The Sect

  “Which makes me wonder why you’re doing this in the first place?” I questioned her. “Aren’t you disobeying him by taking me out here?”

  “I was told to do this, so I had help. I won’t be punished for doing this as long as you go back to your room tonight. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You have to accept your rebirth, Keaton. It won’t be the end; it will be the beginning. You’ll feel so free.”

  “Told to help by whom?”

  “I”—she looked down at her hands, her voice became quieter and almost childlike—“can’t say.”

  “Jayme,” I began, bothered by her programmed thoughts and words to encourage me to go along with the program, “I don’t know who Reven really is or what he does to afford this, but I don’t care. I won’t be doing any of the things that go on here.”

  Her brows raised in unison. “I thought you read some of the book and I explained as much as I could to you. I thought you understood. Reven usually explains everything before you arrive. I didn’t see you when you arrived, but if you went straight to the basement, it must’ve been pretty bad. If he forgot, it must’ve been your less than warm reception to this place.”

  A smile pressed across my face, slightly matching the one she gave me. I covered it because it was inappropriate. I was probably miles away from home. A prisoner in a land unknown.

  Reven and Noah had plans to fracture me—I knew they did. While I thought they never could, smiling after all that had happened to me was very inappropriate. “Reven is a sadist who thinks he’s some divine being. This place is a hideaway for a very screwed up sex cult.”

  “I thought that, too,” she replied, her smile fading. “While he can be a kind man—a fair man—he’s a man you should be scared of. Very, very afraid.” She nodded toward the houses down the hill, lined up like perfect boxes along the street. “I told you before, didn’t I? Very rich people come here to hear Reven speak. After they confess their sins, one of the men or women of Rebirth helps them by praying for them, or doing something else in line with the laws of The Doctrine. It’s a different way for Reven to help the more fortunate. He’s doing a good thing here, helping the wealthy and people like us. They give a large donation for their time here. Reven owns a telecommunications company that his family started. He’s so rich it could be a sin within itself, but he’s been chosen. He’s a revenant.”

  My breath caught in my throat, my heart stopped beating for just a moment. “What is prayer, Jayme?…and what do you mean by a revenant?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

  “No one is allowed to tell the story of Reven but Reven. If he tells you, it means you’ve been fully accepted into Rebirth and he considers you his right hand. Only two people know Reven’s story from before he died. To him, he was reborn when he was revived and nothing else should matter to his parishioners other than what he did when he awoke.” She held my gaze without faltering. “Prayer is a sexual act. It can be oral sex or masturbation—a combination of the two. Atonement is intercourse. An act of contrition is whatever Reven decides. With Reven, if he gives you a blessing or prays for you, it can mean anything. The rules of what things are only apply to us.” Her tone was almost clinical and completely off-putting. She’d gotten over the shock of the reason and purpose behind the place a long time ago. “Sometimes, if they pay enough, Reven will allow the members who attend the seminars to indulge fully in their own acts of contrition; they are usually the things they couldn’t do outside of this land without going to jail or something worse. That’s only for the ones he thinks are worthy.”

  I was certain that what she meant by worth had nothing to do with the individuals’ ability to atone or confess. Their worth was tied to the price they paid to come here. “Acts of repentance?”

  “Some of their tastes aren’t exactly simpleminded. There is no limit to the acts; they can do whatever they please. Sacrificing ourselves to the lost ones, to indulge in what they desire most to free them of their sins, is an honor.”

  Fear was evident in my eyes as I realized what I’d be groomed for.

  She looked guiltily to the ground. “You have a beautiful voice, Keaton. Use that and maybe things won’t be as bad as you think they will.”

  “You…heard me sing?”

  She curved a brow with a warm smile that awakened my deadening heart. “The walls in the house—though it’s hard to hear—if you press your ear to the door, you can hear everything.” She bit into her lip, shaking her head. “I sound like a creep, don’t I?”

