Cult of the Hexad (Afterlife saga Book 6) (9 page)

So having scars on my arms didn’t bother me at all. Because every time I looked at them I was reminded of two things. One was that we were put on this earth to live each day like it was a gift given and two, was that there were no limits to what loving someone could mean or make you do.

“So what is the plan?” Ari asked and it was strange as it seemed that in a short time we had swapped roles. Ari was normally the one with a plan and the one that led us through that plan with no fear. So when did I become the fearless leader?

“You saved me.” Ari said as if reading my thoughts, which wouldn’t have been surprising seeing as we were twins.

“I murdered someone.”
I whispered stating the obvious.

“No, you saved someone…
me.”
I knew what she was saying and put that way I would do it all again because it came down to simple primal rules of survival. It had been either him or Ari. Because there was no doubt in my mind that he would have killed her and me too as it seemed my time would have been next if my mother’s words were anything to go by. No, I had no choice and Ari’s words simply reminded me of that fact.

“So what’s the plan badass, Kay Bear?” I smiled and said only one word,

“Escape.”

Mrs Collingwood remained true to her word and not one person disturbed us the rest of the night. This wasn’t for lack of trying though as my mother had tried to get us taken back home. But after a long argument from Mrs Collingwood, mother finally had to agree that what was best for our ‘health’ was more important than my mother’s ‘emotional’ state. Her argument for needing us home so badly would have been laughable if it hadn’t have highlighted the seriousness of our need to leave as soon as possible.

There was only one reason my mother seemed desperate enough for us to be back in that house and it wasn’t anything to do with our health or her ‘emotional state’. It was for the type of punishment you don’t come back from.

We decided it was now or never as we both knew the likelihood of making it to the end of the month was never going to be a reality. Thankfully when the storm hit that night it seemed luck was on our side as we were less likely to be seen making a run for it. I had been worried at first on how Ari would cope after her injuries but as usual, Ari just acted like nothing was wrong. This was proven when she was up and out of bed as soon as we heard Mr and Mrs Collingwood call it a night.

The problem we had was we didn’t know if our mother and Uncle would have anyone watching the house. But in the end it was a chance we would have to take. So under the cover of darkness we sneaked out of the Collingwood home and made a run for it into the surrounding woodland.

The run had been hard, harder so for Ari due to the extreme pain this must have put on her back. By the time we reached the cover of the trees we were also soaked from the heavy rain, but we didn’t care as we had made it past the hardest point. Here in the darkness and under the cover of the forest we had more of a chance to remain hidden until we could at least find a road.

We had no idea how far we would have to walk, which was why I had no choice when it came to stealing a loaf of bread and some carrots from Mrs Collingwood’s larder. At least I’d found a scrap of paper and a pencil so that I could write a sorry note, hoping she would understand why. Although after dealing with my mother I think she had an idea what was going on, so wouldn’t be surprised by our actions, not considering the door had been left unlocked as if giving us the go ahead.

“We made it.” Ari said bending over to catch her breath like I was.

“Yeah, let’s just hope that was the hard part.” Ari agreed and we carried on slowly as the small flashlight Ari had also taken from the house wasn’t providing much light. This was also a good thing as we didn’t exactly need to be letting people know where we were should they come looking for us.

“As least these trees offer some protection against the rain.” That was true but the damage had already been done as we were both shivering from the cold wet clothes we now wore. Mrs Collingwood had also been kind enough to give us both a set of old clothes she used to wear when she was younger. Apart from smelling a bit musty from being stored for so long, they were a lot warmer than my woollen dress or Ari’s forced naked state.

We continued on and I had to wonder about how easy it had been making it this far. People who had escaped before had also run into the trees and I didn’t know whether it was a good sign or not the fact they had never been seen again. There were only two scenarios I saw the reasons for this and one was that they had gotten lost and most likely died out there in the wilderness. And the other, a more hopeful one was that they got so far and then found a road to civilization.

“What do you think it will be like?” Ari asked me and I took this as a sign she needed to take her mind off the uncertainty we faced.

“The outside world?”

“Yeah.”

“I think it will be like breathing for the first time.” I answered honestly. Her deep sigh told me she felt the same.

