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Just what the heck are you running from, Erin?
The air is alive with the sounds of nature tonight as the distant hoot of an owl blows through the towering evergreens above me. The cool night air holds the fragrance of the woods, the damp earth, and I can’t help but shake my head at the beauty surrounding this misguided place.
To my right sits an army of run-down RVs. The orange glow of lights fills a few of the windows, the flicker of candlelight in others. To the left is a sea of tents flapping in the night breeze. Some are as large as the kind you see at big events; most are smaller, like the kind you might find at a campground. And dead ahead of me is a behemoth house that looks angry and sullen, dingy even from this faraway vantage point.
“I’m so glad you found it!” Sloan nearly strangles me with a hug. Her perfume is thick and floral, and she’s wearing a simple white shift dress that makes her glow like a ghost.
“It wasn’t easy, but you gave great directions. And you were right. The key was driving slow. I could have easily barreled right past the entrance.”
“You’re good at following directions, I like that.” She pulls back and the moonlight washes the color out of her face, her lips turn into thin black lines, and her dark hair has a blue cast to it.
It’s an unnerving sight, but I promised myself nothing would spook me this evening. Nothing could elicit a reaction from me.
I might be playing the part of Chastity Jones, but I’m still Special Agent Fallon Baxter—even if I don’t have my weapon on me this evening. It’s in the truck. But now that I see the distance between the lot and the house of horrors, I may as well have left it at home.
“We’re starting soon,” she says. Her breathing is slightly ragged and her words are pressured. I can tell she’s excited, but I’m not sure if it’s because of me or the upcoming ceremony. You’d think she’d be used to this BS by now. “I’ll give you a brief rundown, but you’ll stand next to me the whole time.” She takes up my hand and I cringe. She’s one of those touchy-feely women, and I can’t stand the in-your-face, in-your-personal-space touch-feely among us.
“Okay, so I just stand there and observe?” My favorite combination in life. Two things I actually excel at.
“Yes and no. We do a rededication ceremony once a month and that’s tonight, too. But it’s really easy. We say a few words together, reaffirming our dedication to Paradise—that’s what we call this place because look around.” She squawks out a laugh while waving a hand in the direction of the rusted-out RVs. I can see the paint peeling off half of them from here. “And then we all partake in a communal drink. Don’t worry. It’s just rum punch. And you can drink up with the rest of us since you’ll be spending the night.”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t.”
“I insist.” She pulls me close until her body rests against mine like a cushion. “After the ceremony, I’ll give you a tour of the town, as we all like to call it. We’ve got so much going on all the time. It’s a true-blue community.”
The sound of children shrieking and laughing causes me to snap my head to the left.
“You’ve got kids here?” My heart thumps as I recall what Scarlett said about child sharing. I’m not sure why I didn’t think I’d come into contact with them tonight, and hopefully won’t.
“Oh yeah, tons, but they’re well-behaved and just the cutest. They won’t be at the ceremony. The teenagers look after them and they’ll all be going to bed soon.”
They’ll all be evicted soon if I have my way. I’m not just here to track down my sister, but I’m here to stop this runaway train before it destroys any more lives.
Sloan leads us past the collection of RVs and I scour the grounds in their direction as they sit huddled together like a flock of rusted-out and long-forgotten relics. Their shells are sun-faded and some are up on cinder blocks. And as we move our way past them, the metallic tang of oxidation and the earthy scent of musk envelop us.
On the other side, the tents flap and ripple in the night breeze as murmurs of conversation and laughter emanate from them. A group of women appear from that direction and they all share the same long hair, the same long skirts, and plain blouses. There’s an entire prairie vibe going on here.
“What’s this?” I hitch my head their way. “You got the Amish living here, too?” I tease, but not because I want to insult the Amish. I need to grease her. Like it or not, Sloan is my only key to getting any answers around here.
A dark laugh gurgles from her. “No.” She pulls me close and wraps an arm around my waist for a second as if comforting me. “It’s the way some of the girls like to style themselves. They’re not out in the world like we are, so they don’t have to try so hard, if you know what I mean. Not all the women who live here are part of the Quantum sales force. But you and I, we’re a team. And I have a feeling we’ll be a best-selling team soon enough.”
We pass the tents, and now it’s just the shell of a mansion that sits before us.
“That’s Nightshade,” she says with a shiver in her voice. “We don’t have much to do with it. The landowners live in it. Trust me. I’ve seen the inside and we’ll be just fine in my old Airstream. It’ll just be you and me and a couple of girls, but they can relocate if you think it’s too crowded. We’re always careful to cater to the needs of the newbies around here. We want you to feel safe and comfortable. You’ll be getting choice food at first.”
At first?
I’m tempted to roll my eyes at that one. Scarlett mentioned they scavenged for food. I guess that means I eat trash first.
“Can’t wait,” I say with a sigh as more bodies appear and begin to drain in just past the house. “Where is the meeting tonight?”
“In the field just behind Nightshade. That house might be big, but it could never hold all of us.” She lifts her shoulders and there’s an unmistakable touch of pride written on her face. “Oh, wait”—she blinks my way—“you’re not a prude about getting naked, are you?”
“What’s that?” I blink right back. I’m not a prude, but I’m starting to feel like one.
“Don’t sweat it. It’s just for the ceremony. Everyone keeps their eyes focused on the action in the center.”
“So we stand in a circle?” My heart races, because as much as I don’t want to stand naked in a crowd of hundreds of strangers, I couldn’t think of a better configuration to spot my sister in a crowd.
