Page 17 of The Cult

9

Lara

A noisethat sounds like a chime or a bell wakes me, and I open my eyes after the soundest sleep I’ve had in years. I don’t think I tossed or turned, and one glance down my body tells me I’m right. The sheets and blanket look exactly like they did when I laid down last night in this cabin with the other four new recruits from yesterday.

I didn’t get a chance to look around much at all after the break with the cookies and lemonade. Nadine took us all to meet Kinley’s mother and the other women whose only job it seems is to make treats for everyone here. Much of the rest of the day is hazy to me now as I try to remember what happened after that and for the time until we all went to bed, though.

Odd that I can’t put together what I did for what had to be at least six or seven hours. I must have been pretty exhausted.

Everyone but Anna is up and chatting as I swing my legs out of the twin size bed and set my feet on the wood plank floor. They must be morning people. I stand up and stretch, loving how rested I feel this morning. Maybe all this positivity is more than just talk.

“Breakfast is in ten minutes, so up and at ‘em, ladies!” a woman says in a perky voice that usually would irritate me so early in the day.

I look over and see a woman near the door I haven’t met yet. Odd that there don’t seem to be many men here. I don’t think I’ve seen half a dozen yet. I wonder why.

Anna still lies in bed with the covers over her head, so I lean over and nudge what I think is her shoulder. “Time to wake up. It’s like camp. They expect you to get up and eat breakfast when they call.”

As I turn to straighten the covers and make my bed, I notice she doesn’t move. She must not be an early riser. I get it. Normally, I’m not either. My usual day starts with me bargaining with myself that if I get up and do what I need to do to get to work on time, I’ll give myself a treat. That kind of self-bribery is the only way I’ve found that works to motivate me to actually get out of bed before noon.

When I finish, I nudge her again. “Anna, time to rise and shine. These people seem pretty serious about attacking the day right out of the gate. Not that I don’t get how you feel. Trust me. If I didn’t sleep like a rock last night, I’d be right with you on staying in until lunch.”

Once more, she doesn’t move. I don’t want to be the kind of person my mother is in the morning and throw the covers off her, but I worry if Nadine sees she’s still asleep, she’s not going to like it. I get the feeling she’s up with the sun, that one.

“Come on, Anna. Maybe they’ll have more of those cookies today. Those were tasty, weren’t they?”

From the other side of the cabin, Bethany asks, “What’s up, Lara? Anna still knocked out?”

I shrug as she marches over toward where I stand between our beds. “I’ve nudged her twice. I don’t think she’s into waking up this early.”

“No problem. My brother used to be like this every school day. Weekends the kid was up like a shot at six a.m. sharp. Once Monday rolled around, we practically had to pry him out of the bed. I’ll wake her.”

I watch her lift the blanket and sheet to reveal Anna’s feet and then begin to tickle them. “Wakey wakey. Time to greet the day.”

She tries again with no success and then wraps her long fingers around Anna’s toes. Turning to look up at me, she says, “Her feet are cold.”

“Cold? It couldn’t have gotten below seventy last night,” I say as the other three women come over to stand around Anna’s bed.

Bethany pulls the covers back from her face, and Anna’s eyes stare straight ahead. My gaze moves to her chest to see if she’s breathing. As second after second ticks by, she doesn’t move.

She’s dead.

Mary screams and runs away toward the door while the rest of us just stand there in shock. I want to look away at anything other than the frozen expression on Anna’s face, but I can’t. I just stare at her in utter confusion as to how someone so young could die not six feet away from me and I never heard a thing to let me know something was wrong.

Did she cry out in pain? I didn’t hear anything. At least I don’t think I did.

Frantically, I try to remember the events of last night when we all came to this cabin to go to bed, but nothing seems definite. I think I know we all walked in together and said goodnight before we all went to sleep, but I can’t say for sure. I don’t think I heard her in any distress during the night, but I can’t swear to that either. It’s like my memory after we had those cookies and lemonade is full of more holes than Swiss cheese.

The door to the cabin flies open, slamming off the wall, and Nadine marches in with four huge men behind her. They make a beeline to Anna’s bed, and I can’t help but notice all five of them wear blank expressions. You’d think they’d be more animated since they’ve just found out someone’s died.

We all step back out of their way, and one of the men lifts Anna out of bed and carries her off without looking at any of us or saying a word. The other three men follow him, but Nadine stays behind as Mary sobs over on her bed.

“Ladies, it’s time for breakfast. Come. You need to eat,” Nadine says without a hint of emotion in her voice.

Bethany hesitates but begins to walk with Cheyenne toward where Mary’s sitting on her bed crying. I don’t move because it’s like I’m frozen to the spot after seeing Anna’s dead body lying there. I’m not sobbing like Mary, but at least I understand why she’s reacting that way. What I don’t understand is why no one else seems to be upset in the least.

Nadine stares directly into my eyes, almost as if she’s silently ordering me to follow the others, but I don’t budge. After a few moments, she says in a flat voice, “Time for breakfast, Lara.”

“I don’t really feel like eating right now. I just saw someone dead in their bed, someone who was just six feet away from me all night. I hope you’ll forgive me for not wanting to stuff my face.”

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