Page 30 of Sacrificing Zoriah

I know in order to survive Zoriah escaping, I have to lie. I’m going to have to do a lot of shit that I don’t want to do. I know how this works. I know I will be given the choice of death or to be used. Being used means everyone will have a chance to do whatever they want to me. I know it will be painful and humiliating, but I have to get back to Zoriah. I love her so much, and I have for a while. I don’t care if we are just friends. I needher in my life, and I’m not ready to die. I need to at least make sure she got somewhere safe.

“Hey,” I say casually as I walk into Doug’s office, where Richard is sitting.

“Oh. He’s talking to us,” Richard laughs.

“Do you need something?” Doug asks.

“Yeah. I just wanted to apologize. I know you guys are trying to help me. It’s hard to break out of my old life, but I’m trying to fight through it. I don’t know why it is hard to let go of the past,” I say.

“Son,” Doug says as he walks around and puts his hand on my shoulder. I would love nothing more than to punch him in the fucking face right now. I can’t, though, because I’ll get shot almost immediately. “It’s hard to let go of Sin. The devil tempts us, but we see that you are trying. You brought Zoriah, me, and God so much pleasure. You should be proud of that.”

“Yeah,” I say with a forced smile. “I just want to do better. Ya know?”

“Yeah,” Doug smirks. “I want to help you, Huxley. Will you let me help?”

“Yes,” I say. “I will accept help.”

“Let’s do a test then,” he says.

“Okay…” I say hesitantly.

“Boss!” Marty says as he runs into the room. “She’s gone. Zoriah is gone.”

“What?” Doug, Richard, and I say all at once. Lie, and you can be free. You have to lie.

“She killed Walker and left out of a window,” he says. “Boss….”

“How did she kill him?” I ask, forcing myself to sound angry.

“She slit his throat. He doesn’t have his knife on him, so… he must have taken it in with him, and she got it,” he says.

“Fucking idiot,” Doug sighs. “Alright… we need to move. Her fucking boss is going to mess everything up.”

“What can I do?” I ask. “Me and Dad can go track her. She’s on foot and naked. She can’t go far.”

“Too close to a main road,” he says. “She would have gone right to the main road and grabbed a car.”

“Fuck,” I sigh. “Are we safe?”

“Yes. We just need to move everyone, so I want this place to be sparkling. No trace of Zoriah here at all. I want that room disinfected, Marty.”

“Yes, sir,” Marty says before leaving.

“Did you have anything to do with this?” Dad asks pointedly.

“Hell no,” I lie. “She’s got a loudmouth and will try to ruin everything that’s been built here. She needs to be found.”

“Are you prepared to have to kill her?” Doug asks.

“She is the sacrifice, so she can’t be. But if the situation called for it, yes,” I lie.

“She will need to be cleansed,” Doug says. “And punished.”

“Can I be the one to punish her?” I ask.

“Absolutely,” Doug smiles. “I need some reassurance that you aren’t guilty of sympathizing with her old life.”

“What can I do?” I ask.

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