It all started on an average Monday morning in a small town I lived in called Harwich. I always hated Mondays, mostly because of school, but that day was the start of something much worse.
It didn’t help that it was my last year of school, so I had to spend most of my days learning for my final exams, which will happen a few months later. So overall, it was a pretty stressful year.
I was in the catering, having breakfast with my classmate, Josh, trying to prepare for our next class. He was an 18-year-old guy, just like me, with short, messy brown hair and piercing green eyes. He stood at about average height and had a lean, athletic build from playing on his high school’s soccer team. Despite being a bit of a slacker and not always putting in the most effort, Josh was a decent student.
I looked back as another classmate entered the catering. Samantha was another 18-year-old with long, dark hair that fell in soft curls down her back. She had brown eyes that seemed to take in everything around her and a quiet, thoughtful demeanor.
Despite being quiet and generally preferring to keep to herself, Samantha was an excellent student with straight A’s and a passion for learning. She was always prepared for class and could often be found buried in a textbook or working on a project in the library. Despite her intelligence and academic success, Samantha struggled to make friends and was lonely and isolated. She preferred to spend her free time on her own, either studying or lost in a good book. Despite that, she was absolutely beautiful.
“Mate, don’t stare at her, it’s rude,” Josh said with a wide smile.
“Wha - I’m not staring.”
“Yeah, sure,” he smiled. “Do you know his father? Jeremy Warren.”
“Never heard of him,” I responded.
“A fat piece of shit. I talked about him with officer Gregor. Jeremy was accused of murder and kidnapping in the past, but somehow always avoided prison. Every police in Harwich is corrupt, man.”
“So the Warrens are criminals?” I raised my eyebrows.
“There are rumors that…” he leaned closer, “they’re cultists. And the worst kind. They’re worshipers of the fucking Supreme God.”
“Damn, these Supreme God idiots are in Harwich too… They’re slowly getting everywhere.”
“Yep. In any other case, I’d recommend you to ask her out, but I think it’s better if you find someone else.”
“Yeah, but - I mean, we don’t know if she’s a cultist too, or just the father. She seems too smart to believe in things like occultist gods and stuff like that.”
“She’s definitely more intelligent than Jeremy, but for your own sake, leave them alone, or that old motherfucker will probably kill you. Literary.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I sighed.
“You’re still thinking about it. Mate, I’m serious,” Josh insisted.
“I know. I know. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
I think I wasn’t too convincing, as Josh wanted to say something again, but the bell rang, and we had to go to our history class. I don’t know if I was lucky or unlucky when the teacher, an old guy called Tom with a gray mustache, started to speak.
“Today, you’re going to make a poster about the October Revolution. You’re working in pairs.”
So yeah, I got paired up with Samantha, but let’s just call her Sam from now on. Josh glanced at me from the other side of the classroom, shaking his head. Don’t do anything stupid, he probably would’ve told me.
“I think I can draw Lenin and a few soldiers, you just need to help me color it,” she said, and then started working. She could, indeed, draw Lenin, but the soldiers’ faces looked a bit strange.
“So, by the way, how are you?” I asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.
“Uhm, fine, I guess.”
Another few minutes of silence followed, but at least I could start coloring the drawings.
“By the way, do you have physics homework?” I tried to continue the conversation. She was so cute. “I forgot to do it yesterday, so…”
“Yeah, I have it. I can… give it to you if you want, it’s in my backpack.”
She searched for her notebook in her bag for a few seconds, then gave it to me.
“Thanks, I’ll give it back before our physics class.”
As I worked on the poster with Sam, I couldn’t help but think about what Josh had told me about her father. It was hard to believe that someone I went to school with could be connected to murders or a cult. I tried to push those thoughts to the back of my mind and focus on the task at hand, but they kept creeping back up.
“Have you heard anything about the worshipers of the Supreme God?” I asked, which surprised Sam. She quickly looked at me, so I just tried to act casual, like I wasn’t suspecting anything. “I heard about them from… from officer Gregor. He told me there are cultists in Harwich. Crazy, isn’t it?”
“Never heard about it,” she responded, then turned back to draw for a few seconds, then looked at me again. “Officer Gregor, you say?”
“Yep, you know, the one with the black beard. I heard he’s a piece of shit most of the time.”
“What do you know about those cultists?” she sounded a bit anxious. “Did Gregor tell you anything?
“Anything about what?”
“Anything about the cultists.”
“He told me we have a few of them in Harwich. But he hasn’t mentioned any names. A bit scary, isn’t it? You never know if someone you know is a cultist or not. Do you believe in the supreme god?”
