Spring, 2015

A sudden bump in the road caused Rava to jolt awake. She was still groggy after having been woken up in the early hours by her cousin and quietly ushered out of the house. Their two families lived together minutes away from the campus of Stanford University in California. She and her older cousin, Ashkan, whom everyone just called Ash, were the only children of their respective sides of the family. Their mothers were sisters, but when Rava was only eight, her father had run off with another woman he had met at a bar. This caused her mother to enter a steep decline of depression that cost her her career, and they had since moved in with Ash and his parents.

Rava was 11 now and had since gotten over her father's abandonment. Her mother had not adapted so well, as it took every measure of consolement from the family to keep her standing on her feet. Rava and Ash had gotten along well despite the difference in their ages. Ash had about eight years on Rava and towered over her at six feet tall. He had a moderately muscular build and played as his high school football team's quarterback. Naturally, he was popular among his peers, and his record landed him a scholarship with Stanford, at which he was accepted the previous fall.

What Rava was most drawn to was his intelligence. Among the top of his class, not only was he street smart but was also very knowledgeable in political science, in which he was majoring at the university. Due to this, Rava had always been willing to trust and listen to everything he had to say. The only thing she never considered was where it might one day lead her.

Rava glanced out the passenger window in her groggy state. The clock on the dashboard read 5:03, but the first rays of the morning sun were nowhere in sight. Letting out a quiet yawn, she looked over at her cousin. Ash was staring intently at the road, not even blinking as they drove down the sparsely occupied city street. Rava was too tired to tell, but there was almost a hint of anxiety in his expression.

As she moved her gaze out the windshield, she squinted in the darkness as she thought she could make out the form of an enormous bridge in the distance. Not just any bridge, she thought. The Golden Gate Bridge. This realization was enough to sober her up from her exhaustion. The city of San Francisco was more than a 30 minute drive from where they lived. Why had he taken them both out here so early in the morning?

"Ash," Rava muttered, almost reluctant to break the silence. "Where are we going?"

Ash turned his head for only a second before returning to the road, never shifting his expression in the slightest. "I told you," he replied. "It's a surprise."

"But what if Mom wakes up and notices I'm gone? I don't wanna get into trouble."

"Don't worry about that. Nobody's going to find out. Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"I guess not," was all Rava could utter. She was just too tired to argue with him, nor to question what this surprise was supposed to be. All she knew was that she didn't want to risk getting grounded for the rest of her spring break. It wasn't like it would matter much to Ash anyway. Even still, she was never too worried as long as she was with him. The encroaching anxiety, however, made her tug at a bracelet she was wearing around her right wrist. It had been a gift from her mother, who never told her where she had gotten it. It was nothing too special, made of entwining strands of leather that all connected to a circular charm whittled from wood. On the face of the charm was what appeared to be a series of tiny, hexagonal symbols that were lined around the edges. In the center of them all was a design that looked like the head of a man, except that it had two faces that seemed to look in opposite directions. Rava never knew what the charm was supposed to represent, but just thought that it looked rather pretty.

As the minutes ticked by, the massive bridge grew larger as they continued to approach it. Rava wasn't sure if they were deliberately heading for it but didn't think it would be much appreciative of her to keep asking. Sure enough, however, they eventually pulled up near a pedestrian walkway that passed by the base of the bridge. Ash put the vehicle in park and shut it off. The silence was almost penetrating as Rava looked around for signs of life, but there was not another person in sight.

"Stay here," Ash said sternly as he undid his seatbelt. He pulled the door handle to open it, but first met Rava's eyes with a look of authority. "Got it?" Rava just nodded her head sheepishly as he then exited the car.

She watched Ash's every move as he circled around the back of the vehicle and headed casually over to the brick structure just beneath the bridge. He glanced around several times in all directions as if looking to see if anybody else was around. Rava followed his movements, and it was only now that she saw something she could've sworn wasn't there before.

As Ash approached the structure, Rava spotted the figure of a person standing against the wall. They almost camouflaged in the darkness. From the car, Rava couldn't make out the slightest detail, but Ash was heading right for them. Anxious to see what was going on, she unfastened her seatbelt and crawled to the back seat of the car to peer out the window.

