Page 102 of The Cult

With a sudden burst of energy, as we turned a corner I slammed their bodies against the metal door, the clang echoing through the corridor. One of the men toppled over, and triumph surged through me when I was freed from their pathetic hold. I made a break for Tobias’s room, but my victory was short-lived. The guard on the floor seized my leg, sending me crashing to the ground with a resounding thud. He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around my legs in a desperate effort to regain control.

The wind was knocked out of me. I lay sprawled on the cold concrete, momentarily stunned by the impact. I grimaced when the zip-tie binding my hands dug into my skin as I attempted to free myself. I tried to make a noise, but nothing came out of my sealed mouth.

Then I caught sight of someone familiar: Sterling. Though I couldn’t speak, my eyes pleaded with him, silently begging for help, hoping he’d let Tobias know where I was.

“What are you looking at?” the guard asked Sterling.

Sterling shook his head, his sight bouncing between me and the three men.

“Get the hell outta here,” the guy restraining my legs ordered.

Sterling followed the order and scurried away until he was out of view.

Please let Tobias know about me.

“Pull that stunt again and we’ll see what happens,” the guard warned.

Once the three idiots regained their bearings, they herded me into the woods. One of them finally showed some intelligence and used a gun to nudge me forward. I might have been hasty earlier, but I wasn’t stupid.

I slowed my pace, hoping to buy more time. Sterling would have told Tobias what they’d done to me by now. Damn it! He didn’t know where these fools were taking me. I stopped and studied my surroundings, noticing a clearing up ahead.

“Keep going.” The guard pressed the barrel of the gun against my neck, the cold metal sending shivers down my spine. “Now!”

Every step I took felt like a march toward my end. As we neared the clearing, the realization of our destination seized my lungs. What lay ahead wasn’t a clearing, it was a drop-off. I halted when only five feet of ground separated me from the edge. From here I could see the blue water in the quarry pit below. I frantically shook my head as overwhelming fear set in.

“Look who’s afraid now,” the man with the gun taunted. “Keep going.”

I tried to plead, but no one could hear me. My life couldn’t end like this.

“You wanna be saved?” one guard asked.

I nodded.

“Kneel,” the other man ordered.

I dropped to my knees, desperate for more time with my family and friends. More time with Tobias.

The three men laughed, their taunts like barbs. “Just like his father,” one mocked. “You should’ve seen his face before—”

Anger surged through me like a raging river, memories of Dad igniting my fury. I lunged forward, nostrils flaring, every muscle tensed for vengeance.

The two men scrambled to pry me away from the third, but the idiot was knocked unconscious when he fell back and hit his head on a rock in the underbrush. I fought against them with all my strength, but with my hands bound, my struggle was over before it began.

I staggered toward the cliff’s edge, my heart pounding. The world around me stopped turning and the distant roar of the quarry pit below was all I could hear. Tears of defeat cascaded down my cheeks.

The two guards closed in on me, their faces twisted. They were enjoying this. I braced myself for what would come next. One guard drew his gun from his holster and aimed at me. “Any final words?”

I jumped before he had a chance to fire his shot.

The water was cold, but I didn’t shiver when the murky depths swallowed me whole. No light could penetrate the darkness that surrounded me, leaving me disoriented and helpless. I kicked and kicked to propel myself to the surface, but without the use of my arms, I felt like I was sinking deeper into the pit. Each kick drained my strength, consuming every ounce of oxygen in my body. Time seemed to stretch endlessly as I fought to find the surface.

I struggled to hold my breath. The burning ache in my lungs intensified with each passing moment, a cruel reminder of my dwindling chances of survival. I panicked when water filled my nose, choking me. My vision blurred. A few happy moments flashed through my mind. I clung to them desperately, seeking peace before I succumbed.

Memories of my mom and dad’s laughter came rushing in. I smiled behind the tape when I remembered Maddy riding on my back. And then there was Tobias, with his mismatched eyes that seemed to hold all the answers to my questions. His touch and kiss had made me feel alive, even in the darkest of moments. I clung to the vision of his handsome face as my consciousness began to slip away, the darkness closing in around me like a suffocating blanket.

It was said drowning was a peaceful way to go.

Now I understand.

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