Thirty-Seven Tobias

The Creed was up to no fucking good. I'd seen enough shit in my life to recognize trouble brewing. Those young men were taken, and I doubted they were somewhere fun enjoying themselves. My senses were on high alert as Abel and I made our way to the trailer home assigned to his family. The gravel path crunched under our feet, the only sound breaking the eerie silence of the evening. Where are those damn dogs? Not that I wanted them around, but the longer we ventured through the compound, the more I suspected the guys' disappearance was shady. What are you up to, Orcus?

Abel appeared edgy, mumbling words I couldn't understand. His eyes darted around, never settling on one spot for long. His shoulders were tense, drawn up as if bracing for an unseen threat. He let out a sigh every once in a while.

"Hey," I called. I stopped walking and placed my hand on his arm. "We'll find them."

He shook his head. "I'm so worried about my friends."

I cupped his face in the hope of calming him down. "I know you are. But we're in this together. We won't stop until we find them." I knew how important they were to Abel, and I'd do anything in my power to find them. Their disappearance was another roadblock to our escape plan, but what mattered to him mattered to me.

I was surprised by my change in tune. Days ago, I wouldn't have cared if they went missing.

Abel nodded, a flicker of relief crossing his beautiful face. "Thank you."

I squeezed his arm gently before planting a soft kiss on his lips. I was caught off guard by how easy and natural the gesture felt, as if we'd kissed a million times before; born out of a habit we shared. "Anything for you," I whispered against his lips.

The sky above was painted in shades of deep indigo and blue, the stars and moon casting long shadows across the deserted commune. My gaze traveled to the ground. There, tire marks leading to the main entrance. There must've been at least four or five vehicles that left those uninterrupted impressions. This just happened. The two guards on the watchtowers were still there, facing out. One of them lifted a pair of night-vision binoculars.

Unease settled over me as we approached the trailer. The air was charged with tension; every nerve in my body was heightened, anticipating danger. It was as if the atmosphere was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. We drew closer to the trailer. Like last time, the windows were dark, the curtains drawn shut, blocking the view of the outside world. Or was it to prevent outsiders from looking in?

Abel disrupted the silence with a whistle followed by a sound mimicking an owl. Nothing. He puckered his lips again and whistled for the second time. Still nothing. After the third attempt, the lights in the trailer flickered to life.

It was hard to miss the shaky breath that escaped Abel's mouth when the silhouette of his sister appeared inside. The back door creaked open, revealing Maddy standing in the doorway. But unlike the last time we'd seen her, there was no smile on her face. She looked frantic, her hands trembling as she waved us in.

Abel and I broke into a run.

Maddy met us halfway, her face pale and drawn with worry.

"What's wrong, Maddy?" Abel asked.

She took a deep breath, her words tumbling out in a rush. "It's the others … they're gone. I don't know where they took 'em, but they're all gone."

"How do you know?" I asked. I thought they weren't allowed to leave the Central Compound, and the barracks weren't nearby. Abel and I exchanged a worried glance, the weight of Maddy's words sinking in.

"Me and my friends were out exploring after training and saw them load everyone into black vans without windows. Some of the guys didn't want to go but were dragged inside."

Training? What were they training for?

"What're they gonna do to them, Tobias?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No clue."

Abel's demeanor changed on a dime, appearing to suppress his own worry to reassure his younger sister. Perhaps he was trying to shield her from the unforgiving life in The Creed. I had a feeling she already knew how things around here could switch without notice. It was the brutal reality of living inside these barbed walls. "Let's go inside," he suggested. His voice was steady despite the turmoil in his eyes. I was amazed by how well I knew him from the short time we'd spent together.

Maddy nodded and led us into their home. "Mom's also alert," she said, locking the door behind us. "You picked the best time to visit."

"What? She is?" Abel's eyes widened. "Since when?" He didn't wait for Maddy to answer. Instead, he beelined inside. Abel had mentioned once that his mom for years went in and out of detachment spells, and it became worse when Oliver escaped the cult. The pills they had Mom take made her worse, Abel had said. I wondered if she remembered me.

