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Vigil, with a large drum slung over his shoulder and a stick in his hand, was walking towards them with a determined stride. Behind him followed the other members of the commune they’d met earlier—Serenity, Remedy, Sincere, Merit, and others, about fifty people in total, all of them in robes ranging in color from brown to green to light blue. Ellie scanned the faces, but she saw nobody who looked like the one picture she had of Hope. And nobody among the handful of kids and teenagers who looked like Hope’s daughter. Marla and Jeff joined the commune members as they formed a circle around the bonfire.
Finally came a man who Ellie assumed must be the leader, judging by his white robe and the reverence with which the others bowed to him as he approached, but he didn’t look like any cult leader she’d ever researched. He didn’t have the crazy eyes of Charles Manson, the slick oiliness of Jim Jones, or the militant intensity of David Koresh. Instead, he was lean and fit and younger than she’d expected—probably in his mid-to-late forties. He had dark hair going gray at the temples, a neat goatee, and kind eyes that crinkled with laugh lines at the corners. A blurry, faded tattoo circled his bicep. He extended a hand to each of the retreat couples and welcomed them into the circle.
The leader raised his hands, and the drumming ceased. “We gather tonight under the light of the full moon to welcome new travelers to our community. Tyler and Nico, Ellie and Cal, please stand.”
Ellie’s heart pounded as she rose on shaky legs, clutching Cal’s hand like a lifeline.
“Hello and welcome,” the leader said with a benevolent smile. “My name is Hopeful. I began Hope’s Embrace twenty years ago as a refuge for the lost and weary, a place where the broken-hearted could find healing and the hopeless could find home. You have come to us for different reasons, but we hope that you will find what you seek here.”
He accepted the bowl Remedy handed him and dipped his fingers in the fragrant liquid inside. He then approached each of them, making a sign on their foreheads. Ellie was last. The smell of lavender and cedar and something slightly rotten filled her nostrils as he marked her with a circle. When he met her gaze, a shiver ran down her spine. His eyes, although kind, seemed to probe down to the very pit of her soul.
“In this circle, we find unity,” Hopeful said and held out the bowl. Remedy appeared quick and silent to catch it when he dropped it. “We honor your courage in seeking to heal your bonds. Over the next few days, we will guide you, nurture you, listen to you.” He paused, meeting Ellie’s gaze again for a brief moment before continuing. “Tonight, we welcome you into our family, and we encourage you to open your hearts and minds to the experience ahead.”
The ceremony continued with the newcomers being bestowed with brown robes, a symbol of their initiation into the community. As the new couple, they were also given tokens, small, handcrafted talismans to wear around their necks.
“They will protect you and guide you during your stay here,” Serenity explained as she handed them over.
“Thank you,” Ellie said, looking down at the wooden pendant. It was carved into the shape of a sunrise over a mountain.
“Let this be an emblem of trust,” Hopeful said, his voice echoing through the silent woods. “Trust in us to guide you, trust in each other to learn and grow together.”
Nico and Tyler were eating this ceremony up, completely enthralled with the mystique of it all. They grinned at Ellie and Cal from where they stood across the circle, their eyes gleaming in the firelight.
But she found it all too much. Too strange, too contrived. She felt exposed and frightened and suddenly missed her dog with every fiber of her being. She never felt scared or alone with Puzzle by her side. She needed to escape, to breathe in the cool night air away from the heat of the bonfire, to hide from Hopeful’s penetrative gaze.
Cal’s hand closed around hers in a comforting squeeze that settled her roiling nerves somewhat. She glanced up at him to find him watching her, his expression softening into something tender and warm. His thumb rubbed the back of her hand in soothing circles, his touch a lifeline in the swirling sea of strangeness.
“We’re okay,” he mouthed.
His words didn’t comfort her as much as she wished they would have. But at least she wasn’t alone in this. She didn’t have her dog, but she had Cal.
The drumming resumed, the beat echoing through the forest. As one, the members of the commune began to sway in time with the rhythm, their eyes closed and faces uplifted to the moon. They were lost in a trance-like state, their bodies moving freely with no constraint or self-consciousness. It was strange and beautiful in its own way.
Ellie watched them, torn between fascination and fear. She felt like an intruder in a sacred place, and part of her wanted nothing more than to run away as far as possible. But another part of her yearned to understand what was happening around her, to uncover the secrets people were hiding. Because, to her, it was obvious they were hiding a lot.
Maybe they were even hiding her sister.
The heat from the fire was suddenly suffocating, and the smell of the oil on her forehead was making her dizzy.
It was all too much. She needed air. She needed distance.
“Breathe,” Cal whispered in her ear. “You’re safe. This is a show. A play with props and actors. Nothing more.”
“I... I can’t breathe.” Her throat closed up around the words.
“Here.” Cal held her by the shoulders and guided her away from the fire, towards the edge of the clearing. The air was cooler there, and somewhat clearer, tainted only by a faint trace of smoke. Ellie gulped it down gratefully, her legs shaky beneath her.
Cal’s hand on her back steadied her. His touch was warm and familiar - real - something she could anchor herself to in the midst of all the chaos. He stood silently beside her, his gaze focused on the figures around the bonfire. His face was set in grim lines, his eyes reflecting the flicker of flames.
For a moment, they stood there, side by side in silence. Then Cal turned to her. “Better?”
“I-I think so.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, as though assessing whether or not to believe her. Finally, he nodded once, releasing a breath that sounded a lot like relief.
“Let’s get back,” he said quietly, his hand sliding from her back to rest at the small of her waist as he turned them back towards the fire.
As they neared the crowd again, her panic rose like mercury in a thermometer. She stopped abruptly in her tracks, causing Cal to stumble slightly.
