Eli was still asleep when I woke up. 

A heavy sleeper, I guessed as I slipped out of the bed.

What was I doing? I wanted to scream, consorting with the enemy, your goal is to escape.

I tip toed into the main living room of the cabin. It was incredibly small compared to a normal house; a bedroom, a living room with a kitchenette to one side and a bathroom. I paced around the living room. It housed a couch, a smoking fireplace and a bookcase. The living room was split by a wooden, island bench where a stove, oven and surprisingly, a fridge took up residence. A long dining table sat to one side.

I quietly pulled aside the heavy curtains and watched as the Winter Sun spilled into the room. It slowly emerged from the reaches of the mountainous terrain. To either side were a handful of smaller cabins. Some with different additions to suit the user. Judging from the way the mountain dipper, it seemed like we were on the lower end of the community. Through the four, glass windows I could see the housing facility where the ceremony took place last night and then closer to the peak, the centre where I first woke up.

The whole place seemed to be nestled in some kind of hanging valley and within that, a significant mountain range. My mind scoured for a reason as to where we could be. The sky was overcast today and snow was falling in the early morning. I watched with a slight smile. The flakes drifting from the sky sometimes had an almost 'anti gravity' motion to them. As if there were in no rush to hit the floor.

Now's the time to figure out all I can. With that in mind, my mission begun. I needed to figure out where I was in relative to where I'd last been. Kacey and I-.

I stopped, paused, my heart seizing. I still didn't know what'd happened to Kacey. If he'd survived then he probably wouldn't be here. Eli's words about the males outnumbering the females stirred in my mind and for a moment, I wanted to be sick.

Another time, another day. I have to escape now.

Fuelled by the possibility of Kacey's blood on my hands, I began to search. Eli lacked any form of mail and paperwork. I, however lacked the ability to find an address or any indication of where we were. There were a few magnets on Eli's fridge; Whistler, Vancouver, Nanaimo, and Calgary. Each of them roughly in the same, British Colombia area.

They could've been gifted to him. The fleeting thought killed any hope I had for it.

I made a beeline for the bookshelf. A lot of fantasy and adventure, a few non-fictions and a manifesto of some kind. Its intricate design would make for a very interesting read later. However, the bookcase search came up fruitless.

I rustled through the kitchen drawers and looked under the couch. Everything was kept in pristine, working order. A few weird objects but I still came up with nothing.

"Great!" I hissed, intentionally keeping my voice low. With the amount of rustling and noise, I was surprised that Eli hadn't already woken up to see the issue. I fell onto the couch, suppressing the urge for tears, I whispered, "I am so screwed Lord, I don't know what to do,"

I clenched my eyes shut, trying not to imagine a future where I was permanently stuck here. I tried not to imagine my family wondering in the dead of night of where I'd disappeared to. I tried not to imagine my brother passing my room every night to his own, wondering what had happened to me.

"Lord, please help me," I whispered, brushing away the tear that I'd accidentally let leak out. I couldn't cry now. I needed to be strong. I needed to stay focused.

Yet the events of the past day had gotten to me.

How could I be strong when I didn't know where I was? How could I be strong when I didn't really know what was going to happen to me? How could I be strong when my family were probably worrying for me? How could I-.

"Lord, please help me," I whispered again.

I clenched my eyes shut, really hard. Upon opening them again I saw something that I didn't before- the paper bucket.

Next to the fireplace was a spot for the logs and kindling and then another for the paper. Shuffling over, I began to investigate. Printouts- old newspapers and emails. Nothing that seemed relevant at the moment. Forms, tickets and other things. After digging for a few more seconds- I struck gold.

A map of some kind. The timestamp on it as 2002. The letters were faded and the graphics were rushed. It was of the village! I realised. I could see the ceremony facility and the network of some of the earlier buildings. I traced the network to the edge. There seemed to be two exits; one leading off into the wilderness and another... To a road.

I couldn't help but let my excitement jump. I studied every fixture of the map, it was some kind of contour drawing of the community. The whole place seemed to be bordered by dangerous mountain outcroppings aside from the smaller trail. If I could find the road to a main one...

"What are you doing?"

I jumped at the sudden voice. Eli had appeared in the doorway out of nowhere. He had a dark robe on over his sleepwear. The map was frozen in my hand. I turned back to the fireplace, opening the door.

"The fire was out," My heart hammering against my ribcage barely explained the adrenaline running through my veins. I crushed the map to a ball, and aware that Eli's eyes were still on me, threw it into the embers. I let the image imprint itself onto the back of my eyelids. Don't forget it.

