Initiation into the Cult

There it was, a tunnel in the middle of the woods, just like the note his dad left him said. It wasn't hidden, but it was well-guarded, Lacasa could feel the armed guys watching from the shadows, and he was pretty amused at making a fool of himself by showing up in the robes and medallion that were in the chest, the only inheritance from his dad. This seemed less and less like a joke and more like a serious initiation into a real cult. His dad knew a lot of people from his hunts. "All kinds of men rub elbows when hunting" his dad always said.

The tunnel, starting with several steep steps, went about one full floor underground. 

— Hey! Looks like you're new... I am too, and Dad always said we should stick with people who look like us! —introduced a young guy, wearing the same robes, his smile barely visible under the hood. Realizing that's a weird way to start a conversation, the smile vanished quickly, turning into an embarrassed look, his cheeks blushing even in the dim light.

Lacasa laughed at such a display of emotions, easing the tension on the stranger's face, bringing back a peaceful smile.

He extended his hand to Lacasa and introduced himself— My name's Levi Strauss. Yeah, like the jeans —the handshake was solid, but Levi hoped for some laughs; after all, it's kind of a silly name.— It's not so bad, Levi. Do you know any Spanish? —Levi nodded— My name's Lucas Lacasa... "The house" —he repeated, cursing his own last name, which he had learned to appreciate over time.

The tunnel, lit only by a couple of lights on the ceiling every 4 or 5 meters, was damp and increasingly echoey. In the distance, illuminated by a single blue light, a guard, sitting at his post, checked the medallions of Lacasa and Levi.

— Good luck, you'll need it. —a strange thing to say, considering they're supposed to be from the same cult. But Lacasa decided to take it in good faith.

— I'm excited. I can't stop shaking! —Levi was restless and kept making similar comments, but Lacasa stayed silent. He's not a bad person; he just finds it hard to talk to strangers.

Further into the tunnel, the lights finally changed, and it seemed more professional. Sounds could be heard inside, people celebrating and music, like a party that was starting to get going.

— Looks like we arrived at a good time, the entrance should be close —and Levi was not wrong, just a few more minutes walking through an L-shaped corridor and a few stairs before reaching a huge open gate, people sitting on the steps and at the entrance nodding greetings.

— Age? —asked a young guy with a mask and his hood down.

— 18 —Levi and Lacasa said almost in unison. With a smile, the young man handed them red cups, and Lacasa noticed the guy reeked of alcohol.

— A shot to get in the mood, guys —the young man slurred.

Lacasa isn't a big fan of drinks, but he recognizes bad tequila by the smell, making a cross with the cup, he downed the shot, his face wrinkling like a raisin, his throat burning and itching. But alcohol is alcohol, and Lacasa never turns down free booze.

Levi spat his shot out, and the young guy and a few other cultists at the door laughed a bit, but Levi laughed with them. Lacasa didn't understand that ability to make friends and turn embarrassment into good times, but he didn't envy it.

The inside looked like a two-story club, the stairs were VIP and guarded. The place was huge, with at least 100 people on the first floor, and it still didn't seem even half full.

—Newbies over there —a guard indicated. Paying attention, Levi noticed the robes changed from person to person, seeming to be divided into ranks. The most obvious difference was between the first and second floors, with regular robes being navy blue, while those on the second floor were yellow. Among the blue robes, the rank difference seemed to be golden stripes on the shoulders, and there were patches sewn on the back and chest, but those were not rank indicators, they seemed to be personal identifiers. Lacasa noticed it too over time.

Following the directions, both reached a more secluded area of the party, a room in the corner of the club, without a door but with a beaded curtain.

Outside stood a guy with his face uncovered, something unusual so far. "Egotistical," thought Lacasa, "Disruptive," thought Levi.

— Thank God! I thought we'd be 58. I'd go crazy if we were an odd number, haha. —Levi laughed with him, Lacasa just observed.— Come in, come in. Soon we'll get the official welcome.

Inside the room were many more people, all with uncovered faces. "This place is too weird, the room didn't look this big from outside," observed Lacasa, pondering the implications of something so impossible until he was interrupted.— Are you paying attention? —a serious-looking brunette girl with short hair interrupted his thoughts.

When Lacasa came to, he realized the man outside was now giving a speech on a small stage at the back of the room.

— There's not much time left, I doubt more people will show up, and if they do, the welcome committee will explain. We'll do what we planned, please split into two groups before Kane arrives, to avoid more confusion. —quickly the room split into two, Levi and Lacasa managing to stay together in one of the groups.

— I thought we'd be a big group, the newbie group. —Levi commented, whispering to Lacasa.

— Something happened before we got here, as long as we're not part of the group on stage. —he replied, chuckling softly.

— His name's Dartañan, and he's the leader… Maybe you should leave quickly. —a chill ran down Lacasa's spine, it was the same brunette girl from before, but angrier.

— I was just joking… —Lacasa lied to excuse himself. But he didn't convince the girl; after stepping off the stage, Dartañan positioned himself in the center of the right group.

Conversations continued and everything seemed calm for a while. Following Levi, Lacasa ended up much closer to Dartañan than he wanted. Distracted in his thoughts, Lacasa didn't hear any of Levi's conversation, paying more attention to the other group. They were all surrounding a monstrously tall girl, over 2 meters, the robe only making her look taller and more imposing, she was sitting with a blonde girl next to her. Although many people asked her questions, she whispered in the blonde's ear, who then responded for her. Also, the tall girl was the only one wearing a mask. Lacasa couldn't stop thinking she was being mysterious on purpose, that she liked the admiration, and that she could snap his neck if he said those things. He had already had to avoid the blonde's gaze a couple of times, who, turning to look at the people she was responding to, had run into Lacasa's stare.

— Are you going to change groups, or are you just a pervert? —whispered the same brunette girl from before.

Lacasa didn't know what to say, he just stood there with his mouth open.

— I was just messing with you… But now I don't know what to think.

The worst thing that could ever happen to Lacasa, he had been misunderstood and couldn't defend himself. So he mimicked Levi and chuckled softly. It worked, sort of, the girl laughed and stayed waiting a bit longer. Enough time for Lacasa to gather his thoughts and explain himself.

— Pervert? Me, nooo… —it sounded better in his head— I was just… observing something weird.. hehe. —Lacasa wouldn't know until much later that that little laugh only made things worse. But it seemed like a good idea at the time.

— And that would be…? —the brunette inquired, not really interested, just giving Lacasa one more chance not to look so bad.

— The blonde speaks for the tall girl, and the tall girl is the only one still covering her face. —the brunette looked at him skeptically.

— The only one? —Lacasa felt a tug and remembered he still had his hood on. The tug didn't pull it off, but now more of his face was visible.

— I don't like my face! —he lied.

— How ugly are you? —the brunette laughed before introducing herself— I'm Monique, nice to meet you.

— Lacasa —he replied, shaking her hand— And I'm not ugly! I just don't like people seeing my face. That's all! —he clarified his previous lie, improvising on the spot.

But the introductions were cut off by someone clearing their throat, a young man, dressed in robes but with a wizard hat. One ridiculously large, covering his face.