Page 5 of Sinner: Before Rain
I’m standing outside in the backyard, staring at the tree line, which holds many secrets and bodies. Many of which I have put there.
“Elijah, let's go.” My mom shouts from behind me.
Taking one last breath of the fresh Montana air, a chill latches onto my once warm skin. As I blow it out, a cloudy fog forms before me. Dash, the family German Shepard, steps forward and sits next to me.
Bringing my fingers to his head, I rub his soft coat for possibly the last time. He is older, I doubt he will be here when I get back.
“I’ll make sure you are buried here, boy. You’re family. You deserve to be kept close.” I promise.
“Elijah Sinclair, get your ass moving!” Her voice is like nails against a chalkboard.
Lifting my other hand in the air, I salute her with my middle finger.
“I’ll come when I am fucking ready.”
Dash doesn’t move, he isn’t startled. He is loyal to me and my dad. Dash even got in on some of the action with us. Sinking his teeth into the human fleshof our enemy was always his favorite. As a treat, I would keep a few limbs in the freezer and gift them to Dash when he had been an extra good boy, which was weekly. He is the only thing that I have ever cared about. His loyalty towards me and my dad was always reciprocated.
“Keep helping Dad. I know you like it, and so does he.”
I give Dash one last scratch before turning around in the yard and walking towards the house.
A mix of old stone and cabin logs. A giant wrap-around deck encompassing the entire second floor. But I don’t look up at it. That is where I know my mother’s voice is coming from.
Fuck her.
I’m not mad at her. Leaving is my choice. But it doesn’t mean I like her because I am going. This is my one chance at life outside of this place before I come back.
Walking onto the stone patio, I turn around once more. Dash is unmoved. The trees are decorated in fall leaves, with the silhouettes of mountain peaks around him in the distance.
Picking up my wooden bat, which was resting against the outdoor fireplace, I rotate it in my hand a couple of times before I walk around the house to the front.
“See you later, Montana. I’ll be seeing you.”
Chapter
Four
ELIJAH - AGE TEN
BLACKWOOD, NC
It didn’t take me long to discover my new stepfather was a fucking cult leader. I am always observing, even when they think I’m not. Pretending to be asleep, making them feel safe to talk when it wasn’t.
Information is power. You would be a fucking moron if you thought otherwise.
One month is all it took.
At first, when we moved to this hot and humid state, I wasn’t used to it. I stayed inside, where the A/C blew twenty-four-seven, which got boring fast. But I was not about to go outside. The heat was hot, sticky, and uncomfortable. My body was still used to the dry climate of the mountains.
But I was getting antsy. My tendencies hadn’t been utilized for thirty fucking days.
Something my body craves was being withheld. My skin itches with withdrawal symptoms. Saliva filled my mouth at the thought of ending another's life. Dismembering them. Torturing. Biting my own lip would ignite the familiar copper taste on my tongue. It satisfied the urge in the short term, but it would never be enough.
Bored in my thoughts, it is time to snoop.
Starting upstairs, I make my way through the spare rooms of this large home, nothing of interest catching my attention.
It wasn’t until I made my way through my mom and her dumb fuck husband’s room, that I found something of interest. Standing in the doorframe of their walk-in closet, something doesn’t fit in here. Something piques my interest. Immediately they stand out, these cliche black robes with gold trim hanging in their closet with white plain face masks with gold designs tied around the same hanger.
