Chapter 3 Paint the Town Red by. Doja Cat #2
“Will, call me Will,” he interrupted. “Doctor is only for some of my students, or the select few colleagues I have that I rather despise. And honestly anyone who bugs me.”
“Really? I kind of assumed…”
Will interrupted with a laugh of his own that lit up his entire face. “That I was a pretentious asshole who made everyone call me Dr. Bly?”
“Well… yes, to be honest,” I responded.
“I see you have been listening to Sarah’s husband. He has never been my biggest fan. My apologies for interrupting, what questions do you have for me?” said Will.
“I was hoping you would have a moment to discuss the Cult of Creation,” I explained and he immediately stopped his task at my words and turned his full attention to me.
“The Cult of Creation? It is a rather unique subject.” Will looked at me almost skeptically. “Where did you hear of it?
“That’s honestly not relevant here.”
I wasn’t sure Will was going to answer me after my nonanswer to his question, yet as he turned and began erasing the chalkboard, he began,
“The Cult of Creatio, its technical name, was first historied during the Salem Witch Trials. A priest in a small town claimed that the ‘witches’ were a part of this cult, and they were working to bring about the end of times. The witches, in this case, were simply a group of women who understood mathematics better than the men around them.” He eyed me for a moment before continuing.
“Now I understand you won’t tell me where you heard of it, why do you want to know about the Cult of Creatio? ”
“This priest, where did he get the idea of the Cult of Creatio?” I continued, ignoring the question presented again as I rested my hands on the front of Will's desk. “Do you know if he came up with it, or if the idea came from someone, or something else?”
“There are theories… and conspiracies. However, no one truly knows the origins,” he began as he turned around to face me and mirrored my movements. We were now only inches apart. “I know you’re evading my questions. Can I ask again, why do you want to know?”
“The reasons are really unimportant,” I stated with a smirk of my own and stood straight. “Thank you for the information, Dr. Bly. I’ll see myself out.”
I turned and left the classroom with as much class as possible, which probably equated to none. I could admit, I was a battering ram of a human being.
I practically ran out of the classroom towards my car.
I had planned to ask him more, but Will made me feel off balance.
I was usually able to command a conversation when it came to my work.
I didn’t like hyping up my own traits, but I knew I was good at getting people to share information with me, no matter how personal.
I came off as trustworthy and professional, but also as a friend.
Commanding a conversation could be more than just aggressive behavior, you could do it through calm and collected conversation.
With Will, however, it felt like those skills I once had vanished. It was probably knowing Fai would hate it if he knew I was here, that was the only explanation.
Right?
I slowed to a stop as I entered the parking lot, my thoughts running away from me. It was slightly raining, but wasn’t it always? I was so entranced in the detailed train that was my thought process, I barely noticed the rain or man who had followed me and called after me.
“Damn it, Jackie, you're fast,” Will stated as he slowed to a stop next to me. “And maybe even deaf,” Will muttered.
Even with the intrusion of the Will, I was still considering all possibilities of the Cult's resurgence.
What would it require to bring an all-but-dead cult back? A cult that may have not even existed and instead been a delusion a man created in a hope to get his followers to follow his version of God, his belief in God?
“Jackie?” Will stated as he moved in front of me. “Are you alright?
It was the startling blue eyes in front of me that finally broke me from my trance. Damn those eyes.
“What? Yeah… sorry, off in my own world. You know how it goes,” I rambled, as I began to notice he was directly in front of me. “Did you follow me out here?”
“I will admit that I’m guilty on that matter,” said Will as he took a step back now that he had my attention. His lips began to rise in a smirk. “It has just been too long since a… matter piqued my curiosity in a way that you have.”
Was that flirting? Was this man flirting with me?
I had heard about the infamous William Bly from Fai.
Sarah and Fai had stated that he was a notorious ladies man.
It was obvious why. Will was charming and attractive.
However, because of my friendship with Fai and Sarah, I couldn’t actually have anything happen with Will.
Yeah I would daydream, because who wouldn’t? This guy was a solid ten out of ten. But that was as far as it could go.
“It’s still weird that you followed me,” I said, rather matter of factly, as I crossed my arms in front of me and looked him directly in his eyes. Those damned blue eyes.
“I’m truly sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Will started as he grew more serious and took a step back.
“The Cult of Creatio is a subject that has always interested me, but most colleagues and peers of mine have written it off as a scare tactic created by a man in the sixteen hundreds used for control.”
Will stopped briefly as if to gauge my reaction. “Sarah called me prior to your arrival to let me know that you were coming and briefly mentioned that the cult was your point of interest.”
“What did she say? How much did she say? Did she tell you everyth…” I began as I slowly felt my stress levels rise knowing Sarah had shared anything about me to the man in front of me.
“She shared next to nothing,” Will interrupted.
“I have heard about you in previous discussions, however she didn’t even disclose that you were the one coming today.
All she stated was that a friend of hers would be stopping by today after my class because they had questions on a cult they believed may be making a resurgence. ”
“Do you think it could make a resurgence?”
“Oddly enough, I have no idea. A part of me hopes so, only for the idea that I could better understand it. Better learn about it. However, I ultimately want the Cult of Creatio to be dead, forever. If the minor details that have been gathered surrounding the cult and its beliefs are indeed factual, a lot of people will be harmed if it does come back,” explained Will, in a slightly hushed tone, not wanting to bring the attention of unwanted listeners.
Will seemed to understand the facts surrounding the cult, I thought.
At the mention of cults, most people immediately jumped to the conspiracy theories surrounding the topics, but not Will.
Will considered the subject with curiosity and realism.
He genuinely wanted to learn about the cult, but only learn the facts.
Researching this case was going to be difficult.
Add the variable of hiding it from Fai, my boss, friend and mentor, it was going to be next to impossible.
Looking at Will, I realized he could be exactly what I needed.
“Will, I have a proposition for you,” I started, stepping ever so slightly towards the man in front of me. “However, it will take some time to explain. What are you doing this Saturday?”