"Do you want something to eat?" Eli asked, moving into the kitchen.

"Uh yeah, that'd be nice," I tossed another wad of crushed paper into the fire. The map burst into flames and slowly disintegrated before my eyes.

Eli began shuffling around the kitchen, gathering items. "Do you eat peppers?" He held up a capsicum.

"That's a capsicum," I corrected.

"No it's not!" Eli mocked horror, "it's a pepper!"

"No," I laughed, "that's definitely a capsicum,"

"Mary," Eli spoke sternly, "I promise, I wouldn't lie to you, it's a capsicum. Wait-."

"See?" I cried, "even you admitted it! It's a capsicum!... But no, I don't really," I laughed. Eli did too. The moment stilled and all the became of it was the soft sizzling of salmon in the pan. I turn back to my work on the fire, slowly goading it into a spitting, crackling sizzle. 

The moment is comfortable, for now. 

I turn my thoughts to what will happen next. Eli was supposed to take me last night. But somewhere between me screaming at him, then inviting him to sleep in his own bed, he didn't do anything of the sort. What would happen if we went back into the village? Would they know?

I groaned, my head falling onto my raised knee.

"What's wrong?" Eli piped up.

"Last night..." I struggled to say the words. Eli had a spatula in one hand comically standing upright.

"Yes about last night?" Eli asked slowly.

"Last night you were supposed to uh," My cheeks were aflame, I blamed a lifetime in Christian schools. "Last night you were supposed to have sex with me right? Or am I wrong in that assumption?"

"I mean you were throwing stuff at me so it's not like I really could," Eli joked. The mood turns sour and a chill creeps down my spine. Does that mean... "But no, I couldn't do that to you, no way," Eli quickly added. He shakes his head almost as if he's trying to shake the thought from his mind.

"But... There will be an expectation that something would've happened, right?"

"How are they going to verify that?" Eli shrugged, then he paused as if wanting to say something. His words sounded forced. "That'd be a little awkward. The only one gaining anything would be the guys themselves. It's a bit of a self-policing area,"

"Oh," I thought carefully. Yeah, I guess that was true. "What's the plan for today?"

"I watch you go off to war," Eli joked. He began serving up the food. "Just kidding, today you'll begin your training. It lasts about six or so weeks and then the final task,"

Six weeks? I almost snorted, hopefully I'll be gone by then!

"There's a package of clothing that's arrived with some warmer clothes for you," Eli gestured to the table. I hadn't noticed the medium sized box. 

And inside? A large, woollen white jumper that reached to my knees, a new, shorter dress, a thick layer of dark, legging-looking pants, shoes (yes! No more freezing toes!) with thick socks and a slouchy white beanie.

"Extensive," I commented. Still no bra, great. "I'll be back in a second,"

I picked up the items, moving into the bathroom. Eli turned back to his work. The woollen jumper was kind of itchy, the leggings were a little short. I didn't try on the shoes but I'm sure they'd be a little on the tighter side as well. After a search across the the bathroom counter, I found the hair tie that I was looking for.

Now you look like you used to! I tried to manage a confident smile. Placing my hands on my hips like a superhero, I took in a few deep breaths. Now was the time to focus, now was the time to bide my time, gain trust and plan for an escape. The image of the village map imprinted behind my eyelids, I began to plan.

...

"Your hair up looks... nice," Eli complemented as I came out of the bathroom. I placed the slouchy beanie over the top of it carefully.

"Thanks," I gave a light smile. Eli turned away, back to dishing up the meal. "What's that?"

"Salmon hash with poached eggs on top! Lots of protein!"

"I can see!" I managed enthusiastically. Pieces of salmon and golden potato intermixed with spices that I probably couldn't name and a poached egg atop. Okay this actually looked pretty good.

Eli served it up at the table with a side glass of water. There was coffee to the side which I didn't touch. Eli dug in with a speed that could match Lou. For a second, I thought about how she was going. 

Was whoever selected her good to her? Was she okay?

I began to slowly make my way through the meal. It was pretty good. Maybe Eli cooking every day wouldn't be that bad after all. I snorted.

"What's up?" Eli asked, filling a mug with coffee.

"Just thinking about cooking," I shrugged, going back to attempting to stab a piece of salmon.

"Want some?" Eli offered the brew.

"Not much of a coffee drinker," I admitted, "I've had it once or twice though,"

"That's good," He gave a half laugh, "so capsicum, what other food don't you eat?"

I stabbed a potato piece before answering, "Not a fan of mushrooms... Or eggplant, I don't know they kinda just-." I shivered, doing my best not to gag. "Too slippery. Yourself?"

