Chapter 13 - Jesus, Etc.

Julia kept her head down. She walked the path directly in front of her with the heavy rope across her shoulder, terrified to look up at Aiden, Nina, Luna, and Lane. Her shaking hands gripped the rope tighter as the councilors were all pulled forward across the slopped football field toward the dried up Potter's Lake.

"I'd just gotten out of the shower when I heard them all enter. The other councilors." Julia started in a strained whisper. "I don't know why I got scared. Embarrassed? Whatever." The invisible burden on Julia's shoulders seemed to have doubled in weight, "I just reacted. I hid."

Nina tried to comfort her fellow co-councilor, "I understand not wanting to be around crowds, especially when changing or being-"

"No," Julia interjected quietly, "I mean, sure, I'm not used to communal bathing. I was afraid they could tell that I'd just..." She subconsciously glanced down at the space between her legs.

"Masturbated," Luna spoke delicately.

Julia nodded.

"I wouldn't have been able to tell," Aiden offered. The rest of the group shot him with looks to silence him. Aiden in turn over corrected, "I mean, it wouldn't have occurred to me that girls even did that. At least, not as much as guys. You know what?" The others had the tact not to audibly groan at a man just trying his best. "You know, I'm gonna go ahead and see my self out of this conversation: sorry for interrupting."

Lane tried to steer the conversation back on track, "Our apologies, please, continue. What happened next from your perspective?"

Julia swallowed and nodded quickly, "I hid. Ducked into the closest place before anyone could see me. I hadn't realized the shower stall I'd walked into was already occupied." Shifting nervously. "I'd never really seen another girl naked before. Like, I've changed at the gym before, but this was different. It felt like, for the first time, I actually saw her."

It did not go unnoticed by both Land and Luna that Julia's cheeks were glowing red hot.

Lane looked up the line of councilors at Franki a few paces behind Jordan. Athletic, shaved head, a loose tank top covering a tall muscular frame, she was certainly beautiful to look at. It would be an entirely different thing to actually see someone as Julia had. Not merely physical beauty, but the type of connection that two souls make when bonded for the first time. 

To clarify, Lane asked Julia, "You saw her differently?"

"I don't know if I can--" Julia stammered. "I shouldn't."

Luna took the short blonde's hand in hers; "It's okay. We want to help, not judge."

Reassured, but still mortified, Julia's hand reached across her chest defensively as if cover up with an invisible blanket, "She was... Breathtaking." She waited for the others, but no one interjected.

"She must have just finished showering. The way droplets slowly rolled off her shoulders, cascaded off her caramel skin, her hands, her lips: my mouth watered. She has eyes like pools of honey. I kept wanting to dive in closer. She was right there, naked, staring back at me, unblinking. Each step I took towards her, my heart pounded faster and faster." Julia shuttered. Her eyes were closed. She had fully sunken back into that sweet memory.

"Then I reached out, my fingertips caught a stray bead of sweat that rolled off her cheek. My hand touched her cheek. Then I-- I kept touching. I wanted to feel every square inch of her. How could I not?" Julia laughed a tiny, desperate laugh, "She didn't stop me. She opened her arms up wider and invited me in. My heart was going to explode out of my chest."

"I couldn't stand it, like a fire that kept flowing through my arms, and legs, and..." Julia shuddered again at the memory. A bolt of pleasure shot through her like lightning. She tried to hide her smile as she adjusted her swim shorts.

"I couldn't stand. I-I fell to my knees in front of this beautiful woman. The cold tile. The steam from the sauna. The open invitation from Francine, as she spread her legs open wider, and gripped my hair tighter. She drew me up towards h-her--" Julia stammered. Luna noticed the girl's free hand wandered dangerously down south under the waistband of her swim shorts.

Luna pointed between her own legs and mouthed, 'Pussy?'

Julia coughed, "Her... Yeah. She let me... I wanted... Oh, god." Shame slapped Julia's hand away from her crotch. She kept her eyes closed, and continued in a different voice; the voice of shame, of embarrassment. A voice someone had taught her to use when discussing something so raw and beautiful; "I was told that I shouldn't have those feelings. It's not natural. It's wrong."

Lane caught Nina chomping at the bit to say something in protest, but Aiden encouraged her restraint with a gentle brush of his hand over the pixie's shoulder.

Julia continued, and almost burst out loud, "But I tasted her! And, and s-she tasted better than anything I'd ever had before." Catching herself, Julia opened her eyes. She wiped her mouth salivating at the memory; "If I could only taste one thing ever again, it would be to savor Franki's pussy. And, I know I shouldn't, but-- I felt something. I don't-- I don't want to forget what I felt and at the same time..." Julia swallowed a torrent of tears.

Luna draped her arm around Julia fighting with everything that had been drilled into her and the experience she'd genuinely enjoyed. It was an up hill battle. Repression and guilt were heavily fortified in Julia's brain. Still, Luna was admitted that sororal love would endure; "Julia, what you felt is not wrong, or right: it is simply real. I understand you're feeling everything all at once right now. Maybe, that's too much. Clear your mind and ask yourself two things. First, can you change what happened?"

