An abduction for what?
Luis looked around the space he’d been locked in. It was a basement storage room, cold and damp and dark. There were crumbling boxes with papers ready to spill out, cobwebs, and one barely working bulb hanging above.
That he’d been lured to the church did give him some clue.
But was it the vampire thing or the gay thing? It could be both.
Then again, he and his mother had only fought about one thing recently. Plus, Eric had come to the vampire bar, tried to take him directly from there.
That seemed to point more conclusively in that direction.
So… what? Was it an intervention? It felt like too much violence for an intervention. He’d been zip-tied and, previously in the bar, drugged. That spoke of a more serious sort of confrontation.
But what did they hope to achieve?
Eventually, when the ache in Luis’s shoulders and wrists moved from uncomfortable to painful, he heard the sound of the door being unlocked.
Two men came in. One Luis had seen before, a tall and balding man in his late fifties. He was a pastor here. The other man was clearly the muscle, huge and hulking, and he hung back by the door, arms crossed and looking annoyed.
“Here,” the pastor had a pair of scissors and leaned around Luis. Luis’s heartbeat shot up for one terrifying moment before he felt the pressure release on the zip ties.
His shoulders screamed at him when he rotated his arms forward again.
“And some water,” the man said, offering what looked like a sealed bottle.
Luis took it, but had no intention of drinking it. Eric had drugged his drink at the bar, and Luis wasn’t eager to repeat the experience.
“Luis,” the pastor stepped back, all smiles. “I’m Pastor Baker, I know we’ve informally met a few times. Your mother, Maria, came to me several months ago, concerned for you and the sorts of… company you’ve been keeping. We agreed it would be in your best interest to put you through the Find Purity Again program.”
Luis stared at the man. He was smiling like this was a great honor.
“What?” He asked.
“Have you not heard of the FPA?” Baker asked. Luis shook his head. “That’s okay. You’ll soon become familiar. We’ve contacted All Pure, that’s the camp we work with, and they have an opening for you, so tomorrow you’ll be taken there and they’ll explain everything.”
“Camp?” His anxiety spiked. That sounded like–like–
“Yes,” the man smiled. “All Pure has beautiful grounds and excellent counselors to get you the help you need. It’s a rigorous program, but considering howdireyour situation is, we thought it best to act quickly before something happened–”
“Are you sending me to a fucking conversion camp?”Luis blurted out, horrified. “I’m an adult–you can’t–” His words stuttered in disbelief.
“It’s an adult camp,” the pastor said, voice low and soothing like he’d had this same conversation dozens of times before. “It’s specifically designed for adults who’ve lost their way. Your mother loves you very much and she’s paid for this opportunity for you to take your life back, to come back to God and–”
“You can’t do this,” Luis cut in. “I didn’t agree to this. This is kidnapping!”
Pastor Baker looked disappointed in him. “The Lord sometimes asks us to do difficult things in his service. You can’t see it now, but this is for your own good. Everyone who comes out of All Pure understands why they were sent there. They understand the need for intervention, and thank us for doing what needed to be done.”
Luis opened his mouth, but no words came out.
This was a dream. A nightmare. Thiscouldn’t really be happening.
“It’ll be difficult, but this is for the best,” the pastor said.
“I’m not doing that,” Luis said.
Baker nodded, as if that didn’t surprise him. “The van will be here tomorrow afternoon, Luis, so try and rest before then. The first few days of camp are especially tough; you’ll need your strength. Someone will bring you something to eat in a little bit.”
Pastor Baker turned and strode from the room. The other man followed, and the door shut behind them. The heavy lock turned.