“Do you think it will have changed much?”

“Yeah, but in a good way.”

“Do you think I will finally get a chance to learn how to drive?” This had been one of the things Ari most wanted to do in life. She loved the thrill of speed and danger in a sense. She was always climbing to the highest point in any tree and beyond what anyone else was willing to go. She was always the first to try anything and no matter how dangerous it seemed, she was there. She was a natural born leader and always managed to set an example to others that you shouldn’t be afraid of the unknown. And that was precisely what we were doing now by taking that leap into the unknown.

The unknown to freedom…it certainly had a nice ring to it.

We talked some more about what we would do when we finally got out and one of the things was getting in a car, after Ari had passed her test of course, and just driving across the country. We fantasied about what we would see and what we remembered of our family trips as kids. The places we would revisit and how we would both try and find work as waitresses in the towns we stayed in until we had enough money to hit the road again.

It may not have sounded like much of a dream to other people but to us it would be our own little slice of heaven on Earth. Because that’s what this place did to you. It made you crave for the little things in life and made you realise what was important. And for us, it was simply the freedom to do whatever we chose to do with our lives, without being beaten for even thinking it.

It was to eat real food and marvel at the taste without being called gluttonous. It was to chat until all hours of the night without fear of being caught and be loud and laugh and dance and do all the things we found beautiful in the world. No, we knew we didn’t dream big but we dreamed beautiful and that’s all that mattered.

We continued talking like this and instead of us getting tired from all the walking if anything, it encouraged us to push harder without even realising it.

“Ice cream.” Ari said as we had moved on to a torturous game we used to play by naming all the things we missed and couldn’t wait to do again.

“Socks.” I said thinking back to really comfy warm socks that used to have bright patterns on.

“A cup of tea.” I said and it came out of nowhere as I never drank tea.

“Tea? But you never…”

“Ssshh, get down!”
I hissed pulling her down into the bushes and grabbing the flash light from her to turn it off. I heard a noise up ahead and soon a different light flashed once in the trees.

“Oh no, they found us”
Ari whispered and I held my breath hoping and praying this wasn’t it.

“Is that what I think it is?” 
I asked when we both heard a strange noise. Strange because we weren’t used to hearing it anymore and also because you didn’t expect to hear a car in the middle of the forest.

“Maybe we are nearer to a road than we thought.”

“Maybe.”
I agreed but I wasn’t so sure. I waited a moment longer and decided to take a look. Raising my head slowly above our cover I saw nothing but the dark forest looming on for as far as the dark night would allow. There were no lights anywhere and the sound of the engine had long gone. Was Ari right, could we be near a road? Well there was only one way to find out.

“Come on, let’s check it out.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Not surprisingly Ari agreed and we both cautiously at first went in search for what we could only hope was a road and not the Fathers coming to look for us. At this point we didn’t have much in the way of options as it wasn’t like we had a map or knew which direction to head in. No we were going on blind luck, so if this had just been a sign of where to go, then we were taking it.

“Look Kay, is that what I think it is?” I moved closer and closer taking Ari by the hand until we stepped out of the tree line and onto a road.

“Bingo!” I said jumping and squealing with delight into each other’s arms. We looked one way and then the other, deciding to press on the way we started and hope it led to a main road as this was just a dirt track but at least it was a start. It was also obvious it was being regularly used as you could still see the fresh tyre tracks in the mud when we shone the light down.

“Let’s see where this goes.” I nodded in agreement and we set off once more, only this time it was a lot easier thanks to the track we followed. Manoeuvring through the forest hadn’t been easy, especially at night but the worse thing in our position was that it had been slow, something we just couldn’t afford to be. But now, being on this road, we could feel ourselves getting nearer to achieving our goal and we were buzzing because of it.

“I see lights.”
Ari informed me on a whisper and for one small moment I let myself hope for them to be the lights from a small town or even a motel, anything to prove we had done it. But the closer we got the more we realised this dirt track only led to a small cabin in the woods.

“There’s still a track that leads past the house, maybe that’s the road out of here.” I looked to where Ari pointed to and saw she was right, there was a track there but it was obviously one that was hardly ever used.

