Dawn of Eve by MJ Howson (best ereader for students .txt) 📕

Guilt ebbed and flowed through Dr. Cole’s soul as he absorbed how badly he’d just lied to his wife. The repercussions of this, if any, would need to be handled another time. Dr. Cole said, “I’m convinced she’s suffering from schizophrenic affective disorder. But she’s at risk of becoming psychotic. Like her mother.”

“Mm-hmmm. Freaky dolls will do that.”

“It’s not the doll, Flo. Her obsession with Eve and that diary are simply–”

“Oh! Shit! The diary and those kids.” Flo crumpled up the yellow sticky and tossed it in the nearby trash bin. She motioned her husband to come around to her side of the desk. Flo began typing away at her keyboard with a speed and accuracy that still impressed him. “It took me some time, Winston, but I found how those kids are all connected.”

“The ones in the diary?” Dr. Cole walked behind his wife’s desk and stood behind her chair. He gently rested his hand on her shoulder. “What did you find?”

Flo placed the tabby on the floor, grabbed her reading glasses, and pointed at her computer screen. “Do you remember hearing about that cult in the Berkshires?”

“Cult?”

“The one back in 2012?”

Dr. Cole leaned forward so he could get a closer look at the video display. Without his glasses, he struggled to read the screen. The browser showed an article from the Washington Post titled, FBI Raid Ends in Chaos. He shook his head and said, “No.”

“They called it Camp Ascension. The leader was convinced the Mayan end of days was for real.”

“Do you mean the Mayan calendar that ended in December 2012?”

“That’s the one. It ended on December 21st. Anyway, these parents went with their kids. They were all there to prepare for the apocalypse.”

“The children from the diary were at this camp?”

“Mm-hmmm.” Flo tapped her fingernail against the screen. “The FBI botched the raid. It made the one in Waco look like a training session.”

Dr. Cole stood beside his wife and leaned forward as he tried to read the article. He found the tiny font difficult to see. He turned to his wife and asked, “And you’re sure the kids in the diary are the same ones who were at this camp?”

Flo sighed and clicked on another tab on her browser. The screen showed Amazon’s website and a book titled Ascension to Madness – Inside the Mind of Andreas Engel, written by Jeffrey Bellows. She scrolled down and pointed to the description. She said, “Charles, Suzie, Tina. Weren’t those the names you told me were in the diary?”

“I . . . I believe so.”

“Eve is there too. This guy Jeffrey wrote a book about the cult and what happened before and after the FBI raid.”

“Do you think you can track him down?”

“I already did.” Flo glanced at her husband and smiled. “He lives right here in the city.”

“You’re the best.” Dr. Cole kissed his wife on her cheek. He held back tears as he tried to ignore the lies he’d said earlier. “I’d be lost without you.”

“I know. I tell you that all the time.”

“Can you get him on the phone? I need to meet with him as soon as possible.”

“Why? If that woman’s going crazy–”

“Flo. You know I don’t like that word.”

“Sorry. How . . . how are all of these things connected? You said you think Dawn’s becoming psychotic. How will talking to this author help?”

“It’s Dawn’s belief in the doll and what’s in that diary that has me concerned. I need to know what happened at that camp.” Dr. Cole walked back to his office door. He turned and looked at his wife. “Once you arrange a meeting with that author, try Dawn again. I’m going to want to speak with her after talking with him. I need to understand this connection she has with Eve and the other children.”

“You got it.”

Dr. Cole returned to his office, closed the door, and sighed. He walked back to his desk and looked at the open folder with all of his notes from Dawn’s sessions. Dr. Cole went to the file cabinet with the Dawn’s cassette tapes and removed them. He placed the recordings beside her folder and collapsed in his chair. Dr. Cole shook his head as he realized he had a lot of research to do before meeting with this author.

The desk began to hum, and the Trust plaque resonated. Dr. Cole, his mind awash in confusion, opened his top drawer. The red-cased cell phone vibrated with a notification. It was from Taylor via the SAM app.

Confirming we are still on for this weekend.

Dr. Cole frowned as he retrieved the phone from his desk. He stared at the message and then looked up at his office door. He could hear Flo on the phone, presumably with Jeffrey Bellows trying to arrange a meeting. Dr. Cole unlocked the phone and opened the SAM app. He immediately went to Taylor’s profile.

Taylor’s gallery of pictures was still unlocked. Dr. Cole momentarily scrolled through the images. As he did, he thought back to that nerve-racking meeting he’d had with Taylor at the 10th Avenue bleachers. He recalled how shocked he was by how handsome Taylor was, even with that scar. Dr. Cole went to his messages and replied to Taylor.

Sorry. I can’t.

Dr. Cole closed the app and picked up the blue-cased smartphone. The lock screen image of him and his wife made him smile. He went back to the old cracked cellphone and pressed on the SAM app until the icons on the screen all began to jiggle. Dr. Cole tapped the “x” in the corner of the app. The system prompted him to confirm the deletion. Dr. Cole glanced at the Trust plaque and permanently removed the SAM app.

Thirty Six

Sean

Jacob stared at the cellphone resting in his palm. He tried to ignore the stares of the train riders sitting around him. Were they staring at his scarred face? His muscular body crammed into his tracksuit? Were they wondering how