Keepers of the Cave (29 page)

“Is everything okay?” Then, as if remembering her manners, Paige motioned into the kitchen. “I’m sorry. Can I get you anything to drink?” She glanced at CJ who shook her head.

“No, we’re fine,” Don said.

Paige sat on the arm of the sofa next to Fiona, her hand rubbing Fiona’s shoulder lightly. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Fiona gave a quick laugh. “What’s
not
wrong would be an easier answer.” She took a labored breath, one hand rubbing her side. “Sorry. I’ve been cramping.”

“Did you take a pill?” Don asked.

“Half,” Fiona said.

Paige glanced at CJ with raised eyebrows before turning back to Fiona. “What pill, Fiona?”

“Vicodin,” Don said.

“Vicodin? But...I mean, I’m no doctor but being pregnant, should you take Vicodin?”

“It may harm the baby?”

“I believe so, yes,” Paige said. “It’s a prescription drug. Did you finally go see a doctor?”

Don was about to speak, but Fiona stopped him with a shake of her head. She turned to Paige and took her hand. CJ could see how hard she was squeezing it as Fiona’s knuckles turned nearly white.

“We need to talk to you. We need you to listen to us.” She paused. “We need your help.”

“Of course,” Paige said immediately. She glanced over at CJ. “What’s going on?”

Fiona released Paige’s hand, her eyes now staring straight ahead as if she were gathering her thoughts. Don was watching her intently, his hands twisting together nervously.

“You know how you say you’re fascinated with Hoganville?”

Paige nodded.

“You understand how different things are here, right?”

“Yes.”

Fiona turned her head slowly, looking at Paige. “We have some things to tell you—some things you might not even believe—because we need you to help Don get away from Hoganville,” she said. “Once I go back tonight, I don’t think Mother Hogan will let me come back.”

“You mean until after your baby is born?” Paige asked.

Fiona shook her head. “No. Ever.”

Paige frowned. “What are you talking about?”

This time, Fiona glanced at CJ. “Things aren’t as they seem. Most of the people who live there, they’ve never set foot outside of those walls. Some have never even seen an outsider. They have certain jobs. Some tend to the gardens, some to the chickens, some to the pigs and cows. Some are woodworkers, some sew.” She paused. “And things happen there that...well, just
things
. I’m telling you this because I need you to get Don out of here. And CJ being with the police, I thought maybe you could get the authorities to come.”

CJ couldn’t believe Fiona was telling them this.
Things
? Surely she was talking about the disappearances. But they needed to hear it all from Fiona. They couldn’t assume that was what she was talking about. And they certainly couldn’t blow their cover so she pretended ignorance.

“The authorities? For what?” she asked. “On what grounds?”

Fiona shook her head. “I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

Paige knelt down in front of her. “What’s going on, Fiona?”

Fiona took a deep breath. “I’m thirty-one,” she said. “A virgin. Until recently. I was chosen for the coupling. When I missed school for that week, I was held captive and kept drugged.” She looked away from Paige. “So Antel could...impregnate me.”

Paige stood up quickly. “What are you talking about?
Coupling
?”

Don cleared his throat. “Mother Hogan decides who should mate so that the bloodline remains strong. The coupling is done in the chamber.”

“Chamber?” CJ asked.

“The caves.”        

CJ and Paige exchanged glances. “What caves?”

“Underground caverns,” Don said. “She has an altar in the chamber. For...well, for many uses.”

Paige looked at Fiona. “But—”

“Please don’t judge or try to find reason for it now,” Fiona said. “There’s no time. We’re just trying to tell you what goes on.”

“Okay, wait a minute,” Paige said, holding up a hand. “At lunch one day, when you were telling me about your family, you said that Antel was your father.”

Fiona nodded. “Yes.”

Paige’s eyes widened. “And he—”

“Yes.”

“Oh dear God,” Paige murmured, her glance going to Fiona’s belly. “But Fiona—”

“No. I’m certain it’s not his baby. It was an act put on for the flock. Mother Hogan said she wanted a pure bloodline. Antel is the only true Hogan left. I’m the next closest one.”

CJ’s mind was whirling.
Antel, her father, held captive, impregnate.
She glanced at Paige, still trying to sort out her thoughts. Was she trying to tell them that her own father...? Surely to God...no. Paige gave her a gentle look, one to let her know she understood the direction of her thoughts. But one also telling her to focus, to be professional. To do her job. CJ nodded. Now was not the time to dwell on that atrocity.