"Turnips, any kind of beet to be honest. Can't eat broccoli without it being boiled,"

"Same!" I spoke suddenly, "I don't know- if you want something crunchy, eat celery or something,"

"I know right?" Eli picked up on my enthusiasm, "did you know, that celery has like, no nutrients at all? It was mostly bred for the crunch?"

"I did know that," I said slowly, a darker memory flickering at the back of mind, "but I didn't know that that the crunch was what they were bred for,"

If I'd known last week that I would've been talking with a member of a cult, the cult of which abducted me, about to what purpose celery was bred, I probably could've laughed... and then probably would've run.

"Yeah, it's wild... So what's your favourite food?" He asked, his plate was relatively finished though he'd slowed down for me.

"I mean, anything with pasta is fantastic. My parents were great pasta makers- Mum had this lasagne that she made only once every few weeks and I knew that it was a good day if she was pulling it out with a dash of potato chips on the side. And Dad always made this perfect spaghetti bolognese. Because my parents didn't have too much when they started they..." Don't stop, you can't think of them now. The key is to look forwards to the goal. "They, had a lot of like cheap and crappy meals when I was growing up. Spaghetti was one of them. You just chuck the pasta in, add the meat, cover it in cheese and then you were done! I don't know why, maybe because it didn't have any vegetables, but I always looked forwards to the Tuesday nights of when we'd have it. Yourself?"

"Pizza- mostly because it took my Mum almost all day to prepare it. She had this secret recipe that everyone loved, always made the crust super fluffy. She never told me the secret, it always gave me a reason to return home to visit her and Dad,"

"Oh? Do your parents... live...?"

"Yeah, they live within the community, slightly on the outside of it though. They prefer to spend time away from the hustle and bustle of the community,"

I almost snorted again, taking a sip of my water "They wouldn't do too well in a city then,"

"Yeah," Eli trailed off, thinking, "I've always found cities to be very tightly packed. I'll never be able to understand how people can live that closely to one another."

"Me too," I sighed, "back home I lived far away. It was nice to be away from other people,"

"Yeah," Eli sighs in agreement. This time we lapse into a peaceful silence, lost in our own thoughts. Suddenly, out of nowhere he speaks, "did you know, I built this place?"

"No," I called him out on it. "Did you actually?"

"Yep!" Eli was definitely proud of himself. "It took me about six months, during the training they teach us all kinds of stuff like building, fighting, survival, hunting, cooking, literally everything and anything that we'd need to survive in a place like this."

"Wait, hunting? How do you get your food and stuff?" I asked curiously.

"Well," Eli explained. We'd both finished our meals and now sat across from one another. Just like any other normal couple in a coffee shop romance. Well... "Our community doesn't really have an official currency. We know that we are training and waiting for the time that we'll be called into action so sometimes we'll have training and sparring sessions. Sometimes Grand Championships and Olympics. The sparring sessions though, they're available every day but only compulsory once a week. We have some things provided to us, electricity and water for example. Some things we need to find and negotiate on our own. Like, food, there's a few hatchery streams that we run in the nearby rivers so you'll probably find yourself learning how to catch salmon and stuff."

"Catch salmon?" I scoffed, "I think I've been fishing like twice in my whole lifetime,"

"Did you catch anything?" Eli jested.

"I actually did, the first time was a bit useless but my Dad used it as a lesson of patience. The second time we were fishing during feeding hour so I'd have a fish come up almost every five minutes. I was pretty proud of myself but it kind of counts as cheating during feeding hour," I laughed.

"Well, maybe you'll be really good at it," Eli grinned. The sentiment was nice, but the expectation that I'd be here long enough to develop a reputation for being good at fishing wasn't. I didn't need to be here, I didn't want to be here. I needed to get home, that was my goal first and foremost. I'd only be staying long enough if my other plans failed.

"So catching fish? Is that all you guys eat up here?" There was no way that they could grow coffee in such a cold place as this. Maybe if they had another location in South America that they swapped with, but definitely not here.

"Some of the food we get in bulk from the shops, Costco's pretty good for that," Eli laughed awkwardly. "But a lot of the time, people will grow their own food in greenhouses and stuff like that."

"Eli," I laughed, "it's gotta be something like negative ten degrees out there and you're telling me that people just use greenhouses?"

"Yep!" He spoke confidently. "A lot of people add extensions to their houses to preserve heat. Others will rig up solar systems, they're only really useful during the Summer when there's a lot of Sun, but I'll have to show you how it works! A friend of mine added one of the extensions to his house, took him a month or two but he got there."

