Conspiracy of Illusion

Paradise Lost - Pages 13 - 14

new State and the One World Order, intensifying her resolve to make it to the end of her sentence. Sheila thinks about her eventual release and how she will hug her children every day until the day she dies. And how much she misses her husband and his so deeply longed-for touch. 

       It just makes her so angry that she is only allowed visitation once every ninety days. And she is only allowed one thirty-minute phone call per month. And how they cut off her conversation right in the middle of a sentence once her time is up. 

       Also, every one of Sheila’s letters is opened, even letters from her children. The System reads and redacts as if she is a political prisoner or a zealous anti-System adversary. Her right to privacy violated so entirely that she can't even hear from her own family without interference from the State..

       As her thoughts careen through her mind like a runaway freight train, Sheila begins to use the pallets that she is separating like exercise equipment. Essentially a means to distract her from her imagination, she devises several ways to use them to exercise different muscle groups. So far, Sheila has sorted four stacks of pallets before the morning break, and the determined prisoner is beginning to feel the burn while exercising with the skids. Sheila knows she's going to be sore tomorrow, but that's the price she's willing to pay in order not to let her sentence beat her.

       "If I'm going to have to be here, I might as well be healthy and in shape," she thinks to herself. As the nine o'clock break approaches, Sheila is unaware that Bill has put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

       Obadiah, and two farmhands, Joseph and Juan, have struck out to hunt down the beast that attacked and killed their fallen colleagues. They have tracked the bruin to Paradise Farm, where they pause on a hill just before the cow pasture inside the tree line to observe the farmhouse, the barn, and the surrounding property. After the incident at the church that fateful Sunday last November where Pastor Philips was murdered in cold blood by agents of the System, the farm was crawling with Systemites who were stripping it to the bones. They were hauling away furniture, machinery, livestock, and anything else not nailed down for sale at auction for the System’s coffers. 

       There also seemed to be a concerted effort to find a certain cache of gold. That rumors persisted throughout the appropriation process about buried treasure located somewhere on the land. Occasionally, for the rest of November and throughout December, treasure-hunters could be seen scouring the fields and pasture linked to the farm with metal detectors until the ground froze so hard, it became impossible to dig by hand.

       Those who did manage to get a reading on their equipment found nothing but assorted junk that John Phillips buried around the grounds to discourage would-be treasure-seekers from searching any further.

       The forward-thinking Pastor had hundreds of metal parts buried at least three feet down to make whoever would pursue any treasure rumors work for nothing until they would soon tire of their task and quit out of pure frustration.

All seems to be quiet now, and the little farm called Paradise lies abandoned, pocked with holes dug by fortune hunters waiting for time and weather to take their toll.

       Juan Hernandez is a short, muscular Honduran professional MMA boxer in the US to face an American opponent at a lightweight bout in Allentown four years prior. He was on an excursion with some friends to tour the countryside before returning to his home country when he was introduced to the Exodus Project by Sarah. The champion bumped into her outside a grocery store in Palmerton where she and Emily were purchasing provisions. As with most young men, he immediately became obsessed with Sarah's beauty and perky demeanor.

       Although Juan's English was somewhat understandable, he still had trouble communicating, often stumbling through phrases while finding the appropriate words to express himself. Even though his vocabulary was extensive, his accent was very thick. Juan listened to Sarah and Emily witness for almost an hour about the Exodus Project and their mission. They even invited the young boxer and his entourage to dinner at the farm. Unfortunately, one of Juan's friends reminded them that it was getting late, and they had better be getting back to their hotel in  

Paradise Lost - Pages 15 - 16

Allentown. They needed adequate rest before their flight back to Honduras the next day. Juan reluctantly agreed and left with his friends as they pushed and teased him on the way to their rental car.

       About two years later, Juan was back armed with a visa and prepping himself for citizenship. Unfortunately, the turn of events last November has left him in a state of perpetual limbo concerning his legal status. On the other hand, his friends have voted him honorary citizenship in the clan, thereby making him a legal entity in the eyes of the Exodus Project. 

       As he now squats behind the thick patch of mountain laurel, his outstretched hand holds back a branch so he can peer through the shrub while remaining hidden. His deeply marked face is expressionless as he gazes through the underbrush for any sign of his quarry. His previously short-cropped hair has grown over his ears, and he is taking on an Indian-like appearance as the hunters survey the territory below. His thick brown muscular arms appear accentuated by the sleeveless down vest he is wearing.

       Juan's unblinking brown eyes scrutinize the landscape from under thick eyebrows as he scans back and forth, hoping to catch a glimpse of the killer beast they seek. Although he keeps his beard closely trimmed, his mustache has bushed out into a thick mat since his untimely departure from the farm the previous fall. Juan's face bears the scars of many cuts and bruises collected from his short fighting career both in and out of the ring. His thin lips and sharp chin round out his appearance as someone you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.

       However, Juan's personality is entirely the opposite of the way he appears outwardly. He works hard, laughs easily, and can focus on several tasks at a time. Although he tends to get frustrated if he takes on too much, he is kind and gentle with a genuinely large and generous heart. Often giving to those less fortunate, Juan will not hesitate to sacrifice, even if it means doing without.

       Young Joseph Greenthumb is a streetwise youth from Baltimore, Maryland. At nine years old, the young thug was already getting into trouble on the streets.

