The mutant cultist then grabbed at his own throat as he gasped for air desperately before his head onto the table, grabbing his own head in agony while making pig sounds, “it hurts…” He cried. It was rather amusing and disturbing for me to watch his expression change from being crazy to a pathetic pitiful individual.
I probe his psyche, speaking out his insecurities, weakness and deepest desires. I would remind him of the past that he longed for as well as the present that he wanted to return to, if he only knew how stupid it was to wish for the return of what was lost.
He told me everything about himself, his past, how his family was kidnapped and raped before being forced to become a member of their cult. He also told me how they treated him like family despite having lost one, and the promises that he made to them. He wanted to be part of something grand, something bigger than himself.
However, the most interesting detail is the secret cult itself. Putting aside his obvious Stockholm syndrome, The Serpentine Cult is a secret militant cult worshiping the devil as he told me. The cultists are mostly comprised of outcasts and mutants, rejected by affection, redemption and love from society because of who or what they are. They hate any form of civilization or authority, being immensely merciless and cruel to innocent people; kidnapping them and using them as slaves or sacrifices.
What is worse, they dwell in the arts of flesh sculpting and performing forbidden rituals. In addition, they are difficult to deal with due to the fact how hidden and secretive they are, especially how they operate and work in the shadows; making it quite a troubling task to find and take them out. The cult also do raids on small settlements and villages, killing defenseless people and performing atrocities to please their dark lord while making them suffer the same way they had suffered.
Despite all of this, he told me that this cult treat their members as genuine family. They were not just a bunch of worthless rejects or lost outcasts in life; but they were considered in unity, at least in their viewpoint that is.
Finishing up my cigar, I threw it into the bottom of the table, letting it burn away into ashes and dust. After getting back to my feet, I pressed further on our conversation, “so, what else is there to tell me?” My words were cold and dispassionate but also oddly calm.
He madly quickly glanced at me from the corner of his eye as he shifted from one foot to another. He took a deep breath before rumbling nonsensical words, “he, the thing, thingy, its, I, us, them, they, them, it, is, what, we, me, here, it.”
I sigh tiredly, registering the foregone conclusion he is mentally broken. Whelp, I suspected that already. Mind as well just leave the interrogation room as I have all the information I need to reach their secret hideout and reduce their hold in this city.
Knowing this, plus being contented of this interrogation, I wasted no time in standing up from my chair before heading to the door, calmly opening it – Eve lunge herself to me with a comforting embrace as I meet her. It is only then I notice her eyes were red and puffy.
“I was so worried…” she muttered while clinging to me tighter. I gently patted her head, “I am fine, Eve. No need to worry about, okay?” She nodded, but still gave a worried glance at me before taking a step back as Mervin came to view.
“How is our guest?” He took a quick glance at my shoulder, seeing a mumbling madman of cultist, “you appear to have done something with him, I take it, you got the information we need?” Mervin had his usual professional expression and eyes.
“The cultist revealed his secret cult and infamous hideout,” I replied shortly, “I know where they are hiding,” answering him in a sarcastic tone as I shut the interrogation room’s door behind me. “Good,” he exclaimed in relief, “then we can proceed with the next phase of our plan.” He quickly turned and strode away from us.
Next phase of plan?
“Wait,” I called out to him, “are you saying that we are going to raid their hideout?” I asked curiously. Mervin turned around with a calm and composed look on his face before replying, “I am afraid not, ” his answer caught me off guard.
“What, why?” I replied in confusion of his proclamation, “it is not like ‘The Serpentine Cult,’ is much of a threat if we have enough men and women to root them out, right?” Mervin chuckled at my questioning, “this is the most cliché thing I have heard you say so far, Adam. You know better than that.”
“But, are we not going to raid their hideout and destroy all of their activities? We can easily do this by sending in our officers to…” my voice trailed off as I noticed his stern gaze, “did I said something wrong?”
“No, it is me that I have the problem with,” Mervin’s face was grim and pained, “are you aware of how brutal this infamous cult are? They are nihilist madmen that are willingly to discard their lives for their beliefs and cause. They will not hesitate to kill you or your officers if they ever found out the truth about you. Moreover, if they have ever manage to capture one of you alive; pray that they will give you a swift death,” his voice was low before continuing, “in reality, we are few in numbers within this police station and most cops would not dare to get involve with something like this.”
I guess that makes sense, I thought. It is true, there is not many officers in this police station. Hell, other stations would not even contribute to this case due to how corrupt and lazy they are. But perhaps, me and Eve can handle it if we were to go alone?