"Okay," I said unsurely, "but like, to support a community of what, a few thousand people?"

"Just under one and a half," Eli grinned, "obviously we have more communal greenhouses and then closer to the rivers is where a lot of our farming operations work. They'll show you it all during your training." He grinned.

Closer to the rivers? I wondered. If there's fish hatcheries down there, there must be some kind of link to the sea. Almost every river leading to the sea in British Columbia has some kind of settlement nearby. Perhaps I can risk the freezing cold for a chance at freedom.

"Nice!" I grinned, "looking forwards to it," The words, with their double meanings, stuck in my throat.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence between us. Since we were both finished, I chugged the remaining liquid in my glass and began to collect the plates. Somewhere within years of my Mum inviting friends over, the instinct remained.

"Want me to take that for you?" I asked, Eli offered up his plate with a smile.

"Thanks,"

"No worries," I almost sung, leaving him with his mug, balancing the plates in one hand and the glasses in the other. Thank you customer service. I reached the drain, pausing for a second. I needed to be careful with all of my questions but I also didn't know when I'd be able to ask questions like these again. So, I opted for small chat. "So, what's the plan for today?"

Eli sighed, "We don't need to be anywhere until about mid afternoon where I'll hand you over to the Keepers."

"The Keepers?" I asked.

"Pretty much the women dealing with everyone in training. Men are called Officiators. So yeah, we have a bit of time to kill. Maybe I'll take to you the village greenhouses and the market,"

"There's a market up here? In this cold?" I gestured outside, the snow had started falling in heavier clumps now.

"It's inside," Eli explained with a half laugh, "so that'll be cool. I'll need you to remind me to take some things with me to the markets."

"I am definitely going to forget that,"

Eli groaned, sighing and rolling his eyes, "Fine, I'll try to remember,"

Another moment of silence. These lapses of silence were nice, they gave me time to think and process what the heck was going on. It also gave me time to be appreciative, content and thankful. I could be in many worse situations right now. Under water...

A plate that I'd been going to wash, clattered into the sink. I jumped back, the water splashing against me.

Eli, like something out of Twilight, was by my side in an instant. "Are you okay?" His voice concerned, his hand reaching out but his fingers close to brushing my arm.

The tap water was still running in front of me. He reached out and turned it off. I could feel his concerned eyes, searching my face for a response. I was in shock.

I can't be afraid of water. I wanted to laugh to myself. I grew up on the beach! I spent almost every weekend in the rough water!

Yet a lump was forming in my throat and tears were pricking at my eyes. I tried for words, couldn't verbalise what I was trying to say and shut my gaping mouth. I clenched my eyes shut, running the memory in my mind.

Water filling my throat, blurry figures in front of me, screaming for help, the world black and so so very cold around me, gasping for air but only swallowing more water.

I ran myself through the memory a few more times. It wasn't as scary any more. Eventually I took in a deep breath. I can do this, I can clean up freaking dishes.

I looked up to Eli, he was still by my side, looking down at me. His face full of concern. "It's all good," I managed for a small laugh. "Just thought of something,"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Eli asked evenly.

I'm really not. I wanted to say, flip, I could probably say that a hundred times. Brushing him off, I moved forwards to the dishes. I can do this. I repeated to myself. Slowly, I turned the water back on again, it didn't smash up at me this time or trigger an onslaught of memories. That was good. Methodically, I began to make my way through the dishes. Eli hovered for a few moments. When I shot him an inquiring look he left, opting for a morning shower instead.

Ah, he's one of those guys. I thought to myself. 

I was doing it. I was washing dishes.

What's happened to me? The thought suddenly crossed my mind. In the space of a day, I'd gone from the outgoing and occasionally obnoxious person that I was to a girl who celebrated over being able to clean dishes.

My mind flickered back to escaping. After that conversation with him, I now had several ways of being able to escape. There were the rivers and farming option- was there a possibility that I could somehow get posted onto that? Or, there were the guard positions that I'd seen the men from before in; were there spots for women? Eli had also mentioned that people go into town. Was it possible that I'd be able to gain their trust enough to go into town. Though never spoken about, I knew that there were invisible restrictions stopping me from doing things that the ordinary people of this community could do. Even me just being a Novice stopped me from being able to actually socially integrate into the community. It called for drastic measures. Either I needed to figure a quick and easy way out, like the road that I'd seen on the map, or I needed to gain their trust. Trust like letting...

I stilled, my hands lost in the soapy water, burning from the heat. A lump formed in my throat and I clenched my eyes shut, breathing heavily.

