Do You Believe in a God? | CAMP CAMP AU

16 | The Time I Was a Cultist

December 19, 2019

Neil was unfaithful to the god he was meant to worship. The last few days had been a rinse and repeat cycle of wake, pray, eat, mingle (only for an hour or so), do your chores, pray again, and then it was lights out. It was infuriating.

The slacks he was in were uncomfortable, and he couldn't bare the button up shirt everyday. He never thought he'd say anything like this, but he missed school. It was usually monotonous, bleak, and gray, but this was more monotonous, bleaker, and grayer. Worse.

Atleast he had his friends. But, he felt separated from them. He thinks this is the situation for everybody; being an outcast of a cult family.

He was usually starving, too, as the only time they had food, at lunch, they were given unseasoned, bland mashed potatoes with water and a single glass of red koolaid (thank god nobody had spilt it). He begged for anything else.

He leaned on the wall of their shared bedroom as the others talked quietly amongst themselves. Neil noticed how close Preston and Harrison had seemed to get. How lovestruck Preston seemed to be. Good for them.

Their alloted socialization time began to end, so Neil left the room to go sort through their photobooks. The halls were winding and long, as always. Neil could make an attempt to escape, but eyes were everywhere. He had little to no chance of actually making it.

Nobody except Daniel was meant to look inside the photobooks, as it was reserved for his eyes only.

Neil subconsciously raised his hands to earlobes to see if he could remember what earrings his had in, only to raise his eyebrows at the fact they had apparently been removed. That sucks. He really liked them.

Eventually, he reached the library. Or the book room. Whatever Daniel was calling it at the time. Opening the door, he looked around to spot two others that had somehow beaten him there- his old roommate, Max, and Harrison. Max was sweeping and Harrison was scrubbing down walls with a soapy washcloth.

They look up. Harrison waves, Max smiles (albeit weakly) and raises his hand for a wave. Neil notices that Max's septum was also gone.

"Hey, bitch." Max chuckles dryly. He looks tired, too. It's uncanny, Neil doesn't like it. Neil believes he hears Harrison chuckle aswell.

Neil nods in response before he speaks, "hello."

He walks briskly to the book cart and gets on his knees, looking through them. He looks at the spines.

"Are you ever curious of what's inside them?" Harrison asks, dunking the washcloth into a bucket of more soapy water.

"What are you suggesting, boy?" Max questions, leaning his head and hands on the top of the broom. "Dare I say, doing the unfathomable?"

"What stage of Lalaland are you on?" Neil responds, holding the front of one of the most recently filled photobooks. He stared at the cover.

Max scoffs. "Chill, man. If we're stuck, then let's atleast try..." He pauses and groans. "Get unstuck...?"

Harrison huffs, entertained. "Yeah, and end up on the underside of hell."

Neil sets the book to the side and continues his sorting. "What does that mean??" He queries, turning to the psychic.

Harrison hums like he doesn't know either.

Neil swallows any and all fear he has. He sorts some more books (mostly the cult's version of gospel) before he picks up  the photobook, running his finger across the spine like it was meant to be sensual.

"Jesus, Neil, take the book out to dinner before you fuck it." Neil doesn't even know when Max plopped down next to him. Harrison looms over, setting the water bucket on top of the book cart.

"Ew, shit. Shut up." Neil inhales and exhales, his anxiety coming back with a vengeance. He opens the book.

The pages are hardly yellowed with time and are covered in pictures, names, and dates. Neil skims through them.

Two, however, catch his eyes. One only because of the sweatshirt the kid is wearing. A Daybreak Platypode's sweatshirt. One from their school. His hair was a choppy dark blonde, with dull blue eyes. His name was apparently Jasper Higgins-Bailey. April 26nd, 2008.

A different one makes his hair stand on end.

'Spencer Hershkowitz, Jul. 16th, 2016.'

Neil sneaks a glance at Harrison, who looks absolutely mortified. Harrison reaches over and grabs the book, like he's absolutely bewildered.

"Do you.... know him?" Neil asks.

Max strikes the back of Neil's head softly. "How many kids do you know with the last name Hershkowitz?"

"Don't be insensitive." Neil responds sharply.

"He's... he was my brother.., hell, my twin brother," Harrison utters breathily. "But ae lived in Israel and the time.... it doesn't- it doesn't make sense."

The door behind them opens, and Harrison drops the book. It slams on the ground, face open. The man happens to be no other then a very familiar redhead, David Rosenthal.

"Kids?" He inquires. "What are you doing..?" David spots the book, and somehow- the pale redhead gets paler. "You..- you-"

Neil slams the book shut. "He dropped it." He states, almost shouting.

"What did you see?" David asks, approaching the three. They turn to face him, still surrounding the cart.

"Nothing, god damn!" Max yells defensively.

Harrison, who seems to be in a trance, picks the book back up. He opens it to the page with his brother. With shaky hands, he gives it to David.

Neil instinctively tries to steal the book from David's hands to no avail.

David skims through the book before his eyes open wider. "...Jasper..?" He mutters, and grasps the book tighter. "Is he... dead?"

Neil ponders for a short moment, staring down at the ground. It dawns on him.

"They record their sacrifices, don't they?" He looks up at the people surrounding him. "Who's to say we're not... next?"

Max loses the cocky attitude Neil believes he was born with. In fact, he looked afraid.

"You're right." Max sighs, his eyes wide. "I don't- guys. I don't want to die." He pleads. He tears up and puts a hand over his mouth, turning away.

Neil slowly (and uncomfortably, but he won't admit it) puts an arms around Max. He doesn't want to die, either.

"Me neither.." Harrison admits softly, crouching down and the ground.

David snaps the book shut. "And you won't. I'll make sure of it."