Page 44 of Taken

10

Mason

“Praise Him for this meal.”

I quickly bowed my head over my scrambled eggs and toast as I pretended to pray. One of the girls had just brought over breakfast for me and the Elders, including Jacob.

Usually the men sat at their own tables, away from the Elders, but as I was new and still getting used to the place, Jacob was allowing me to sit with them for meals so they could answer any questions I might have. He said he would allow it for as long as it took me to get used to everything.

As if I ever fucking could.

I knew they did horrible, dehumanizing things to the women here, but fucking executions? Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting that. When Jolie told me about it the other night, I almost had a goddamned heart attack.

Really, I should have known. After all, the men here probably orchestrated the mass killing of their wives and many other young adults back in 1999, just so they could create this new ‘society’ of theirs. So why would they stop there? Why not kill a few young women here and there if it ensured the fear, respect and compliance they demanded from the rest of them?

Fucking psychopaths.

“How are you settling in, Mason?” Elder DuVernay asked, peering across the table as I gingerly nibbled on my toast. I felt like shit eating this food. Even though everything the women made tasted great and was perfectly-cooked, it was still made with what essentially amounted to slave labor.

I forced a smile. “Fine, thank you. It’s even more peaceful out here than I imagined.”

“Yes, it’s nice to escape the toxicity and noise of the cities,” Jacob said from my right. “How long’s it been since you arrived now? Eight days?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

I’d been counting every damn second. I didn’t want to be here, but I simply had to stay.

I’d fucked up badly last week by trying to tell Jolie the whole truth right away. I should’ve known better, and yet I’d leapt right in the deep end with her anyway. Unfortunately, trying to convince her of anything that evening was impossible. My attempt to make her accept even the smallest detail of the real world was like walking in deep water with weights attached to my body, an unstoppable drag against my legs. Jolie simply wouldn’t budge. Wouldn’t allow herself to hear the truth. She pushed back over and over, saying she knew it was some sort of test from above.

It made sense. She’d been brainwashed for eleven years, ever since she was a young child. All she responded to in men was fear, violence and cruelty, so I should’ve known it would take more than me simply telling her my version of the truth. It would take a hell of a lot more than that.

She truly believed in all the things she’d been taught over the years, because she had no other choice. Down here, it was ‘believe or die’ for the girls, and punishments for even the smallest of so-called sins were more brutal than I could’ve imagined. Just a simple lie about saying hello to an outsider earned Jolie several lashes down in the Penance Rooms.

I shuddered at the memory.

When I yanked her to her feet after the caning that evening, her pink nipples were rock hard and the dark curls of her pubic hair were damp and glistening with arousal. Her chest was heaving with excitement. She’d been conditioned for so long to believe that pain was a wonderful thing that she enjoyed it just as much as she disliked it. She even thanked me for it.

It was so fucking twisted.

I didn’t want to hurt her that night, but if I didn’t, one of the other men would’ve done it instead. Also, like Jolie said, if I took her into that room and brought her out unscathed, they’d know I was up to something and they’d cast me out of this place before I was able to gather any solid evidence or testimony from the girls.

Unfortunately, as tempting as it was, I couldn’t just call the police and get them to raid New Eden now that I knew how sick and twisted it was in these dark depths. Knowing Jacob and his wealth, he probably had quite a few connections in high places, and he would very likely receive a warning that a raid was about to take place. They’d be able to hide everything. Cover it all up like they did every other time someone came here. Then it would only be my word against theirs, and, of course, I would never be allowed to step foot anywhere near New Eden again after my betrayal.

So I had to stay and bide my time. Slowly introduce things to Jolie in the short stolen moments we got together. Say the right things here and there and let her figure out some of the stuff on her own. That was the only way she would finally listen and understand the truth.

While I was trying to make that happen, I would also be able to learn everything I possibly could about the practices of this place. The more information I had, the harder it would be for the cult to cover things up once I finally went to the authorities with everything I knew and got Jolie the fuck out of here.

I just had to hope it didn’t take toolong to convince her and the others of the truth, though. There was only so long I would be able to keep my mouth shut about all the horrors here in the commune. Only so many times I would be able to feign tiredness or sickness at the weekly Joining rituals so that I didn’t have to touch any of the girls. Only so many times I would be able to prevent the other men from touching Jolie…

At the most recent ritual—the night before last—Jolie thankfully hadn’t been in attendance. Apparently she had her period, and menstruating women weren’t allowed near the men, as they were considered to be ‘unclean’. The cleanliness thing was bullshit, but if it meant a whole week would go by without some prick shoving his cock in her mouth (or having to do it myself just to prevent any other guy from going near her), then I counted that as a blessing. It was the first thing I’d felt grateful for since my arrival at this godforsaken place.

“It usually takes a while for new members to acclimate, but you’re doing well,” Jacob said as he speared some eggs with his fork.

I nodded and kept my fake smile plastered on. He and the Elders were still pleased with how keen I’d been to jump right into the harrowing abuse of women in this place. At least that’s what they thought.

I spied a familiar honey-blonde head out of the corner of my eye. On the other side of the dining room, near the entrance to the main kitchen, Jolie and four other girls were walking in single file. Each of them carried cleaning equipment. Buckets, mops, brooms, dusters.

I tried to catch Jolie’s eye. As if sensing someone was staring, she turned her head to the left and looked in my direction. She didn’t seem to notice me, however. Her eyes were distant, vacant. She almost looked dazed. The rest of the girls were the same.

---