Cultist

Chapter 6, Change

(Daniel's POV)

My whole life I had been searching for the light, and trying to make other people see it, make other people feel safe.I was looking in the wrong places, the light, it was.... It was here all along. It was inside this happy go lucky camp counselor, why? I have no fucking idea. All I know is I can't possibly let him go. He made me feel like I was on cloud nine and I was never coming down.

"Oh no! It looks like you dropped your Kool-aid on your shoes. Here I can help you with that!" David spoke, I went to go protest but he swiftly appeared near my feet and started wiping the mixture off of my shoes.

"It sure is wonderful that you made Kool-aid for everyone! What are we having a party for?" David asked. I was trying to come up with a lie on the spot but my brain was so scattered with emotions and thoughts that I couldn't think straight. However, before I could reply, Max stepped out from behind David and and started flailing his arms around.

"For God sakes David stop being so nice and actually look around! Something's clearly wrong here and I've been trying to tell you that!" Max shouted, David crossed his arms.

"Max, I thought you were in serious danger yesterday you had me all worried. Obviously you just don't like change. I know making new friends can be a little difficult but surely there's no need to be mean." David told Max. Max looked as if he was about to explode. Neil patted his shoulder and tried to comfort him but Max was still on the edge of snapping.

"Daniel are we going to drink this juice now?" Harrison asked me, the other kids agreed with him. I stared at the cups full of poison and death.

"Thanks for taking such good care of the kids Daniel, I would be so upset if they were upset, but everyone has a smiling face!" David spoke. My heart started to race. If the kids were dead I would lose him. He would call the police right away, I would be locked up and David would be crying. Always crying. I couldn't have that happen.

"We away love Daniel!" the kids chanted. I waved my arms at them.

"Wait kids I just realized we can't drink this juice because I dropped the spoon on the ground and it would taste really bad if we drank this kind! Here, toss your cups away and I'll go and make us a new batch for our party!" I spoke. Why did I say this? The hypnotized kids would obey me, they would be saved, and I would fail my job here.

"Awe Daniel you really do care about the kids don't you?" David asked. Then I remembered. I was doing it for him. I brought the bowl into the mess hall and dumped it out, making sure everyone else tossed out their cups and started fresh. I put in the Kool-aid mix and water and stirred it. Instead of adding poison, I added three pitches of salt, a pint of lemon juice, and crushed sage that I had in my pocket. According to my journal I had kept all these years, this was a way to make the mind control effect wear off at an accelerated pace. If I fed this to the kids they would all be back to normal, and David, my sunshine, would be happy. I hummed as I did this in the mess hall alone, I took the bowl out and began to head for the front door when it swung open and Max was standing in front of it, fists clenched and teeth baring.

"You're a fucked up person with a fucked up life and I hope someone fucks you up more some day! You're a liar! What the fuck are you doing?!" Max shouted these words at me, Neil rushing in behind him. I shot him a smile and held the Kool-aid up over my head.

"Max, people change all the time for different reasons. Today I was the one who changed, maybe you should to." I spoke to him, walking past him to get outside. He chased after me.

"You didn't change! You're just pretending for David now because you want to brainwash him too!" Max screamed, Neil was telling him to stop but he wasn't.