Page 105 of Anathema Codex

There's a way out of this hell and back to Lakyn, and if I can make it back to him on my own maybe that will finally prove to him that I'm committed.

I won't forget him like Beatrix.

I won't hate him like Aftyn.

If he'll let me, I'll be whatever he wants me to be just for the chance to be with someone that doesn't expect me to wear a mask.

Someone who wants me for who I really am, who wants me to be a part of their familybecauseof who I am… and I want that more than anything.

* * *

I've been walking for a long time. Away from the decorated cacti on the roadside, back toward civilization. A few cars have passed me, but no one has even slowed down yet, and I'm not sure how long I can keep moving.

Thinking about it isn't helping though.

I just need to put one foot in front of the other. Again and again.

A horn blaring makes me jump, and I try to step onto the shoulder, but my leg gives out and I hit the dirt hard, scratching my hands on the rocks and bruising my knees.

"Fuck," I groan, trying to summon the strength to stand again.

Then I hear someone shouting.

Lifting my head, I see a man jogging toward me. The car is pulled to the side of the road, and I think there’s a woman standing beside it on the passenger side, but it's hard to tell from this distance.

What's he saying?

"—kay?" He's panting as he comes closer, leaning on his knees to look down at me. "Hey, are you okay?"

"No." I shake my head, and even though I told myself I wouldn't put my mask back on, I'll do whatever it takes to get back to Lakyn. Turning the tears on is easy, like flexing a muscle I haven't used in a while, and when he sees me crying his face softens.

"Shit, I'm so sorry. We were trying to see if you needed a ride, I didn't mean to scare you." Stepping forward, he takes my arm gently and helps me stand. "God, you look like a kid. How old are you? Why are you out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"M-my boyfriend convinced me to come out here to this place, but it was a cult. They're j-just a cult, and I wanted to go home, but he wouldn’t leave with me and I don't have a c-car." I add a sniffle, wiping at the tears I've managed to summon, and he coos with concern as he helps me back to the car.

"Is she okay?" the woman calls out, shading her eyes against the sun.

"I think she's just scratched up," he answers as we get closer, and I can see they're both older. Closer to the age of that couple Lakyn and I killed for being so rude, but as long as they're nice I won't carve out one of their hearts. I’ve been hitchhiking for a while now and my instincts are usually pretty good, so I think these two will just help me.

"Oh, sweetheart... how long have you been out here?" The woman opens the back door, shoving things to the side so I can get in, and I drop into the seat with a wince that isn't faked. My leg is throbbing and itching, but if I tell them about that they might take me to a hospital instead of Lakyn's.

"She got involved in some cult," the man, who I think is her husband, answers for me.

"Seriously? That's crazy."

"Yeah. Let’s get back in the car, Sharon. We should get moving again so we don't get hit." He shuts my door and waves at his wife, and a moment later they're in their seats and I can feel the air conditioning. It makes me shiver, but I don't complain. This is infinitely better than dying on the side of the road.

Before they can ask me questions that I'll have to make up lies for, I dig out Aftyn's phone and hold it out. "Do you have a charger for this?"

"Sure, sweetheart! I've got the same one," Sharon replies, taking it from me, and I assume she's plugging it in. "Are you hungry?"

I nod when she glances back at me, and a minute later I've got a bottle of Coke and a protein bar in my hands, devouring them both as I offer them a sob story that has them making little noises of shock and sadness. Naive young girl follows her boyfriend on a vacation into the desert, accidentally joins a cult, realizes it's terrible, and just wants to get back to her family. To her uncle's house outside of Phoenix. A few more tears and the two of them are intent on helping me get ‘home.’

Unfortunately, Dan and Sharon aren't going that far, but they promise to get me as close as they can, and as I hug my backpack and lean against the window to sleep, I can hear them talking about buying me a bus ticket.

That's more than enough generosity for me to let them live.

Killing them for their car might get me to Lakyn faster, but I don't completely trust my ability to drive right now, so if I can get a bus ticket to Mesa—and sleep on the way—I'll fucking take it.

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