Luke phoned Noah the moment he landed, but he'd been too eager and forgotten the time zone. Noah was half asleep and, despite arguing to the contrary, far too tired to hold a coherent conversation.
So their first real phone call took place later the next day.
Luke was excited to recount his tales about the interesting sights and sounds of Kampala, Uganda. He spoke about the hotel where he was staying and the people he'd met.
"Do you know they introduce themselves surname first? Some kind of tribal thing…"
Noah began to relax about the whole situation. He decided that he had totally overreacted about Luke going on the trip. It was just for one week, after all.
As much as he hated being parted from Luke, a lot of that merely stemmed from past fears.
Of course he couldn't expect that they spend every single day together. Of course there would be times when they might have to sleep apart. But spiritually they were always together. Nothing could change that. Nothing ever had.
During his second phone call home, Luke told Noah about the local reporters he'd met and the detailed information he'd received about the day of Tony and Kizza's disappearance.
His conversation was still fairly light hearted then. He seemed distracted by and interested in this strange and new environment; immersing himself in the local culture.
Noah found it infectious and enjoyed listening to the 'little boy' excitement in Luke's voice.
"They are so traditional. I met an actual warrior! He wears this strange green headdress to identify himself to others. It's really amazing, Noah! You'd love it here! Hot as hell though! Think mid-summer California and times it by three!"
"Well," Noah joked, "At least I can still expect to get my tanned beach-bum back!"
It was only really by his third phone call home that Luke began to sound withdrawn; sad, almost defeated.
"Luke, are you okay? You don't sound right?" A worried Noah asked.
"I'm fine. I found out some stuff today that's thrown me for a bit of a loop."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Let's not get into that, okay? I will tell you, but I just can't right now. It's all I'm eating, drinking and sleeping at the moment! I just want to hear about good things; about you and the kids. I miss you."
Then came the forth phone call home.
"I've not been able to find any trace of Tony. I've searched his apartment and spoken to a few of his friends and I don't like what I'm hearing."
"What are they saying?" Noah asked.
"That the reporters writing the news items in the States aren't being told the full story. The Ugandan government are controlling the information. Things have been difficult for Tony. Things are difficult."
"What do you mean, Luke?"
"I read some things online before I left and now I'm beginning to realise just how true they are. I met this man today; a minister. He's starting a hou-"
Noah could hear a door banging in the background and somebody in the same room with Luke started speaking. Noah couldn't make out this stranger's words but he could tell by the tone it was urgent.
"Look Bubby, I have to go."
"Who's that with you?" Noah asked. "Luke, is everything okay?"
"Yes. I'm sure everything's fine. There just som-"
More banging.
"Luke?"
More of their low voices speaking quickly; fearfully, but not clear enough to understand.
"Luke?"
"I love you."
Noah drew breath at the sudden worry in Luke's tone.
"Whatever happens, Noah. I love you so much."
"What?"
The line cut off and Noah frenetically tried to redial.
But that would be the last time he'd hear from Luke.
He immediately informed Jarvis and; when Luke didn't call him the following day; the American Embassy and the Association for Missing Persons. They all told him the same thing.
"Sit tight. We'll investigate. Collect him from the airport as planned."
But, just as Noah suspected; after already receiving confirmation from Luke's hotel that he hadn't checked out; Luke didn't land at LAX International aboard flight EBB 217.
That was when Noah went into full blown panic mode.
On his way home to pack, with none of the avenues he'd pursued providing any kind of solid information, he called Holden.
"Noah! What a nice surprise! I didn't expect to hear from you guys so soon. How's Luke? How was his trip?"
Noah was in the frantic process of throwing clothes into a bag, he held the phone to his ear by bending his head to his shoulder.
"I don't know…" His reply was breathless.
"Sorry?" Holden asked.
"I don't have much time." He stopped what he was doing to catch the phone in his hand, "I'll be flying up to Oakdale in a few hours and I need to leave the kids at the farm. Can you speak to Emma for me?"
"Noah? Has something happened?"
"I'm so sorry, Dad. Please forgive me. I didn't want to worry you unless I was sure."
"Worry me?"
"I haven't heard from Luke in two days. And he didn't arrive home on the flight."
"What?"
"I'm flying to Kampala tomorrow morning. It was the first flight I could get."
"Oh my God, Noah! Where is he?"
"I don't know." His voice was breaking and so was he. "Look. I'm barely holding it together right now so… um… I'm going to hang up because I need to get moving… and… and…"
"Okay." Holden's voice immediately come down a few octaves and calmed. "It's okay. Look, I'm sure he's fine. I'm sure there's a reason for all of this."
"I'm going to hang up right now. I'll see you in a few hours. We can talk then."
"Okay, son. Stay strong. We'll be waiting at the farm."
...
