Is This a Cult? Version 2
Gray clouds covered the sky like a blanket, as if this town couldn't be more depressing. A town like Hoaxville County, where buildings were sparse, and the ones that were there collapsed in on themselves frequently. Nobody ever left Hoaxville, as nobody had any reason to, and nobody ever entered Hoaxville, because why woild you want to? Everyday, people earned just enough money to live and pay, as well as pay the stupidly low rent. But that was about it. In the midst of this depressing sinkhole was Catie Christensen, and their home life was just as depressing as the town.
"Catie? Catie where the hell are you?" Their mom yelled out. They ran to the living room as fast as they could, the smell of ciggerete smoke and dried up alcohol on the green carpet filled their eyes with tears, a cough dared to escape them.
"Yes, mom?" They asked. Mrs Christiensen was a vile woman, she did about everything wrong. She stole, punched, smoked, and drank. No redeeming qualities anymore. Catie couldn't never pin point when their mom got this way. She used to care… used to. Catie missed the times of "used to".
"Catie, go to the store, we need milk" Mrs Christensen pointed to the door, barely even peeking at them. Catie sighed and nodded, taking the money that was left on the table and walking right out the door. The smell of wet soil during the rain was a pleasant change in scent after the putrid smell of the Christensen household.
"Okay… here we go" Catie whispered to themselves as they got on their bike, peddling downtown. Hoaxville County was as depressing as ever, children sat on the front porch steps, waiting for the rain to stop, older folk sat inside, glaring out the windows, pondering nothing.
Catie winced everytime they pedaled, this was because their shoes were about three sizes too small. Every single garment of clothes Catie owned were from the local thrift shop in downtown Hoaxville, it was the only place to buy clothes. Catie had gotten them for their ninth birthday, back when their mother still cared about them. Mrs Christensen had scrapped together as much money as she could, and bought Catie a pair of green saddle shoes that were made around the 1950's.
The white parts of the shoes were yellowed, and the green had faded very dark, but they were still Catie's favorite. They had to be, because it was the only pair they had.
Catie was now thirteen, and those saddle shoes weren't as comfortable as they used to be. But they had no choice. Arriving at the grocery store, they turned the corner to park their bike behind the brick structure, in Hoaxville, anything left out in the open was free. They walked inside, the broken fluorescent lights humming was a welcoming sound in a usually quiet town.
Okay… get the milk, then leave Catie thought to themself as they walked towards the dairy isles. The cold breeze of the refrigerators sent a chill up Catie's spine. They looked for the cheapest gallon, they barely had any money. They saw a gallon that was five dollars, it was all the money they had to spend.
"Bingo" They said to themselves as they reacher out to grab it. When suddenly, they noticed something…
Their sleeve had lifted up when grabbing the milk, which revealed something they had never noticed before. A boney, thin arm was hidden under the sleeve of their white collered shirt. They lifted their sleeve further, revealing even more of their arm. They hadn't even realized how thin they had gotten in the past couple months. Mainly because there was hardly ever anything to eat at home, sometimes they'd go days without eating. They lifted their vest and shirt to look at their stomach.
Their stomach was nearly going inward, and there was a prominent outline of where their ribs were.
"Eww…" they whispered to themself. It grossed them out how thin they were, they knew it wasn't healthy. But just like most everything else in Hoaxville, they had no choice.
They tried to ignore their body and went to pay for the milk. The cashier looked as miserable as everyone else, not saying a word as Catie payed.
"Have a great day" the cashier said, his voice had no interest whatsoever. Catie ignored him and walked out the door. The rain had stopped, but the clouds remained looming over the town.
They went to the back of the store, received to see that their bike was still there. They put the milk in the bike's basket before hopping back on and starting back home. But that was the last place they wanted to be.
Home life was hell, about every sense was disturbed in Catie's home life. Watching their parents slap and punch eachother, smelling the alcohol and cigarettes on their parents breath, hearing their parents yell in the middle of the night, feeling the wallpaper peel apart in their room. It was a nightmare.
So they decided they wouldn't go home just yet, it's not like their parents cared when they got home anyway. Usually they'd hang around the town library, but they'd been warned from loitering there by the town sheriff. Catie never understood the purpose of the town sherif, officer Nick Mathers, he never did his job right anyway.
One child loitering at the library meant threatening to ban them, yet the dwindling population of Hoaxville due to murders and kidnappings went under the radar? It made no sense.
So Catie would have to find another place to go. Pedaling down the road, they looked around for a spot they could hang around for a bit before they went home.
They looked everywhere, taking roads they had never gone down before. And before they knew it, they began turning Connell Street, what was known as "poor town". If Hoaxville in its entirety was a dump, then Connell street was a shit hole. Criminals who could hardly find work always moved to Connell street, as it had dirt cheap rent. Each "house" on Connell street was really just a trailer with barely two rooms, maybe three if you got lucky. Catie kept an eye out the entire time they rode down.
