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When we reach the rocky formation, I’m surprised to find it revealing a well-concealed entrance. There’s a flickering glow coming out from the crevice, letting us know that others have already made it inside the bowels of this place. Not sure I like the idea of walking into the center of the earth for a damn cult meeting.
I think it’s time I get out of this joint.
James sees it in my face. “Nah, man. Don’t.” He grabs my shoulder and shakes me a little. “I see it in your eyes. We’re already here!”
This fucker’s guilt trip is going to get me killed one day. I stand there glaring at him, then at the entrance. He gives me his ‘after all we went through together’ look and I growl under my breath. I continue to follow him down the jagged steps toward the bowels of hell.
The dance of flickering illumination in this place adds to the hellscape I’m bracing myself for. Masculine murmurs in the cave bounce off the walls, making you unsure of where the actual source is coming from. But it’s the lone feminine voice muffled in the mix that catches my attention the most.
She doesn’t sound like she wants to be here.What the hell is going on?
When our feet reach the bottom of the cavern, my eyes lock onto a figure strapped on a table.No. What in the horror movie sequel is this?
My hand grabs James’ arm, but he’s already frozen in place just like me. In my periphery, I can see that my buddy didn’t expect this either and now I’m caught between a rock and a hard place—literally. Do we hightail it out of here? We can’t leave that poor girl on the table. Why is her mouth gagged? The moment these questions cross my mind is the moment she struggles against her restraints, as if to emphasize that she’s not a willing participant. But it doesn’t end there. To make matters worse, my gaze zooms in on the very soft roundness of her extended stomach.
This is not happening right now. This shit just goes from bad to worse.
The men around her have candelabras lit and ingredients in bowls I cannot identify from here—most of them liquid. They’re murmuring, chanting something low, and the pit of my stomach drops out from under me with revelation.
James and I both inch closer and closer in silence, despite wanting to get the fuck out of here as fast as we can.
“What the fuck is happening right now?” The question bubbles out of me under my breath.
“Dude, I don’t know, man. I’ve never seen them do this before.” He sounds sincere and I want to believe him but—
“What the hell do you mean, you’ve never seen them do this before? You’ve been with them for years!” Our whispers are kept low, but frustration leaks out of my every pore as I wait for James’ reply. I’m just rambling at this point to try to steel my nerves over the situation.
“I mean, yeah. We’ve sacrificed pigs and creatures… but never this.”
“Fucker!” I snap. “You didn’t think to tell me your little band of merry men were playing with the blood of living things?”
My head feels tight. I should have trusted my gut.
James’s voice is panicked and I try to tamp down my anger and disappointment. “I fucking don’t know! I didn’t know…”
A moment of silence passes between us as we continue to watch the men in masks drink something out of a jewel encrusted chalice.Please don’t tell me it’s pig’s blood.
The girl struggles again against her restraints, whimpering, and the candle flames highlight the glistening of her tears streaking down her face.
I’m involved in this. Shit, I’m now part of this. I feel like I just got punched in the gut.
James’ voice stutters. “Maybe we can just sneak out—”
Another glint catches my eye and I no longer hear what James is saying. Growing up the way I did, I know better than to doubt my instincts when weapons are involved as I lunge for the robed guy lifting a wicked-looking knife directly above the pregnant woman.
“What are you doing?” someone screams in protest.
“Stop him!” Another voice rings out.
“He’s ruining the ritual!”
“Tonight is supposed to be the night!”
“No!”
The voices around me become indecipherable as I continue to struggle to get the knife out of this fucker’s hands. He’s got some weight behind him as we both wrestle to the ground. Elbowing him in the face, the point of impact throbs from hitting his stupid mask but stuns him enough for me to dislodge the knife out of his hands. The blade clatters on the rocky floor and stops a few of the men around us as I land another punch to this guy’s face. My heart is racing and my adrenaline makes all my senses become hyper focused.
Leaving him moaning on the ground, I nearly don’t turn around fast enough to catch another robed guy lifting the same knife.
