I don’t look back, don’t care where I’m running from, or where the hell I am.
All I can see in front of me is that fence, blocking my way to freedom.
The fence is all around me, no matter how many steps sideways I take, it seems unending.
I feel a prick on my back, and then a current causes me to spasm and collapse to the ground.
“Goddamn, you run fast.” It’s the same voice from before, the one who told me to put on the clothes. The pain makes me roll on my back, and an older, wrinkly faced woman wearing a white outfit that I can only describe as nun-like leans over to look at me.
“Aren’t you lovely,” she says with a smile so duplicitous it makes my heart shrink.
“Let me—”
She pushes a button on the Taser in her hand, and another current of electricity runs through my body, rendering me incapable of moving, let alone speaking.
“Now, now, settle down, settle down,” the woman says. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you continue like that.”
When she stops, the pin lodged in my back hurts like hell.
“Please …” I mutter.
Another shot of electricity has me delirious.
When it passes, I no longer have the energy to speak. All I can do is look as the woman signals to the two burly men standing behind her. They walk up to my limp body and pick me up as if I’m just a bag of heavy trash they need to clean up. I can’t do anything as they carry me back along the same path I ran. The fence gets farther and farther out of reach, just as my short grasp at freedom.
They bring me back to what looks like a glorified shed from the outside, my prison cell from the inside. But it’s worse. Much, much worse. With no light, no running water, no food, or a proper place to sleep, this is more like a torture chamber than anything else.
Still, I’m put down on the floor, my body still recuperating from the pain it endured.
“Please …” I mutter. “Don’t leave me here.” I’ve never begged any man to stay, let alone any man I don’t know.
But he doesn’t listen. He doesn’t even acknowledge my existence.
He just walks out and leaves me here naked on the cold, concrete floor.
A few seconds later, that same woman appears in the doorway again. I look up into her soulless light blue eyes.
“Put on the clothes,” she says again.
The door squeaks again.
I panic.
“No, wait!” I beg, lunging toward her. “Please! Tell me, where am I? Why?”
The door stops moving. She pauses and gives me that same devilish look that man with the tattoo did before. “You’re in the Family’s Holy Land.”
What? Holy Land?
Suddenly, she throws in a bottle of water, and I greedily snatch it off the floor and chug it down in one go.
When I’m done, she continues shutting the door, and I yell, “Why me? Why am I in here?”
But instead of getting a response, the door closes on me.
And I’m left to the horrors of the darkness and the isolation of my mind …
Again.
Chapter 3
Natalie
The Holy Land.
The Family.
Who would call a cell like this a house?
This place is anything but “of God.” In fact, it’s ungodly to keep anyone here for so long.
I’m losing my mind. Staring at the wall, I hum to myself, rocking back and forth as if I’m summoning an incantation from the world beyond.
I’m losing myself in this darkness. The same darkness I once escaped is now engulfing me whole again. How will I get out of here? Not by force. Not by will. The door is shut from the outside, and there’s no way to breach it without weapons, which I don’t have.
But I have to get out.
There is nothing I desire more than my freedom, and it’s eating at me.
Water be damned. I already swallowed every last drop that was in that bottle, and I regret ever doing so. It only elongates the inevitable.
I will either die in this cell … or submit to their rules.
I take a quick glance at the clothes lying on the floor, the softness of the fabric luring me close, but I stop myself from touching just before I do.
I’d rather be naked than die in conformity.
I’ve already suffered a traumatic life-changing event, so I can do this again. Even though that was completely different from what I’m going through now, I know I can do this. My body was made for survival.
Suddenly, the door cracks open again, and I crawl to a corner of the room, waiting for something to happen. Should I run? I could try, but they got me last time, and there’s no question they’ll be prepared for it. And now they know how fast I can go too … so it’s only become harder. Not to mention that goddamn Taser hurt like hell.
The light blinds me, and I partially cover my eyes with my hand. Through my fingers, I peek to see what’s happening, if the men are back to take me away someplace else. But it’s not a man. It’s a woman. And she’s naked, just like me.
They drag her into the cell too, and she falls onto the floor as the door shuts behind them again. My body is rigid, unmoving, just like the girl in front of me. It’s silent for a while. Is she even alive?
On my knees, I crawl toward her, and I poke her in the arm. “Hey.”
No response. I tap a few more times. Nothing.
With a sigh, I sit back, slapping myself in the forehead for not using another chance to escape. Her being brought in here might’ve distracted the men and kept them from chasing after me long enough for me to actually jump over the fence.
Too late.
Now the chance is gone, and I’m still stuck in the darkness.
But I’m not alone anymore.
Grunts and ragged breaths emanate from the body in front of me.
I lean up and listen to the sounds that sound wretched, just as I did when I first came in here.
“Ugh …” she groans. “My head …”
“Hey,” I mutter.
Silence.
“Who’s there?” she asks swiftly.
“Me. I’m in here with you.”
“Where am I?” She’s farther away now, judging by the sound of her voice. I guess she got scared of me. “What is this? Why is it so dark?”
“We’re locked in a cell.”
“What?” The panic in her voice is all too familiar to me. “Why? I didn’t do anything.”
“Neither did I.”
“I was just at a meeting, and then—oh God.” She sounds as though she’s sick again, so I wait before I say any more.
“Why did they do this?” she asks when she’s gathered herself.
“I don’t know …” I mutter. “They wouldn’t tell me. Just that this is The Holy Land. The Family.”
“Fuck,” she murmurs, her teeth clattering. “I can’t believe it.”
“I know this is going to sound weird, but … are you naked too?” I ask.
It’s quiet for a while. “Shit. Yes. What the fuck? They took off my clothes!”
“They did it to me too,” I say.
“Why? Why the fuck would anyone do that?” she asks. “I’m so fucking cold, I’m shivering.”