Once again Samantha found herself waking up in an unfamiliar room. This time Reverend Crane sat on a chair next to the bed she lay on. The moment she saw his face, Samantha sat up in bed and looked for a mirror. "What did you do to me?" she demanded. She threw off a quilt to examine herself. As far as she could tell, nothing had changed.
"Be still, my child. No one is going to hurt you," Reverend Crane said. He reached out to take her hand, but she snatched it away. "There's no need to be afraid. You're safe."
"Liar! You already killed three children. Now you're going to kill me too."
"It was an unfortunate accident what happened to those children. But they received due punishment for their gluttony."
"And what about Miss Brigham, was that an accident?"
"For betraying the community and importing evil influences she deserved to meet the Lord's final judgment. I spared her life because she has served me well for many years and will do so now for many more."
"You made her into a fool."
"I changed nothing of her personality. She merely reverted to her adolescent state." Before Samantha could say anything else, Reverend Crane held up a hand. "I know this troubles you, my child. I did not want this to happen, but you brought it upon our community. Your influence over Miss Brigham and the children left me with no choice but to take drastic action."
"You have no right to do this! We aren't your puppets. We're human beings."
The reverend stood and began to pace his sparsely-furnished bedroom. "We have received a wonderful blessing in Eternity. An opportunity to make Heaven here on Earth. We have the ability to be as perfect as the Lord Himself. It is my responsibility to make sure my flock stays on the right path, that they live according to The Way."
"Your responsibility? Shouldn't they decide how to live their lives?"
"They were prepared to abandon The Way and ally themselves with savages. I did what was necessary to preserve the sanctity of my congregation. I cleansed their souls and kept them on the true path until your arrival."
"You took away their identities and their families. You took away their lives!"
"Their lives were worth nothing before I intervened. They were sinners bound for Hell, every last one. I transformed them into model servants of God. I created them as the Lord created Adam from clay, fashioning them in His image." He pointed at her and continued, "As for you, your life was an empty void until you came here."