Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
“Hmm…”
I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees, interlocking my fingers. “Dani, is it too painful for you to talk about it? Because I’d like to know more about the compound. I’m planning to check out that hill the old man talked about and call the Chief to let him know about your case. Is that okay with you?”
She jerks her head and swallows before taking a sip of iced tea. “I’m fine with it. Elise is still at the compound. If your Chief can help us, maybe I can save her.”
“You keep saying compound. Do you remember its exact location?”
“Yes. I did my best to memorize the turns when I drove off. We can ask for a paper and pen from the owner. I’ll draw it for you.”
“Okay. I’ll do that later. What’s life like in the compound? Tell me all about it.”
She exhales a shaky breath. “It’s a small community. We have older women who supervise us girls. They give us tasks, make sure we follow all the rules, write reports, etc. We’re divided into two groups—the women and us girls. Every day, we wake up at 7:30, do self-care, eat breakfast, do our chores for an hour, eat snacks, go for a walk and exercise, eat lunch, take a two-hour nap, drink tea, read books, eat dinner, self-care, and it’s lights out at 9 PM.”
She’s holding a half-bitten chip, a faraway look in her eyes. “To be honest, it’s not that bad. There are rarely men around. Sometimes, they go there to harvest the crops, fix things, or anything that requires manual labor. Sure, they brush against us ‘accidentally’ but never more than that. I always knew something was off, though. The walls are so tall. We tried to climb up the roof and saw nothing beyond. We have a small library, with classics, old magazines, and fiction books. I didn’t even know the date when I left. I thought it’s still 2001.
“I know about TV, those surveillance cameras, and cellphones—yours is way smaller than the ones I’ve seen by the way—but not much else.”
“How did you learn to drive?”
“That’s a funny story actually. Found a book about cars and everything. Elise, ever the daredevil, found an old car by the barn. When we’ve been good, we’re granted our ‘me time.’ With ‘me time’, the women don’t follow us around and basically just let us do our thing. So Elise and I sneaked into a barn on the edge of the property and had a hell of a time. It took us a couple of hours to finally figure it out because it’s manual transmission, and of course, she crashed us into a hay bale. No one found out because it was raining hard that time and it muffled the engine sound, but unfortunately for us, we had checkups the next week, and both of us had bruises.”
“Did they punish you?”
“I don’t know if you can call it that. They were always extra careful with our bodies, so what they did was take out our ‘me time’. I liked to read, so I wasn’t allowed in the library for a month.”
Dani chuckles and gives me a sad smile. “You know, I was looking forward to graduation. I knew there was a world beyond our walls, and I was more than ready to get out and leave.”
“How did you get out?”
“Elise helped me. I don’t know how she did it, but she planned it all out for me. I’ve never been a good liar, and she was scared my face would reveal everything. She’s still 16, so she’s still safe for two years. But after what happened, I’m scared that Father might rush everyone to graduate.
“You know why I was hesitant to tell you even though most victims would probably ask for help first? Because two girls got out in the middle of the night and ran all the way to the nearest police station. The following morning, the cops brought them back. They didn’t even make it to their rooms. Father gave them an early graduation. Turned out the cops were on Father's payroll, so were several people in power.”
“Father. Why do you call him Father?”
“I have no idea. We rarely see him. He only appears at graduations, and he never interacts with us. He’s pretty old, maybe around…70? He has white, curly hair. Dark brown eyes, and a scar on the left side of his mouth. He’s always surrounded by at least five guys.”
She rests her chin on her hand and grimaces. “I know what you’re thinking, and after reading about it before, I also realized how eerily similar our setup was to all the other cults.”
It takes two rings before he answers, and I’m digging the heel of my shoe into the soft soil, unable to calm down. I’ve been restless ever since that talk with Dani. I hate sitting here while her Father roams free.