“Let’s check out the cabin first as someone might live there that could help us and look, at least they have a car.” I pointed to the large truck that had been parked around the side.

“Okay, but I think we should sneak up and look through one of the windows first, as we don’t know who’s in there.”

“Let’s hope for a little old lady who’s feeling charitable.” I said making Ari chuckle.

“At this point I would go for an axe wielding hillbilly that has passed out on whiskey and we can just swipe his keys.” She said this time making me chuckle but still raise an eye brow in question.

“What? We’re fugitives now, anything goes…plus I might get my chance to drive sooner than I thought.” She winked at me and then walked on leaving me shaking my head laughing.

The closer we got the more it became apparent that it was unlikely that it was lived in, although I guessed the car suggested otherwise. The place was run down and that was putting it nicely. But the lights were coming from the windows below which told us it must have had a basement. We crossed the road and sneaked up to the cabin as quietly as we could but when we heard a woman’s scream we both dropped to the floor.

“Oh God, what was that?” 
Ari whispered next to me and I shrugged my shoulder just hoping it wasn’t the axe hillbilly Ari had been kidding about. When we heard no more screams I motioned for us to move again and check it out. After all there could have been someone trapped in there who needed our help.

We got so far and started to hear voices. It was strange at first, like someone was humming or singing quietly in an eerie voice but then we soon realised it wasn’t one voice, it was many…and they were chanting.

I pointed to the basement and we moved closer to the small rectangle window that was almost level with the ground. The sound was much louder now and it was clear it was a group chanting something in a different language as it certainly wasn’t in English. 

I really didn’t want to look and from the horrified expression on Ari I wasn’t the only one. But we both knew we had to look as after hearing that girl’s scream we had no choice.

So we both crouched down either side of the window, remaining out of sight and on mouthing
one, two, three
, we looked.

It wasn’t an axe murdering hillbilly…

It was much, much worse.

Chapter 7

Desperate Hands

Blood.

That was what I remembered most about the crash. All the blood. It dripped down from my father’s body half hanging from the broken windscreen. It poured from my sister’s back, soaking her pink t-shirt in a strange V shape. It even pooled under my mother’s head as she lay unconscious on the grass. But the most blood I had ever seen had come straight from my veins and poured down my arms into my hands. I remember cupping my hands together in some naive hope of catching it, thinking maybe they can put it back into me.

But now when I thought back to that memory it would forever be attached to something far more sinister. Because
this,
right here and now was the most blood I had ever seen and it was sickening.

“Oh God…”
Ari muttered after being sick. I didn’t know how I managed to keep my own stomach in check at the sight of what could only be described as Demons feasting.

When we finally looked our first thought had been to scream, which was why both our hands flew to our mouths to trap the instinct within. We knew now what none of the others knew really happened within the Colony and most importantly, where their children really went when they left.

It had all been a lie.

A deadly lie.

Because there was Bethany, naked and strapped up like a sacrifice and being drained of her blood for the monsters to drink. Her body had been beaten before her throat had been slit, bathing her own body crimson. She was tied to some kind of tilted wheel and the grooves carved around it looked to channel the blood down to a symbol below.

The symbol was what was known for us at the Colony as the Hexad. It was made up of four triangles, two smaller ones at the top and two longer ones at the bottom, giving it six points that were supposed to represent each of our Gods.

But the six robed men that stood there now, with a cup in each hand drinking from the girl’s blood were no Gods! I wanted to spit on the ground at the thought of it and the heinous lies they had told. Because even without seeing their faces we knew who these six monsters were.

The Fathers.

And we had watched as each of them had held a chalice cup under the six points of the Hexad, where the blood overflowed and then toast to another successful month. We had no clue to what it all meant but watching them drink together had been Ari’s limit of keeping her food down.

“We have to do something?” 
Ari said wiping her lips on the back of her hand.

“We have to get out of here.”
I said knowing that was the only option left. She frowned and was about to argue when something in the room made us both look. The six Fathers all finished the last of their stolen blood and then one by one they ripped back their hooded robes, revealing themselves…
for who they really were
.

“No, it…it can’t be…”
I muttered in disbelief but it was Ari who actually gave them their name.

