My first reflex, when I’m back to Domenica’s place, is to check if the bike is OK. That’s probably incredibly selfish but in the moments of panic you’ll want to hang on to the little things. The bike is fine, by the way. Looks like they only were after people. It’s Domenica and little Nathan I’m really worried about now.

The yard is a mess and there are signs that stuff has been thrown at the windows. None of the wild ones are in sight, though. Looks like they gave up for the day. As I edge closer to the house, the door opens wide and Domenica runs to embrace me.

“Are you all right?” she says. “Did they hurt you? I saw you out there, but I couldn’t leave Nathan alone.” That’s a tight embrace. If she wasn’t so soft, she’d be hurting me.

“I’m fine,” I say. “I ran away and I lost them in town. Did you call the cops?” It might be a good idea to have them caught before they get to someone else.

“I tried, but there no one was answering the phone,” she said. “Let’s get inside for now, just in case they come back.”

We get inside the house. Without saying hi, Nathan grabs one side of Domenica’s sweater and doesn’t let go. Poor little guy, that must have been particularly freaky for him.

Before settling down, she goes through the rooms, locks every window and door. I wouldn’t say I feel safe now, but safer still.

I know my question is gonna be dumb before I say it, but I can’t help myself. “What happened? Who were those people? They all looked so…” I don’t have words for what they looked like.

Domenica stops me. She’s in her decision mode. I can’t blame her. “What if we all went to the kitchen to make some tea and relax a bit?” she says. “I might have a theory or two, but I can’t promise it will all be very scientific. Do you still want to hear it?”

“OK”, I say. I’m more in for the tea, for her, but whatever.

We get to the kitchen. The walls and surfaces are painted in an informal shade of matte gray. There is an old fridge from the fifties with an old radio on top. Domenica’s love of collectibles is showing again. There is a bar counter separating the cooking space from the dining area, with a high table protruding from it. We all climb on high stools. Nathan seems pretty used to it, he’s nimble.

They have all kinds of tea, from the standard green one to flowery herbal ones. I’d rather just get a coffee, but there’s no way I’m gonna act spoiled right now, when Nathan needs most of the attention. I end up going for a bag of mint tea. With a little sugar, it will do just fine.

The water boils and we let the tea soak in for a few minutes, just wrapping our hands around the mugs, getting soothed by the heat. Nathan has climbed on Domenica’s lap. He’s starting to be a little big for it to be comfortable for any of them. It does the trick, though, as he seems less anxious now.

Domenica tries to call 911 again, to no avail. What kind of emergency line takes so long to answer? I sincerely hope that them being so busy has nothing to do with the rabid… people we met outside. She settles on the stool with Nathan still on her lap. That’s a mom skill, all right. She looks straight at me. I already know I’m not gonna like her explanation, so I focus on how pretty she is. I’m aware of how stupid that sounds.

“About what happened,” she says, “I might have a theory, it’s very much a work in progress as we were just attacked right now, but it ties in with a lot of little discoveries we’ve made with Petrus over the last few weeks.” She gives Nathan a hug. “Nat, do you want to hear it or would you rather to go while we talk?”

He clings to her arm. Definitely not ready to let go. “I’m good here,” he says.

“OK, cutie. If there’s something we talk about that makes you uncomfortable, you just say it and we’ll find another way. What do you think?” says Domenica, petting his hair.

“That’s OK,” says Nathan. “I wanna know, too.”

Domenica gives him a warm hug and clears her throat. “So,” she says, “where should I start…” She pauses. “You remember what I told you about the mountain? About the disruptions, the energy readings? Petrus and I are pretty sure that whatever temple or structure tops El Pollo, it’s having more and more of an effect on us here. There is a good chance that if it really is a place of worship, it’s still active today. Part of a religion, a cult, something. That’s about the only thing that could give it so much power.”

“OK,” I say, rather freaked out, “you’re saying we have a cult on our hands and maybe the people outside were a part of it? That’s… new. Shit, I mean sheesh.” I look at Nathan and roll my eyes. He cracks a timid smile. “Why would they be after you?”

“Because I want to go explore the mountain?” says Domenica. “We’ve been on that cult idea for a while, but the moment I file for a permission to cross the boundary, I get attacked in my house? It’s too much of a coincidence. They want me away.” She nervously tapped her fingers on the table. “I have no idea how they would have gotten wind of it though, unless they have a mole at the agency. That sounds paranoid. Did you happen to talk about this to anyone?”

I think about it for a while, then suddenly, it hits me. Dave.

I turn white as a sheet. It’s dumb, I don’t really know the guy, but I feel so betrayed. There has been no doubt since the beginning that he was shady. He even talked about some kind of god. How can I be so stupid?

Domenica looks at me, worried. “Deb? What’s going on?”

“It’s my fault. I think,” I say, overwhelmed. “You remember that guy I mentioned yesterday, Dave? How he was talking about energies and stuff? He must be part of the cult.”

“Are you sure?” she says. “I mean, he could be just like me, trying to figure out what’s going on…”

“Not at all,” I say. “Yesterday he made a fuss about not wanting to get involved. Today he said he didn’t trust scientists. Plus, like you said, I mention you, saying that you study the mountain and you get attacked a few hours later. I have a hard time seeing this as a coincidence.” I feel really low about my part in this.

“Hey, it’s OK,” says Domenica. What is OK exactly? It seems like a strange time to be optimistic.

“It’s not your fault,” she says. “I asked you to get me in contact with him. Knowing what I knew, I should have been more careful. I didn’t imagine these folks would be so hostile.”

I think about something else. “Hey, the people I saw were definitely factory workers, there was even the woman who showed me around when I signed my contract. The factory is right near the mountain. Do you think…”

“That the cult would have a huge following among factory workers?” said Domenica. “That’s troubling, but weird. Who would get a factory job just to worship a mountain? Plus I think you would have noticed it if all the workers did strange stuff instead of actually working.”

That really gives me a pause. “Well… They are. There are plenty of people being hired, but they’re nowhere to be seen, even at lunchtime. They all got that weird aloof look, like they’re not really aware of what they’re doing… Oh, shit.”

“What?” says Domenica.

“I have a friend, no, two of them who have been employed at the factory and I haven’t seen them since,” I say. Is this a good time to panic? Is it? Isn’t it? “I hope nothing happened to them.”

I’m mostly thinking about Rodrigo, who has been on ‘sick leave’ since I started working there and isn’t answering his phone.

“I’m gonna have to check on him tonight,” I say. “Do you think he could have gotten mixed up in something with them?”

“The situation may or may not be that dire,” says Domenica, trying to calm me down by downplaying it. It’s not very effective. “Maybe he joined them? Just because they were sort of mad and threatening today doesn’t mean…” She gives up. “Sorry, I’m not good at overly biased pep talks. This is the kind of things the police should be handling.” She hammers her phone angrily and attempts to get someone to answer the call.

This time, an officer’s on the line. He promises to send someone over quickly. That’s good. As much as I need to find out Rodrigo’s whereabouts, I don’t want to go back out in the streets without knowing if the rabid cultists have gone home.

Those are strange days we’re having.

“What did they say about the delays?”, I say.

Domenica shrugs. “They said it must have been a problem on the line. They’d better fix it before someone gets hurt.” She looks at Nathan, then me.

“We’ve got one last concern to address,” she says. “Is that cult just a crowd of lunatics, or are they worshiping something real?”