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City of Refuge
Posted May 5, 2010 in News
“City of Refuge” appears in this month’s issue of Apex Magazine and will also be featured as a free audio story (read by Maurice Broaddus). So you’ll be able to read or listen for free. The story, about a church leader transporting a prophet accused of murder across post-apocalyptic America, is a meditation on cults and the messiah complex.
Part science fiction. Part literary horror. Check it out by clicking on the issue cover below, or scroll down for a taste of the story. Leave me a comment over on the Apex site to let me know what you think.
City of Refuge (excerpt):
David watched from behind the crowd, as two men led a young woman up a small set of steps to the hangman’s noose. A razor-sharp wire replaced the traditional rope, ensuring a clean decapitation and a bigger spectacle of blood and death. The crowd’s palpable sense of anticipation surprised him less than the calm demeanor of the accused. She faced the gallows with such serenity stepping to the noose as if receiving Holy Communion.
The Order’s crest pinned to David’s putrefying animal hide cloak parted the crowd as effectively as its foul odor. He approached the makeshift structure, sizing up the two men standing on either side of the woman. The tall man in the bowler hat appeared to be in charge, but David focused his steely gaze on the short one with the set jaw. The little man’s face erupted with anger at the interruption.
“What can I do you for, Cardinal?” the tall man said, after looking down at the crest pinned to David’s rotting coat.
“Bring me the accused.”
“What?” the short man exclaimed, stepping forward.
“You heard me, boy.”
“She killed my father. I have a right to–”
“Unless you’d like the archbishops cutting off trade to this little haven, you will mind your place.” David stroked his unkempt beard, setting his jaw. “Do it. Now.”
The man in the bowler hurried the accused forward. On closer inspection, she was more girl than woman. Her tangled black hair and vibrant blue eyes dwarfed her petite nose and mouth. She stood with both hands tied behind her back. Deep bruises marred both sides of her face.
“Are you Jenna, the miller’s daughter?”
The girl bowed her head. “Yes, Cardinal.”
David produced a handwritten document from a pouch inside his cloak. “You petitioned the archbishops for asylum?”
“Yes, Cardinal.”
David handed the document to the short man. “The archbishops have granted Jenna an audience. If her claims are found wanting, she will be returned to you and you can continue,” David motioned around, “this exhibition.”
“Asylum?” The short man rifled through the document as though he wasn’t illiterate like the rest of the peasants. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“It is an unusual request,” David admitted, “but one the archbishops have agreed to hear.”
“Then I will go with you and speak for my dead father.”
“If your testimony is needed, the church will call for you. Until then, there will be no vengeance upon this girl or her family. Understood?”
“Whatever you say, Cardinal,” the tall man in the bowler replied, stepping between David and the dead man’s son to deliver the girl. “Please give our regards to the archbishops.”
David yanked the girl toward him and turned to face the deflated crowd. People looked away, averting their gaze as he brushed past them with his prisoner. Like most havens, this one relied on the church for tools and guns. No one would question the archbishops’ judgment.
David’s mule grazed on a patch of grass near the front gate, obscured by a cloud of flies. The girl shuddered as she approached the rotting animal skins that covered the beast.
“Will I have to wear a cloak?” she asked, clearly blanching.
“Only if you want to live,” David said. “The Fallen may have little interest in this high altitude settlement, but in the lowlands they’ll pick your body clean if they think you’re alive. Get used to wearing it.”
David untied her hands and pulled a long coat of rotting flesh from the mule’s saddlebags. The girl vomited twice before she settled into the foul garment. Even then, she retched and gagged uncontrollably. David retied her hands, this time in front of her, and leashed her to the mule with enough slack to allow her to walk.
With a nod to the gatekeeper, the tall wooden doors that protected the enclave parted. David chose to walk at first, leading the mule and his prisoner down a series of treacherous mountain switchbacks.
Here, above the dark clouds, he almost felt safe. As long as the Fallen could sustain themselves in the lowlands, they had no urge to feed in the mountains. For one stray moment he closed his eyes and felt the burn of the sun on his face. One day this will all be gone, he thought. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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[...] Compound during the standoff between the FBI and David Koresh. It’s a prequel to “City of Refuge,” an alternative history short that first appeared in Apex Magazine [...]