Botanicaust

Blattvolk! ” another man cried, and his dog barked.
    “ Platz! ”
    Eily keened Ana ’ s name over and over. Torn between comforting the child, wanting to check on Levi, coming face to face with her forgotten papa, and worrying about her future, Tula shook with unsteady legs. She collapsed again next to Eily.
    The man in charge raised a hand. “ We will pray. Show them to the old milk house north of the orchard. ” His stare bored into Tula. “ If you try anything, we will loose the dogs, and no command you give will stop Gotte ’ s Wille. ”
    Barely able to focus, Tula asked, “ What about Ana? The little girl they captured? ” She pointed outside the fence. “ Please, we can ’ t leave her to the cannibals. ”
    “ Ananananana, ” Eily held herself in a tight fetal position.
    “ I know, baby. I know. ” She stroked the girl ’ s arm.
    “ We cannot expose the entire village to attack a second time. ”
    Tula ’ s throat tightened as she recognized the truth. She stared through the linked fence into the seductively calm amarantox. The unconscious cannibal remained where he had fallen, the only sign a struggle had occurred. “ What about him? ”
    The man rolled a shoulder. “ We ’ ll keep the dogs here. Never seen a cannibal hit the fence a second time. ”
    “ And Levi? ”
    “ His family will care for him. ”
    Papa clasped her shoulder. “ Brother John, Katie ’ s coming home with me. ”
    “ Peter, let the congregation — ”
    “ Come on, Katie. ” He slid a hand under her arm to help her to her feet.
    “ We have to bring Eily. ” She tried to lift the child at the same time Papa pulled at her.
    “ She can go to the milk house. ”
    “ I can ’ t leave her alone. She just watched her sister get taken by cannibals. ”
    “ She ’ s a Blattvolk, sweetheart. ”
    Tula stiffened. She pulled herself from Papa ’ s grasp. His weathered hand contrasted with the green skin on her arm. Or was it that her skin contrasted his? She looked into his blue eyes. He was a ghost of memory — only a tiny part of who she had become. The corners of her mouth twisted into a frown so deep her throat hurt. “ Papa. I ’ m a Blattvolk now. ”
    Papa scowled. “ That ’ s different. ”
    “ How? ” Tula shook her head. “ You can ’ t condemn her without condemning me. ”
    “ I ’ m not condemning her. I just want to take my daughter home. ”
    “ Peter, ” Brother John interrupted. “ You can ’ t take her into your home. You live in the gatehouse. We can ’ t allow her near the fence controls. ”
    Tula didn ’ t look at Papa. She wasn ’ t his little girl any more. She couldn ’ t regret her conversion. “ I ’ ll go to the milk house. With Eily. ” As she rose, she pulled Eily to her feet by pure strength and added, “ Please pray for us. ”
    Their god was no longer hers. She barely remembered anything but singsong prayers. But she remembered forgiveness. These men should forgive her. Forgive Eily. And if it meant feigning belief to keep the girl safe, Tula would do it to the end of her days.
    Their god labels you an abomination .
    The stares of the men confirmed it. She dropped her chin to regard the dusty earth below her feet.
    Sighing, Brother John removed his hat and wiped his brow before planting the brim back on his head. “ I ’ ll call the Brethren to order. ”
    The men with dogs maintained a wide circle around them as they crossed a field and passed between the crooked limbs of heavily laden fruit trees. A few rosy orbs lay scattered along the ground among partially filled baskets. Work had obviously stopped suddenly when the alarm sounded. The air in the orchard smelled sweet. Apples . Tula closed her eyes and inhaled deep with the memory.
    They reached a weathered brick building slightly bigger than Tula ’ s bedroom back in the Protectorate. The slatted wooden door creaked, looking about to fall apart as a man opened it. He stood aside and pointed, his gaze above her head to avoid her nakedness. Swallowing, Tula continued inside with Eily. The door clapped shut, sealing her and Eily in darkness. With no windows, the building felt like a tomb.
    She allowed Eily to sag to the dirt floor and then joined her, pulling the child half way onto her lap. She rocked her for a while, humming Jesus Loves Me as two thumb sized spots of sunlight drifted across the floor through chinks in the ceiling. Her plans to convert Levi ’ s people flitted through her mind,