Page 48 of Locked Souls
“Shh, my boy, it's okay. Daddy's here,” he coos to him as Romeo breaks down, crying for his mommy again.
“Fuck, I can't just sit here and do nothing. We are Elders now. We should be on the front line, busting into that compound and taking out the enemy,” I growl, standing and pacing alongside Jonas.
“Jacob could use your help with the trials tonight. He's in his office,” Otto mutters, while shushing and rubbing Romeo’s back.
Jonas grabs our robes and masks from a hall closet, while I check in on our girl and the kids.
They are all asleep. Chas has cried herself to the point of exhaustion.
“I love you,” I whisper to them all, then shut the door and follow Jonas.
There are school kids everywhere, but they don't pay us attention. Grandma Cross made a big announcement at Mass that there would be some special visitors staying at the Academy, and to leave us be.
Being in these halls again, listening to the sounds my shoes make on the cobblestones brings shivers to my spine.
I joined The Society for a reason. I knew that I would have to do unspeakable things to join, but my soul is still tainted with his blood.
He was my monster under the bed, and I did the world a favor by eliminating his filth. I can still remember the way the wire sliced through his rough, scaly skin, and I close my eyes against the memory of how the blood flowed through my fingers.
Father Monroe hurt countless little boys, who had dreams to serve the Lord, do altar services, and be part of something bigger than themselves. He almost ruined my relationship with God, because how does He allow something like that to happen?
So I took matters into my own hands, and I refuse to feel bad about it. The issue is that my new responsibilities to help The Society are now bringing back those memories. I’ve worked really hard to box the murder away, but it’s beginning to bubble up to the surface again.
I should have known that Father Monroe would find his way back into my thoughts, like the virus he was.
Finding my recruits, my lips thin as I walk toward Connor, Malachi, and Hendrix. These guys are going to be a handful. They seem to think they will have everything handed to them now that they’re recruits, but I know better than most… it’s a fight to the very end to get the reward we dangle in front of them.
God, they may fucking die still virgins.
Shaking off that thought, I turn my recruits toward Jacob’s office, pushing them in that direction.
“It’s time, boys,” I mutter. “I hope you’ve been spending your time well, because this isn’t going to be easy.”
The first trial is taking place today, and we have dossiers on each of their lives. Jonas and I know what will hurt the most, because we’ve been mentoring and supporting them. It feels wrong to sell out their deepest fears, but that is the way The Society’s trials work.
They’re meant to tear you apart, so you can be built back up, and have the ultimate victory at the end.
Jonas, Ash, and I went through all of this, and now we are official members.
I have to remember that I’m The Wolf now, and Jonas is The Scorpion. It’s a reminder that life continues on, regardless of the war around us.
“Wait here,” Jonas growls, opening the door to Jacob’s office. Jacob is in a corner of the room, chewing on his lip, and he glances up at us as we walk in, the Initiates remaining in the corridor.
“Are they outside?” he asks. His cloak and mask are beside him, all ready to go. The initiates won’t wait long, but we need to get down into the tunnels to do this.
“Yes,” I grunt, making sure the door is locked behind us.
“Okay, I need help. Connor’s father is the only person in his family who is still living. He’s a rotten bastard, and has been told various times that if he dies, he’ll be sold to pay off his father’s debts,” Jacob says. “The first trial is to face his fears, and I believe that’s it.”
“There’s more to it than just that.” I sigh, wincing. I’ve spent some time skulking through the tunnels, like I did as a student here, in order to listen to their conversations.
“The person he owes money to is the Irish mafia. They are in the human trafficking business as well, but mostly they enjoy collecting and breaking people. They lose their identities, becoming pets for their owners’ sexual desires and proclivities. That fear is a very powerful one.”
Jacob makes a sound of displeasure deep in his chest, but this is the way it has to be.
“We’ll bring them in one at a time, and give them a fake truth related to their fear, before releasing them into the tunnels. They’ll be chased through the hallucinogenic gas, where they’ll be trapped in their fears for no more than fifteen minutes. They will need to find each other to escape from their nightmares. If they don’t…”
“Then they don’t pass,” Jonas grunts. “I don’t know if our group is going to make it. The trials are designed to feed on their fears, test their loyalty and discretion, and then create their bonds in blood. The three of them don’t take this fucking seriously!”