Page 24 of The Cult

As we walk, I look around, making sure not to move my head as I do so no one watching can see I’m checking the place out. It looks like that colonial farm we visited on my sixth grade class trip. Old buildings sit on the edges of a large open dirt area. The difference is that farm was filled with male and female actors playing the part of early American settlers carving out a new world. The people here seem to be overwhelmingly female and whatever they’re playing at, it has nothing to do with making a better life for themselves.

The women I’ve seen today all seem lost, like they’ve been hypnotized to be docile. Not that it would surprise me if that’s happening. You can’t exactly have followers thinking and asking questions. What kind of cult would that be?

I’m guessing Melody and Delilah have been instructed to only find females to bring to this place. That would explain why out of all of us who arrived yesterday there were no men.

The memory of how much those two smelled like weed pops into my head, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s what’s going on with all the women here. Marijuana doesn’t make you that dopey, though, and as high as Melody and Delilah may have been, they didn’t look like zombies like these women I’ve seen today do.

Nash slows down his pace, so I follow suit, afraid if I don’t Nadine might come out of nowhere and take over for him. He may frighten me, but I don’t have the sense he wants to hurt me. That woman, on the other hand, clearly enjoys inflicting pain on people. I saw it in her eyes when she was threatening me. She was barely holding herself back from lashing out.

He stops at the bottom of the stairs to another white building, but this one has a different feel to it. Every other building I’ve seen or been in since I arrived here was old and reminded me of the cabins at summer camp. This building seems far more modern with a front porch and the front door painted green.

Without turning to look at me, he says in a low voice, “Remember what I said. Speak only if Micah asks you a direct question. No smart answers.”

“Can I ask you one more question before I go in?”

Exhaling a sigh like he can’t hold his frustration in any more, he looks over at me and squints as a bead of sweat rolls down the side of his face. “Fine. Go ahead. I have a feeling I couldn’t stop you if I wanted to.”

That this man, at least a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than me, would say that seems bizarre, but I don’t have time to make a comment on that. I’ve got far more serious concerns at this moment as I look forward at that green door.

“Will Nadine and her men be in there with the leader?”

Nash’s expression softens, and he shakes his head. “I don’t think so, but don’t be surprised if they show up. She’s closer to Micah than anyone else in The Golden Light.”

“Closer than you?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

That gets me a smile and a chuckle. “Much. I’m nobody here. Just a guard who follows orders.”

The flash of a memory from a history class in high school when we studied Nazi Germany makes me wince at Nash’s description of himself. I want to believe he’s not merely some mindless follower like all those people who allowed Hitler to run wild throughout Europe, but I don’t know.

“Well, thanks for the information. I appreciate the head’s up on how to act in there.”

He turns his entire body to face me, and I see worry etched into his expression, especially in the elevens between his eyes. “Micah isn’t bad. He cares about everyone here. I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t found The Golden Light. He can help you too.”

For the first time since I met him, Nash sounds like a true believer. I’m curious what his life was like if this Micah guy and his cult of positivity helped him. He seems so confident and in control of himself. Maybe it was drugs. I can see that. They’ve gotten a lot of people far tougher than him in this world.

“Okay. Will you be coming in with me?” I ask as that look of sincerity fades away and the hardness from earlier returns.

Nodding, he sighs. “I will. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying, though.”

We stand staring at that green door like it’s a symbol for us to come in, and I say, “Well, thank you for everything, Nash. I won’t forget what you said.”

When his foot lands on the first step, he says, “Don’t. It might be all that keeps you safe here.”

I swallow hard and feel all the moisture suddenly leave my mouth as I follow him up the stairs to the porch. My nature is to ask questions. I’ve always been that way, even as a small child. Standing silently and not looking for answers are antithetical to who I am, so Nash has no idea how hard this meeting is going to be for me. I’m here to find my sister and bring her home, so all I want to do is ask about where she is. Pretending to be a happy and content follower of this positivity nonsense everyone here is so eager to believe may be the hardest thing I’ll ever do.

But if that’s how I must act to be able to stay here and snoop around for what may have happened to Rina, then I’ll do it. I just need to keep out of Nadine’s way, or the next time I’m guessing there will be no Nash to save me from what she commands her men to do to me.

13

Lara

Nash slowly opensthe green door and stands back as I walk into Micah’s home. Or maybe it’s just where he meets with troublemakers. I’m not sure. All I know is the second I step into this building, I’m sure someone important is here.

Unlike the rest of this farm, Micah’s rooms are furnished for true comfort. The sofa is expensive, and I’m pretty sure it’s exactly like the one my mother told my father she must have a few months ago. He, being a thrifty soul, balked at eight thousand dollars for a single piece of furniture, no matter how exquisite she said it looked on the showroom floor. My mother’s choice had been light tan, but whoever chose this one went with deep red.

The floor is new hardwood, not the kind in the cabin I slept in or in that building Nadine and her goons took me to with old wood floors with splinters. The walls aren’t simple wood boards over studs either. These are sheetrock primed and painted in light tan, eggshell sheen, I guess. And hanging around the room are pictures in pricey frames of nature scenes that undoubtedly were taken by a professional photographer.

The leader of The Golden Light likes to be surrounded by nice things. Interesting.

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