        And it didn't take him long to figure out that his situation was a danger to his health. His abusive stepfather had a volatile personality. Enhanced by his exploitation of illegal drugs, the man would sometimes beat his mother for no apparent reason. His mother tried her best to keep the peace, but her husband was too unstable to risk getting battered to protect him. 

       Joseph would run away often, seeking sanctuary in any place he believed to be safe. Finally, at twelve years of age, the pubescent youngster again tried to escape his crime-ridden environment. While on the run, he met several witnesses from The New Exodus Catholic Church of Greater Baltimore witnessing in his neighborhood. 

       They encouraged him to visit their church in Towson, where he eventually began to show up regularly. After a few months, Joseph found out about the farm in Little Gap, Pennsylvania, and managed to find a way to get himself to Paradise Farm, where Pastor Phillips and the family promptly took him in.

       However, Pastor Phillips couldn’t let Joseph stay at Paradise Farm because of his young age, so the boy was always escorted back to Baltimore, and on several occasions, personally accompanied by Pastor Philips. Nevertheless, he would only return to Paradise Farm days later. 

       Upon his return, Joseph would stand just outside the gate, watching the congregate members perform their duties until Emily or another member would finally make the journey down the driveway to open the gate and let him in. And since Joseph was too young to join the Exodus Project legally, Pastor Phillips had to persuade his mother to sign over legal custody of the wayward preteen to the church. This action kept the young lad safe and secure in a positive and productive atmosphere and kept the church out of any messy legal entanglements.

       Now, at sixteen, Joseph is battling a mild case of pubertal acne dotting his face with an occasional pimple, mainly on his forehead or chin. Joseph looks every bit a street thug with his long blond hair even though he is entirely loyal to the clan. His thick wavy hair flows down from his head like a golden waterfall cascading over his ears and down the back of his neck, flipping and feathering out just below his collar. Joseph has two bright, ocean blue, eyes which are now darting back and forth across the   

Paradise Lost - Pages 17 - 18

landscape below. Sharp and clear, continually ready to alert him to anything out of place or any movement, no matter how slight. His upper lip shows a delicate wisp of blond hair, and his cheeks are sporting a post-pubescent peach fuzz that slightly intimates his evolution into manhood. Both Juan and Joseph joined the Exodus Project around the same time.

       The three wary hunters wait on the hill above the farm, crouching down behind a thicket of mountain laurel, surveying the lay of the land below. Their vantage point commands a view of Paradise Farm, all the way to the creek across the field on the far side. Including the main road and the intersection that leads to the farm. 

       Before they make a move to approach the buildings and search for their quarry, they want to make sure they are acting in the safest manner possible. A wounded bear can be extremely dangerous. They are each armed with a bow and quiver full of handmade arrows by Jerimiah Archer, the famed arrow maker of the Skyline Clan, while Obadiah still carries his broken lance also.

       "It looks like he's headed in the direction of the barn," Obadiah whispers to the other two. "My guess is that he's headed to the creek just beyond the farm to drink and lick his wounds." 

       "I'm gonna work my way around and see if I can pick up the blood trail on the other side of the farm. You two wait here, and if you see anything, whistle. If anyone or anything from the System shows up, whistle twice and then circle around and meet me at the bend in the creek.” 

       The other two nod in concurrence, and Joseph gives Obadiah a thumbs up for encouragement as the larger-than-average man turns and slips silently through the underbrush like a giant ghost.

       Joseph and Juan reposition themselves higher on the hill to visually scan as much of the farm as possible. From their new vantage point, they can see the main farmhouse, the stables, and the horse pasture beyond the stables that are behind the house on their right. To their left, there is the barn and the bunkhouse to the right side of the barn. The duo can also keep an eye on the cow pasture behind the barn. 

       It isn't long before they see that Obadiah has made the circle to their right and is now cutting across the meadow behind the stables heading toward the stream where they think the bear may have run.

       Taking turns watching, Joseph and Juan wait for more than an hour for their scout to return with news of their target. Finally, Juan, who is on the watch, gives a bird call to Joseph sitting deep in thought just a few yards away.         Joseph looks up to see his associate motioning toward the farmhouse and stealthily moves next to the young man of the watch.

       "I just saw Obadiah run across the pasture," Juan relates. "He should be here any minute."

       "Okay," Joseph responds. Let's get back to that patch of laurel and meet him there".

       The two stalkers stealthily make their way back to the tree line and the cover of the non-deciduous mountain laurel where Obadiah had left them hours earlier. There they crouch behind the evergreen, anxiously waiting for their leader to appear and listen to his report.

       Obadiah returns through the underbrush in short order. Amazingly, for his massive size, he moves through the landscape quickly and silently like a deer, barely making any noise at all. Even though the early April breeze still bites with a chill, Obadiah's demanding activity has caused him to shed his trademark bearskin coat. It is now tightly rolled up with a belt passed through the center and strapped across his back diagonally. His quiver of arrows parallels the fur, and each is strapped separately over his right shoulder and buckled at his massive chest. His shed coat reveals handmade buckskins, which help to deaden the sound made as his clothing scrapes through the thick woodland undergrowth.

       The scout edges up close to the two anxious vigilantes after reappearing through the brush and relays the gathered information in a low whisper. 

       "I looked all over the woods beyond the farm and the open field down to the creek," he reports. "There's no sign of him beyond the farm. I took a peek at the back doors of the guest house and the main house, and they were all closed up. So my guess is he's holed up in the barn or the stable."