Julia sniffed and rubbed her red eyes with her free hand, "No? No, I can't change what happened."

Luna nodded, "No. You can't change what happened. The next question is harder; would you want to, if you could?"

Aiden and Nina exchanged knowing glances; layered with the same amount of confusion, fear, and excitement Julia was wading through in this present moment.

Lane rubbed his temple with his forefinger counterclockwise, rewinding the tape in his mind. A particular detail had caught his attention; "Julia, you were in a shower stall, one that was against the left wall, correct?"

Taken aback, the conflicted blonde cleared her throat, "Um, yeah. I think so. Why?"

"Did you happen to notice whether the thin window along the wall was open? Even just a crack? Or, was it closed?" Lane asked while replaying the memory of his own encounter in the shower. After Alice had slapped him, she'd sprinted not towards the main door, but one of the shower stalls. Each had a thin, frosted window above their respected stall. Each window was just large enough for someone to slip out of. Or, thin enough for someone to slip inside. Perhaps, something to enter the sauna while unsuspecting persons was otherwise distracted?

Julia shook herself free from the memory of her and Franki, "I-I'm sorry. I don't remember."

"Alright, drop the rope," Jordan shouted from the head of the line. The councilors had finally reached the jogging path that circled Potter's Field.

They didn't bother circling the cracked asphalt path. Collectively, the fourteen councilors marched through the dried-up, red clay lake bed toward the abandoned chapel at the furthest end. Between the group and the rundown church, a copper pipe had been planted in the ground and stood about two and a half meters in height.

"Topeka," Jordan commanded, pointing at the copper pipe.

With a snort, the young man broke into a modest jog and launched himself at the pipe. It must have been buried deep to withstand Brandon's full weight being pressed against it. A few others joined in, trying to knock down the pole. Even with Aiden's combined strength, the pole remained upright.

"Must remind you of something from last night, eh, Topeka?" Gracie chortled.

With a forced laugh, Brandon pointed back at Gracie, "I wasn't the only one getting skewered last night, Athens."

"Yeah," But I think mine had a bit more skill behind it, the curly blonde countered with a cackle. "Maybe if you worked your hips a bit harder, you could bring this pipe down?"

"How about you wrap your fat lips around it and swallow?" Topeka shouted.

Jordan interrupted, "Enough!" The crowd simmered some, but tensions were still on a razor's edge. "Topeka, climb up and see if the next clue is inside."

With sufficient dexterity, the Asain debate champion scaled the pipe. He peered inside, adjusting his head to see into the pipe; "I see something at the bottom. Something metal, shiny... It's a lot further down."

Lane cycled through his most recent mental photograph's and recalled the page Jordan threw at him.

"Notes will arise if you fill up what's inside..."

Lane then took in the puzzle in its entirety. As was custom, he started at the edges of the problem. Here they were in the middle of a dried-up lake bed. If the pole was two and a half meters high, it must be just as deep if not more so in the ground to withstand the collective force of the councilors trying to push it down. Some of the disturbed clay revealed that a layer of concrete bolstered the poll within the lake bed. Most likely a concrete foundation was buried at the base too. Lane stepped back to get an even broader perspective when he heard something crunch beneath his feet.

Under his boot was a red solo cup. In fact, there were dozens of red solo cups littered about the copper pole. They hadn't been there when he and his sister ran around the lake yesterday.

"Somebody, everybody, give me your belts, shoelaces, whatever; I can try and fish it out from the bottom," Brandon shouted.

Cole began to unbuckle his belt when Kori yelled at him, "We're not handing over our shit if you're just gonna drop it down that hole and lose it all."

"I won't lose it, just hand it over," Brandon protested.

"The circumference is too small anyway," Kori pointed out, "You can't even fit your hand inside, how do you expect to maneuver a hook or-" She continued to argue her point while the others argued among themselves.

"Wouldn't be the first tight hole I've forced my way inside of," Brandon shot back with a cocky smile. A collective groan rose up from the crowd.

"Luna," Julia asked softly, "What's your brother doing?"

Luna kept her eyes on Lane as he knelt down picking up the solo cups, "Oh, he's just keeping a broader perspective on things. Say, is there a water fountain nearby?"

Julia thought some, "Yeah, we could use the church's--"

Brad suddenly spoke up, having been uncomfortably close to both Luna and Julia, and shouted loud enough for the others to hear; "By the way, minor detail that slipped my mind; the water on campus has been temporarily shut off. No water fountains, showers, or toilets are available until the team-building exercise is concluded. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Most of the other councilors were either arguing with Jordan, Brandon, or didn't bother to pay attention at all to Brad's seemingly unrelated announcement.

"That's kind of an extreme measure to take for a team building exercise, wouldn't you say, Brad?" Luna asked pointedly.

Brad shrugged, "First, camp names only, please. Second, The LA didn't want to make things too easy for y'all." 

Lane remembered Jude had given himself the name Los Angles at some point. Brad insisted on the moniker 'The LA', pronounced 'Law.' A bit pretentious, but in character.

"I see, and where is our Camp Director this mid-morning, Vegas?" Luna replied.