Ash and the mysterious stranger didn't move much, but Rava assumed that they were speaking to one another. This went on for about a minute. Just then, Ash turned and pointed back toward the car. Rava's heart skipped a beat as she lowered her head, afraid that he might see her watching him. Ash stood by and talked to the figure for a few more seconds before suddenly making his way back to the car. Rava noticed that he was moving far more briskly than before, and she hurried back into the passenger seat and secured her seatbelt, trying her best to look like she hadn't just been spying.

To her surprise, Ash came around and opened the passenger door. "Let's go," he said as soon as the door opened. Rava was taken aback by this, but complied as she once again removed her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. She followed just behind her cousin as they headed back toward the structure where the stranger was still standing. Rava once again tugged nervously on her bracelet. She tried to examine what details she could about the figure as they approached, but didn't want to look directly at them. She guessed that it was a man by the way he appeared to be dressed; wearing a black, zipped-up jacket, the hood of which silhouetted most of his face. Out of the corner of her eye, Rava could tell that his gaze was fixated upon her as they walked past him, and she quickly moved to the other side of her cousin.

Where are we going? Rava thought. She couldn't figure out where Ash was leading them as they passed underneath the bridge and along the bay. The further they traveled, the more uneasy Rava was becoming. Ash led her to the other side of the structure supporting the bridge, where in the darkness she could see an opening that seemed to lead down underground. She hesitated when she saw that Ash was heading right for it.

"Let's go," Ash said again, noticing her apprehension. He stepped back to her side and took her by the hand. "Don't worry, it's not as dark inside as it looks."

"But where are we-" Rava began to ask.

"Didn't I say you had to do exactly what I said?"

Rava just nodded anxiously and felt her cousin tug her toward the ominous doorway. Sure enough, they were immediately greeted by a flight of steps descending beneath the structure. Rava winced as the lingering scent of the bay outside was quickly replaced by an unsavory, musty smell that made her think of a sewer. For a moment, it completely distracted her from the fact that, despite what her cousin just told her, it was so dark that she couldn't even see Ash in front of her.

Soon enough, however, the flight of steps ended and the two of them entered into a narrow concrete corridor that was dimly lit by a series of light channels running along either side of the ceiling. Rava scanned down both ends of the corridor, which indicated nothing about where they might lead, but Ash was staring directly to their left as though he knew exactly where he was going. Just then, Ash pulled something out of his pocket and lowered himself down in front of his cousin.

"This is going to sound unusual but I need you to trust me," he muttered to her. Rava watched as he held the object from his pocket out in front of her, and she saw that it was a band of cloth intended to be a blindfold. Even more disarming than that, she could see that he wanted her to put it on.

Rava didn't know what to think. She had never seen him acting so strange. "Why do I have to wear that? Can't I just close my eyes?"

"You have to," Ash answered vaguely. "You don't want to spoil the surprise, do you?"

He was talking to her like she was a little kid, but Rava was wise enough to know that something wasn't right. Still, she felt that she had little choice but to listen. Ash had never led her astray before, so why shouldn't she trust him now? Rava reached out with a weak arm to take the cloth but Ash went ahead and wrapped it firmly around her eyes.

This made little difference to her in the dark tunnels, but Rava was fine once Ash took hold of her hand again and led her deeper into the tunnel. A new scent slowly began to generate in the air; something that almost gave off a weak but somewhat sweet fragrance. It was so quiet inside that Rava could clearly hear the sounds of their footsteps echoing off the walls.

As the moments passed, Ash's grip on her hand got tighter and tighter. Rava fought back every desire to reach up with her free hand and remove the blindfold, but didn't want her cousin to get mad at her for not listening to him. Before long, every instinct was telling her that this was not normal, but soon enough, Ash came to a stop. Rava noticed that the fragrant smell had become almost overbearing. She thought that it smelled like some sort of burning incense. Ash did not say anything when they stopped, but turned to grab her by the shoulders as though guiding her to stand in a certain position.

"Can I take the blindfold off yet, Ash?" Rava asked impatiently.

"Just relax."

The blood in her arms went cold and her hairs shot up. The hands in front of her had moved down to position her feet, but her cousin's voice had just come from behind. Unable to resist the impulse, Rava's arm shot up to rip the blindfold from her eyes. She was not at all prepared for what she saw.

