Contractbound - Chapter 84 The Emergence Of A New Organization
It was a night with a full moon and a clear sky. There were several bright stars twinkling up high, while down below, the night breeze was blowing gently. When the breeze touched the trees casting its shadow on the grass underneath, it carried with it the leaves that were almost weightless.
Graham was standing solemnly on the remains of an altar inside the abandoned chapel. He was wearing a long, black coat with a black top hat. On his face, the Gemini mask that he had bought at Erbarmelijk Bazaar was resting naturally as if it was part of his face. The contrast that the color of his mask and his attire brought enhanced the mysterious aura around his person.
It was almost eight in the evening; the appointed time for the people to come to the chapel. They shouldn’t be late, since it was a direct persuasion using his spiritual power. He stood there motionlessly in order to give a great first impression to the future followers of the cult that he was going to establish; it was his way of pleasing his Deity and making money at the same time.
The night was very quiet…
…
Five people were standing in front of a giant gate after getting off motor carriages one after another. They looked at each other in confusion but then realized that they were probably in the same situation. There were three men and two women there, and all of them looked restless like they were shouldering heavy burdens.
One of the women, who was wearing a blue sweater and a pair of denim pants, went ahead of the group and then turned around so that everyone could see her. Her curly long hair blew gently in the breeze and her brown eyes, although restless, looked straight at the others. She opened her mouth and spoke.
“I guess you’re all here because of the chapel?” her voice was energetic but slightly lacking in confidence.
“That’s the case for me. I don’t know about the others. You too?” said a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, probably Luuk’s age. He wore a pair of glasses and his curly hair was messy. He was crossing his arm and held his chest tightly because of the cold, although he was wearing a jacket.
“It’s the same for me,” replied the other woman with long straight hair. She was wearing a knee-length skirt with a floral pattern despite the cold night. Her thick sweater seemed to make up for it.
“It’s the same for us,” said another man wearing a black sweatshirt. He seemed to know the last man who was wearing a white shirt with a vest on top.
“Let’s get in then. It’s almost eight,” said the curly-haired woman again.
Creak…
The rusty gate was being opened slowly while the five people entered one by one cautiously. They looked around to make sure it was safe; the place was unfamiliar to them, after all. The man with the black sweatshirt took the lead and walked ahead of the group with the vested man close to him. They walked uphill slowly so nobody would be left behind.
“What is everyone’s name? Mine is Yvette,” said the girl with the curly hair.
“I’m Diedrik, and this is my friend, Calvin,” replied the man in the black sweatshirt who was walking ahead of the group.
“My name is Helga. Nice to meet all of you,” answered the woman with the long hair. She was walking behind the group, trying her best not to be left behind.
“I’m Eduard. Nice to meet you,” said the man with messy hair and glasses. He walked not far from Helga so that he could watch over her.
The kept walking and shortly after, they could see the abandoned chapel, where they strangely felt the strong need to go tonight. It was standing tall under the moonlight, looking both eerie and majestic at the same time.
“Why do you think we are here?” asked Eduard. He looked to be the youngest of the group, and probably had the most curiosity.
“I don’t know. I just have the urge to come here,” replied Yvette. She had shown the most friendliness so far among the group.
“I guess it’s the same for all of us,” replied Calvin. It was the first time he had spoken since they all met.
“But why?” asked Eduard again.
“I guess we’ll find out soon,” replied Diedrik. He looked to be the oldest of the group, probably in his mid-thirties, while Calvin’s age shouldn’t be far from his.
They arrived at the chapel and stood in front of the tall wooden door. Eduard checked his watch and it was almost eight, so they were not late. Diedrik and Calvin pushed the chapel door carefully.
Creak…
The wooden door made a loud creaking sound that broke the silence of the night. Once the door was open, they looked inside the chapel that was illuminated dimly with several candles placed in several spots. The breeze from outside made the flames flicker, but they quickly returned to normal again. Around the altar, more candles were lit. The candles emphasized the gloomy and mysterious atmosphere of the chapel that night.
