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“Even for the younger ones, it’s only two hours a day,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. “There’s so many men and only one ranch.”

So the men mostly got to laze around while the women worked twelve hour days cooking, cleaning and caring for children. Again, not exactly surprising.

Jacob smiled at me again as he showed me around a huge bedroom with its own attached bathroom. “You can leave your things here for now,” he said, pointing to my cases. “I’ll have someone take them down to the shelter for you later, if that’s where you decide you’d rather sleep. Now, let’s begin the official New Eden tour.”

He led me out of the house and down a well-trampled grassy path behind it. It was one I recognized easily, even at night. It led toward the old white chapel where the entrance to the underground shelter lay.

I expected it to be completely dark out here, but the sky was lit with the orange glow of a fire. The acrid scent of smoke filled my nostrils as we drew closer to the church.

“Bonfire festival,” Jacob said, motioning to the right. “They’re burning the Devil right now.”

A red, orange and yellow ball of flame was roaring upwards, chewing its way through the pyramidal wooden base of an enormous wicker effigy. Thick grey plumes swept into the night sky, carried every which way by the heavy winds.

Commune members were gathered all around the burning effigy. Men drank and laughed, boys whooped and ran around, and the girls and women seemed to be engaged in various servile activities—pouring drinks, caring for the youngest children, taking food to the men.

“You have festivals?” I asked, wrinkling my forehead in surprise. I’d expect that from some sort of pagan-based cult, but not these guys.

Jacob waved a hand. “Well, we call it that for the women’s sake, but really it’s just an excuse to let the men have a big bonfire and drink.”

“Seems there’s a lot I still don’t know,” I said, cocking my head to the side. “I didn’t realize you drank here.”

He narrowed his eyes. “If you read all of His Word, you’d know it’s fine for us men to partake in alcohol. But we don’t let the girls do it.”

This man really needed to get the word ‘hypocrite’ stamped across his forehead.

“Oh, right, yes. I forgot that particular chapter,” I said, nodding agreeably. I peered at a woman taking care of a baby. I noticed she was missing a finger. “So you let the women out for this?”

“They’re fine leaving the shelter for a few hours. They never go any farther than this, though. Now, come. We have a lot to tell you.”

As we stepped toward the old chapel, I caught sight of Jolie. She was in a pale blue dress, just like last time, and she was pouring beer from a jug into a large glass held by a man. His eyes were focused right on her face, and even from here, I could tell what he was thinking. He wanted her.

Maybe he’d already had her.

Jealousy flared to life deep inside me. “Is your daughter still unmarried?” I asked Jacob. “Or is that her husband with her over there?”

Jacob followed my line of sight. “She’s just pouring him a drink. Weddings only happen in April. She’ll be married then.”

“I see.”

“That’s one of the many things we have to discuss with you once we get inside. The wedding season. But for now… patience, my friend.”

We descended into the underground shelter. The next hour was spent touring around the place, including the room which was to become mine. The men’s section was just as lavish and expansive as I remembered—like a fucking hotel, really—and the women’s section was just as dark and dingy.

I was right about the punishment dungeons in the women’s section, too. Jacob showed them to me without going into much detail in regard to what they were for, but it was clear from the context, given their appearance and the fact that he called them the ‘Penance Rooms’. There were four of the stone-walled rooms, and they were all equipped with various corporal punishment tools. Each had a crimson-painted door with several heavy locks to keep the victim from escaping during their castigation.

“This way,” Jacob finally said, ushering me back toward the men’s section a while later. He took me into a large room with a round mahogany table. The Elders were all there.

“Mason, we’re so glad you made it,” Thibodeaux said with a broad grin. “It’s a shame you’ll have to miss the first bonfire festival, but we have a lot to go through with you, and it’ll probably take quite some time.”

My heart thumped. This was it. The moment they revealed their secrets to me.

“The majority of our traditions at New Eden will not be directly shown or taught to you tonight,” Fontenot said, gesturing for me to sit down. “You’ll simply live here and get to know those customs and practices as you go. But still, like Elder Thibodeaux said... there’s much to discuss this evening.”

“I’ve already explained the work situation to him,” Jacob said. “He understands he doesn’t have to do anything, given his donation.”

“So what can I do, then?” I asked.

“You can take full advantage of the peace and quiet we have to offer out here,” Jacob said. “Or you can work if you really want to. We encourage new members to leave their old lives behind, but that isn’t mandatory. After all, I still run all my investments out in the real world.”

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