Off at the very end of the road was a sight that caught their eye… An old, abandoned looking house that stood tall, and wide amongst the other houses on Connell street. The house was three floors tall, standing on the roof would let you touch the clouds. It looked to be built around a more regal time period, and looked incredibly run down. The perfect place to linger. Catie slowed down their peddling, cranking their neck to look up at the house as it got closer and closer. They were not paying attention to the bumpy, wet road leading up to the house, and from under them their bike slipped.
"Shit!" They yelled as they fell right to their side, scraping their arm against the jagged ground and rolling down the uneven road, right to the front steps. They winced in pain as they pushed themselves up.
"Ow… ow… ow…" they said as they looked at their arm. They must've hit a pointy rock, seeing as there was a tear in their sleeve, their shirt and vest stained with the brown dirt, as well as blood from a deep cut that ran across their whole forearm.
Turning to their bike, the milk jug had exploded all over the ground. The wheels still turned slowly as they watched the soil and milk mix together.
"Shit…" they whispered. They sighed deeply as they tried to pull themselves up, but something caught their attention before the could.
"Are you okay? I saw what- Oh my gosh… your arm!" Somebody said from above. Looking up, they saw somebody standing at the door. It was a boy, he looked about Catie's age, and he was a dog. His fur was a light blonde color, with his ears and a spot around his eye being a darker tan. He had freckles strewn about his cheeks, though they were odd colors such as green, red, blue, and yellow… He wore a deep crimson red robe that dragged along the floor. He stepped out of the house and kneeled beside Catie.
"I saw you fall, you should be more careful" He said. His voice was unlike anything Catie had ever heard before. Cheerie, bubbly, high pitched, caring in a way. He had emotion, and that weirded Catie out.
"Yeah… I know…" Catie said as they tried to lift themselves up again, but the dog boy stopped them.
"No no no, we need to assess your injuries first. Oooh… thats a deep cut on your arm, tore right through your shirt… Wait here, I'm gonna go get someone."
And with that, the boy stood up and ran back inside, Catie sat there on the muddy floor, looking up at the door, feeling so many emotions they couldn't begun to describe. Who was that? Why was he helping them? Who was he getting? Why did he live in this seemingly abandoned house? Catie couldn't cone up with an answer before the boy came back out, joined by someone this time.
"Oh my… you poor poor child… here, come inside, we need to get you bandaged…". These words were spoken by a woman, a tall woman. Taller than anyone Catie had ever seen. She wore a long white dress with a matching sun hat. Her black hair went down to her legs, and her eyes were in constant shadow, her skin the color of paper. She kneeled down to help Catie up.
"Don't fear child, we'll help you." The woman said, helping Catie into the house. The actual interior was dim, and Catie couldn't make anything out inside.
"Dear child, sit here" the woman said as she pointed to a chair that was sitting in the middle of a seemingly empty foyer. Catie sat down, rubbing their injured arm.
"Od-Dog, wait here while I go find something to patch this poor child up." The woman said as she walked off into the darkness. Od-Dog nodded.
"Yes, Mother!", and Catie looked at him skeptically.
"You're name is Odd Dog?" Catie asked looking at him. Od-Dog nodded.
"Yup! O-D dash D-O-G, Od-Dog!" He said proudly.
"I thought odd was spelt with two d's… and a dash?" Catie said, tilting their head. Od-Dog simply nodded. Something about him was so… off to them. He acted so sweet, so sweet it was rotting their teeth. Nobody in Hoaxville, especially on Connell street acted this kind. The tall woman, or "Mother" came back with a spool of bandages.
"Hold out your arm, dear" Mother said as she unrolled the bandage. Catie did so, holding their arm out. Mother lifted up their sleeve and gasped gently.
"My goodness… you're skin and bone" Mother said as she ran her fingers over Catie's arm.
"Yeah… why do you care so much?" Catie asked. Mother simply gave them a smile and began wrapping their arm up.
"There, don't move it too much" Mother said, pulling Catie's sleeve back down.
"Thanks Miss… and… you" Catie said, turning to Od-Dog. Od-Dog grinned.
"Please, child, you can call me Mother", she said, again giving that overly sweet smile. Catie simply smiled back, not knowing how to respond.
"Okay… thanks" they said as they got up to leave. Od-Dog grabbed their shoulder.
"Hold on, you should stay" Od-Dog said.
"Hm? Why?" Catie responded. Mother lifted Catie's sleeve again.
