Page 54 of The Guru: Shadow
“Leeettt iiittt goooooo,” he growled darkly into the mic directly behind her. “Leeettt yourselfffff be consuuumed byyy theee voooid.”
Geez.
A deep breath of relief issued from her throat as he let go and moved past her. Immediately, she opened an eye and squinted through it, glancing around. Everyone else seemed to be all in.
Why and how are they doing it? It’s rubbish!
Unable to say how much time had passed, eventually the music stopped and the whole room went pitch black again. The memory of what happened last time made her heart hammer against her chest, her hands became sweaty in an instant.
“Now it is time to transform your shadow into light,” came Deis’ voice in the dark, and then all the lights in the room went on with a crazy light show, while some weird Viking-like electronic music filled the room.
It made all of her brain hurt. It was too bright. Too many flashes. Too loud.
“Free yourself!” shouted Deis like an order into the mic, with such a growling undertone it was quite frightening.
“It is time…to let go!”
“Let go of everything!”
“Shake. It. Off!”
And people around her began to dance, to shake themselves, to jump as if no one would be watching in an animalistic sort of way, fitting the carnal vibes of the music. They all just followed his orders. Even Julie, next to her, let herself go in full ecstasy.
The hell I will.
She just stood there, rooted to the spot. Staring at Deis on stage, hyping them up.
Don’t they see?It’s a show. A manipulation. And he enjoys every last bit of it. Look at his eyes, it’s all in there.
Only everyone else was too energetically high to observe him. To not trust him. People celebrated him, and it was exactly what he wanted.
Then, his eyes met hers. Full of danger they shouted at her to run. They were dark, calculating, and he was loaded from all the power he got. The room around them disappeared, like on the very first day they met. Only this time she knew for sure how dangerous he was; she knew what would come, and yet she was rooted to the spot. Unable to move. He would tear her apart, like a wolf ripping a sheep.
The music stopped, and the silence circled her back into her surroundings. Just for the fraction of a second, the corner of his mouth twitched. Something would come, and she knew exactly what.
“It is so amazing to see all of you here, breaking the cycle of many generations. This weekend will finally free you from your past and allow you to step into a new life. This weekend will unlock your potential, unleash the true self waiting so desperately to be freed,” he said with a smile.
She had never seen him smile before, and it was not an honest one. It was a mask, a show, a manipulation, like everything else.
And people cheered, adored him.
“Are you ready to finally be free?” he shouted into the microphone.
And the room unanimously cheered, “Yeeeeees.”
Gods, cut the crap.
“So, let’s start. You’ll now hug the person next to you and tell them something empowering, something you love about them, even if you don’t know them”
Hugging. Telling someone I don’t know what I love about them? This is a joke, right?
As the whole room started buzzing, Julie slung her arms around her and hugged her. “You are so brave to go through all this.”
I am not brave; I was forced to do it. Big difference.
Forcing out a “You are sunshine lighting up everyone around you” she ended the hug quickly, while she had the urge to shake something off.
Deis then went into an endless lecture about how life can change in the fraction of a second, how someone just needs to be open for endless possibilities and how everyone was the creator of their own life.