‘Are you kidding me?’ I look back and forth between my mother, who is nodding seriously, and the woman, who must be on drugs or something. ‘What makes you think she’s the Great One anyway? The last time we were here, this camp tried to draw and quarter her.’

‘The doctor from Alcatraz has told Obadiah and the council that she is the Great One, the chosen one who will be our savior. The rest of the camp doesn’t believe, but we of the New Dawn know that she must be the Great One meant to save us from this holy tragedy.’

‘She’s just a little girl.’ I want to say the word normal, but I can’t.

‘Please don’t stop this,’ says the woman, her eyes pleading. ‘Please don’t interfere. If you reject me, someone else will have the privilege, and I will be disgraced.’ Her eyes actually fill with tears. ‘Please allow my life to mean something in this world. This is the greatest contribution and the greatest honor I could have in this life.’

I stand there with my jaw slack, trying to think of something to say.

My baby sister, though, doesn’t have any problems turning her down. She shyly shakes her head no and crosses her legs, sitting in her monk pose. We’d always called her our little Buddha since she decided to be a vegetarian when she was only three.

Tears stream down the woman’s cheeks. ‘I understand. You have different plans for me.’ She looks like she’s been personally rejected. She gets up slowly and ties her sheet firmly back into place, giving me a glare.

The woman bows and backs out, refusing to turn her back to Paige.

My mom sighs beside me in exasperation. ‘This doesn’t change anything, you know,’ she says to me. ‘I’ll just have to go back and find the next one in line.’

‘Mom, no.’

‘They want to do this. It’s an honor for them. Besides,’ she turns to follow the woman, ‘they come with their own sheet for easy cleanup.’

Chapter 23

23

‘You know where this church with the stained glass is?’ asks Raffe.

‘What?’ I’m still thinking about the cult and the messiah belief swirling around Paige.

‘The church?’ Raffe looks like he wants to wave his hand in front of my eyes. ‘With the stained glass?’

‘There are a couple of churches downtown. We can just walk to there from here. What’s this about?’

‘Someone is apparently trying to meet with me.’

‘Yeah, I got that. Who and why?’

‘I’d like to find out.’ I can tell by Raffe’s shuttered expression and the tone of his voice that he probably already has a good guess.

‘Is this an angel who knows where the Resistance camp is?’