Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

each filling their own basket with ripe tomatoes. Desmond approached them from behind, then leaned to a squat and whispered. “These people are freaks. We need to get out of here, like yesterday.”
    Will set a tomato at the bottom of the basket, then looked up at Desmond. “You got somewhere better for us to go?”
    Desmond wore the same defeated look he always got when Will made his usual single sentence argument. He stood, deciding to say nothing about John’s overwhelming creepiness, or the two monsters they left lying in the cave. Desmond pivoted his gaze across the courtyard, along the short row of three houses, then over to the communication tower, and hangar, before looking over everything a second time and kneeling back down.  
    “So what happened with the kids?”
    Will and Mary took turns telling Desmond what happened. Will’s story focused on Rei, Mary’s on Sarah.  
    “Where’s Carl at now?” Desmond said.
    Will pointed to a set of double doors leading to a basement beneath the third house. “Looks like that’s where they keep the sinners,” he said.
    Desmond shook his head, then threw a rock from the garden toward the dust of the courtyard. “It’s bad enough we ended up shacking at the bullshit factory, but it’s a crying shame we have to pick their tomatoes, too.”  
    Mary looked hurt, Will didn’t even look up. A door slammed in the distance, instantly attracting Desmond’s eyes away from his friends to the possible threats approaching from behind.  
    John and Rei were a few feet away and smiling. John held his smile as Rei opened his mouth. “Brother Desmond, Brother Will, we thought it would be a good idea if you came and witnessed the hearing.”
    Desmond didn’t say anything since fuck you probably wouldn't have done much good, and might have put Will and Mary, and maybe the rest of their crew, in danger. Desmond didn’t care about himself, but he wasn’t willing to put anyone he cared about in jeopardy, at least not intentionally.  
    John stepped into Desmond’s silence. “If you’re going to be a part of The Sanctuary, you must know how our justice system works and see it in action.”
    I have a pretty good idea, Desmond thought, but said, “What makes you think I’m gonna like what I see?”
    “Nothing,” John shook his head. “I don’t think you’ll like it at all, actually. Which is exactly why you need to see it. If you want to live here, you must understand our law.”
    He didn’t wait for Desmond to answer, simply cut through the courtyard a few steps behind Rei, expecting that Desmond, and whoever decided to join him, would follow.

    ***
     
    Every stair creaked on the way down to the otherwise silent basement. The right side of the room looked like a carpenter’s workstation with hunks of painted wood, finishing tools, and an abandoned construction project, which filled the space with the scent of pine. The left side reminded Desmond of a dungeon.  
    Carl was on the left side, strapped to the wall like a medieval torture victim. Will and Desmond paused in the doorway, as though their bodies refused to push them further inside. John and Rei entered in perfect step, stopping just three feet from Carl’s tortured face.  
    The boy was silent, though his eyes said plenty. A bead of sweat fled his forehead and spilled to the cement to punctuate his terror.  
    John took a step back and crossed his arms, watching. Rei took a step forward and started to pace, waving his hands in the air. “You know how God feels about liars, right?”  
    The way the kid flinched a second early, Desmond figured Rei’s act was a routine. Brother Rei’s palm met the side of the child’s face, sending Carl’s head reeling to the side. Carl righted his head and looked back at Rei. Rei smiled and tucked Carl’s damp hair behind his ear with a smile.  
    He turned his back to Carl and started to pace. “I’m going to ask you to tell me what happened again.” He turned back to Carl. “And this time, I pray you have the sense to tell me the Good Lord’s truth. Now, Carl, what happened between you and the girl?”
    “Nothing, like I said. I asked her if she would have a picnic with me. She said yes, and we went near the river by her old house. That’s it.”
    “Yet, you knew this was forbidden at The Sanctuary, did you not?”
    At first Carl said nothing, but then he started nodding his head. “Yes, yes I did, sir. I’m sorry, really I am. I just wanted a moment