Exit Kingdom

he offers them coffee, which Moses hasn’t had the delight of in a long time, and he loans them coats to wear as they cross the wide expanse of the snowy
courtyard again. And so he follows the man, and the Vestal, still skittish,follows Moses. And when they are inside the buildings of the compound it is almost possible to forget that the world ever
became the wilderness it did.
    *
    It is a community. A whole functional community, clean and calm behind guarded electrical fences and concrete walls. There are soldiers, yes, marching with neat precision, but
there are others, too. Civilians to be observedin the glowing windows of bunkhouses, even children. Technicians tinkering with machines, sitting in front of computer monitors. And scientists and
doctors walking busily to and fro in white lab coats.
    Moses wonders if this is the order he has been craving – if this is what order looks like. It has been so long. So long. He keeps a hand near a pistol on his belt in case of a trap. He
lookswarily around corners before he turns them so that he won’t be taken by surprise. The Vestal, too, seems to wither under the fluorescent lamps lining the ceilings of the compound. She
cowers against Moses’ chest.
    Strange, he thinks. The girl has been through so much. She has been beaten and lost and whored and imprisoned and broken and put back together – but she has never been simply safe.It must
taste sour to her. Unnatural.
    Yes, Moses thinks, that is what the girl must feel.
    They are led by the pastor to a research wing of the compound and introduced to men and women who are cordial and businesslike. They smile politely and disbelievingly when Moses tells them about
the Vestal. But then the Vestal does give a demonstration, three soldiers standing by ready to shootthe female slug in the head when she goes for the girl. But she doesn’t. The Vestal walks
right up to the slug and stands before her. In the bright lights of the lab, everyone watches as the two lock curious, pitying and befuddled eyes. A long string of drool falls from the lip of the
dead woman but she makes no move to wipe it away. Then Moses sees the Vestal’s lips move, as though she werespeaking to the slug – just briefly, a phrase. But he is standing behind
glass with the scientists and cannot hear what she says. Later he asks one of the soldiers who was in the room with the Vestal.
    What did she say? Moses asks. To the slug, I mean.
    The soldier shrugs, still stunned by the demonstration.
    She said it soft, the soldier says. I couldn’t really hear it. But it soundedlike, Where are you?
    After the demonstration, the scientists sit the Vestal down and proceed to ask her a series of questions, many of which have to do with the things she has eaten or the drugs she has taken or the
places she has been.
    While the interview is taking place, the Vestal keeps glancing over at Moses, who nods seriously. It is a reassuring nod, but also one that says sheis obliged to continue.
    After a while, Pastor Whitfield himself approaches the desk where the scientists are talking with the Vestal, and he suggests that they give the girl a break.
    She’s travelled a long way to be here, he says to the others. Let’s give her some supper and some time to herself. Can we resume at another time?
    The scientists agree and begin to discuss their notes amongthemselves. Whitfield takes Moses and the Vestal to a dining hall, where they eat hungrily. Around them, at other tables, are
civilians who do not even notice the newcomers. This place, it must host many travellers. Children run around the tables, screaming happily, their cries echoing from the raftered ceiling. It is
nice, this place, and yet Moses winces as though prickled by the soundsof joy.
    How do you enjoy our food, my dear? Whitfield asks the Vestal.
    It’s lovely, thank you, says the Vestal in her most formal and subservient voice.
    Then she excuses herself to the restroom.
    Pastor, Moses asks when she has gone. You’re a man of God.
    I am.
    A true man of God?
    The pastor smiles gently.
    I am a man of a true God, he says. We all endeavour to be truemen, but our successes on that front aren’t to be measured here in this place.
    Moses considers this and finds it a fair response.
    And this place, he says to the old man. It’s safe?
    As safe as any I’ve—
    For her, I mean.
    I see. You wish to be reassured that we will not hurt her. Because the girl has been hurt enough, yes? For someone who