If allegiance is deemed conditionally sufficient, Prospective Member(s) will proceed with ensuing Membership under a probationary period.[*2]
If allegiance is deemed wholly sufficient without condition, Prospective Member(s) will proceed with ensuing Membership in the normal fashion.
Non-Legacy Prospective Member(s) granted a Favorable Decision, with allegiance deemed either conditionally or wholly sufficient (2aii and 2aiii), shall have their Sacrifice recorded in the Bowels scroll by a designated scribe.
Such Prospective Member(s) shall continue with Initiation as described in section 6.6.
After Initiation, each Sacrifice shall be rigorously evaluated for veracity.
Skip Notes
*1In modern times, the Sacrifice shall be discreetly recorded and stored on a hard drive.
*2Prospective Non-Legacy Member(s) granted Probationary Membership will be required to renew their allegiance the following Initiation by offering a new Sacrifice, and/or will be required to assist the Knox with any and all discretionary matters as deemed necessary.
Taylor
Taylor cracks open the door. She doesn’t see anyone, so she opens it wider and quietly steps through, onto a tile floor.
The finished space is dimly lit, candle lanterns lining the floor like a runway. The trail bifurcates, one path leading up another set of stairs, presumably into the Knox, and the other to a circle, a few feet away, that surrounds one of those scrolls she’s seen upstairs. How many of these things are there? This scroll is rolled open, and exposed; the normal protective glass is gone. A floor tile is missing just in front, revealing a small patch of dirt.
No one is in Taylor’s vicinity, yet something feels amiss. What is it? Taylor looks around hesitantly.
On the far side, beyond the scroll, there’s a door that must lead to the recently renovated room. Is this what feels off—the room? It has quite the history, between the old-fashioned doctor items found in there and that opium book. So what is the Knox using it for now? Could it be for Vivian—the sacrifice?
What if Vivian is already in there? What if Taylor is too late?
She inches forward, sweat dripping down her back. As she passes by the open scroll, she resists the urge to read it only out of a desperate and propulsive sense that time is running out.
The distant drumming continues, but now it sounds like it’s coming from above her, up the stairs. There’s a haze in the air, almost like smoke. Fire smoke.
No.She’s not thinking clearly. Why would there be smoke? It’s just her mind playing tricks. Aunt Gigi’s reveal about her mom has clearly affected her. Taylor pushes thoughts of her mom away; she can’t go there right now.
There may not befiresmoke, but Taylor is not imagining the murkiness. Maybe it’s dust? No—it has a strange, almost acidic smell. Perhaps they’re burning incense. Whatever it is, it’s not very comfortable, so she fishes through her pockets. She stuffed a face mask in there earlier, one of those medical KN95s, in case she needed more anonymity.
Just as she is putting it on beneath the phoenix mask, the door at the top of the basement stairs creaks open. Taylor hurries into the renovated room for cover. She nearly trips over a large rectangular box filled with dirt in the middle of the room, and fear grips her. Is this some sort of tomb they’re digging for Vivian?