  Having never been shown any kindness from anyone in the house, I was riddled with remorse for making a mark of the one person who was. “Thank you, but…” My eyes darted off to the horizon.

  “You want to run, don’t you?” She took in the view alongside me, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her parka. “I should’ve known you’d be stubborn. I went through a lot to be able to show you this, and if you run, I’ll fall from Reven’s favor.” Her eyes watered and almost pleaded with me. “Please don’t do that to me. Having him angry with me breaks me. I’ve been through enough. Don’t do this to me for trying to help you.”

  Puzzlement was fixed on my face and delayed my reaction. She didn’t realize nothing she’d been through here was a reward; the entire thing was a punishment and a sick way for a man to make money and exalt his overinflated sense of self.

  “Just think…what’s better? The world out there? Or staying here and obeying him every now and then while you live somewhere better? Somewhere with a lot more freedom.”

  “This”—I gestured around grandly—“isn’t better to me. This place is just a prettied up version for hell. I’m not impressed with this place and I don’t mean because of the acts, I’m talking about the scenery. I had everything, and I left it all for something less. Jayme, don’t you realize you’ve been brainwashed?” Realizing my last statement was asinine, I shut my eyes and sighed. Jayme was too far gone. It would probably take months of therapy to remove her from the mental state she was seduced into.

  “I’m happy, Keaton, are you?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she asked, “Are you still going to run? Or are you going to let me take you back like I was supposed to?” She hadn’t noticed I’d been stepping backward since we started the conversation. When she realized it, a flicker of panic crossed her eyes. “Don’t. You won’t get far, and you will get me in trouble. Don’t make me regret this.”

  “I’m sorry, Jayme. I really am.” I turned on my heels and ran. I could hear her fast steps just behind me, but I knew how to use evasion over speed.

  I used the trees as cover and ran in a zigzag pattern. The dense snow packed in the forested area made my steps slow and difficult. I persevered circling back and forth until her steps faded in the foreground and her voice was a soft echo behind me.

  The sun began to rise as I trudged through the forest. The snow crunched underneath my steps and seeped into my sneakers, increasingly numbing my ability to feel my toes. The cold seeped underneath my parka, taking a gripping hold of my body. I expected to reach civilization after walking what seemed like miles. I disbelieved what Noah said about the distance of the next town. If I was still in the States, there had to be at least one other house on the perimeter of Reven’s land with someone there to help me.

  A bitter wind blasted my face, carrying with it a smell so putrid I doubled over and dry heaved. My legs gave out and I collapsed—knees first—to the ground.

  I fought to continue, because death out here seemed just as bad as returning to the place that would inflict me with their ideas and force me to do perverted things, all in the name of a one man.

  My body violently shivered and my lips felt cracked to the point of bleeding. I sank down further, hugging my knees to my chest, barely able to feel my limbs. I felt…so tired.

  The cracking sound of twigs made me pause, the snow crunched, indicating the arrival of at least three other people. The sound was close—too close for comfort. I grasped for something but couldn’t feel a
nything at my fingertips. The forest began to move in slow motion.

  I glanced over my shoulder and in between the line of trees, I spied Noah and two other dangerous looking men beside him. Men I’d never seen on the property before. I tried to stand, but it was of no use. I looked up at the closest tree, finding a branch low enough to climb. My first attempt was a failure and I fell hard down into the snow. I tried again but eventually collapsed, unable to get up again.

  Voices resounded through a tunnel and several bodies hovered over me. I was airborne and held tightly to a body that provided much-needed warmth. I bounced as though my hero began to run with me in his arms. The sunlight blinded me, pulling me to close my eyes. I was jostled as more muffled words were said to me.

  Warmth rushed at my face and I wished I could’ve felt it everywhere. Things were slammed around and my clothes were ripped and yanked off my body. I was bundled tightly in softness and felt a concentrated heat on my stomach.

  The surface underneath me was much too soft to have been somewhere outdoors. A small flicker of golden light called my attention, but soon enough, the cloud draining my energy took over everything, shrouding my vision and mind in darkness.

