Cult

A young man stood on a platform in front of a crowd of people. He was wearing the same long black coat that the others were wearing. His hair was light and to his shoulders. It constantly got in his face, but it was how he needed it to be. It was how she used to wear her hair. He couldn’t care less for the people in front of him, but he stood here again because he needed to. It was part of his mission.

“Everyone! Thank you again for coming!” His voice was loud and passionate. The crowd cheered for him with fervor. The light was dim in the building, so they were all nameless faces to him. They looked to be around his age as well.

“Our creator sees all that we do here on Earth. He judges those that are evil! Ah! I hear the voices of angels yet again!” He jutted his head up towards the sky and threw his hands up. His eyes were wide open. Around his pupils were golden rings like halos. He put his hands together as if praying and was still. The crowd fell silent. Some prayed with him.

“They speak to me; they have chosen me. They tell me who is evil and who is righteous. We, in this room, are of course among the blessed! We deserve everything this world has to offer! But we suffer, do we not? There is hunger and violence everywhere!” He clutched at his chest.

The crowd yelled and their movements were erratic. They threatened to bring the place down.

“We suffer because there is evil! The evil ones steal our food and give it back to us only in exchange for our lives! They do nothing to help us with the crime! They only make it worse by extorting us! Isn’t that right?” He waved his hands to encourage the crowd.

“Now they want to drag us into another needless war to die for them? Forget that! We must take back what is ours! Only we have the power to change this rotten world! We will bring down every evil creature by force! Our creator is on our side! We cannot fail!” He yelled with everything he had.

The crowd cheered loudly again. Trichael lowered his head and concentrated while they were all distracted. He really could still hear her voice, even if it was faint and strange. It was as if she never left. She was still there, in that school. The anger and sadness were powerful. He never felt anything more strongly in his entire life.

Kothur sat in a small room. His hands were in tight fists on top of his legs. There were no windows, but he could hear the clatter of people outside the walls. There was a lot going on today. Three other people accompanied him around a table. He might not be the only one who felt this way, but the air was getting more and more tense and it was getting harder to breathe. Stress coursed through his veins.

He had already heard the news from Veith, who had been so excited to tell him. So thrilled that his hands managed to touch his skin beyond the gloves as he shook his hand. The experiment was a success, however Soline died honorably was what they told him.

Was that really true though? Was it honorable? He already knew the truth of what happened. Soline being strangled by the android that looked just like her. It’s eyes red with sharp black pupils. It happened so fast. They could only restrain it after. Even without Soline, it continued to exist.

Mr. Dunnock, Veith, and another official were here to discuss the next plan of action. The project had been a success and they were going to plan for Kothur to be the next principal. However, there was news of a growing threat. One of his students had run away and was becoming some kind of cult leader threating the government. Specifically, the threat was posed against Kothur. One of the teachers, Mylise, had also gone missing. They were unsure if the two were related or if the Rydes had taken her captive.

“Don’t worry, Kothur. The government will do everything in its power to protect you here. There is only the issue of when to change your position. Do you have any opinion on the matter?” The official said to him.

What does my opinion matter about anything, he thought. I’m trapped here; nothing I say will change that. My opinion is that you are the ones who are sick, not me. His heart was pounding terribly again. His head hurt and he clenched his jaw. Was he going to faint? Was he going to die? He closed his left eye.

The scene mercifully changed for him. It was a bright and clear day. He felt the warmth of the sun on his uncovered face. It was so nice to leave behind all of his worries. He was on the large grassy area behind his old home. His father had set up a training shooting area for them. Hunting for food was common in their town and parents practiced with their children often.

All of the brothers were gathered there that day. Kothur as a young boy held the old-fashioned gun with perfect form. It wasn’t equipped with dael or anything. They were the standard back then. His father wasn’t a man of many words, but gave him praise when he shot the target in the middle. It made Kothur happy.

It was Fehram’s turn next. The young man took aim at the target. He paused for a moment and a light breeze of wind came through the area. Suddenly, he pointed the gun straight at the sky and fired. Their dad cursed and pushed them under the roof of a small shack a few meters away. He demanded an explanation from Fehram while they were waiting.

Fehram answered in an uncaring tone. “I’ve already shot that target hundreds of times. I already know I can hit it. I wanted to see if I could hit it from straight up even on a windy day. It should have come back down by now, let’s go check it out.”

Kothur laughed at that though his dad and Reohn did not appreciate it. Ah. It was still funny to him. He didn’t want to go back. I don’t want to deal with this anymore. I can’t bring myself to care anymore. I’m done with everything. He turned to face the darkness without much thought. Even without air to breathe, he felt calm. His heart was finally at peace. He heard that faint voice.

“Rbemeemr? You nveer ceard aoubt tihs.”

“Kothur? Were you listening?” The principal was asking him a question. Kothur opened his eye to look at him. In fact, they were all staring at him. How long was he gone this time? It didn’t matter.

“I don’t care.” He declared.

“What?” They were all quite shocked by this response.

He repeated himself with a smug look. “I don’t care anymore. Do whatever you want with me.”