“Uhm, no. I’m an atheist.”
“Yeah, just making sure,” I smiled. “Hah, imagine if…”
“You know about my father, right?” I was shocked by this question. “You heard about the rumors that he’s a cultist. That we’re all cultists and criminals.”
“Well, it’s true?” I raised my eyebrows.
“I… I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Maybe I can help.”
“You can’t,” she continued drawing the poster again. She didn’t look at me.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone. Please, tell me.”
“Listen, I don’t have anything to do with this. I’m not a criminal, I didn’t want to do this. I was born into this cult, and if I can get into a good university, I’ll leave them forever. I hope that’s enough for now.”
She looked sad, I felt bad for bringing up this topic, it was probably a bad idea. But at least I was right. She’s not a cultist. Her parents are. That certainly explained why she was such a good student. He learned so he could leave them and this whole city behind. It also explained her antisocial behavior. It must be hard living with cultists.
“Yeah, sorry,” I apologized. “If I can help…”
“You can’t. I can take care of it. Thanks.”
After the class was over, and the teacher collected all the posters, I spoke with Josh again.
“I told you she wasn’t a cultist like Jeremy,” I said.
“So you had to bring up this topic, right? Mate, are you crazy?” Josh looked at me like I was some idiot. “Why?”
“Don’t worry. She wants to leave her parents and the whole cult.”
“Great, then wait for her to leave them, but don’t do anything stupid until then. Jeremy Warren is a fucking criminal, he can kill you at any time. Maybe he sacrifices you to his god, it’s serious, man, you’re playing with fire.”
“You’re overreacting,” I tried to calm him down.
“Overreacting? I’m trying to protect you. Don’t mess with the Warrens, man. Please. If you make a mistake, the Harwich police won’t save you from shit. Have you heard about the kid who went missing yesterday?”
“Do you think the cultists kidnapped him?”
“It happened when the kid wanted to walk home from kindergarten. And who lives just a few houses from the kindergarten? Jeremy fucking Warren.”
“Where does he live exactly?”
Josh stared at me for a few seconds with wide eyes, then shouted at me.
“Mate, are you fucking crazy? Do you want to visit him or something? Can you just, please, forget about the Warrens? Including Sam and Jeremy too.”
“Yeah, I know, and I will. Maybe not Sam, but…”
“You’re an idiot, mate, and you’ll get in trouble,” With that, he sighed and walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. And to be honest, he was mostly right, but I just couldn’t agree with him. It wasn’t right that someone had to live with a fucking cult just because she was born there. She deserved to be free.
When I arrived home, I talked about the Warrens with my parents. They didn’t know about them or about the existence of the cultists. They gave me almost the same advice as Josh. They were worried, which was a natural response, they’re my parents, after all. It was the safest option. But it wasn’t right.
A bit after dinner, I went upstairs to my room to sleep. About an hour went by, and I was still awake, laying on my back, thinking about what had happened that day. It was a quiet night, the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the old clock that stood at the end of the hallway. Then I got a text from Sam. I was happy at first, thinking that I made a good impression, but then I read the message.
“Please, tell me you’re awake.”
“I’m awake, everything’s okay?” I texted back.
“My father knows that you know about the cult. He said he’ll take care of you. He left the house, please be safe.”
“What?” I felt my heart beating faster and faster. “You told him?”
“No, it wasn’t me. I don’t know how he found out. He even knows where you live. I swear I didn’t tell him anything.”
“I’ll write in a minute.”
I quickly jumped out of my bed and tried to think of a solution. If Jeremy Warren is looking for me, and he even knows where I live, I’m in danger, I thought. I was thinking about who told him about me. Only Josh and Sam knew about my interest in this fucking cult. If it wasn’t Sam, then it must’ve been Josh, but I couldn’t believe he would do such a thing. I had known him since we were little kids, I was sure it wasn’t him. But then who?
Suddenly, I heard a car’s engine in the distance. As the sound grew louder, I knew the car was getting closer. As I was thinking about the fact that I was going to die there, I got out of bed and walked over to the window. Peering out through the curtains, I saw a black car pulling up to the curb in front of my house. I watched as a half-eyed man in his 50s got out of the driver’s seat. I had never seen that man in my life, but I immediately recognized him. Jeremy Warren.
I rushed back to my bed and grabbed my phone to call 911. As I was about to call them, I froze as I heard our doorbell. He then pressed it again. And again.
