Pandora's Trials

An Unpleasant Surprise

"That's a lot of water," I said, staring at the flat expanse of blue that met the sky on the horizon. Elijah looked up from the road for a moment and chuckled.

"You're telling me you've lived in Michigan your whole life and you haven't seen any of the Great Lakes?"

I shrugged, "I don't remember anything before I was sick, so I probably have seen them."

"Oh," Elijah said sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't know that."

"It's okay, I can check it off my bucket list now thanks to you," I rubbed my finger across my palm in a writing motion, "See one of the Great Lakes."

Elijah smiled at my remark and we fell into a comfortable silence. I was glad that he invited me to go fishing with him and five other people; if I had to spend another day in the camp, I would've gone insane. The past two weeks since my arrival have been filled with nothing but tending to the garden, scouring the surrounding woods for forageables, and walking aimlessly from shelter to shelter. Avery asked me to take a group of children to the nearby creek to gather clay to make some pottery. I think everyone appreciated her effort to stave off the boredom of day-to-day survival.

I watched the lake disappear behind the forest and our line of trucks slowed as abandoned homes and shops started to dot the treeline. We were heading into a long-abandoned town.

"Keep an eye out for thieves." Elijah glanced around nervously, "A few months ago we came this way to fish and ran into what we thought were beggars. We drove away from them and I spotted one of them had a huge bowie knife."

"Really? Wow, that's scary. But maybe they just had that to protect themself?" I suggested.

He shook his head, "No, I don't think so. And even if that were the case, it's not like we have food to give away. As much as I hate to say it, in this world you have to be selfish. It's the only way to survive. I'm glad you're more compassionate than I could ever be, but you might see good in people who don't have it. At least, they don't show it."

I couldn't even be offended by what he said, because I knew he was right. Before I could respond, Elijah slammed on the brakes. The trucks in front of us had stopped.

"What the hell is going on now?" Elijah asked while opening the door and stepping out. I stepped out too and saw a big man with a big gun standing in front of our little convoy.

"Turn around, this is private property," The man said.

Beside the man stood a strong, stocky woman with bright red hair and a short man with a dark tan and darker eyes. Though we outnumbered them, they had more firepower than all seven of us.

"Says who?" our unofficial leader, a tall Ojibwe man named Asin said. The three armed people tightened their grips on their weapons.

"Says us," the woman said. Asin chuckled and shook his head.

"We've gone this way to our fishing spot for years now and it's never been owned by anyone. We don't mean to harm you guys, we just want to pass through. Now, we're going. Nice meeting you guys." He turned to get back in his truck, but before he could even touch the door a shot rang out and the front left tire deflated.

"I don't think you understand. You've trespassed on our land, so you have to be punished," The big man said, raising his weapon.

We put our hands up, knowing we were probably disadvantaged. I studied the big man, and I saw that he had a blood-red cross hanging around his neck. In fact, all three of them had the same exact cross.

"Hey, what do their necklaces mean?" I whispered to Elijah, already knowing the answer.

His eyes widened and he gasped, "They're part of the cult!"