Brad began to wander away, avoiding eye contact with Luna, "He's busy. Family stuff I reckon. Back at his cabin. Maybe you should focus more on helping your co-councilors instead of worrying about Jude... I mean, The LA."

"Roswell," Jordan called out. She'd diverted her attention to Lane a few yards away from the group, "Everyone participates in the exercise. No excuses. Get back here."

Lane stopped measuring how far a chain of fourteen councilors could extend out from the copper pipe. Cupping a hand over his mouth, he shouted, "Hey, Aiden, is there any other body of water or pond about twelve meters..."

"Last warning, Roswell; get over here and start pulling your own weight," Jordan demanded once more.

Luna smiled, "He is helping." Striding over to Jordan, she smiled and attempted an explanation, "If we use the red plastic cups, the councilors could form a chain--"

Jordan waved in front of Luna's face, silencing her; "Guess what? You're not in charge here. I am. Take off that belt, those laces, and help the rest of us. And don't you ever run your mouth at me again, understood?"

Luna bit her lower lip and sighed through her nostrils. She turned to Brad. His back was to the group, but his shoulders looked like they were heaving up and down from laughter.

Aiden also began to wander away from the group before Jordan took notice; "Buffalo! We're not following Roswell's example. Get back here!"

"I found something," Aiden shouted back at Lane from a few yards in the opposite direction. He jogged from a modest-sized puddle. It didn't appear naturally occurring. Tire treads leading from the hole suggested some kind of heavy machinery was used. Someone must have recently dug a hole deep enough in the red clay and filled it with water.

Nina excitedly put the pieces together and attempted to enlighten the others, "If we form a human chain, we can fill the solo cups and pass them up to Brandon to fill the pipe."

Bradon remained at the top of the pole, "What's the pixie saying from down there?"

Kori scoffed, "Just being smart is all. Not a common experience for you, I'd wager."

Jordan caved. She redirected the group to form a line from the puddle to the pole. After a few minutes they'd nearly filled it to the brim. Occasionally, Brandon or someone else would spill some of the limited resource. Lane noted that it looked less like water and more like thin blood. Still, enough dirty water remained to get the job done. It was an admittedly clever exercise and a decent riddle, but it definitely didn't fit Brad's sensibilities. In all likelihood, Jude developed this odd scavenger hunt and Brad was simply supervising.

If that was true, it struck Lane as odd that the architect of this overly elaborate puzzle wouldn't want to at least observe it's progress.

Along with a fist full of other questions Lane intended to ask, he wanted to understand how and why Jude had developed this team-building exercise. For now, Lane was content to observe his co-councilors interactions and gather data. 'Data, Data Data,' the voice of Lane's father echoed. Even with Brad dangling the stopwatch in front of their faces, it was Alice's comment earlier that struck a deeper nerve.

"Do you even realize how little time you have left?' That's what she'd said earlier that morning. Lane loved a riddle, but he was starting to feel the pressure that his mystery needed to be solved sooner rather than later.

"I've got it!" Brandon shouted as he jabbed his fingers down into the opening at the top of the pipe. Leaping down from the pole and landing in the red clay, he held a little capsule wrapped in tin foil.

"Well," Jordan snorted, "Give it here."

Brandon scoffed and tossed over the capsule.

"Maybe you could read it aloud this time," Luna suggested loud enough for the group to hear. Jordan shot Luna a dirty glare, but it didn't seem to affect the latter girl's cheery disposition. "You know what they say, 'Many minds make for light work."

"Nobody says that," Jordan grumbled, opening up the capsule. She cleared her throat and read aloud, "Follow the arrows, join your flesh together, your coupled burden shall reveal the path ahead."

Topeka tsked; "Got to admit, I'm starting to dislike your attempt at poetry here, Vegas."

The buzz-cut blonde shrugged, "It's not my poetry. Think you folks will be able to finish this course in the next hour? Hmm? I hope so. It would be a shame to waste all that food."

"Back to the rope," Jordan commanded.

The group complied. Everyone trudged back to where they'd dropped the rope, except for Julia. Luna looked over her shoulders at the short blonde, petrified, eyes locked on the church. Striding over toward the girl who had frozen up, Luna gently rubbed Julia's shoulder, "Hey, you okay in there?"

Julia didn't take her eyes off the condemned chapel, or the rotted wooden cross on top; "I don't know." She glanced quickly over at Luna then back to the church. She shivered. This time, it wasn't the electric sensation of pleasure that shot through Julia's body, but the chilling touch of dread that gripped her spine; "I don't know if I would want to take that moment back."

Luna nodded, "Perhaps that would be a conversation to have with Franki? How does she feel about what happened?"

Julia shrugged, "Don't know." A moment of silence, then Julia turned her back on the chapel and began to walk towards the others. "I know what they'd say if anyone found out," she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at the abandoned church.

Luna caught up to Julia and paced beside her, "If their opinion matters to you, I understand your anxiety." Luna gently turned Julia about-face by the shoulder. The two young women faced the old chapel once more. "But, consider that place is just a building full of regular people, and perhaps the person that knows your heart best, is you?"