“Vampires?”

This was my limit as I fell back from my crouched position unable to take anymore. I started to walk backwards like a crab on my hands and feet in despair. Ari stayed at the window like she was watching what else was happening but all I could think about was… It was all true. That all this time we had been ruled by Devils being disguised as Gods incarnate. All so they could feed from us and lead us like sacrificial lambs to the slaughter.

We saw it right there in their bloody eyes and demonic faces. Their lengthened fangs still stained from their feast. We saw the truth as they all laid down their cups and chanted out what could have been their victory. 

“We have to go…
now!”
  Ari said dragging me up from the ground and pulling me away. She pulled me over towards the car and as if she knew it would be open she yanked on the door.

“What are we doing?” I asked as she stuffed me inside but shut the door before opening the driver’s side.

“What we have to.” She said and then before I could ask how she was planning on driving this thing without knowing how, she started up the car and we were off down the beaten track.

“Ari, how are you doing this?!” I asked looking at her in amazement as she drove like she had been doing it all her life.

“I don’t know but something just told me that I could. I heard his voice Kay, I heard it again and it told me to get in the truck and drive!” I believed her. How could I not after what we had been through, especially in this last few days. Was this what our visions were trying to tell us? Had they been trying to lead us here all this time and show us the truth?

“I heard them. Oh God this won’t stop! I heard what they have planned Kay!” Ari was panicked, like she knew what was coming and she had to tell me everything as quickly as possible.

“Tell me! What is it?” I asked never feeling fear like it.

“It’s us! It’s only ever been about us! Don’t you see, it’s all been a lie…”

“What are you talking about it?!” I asked looking behind us and thankfully not seeing another car following us.

“Our whole lives Kay…it was never real…
we were never real!”
  Hearing this was like being suspended in ice unable to move from fear of freezing to death. Every inch of my skin was covered in bumps and all my hair stood on end like I was already trapped in that icy water.

“That’s…that’s
impossible.”
I said shaking my head as the hopelessness washed over me.

“Think Kay, is it, is it really so impossible?! Think back to your dreams, think back to the girl! What is she trying to tell you?!” Ari shouted after swerving to miss a tree and a branch snapped back against the side of the truck’s frame, making me jump.

“How do you know this? What happened? What did you see, Ari? Tell me!” I said asking a million questions and Ari was just about to answer at least one of them when she noticed something in the mirror.

“Oh shit, they’re here! They found us!” She said and I looked back to see nothing but shadows…but wait, those weren’t trees.

“What’s happening?”

“You need to get out of here, you need to find a way inside your dreams and lead you to the girl, they are the only ones that can help. You need to find a way to save us all, Kay.” If I was shaking my head before then now I was really shaking my head.

“What do you mean me…Ari you’re coming with me!”

“Shit!” She shouted just as the light on the truck illuminated the sight in front of us. It only confirmed what we feared all along.

“By the Gods! No one ever made it out did they?” Ari didn’t need to answer. Not considering what we were both looking at. And not considering the size of that stone wall blocking us out from the rest of the world.

We were trapped…but most of all…

We had
always
been trapped.

Ari swerved the truck at just the right moment making it slam the side into the wall. Our bodies jarred sideways and I hit my head on the glass. Pain erupted but it wasn’t enough to stop me from moving when Ari told me to.

“We need to get on the roof, quick!” I followed after her, pulling myself out of the driver’s side window and using the window frame to climb up on the roof of the car.

“Grab that branch to pull yourself up…hurry, they will be here any second.” I did as I was told and I let Ari hold my legs and heave me up enough to reach it. I then used it to walk the rest of the way up the wall until I reached the top. Once I did I got on my belly, anchored my legs and reached my hand down for Ari to grab.

“Jump up!” I shouted down at her but she was just stood on the roof looking out as if readying herself for what was coming.

“Ari grab my hand!” I shouted again but she wasn’t listening. I started to panic so said the only thing she would listen to.

“Right I am coming back down there!” This got her attention. She turned her head slowly at first, as if an eerie calm had overtaken her.

“They won’t kill me, not yet…they need me to keep up the shields, that’s how they have done this for so long. Eight girls…eight months… You need to trust me Kay.”