The group stood in silence while looking straight ahead of them. There was a man wearing all black standing motionlessly on the dark altar, giving off an intimidating and gloomy aura. A ray of moonlight shone upon the man’s face from the hole in the ceiling above, granting him a feeling of majesty and illuminating the thing that was hiding his face; it was a strange mask whose half side was smiling while the other half was frowning. Through the mask, they could see that the man was watching them carefully, observing their every move. They felt that nothing would go unnoticed by the mysterious man’s sharp gaze.
“You must be wondering why you have been summoned here,” said the man suddenly, bringing back the group from their daze.
The man’s voice was deep and mysterious, with every word carrying the ability to make them swayed. Combined with the darkness of the chapel and the flickering candlelights, it made them feel captivated. They listened intently to the man without any thought to even try to interrupt.
“I will bring you salvation from your problems, as long as you are willing to pay a small price,” said the man again with a very promising tone.
Silence crept in the chapel. The five people were just staring at Graham. Only after some moments had passed, Diedrik finally gathered his will and spoke.
“What price? And what do you mean by salvation?”
“Only a little bit of money and I can grant you the solution to all your worldly problems,” replied the mysterious man without moving from his spot. He raised his hands as if beckoning them to come closer or to display his authority.
Diedrik and Calvin walked closer to the altar to be able to see the man better. The rest of the group was hesitant at first, but they chose to follow the two men in the end.
“Don’t be afraid. Come closer,” welcomed the man.
They approached the altar carefully while observing the man intently. He still didn’t move from his spot. From up close, they could see that the mysterious man was a tall person and he gave off a dangerous aura. Helga was especially affected by the man’s aura. She didn’t dare to look at the man in the eyes.
“The bravest among you, follow me to this confession chamber,” said the mysterious man while pointing at the confessional on the left of the altar. His voice was authoritative and very persuasive.
After saying that, the man finally moved from his spot and went towards the confessional. The five people were standing there watching as the man entered the chamber through one door. Now, the other person had to enter through the other door. Once the man was out of sight, the pressure they had been feeling was lifted.
“What should we do?” asked Helga anxiously.
“We’re already here, so let’s just do as the man said,” replied Eduard, and then he paused and looked down. “Besides, if the man decided to kill me in the end, it’s not a bad thing either,” his voice was low.
“I’ll go in first and check. You guys get ready to help me if something goes wrong,” said Diedrik.
The others stayed quiet but nodded slowly. They seemed to be thinking about the situation and if they would even be any help in case of danger.
Diedrik walked up to the confessional and entered through the opposite door. Once he took a step in, he felt the pressure in his chest again. Inside, he could see something was shining on the other side through the gap in the separator.
“Tell me all about your problems, and you will get the solution to them,” said a mysterious voice from the other side.
Diedrik stayed quiet and thought about his life. He was at the lowest point yet, so he felt that there was nothing to lose. He would just tell the masked man about the problems in his life. He took a deep, heavy breath and started speaking.
“My wife and son died in a traffic accident last week. It was a hit and run case,” he spoke with a heavy voice, and then sighed.
“If only I know who did it, I would at least make them happy in the afterlife,”
He stopped talking after that and his face was full of regret. He spoke of taking revenge but he didn’t seem to have any hint of hatred in his voice. He seemed to be blaming himself more than the person committing a hit and run.
“Tell me your full name and the time and place of the accident,” asked the masked man suddenly, bringing him back to reality.
“My name is Diedrik Hebert,” he paused again. It appeared that he was trying to recall a painful memory. His expression became sorrowful when he spoke again, “It happened on Thursday 5th, on Kerkstraat.”
A short while after saying that, the space behind the separator became brighter, although Diedrik couldn’t see anything else. He could only wait and hope that the masked man could tell him what he wanted to know. He waited for some minutes patiently in the silence of the confessional.
When the room became dimmer again, the mysterious man spoke, “The one who hit your wife is a man named Bram Wilford. He lives on Tuinstraat North number 43. You can prove this by looking at his motor carriage that has a dent on the front left. Do what you must with this information,”
Diedrik memorized the information in his brain carefully and then waited for further instruction.
“Now we are done here. Don’t forget to put some money into the donation box next to the altar. The amount is up to your own judgment,” said the mysterious man slowly but with a rather demanding tone.
