t/w
cults, heavily implied murder, rape mention, heavily implied child sexual abuse, religious trauma, suicide mention, infant/child loss
-
Lucie Maria David was born on the floor, born to two twenty year olds, Sofia and Micheal David, exactly nine months after their wedding. Gregory Patterson stood watching over her mother as she was born. Staring down at her. He okayed her name. Lucie, after Sofia's best friend, Lucie Ramirez, who killed herself when the two girls were sixteen, still living in Puerto Rico. Maria, for Sofia's Puerto Rican culture. And besides, Maria was just the Spanish version of Mary anyways, so why wouldn't it be okay?
Laura Macy Easton was born Laura Macy Lampart, in a German hospital, conceived from rape, and put up for adoption, soon adopted by a Canadian woman, Anne Easton. For four months, Anne and Laura lived in peace. Then a man named Gregory began talking to her, eventually offering her salvation, saying she'll ascend to heaven as one of God's Supreme Angels, she can take her daughter along, Laura Macy Easton was a fine name. So, when Laura was seven months old, Anne dropped everything, except for her daughter, to live in paradise.
A paradise known as The Church of The True Stars.
Lucie and Laura. Laura and Lucie. From the moment they could talk, they were best friends. All they had was each other, neither had any siblings here. Well, biologically they had no siblings here. Everyone here is referred to as brother and sister. Laura had two biological sisters, but they were across an entire ocean, in another continent. As for Lucie, she was supposed to have a little brother. Sofia and Micheal knew it was gonna be a boy, they picked a name, Noah Micheal David. Noah, for the Noah in the bible and Micheal, for both the archangel and the baby's father. Born prematurely by just a little under four months, Noah didn't make it.
Lucie was three years old, watching her three hour old brother die. The earliest thing she remembers is asking if she could hold him and so they gently placed him in her arms, making sure she held him just right. Two minutes later, Noah died in his big sister's arms. Lucie wouldn't understand what was going on until years later. Noah was buried in the compound's graveyard two days later.
So often Lucie thought about her brother. Especially after leaving. Would she have taken him with her? Absolutely. He would've been nine. He would've slept in a different dormitory, so that'd create an extra step in Lucie and Laura's escape. Would they still have gotten separated? How would it have gone? If they got separated, would Noah and Lucie be together? Would Noah and Laura be together? Or would all three of them be completely separated, going three separate ways, ending up in three separate places? Lucie was admittedly a little happy she would never know the answer to that question.
Living in the Church, not one child was safe from Gregory. Boy, girl, whatever he wanted, he got. Whether it was a little child who was struggling to pronounce basic words, whether it was a teenager who was just figuring out their personality, he took what he wanted.
Tamara Lincoln, 'lovingly' called Mari, was just one of Gregory's victims, but was by far his favorite. It's always the favorites who leave.
Tamara, who, at four years old, had watched her six year old sister, Rachel, shoot herself on accident. Tamara, best friend to Valentina Gomez. Tamara, like a big sister to Lucie and Laura. Tamara, the one who would instill the doubt in Lucie and Laura.
Tamara, who would escape one night and 'kill herself' a year later.
Lucie was a child, Laura was a child, so many children there were children, nothing more than a plaything to a grown man. But, for the girls, to be desirable by a future husband, you must be a virgin, you must be new, you must be pure. And yet he snatched the purity right out of their underaged bodies. That, kids, is what we call irony.
But this was a good thing. He was the leader, God himself spoke to him. Defying him would be like defying God and why would you defy God? What are you, a sinner? We all know where sinners end up. The fiery pits of hell to be tortured for all eternity. You don't wanna go there, do you? Sinners don't become Supreme Angels.
Sometimes, they'd kill an innocent person, because that's what angels do.
Sometimes, they'd go out for supply runs. Sometimes, they'd walk through a mall and look at the stuff. Maybe, Gregory would pick out a nice little dress for Lulu and Laurie, as he so often called them. Why wouldn't they accept it? This might as well be God coming down and giving the dress to them himself.
Would it ever end?
It ended for Tamara.
She'd 'killed herself' because she 'couldn't bear her sins any longer'. Did Laura believe that? Did Lucie believe that? Maybe at first. But, after talking with Valentina for a bit, Valentina just said "Tamara didn't kill herself." And that was that. She didn't elaborate further, she didn't say anymore. Just that Tamara didn't kill herself. She was dead, but not by her own hand.
The girls could still feel his hands on them. One particular night, when both girls were eleven, Lucie pulled Laura into the locker room where she just broke down in tears, Laura simply hugging her. Lucie was the sensitive one, Laura was the stoic one. Laura had to look out for Lucie, especially now that Tamara was gone. If she couldn't protect her one true remaining friend, could she do anything? Laura understood why Lucie was crying. She wanted to cry herself, but she just couldn't. At least not in front of someone. Well, maybe in front of Lucie, but not right now.
Would it ever end?