"Well I've just made dinner for the rest of my children, I'm sure there is room at the table for one more. You clearly need food… my goodness what horrible parent would allow their child to get so thin?" Mother said, almost frustrated. Catie looked at her confused. What right did this woman have to talk about Catie's parents like that? But then again… she wasn't entirely wrong. The whole reason Catie was here was because they didn't want to go home yet. So they sighed, and nodded.
"Okay… fine, I'll stay over" Catie said reluctantly. Od-Dog clapped excitedly.
"Amazing! We need to introduce you to everyone!" He said, grabbing them by their good hand and dragging them down a dark hall, a set of doors lay at the end.
"Woah, woah! Where are we-" they couldn't finish their sentence before Od-Dog opened one if the large doors, light spilled out into the dark hallway, a stark contrast from what Catie had seen so far, almost like a different world. There was a table in the middle, narrow and long. On each side there were four seats, and there were already people occupying those seats. At the very end of the table was a larger chair, presumably where Mother sat.
The people there where varying in age range, but they were in no way adults. Some looked about the same age as Catie, but they never looked beyond the age of fifteen, and each of them wore varying colors of robes. They all stared at Catie, silent, watching. When suddenly, they all stood up, putting one hand under where their heart was, and cupping the other hand over it. It almost looked like the shape of an eye.
"Hello" they all said in unison. Od-Dog and Mother greeted them in the same, strange manor. Catie was feeling very strange now. So without knowing what to do, they did the same hand motion to the children.
"U-uhm… hello! Everyone!" Catie said awkwardly. The children looked at them for a second before letting out a gentle laugh.
I wasn't trying to be funny… why are they laughing? Catie asked themselves. On the inside they felt a sense on unease and panic, but outside they were perfectly fine.
"Now now children, don't be rude. Let's greet out guest. Tell them your name, child" Mother said to Catie. Catie looked at the children for a few seconds before responding.
"Uhm… I'm…. Catie" they mumbled. The other children smiled and bowed, before they began introducing themselves. A pink fox girl rose from her seat first, bowing to Catie before speaking. She looked to be the oldest there.
"Hello, Catie. I am Sister Foxtrot" she sat back down. A red elephant stood up next, bowing down in the same manor.
"Greetings, Catie. I am Brother Empathetic" He sat back down. Catie immediately noticed something different about him… Catie noticed that when all the other children were laughing at them, it took him a second to realize that everyone else was laughing, before laughing himself. It was like he was the only one who worked individually.
A small mouse girl rose next, simply bowing her head. Mother knelt down to Catie's level.
"She does not talk, but she greets you with kindness. Her name is Sister Missy." she said. Catie simply smiled, it's all they could do in a situation like this. A blue Mule boy rose next, bowing down.
"Greetings, Catie, I am Brother Mighty" He said before sitting back down, following the same routine. The rest of the children greeted themselves, which included Sister Shy, Bother Funky, and Brother Posh. Od-Dog went in front of Catie and did his own greeting.
"And you already met me, but I'm Brother Od-Dog!" He shook their uninjured hand violently. Mother signaled Od-Dog to sit down before going in front of Catie herself.
"And I am Mother. Welcome to The Backwards House, Catie! Have a seat anywhere you'd like, we're happy to have you." Mother said before leaving the room, presumably to get whatever they were eating.
"Right! Okay… thank you all for having me" Catie said as politely as they could. Sister Foxtrot pulled up a chair right next to Brother Empathetic. Catie sat down cautiously, not wanting to draw more attention to themselves.
The children began talking amongst themselves, and Catie couldn't help but feel like an alien. Where they were sitting, it threw off the ballance of four chairs on either side of the table. Looking around, they noticed more and more details that made them even more freaked out. Every child sitting at the table had something… off about them. Looking at Brother Od-Dog, Catie noticed an odd marking on his forehead. It looked like an eye, with two arrows on either side curving around it.
Looking at the other children, Catie noticed they all had that marking. Brother Mighty had a tag hanging from his ear with that symbol. Sister Foxtrot had it on her forehead, just like Od-Dog. All the children had the marking somewhere. Things were getting weird now… and slowly Catie began to feel a deep sense of dread within them. But all that thought was interrupted once Mother came back in the room.
"Seeing as we have a guest joining our community today, we shall celebrate with an extra large feast!" Mother said as she layed platters of food on the table. Catie couldn't believe their eyes.
There was not one spot on the table where there wasn't food. Not the terrible food that Hoaxville usually had to offer, actual food that Catie had only ever dreamed about. Varying meats, side dishes that seemed infinite, and a pitcher of water that must've been the size of Catie's head. It was overwhelming. The other children acted as though this were tradition, but Catie felt like they had just walked into heaven.
"How… how did you get…" Catie was trying to find words to say, but Mother simply filled a plate with food and handed it to them.
