They passed the bus stop where he’d got off what seemed like hours ago, and the car turned down towards the ocean. The driver didn’t speak much. They turned into another street, slowed, and entered a gated driveway. Wiley watched the gate slowly make its way across the driveway. Whoever lived here had money.
Once the car was parked in the garage the driver turned and nodded toward Wiley’s door. He got out and followed the driver through a door and into the house—if that was the right word. The place was huge. Large windows overlooked the ocean and a pool area. There was a white sail in the distance, such a contrast in the vast blue ocean. The swimming pool was a lighter blue than the ocean, and it was probably the biggest backyard pool he’d ever seen.
“Good view, hey?”
The man handed Wiley a glass of water. He wore knee-length brown shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with a leaf print. The unbuttoned shirt revealed a tan and toned body. Wiley put his age at around sixty.
“My name is Robert Bruce, and yes, I’ve got Scottish heritage,” the man said.
Wiley must have looked puzzled.
“Always get asked the question so I anticipate it. Robert Bruce was a famous Scottish king.”
Wiley nodded. He’d sort of heard of Robert Bruce but had no idea if or what he was famous for.
Bruce picked up the remote and turned on the TV. It was the biggest TV Wiley had ever seen. He’d mistaken it for a large painting as he watched the still image become animated. Everything about the house was big. Big pool, big TV, big couch, big vases, big glasses.
Emergency vehicle lights filled the TV screen, showing damaged buildings, fallen rocks and some large cracks on roads.
A reporter was saying no deaths had been reported but there were pockets of significant damage. He even mentioned the asteroid, saying it had nothing to do with the earthquake.
“We didn’t experience much damage out this way, but it was a challenge to get to you. The police were starting to close roads. The Great Leader thinks you’re of some value, so I look forward to discovering what that is.”
“I’m not sure how to take that, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Bruce ushered Wiley to a seat. “Take it as a compliment for now. We’re going to bed you down here for a while until the heat drops off. It’s relatively quiet around here. Lots of people coming and going, but should be fine as long as you keep a low profile.”
“Sounds like a holiday.”
Bruce responded with raised eyebrows and a smirk and turned his attention back to the TV. “The earthquake coverage will drop off soon. Everyone wants to talk about the asteroid or whatever it is. It’s starting to get a lot more coverage now—all the news streams are covering it. There’s a real battle going on between the scientists and the Christians.”
“What sort of battle?” Wiley was intrigued.
“Well, you’ve one group saying the asteroid is a natural event and the other group saying it’s a supernatural event.” Bruce placed his glass on the coffee table between them.
“What do the public think?” Wiley moved slightly. The expensive furnishings were comfortable.
“I think an element of fear is starting to creep in. Maybe some signs of panic, and this earthquake isn’t going to help things.” Bruce stretched and placed his arms behind his head.
“What do you think?”
“Business as usual, and we need to have a chat about that.”
Wiley looked around. Business as usual. He had no qualms with that. Take your time. I could get quite comfortable here.
“Our people knew of this asteroid sometime back, but this supernatural element has caught us a little bit off guard. Some seem to see it as the return of the Lord and that it’ll draw many people to the faith. You know we don’t want this, so we need to put some huge obstacles out there—something to scare the living daylights out of them, but something that’s obviously of our doing. Don’t want people to think there’s a supernatural being. We need to deter, even eliminate, as many God seekers as we can. We can also use fear. The consequences of becoming a follower isn’t worth the risk.”
They knew of this asteroid sometime back? It made sense. There were many influential people involved with this group. He just had to look at his surroundings to know that. This place would be worth millions.
“So you involved in a local chapter?” Wiley asked.
“Yep.”
“Don’t like the Christians, hey?”
“It’s not a matter of not liking the Christians. It’s more the standards and rules they impose. They’re making the world a worse place. I suppose we can thank the media for bringing it all to our attention—they love bashing Christians as much as we do, and with good reason. And they, the media, do bring some bad things to light.”
“True.” Thoughts from the past presented themselves. He closed his eyes and wished them away.
“I was abused when I was young. By someone in church. The media exposed him—he’d been getting away with it for years.”
His openness caught Wiley off guard. He returned his gaze to Bruce and could see the hurt in the man’s eyes. It stirred up the familiar anger.
The man swallowed. “What’s your story, Wiley?”
Wiley moved around on the seat. “Just don’t like them. Never have. Too goody-goody. Hypocrites.”
“No scars then?”
“A few. But I keep them down. Keep them to myself. Don’t like talking or thinking about them.” His right leg started bouncing, and he placed his hand on his thigh to quell the movement. He’d been told it was an anxiety type thing. Leg bouncers bothered him, so he didn’t want to bother Bruce.
“I understand. There are many hurts, many scars amongst our group, our chapters. The church has done a lot of damage, closely followed by Christian parents, and Christians themselves.”
A soft voice spoke in Wiley’s head. But what about Jesus?
16 - A visit to Noosa
Jack looked at the sign showing the Eumundi Noosa Road exit was still some way off. Behind the sign, it looked like stormy weather was brewing in the north. Great. That was all Noosa needed now—a storm. But with the increasing cloud cover came the magnificent sunsets. That may make some people feel better.
