Page 30 of The Cult

“My other life.”

“Other life?” I asked, confused by his answer. “How many lives do you have?”

“Just this shitty one.” Tobias’s features hardened. That dark expression that crossed his face when I asked him about his wife returned. “You did great today. See you tomorrow.”

And with that, he left.

I wanted to know more, but he was gone before I had the chance to ask. His absence was probably for the best, I reminded myself. Tobias and I played on different teams.

One blow of the whistle and the morning practice session ended.

A different set of guards, including the ever-creepy Napoleon, was waiting for us when we exited the gym. I scanned the room for Tobias, but he was nowhere around.

“Who are you looking for?” Napoleon asked. His voice made my skin crawl.

I ignored his question and found my place in front of the six-person lineup.

As we were escorted back to our room, I divided my attention between memorizing the hallways and the locations of Orcus’s men guarding the premises. It’d been days since we’d heard from the rest of the guys at the North Compound, and we were in desperate need of an update.

We were drenched with sweat, our clothes clinging to our worn-out bodies. “You have five minutes to get your asses showered,” one of the guards, posing as a trainer, ordered. Like always, we followed.

The bathroom fogged up from the steam of our collective showers. Each of the six stalls was occupied. I chuckled when moans cut through the sound of running water, followed by another grunt, accompanied by slapping skin coming from a different stall. It was amazing how none of that turned me on, but one touch from Tobias had me nutting. I purposely avoided tugging my cock because I didn’t have the time I wanted to please myself. After five minutes of the three Ss—shit, shave, and shower—the six of us exited the bathroom with towels wrapped around our waists, a swarm of muscles filling our bunkroom.

Guards stood in front of our bunkroom door, talking into their radios, casting cautious glances at us.

Seven sat across from me, his hands fidgeting.

“You good?” I whispered.

“Yeah,” he said. His eyes bounced between the guards and me. “Tell you later.”

***

Last Year

Tomorrow should be one of the happiest days of my life, when I finally become an adult, but my eighteenth birthday brought nothing but fear. Fear of being taken away from Maddy and Mom. Fear of what was waiting for me on the other side of the compound. Fear that I might never see my dad again.

“Abel, are you here?” Maddy called. I was sitting in my closet, hoping it would shield me from Orcus’s men, but I knew that nothing could stop them. They would find me as long as we were here.

“I’m in here,” I said. Light flooded into the closet when my sister opened the door.

Maddy kneeled in front of me. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish you didn’t have to go.” At sixteen, she knew what was looming ahead for me, and, like me, was forced to grow up too soon. That was life within the walls of this prison they called The Creed.

“Me too,” I uttered softly. Who was going to watch out for Maddy? My sick mom? Who was going to look for Dad? The three of us were all we had.

“I’m so scared.” She lunged toward me and held on as if I was her lifeline and she was drowning. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do without you.”

I needed to be brave for my family, even though I was petrified. I took a deep breath and tightened my embrace. “I’m gonna ask you to do something for me, okay?” She nodded but kept her head close to my chest. “Look at me.” She peeled herself off me, her red, shiny eyes focused on mine.

“I’m gonna need you to be strong, okay?” I cradled her face with my hands, wiping her tears with my thumbs.

“I don’t know if I can,” she admitted, shaking her head.

“Yes, you can. I believe in you.” We didn’t have a choice. “I need you to make sure Mom takes her pills.” My heart squeezed knowing tonight might be the last night I’d spend with them. “Stay away from trouble and blend in as much as you can.” I didn’t want Maddy to be the subject of the guards’ attention. The thought of something happening to her made me feel sick.

“I don’t want you to go.” She buried her face in my chest, soaking my shirt with her agony.

“I don’t wanna either, but it’s not up to me.” It was so unfair. Maddy and I didn’t sign up for any of this. Helplessness threatened to paralyze me, but instead of dwelling on what tomorrow would bring, I focused on the present with Maddy.

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