After giving them the benefit of the doubt for all of thirty minutes, that shit’s wiped away instantly when the leader calls out and says that it’s time for the cleansing.
I stand next to Reno and Abyss, while Mug is on the opposite side. The four of us stare in wide-eyed shock as three cultists drag a woman in, screaming and kicking. She’s bloodied and barely clothed.
My blood runs cold as a man I remember from the cult down in Boston comes out of the back room with a special robe on.
This isn’t a different group, this is the same fucked up cult that I know of, and if I’m right, that woman isn’t going to have a lot of time to live.
Isaiah, that’s the man’s name. The one that I’m sure I’m going to have to kill tonight.
He starts to speak, and everyone else defers to him, waiting for his word.
“My subjects, the time has come to cleanse this world of yet another sinner. This is Valencia. When I found her, she was trying to push herself on one of my acolytes. She’s a sinner, a harlot, and refuses to accept the word,” Isaiah says, and the crowd erupts with degrading remarks as the woman in his grasp fights to get away.
I see her final whimper when Isaiah forces her into the pool and shoves her head under the water.
One second goes by, and then another.
“He’s not going to stop. He’s going to fuckin’ drown her,” Reno says at my side, and I know he’s right. We’ve got to make our move, and we need to do it now.
I reach down to my boot and pull my weapon. Abyss, Reno, and Mug do the same thing.
In a flash, I’m pulling the trigger, getting rid of anyone that would dare get in my way from saving that poor girl.
Chaos erupts, and people start running in every direction.
I make it to the baptismal area, and Isaiah’s still there, hunkered over the girl. His eyes go wide when he sees my face.
“I know who you are,” he says as the rest of my crew gets rid of the surrounding threat.
“It doesn’t matter if you do.” I raise my weapon and pull the trigger. A bullet sails through the short distance and lodges directly in between Isaiah’s eyes.
The woman, Valencia, doesn’t scream. Instead, she stands wobbly before she spits on the man’s body. I grab hold of her and call out for my clubmates.
All that’s left right now are screaming women. The rest of the men of the cult are either dead or have run off.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay the hell away from these people. All they bring is death and pain,” I say before I pick Valencia up in my arms and walk out of the compound.
I may not have gotten rid of the entire cult, but I’m hoping these people are going to rethink their choices.
* * *
I had to call Ricochet to make sure that we erased any footage of us in the city, both coming and going. We left quite a few witnesses, though we were in disguise, so I’m not really worried about any heat coming back to the club.
I’m worried about the girl, Valencia. She’s really beat up, and for the most part, she isn’t saying much. I imagine that going through something like this it’ll really rock you to your core.
“Hey, I know I asked already, but do we need to get you to the hospital or something like that?”
“No. I’m fine,” she replies and looks back out the window of the van.
“It’s none of my business . . . actually, it is my business. I just had to shoot a motherfucker to get you away from them. How did you get involved with those assholes in the first place?”
She sighs and turns in my direction, “It was stupid. I should have known . . .they picked a few other Latina women and me up in Miami. They told me they would have job opportunities for someone like me. I had no idea what this really was.” She shudders before she continues, “They locked us up in a soundproofed trailer with cages and sleeping bags. There was no way out. Anytime one of us complained, we were beaten, sometimes to the point of no return. I don’t even know where they took the other women.”
I groan and let my head lean back against the seat. That’s why we didn’t see any kidnappings in the area. They were getting their women from out of state.
“That’s what you’re looking for? Work?” Abyss asks from the front seat.
“Yes. I’d rather not go back to my hometown. There’s nothing there but poverty.”