Sands of Time

Haven’t they asked me that before? Or was that someone else? Was it here or – it’s all terribly confusing. "He kidnapped me for Raoul because Monique deserted him and he thought – "

"Bueno. If that’s the way you want it," Arrieta said. "We’ll see if we can’t refresh your memory for you."

"Yes. Please. Everything is so puzzling."

Half a dozen of Acoca’s men had entered the tent, along with some of Sostelo’s uniformed soldiers.

Sister Teresa looked up. She blinked dazedly. "Are these men going to take me to the convent now?"

"They’re going to do better than that," Arrieta grinned. "They’re going to take you to heaven, Sister."

The men moved closer to her, surrounding her.

"That’s a pretty dress you’re wearing," a soldier said. "Are you sure you’re a nun, darling?"

"Oh, yes," she said. Raoul had called her darling. Was this Raoul? "You see, we had to change clothes to escape from the soldiers." But these were soldiers. Everything was muddled.

One of the men pushed Teresa down on the cot. "You’re no beauty, but let’s see what you look like underneath all those clothes."

"What are you doing?"

He reached down and ripped off the top of her dress while another man tore at her skirt.

"That’s not a bad body for an old lady, is it, fellows?"

Teresa screamed. She looked up at the circle of men surrounding her. God will strike them all dead. He will not let them touch me, for I am His vessel I am one with the Lord, drinking from His fountain of purity.

One of the soldiers unfastened his belt. An instant later she felt rough hands pushing her legs apart, and as the soldier sprawled on top of her, she felt his hard flesh penetrate her and again she screamed.

"Now, God! Punish them now."

She waited for the clap of thunder and the bright flash of lightning that would destroy them all.

Another soldier climbed on top of her. A red haze came over her eyes. Teresa lay there waiting for God to strike, almost unaware of the men who were ravaging her. She no longer felt the pain.

Lieutenant Arrieta was standing next to the cot. After each man finished with Teresa, he said, "Have you had enough, Sister? You can stop this at any time. All you have to do is tell me where Jaime Miro is."

Sister Teresa did not hear him. She screamed in her mind: Smite them down with Your power, Lord. Wipe them out as You wiped out the other wicked ones at Sodom and Gomorrah.

Incredibly, He did not answer. It was not possible, for God was everywhere. And then she knew. As the sixth man entered her body, the epiphany suddenly came to her. God was not listening to her because there was no God. All these years she had deceived herself into worshiping a supreme power and had served Him faithfully. But there was no supreme power. If God exists, He would have saved me.

The red haze lifted from Sister Teresa’s eyes and she got a clear look at her surroundings for the first time. There were at least a dozen soldiers in the tent waiting their turn to rape her. Lieutenant Arrieta was standing at one side of the bed watching. The soldiers in line were in full uniform, not bothering to undress. As one soldier lifted himself from Teresa, the next soldier squatted down over her and a moment later penetrated her.

There is no God, but there is a Satan, and these are his helpers, Sister Teresa thought. And they must die. All of them.

As the soldier plunged into her, Sister Teresa grabbed the pistol from his holster, and before anyone could react, she turned it on Arrieta. The bullet hit him in the throat. She then pointed the gun at the other soldiers and kept firing. Four of them fell to the floor before the others came to their senses and began to shoot at her. Because of the soldier on top of her, they had difficulty aiming.

Sister Teresa and her last ravisher died at the same moment.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Jaime Miro came awake instantly, aroused by a movement at the edge of the clearing. He slipped out of the sleeping bag and rose, gun in hand. As he drew nearer he saw Megan on her knees, praying. He stood there, studying her. There was an unearthly beauty about the image of this lovely woman praying in the forest in the middle of the night, and Jaime found himself resenting it. If Felix Carpio hadn’t blurted out that we were headed for San Sebastian, I wouldn’t have been burdened with the sister in the first place.

It was imperative that he get to San Sebastian as quickly as possible. Colonel Acoca and his men were all around them, and it would have been difficult enough slipping through their net alone. With the added burden of this woman to slow him down, the danger was increased tenfold.

He walked over to Megan, angry, and his voice was harsher than he had intended.

"I told you to get some sleep. I don’t want you slowing us down tomorrow."

Megan looked up and said quietly, "I’m sorry if I’ve angered you."

"Sister, I save my anger for more important things. Your kind just bore me. You spend your lives hiding behind stone walls waiting for a free trip to the next world. You make me sick to my stomach, all of you."

"Because we believe in the next world?"

"No, Sister. Because you don’t believe in this one. You ran away from it."

"To pray for you. We spend our lives praying for you."

"And you think that will solve the problems of the world?"

"In time, yes."

"There is no time. Your God can’t hear your prayers because of the noise of the cannons and the screams of children being torn apart by bombs."

"When you have faith – "

"Oh, I have lots of faith, Sister. I have faith in what I’m fighting for. I have faith in my men, and in my guns. What I don’t have faith in are people who walk on water. If you think your God is listening now, tell him to get us to the convent at Mendavia so I can be rid of you."