Mere inches in front of her face, Rava was met by a mask designed like the scaly, green face of a snake. The eye holes were heavily silhouetted in the dim light, and on either side of the face was painted a red streak like blood that traveled over the eye holes and down to the fangs of the mask. The person wearing the mask froze to stare at her as soon as she removed her blindfold, and it made Rava squeal in terror.

"Hey!" Ash's voice called out from right behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders in an effort to calm her down. "It's alright! Relax. I'm still here."

It took a moment, but Rava eventually calmed down only enough to not scream. She was still shaken at the sight of the person kneeling in front of her, who then averted their gaze to Ash. Rava followed to see her cousin bowing his head as if in shame.

"My apologies," he said in a low voice. He began to back away, holding up a hand to signal Rava to stay where she was. It was at this moment that Rava finally got a look at where they were. She was standing in the center of a circular chamber that was lit only by torches hung around the walls. There were about twenty other people standing around the edge of the chamber, all of whom were identical. They were all hooded like the stranger Ash had met outside, except that they were wearing pitch black cloaks instead of jackets, and Rava had to wonder if they were also wearing masks as they all stared at her.

Ash backed up to stand about halfway between the onlookers and herself. Looking down, Rava noticed that was standing on the end of something painted along the floor. The design traveled back to where the cloaked people were standing, and as her eyes followed it all around the chamber, she realized that it was supposed to be a great snake encircling the entire area.

"Ash, what's going on?" Rava said in near panic.

"She's a bit stubborn," the masked individual spoke up in an almost growling voice. Rava flinched as her attention returned forward, realizing that it was a man. As he stood up, he appeared to examine her up and down through his mask and continued his utterances. "On the small side. Too young to be anywhere near her prime." He reached out and placed a firm but cold and clammy hand against her forehead. Rava's head fell back as though she wanted to pull away. She was shaking where she stood, unable to conceal her fear. Beneath the mask, the man seemed to be enjoying this as he chuckled under his breath. "But she's strong underneath."

The man removed his hand and took a step back. He looked toward Ash, Rava's gaze darting back and forth. "She's a fine candidate," the man said out loud.

Rava had no idea what he was talking about, but before she could say anything, she heard Ash respond in a tone that was anything but friendly. "I know."

As her cousin's eyes fell back on her, Rava lost the last of her composure. "Ash!" she breathed as she tried to rush back to his side. She gasped suddenly when something caught her by the leg. Looking down, Rava saw that there was a thin rope tied around her ankle and attached to the ground. It was loose enough that she never felt the masked man apply it to her ankle, but not enough for her to slip her foot through.

This made Rava's heart jump within her chest. The man in the mask just shook his head. "There's one every year," he said and the crowd of onlookers surrounding them began to laugh.

"Let me go!" Rava cried.

Ignoring her, the man walked past her and approached Ash, who bowed his head again. "This was the final phase of your initiation," he said to him. "It's always the most difficult one, but it's the step that proves whether or not you're worthy to be a part of the brotherhood."

"You have no idea the things I had to do to prepare myself," Ash responded, his head still lowered.

"We all know, but you succeeded. The title of pledge is now behind you." The man raised a hand and snapped his fingers. "You can take the girl away to prepare her."

Rava's breath ceased. Her head whipped around to see two of the cloaked individuals approach her. She could not take her eyes off them nor could she move a muscle. One of them withdrew a pocket knife and knelt down to cut the rope from around her ankle. The other immediately grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away.

"Wait!" Rava squealed as the second man put the knife away and took her other arm. They began to pull her toward a dark doorway at the opposite end of the chamber. Rava struggled with every bit of strength she had, but she could do nothing to resist the force of the two grown men as they dragged her. "ASH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "HELP! PLEASE!" She could barely turn her head around to look back at her cousin, but to her horror, it was enough to see that he was not coming to her aid. He was allowing this to happen. Rava struggled harder than ever, tears forcing their way out of her eyes, but to no avail. Her throat was burning with the strain of her screams. Ash watched the last sight of his cousin disappear through the black doorway, her screams continuing to echo. "ASH!"

Ash's eyes remained dry as she vanished from his sight. The masked man before him stood straight and crossed his arms. "Don't you ever smile?"

Rava's screams grew fainter with each passing second. Ash never took his eyes away from the opening at the end of the chamber, but twisted his expression into a smile of sinister satisfaction.