Diedrik nodded and got up. He exited the confessional with a mixed feeling. On the one hand, he now knew the killer of his family. On the other hand, he didn’t know if he really wanted revenge. At least a very tiny burden had been lifted off his shoulders now. He approached the donation box by the altar and put some money inside it.
“What happened inside?” asked Eduard curiously.
The two men and women were sitting on the chapel seat when Eduard came out. They saw the mixed expression in his face and became disheartened to enter the confessional.
“The man with the mask can answer all of your questions,” replied Diedrik shortly.
He took a seat and hid his face behind his hands, thinking. He didn’t pay attention to the other people there.
“I’ll go up next, then,” said Yvette, the friendly woman with long curly hair. Her dark brown hair looked even darker in that dim lighting.
She got up and entered the confessional through the same door that Diedrik had taken. She stepped into the small chamber and felt the pressure from the mysterious man returning.
“Is it true that you can answer any question?” she said after mustering the strength.
The mysterious man let a second of silence pass and then spoke with a deep voice, “Yes. Tell me your problem and you will be granted the solution.”
“What is the safest way to kill my father without being caught?” she asked with anger in her tone.
Silence crept in the room again, enhancing the mysteriousness of the atmosphere.
“Tell me the full name of your father and his address. And also the crime he had committed to deserve death,” said the man monotonously.
Yvette answered without hesitation, “His name is Bram Wilford. We live on Tuinstraat North number 43. As for his crime…” she paused and then spoke weakly, “He abuses and rapes me on a daily basis,”
Time seemed to freeze after she said that. She was waiting for an answer from the mysterious man patiently. She was really hoping that she could put an end to her suffering.
“We can arrange an assassination for your father for a price. You don’t have to pay today. We can also arrange it that you can torture him before he dies if you so wish,” said the mysterious man finally. His tone sounded casual although he was talking about a planned murder.
It didn’t take long for her to make up her mind. She decisively nodded and said, “I’ll go with the torture option. I want to see his face begging for his pathetic life,”
“Then it has been decided. You might want to talk to the man called Diedrik first. He seems to share your hatred towards your father,”
Yvette was taken aback. She hadn’t guessed that they were actually connected in that way.
“After you have made your decisions, come back here tomorrow night at eight. Judgment will be delivered then,”
Yvette nodded and got up feeling satisfied. She could almost see her future without suffering from the filthy hands of her father.
“Don’t forget to put some money into the donation box by the altar. The amount is up to your discretion.” said the masked man again.
Yvette left the confessional and approached the small wooden box by the altar. She put in some money there and then went back to the group. Her expression was much brighter than before. Seeing her like that, the rest of the group became convinced and entered the confession chamber one by one with various different problems.
Helga, the woman with long straight hair, had all her life saving swindled by a fraudster. She was desperately looking for the culprit and her money back. After telling the man her problem, she got a name and an offer to assassinate the culprit, which she refused. She only needed her money back, not to commit a murder.
Calvin, the one who was friends with Diedrik, was wrongfully accused of embezzling his company’s money. He needed to find the real culprit to clear his name and avoid having to pay a hefty sum to replace the missing amount. After telling the mysterious man, he got the name of the real culprit and the proof, so he just needed to show it to everyone in his company.
Eduard, the youngest of the group, got a death threat from an unknown person, and it had been weighing heavily on him. He just wanted to know who did it and why, and after telling the man, he got the answer that he was looking for. He just needed to confront the person tomorrow.
After all five of them finished with their confession, the mysterious man finally came out of the confessional. He walked domineeringly towards the altar and looked at the group of people below.
“I hope you have found the answers you were looking for,” he said meaningfully.
The five people’s expressions were definitely different from when they first came. And although the atmosphere was still heavy and there was pressure in their chest because of the man, they felt much more at ease now.
“Thank you for helping us. But if I may ask, who are you?” asked Yvette.
The mysterious man didn’t reply right away. The silence and gloom descended upon the room once more. Only after some moments had passed, the masked man said with a mysterious voice.
“You can call me Gemini of the Zodiac Syndicate.”