Trust like letting Eli have his way with me.

I clenched my teeth, breathing evenly, it may have not been an issue to any other girl my age but virginity was always a hot topic at home. It was something girls in my church worked up to like a badge of honour. Saving themselves for marriage. Rare and uncommon in the frivolous world that we lived in, my virginity was one of the few spiritual advantages that I prided myself in.

To escape, we're going to have to cut a few corners. I steeled myself. You're gonna have to summon your inner alpha male, female Black Widow or something. This isn't the time to be holding cards to your chest; trickery, bribery, sex, maybe even murder.

Woah, murder? Really? Another part of me suddenly paused. Are we really going to the extent of murder here?

Yes, the other pert of me crowed. They've abducted you, they were supposed to rape you, they're holding nothing back and neither should you!

Eli didn't rape me. The other part of me replied, probably the angel on my shoulder. He actually didn't do it at all.

Look, I spoke to both internal conflicts. We just need to get out of here. That's all, preferably not murder or sex, but it may, hopefully not, come to that.

So, it seems like I'd need to seduce Eli. I snorted, going back to working on one of the cups. I hadn't really seduced anyone since what felt like high school. A few flings here and there. It felt nice to be wanted and to be pursued but never caught.

"You're going to have to be nice," I steeled myself, "I know that's hard. You're also going to have to take whatever comes. No objections. If you have to do weird rituals, shut your mouth and move on. No objections. Your only rebellion should be that of the mind,"

I took in a deep breath and sighed, scrubbing off the last of the meal. It took a bit of an effort to locate where the dishes were normally stored but after a while, I found it with a certain feeling of triumph. The woollen jumper had gotten a few splashes on it and I picked away at those as Eli emerged from the bathroom.

"I probably should've asked this before but... Do you want to use the shower before we leave?"

His offer was kind, and I also needed to get over this water thing. The thought of putting my head under a shower made my stomach lurch. I gave a small nod. "That'd be nice thanks,"

Eli made a quick demonstration of the knobs and then handed me a new soap bar and retrieved a towel from a linen cupboard. "Just call if you need anything," I nodded, giving my attempt at a genuine grin.

Showering was a bit of an effort. I approached the glass cage with a certain sense of trepidation. A lump was caught in my throat as I reached out for the knob. Don't flinch when the water comes out. I steeled myself. With a squeak, I pulled on the rustic handles. A jet of water streamed out and I flinched away.

Great, I can't even turn on the shower. I wanted to curse and gnash my teeth in anger and frustration.

On the bright side, the angelic part of me appealed, the shower is now running.

Yes, the shower was running and the next battle was getting into it. Taking a deep breath, I sighed. I remembered a Youtube video I'd watched on how to defeat dream demons (don't even ask, it was a late night). The best way to not be afraid was to prepare yourself for the expectation of what would happen.

I'd step into the shower, the sound of the water would change for hitting the floor to hitting my body. The water would sting depending on how hot it was. It would run over your head and then down your body. It would become methodic and relaxing. You can do this.

Checking that the water was the right temperature, I stepped forwards with a certain sense of anticipation. It was exactly like I'd expected. The water was warm. The shower was good. The water ran in its usual manner.

Scrubbing off the struggles of the last day was also good. I could almost pretend that what'd happened didn't. The dirt, and occasional bit of blood slowly swirled down the drain. I still felt the fresh dint on the upper right of my forehead. It'd scabbed over, which led me to wonder how long I'd been in that cell. I scrubbed myself raw with the soap.

You're going to have to become a different person now. I told myself. No more demands, no more fighting, now's the time to be the first girl on your knees.

Then I emerged, no longer the Mary that I used to be but Marian, the Australian-Canadian young woman abducted by a religious cult for smoky reasons and even smokier methods. I was to be married to a man, someone who I considered to be my fellow inmate in this prison. I was to be raped and twisted into a housemaid; to be the perfect wife.

Telling myself what I needed to be didn't help it. The feminist within me raged at this. The Christian within me cried out at this injustice.

I was to be quiet, meek and submissive. The way I'd been originally called.

But somewhere deep down. My eyes flickered up to the reflection of me in the foggy mirror. I grew a hand across it to reveal my face.

"Somewhere deep down you are Marian Crawley, you are eighteen years old and was born in Australia. You are both an Australian and Canadian citizen. You have a Mother and a Father and a younger brother who you love very much.You are a Christian, a writer and love pets. You were travelling when you were kidnapped by a cult who seek to take over the world."

I took in a deep breath, the next words a vow, "I may have to change, I may have to compromise, but eventually... I will escape."