom bunk and slid my pack under the bed. I didn't sleep. Even though El hadn't threatened me, I still felt like a prisoner. The entire experience was surreal. I wondered if this was how all of El's followers had begun. Had they initially been as skeptical as I was? Frankly, I was terrified. I knew that I had to get out of there.

Five others came into the room during the night and fell asleep. I just lay there quietly, waiting for something to happen. I wasn't disappointed.

CHAPTER Thirty-one

The shackles of belief, when reinforced by fear, are difficult to break free from and rarely done.

Alan Christoffersen's diary

The sound I heard was a strained, painful whimpering, like the m.u.f.fled cry of a wounded animal. I checked my watch. It was three thirty-six in the morning. No one in the pod stirred. I reached into my pack and felt for my gun. I didn't take it out, I was just rea.s.suring myself of its presence. Then I got out of bed and crept to the door and looked out.

It was dark in the main room, illuminated only by the moonlight through the windows. In the far corner, near the audio tables, a woman was kneeling on the ground. Her hands were clasped around the back of her neck and her forehead was pressed to the rug. I looked around to make sure we were alone, then stole out, crossing the room. I knelt down next to her.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

She jumped, startled by my voice, but, like the woman tied to the tree, didn't answer.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

She hesitated again, then, with her face still to the ground, whispered, "I'm being punished."

"Why?"

"I shouldn't be talking to you."

"It's okay."

For a moment she lay there, struggling with what to do. Then she looked up at me. She was young, probably not even twenty. She had short, sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes, large with fear. "Who are you?"

"You can trust me," I said.

She swallowed. "I asked to see my sister. I shouldn't have asked. So I'm being punished."

"Why can't you see your sister?"

"She's not a believer. It's for my own good."

"No it's not," I said. I put my hand on her back and she flinched. I looked to where her blouse was raised over her waist. There were red welts. "They did this to you?"

"I deserved my punishment."

"You need to get out of here," I said.

"I can't," she said. "Master El said I can't leave."

"I'll get you out of here."

She hesitated for a moment, then looked into my eyes. "You will?"

"Yes. But we have to leave now."

"The gate is guarded."

"We'll get out," I said. "Come on."

We silently crept back to my room. I took the gun out of my pack, checked the safety, then shoved a magazine into it and put it in my trousers. Then I put on my pack. The young woman sat on the floor next to me, shaking with fear.

"What's your name?" I whispered.

"EmEl."

"What's your real name?"

"My real name?"

"Your earth name," I said.

She hesitated and I wasn't sure if she'd forgotten it or was afraid to say it. "Emily," she said slowly, breathing out. "It's been a while since I've said that name."

"I'm Alan. Just do what I say and stay close to me."

We crouched down next to the door until I was sure no one was awake, then we crossed the main room to the entrance I'd come in through. I turned to Emily. "Is there an alarm?"

"I don't know."

"Be ready to run." I unbolted the door, then slowly opened it. Nothing. We quickly slipped out and I shut the door behind us. About five yards from the door we must have tripped a motion detector as several floodlights turned on.

"Hurry," I said, taking her hand. The gate was closed and we ran to the guard booth. A man was standing inside reading the red book. There was a red b.u.t.ton on the wall next to him.

"Open the gate," I said.

My voice startled him. "What are you-"

"Open the gate," I repeated.