Page 120 of Tracked
“Promise me,” he said, his tone ragged like it was the first time he’d trekked over those words.The first time he’d encountered a scenario where there was more that he cared about at risk.
“I promise.” The twist between my ribs loosened, and we started up the last few yards of the climb.
If I wasn’t convinced this place would end up on a Netflix cult documentary one day, I could’ve admired the way the Eden’s Children compound was built. The log cabin structures. The solar power. The cistern for water. An entire self-sufficient community left to its own devices.
When we reached the edge of the ridge, a thicket of trees allowed us to safely peer into the compound. I followed Calder’s lead, staying flat to the ground as we observed a man in dark-green scrubs enter the larger cabin to our left. From our vantage point between the two cabins, we watched a group of three women pass through the center of the compound. My heart immediately rocketed into my throat, thinking one of them was Rachel. It wasn’t.
After a few minutes of little activity, Calder motioned and we moved around the perimeter. Keeping low, we were bathed mostly in shadow all the way to the end of the six larger cabins. Beyond them, we had a wide view into the center of the compound.
Two more men in green carried a large wooden podium and set it up in the middle of the grassy space. Behind them, two women in the same blue-gray Wilderness Within uniforms began arranging cushions into orderly rows, and I immediately thought of Rachel putting on those clothes. Going to the retreat to find herself, and instead being manipulated into someone else’s twisted fantasy.
A bell chimed from the large A-frame to our right—the same sound Dr. Julia played through our tent’s speakers. Calder and I looked at each other, having the same thought.Was Eden’s Children kept to the same schedule we’d been on at the retreat?
Moments later, the doors of the big building opened and two dozen women filed out, some smiling and laughing together. Others silent, looking to each other nervously. All in the same uniform. I squinted and looked for my sister. Even at a distance I’d see her. I’d know her. And she wasn’t there.
The group went to the lawn and filed into rows, taking a seat on their knees and resting their hands on the tops of their thighs. It was a little thing, but it made my stomach turn.
Breathe, Lara.
Men in green exited from the cabins and headed toward the gathering. Everyone on the compound appeared to be congregating in the center of it, and all I could think of was Dr. Julia’s evening meditations.
I jerked when Calder touched my elbow. He tilted his head toward the A-frame:Time to move.
We slipped behind the large building, pressed against its back. Behind the A-frame was a greenhouse, a row of composting toilets, and two large rainwater cisterns.
We crept from the A-frame to the next building. On our right, an eight-foot wooden fence, the ends sharpened and threatening. On our left, the windowless building, a boon now but a worry for later.
Calder slowed and peered around the corner. After a beat, he crooked his finger for me to look. From here, we could see almost everything: the metal entrance gate to our far right, the cabins encircling the center, the A-frame’s front with a massive sign above the door,Edencarved into it.
In the center of the lawn, all the women were seated, the six men in green forming a row behind them. And then a man stepped onto the podium. He had longer, wavy hair, a classically handsome face with a straight nose, hard cheekbones, and a wide smile for his crowd. He was one of those men who sat comfortably in the category ofAged Well.Wearing all-white scrubs, he stood apart from everyone else, leaving no doubt to who he was.Adam Eden.
Tension rippled through Calder as the cult leader started to speak. “Good evening, my beautiful children. Another day, another courageous step toward your authentic nature. We bring the day to a close the way we always do, with a gentle reflection on why we are all here and our purpose.”
While I listened, Calder’s attention shaded in the details of the compound. The buildings. The people.The threats.
“Look around you. Feel the energy in this sacred space. This isn’t like the world you left behind. Out there, they sold you the greatest lie: that your feminine essence is a weakness to overcome. But the truth—the truth is that essence is power. A primal power. Passionate power. A power that we are here to cultivate. To nurture and grow. Society fears this power. That’s why they’ve convinced you to suppress it. They’ve taught you shame. They’ve taught you to distrust your instincts. They’ve convinced you that your greatest gift—your feminine energy—is somehow a liability. Here, we strip away those lies.” Eden stepped down from the podium then and began to walk through the rows of women, many of them—too many—looking up at him with adoring eyes.
My jaw couldn’t have fallen farther as I watched the women eat up his words like they were forbidden fruit. He touched the faces of some. Bent to kiss the heads of others ... And they were enrapt by him. Too worshipful to see the way he looked at them—like they were a buffet he’d created for no one but himself.
“This journey isn’t easy. Your conditioning runs deep. Your ego will fight to maintain its illusions of control. It will tell you not to trust your wild core. To not trust the men who are here to strengthen your gifts. Some days, you’ll want to retreat back to the comfortable prison of societal expectations. But I make you this promise: Trust this process. Surrender to me, and let me nurture your wild core, and in just three months, you’ll experience a level of adoration, abundance, and authentic power that most women will never know in their lifetimes.”
Calder squeezed my elbow again. I turned as the metal gate opened, and Dr. Julia walked through it, followed by Matthew. Both of them looked on edge. My head whipped back to the cult leader. As soon as he saw Dr. Julia, his hand fell away from the woman he’d been admiring in front of him and he calmly strode back to the podium.
“Our evening meditation ends here. Now it’s time to go back to your rooms and reflect on your journey. On your desires. On your wild core.”
Calder nudged me again.Time to go.We quickly backtracked along the same path toward the cabins.
“Those who will have the ritual of release tonight will find your doors marked and instructions on your bed.”
I pressed my fist to my mouth, trying to swallow the urge to vomit. Calder must’ve sensed it, because as soon as we reached the cloak of trees where we’d entered the compound, he hauled me to his chest, holding me as I shook. With anger. With rage. With fear. With pain.
“I’ve got you,” Calder said, so quietly he could’ve actually just mouthed it next to my ear.
Closing my eyes, I nodded into his chest, knowing we had to go.
Calder didn’t get a chance to pull away before determined footsteps invaded the quiet around us. His arms tightened, only allowing me to turn my head and watch.
Dr. Julia entered the small clearing between the last two cabins. She looked completely different from the picture of serenity who had greeted us at the retreat.
