Page 86 of Calavera Society
“Unless you are directly spoken to, you are not to speak. Break this very simple rule and your punishment will grow in severity each time. Nod your heads if you understand.”
Everyone nods while I hold my head still and defiantly, my teeth grinding as I stare at the bastard. I wish a motherfucker would try that shit with me.
The speaker jerks his chin in my direction and the man with the ruler makes his way toward me. As he nears, I brace myself to fight, but Mateo steps between us tsk-ing his tongue.
“Ya escuchaste al presidente.”You heard the president.“Noah is untouchable. If he causes issues, you go directly to Roberto.”
Slowly, the stick happy man leans to the side, his masked face coming into view over Mateo’s shoulder. I give him a grin before he turns and continues his circling, passing me with a stare as the leader drones on. I may act like nothing has fazed me, but in all honesty, I haven’t felt this much anxiety since leaving my parents. I’m just good at hiding it.
“You all have passed your tests, bringing you up from level three novice to level two. But even if you make it through this level, you must still achieve level one, and as you know, each level gets progressively harder. According to the bylaws, you can be rejected for any reason and will have to return to your families as a failure. Not only will you suffer for this, but your family will as well. Shame and humiliation will be your legacy. To avoid this, you must follow each directive to the very last detail, no matter how wrong it may seem to your preconditioned minds.
“Though he comes from no one from nowhere, Noah Cabañas is one of you, a potential member of this brotherhood. It is expected of you to give him your warmest welcome and guidance…we don’t want him to suffer anyaccidents.”
Based on the sneer in his words and the sinister gleam in the eyes of a few of the guys around me, I know I'm going to be a major target foraccidents.
I send the speaker a kissy face before pulling my shirt off.
Fuck these assholes. I may be a no one from nowhere, but I sure as fuck have no issues cutting a throat and turning one of these somebodies into a nobody.
Once we’re all standing in our briefs—I’m surprised Chad isn’t wearing whitey tighties—we stand in silence. I feel like a fucking idiot walking willingly into the slaughter.
This is for Val. For val, the girl who secretly wants you, openly loves you, would do the same for you.I quietly repeat this to myself as I watch another set of men enter, their masks are different from the original group. Where the first set of assholes had black masks, these guys have red masks, and their robes are dark brown rather than black. They look like evil monks.
“Stand in a line side-by-side.” The speaker commands, and everyone lines up shoulder-to-shoulder beside me, leaving me at the left end. Mateo lightly shoulder checks me as he moves to stand with the men he entered with. Two red faced monks walk through the room collecting our clothing, shoes and other items, dropping everything into a sack and leaving with it.
Chad, who stands one guy down from me, is the only one dumb enough to ask what we're all wondering. “Where are they taking our stuff? My phone is in there.”
Mateo rushes him, sending his fist into poor Chad’s rib with a sickening crack, “Speak only when spoken to,runt. You think that because your daddy is leading this little band of welcomers, you get some sort of pass, hmm?”
My eyes flash to the speaker, noticing how rigid his stance now is, yet he makes no move to stop Mateo from hurting his son. Shit, my parents would have fit right in with the worthless fucking sperm and egg donors.
Mateo moves back, his lips moving rapidly but his words can’t be heard. Mateo is snapping, his control is slipping and it’s Chad taking the brunt of it.
Chad’s groaning turns into a high pitched scream when Mateo snaps his arm forward and grips his broken nose between his thumb and finger. Mat grins widely as he watches Chad’s tears stream down his face.
“You know, I’ve always liked the sound of little piggies squealing. Squeal for me, piggy.”
Chad bares his teeth, forcing himself to stay silent. I gotta hand it to Chad, he’s got some willpower not to fight back, not to give in and do whatever it takes to make the pain stop. Strings of spit move in and out of his mouth as he breathes rapidly through clenched teeth. Still, he doesn’t make a sound.
“I saidSQUEAL!” Mateo screams like a caged animal in his face, the charm he normally displays to fool people is completely gone and replaced with the demon beneath the smile.
Chad full on squeals and fuck me, even I feel bad for the dude. My eyes stay locked on the scene while some guys squeeze their eyes shut. None of the men Mateo came in with step forward to put a stop to it, they just stand in silence. They watch as I do, allowing the brutality to go on like it’s all part of the show.
“Tell Santino he’s going to squeal for me too.” Mateo whispers before leaning in, licking blood off Chad’s cheek before letting him go with a shove.
Once again, as though nothing happened, Mr. Herra moves on, ignoring his son who shakes violently as though he’s having a seizure.
“Tonight, you will bear the mark of the Calavera Society. This does not mean you are full-fledged members but are owned by those of us who are. You will be given to one of the five council members. YourMasters. Yes, that is what you must address them as that until you are deemed worthy enough to be inducted officially and stand on even ground with us.
“They will be the one who gives you your tasks. Upon completion of these tasks, you will be given pendants that will stay in your family for generations to come. Unless of course, you fail.”
My mind wanders back to Val’s old house where we first saw her father’s pendant and I can’t help but imagine how many he had and what sort of tasks he completed. I look around me, noticing how the other guys—minus Chad who looks like he’s on the verge of passing out—and see that they’re bored with the details. They have the advantage, the ability to barely pay attention to Mr. Herra’s words, whereas I wasn’t raised learning this shit.
I’m at a disadvantage and these guys know it.
“If you fail, you will be shunned, a plague that not even your coffin will want in its embrace. So, do not fail.”
He spins in place, his stupid robe billowing behind him like he’s some sort of fucked up princess. After he exits, more red face monks enter. Two of them carry a large wooden post across their shoulders, an iron pot holding brightly burning coals between them. Sticking out of the pot are iron rods, and when Mateo pulls off his mask, his eyes wild with mania, it registers to me what’s about to occur.