Luke was right. It was beyond hot. The heat seemed to hang like a curtain about the place.
It hit Noah like a brick wall the moment he stepped from the air conditioned comfort of the plane.
The air was dry and dusty. So much so that he could taste the sand in his mouth, smell the earth on the warm wind.
He saw Jenna waiting for him in arrivals.
"Did you snail pace your way off the plane? You landed two hours ago!" She complained.
Noah was in no mood for it.
"Jenna. Luke is missing. So you can be sure I didn't 'snail pace' as you put it. They asked me about a dozen questions in customs and then took forever offloading the luggage."
"Well then let's stop wasting time and go."
Jenna was with an elderly black man with greying temples and a peeked black cap.
"This is Ojore. He'll be our driver."
Noah nodded.
"This way please." said Ojore in deeply accented English.
As they followed the driver to the car Noah asked, "How long have you been out here for?"
"Jarvis sent me two days ago." Jenna replied, "As soon as he got your phone call asking about Luke. So thanks for that by the way! This place is a right royal shithole!"
Noah chose to ignore her annoyance. Truthfully he didn't have the energy for it. He was just pleased to have finally landed so that he could start the search for Luke.
Besides, he was certain that there was nobody, not even Jarvis, who could make Jenna do something she didn't want to. Noah knew that Jenna was hiding her concern.
They reached the car, a grey BMW, and the driver opened the passenger door for both Noah and Jenna to sit in the backseat.
"The embassy is already aware as you know." Jenna was saying, "They are extremely concerned that the disappearance of another American citizen will look bad for them, so they're keeping Luke's situation under wraps."
Noah rubbed his face in his hands as they left the airport and drove onto the main motorway.
"What exactly is going on, Jenna? Luke said he found something out."
Her eyes darkened. "How tired are you?"
"What do you mean?"
She shook her head in annoyance. "I mean do you want to go straight to the hotel or do you want to find out what it is that Luke discovered?"
Noah locked determined eyes with hers. "What do you think?"
...
The car dropped them off near the outskirts of the city after driving as far as it was possible. There were people everywhere.
Great hordes of men, women and children, all dressed in white, were making their way toward a large park area, clogging up the roads; singing and dancing as they went.
"What's going on?" Noah asked.
"There's a religious rally today."
They both climbed out into the dry heat, Noah looking about at the faces of the people passing.
"Come on." Jenna said to him over the roof of the vehicle, before bending down to the open window, "Will you wait here for us, Ojore?"
The driver nodded, pushing his seat back and getting comfortable.
Noah followed Jenna, walking as fast as the crowd allowed them two. The air was thick with the smell of a thousand sweating bodies.
"Three months ago the Ugandan government passed a legal bill based almost solely and completely on the ridiculous ranting of a Simon Laarman." Jenna had to shout to be heard over the throng surrounding them. "He arrived in this country and took his program to all the schools and businesses that would listen to him."
It was difficult going. The multitude was thick and determined, anxious to get to the heart of the proceedings.
Noah was pushed and shoved as he walked, trying hard to hear Jenna above the noise; as well as to keep up with her.
The closer they got to the epicentre of activity the more Noah became aware of an American voice being broadcast over loud speakers.
"Unfortunately the idiots running this train crash of a country actually did and do listen to him." Jenna was saying.
"And what was this program about?" Noah yelled across to Jenna as they walked, "What's this got to do with Tony and Luke?"
Before Jenna could answer he heard the first clear sentence from the loud speakers.
"I am here today to bring you God. I am here today to baptize you and your children in the name of the Holy Father…."
After every sentence the American man spoke, another man would translate his words directly into native Swahili and the crowd would cheer.
In the distance Noah made out a raised platform on which a bearded middle-aged white man stood; looking kind and respectable in cotton dress pants and white button down shirt. He looked like he'd just stepped out of an American soap opera; all suave and sophisticated. He looked like a man to be trusted.
"Why are we here? And who is that?" Noah asked, but when he looked around he realised he had somehow lost Jenna in the crowd.
He wasn't worried. He knew were the car was parked. So instead of wasting time he dug into his pocket and took out the small photograph he had of Luke.
He spent a moment smoothing his thumb over the familiar features, before walking from person to person; asking as best he could whether they knew him or had seen him.
He received many suspicious and quizzical looks off of people, but nobody showed any sign of recognising Luke.
It was clear that Noah was making a bit of a spectacle. As the only white male there, besides the minister, he wasn't exactly blending in with the crowd, instead they all seemed extremely interested in him.
A sinister looking young man in a red knitted beanie leaned nonchalantly against a dying tree, watching Noah curiously.
"Hello?" Noah smiled.
The man did not smile back. He grimaced as though Noah's voice had stung him and then spat on the grass beside him. He pushed past Noah and headed toward the front of the crowd; treating people quite roughly along the way.