  “Here. Drink this.” Lulled awake by Noah, I slipped up on the couch, feeling my sore joints protest as I tried to move. I looked around, observing a living room that I didn’t recognize as something in Reven’s home. I was dressed in warm thermals that clung to my form. Several blankets were wrapped around me, making my body perspire. I touched my stomach, feeling my damp skin. A warm heating pack was pressed against my stomach and wrapped around me. I pulled it away, setting it aside, and took the blankets down, feeling very overheated.

  He brought the warm cup to my lips, slipping his hand behind my head to make sure I took a sip. The instant I did, he directed my hands to surround the mug of warm liquid—that tasted very much like chamomile tea—and released me. “Is—” I cleared my throat, looking around the living room from where I sat on the couch. “Is this your home?”

  He pushed the cup closer to my lips again, urging me to drink.

  I took another tiny sip of the tea, slowly looking from over the steaming cup at Noah. He sat across from the couch on top of the coffee table. The sleeves of his dark sweater were pushed up, exposing his muscular forearms and the veining in his hands. Behind him, the fireplace was ignited, the orange glow serving as a backlight, illuminating touches of blue undertones in his black hair. It was a perfect mess as though he couldn’t keep his hands out of it.

  A tinge of weariness was in his eyes as he stared at me. He clasped his hands across the gap in his legs and leaned forward. “That was a really stupid fucking thing to do,” he stated, his voice more hoarse and soft than usual. “You’re lucky I found you when I did. You’re very fucking lucky you didn’t lose a digit or a toe. What were you thinking? I told you how far the next town was. Did you want to die?”

  I hugged my tucked legs with one arm, resting the steaming cup between my knees. I felt less than lucky about any of it. Remembering what Jayme stated about this place, I felt like I was waiting for execution; the time at which I’d be accepted into Rebirth and forced to accept a fate I didn’t want. “Maybe I did,” I said, knowing well that I didn’t want to die; I wanted to escape.

  He quirked a brow at me, his lips narrowing. “Do you think that’s fucking funny?”

  Startled, I looked at him. The way he reacted to my irreverent joke confused me. “I don’t understand you, Noah,” I stated, a little frustrated and very befuddled. “On the one hand, I know you don’t care about me; on the other, you do things to make me think that beneath the twisted individual, maybe you do.” I swung my aching body around and set the cup of tea down on the table beside him. My action pulled me closer to him and without a warning, his hand found the back of my head, pulling me to stand with him.

  “Why am I here?” I asked, taking in shallow breaths. His intoxicating scent and entrancing hazel-blue eyes were hard to ignore. “This is your place, isn’t it? Between saving me, bringing me here instead of back to Reven, and the flowers…Why are you taking such a vested interest in me?”

  His fingers got lost in the hair at the back of my head. Tugging my strands, he forced my head to tilt until I became completely locked in his gaze. The way his teeth sank into his plump lips called my attention. Catching onto my stare, he smirked ensuring my heart raced at a painful pace.

  “Now that you’re better,” he began, his smirk turning deviant, “you know what’s going to happen next, don’t you?”

  I shouldn’t have expected an answer to my questions, but a part of me hoped he would answer. The disappointment was palpable.

  Staring at me in silence, his jaw flexed and spasmed. Finally blinking, he spoke, “No matter how many times you were told, you think you can change the way things are. I think you can be smarter than this, Keaton. I think that deep down you’re very familiar with how this works. The best advice I can give to you is to tell you to stop asking me questions. I’m not your subordinate. I’m not your friend. I owe you nothing.”

  “No, Noah. I won’t stop asking questions, because I think you’re a walking contradiction.” I pressed my hands against his hard chest. The muscles were easily felt and partially seen through his dark blue cashmere V-neck sweater. “Why did you send me flowers?” I winced as I felt something growing between us. Something that should’ve disgusted me, but it didn’t. I felt like I should’ve pushed away, but I didn’t. Increasingly, Noah made me feel abashed by my reactions to him.

