Cult of the Hexad (Afterlife saga Book 6)

by Stephanie Hudson

  Chapter 6

  Baptized with Fire

  As I had planned, by the time we got the doors open everyone from the Colony was stood round the barn to witness our escape from death. We had waited until most of the flames had consumed the body before releasing the door from its chains and burst out of there at just the right moment before the mezzanine level collapsed.

  Some of the people were already trying to fight the fire with buckets of water and two people were pulling hose pipes over ready to provide aid. All I could think about was how I hoped there would be nothing left of that building, however I knew the ash would be gone long before the horrific memory of what happened there ever did. But our only solace was that the Fathers, whether they had been involved in this or not had to at least act horrified that one of their own could do such a thing.

  “What happened, child?!” One of the Elders named Godfrey asked. He was one of the eldest of the Fathers and had had a granddaughter leave the Colony only a month ago. The strange thing was that none of the Fathers ever seemed upset that their family members had decided to leave and forever be then known as the ‘Fallen’. Why was that? But more importantly, why was I only asking myself this now?

  “It was one of the Righteous Bloods! He kidnapped my sister and tortured her…” I said and decided now would be a good time to test out a theory I had, so I continued, warping the truth.

  “…He said he was doing the Fathers’ work and that they told him that she needed to be punished!” I made sure to catch the troubled looks between the Fathers that did little to ease my mind and convince me they hadn’t been involved. I knew what was coming next as they couldn’t have the rest of the Colony believing such a thing. After all, forgiveness for acts like these from those who are supposedly picked by the Gods would have been going a step too far and would have been all they needed to tip the balance of belief.

  It was getting clearer to those who were on the cusp of rebelling and this would have been all they would have needed. And one look from the guilty Fathers told me as much. It was surprising all that you could see when you had your eyes opened by so many acts of cruelty. It only takes one for you to break but just because you do, it doesn’t mean you become weak as there was definitely strength in knowledge. Or so I was beginning to find out.

  “That’s outrageous! He must have fallen to the ways of the Devil…” Godfrey was the first to deny the claim and then Father Davis spoke,

  “Yes, yes…that makes sense as he used fire to cleanse his work and the flames to teach us of his wicked ways.” He then crossed himself making others do the same. I looked to my mother who stood at the back near my Uncle. It was only when she started to receive questioning stares that she was then prompted to finally act like a Mother should and was pushed towards us both by my Uncle’s hand. He must have seen the whispers starting and knew he had to act.

  “Oh my dear daughters! Thank the Gods you both survived!” She said grabbing us both and pulling us into an embrace. Ari cried in pain and I pulled my mother off her. I heard her ‘umpf’ noise but cared nothing for how it looked. I was tired of playing by their rules.

  “She needs a doctor, she is injured!” I said knowing there was no way we would be allowed to leave and find an actual hospital. But at least it meant that right here and now, in front of all these witnesses a healer would have to be provided and that meant sanctuary for the both of us, at least for the meantime.

  Because I knew as soon as we were back in that house, the caring act would stop and God only knew what those two would do to us. I knew my mother had been involved after what she said to me up in Ari’s room. ‘It’s your turn’ had been my mother’s words, which had definitely sounded more like a promise.

  The new feelings I had for my mother now were a loathing of the likes I had never felt before. I hated my Uncle for sure and the way he had always treated us but as far as I was concerned, we were never his blood. Our mother however was the woman who gave birth to us and nurtured us as infants. Ari had even saved her life and this was the thanks we got! This was all the love we were shown, disappointment that we had escaped possibly a death she had a hand in. Oh yes, it was worthy of loathing alright.

  Thankfully my pleas were answered when the Colony’s healer made her way through the crowd. I didn’t know her first name as out of respect to those older than us, we only called them by their last name.

  She was married to Mr Collingwood, one of the farmers who obviously had never been interested in working up the ranks within the Colony so to speak. However, his skills at growing bountiful crops each year was what rewarded him with great respect and I gathered this was enough for him. They had never had children but every encounter I had ever had with Mrs Collingwood had told me that she was warm and kind, two traits that were definitely a rarity around here. She had come from a medical household as her father had once been a Doctor in Lancaster, so naturally she was the first choice when appointing a healer.

  “Give her to me, I will care for her.” She said coming to the other side of Ari as if ready to take her weight. So I handed my sister over to her, listening to my gut feeling as I knew I had made the right decision. It wasn’t as though I had many options to do much else but at least this time I wouldn’t be letting her out of my sight.

  “I am coming with her.” This was a demand that spoke volumes as to my mental state, considering it wasn’t often you would dare demand anything from an Elder. She nodded once obviously knowing how much I needed this.

  “No! You will come with me Katie, your Uncle and I need you to explain what happened to us in private.” I visibly cringed and Mrs Collingwood didn’t miss it.

  “I am afraid Cynthia that Katie might have smoke damage, so she too will need to come with me to be cared for.” Mrs Collingwood said coming to my aid and calling my mother by her first name. This was making it clear that they were on equal ground. I wanted to smile at the awkward position my mother had made for herself, considering she had no grounds for refusing her. After all, it was that or show the whole Colony how little she actually cared for her girls.