I trailed behind Maddy, stretching my neck to ease the tension of the last few hours. We had to be vigilant or risk being caught. One kill for tonight was enough.

My unease lingered. Was this place bugged? I immediately went into assassin mode, scanning the room with diligence. I checked every corner, every nook and cranny, searching for obvious signs of surveillance. Thankfully, like my quarters and the bunkhouse, nothing stood out. The room appeared to be an ordinary kitchen. But I knew better than to let my guard down. If Orcus was half as cunning as I suspected, he wouldn't leave anything to chance.

We found Abel kneeling on the floor, his arms wrapped around Erika's waist. She was sitting on a wooden chair, tears sliding down her cheeks. His body trembled but his embrace was tight, as though he feared she would disappear if he let go. "I miss you so much, Mom."

I couldn't see Abel's face, but I could tell that he was crying.

"I miss you too, baby," Erika said. She kissed the top of his buzzed head, unaware of my presence.

I watched in silence, my own heart aching at the raw display of love and longing between them; a feeling I would never experience. There was something deeply moving about the way they clung to each other.

Finally, Erika lifted her head and turned her attention to me and Maddy. Her brow furrowed, and she blinked several times. "Tobias?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. "Is that you?" Abel released his hold and she stood, her frail body drowning in her beige dress, the same one that every woman in The Creed wore. She wiped the tears from her face and stepped toward me.

I nodded. "Erika. Nice to see you again," I replied, meeting her halfway. I extended my hand to shake hers, but she surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice muffled against my shoulder. "How did you get here?"

"Oliver asked me to get you out of here."

She gasped. "Where is he? Is he okay? Please tell me he's safe."

"I don't know, Erika," I admitted. "He didn't sound good when I spoke to him, and the call ended before I could ask where he was." I didn't want to lie and give them false hope. My heart broke for her with each word.

"Oh god." She clasped her chest. "Do you think he's …?" Her words trailed off, her eyes searching mine desperately for answers.

"I wish I knew." I gave a tight smile. "Do you have any idea where he might've gone? Anything?"

Abel stepped forward and ushered his mom back to her chair. "We were hoping you might know, Mom."

She shook her head. "I don't know. He hated this place; he was planning to get us all out.". She reached for Maddy and held her hand. "I regretted bringing you here. I'm the worst mother." Sobs tore through her chest. Erika was a shell of her old self. The smile that drove Oliver head over heels was gone, replaced by a gaunt face with sharp cheekbones. "We should've protected you." She lifted Abel's chin, indescribable agony twisting her face. She drew Maddy's hand to her lips, planting a kiss on her knuckle. "Forgive me, Maddy? Abel?"

"It's okay, Mom," Maddy said.

"We're okay," Abel seconded, even though he was far from it.

"How did you end up here?" I asked. It was a question that had lived in my head since I learned about Oliver and Erika's plan to move to Wyoming years ago. I never understood the decision but was too wrapped up in my own world to care then.

Erika's expression darkened. "Oliver had just lost his job and we were in deep financial trouble," she began. "I hadn't been working because I'd been suffering from depression after losing my mom and dad in that car accident. I tried to find work, but I couldn't hold a job for more than a week. I really did try." She closed her eyes, heaving with each breath. "We drained our savings to stay afloat, but the longer our crisis lasted, the more desperate we became." Erika bowed her head, unable to look her kids in the eyes.

"It's okay, Mom," Abel said. "We don't blame you."

Erika cleared her throat. "The banks started to decline our loan applications, and our very few friends and family had stopped loaning us money. So …" Erika shut her eyes again, struggling to continue.

Maddy stood behind the chair and rested her hands on Erika's shoulders, soothing her mom with slow rubs.

"So we resorted to loan sharks. They didn't ask any questions whenever we went to them. No matter how many times we'd ask, they gave us the money."

Money. It was Orcus's lure to his cult. The promise of money. It was the same story that Sterling shared. He was swimming in debt, and Orcus promised to help. I wondered how much that fucker followed through, if at all. Where did he get his money? It couldn't be just from underground fighting and gambling. There was no fucking way that earned enough to support a community of this size and pay off their debts. I dreaded what would come next, but I had a feeling where this story would lead. I kept my focus and listened without judgment.

