Fort Oakley | Part One

19 | How To Join A Cult Without Really Trying

The words hit me like a freight train. "She wants me?" I repeat, my voice incredulous. A week ago, I didn't even know these people existed, and now they wanted me to join them or something?

There wasn't a chance in hell.

"I know how it sounds, Charly," Vance says, his tone bordering on angry. "These people have beliefs that we have determined border on insanity. Whether you want to be or not, you're connected to The Order of Oktia, and that's why they want you."

I blink at him, skeptical. "Connected to them? How—"

"Let me explain," he cuts in. "Fort Oakley was established by the Wilcher family, the first settlers in the area."

"Yeah, I know about the Wilchers. Everybody knows about them. The damn statue in front of the town hall is for them. The First Family of Fort Oakley."

Vance nods. "What the recorded history of Fort Oakley doesn't tell you, is how desperate the head of the family, Callan Wilcher, actually was. In 1786, about a year after the family discovered this land, their resources were dwindling. The Wilchers and the other settlers they brought along with them, were believed to be on the brink of death—starvation, illness, all the bad stuff. Desperate for survival, Callan Wilcher claimed that a deity named Oktia appeared to him, offering a deal: abundance and prosperity in exchange for a sacrifice."

"Like an animal sacrifice?"

"His wife," Vance clarifies. "Oktia wanted a woman, and Alena Wilcher, Callan's wife, became the first sacrifice. Callan claimed that after her death, their crops thrived, the wildlife returned, and the settlers healed from all their illnesses. He founded The Order of Oktia later to ensure the deal was upheld—and to keep Oktia happy."

The air feels heavier now, pressing down on me. "So...this whole cult started hundreds of years ago because one crazy guy decided to sacrifice his wife to a demon?"

"That's how the story goes," Vance replies. "Although, they didn't know at first that Oktia was a demon. But after they found out, however that was, they didn't really care."

"What does mythology say about Oktia? Is she a demon or a deity?"

"That's the thing. We've searched through everything there is, but we've never found anything on her. Everything we know originated from the cult itself. According to them, she's both—a demon deity similar in rank to one of the seven princes of hell."

"So they worship the devil," I say.

Vance shrugs. "Basically. Like I said, we don't exactly know everything they believe in. We only have tidbits of information. To them, Oktia is their god—well, goddess—and nobody else exists to them."

"And...how exactly am I connected to these lunatics?"

Vance sighs heavily. "Through Jade's side of the family, your biological mother, you are the last living descendant of Alena Wilcher, and one of the people in the Original Bloodline, which started with the Wilchers."

I stared at him. "You're kidding me."

"Believe me, I wish I was," he says, his tone deadly serious.

"But what do they want with me? Do they want me to take over or something?"

If that was the case, I was running far, far away from this town.

"The Order is obsessed with bloodline purity," Vance explains. "The believe that The Original Bloodline is sacred, and that certain people can 'corrupt' the bloodline, so most member only have children with other members to avoid any complication. It's easier that way than trying to find new members Oktia sees as 'worthy'. Your mother was the thirteenth female descendant of Alena Wilcher, thirteen being a number which The Order sees as sacred. But because they never got Jade, you're now the thirteenth descendant in their eyes."