Noah hadn't really been paying much attention to the fire and brimstone speech coming from the stage until he heard, "But I am also here to warn you! I am here today to tell you of the devil's work. It has a name and it's called The Gay Movement."
Noah's head whipped around and his eyes glued onto the figure. Suddenly he was all ears and he willed that the man doing the translation would to do so quickly.
"This is an evil institution. The goal of The Gay Movement is to defeat the marriage-based society, and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity and insanity."
Noah felt instantly sick and even more so as the crowd that surrounded him cheered and sang their approval.
He looked down protectively at the ring on his finger, twisting it around just to reassure himself that it was real; that he hadn't just walked into some twilight zone where his life never existed.
Noah had grown so comfortable. So certain of his identity as a gay man; so sure of his love for Luke, for their marriage and their children.
It had been a long, long time since he'd felt this way; since he'd feared it.
"We need to pray people! We need to band together and prevent the spread of this vile and evil spirit; this dark demon."
As the Swahili translation wafted over the crowd, Noah lost the feeling in his legs. His eyes left the stage to roam over the endless crowd and suddenly he felt extremely exposed and worse, totally alone.
This was it! This was what Luke knew!
"This spirit of lawlessness and anarchy has already taken over parts of my country and it will try to take over yours too. We must stop it at all costs."
The crowd applauded and stamped their feet.
"I have moved my family here to launch a house of prayer right in the heart of Africa. Right here is where we will start our own movement!" The minister gesticulated wildly with his hands. "And together my friends, God's followers will do his work and we will rid the world of this dominion of darkness. Let us pray."
It was almost hypnotic the way the entire crowd of white fell to their knees in the prayer position, some listening to the translation from the stage, other's muttering to themselves; saying prayers of their own.
With the throng of people on their knees, Noah had a clear sight of the stage and he watched as the young man of earlier climbed up onto the platform to whisper into the minister's ear.
Noah was glued to the spot as the man's bitter green eyes scanned the masses until they came to a jarring stop, hard and hate-filled, as soon as they located Noah; the only person still standing. The only white person. The only person not in white.
"We must band these demons together, we must root them out. We must cast out homosexual spirits!"
Noah couldn't breath. This crazy person; this fiend who seemed to have the locals in some kind of trance was addressing those words directly to him.
"It's frightening, I know! It's a scary, scary thing we face! But, my people, I am here to lead you to victory!"
As Laarman finished up his sermon, the crowd began to sing, voices raised and determined, filling the space. Noah watched wide eyed as the man jumped from the edge of the platform and began approaching him. The crowd parted willingly for him to pass.
"You're right," Noah shakily said as soon as the man was in earshot. "The devil is here. I'm looking right at him"
Laarman opened his mouth to reply but Noah turned to walk away with disgust, unable to stand listening to another hurtful word pass the man's purse lips.
"He's dead you know?"
But after that statement, uttered so nonchalantly, like it was nothing, like Luke meant nothing, Noah's legs came to an abrupt stop even as he willed them forward. His feet stumbled slightly on the uneven earth as the air flew from his lungs.
"That's why you're here, isn't it?" the man continued. "That blonde?"
Even turned away as he was, Noah could feel the man's malicious smile and hateful eyes burning into his back. A shiver ran up his spine.
He wanted to turn around. He wanted to stride back over there and beat the truth from him; find out what he knew about Luke. But he couldn't. Not here. Not under all these watchful eyes; hundreds of them in support of and loving, this man…
Noah knew he would be arrested and then what use was he to Luke?
He wouldn't react any more than he already had. He wouldn't give this monster the satisfaction.
Without even looking back Noah forced his traitorous legs forward until he was alone and out of sight between the walls of two makeshift buildings.
He leaned forward into the rough grey brick, pressing his head to his fisted knuckles; trying to breath.
"Get a grip! It's not true! You'd know if it were true! You'd feel it!"
He coughed and expelled the contents of his stomach, retching and struggling for breath.
A hand grabbed his shoulder and he jolted back, afraid. He realised suddenly that he was terribly afraid.
A young man stood before him, holding out his hands as a sign of peace. "You are Noah, yes?"
Immediately hope flooded through him.
"YES! Yes I'm Noah!" he grabbed at the man's arms, "Luke? Do you know where Luke is?"
The man lowered his eyes like he didn't dare look at Noah.
"My name is Kigongo. You must come with me. I will tell you all I know. But it is not safe for you here."
Noah hesitated for just one minute wondering whether he aught to trust this stranger. "My friend…"
"Your lady friend is already waiting." Kigongo assured him, "Come."
The man knew his name and that gave Noah some courage. He nodded and followed the Kigongo back through the crowd and away from Minister Simon Laarman's icy glare.
Please let me know what you think of this.