“Okay,” Paige said, turning back to Fiona. “Go on. You’re pregnant. But not by your...by Antel.”

“No. It’s not possible.” Fiona pointed to her belly. “This happened barely two months ago.”

“What are you saying?”

Fiona looked at Don, as if for help. He glanced at CJ but directed his words to Paige. “Something lives in the caves. Something we’ve never seen. Our community was built near the main entrance to guard the caves.”

CJ went closer, trying to figure out what he was saying. She tilted her head. “
Something
lives there? What?”

“We don’t know,” Fiona said. “But I’m fairly certain that whatever is growing inside of me is from him.”

“Fiona, what are you talking about?” Paige sat down next to her again. “Tell me what you’re trying to say.”

Fiona stared at her for the longest time, finally nodded. “We’ll tell you everything. You won’t believe us, but we’ll tell you.” Fiona turned slowly, her eyes meeting Don’s. Whatever was communicated between them was done silently. It was Don who spoke next.

“Usually, two times a year—sometimes three—Belden and the hunters bring back young girls or women. They bring them to the caves. Mother Hogan has this ritual that she calls Celebration Week.”

“This has been going on for years. Well before our time,” Fiona added.

“The girls are offered up as a sacrifice to...well, to whatever lives in the cave,” Don said.

“A sacrifice?”

“Mother Hogan makes them drink one of her potions, then Belden takes them past the cavern and into the main tunnel of the cave.” Fiona looked down, her eyes nearly closed. “Sometimes there is screaming. It goes on for so long sometimes,” she said, her voice nearly a whisper. “They’re made to run. For the chase.”

“They’re killed?” Paige asked quietly.

Fiona looked up. “They’re eaten.”

Paige’s eyebrows shot up. “These potions that Mother Hogan mixes up. What is she? A witch?”

Fiona actually smiled. “Yes. She could be.”

Paige and CJ exchanged glances again, but CJ was not ready to reveal their mission. She gave a subtle shake of her head, seeing Paige’s answering nod. CJ moved forward, standing in front of Fiona.

“These girls are abducted? What? Random?”

“From what I gather, yes. It’s not something that’s talked about.”

Again, CJ feigned ignorance. “And they’re taken into the cave and
eaten
by something?”

Fiona met her eyes. “I know you don’t believe us. It’s crazy, right?”

“Yeah. Crazy.”

“It’s also true. Whatever creature lives in the caves controls Mother Hogan.”

“We’re trying to find a way to stop it,” Don said. “We’re the only ones who can make it happen. There is no one else. The others, they’ve been brainwashed for so long, they can’t even fathom going against Mother Hogan. Besides, most of them are very old. This is all they know.”

“Don and I are among the few who have been to the outside,” Fiona said. “We’re also the youngest left in the flock. Gretchen is the only other one, but she’s a lost cause. She is very loyal to Mother Hogan. Don and I have always been kept separated, never allowed to interact. Because we have been outside. We know of the world. We’ve been educated.”

“If she allowed us to interact,” Don said, “we might plot against her. Or just decide to run. Or to tell someone, like we’re doing now.”

“The rest of them, they all get their direction from Mother Hogan,” Fiona said. “All of it. They don’t have a single thought that’s their own. Everything they do, everything they eat, everything they say, everything they
think
comes from her.”

“It’s always been that way,” Don said. “That’s how you’re taught. You don’t question it. Those who do get culled. Fiona and I have learned to pretend we’re as brainwashed as they are. It’s the only way to survive. There have been plenty before us who weren’t able to. They were culled quickly. And cruelly.”

“And that strengthens their fear...and her power,” Fiona added.

CJ flicked her eyes at Paige with raised eyebrows. “Culled?”

“Yes,” Fiona said. “They’re left in the caves. And if it’s something really bad,” she said, glancing at Don. “Remember Ryan?” Don nodded. Fiona turned to Paige. “Mother Hogan accused Ryan of disobedience, of telling tales to the authorities. We were all made to gather in the chamber. After Mother Hogan listed off his crimes, Belden took him into the cave and tied him up.” She closed her eyes, her hand reaching out for Don’s. “We were all made to listen to his screams...as he was eaten. You learn quickly after that not to ever question Mother Hogan.”