  “Oh…uh… yes, yes, I mean of course.” Watching my mother stumbling on her words was what I could officially class as the only highlight of the day. Mrs Collingwood and I both walked away with Ari between us and left the sight of the burning barn behind us. Poor Ari was close to passing out by the time we got to Mrs Collingwood’s homestead and when she was finally lowered onto a bed she was panting in pain.

  I refused at first when being asked to leave the room and insisted that I be allowed to stay. Ari gave me a sad smile and took my hand in hers.

  “Go on, I will be fine.” I knew why she said this and I would have done the same in wanting to spare Ari the sight of my pain. Both of us always had this natural urge to put the other first because of our bond, so I knew what was best for Ari. Once the door was closed I found myself a seat in the living area and looking round I realized just what a home should feel like. Even in this dire situation or who knows, maybe even because of it, I started to see the world, this world for what it really was…

  Bleak. Unnatural. Fake.

  It felt like the lie of all lies. But what had happened back in the barn, now that had been the truth. I could see that now. That the person I thought I was all this time, the quiet, shy and fearful girl that had never been made to feel like a grown woman was actually someone strong. I knew what I had done, in killing that man and taking a life, should have had me cowering in fear for what the Gods may do but I wasn’t. If anything it had felt like my power had come from them. That my other self had led me to Ari and not only pointing the way but also taking over and doing what needed to be done.

  It scared me how natural it had felt and when I looked down at my hands now, I saw that they were shaking. What was wrong with me and who was I becoming when I thought that murdering a man was natural for me? But then a simple flash of the nightmare of seeing Ari, who I loved most in this world, being hurt like that…well
then, that murder became justice.

  It was as simple at that and when you were forced to live in these simple times, then what other option did I have? It wasn’t like we could go to the cops and report a crime.

  “Katie, you can go in there now.” Mrs Collingwood startled me and looking at the wooden cuckoo clock hung on the wall, I realized I had been convincing myself of these facts for over an hour. I stood up, ignoring how stiff I felt and walked back into the room Ari was in.

  “Her back was pretty cut up but I cleaned them up as best as I could. She was lucky she didn’t need stiches but I think there will be some scarring. Which reminds me, I noticed that she had some bad scars on her back from another incident…”

  “We were both in a car accident when we were younger. Ari hurt her back and I hurt my arms.” I said stopping her before she thought this type of thing had happened before. The fact that it had and hadn’t left any scars wasn’t something worth mentioning. After all, it wasn’t as if she could do anything about it considering our Uncle was the leader around here. Besides, she had done so much for us already, more than she knew in fact, so I didn’t think it fair laying even more problems at her door.

  “Ah, I see.” She said and then she patted me on the shoulder and said,

  “Go and be with her but I want you both to try and get some rest. No one will bother you tonight.” She turned to leave when I stopped her.

  “I can’t thank you enough…your kindness…and…”

  “Hush now or you will make this old lady blush.” She said waving off my gratitude as though it was nothing, but did she not understand that in a place like this, it meant everything. She closed the door on us and I approached the bed. Ari looked peaceful and I didn’t want to disturb her, so I went to sit on a nearby chair.

  “You know you have always been terrible at trying to keep quiet.” Ari said opening one eye and smirking.

  “That’s why I lost at hide and seek when we were kids.” I replied, scooting my chair closer to the bed.

  “Ha! Well it didn’t help when you hid behind a curtain with your feet showing.” Ari laughed and it was a beautiful sound considering what she had just been through but there was something about what she just said that forced a vision out of me.

  I was in a luxurious marble room, with the biggest, grandest fireplace I had ever seen. But I seemed to be in a panic and was scanning the room for something. It was only when I saw the curtains that a plan must have formed. I then looked for another way out and when I found it I ran to it. Then strangely, I opened the door and was surprised when I didn’t go through it but instead ran back to the heavy red and gold curtains that were hanging to the floor. I stepped behind one and tried to control my heavy breathing. Then my heart almost stopped when I first heard footsteps before another door opened.

  “She couldn't have gone far I can still feel her near...FIND HER!” As soon as I heard his voice erupt with anger I screamed, feeling this time that my heart did stop.

  “You just had another one didn’t you?” The sound of my sister’s voice jarred me from what felt like the past and my tensed muscles could finally relax back into the chair.

  “Yeah.” I said still panting.

  “Now it’s happening when we are awake.”

  “You too?” I asked oddly finding comfort in this new knowledge.

  “Yes but I don’t know why. It’s almost like the closer we get to something, the stronger it gets.” This made sense as it felt the same with me, almost like a…

  “Like a beacon.” I said making her cry out her agreement.

  “Yes! Exactly like that!” Okay so both shouting that out wasn’t exactly like we had just solved all our problems, no if anything we had just added a bucket load more questions to the pile. But one thing remained clear through it all,

  “We need to get out of here, Ari.”

  “Agreed.” She said whipping back the covers and wincing with the movement.

