Samara- Chatpeter Nine
The sun began to set, and there was still no Zoo. I was trying to hold onto hope that they were coming, but I needed to figure out how to get myself out of here in the meantime. I agreed to be on my best behavior so they would trust me enough to take me out of that dark room.
As they showed me the commune, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
There were children who smiled as if their lives were everything they could imagine.
Elders who seemed so content being under the thumb of a scammer, a con artist who had probably sucked them all dry of what they had left.
Then there were the middle-aged people who seemed oblivious to it all.
However, the one thing I noticed was that they seemed happy.
It didn’t matter the consequences because their minds were made up that this place was for them.
What was the difference between this place and the Zoo, other than being able to freely do some of the things you wanted to?
The Zoo had a leader, and it was Chevy. The Zoo had followers, and everyone, including Dio and me, was one of them.
The Zoo had rules. The Zoo had punishments.
The Zoo was a family just as these people were.
I had become so caught up in what I was seeing that I hadn’t realized we had approached a white house. I became confused as Bronze and Russet stood there staring at me.
“Why does this house look different than the rest of them?” I asked.
Bronze smiled. “Because only God lives in a place so—”
I held my hand up. “I get it.” I rolled my eyes.
Russet stared at me as if he wanted to say something. The stare made me feel so uncomfortable, I found myself clenching my shirt as if he were undressing me with his eyes. As I went to open the door, they both stepped back and bowed.
“Are you not coming in with me?” I asked.
They said nothing as they backed away. Bronze skipped away happily while Russet stared until he was far away, then turned around.
The moment I stepped inside, I was greeted by the person they called The Mighty One. He sat on the couch as if he were waiting for my arrival.
“Sit,” he said calmly.
“I would rather stand,” I replied.
He scoffed then smiled. “I understand you’re probably nervous, scared, confused, maybe? I can assure you that you are safe.”
“Safe!” I shouted. “You kidnapped me like we’re in some movie, and you think I feel fucking safe? You're more delusional than your followers.”
He slowly stood and approached me. “The kidnapping was your mother’s idea, and I must say, God dick can change one’s life—well, with the help of Clark.” He smiled as he reached to touch my face, and I slapped it away.
“Don’t touch me. She may be delusional, but I’m not.”
“But you are,” he said as he gripped my shoulders and slammed me against the wall.
“Just as you are under the impression that being with that boy is your end-all, be-all, my followers feel the same about me. Or how you see no other world outside of his people. What are they called, the Zoo? Is it not the same? I’m simply saying if you're going to follow them, then why not me when I can lead you to the light? I can use a wife.” He smiled.
“That boy you speak of has a name, and it’s Dionysus, you know,” I hissed.
“He is nothing like you. The Zoo is not a fucking cult. They’re a family, something you clearly know nothing about.
You have children out there who will grow up to know nothing but this.
You think they won’t seek to find what’s outside of this place?
Huh? You think every fucking girl who steps through these doors will not turn against you?
What will happen once those people realize this light you speak of doesn’t exist and that when they die, everything you promise is non-existent? ”
I could tell he didn’t like my words because his face became angry.
He knew I was right, and it didn’t matter how much he tried to control everyone here; he couldn’t.
He let me go and turned to walk away when, suddenly, the back of his hand struck me.
The sting sizzled my face, and rage filled me, making me lunge forward, swinging at him wildly.
“They’re going to fucking kill you!” I shouted.
He shoved me so hard I fell to the floor.
“They won’t do shit!” he gritted. “You are like everyone else on this muhfucka. A lost little bitch who doesn’t know which direction she is going in.
You are just like your mother—hopeless, disconnected, and fucking pathetic.
You think I came from the shitty-ass hood to be down-talked by a girl who can’t even be honest with her fucking self? Do you think—”
The door opened to Russet coming in. “Mighty One, allow me to teach her the ways,” he pleaded and bowed.
The Mighty One sweated profusely as he wiped his head. “Get her out of here and put her back in the hole.”
Russet helped me up and started pulling me out of the house, but I was fired up. “Fuck you! You’re a dead man!” I shouted as I grabbed the candle near the door and chucked it at him. Once we were out of the house, Russet held my hand as we ran toward a cabin on the other side.
When we stepped inside, he lit a candle, giving the single room light. “I need you to do whatever they tell you,” he said.
Confused, I sat in the only chair he had in here. “I’m not falling for any of this, and neither should you.”
“I’m not,” he mumbled.
“Huh?”
“I have been following this cult for the last year. I’m a reporter, Samara. My name isn’t Russet. My name is Devon.”
I shook my head. “I fucking knew it.”
“Your mother is in deep, and I don’t think there is any saving her. However, we can try to save you, but it will not happen if you continue to act like this.”
“If you know so much, why are you still here?”
That was when he froze. “I came to save my wife, but I haven’t seen her. For a while, I thought there was maybe a different commune he was holding people on, but the more the cult moved, I realized that either he killed her or she left, but until I find out, I’m not going anywhere.”
He began to rummage through a chest he pulled from under the makeshift bed. I leaned forward slightly to see a bunch of papers, pictures, and a phone. Devon quickly glanced over his shoulder, and I looked away.
Moments later, he came to the table, dropping a folder in front of me, and the first thing I saw was a mugshot of the Mighty One. He wasn’t bald in the photo, nor did he have the glow.
“Rayshawn Becker, three-time felon, con artist, and a list of other things. He’s a dangerous man, and if you think these people are just calmly walking around, not willing to protect him, then you are mistaken.”
Devon thought I was worried, but I wasn’t. He gazed at me for a second, then heckled. “Let me fetch you some water,” he said. “Stay here and do not leave. I’m sure we will figure this out.”
My brows raised. “Fetch? I think you have been here a little too long.”
He laughed as he went to walk out of the cabin.
“I will be here when you get back.” I shrugged. “Where can I go? I’m trapped, remember?”
He gave me a tight-lipped smile before he walked out the door. As soon as I felt he was far enough away, I rushed over to the chest, grabbed the phone, and turned it on. All I needed Dio to do was answer his fucking phone.