“No! What are you saying, just come with me!” She wasn’t making sense!

“I can’t, that’s not what I am here for…I know that now. I was always meant to save you. To keep you safe until this day came…You’re the one Kay, the one they’re really afraid of, that’s why they needed you. They needed you for the end.”

“Ari, you’re not making sense! Come on!” I begged with tears streaming down my face but why wouldn’t she listen!

“Bring them here Kay…bring them here and save the world. It was what we were always meant to do. Bring them here…
and save me.”

“Bring who here! Please Ari, I don’t understand!”

“Bring your dreams here…they are looking for you…just let them find you Kay…let
him
find you.”

“WHO?” I screamed out my sobbing frustrations at her.

“Your Demon.” No! She couldn’t possibly mean…no, she was scared, she only said this because she feared for my life! Well I couldn’t let her. I wouldn’t leave her…I could never leave her!

“Ari no! Please! Oh god please, come on!”

“Go! Go now!” Ari said again and I cried harder, bawling in sight of my outstretched hand, one she refused to take.

“I’m not leaving you!” I tried one last time but then they came. The shadows were running straight at her and she just stood there and waited for them like this was her only purpose.

“I love you my sister.” That was the last thing I heard before she jumped off the car and started running the other way so that they would follow her.

“ARIANA!” I screamed her name alerting a few of them to run at me. They moved like nothing I had seen before, looking more like animals than humans.

“Ahhh!” I shouted my fright as I tried to find footing on the other side as I could only assume it was the same height down. My foot slipped and my head disappeared just as one of the Fathers leapt onto the roof of the car like a giant cat. He even hissed at me, showing me his deadly fangs in threat. I fell, still taking with me that sight of evil but thankfully I hit the ground a lot sooner than I would have thought. I hurt my knee but at least nothing felt broken.

“You won’t get far without your sister and we have her now!” I looked up to see that same foul face smiling down at me from the top of the wall. I knew I needed to run so I grabbed the stone wall to heave myself up only something unexpected happened. My touch seemed to trigger something within the stone because a bright white light suddenly burst from behind the stone, coming through the cracks. The Vampire screamed a high pitched wail as if the wall itself was burning hot. His hands lost their hold and he flung himself backwards from the stone until his body disappeared on the other side.

I stumbled backwards down the grass banking that obviously saved me from greater injury.

“What’s happening?” I asked myself out loud as I moved back even further. The bright light had dimmed to a soft glow and I could now see what it really was. It was as if someone had painted invisible symbols that only showed under a certain light. I had no clue what they were, all these lines and shapes that made no sense but it seemed whatever they were, my touch had flipped the switch and turned them on. I looked around in desperation and then screamed when lightening hit the sky and thunder quickly followed. The rain started to pour down hard around me and I started to look for ways that I could get back in there.

“Ari.” I had to save my sister. I had to get back to her! I walked back up to the wall and started to feel for any grooves that would aid my climbing but it was useless. The rain had made the stone slick and I just slipped and fell time and time again. I started to walk further down, hoping that maybe the wall didn’t go on for as long I as originally thought but one more flash of lightening told me otherwise.

The wall was endless.

“NO! No this can’t be happening! ARI!” I screamed her name again and fell to my knees. I hit the muddy wet ground over and over until my hands felt numb to the pain.

“Why! Why did you do that! Why would you leave me…why?” My question went unanswered and I let my head fall hopelessly into my hands as I wept for my loss.

“I can’t do this…I can’t do this without you…I can’t Ari…come back to me, please just come back…”
I whispered this hopeless plea into the ground before I got up and began to run. I ran and ran until I thought my legs would give out but when that didn’t happen, I just ran some more…until I just stopped and my anger finally died. I knew why she had done it. She thought she was saving me but we could have made it. I knew we could have if she had just trusted me. But now what…I just didn’t know.

It took me until now to realise that once I stopped running I could see that all this time I had been doing so along an empty road. At least it was a real road this time, which meant that it was used often. So when I saw the blinding headlights I wasn’t surprised. I held up my hand to shield myself against the light and when the car stopped, I didn’t have anything left in me to worry enough who was in that car.