“Wait a minute,” I interrupted my train of thought as I started to consider Mervin’s words, “you said that we were few in numbers?”
“Yeah, the station only have around 50 officers, and most of them are recruits,” he replied while turning to look at me, “we are not even enough to handle these cultists that pop up every now and then. Now, I will conceive plan in recruiting more cops and training them,” his voice had a hint of desperation, “that is the only option that I am going with, Adam.”
He cannot be serious, can he? Finding and recruiting more cops, and train them? That won’t work, it will definitely not stop these cultists from committing such massacres. “You know,” I said as I looked into his cold gaze, “this is your plan? Just to hope for the best and get more people to join us?” I was starting to doubt if Mervin was in his right mind right now.
“Adam, we do not have the resources and manpower to raid them,” he said as he gave me a natural look, “it is to risky and if off the chance we pulled this off, I fear the deaths of the men and women will be too much for us to handle, especially if their families were harmed,” his voice had an air of desperation as he paused, “please Adam, try to understand.”
“I do understand, Mervin,” I said in a low tone, thinking of my words carefully, “I do know that this cult is dangerous and unpredictable. But if no one will do it, then me and Eve would,” I continued, looking into his eyes, “but you have to understand that the only chance we have of stopping them is to ensure that they won’t get a chance to continue their killing spree. This is not just about us anymore, it is about the innocent people who are currently at stake.”
I paused for a moment, looking into his eyes and noticed that there was a slight sense of hesitation as he looked back at me, “please Adam, trust me,” he said with a pleading tone in his voice, “we cannot afford to lose more people.”
“Mervin,” I paused, “I’ll do this. I promise that I will bring these cultists to justice. And you can count on me,” I said with a determined look before shutting my eyes closed and focusing on the idea, “I am the world’s best psychologist after all,” I said, opened my eyes as I looked at him, “don’t worry, we will succeed.”
Silence followed in the atmosphere. The air was tense and thick, dwelling within our own thoughts, not knowing what to say next. His eyes had a desperate look of hope, while mine had a glimmer of perseverance; a gleam that refused to give up and instead choosing to attempt in every way possible.
A loud sigh released from Mervin’s lips, “okay, I understand what you are trying to say,” he said, “but please do not get yourselves killed, I do not want to lose anymore good people.”
“We won’t die, Mervin,” I replied with a confident tone with my eyes locked onto his, “I promise you already that we will succeed. We have to…” I started to walk away as Eve followed suit, leaving Mervin with his own thoughts behind.
Continuing towards the exit, Eve stopped me with her gripped hand holding tightly on my shoulder, “Adam, stop,” she demanded. I stopped and looked back at her in confusion, “what are you doing, Eve?” I asked, puzzled from this strange act of hers.
She retreated her hand, staring down in anxiety, “Let’s not do this, Adam. We can pick different cases about-” I straightaway cut her off, stopping her mid-sentence with my own hand holding hers firmly, “my answer would be no, Eve,” I paused for a moment to look into her eyes before continuing, “I need to know the truth about their deaths. I cannot just remain oblivious of losing those I cared about. We have to discover who is behind this and make them pay for what they did.”
She sighed, “Adam, please don’t… ” she said before stopping herself, her teary eyes staring into mine as she paused for a moment, “I love you, Adam,” she whispered loudly, “and I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore,” her voice quivered at the end of her sentence.
“Eve, I’m not going to get hurt nor get myself killed,” I replied with a soft smile, “I have already accepted this fate and my own future. We as human beings have to endure and struggle, to try new things and see what happens.” She stared deeply into my eyes, trying to read my intentions before releasing a long exhale, “do you cruel it?” she asked.
“I do,” I answered without hesitation. Eve bit her lower lip before letting out a small sigh and gently touching my cheek with her hand, “you are my hero, Adam,” she said, “I love you for making me the better person I am now. And I wish to return that favor by helping you find the truth about what happened to your loved ones.”
“Thank you,” I replied with a soft smile, holding her hand close to my heart, “I promise you that we will make it through this. As long you are at my side, nothing is impossible.” Eve smiled in returned and squeezed my hand, “I am here for you, Adam,” she replied.
We walked outside the building, hand-to-hand, holding each other tightly like a young couple out on a date, the cold air around us unable to break through our lovingly embrace. As we step down the stairs, the sight of our vehicle caused us to stop for a moment. The red sports car, including the police vehicle we used are both physically destroyed.
All we could do now is frown in shock at the sight of our rides totaled. But at least we can walk to our home in these snowy nightmarish streets.