“Holy shit,” CJ murmured. “So what is it? What’s in the cave?”

“We don’t know.”

“The screams we hear at night?” Paige asked. “Is that it?”

Fiona nodded. “Yes. That’s it. He hunts in the woods here near the school.” Fiona looked at Paige directly. “Mother Hogan says we are the guardians of the cave. That’s our job. Mother Hogan has powers. They’ve all had powers.”

“They who?” Paige asked.

“Ester’s grandmother, her great-grandmother, and those before her. They’ve all led the flock.”

CJ raised an eyebrow. “What kind of powers?”

“She can see things. She knows things. She can move things without touching them.”

CJ rubbed her throat, her glance going to Paige. “That day in the café, I felt like someone was choking me. Remember?”

Paige nodded.

“That’s one of her favorite tricks,” Fiona said.

“And is she, you know, all there?” Paige asked, tapping her head.

“Mother Hogan? No. She’s quite mad. She’s also very, very smart. That’s why we need to get Don out of here. Because she’ll
know
.” She glanced at Don. “We’ve had no part in any of this, other than we live here,” she said. “Don is the only one who can function outside of Hoganville. The rest, they can’t. So you get him out and call the authorities.”

“And what about you?” Paige asked.

Fiona shook her head. “What’s growing inside of me is not something that can be explained. My fate is sealed.”

“You think whatever lives in the caves is...” she said, glancing at her swollen belly.

Fiona nodded.

Paige turned to CJ. “We need to tell them,” she whispered.

Paige obviously trusted Fiona and believed what she was saying. The disappearances, yes. But the tale that some creature lived in the caves and ate people? That the creature impregnated Fiona? Well, sure, they’d heard the screams in the woods. And she’d seen
something
that night of the thunderstorm. But did she really believe their wild story? She met Paige’s steady gaze, seeing that, yes, Paige did believe their story.

“Okay,” she said, relenting. “Tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Fiona asked.

Paige glanced between Fiona and Don, finally settling on Fiona. She spread her hands out, motioning to CJ. “We...we
are
the authorities.”

Fiona frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Paige squatted down beside her. “Sweetie, we’re FBI. I’m not a teacher. We were sent here because of the disappearances.”

“You’re...you’re FBI?”

“Yes.”

The anger shown on Fiona’s face immediately. She brushed Paige’s hand away, clasping her own together tightly.

“So all this time, you’ve just been playing with me? Pretending to be my friend? Trying to get me to trust you? Your name is probably not even Paige, is it?”

CJ could tell Paige was fighting with herself to maintain a professional persona, but Fiona’s words cut deep. Paige lost the fight as she took her hand again.

“My name is Paige. And I haven’t been pretending. You are my friend. Sweetie, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.”

“But we’ve been under investigation?” Fiona tried to stand, but Paige eased her back down.

“And you already know about the girls?” Don asked.

“We don’t know any details,” Paige said. “One of the girls was a senator’s daughter. Her disappearance is what started it all.”

CJ hesitated with how much to share with them. Paige obviously trusted Fiona and felt she was telling the truth. CJ, however, had no reason to trust either of them. They could just be blowing smoke up their asses, sent here at the instruction of Ester Hogan. She felt all three of them looking at her and her glance slid to Paige. Paige seemed to understand her hesitation.

“There’s no evidence linking Hoganville to anything,” Paige continued. “We were sent here to observe, really.”

“So you and CJ aren’t...well, you’ve been pretending,” Fiona said. “You had me fooled. I guess you had all the teachers fooled.”

“I’m sorry,” Paige said again. “We needed to fit in. That was the best way.”

“It’s okay. I understand. You’ve—” Fiona’s words were cut off as she doubled over in pain, her hand pressing hard against her side.

Both Paige and Don tried to comfort her as sweat broke out on her face. CJ stood by helplessly, not knowing what to do.

“We need to get you to a hospital,” Paige said. Paige looked at CJ. “Let’s just forget all this right now and get her out of here.”

CJ shook her head. “We can’t.”

“We can.”

Fiona grasped Paige’s arm. “No. I can’t go.”

“You can. We can get you help.”

“No!” Fiona shook Paige’s hand away impatiently. “No, I can’t. It’s too late for that. What’s done is done.” She took deep breaths, steadying herself. “I’m sorry, Paige. But this is important. This is the only chance. It’s got to end here. Now.”