Nora
Nora enjoyed her time reading books on the bustling campus, with a cold drink by her side. No matter which book it was, she would be in her own world.
To the point now, she did not even realize Tina was sitting next to her, speaking to her for the past half an hour.
Tina's words were running in the background — Nora was so out of touch with the world.
Then, a paper was pushed onto her book, pulling her out of that trance.
"As a token of apology, we are inviting you to our gathering," he spoke.
Nora was taken aback by the two people sitting next to her — one was Tina, and the other she didn't recognize.
"No thanks," Nora replied after looking at the big, bold text: I.A.G.
"It's a token of apology. There will be a lot of important people present. We would like you there," he asked again, this time with a slightly irritated tone.
"I appreciate your token of apology, but I have other plans," Nora replied calmly.
"You don't understand how important this is! A lot of rich people are attending, and the menu is handpicked by our leader. Everyone is looking forward to our session," he said, his eyes widening as his words grew stricter.
"That's wonderful. What exactly goes on in this session?" Tina asked, leaning forward.
"We unlock your blockages. Depending on your spiritual energy, you can feel things — they say you'll feel a shock through your entire body, and then calm and peace. Some even say they gain psychic powers. But for more to happen, you'll need to join. This session will give you a glimpse of it," he explained, his eyes starting to darken with curiosity and excitement.
"You're part of it, right? So why haven't you shared your experience?" Tina asked.
"They said I wasn't ready. But this session, I'm participating too. All these days, they were helping me heal my past life trauma," he replied.
As they started going deeper into the conversation, my mind was pulled into the dream I had before — the one where I got trapped. They knew what we encountered, and there's no way I'm going back.
"Can I join too?" Tina asked.
"Even if you have the money, you can't. The slots are full," he replied.
"That's sad," Tina said softly.
"Well, you do have another option. They sent an extra ticket to Nora, in case she feels uncomfortable going alone," he added.
"Oh great! Nora, can I join you?" Tina asked, turning towards me and pulling me out of my dreadful thoughts.
"Yeah, sure," I nodded.
Should I tell her? But that's not going to stop her anyway.
After a few more minutes of chatting, he left the tickets. It was a card — black and dark green — with I.A.G. printed on it.
"What do you wanna wear?" Tina asked.
"What? No, no way I'm going there," I replied, and her face dropped.
"Don't say that! It might be fun. More than sessions, there will be rich and handsome boys," Tina winked and giggled.
"I had a traumatic experience. They give me the creeps," I said, thinking of how many questions they dodged when we gave our report about the incident.
"I have a good feeling about this. Moreover, I'll be by your side. What do you say?" Tina asked again.
"You don't know half of what went down there. I won't risk my life," I snapped suddenly.
"Okay, take it easy. You don't have to force it," Tina said quietly.
Maybe I should've declined more gently… but no way I'm changing my mind about it!
That weekend, I was minding my own business when I got a call from Tina.
"Hi, I need you urgently here, please!" she spoke in a panicked voice.
"Where? What happened?" I asked.
"That gathering we got invited to," Tina said. I could hear noise and people yelling in the background.
"Why did you go?" I shouted to be heard. The sounds were unbearable — crying, wailing, chaos. Imagine one person dying and everyone mourning… now multiply that by a hundred. That's what it sounded like.
"No time! Come to the red room—" Tina cut the call after those words.
What should I make of this? Should I call the police? I can't take anyone with me — I only have one invite. Do I have a choice?
I packed my bag with a small pocket knife that looked like a mirror. Zuv had gifted it to me, calling it an assassin's toy.
I left a cryptic message for Zuv: I'm going to the I.A.G. gathering. Look for me if I'm gone too long.
Then I rushed toward the location.
Zuv saw the text and started calling me, but I had to cut the call since I was right next to the checkpoint, where everyone was being inspected from head to toe.
They took all my belongings and gave me a set of clothes. I was shown the main hall — everyone was crying and wailing, some sort of spiritual release.
Even in the crowd, their leader's eyes were fixed on me. No smile, just his gaze following me everywhere.
The rooms from there were labeled with different colors. I was near the purple room, and to reach the red one, I had to pass several others. They were all quiet. I didn't want to peek — just eyes on the target.
Finally, there it was — the red room. Not the typical red room you'd imagine. Everything inside was white except for the label on the door.
An old woman tried to open the orange door, but it was locked. The red one, though, was open. I had a bad feeling about this.
"Hey, you made it!" Tina giggled. I didn't know I could hate a person in just a second.
"You're okay?" I asked, irritated.
"Yeah! You have to check this out." She was dressed in white, just like the others — they looked like patients in an asylum.
"I thought you were in danger!" I glared.
"Sorry, I think you misunderstood. Maybe because I got emotional. I cried a lot because I felt so relieved… it's exhilarating to be freed."
"I don't know how many times I should tell you that I don't want to be here," I said angrily.
"Hmm, just one massage, ten minutes. You'll feel it. You don't even have to change. Please, just for me," Tina pleaded, tears in her eyes.
Maybe I'd been too on edge since that incident.
"Alright," I sighed and sat on the table.
I completely ignored the person standing next to her — their clothes had a faint golden tint, unlike the pure white Tina wore.
"Please lie down," he said softly.
I did what he said but couldn't drop my guard.
He started moving his hands a few inches above my body, repeating motions. Then he focused on my head — that's when the headache I didn't even realize I had disappeared in a blink.
Slowly, I relaxed as my body began to heal. My whole being vibrated in bliss.
---
Zuv
After that incident Zuv started sleeping over at Crystal's place. Although the stalking didn't stop completely it definitely reduced. Zuv believes it's a guy from Crystal's office who has crush on her and he does have a long hair. Now she only gets love letters, which is still creepy.
"She left me a message and isn't taking my calls. How long should I wait before I make a move?" Zuv muttered, eyes fixed on his phone.
"I looked it up — it's a public event, so it should be fine. She's probably just letting you know," Crystal said as she scrolled through her phone, sipping coffee.
"That cult is weird," Zuv said, shaking his leg repeatedly.
"That cult has all the rich people in it. If I had an invite, I could've gone with her — you'd worry less," Crystal added, still scrolling.
"That's even worse. I'd have to worry about two people then. She said she didn't want to go — why would she change her mind? I'll leave in an hour and try to get in," Zuv said.
"Ask her to take me next time. I need to learn how rich men behave," Crystal joked, her focus still on her phone.
After minutes of silence, they heard a creak from the kitchen. Both froze.
"Maybe it's just the utensils," Crystal whispered, glancing at Zuv.
"Yeah, maybe it is," Zuv nodded.
They both walked to the two exits of the kitchen, opening cupboards one by one. No luck with the first two — they were too small for anyone to fit inside.
Their eyes shifted to the middle compartment under the sink — large enough for someone to hide, and it was empty.
They stood their ground and opened it. Nothing. Not a single thing.
Then, a small stone rolled between their feet.
There was no one there — not from the start — but something felt wrong.
When they turned around, a gift box sat on the table.
Someone had been there… and left it in a split second.
Crystal's eyes widened. "This is getting out of hand."
"I've been locking all the doors and windows from the outside. Let's clear the house one room at a time. We didn't hear anything break, so they might still be here," Zuv whispered.
"Okay… but grab a knife," Crystal said.
Zuv nodded, walked to the kitchen, grabbed all the knives, and placed them in a small bag beside him.
Crystal was too spooked to take another step.