She called her mother to apologize and assure her she was alright. Once she got her mother on the line, she had to hold the phone two feet away from her ear, her mother screamed so loud. ''Where are you? What has that wicked man done with you? Where are you?''
Hoping that a soft voice would encourage a soft response, Sonya kept her voice low, ''We're on a farm just outside of Yuma, Arizona!'' It didn't work, ''Yuma, Arizona? Where the hell is that? On a FARM, you say? How long are you going to be there?''
Moving the phone back close, Sonya almost whispered, ''I'm going to stay here, Mama. These are now my people, and I'm going to stay here.''
She didn't move the phone away quickly enough, ''YOU WHAT? YOU DECIDE WHAT? WHAT kind of MIND CONTROL have these people got over you?''
Sonya calmly explained, ''I've made this decision with my fully conscious mind. There was no mind control involved in this decision.''
Sonya was quicker with her arm motion this time. ''You've been sucked in by a CULT, I know it! I'm gonna come out there and see what kind of CULT it is!'' Sonya laughed, ''We're not a cult, Mama . . .''
It did no good, Mama was convinced. Travel arrangements were made, and she and Michael would pick her mother up. Her mother was on the very next flight to Phoenix. The trip to Phoenix had to be done in full sunlight. Michael had done it before. Wearing dark sunglasses, a ski mask under his hooded cape, and making sure all skin was securely covered, it was difficult but doable. Fortunately, the three hour trip back would be done after sunset.
They arrived at the busy airport, and went to the terminal to wait. Sonya was very nervous, but Michael was a calming presence. She really appreciated his wisdom and maturity, and marvelled that Sebastian was actually the older of the two by thirty six years. Obviously, age did not necessarily bring wisdom.
Her short, but sturdy mother bounded off the plane's ramp energetically, casting her eyes back and forth, searching for her short daughter. She was surprised to find her with a short dark haired man who had an air of both quiet and gentle authority. Michael's eyes creeped her out, though. The gray orbs seemed to sparkle with an odd intensity. Her first thought was ''Cybernetic being, demon possessed, unnatural!''
Her later thoughts would change when she viewed all six of the farm's residents together in their living room. They all, including her daughter, had strangely intense eyes! ''Drug addicted!''she thought as she gasped. All of them were much too pale, except for the strange man she'd seen with Sonya in bed. He was severely burnt over the entire upper half of his body. ''What happened to YOU?'' She addressed Seb directly. Seb blushed, and simply said, ''Sunburn!''
Aretha looked around her at their living room. She was surprised to find every window had a dark screen covering it. She'd noticed the wide canopies outside, as well. These people had a sensitivity to the sun. ''Hmmm, DRUGS can make one sensitive to the sun. With those wild eyes, YES, it adds up!''
She looked at her own pale daughter with great alarm. She sized up the others, ''Two middle aged women, two young men and two young women, there must be a leader here.'' She directed her voice to the entire group, ''Who's the leader here?'' Everyone was taken back by that, and then Livia pointed to Michael, ''If there was a leader here, it would be Michael.''
Probing the short man intensely, she demanded, ''So what is the focal point of your group? Why are you are drawn together?'' Michael's eyes widened, and he thought quickly, ''We have a lot of interests in common.'' Aretha interrupted, ''But what's the philosophical focus, the religious focus? You take drugs together, but do you have any other strange rituals?''
Michael was quite surprised, ''We do not take drugs. Um, if I were to sum up the focus, it would be that we do not wish to survive by the death of other living beings.''
Aretha shouted, ''I knew it! You're a bunch of meat shunning drug cultists! That's bizarre! I say god made the cow for us to eat. I eat my steak with pride! My goodness, look at the lot of you! You with the red hair, you're so skinny because you never eat meat. The leader don't look so robust himself! And you over there with the blonde hair have a pretty face, but you might be more satisfied, and not eat so many sweets if you ate MEAT!''
Michael and the rest of them were completely speechless. Everyone's mouth hung open in a oddly shaped oval. The 'take charge' woman announced she was calling her husband to let him know she'd arrived. All of them couldn't help over hearing, ''Sonya's in some bizarre potsmoking vegetarian cult, she is. Weirdos, every last one of 'em!''
They let her think what she wanted.
Go to Chapter 11, Golden's Decision
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