Beckoning Shadows

Chapter 13

The faint murmur of voices sounded through the trees, becoming louder as Adrian hiked down the forest path. His heart sank as he saw people milling about through the leaves; as he'd headed for the meeting site, Adrian had harbored a wild hope that he'd gotten the meeting spot or date wrong, or that he'd imagined the whole encounter, and he'd arrive at an empty clearing and not have to join a murderous cult.

But here he was, and here was everybody else. People crazy enough, vengeful enough, to join a shady cult at odds with the law. Adrian's pace slowed as the thought occurred to him. Everyone was dangerous. The initiates. The cultists. He was doomed for sure.

Gritting his teeth, Adrian reminded himself that he'd promised to do this, and forced himself to keep walking. He struggled not to slip as he descended the muddy hill, reluctantly releasing his death grip on his umbrella to hold out a hand in case he fell.

He reached the bottom of the hill and lingered at the edge of the crowd. Nobody seemed to notice his presence. There was about forty people in the clearing, and three or four people overlooked the crowd, perched on large rocks resting on the hillside. Adrian's stomach lurched as he recognized their black and silver uniforms--the uniforms of the people who had attacked him, Brook, and Delta. I'm definitely in the right place.

He'd arrived ten minutes early, and they waited for another twenty, during which about twelve more people showed up. One of the administrators let out a call, at which the crowd fell silent and the other cultists descended from their posts to stand in front of the crowd.

"Thank you for coming today," announced the lead administrator. "We will be conducting a short test to make sure you all are suitable to join our cause. No worries--you will not be tested on your aptitude or strength, as we believe everyone who is willing to join our cause can contribute in some way, regardless of ability. Rather, you will be tested on your loyalty and truthfulness. We don't want any traitors in our midst, after all."

Adrian swallowed nervously.

"Everyone who passes this test shall be taken to the regional base, where an initiation speech will be delivered. If, at that point, you decide our organization isn't for you, you are still allowed to leave, as long as you promise not to leak any information. Anyone who remains after that point will be officially inducted into the organization. Of course, we hope you all make it to that point." The administrator smiled, the grin of a predator.

"Now, for testing." The administrator scanned over the crowd, counting under her breath. "If you'd get into...five lines, all about equal in length. We'll test you one-by-one. The head of each line will be one of our officers."

The crowd obligingly sorted into lines, ushered and guided by the cultists. One cultist stood at the head of each line, and the remaining cultists and the administrator watched on, hands resting on the weapons fixed at their hip.

Adrian found himself in the middle of the fifth line, watching as each person was led a few feet away to be tested. With their backs facing him, he couldn't see what transpired, only heightening the tension. For a while, the testing proceeded smoothly, each tested person sent to the other end of the clearing to wait for everyone to finish.

Then an angry shout echoed across the clearing, and Adrian turned to see a cultist grabbing the wrist of the person he was testing. The person was shouting, and he vainly attempted to escape the cultist's grasp.

"What gives?! Let me go!"

The cultist, unfazed by the man's cries, glanced at the administrator. "We've got a liar."

The administrator was similarly nonchalant. She gestured at the forest. "Oh well. Knock him out and take him away."

The cultist reached to his belt, but the man reacted faster.