Join My Cult - Original Falcon Press

drifting to the ground around him in a halo of moonlight, compelled him
to take the next step, and the next…
Again, without any prompting, the group unlocked their hands, and
began moving in concentric circles, some clockwise, some counterclockwise.
Now Alexi felt very confident, strong, and incredibly old. He
had the feeling that he was an emissary of some kind for these woods,
that they would teach him, care for him, and train him to complete their
mission. What mission? And who are they?
Sharp claps rang out in the still air. Alexi had ceased circling, and was
now clapping loudly in a specific pattern. Three, then four, then two,
then seven. Again, and again. The others ceased their circling now and
turned inwards towards him, offering a monotone chant to the claps,
EEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOIAAAUUUUUUUU, rising up together like
smoke through the clustered trees.
As suddenly as it started, they ceased, blinking. And they remained
paralyzed in this confusion for many minutes.
Ken turned towards Andy, who was now standing somewhat awkwardly
along the side of the path. “Can you do a little searching for us
now?” Andy raised a playfully skeptical eyebrow. He had no idea what
Ken was talking about. “Close your eyes, follow your instincts, and feel
around.”
Andy puckered his lips for a moment, and blew on his chilled hands.
Deliberately, he closed his eyes, and then, in a burst of movement, began
stomping directly into the woods on the other side, in the direction of the
stream.
After he was out of earshot, Ken laughed and looked at Alexi. “I think
he’s going towards where the pull is strongest, but…I never thought he’d
completely ignore the path.”
There came a splash from the woods. Andy had found an obstacle—
the stream. Dejectedly, he sloshed back to the group.
“I was sure that was the right way,” he said, trying to shake the frigid
water from his boots and lower legs.
“I think it was,” Alexi said, “but you could have followed the path.
Come on.”
They all headed north on the path, awed by the crystal clear view of
the moon, despite the beads of ice that were still falling all the way down
to them from unseen clouds above. Soon, the last murmurings of conversation
stopped. The sound of their footfalls echoed endlessly, broken
only by an unsettling rustling that came frequently from the deep woods
to either side of the path. Though the ground only sloped down gently at
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