  He slowly smirked, taking a sick little pleasure in my reaction. He hooked his arm around me, pulling me close enough that I could feel it throb between us. “We’ll get to that someday, Keaton.” He brushed his lips against my forehead, making me shudder. “I can tell how badly you want it. But…not yet.” He tugged my hair again, making my neck crane into an uncomfortable arc. “This is what I’ll tell you; I will never answer your questions unless I want to give you answers. Right now, I don’t. I probably never will. For now, I want you to do what you were told. I want you to finish your fucking tea.” He released me, pushing me back on the couch.

  I flopped down, the leather cushions protested with a resounding groan beneath me.

  He picked up the cup and shoved it in my face. “Drink it.”

  With an angry gusto, I clutched the cup and drank it down, giving little concern to how it burned my throat and tongue with the temperature. I slammed the empty cup down on the coffee table and folded my arms. “Now what?”

  “We wait,” he sneered.

  I didn’t give much thought about what he meant until my body began to react. My ears were flooded with a whirling sound. My mind became full of dark clouds, threatening to pull me under. My grip on consciousness began to slip, sending me off balance.

  I tried to stand, but my equilibrium wouldn’t allow it. I fell against his body. He picked me up, enveloping me in his arms. “When you wake up, we’re going to have some fun, princess.”

  Darkness took hold of my sight and my consciousness.

  A STINGING sensation exuding from my behind jolted me awake. My body—in a precarious position—could barely rebel from the pain. The taste of animal hide in my mouth made me gag. As I adjusted my lips, the restrictive piece never moved, keeping my tongue down and my jaw clenched. The mobility of my head was limited. My legs were spread and bound to rigid wood surfaces. Only the tips of my toes touched the cold concrete floor. I was bent over and tied to a leather bound saw bench that only supported my chest and torso. My hands were bound behind my back from elbow to wrist. Something thick and restrictive was around my neck and attached to the apparatus beneath me.

  I was naked, my most vulnerable part exposed. Through the clouds of my tears, I saw someone in the foreground. His muscular back was decorated in wounds here and there. They were deep and encompassing enough to be stab or gunshot wounds. Beyond it, were two skeletal drama mask tattoos that extended down the entire length of t
he left side of his back. The masks were intricately designed and expressed laughter and sadness. Beneath each one, scrolled within a ribbon banner were the words: “Laugh Now” and “Cry Never.” He pulled his sweater from the table. Shoving it on, he combed his hair with his fingers, fixing it into a less messy style.

  He looked over his broad shoulder at me; his hazel-blue eyes stared at me with indifference.

  His words, warning me against defiance and foretelling what would happen if I did replayed in my head. I began to writhe against my restraints, hoping somehow to get free.

  “The struggle is just going to tucker you out before I’m ready,” he stated, pushing up the sleeves of his dark V-neck sweater up to his elbows. “I’m a master at restraints. Even if you were double-jointed, you’d never be able to get out of that.”

  I watched him amble toward the wall of torture devices and retrieve a whipping cane.

  “Are you ready for this, princess? I have to tell you, I’m a little excited.” He walked over to me, whipping the cane in the air. The daunting sound hit my eardrums, turning my writhes into frightened trembles. He rounded my position, disappearing from view. His breath on my spine made me whimper and jolt. His fingers at the small of my back and to my ass made me cry, because his touch still elicited things that I didn’t want to feel. “First comes the pain, then the pleasure,” he whispered against my skin.

  The heat of his presence slipped away from me. A calm quiet filled the air, fooling me into relaxing.

  Whap! The sting on my backside hit me again, making me yelp. The pain never left me and seemed to increase as the seconds wore on.

  He flogged me again. The sensation of feeling like my skin was splitting made me scream out in agony. The burn wrapped around my body and stung the base of my spine. I cried out intemperately.