"Orcus promised that he would wipe all of our debts if we joined his community," Erika explained. "He told us that this is where a fresh start could begin and we'd come out the other side with a clean slate. Happy." Bitterness laced her voice. "All we had to do was live here and work for him."

My blood ran cold at the mention of Orcus and his manipulation tactics, my heart aching at the thought of the struggles they must have faced. "I should've been there for you." I didn't mean to say the words out loud, but I needed to let her, Maddy, and Abel know how sorry I was for abandoning them. "Forgive me."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. You didn't know," Erika said.

Abel's focus was on me; soft features and intense gaze. He rendered me speechless.

Erika's interest bounced between Abel and me, her expression hinting at an unspoken curiosity. But she did not say anything. Could she tell what we'd shared?

"Then what happened?" I asked, deflecting her knowing look.

"Things turned for the worse once we got to The Creed," she continued. "Orcus wouldn't let us leave anymore."

"Why not?"

"He said we owed too much, and then my health declined. My episodes became frequent. They wouldn't even send me to the hospital." As she spoke, her eyes began to waver, glazing over. "I was only allowed to see the doctor here." A detachment settled over her like a shroud. She was retreating, shutting out the pain and trauma of their ordeal. Her fingers fidgeted, her body rocked back and forth.

"This isn't your fault, Erika," I said with compassion. "We're going to get you out of here. I promise."

"This place has a lot of secrets. The Creed is not what I thought it was, and those who asked questions ended up missing. People here are always disappearing for no reason."

A knock on the door jolted us. Abel and I darted behind a nearby wall. We weren't supposed to be here, and the last thing we needed was to be caught snooping around.

Maddy hurried to answer the door. "Coming!" she said as the knocking continued.

I strained my ears, trying to catch any hint of who might be on the outside, but there was nothing. No voices, no footsteps.

Peering cautiously from behind the wall, I scanned the area, but there was no one in sight, just a lone shoebox sitting on the stoop. Its black exterior stood out against the dull gray porch.

Maddy hesitated for a moment before bending down to pick up the box. "Hello?" she called, but it went unanswered. With a quick glance around, she closed the door behind her and made her way back to the dining table where Abel and I waited anxiously.

"What is it?" Abel whispered.

Maddy shook her head. "I dunno."

"Please, allow me?" I reached for the box and Maddy slid it over. Furtively, I lifted the lid, and my heart sank. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. "Fuck!" I muttered.

I was staring at a bloody heart and a severed hand with a gold wedding band and watch. It could surely only belong to one man.

I shut the lid and placed my hand on top, stopping the others from looking inside.

"What is it?" Abel asked.

I considered the ways I could tell them about the contents but came up with none.

"Tobias …" Abel gripped my wrist, trying to pull it away from the box, but I didn't budge. "Let go."

I studied his face then turned to Erika and Maddy. What happened to you, Oliver? Whatever he experienced was far worse than I'd feared. Oh, I hoped he didn't suffer. Slowly, I let go, bracing myself for their reaction.

Abel lifted the box and opened the lid. "Oh god," he said, covering his mouth with his hand. "Oh my fucking god." He dropped the box on the floor, the contents spilling out with a sickening thud. He ran to the sink and spewed his guts up.

"No!" Maddy's scream pierced the air. She dashed to Erika, throwing herself on her mother. "Mommy," she bawled, tears streaming down her face. "Dad!"

But Erika had shut down. She had retreated into herself once more; her distant eyes were fixed upon Oliver's lifeless parts.

"Dad!" Abel wailed, falling to his knees. His cry reverberated off the walls, his pain and anguish piercing my shattering heart.

I picked up Oliver's heart and hand from the floor and placed them back in the box. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the blue rag draped over the oven's door. No one should see traces of their loved one scattered on a dirty linoleum floor. Oliver deserved better.

Abel turned around and leaned on the sink, sliding down until he was sitting. His tear-soaked eyes were on me. Witnessing Abel fall apart and his family crumble stirred a fury within me that I hadn't felt in a long time. I was gonna fucking kill them—and I knew where to start.