“Who the fuck is?” I heard my father walking downstairs. “This late at night, I hope it’s important. “
Hell yeah, Dad, it was fucking important, and I had no idea what to do. I couldn’t press the button to call the police, I was afraid Jeremy would hear me. I was too scared to breathe. My father opened the door.
“Good eve - oh, Mr. Warren! What a surprise, I -”
“Where is your fucking son?” Jeremy asked. My mother walked there too. They both knew what Jeremy wanted.
“He’s not home, Mr. Warren,” my dad responded. “He went to a sleepover with his friend, Josh -”
“Get out of my way,” Jeremy shouted.
“Mr. Warren, please stop!” I heard my mother screaming, as I heard footsteps from the stairs, getting closer to my room. “That’s enough, Warren!”
As my survival instincts started to kick in, I ran to my window and opened it. I had to jump out of it, it was the only way outside. Luckily, it wasn’t that high, I could’ve easily survived that jump.
As I was taking a deep breath, Jeremy kicked my bedroom door open. He rushed at me as soon as he saw me climbing through the window.
“You fucking bastard. You think you’re clever, huh? I’ll kill you, you piece of shit!”
“Mr. Warren, please leave or I’ll call the police,” my mother commanded as she and dad soon followed Jeremy into my room, but it was too late.
Jeremy caught me. I immediately got a punch to my nose, then he smashed my head into the wall. As my father tried to attack Jeremy, that motherfucker pushed me out of the window. I heard my mom screaming my name as I was falling, then I hit the ground.
I have no idea how much time had gone by when I regained my consciousness, but I was laying on the ground. I could barely move my arms and legs. Everything hurt.
The front door slammed open, and Jeremy ran out of my house, straight toward me. My father grabbed Jeremy’s arm, then hit him in the mouth. Jeremy lost balance for a second, then he punched my father even harder. Dad fell to the ground, and my mother kneeled beside him, crying. I was angered. I was fucking angered.
“Come and kill me, you motherfucker, leave my parents alone,” I shouted. At least, I wanted to shout, but It was as loud as a whisper because of that fall.
“Don’t worry, I will, bastard,” Jeremy kicked me in the head before I could get up, then started beating me. I was bleeding from my nose and my mouth. He punched me again, and again, and again. I could still hear my mom crying a few meters away. Then I heard sirens, then an unknown voice.
“Jeremy, stop right there, or I’ll shoot!”
“Stop intervening, Gregor,” Jeremy shouted. I kept thinking, nearing a blackout. Gregor. Maybe it was officer Gregor? I tried to focus with my eyes, but I could only see a shadowy figure pointing a handgun at Jeremy. And I blacked out.
I woke up in a hospital bed, I don’t know how much later, but I think it was a few hours at maximum. I looked beside me, there was officer Gregor talking with a doctor, who just noticed that I was awake.
“Oh, you woke up,” the old doctor said with a smile. “Don’t worry, everything is okay. I won’t judge you because of this suicide attempt, you’ll get the help you need, and everything will be fine.”
“Suicide attempt?” I asked. “But I -”
“Can I talk with him in private, doctor?” officer Gregor said. The doctor nodded and went out of the room. Gregor leaned closer.
“Listen here, boy. Don’t mess with the Warrens, Jeremy almost killed you,” he whispered.
“Suicide attempt?”
“You know how it works, mate. Don’t worry, I told them I’ll send you to a psychologist. Of course, that won’t happen.”
“Who called you? My mom?”
“Hah,” he smiled. “You wouldn’t believe it. Samantha Warren, Jeremy’s daughter. I don’t know why she did that, but I hope you aren’t fucking a fucking Warren, boy. Jeremy would kill you for it. Well, he almost did…”
“I wanted to say thank you for saving me, but I’d rather not, I’ll thank Sam instead,” I said.
“You’re rude.”
“And you’re the reason things like this can happen. You and your corrupt friends let Jeremy and the cultists do what they want.”
“Well, that’s fair,” Gregor sighed. “You know, boy, I wanted to be a police since I was 6. I wanted to be a hero, I wanted to save innocent people and fight villains like… well, villains like Jeremy Warren. But this is reality. And the villains are stronger than us, boy, with shady tactics and no morals. Especially these cultists. Anyway, the old guy will let you go home in a few days.”
“My parents?”
“They’re fine. And please, leave the fucking Warrens alone. Later, kid.”
My brain had to process these events. Jeremy almost killed me, but then Sam saved me by calling the police. I always knew she wasn’t like her father. I had to save her, especially now, now that I know her father is a fucking psychopath. She deserves to leave Jeremy and that cult behind. I’ll save her.