"We have our ways, now don't be silly and eat! You desperately need it" Mother said, taking her spot at the end of the table. Catie looked down at their plate. It didn't just look amazing, it smelt amazing too. A deep, low growl came from Catie's stomach, reminding them that they haven't eaten anything all day, and all of yesterday. They couldn't wait any longer, they dug in.
They ate everything on their plate in record time. Mother looked amused, and the other children watched in astonishment.
But Catie didn't care, this was the best food they had ever eaten, and once they finished, they chugged their entire glass of water.
"My my" Mother said, amused. "Poor child… you really where starved" Mother said, her voice laced with an undertone of genuine concern.
The other children nodded I'm agreement. Suddenly, Catie felt a little embarrassed at all the sudden attention. Sister Foxtrot stood up.
"Please, feel free to have more" she said, immediately taking Catie's plate and refiling it with more food.
"O-oh! Well, I appreciate it but I-" Amything Catie was about to say was forgotten the moment they saw that plate of food.
Ah, what the hell? they said as they dug in once again. And once again, they finished the entire plate. This moment right here made them realize just how truly malnourished they were….
"What horrible parents would allow their child to go hungry like that…?" Catie heard Sister Foxtrot whisper to Mother. Mother shrugged and gave a gentle sigh.
"Some parents just don't seem to love their children enough…" she responded. Catie heard the whole thing, and it made them feel strange. How come these people kept on insisting that their parents where terrible? Even worse, why were they right? The other children were only now barely finishing their meals, talking about things Catie wasn't paying much attention to. They stood up and dusted themselves off, not knowing what else to do. Somebody tapped on their shoulder, turning their head, they saw it was that red elephant boy. Brother Empathetic. He turned to Mother and spoke in that same, overly polite tone
"Mother, may I show Catie around the house a little bit before they have to leave?". Mother nodded.
"That's very kind of you, Empathetic Elephant, go show them around, perhaps it'd make them consider joining our community!" This was followed by a laugh, and every other child laughed in unison. It took Brother Empathetic a second to laugh along, but as soon as they were out of the dining room, his face went straight. He led Catie upstairs to an unmarked room. There was a shadow casted over Brother Empathetic's face, and his voice was fast, panicked.
"Listen, I don't know who you are, or where you come from, but please, be careful. This place isn't what you think it is. It's too late for me now… it's too late for all of them. The wool has already been pulled over their eyes, and I can feel it being pulled over mine now too… You have to help us, help us escape" Brother Empathetic said in one breath.
"What are you talking about?" Catie asked, feeling freaked out. Brother Empathetic looked at them for a second before speaking.
"What is your name? Your full name?" Brother Empathetic asked. Catie tilted their head in confusion. What where these questions?
"Why do you want to know?" They asked.
"Look just… never forget it, write it down, keep it on you, but just please whatever you do DO NOT forget it." Brother Empathetic said, turning his head to the dark hall behind them, it was well into the twilight hour by now.
"I can't speak much more right now, but I promise I'll explain more when I can" Brother Empathetic whispered as he turned and walked back down the stairs. Catie was left standing there, feeling confused, and a little worried.
What is he talking about? They asked. What's his problem? No matter how far they searched, they could not find an answer. All they knew is jt sounded urgent, very urgent, it felt wrong to not follow his instruction. So in their head, they repeated over and over again.
Catie Christensen…. My name is Catie Christensen… They whispered to themself. They decided to follow Brother Empathetic downstairs, they noticed he was waiting outside the dining room. They walked up to him
"What are you doing?" Catie asked.
"Waiting a little before reentering, it'd look suspicious if we came back so soon…" Brother Empathetic said.
Smart… Catie thought while grinning. They stood awkwardly outside the dining room for about thirty minutes before they walked back inside, and Brother Empathetic had that same, overly sweet smile that possessed everyone in the house.
"Welcome back!" Mother said. Brother Empathetic sat back down at his seat, and so did Catie. Catie felt strange now… everything about this house was strange… the people, the way they acted, the way they looked… it didn't sit right with Catie. Then something hit them. A thought, a concept. The school in Hoaxville was useless, but wasn't useless was the library. Catie sometimes went there to learn about things like history and other things, maybe if they learned enough they could get themselves out of this dump. They remember reading a book about religion one time, the many different types of religion. Specifically a type of religious group that were often frowned upon. Seen as barbaric, terrifying. Was the possibly the case? The people seemed kind enough… not exactly what Catie expected when reading about it. But even then, they inhaled and turned to Mother.
"Mother?" Catie asked, feeling like they might sweat into a puddle.
"Yes, child?" Mother responded. She took a sip of water. Catie inhaled, blurting out the words in a much worse way then they anticipated it to be. But the question was eating away at them from the inside.
"Is this a cult?". The room went dead silent.
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