Escaping and Finding My Salvation

The Commune

Ann Marie

He cranked the engine over, put the truck in gear, and took off. He wasn’t wrong. The ride was bumpy. I grabbed the oh-s**t bar and held on for dear life. Even with my seat belt on, I was all over the place.

He drove uphill and off-road for about an hour before a dirt road came into view and the ride smoothed out.

“So, last night you said you’ve been on your own for a year?” he asked.

“Yeah. I fostered out of my home at 18.” I lied. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

“Ah, heard that happens. They just kicked you out?”

“Yeah. No money comes in after 18.”

“That’s a shame. And I’m guessing they don’t really care what happens to you?”

“At least that’s how it was for me,” I said.

He nodded. “Up ahead, you see the gate?” he asked, gesturing.

A gate stood in the distance. It was at least 6 feet high, made of metal slats with razor wire on top. As we got closer, I could see the gate was attached to 10-foot walls.

A man stood up from a chair under a tent on tall poles as we pulled up. He held a rifle. He had tan skin and black hair. He was younger than Emmett and looked to be in his mid-thirties. He pulled off dark sunglasses and leaned on Emmett’s truck when Emmett rolled down the window.

“Hey, Emmett,” the man said.

“Marcus. This is Ann Marie. She needs a place.”

Marcus looked at me and smiled. He had kind brown eyes. I didn’t get any mean vibes from him, but I also didn’t know him from Adam.

“Hello, Ann Marie. I’m Marcus Hamby, one of the day guards. Welcome to our slice of paradise.”

“Thank you,” I said with a small smile.

Marcus slapped the top of Emmett’s truck and walked to the gate. He opened it and waved as Emmett drove through.

“He seems nice,” I said.

“He is. One of the nicest men I know. He was a cop in the Air Force. Got out after ten years, drifted around like most of us, and ended up here about five years ago. He’s a helper. Likes to be useful. Not going to lie, Ann Marie, most people here are good people. They help each other out, but like most places, there are some bad apples. Some are easy to spot. Others are not so easy. Three men live higher up in the hills but are still part of the commune. That’s what we call this place. They’re pretty scraggily looking. Drunks, all three of them. They’re easy to spot when they come down. Stay far away from them. But they usually come down when they are out of corn. Only happens three times a year. I’m not here often. In fact, I left just about two weeks ago, before I ran into you. I’ll be gone for a while. But I’ll make sure you have a place before I head out again.”

“Okay. Thank you, Emmett.”

I looked out the window. Many of the buildings we passed looked like cabins you’d see at a campsite. I'd seen them on TV once in a scary movie. I saw men chopping a tree. Others were stacking wood. I saw three women pulling weeds from a garden in front of one of the cabins. People waved as we passed, and most of them smiled. They looked happy.

Emmett pulled up to a big building. It was bigger than any we had passed. This one was made of wood and metal. He parked, and we got out.

“This is the women’s place. It’s for the single women of the commune. Let me introduce you to Martha.”

We walked up to a metal door, and Emmett knocked. A woman with salt-and-pepper hair opened it. She was tall, with steel-gray eyes. Her face broke out into a smile when she saw Emmett.

“Emmett, back so soon?”

“No, Martha, just dropping off a friend. This is Ann Marie.”

Her eyes came to me.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello, dear. I’m Martha Wiggins. Welcome to the commune. Come in out of the sun. Thank you, Emmett.”

I stopped and whirled around. “You’re leaving?”

“This is the end of the line for me, sweetheart. You’ll be in good hands with Martha.”

I don’t know why I suddenly felt sad. But I nodded and held out my hand. “Thank you for everything, Emmett.”

“You’re welcome, Ann Marie. I’ll see you around.”

I watched him leave. Martha put a hand on my shoulder.

“He’s a good one. Well, now let’s get you a bed. The twin bed in the corner is available. There are six girls in the building right now, plus me. Do you know how to cook, garden, or sew?”

“I can cook some. I did it a lot when I was growing up.”

“Growing up? Honey, you’re still growing up.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” I mumbled. She gave me a soft smile.

“I see. Been on your own for a while?” She asked.

“Something like that.”

“Well, we’ll teach you everything you’ll need to know to survive here. You’ll be on kitchen rotation with the other six girls. You do your own laundry. We hand-wash and hang-dry our clothes here. There are lines out back. We run on generators out here, and washers and dryers take up too much fuel.”

“That’s fine. I’ve been handwashing my clothes for a while.”

She nodded, pleased.

“Well, go put your pack under the corner bed. No one will touch it. The bottom two drawers in the dresser next to it are empty. Those will be yours. I’m just about to make BLTs for lunch. Would you like to help?”

I nodded, and she beamed.

Six women entered twenty minutes later. Everyone stared at me as they washed their hands. They looked very curious. I helped Martha bring plates to a long table where five of the girls sat. The sixth girl brought over glasses and a pitcher of lemonade.

“Thank you, Sammy,” Martha said. “Everyone, this is Ann Marie. She just came to us. Ann Marie, the two brunette twins at the end are Eden and Allie, they’re 22. The redhead girl is Mitzy, she’s 26. Tanya is 20. She’s mute, so don’t take offense when she doesn’t talk to you. She has a board she writes on. That’s what’s around her neck. The two blondes are Sammy and Bethany. They’re 19. How old are you, dear?”

“I’m also 19,” I said.

“Wonderful.”

I sat down next to Sammy, and she smiled at me.

“What brings you to our commune?” She asked me.

Everyone started eating as they waited for my answer.

“Um, I’m from California. I was in the foster system. When you turn 18, you’re basically sent out on your own. I found my way to Arizona. I’ve been trying to survive for the last year. Emmett saved me from some not-so-nice men. He told me about this place and brought me.”

“Oh, I love Emmett. He’s so nice,” Bethany said. Everyone nodded.

They talked while I listened and ate my BLT. Mitzy looked at me when she got up to take her plate to the sink.

“Would you like to come with me and learn how to set a snare to trap some game?”

“Sure,” I said.

For the next hour, she taught me how to set up snares and told me about the local wildlife. After that, Bethany showed me to the community garden and talked about the different plants, the fruit that grew, and the vegetables. Sammy found me, and she and Tanya showed me how to mend clothes for the men who worked the land and served as the commune's security. By dinner time, I was exhausted. Allie and Eden were in the kitchen. They had cooked chicken tacos and made guacamole and homemade chips. After dinner, they showed me to the community showers. It was all so different to me, but so far it hadn’t been a bad experience. I really hoped I would like it here. I was tired of being on my own.