  “We can’t go now, plus Mrs Collingwood said we would be fine here for the time being. We need a plan.” I said making sure she didn’t do herself even more damage by getting out of bed. Ari had always been the strong one. When I was little I used to think she was invincible and to look at her now, after the beating she’d just received, I could believe it once again. When she dragged us out of that car the authorities couldn’t believe that a seven year old had achieved such an incredible feat. And to top it all off she too had been injured and like me had the scars to show for it.

  When our dad had swerved the car to avoid a truck that jack knifed when it had hit black ice, he had lost all control. The car had flipped countless times and I just remember the glass exploding all around us. The unusual scars on Ari’s back had doctors scratching their heads as to how she had received them as all she could tell them was that it felt like she fell and hit something hard. As you can imagine this merely confused them further. My own scars occurred when Ari had dragged me from the car on my front, by my hands and the glass had done the rest.

  As a child she had simply wanted to get me from the car as quickly as possible as the wheels were still turning and she got scared the car would drive away with me trapped inside. Of course now our memories told us the tree it had hit wouldn’t have allowed that to happen but her fears were for good reason as the car set alight just after she saved our mother. Our father had died on impact and the sight of his bloody body still haunted us to this day.

  So having scars on my arms didn’t bother me at all. Because every time I looked at them I was reminded of two things. One was that we were put on this earth to live each day like it was a gift given and two, was that there were no limits to what loving someone could mean or make you do.

  “So what is the plan?” Ari asked and it was strange as it seemed that in a short time we had swapped roles. Ari was normally the one with a plan and the one that led us through that plan with no fear. So when did I become the fearless leader?

  “You saved me.” Ari said as if reading my thoughts, which wouldn’t have been surprising seeing as we were twins.

  “I murdered someone.” I whispered stating the obvious.

  “No, you saved someone…me.” I knew what she was saying and put that way I would do it all again because it came down to simple primal rules of survival. It had been either him or Ari. Because there was no doubt in my mind that he would have killed her and me too as it seemed my time would have been next if my mother’s words were anything to go by. No, I had no choice and Ari’s words simply reminded me of that fact.

  “So what’s the plan badass, Kay Bear?” I smiled and said only one word,

  “Escape.”

  Mrs Collingwood remained true to her word and not one person disturbed us the rest of the night. This wasn’t for lack of trying though as my mother had tried to get us taken back home. But after a long argument from Mrs Collingwood, mother finally had to agree that what was best for our ‘health’ was more important than my mother’s ‘emotional’ state. Her argument for needing us home so badly would have been laughable if it hadn’t have highlighted the seriousness of our need to leave as soon as possible.

  There was only one reason my mother seemed desperate enough for us to be back in that house and it wasn’t anything to do with our health or her ‘emotional state’. It was for the type of punishment you don’t come back from.

  We decided it was now or never as we both knew the likelihood of making it to the end of the month was never going to be a reality. Thankfully when the storm hit that night it seemed luck was on our side as we were less likely to be seen making a run for it. I had been worried at first on how Ari would cope after her injuries but as usual, Ari just acted like nothing was wrong. This was proven when she was up and out of bed as soon as we heard Mr and Mrs Collingwood call it a night.

  The problem we had was we didn’t know if our mother and Uncle would have anyone watching the house. But in the end it was a chance we would have to take. So under the cover of darkness we sneaked
out of the Collingwood home and made a run for it into the surrounding woodland.

  The run had been hard, harder so for Ari due to the extreme pain this must have put on her back. By the time we reached the cover of the trees we were also soaked from the heavy rain, but we didn’t care as we had made it past the hardest point. Here in the darkness and under the cover of the forest we had more of a chance to remain hidden until we could at least find a road.

  We had no idea how far we would have to walk, which was why I had no choice when it came to stealing a loaf of bread and some carrots from Mrs Collingwood’s larder. At least I’d found a scrap of paper and a pencil so that I could write a sorry note, hoping she would understand why. Although after dealing with my mother I think she had an idea what was going on, so wouldn’t be surprised by our actions, not considering the door had been left unlocked as if giving us the go ahead.

  “We made it.” Ari said bending over to catch her breath like I was.

  “Yeah, let’s just hope that was the hard part.” Ari agreed and we carried on slowly as the small flashlight Ari had also taken from the house wasn’t providing much light. This was also a good thing as we didn’t exactly need to be letting people know where we were should they come looking for us.

  “As least these trees offer some protection against the rain.” That was true but the damage had already been done as we were both shivering from the cold wet clothes we now wore. Mrs Collingwood had also been kind enough to give us both a set of old clothes she used to wear when she was younger. Apart from smelling a bit musty from being stored for so long, they were a lot warmer than my woollen dress or Ari’s forced naked state.

  We continued on and I had to wonder about how easy it had been making it this far. People who had escaped before had also run into the trees and I didn’t know whether it was a good sign or not the fact they had never been seen again. There were only two scenarios I saw the reasons for this and one was that they had gotten lost and most likely died out there in the wilderness. And the other, a more hopeful one was that they got so far and then found a road to civilization.