Neophyte

Horror

Metztli couldn't sleep all night. She tried very hard; everything she had done was to no avail. The memory of what happened to Anna Maria and her children and the adolescent girl troubled her. Then, finding out about Mariana and Victoriano's relationship exhausted her. There was one question that plagued her mind. 

Why her?

Why did she travel to the past?

She sat up in her bed; Valentina's soft snores echoed in the room. She looked at Valentina for a while. Guilt overwhelmed her since she knew the truth about her parentage. If Valentina found out that Metztli knew and never told her, she would hate her.

Metztli quietly retrieved her bag, which she had hidden deep in her cot, and looked at her belongings. 

Everything that was brought with her was in her possession, except her rosary. Metztli was deeply in thought as a possibility grew in her mind. A certain possibility explained why she felt close to Valentina, Mariana, the Bishop, and Guillermo. 

"I can't believe it. Are they my...?" Metztli shook her head as she slowly opened one of the wooden shutters. It was dawn. "Ninehnemiz (I will walk)," she proudly whispered, remembering some of the lectures on the language that Valentina taught her.

Putting a shawl around herself to keep warm, Metztli quietly walked out of the room to take a walk. 

It was deathly silent, giving her peace. Quietly walking through the Mission's halls, giving Metztli a better look at the Mission she grew up in. The sun was setting soon, and she continued to walk around the Mission, ensuring not to wake anyone. She walked toward the gardens; the flowers looked lively.

She looked at and smelled many of the flowers, taking pleasure in their beauty.

A noise echoed at the end of the garden; there was a small garage-like house. Metztli didn't remember it being there, but she realized she hadn't been paying too much attention to the entire garden. She wanted to ignore the noise, thinking it might be a possible animal, but a moan echoed from it.

Freezing, dread overcame her. Metztli's mind raced as she slowly walked toward the small building, and the moans became louder. A dim light filtered through the window shutters, but slight openings allowed Metztli to see what was happening inside.

Quietly looking through a small hole in one of the shutters. Metztli was able to see what was inside. Her heart felt as if it were going to explode; her eyes widened in disbelief, fear, and horror.

Inside was a Tongva couple who were having sex on a wooden table, but neither looked like they were enjoying it. They looked as if they were being forced to commit such an intimate act. The woman lay beneath the man, her eyes closed. The man also looked away in shame as he was thrusting inside her. 

There was someone in the far left corner. 

Metztli moved to get a better look and saw Padre Federico.

She covered her lips. He was masturbating while watching the couple having sex. Metztli listened as he gave the couple instructions on what positions they should take and what to do. 

It was too much for her.

Her body violently trembled while backing away. Tears formed as they dripped to the dirt. "Oh my god! Oh my god!" She didn't realize she had spoken too loudly. Metztli bumped into a wooden table so hard that a flower pot fell to the ground. The moans stopped, and scuffling echoed from inside the building.

Metztli ran away from the garden. She ran toward the church. She wanted to get away from the sight. If Metztli had hidden in her room, then Federico would have followed her and could have done something to her and Valentina. It was a risk that Metztli didn't want to take. The church was the only place she thought of for safety.