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Chapter Theme Music: Nattväsen ~ Derelicts (Carbon Based Lifeforms)

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Zack spent most of his whole life in an ordinary manner, uneventful as ever, enough to drift any to sleep. There was one fateful day where his life changed, turned around by what could only be explained by a crazy dream. 

It was the day Zack caught glimpse of a strange cluster of people, few they were, though strange they stood at the abandoned cathedral beyond the reaches of highways. On the day of an ordinary walk out of bounds, Zack decided to see what kind of worship he might find to seek refuge in this structure. As soon as he entered, the dozens of concealed people swiftly approached the stranger, intimidating as ever with every single face blanketed in the darkest shadow cast by their hooded robes, each hand in the same-side pockets.

 

     “Who dares enter our sacred cathedral?!”

 

     Zack backed away a step, frozen in his fear from the several bodies of unknowns, all of them trying to surround him, treating Zack as a threat. “I am Zack. I came here to see what was going on. Who are you people?”

 

     “An outsider has entered out home! He has no hood! He bears no robe! Blasphemy I say! Blasphemy!”

 

     Before Zack could respond, the cult leader stood closer to Zack, speaking through the thick darkness concealing his entire facial identity. “Blasphemous indeed, though the situation can be rectified. Guards! Arrest this man!”

 

     “What?! Arrest me? What did I do?! Unhand me!” Zack tried to turn around and escape, but two of the brothers captured his limbs and held him down, under arrest despite posing no police authority. It was now that Zack began to panic, regretting stepping foot in this wacko zone!

 

     “Seeg! Do it!” The leader of the organization waited for his second in command to rectify one situation, forcing the new prisoner to stand up, and clothing Zack in the same of many robes, an older one that had a thick hood on the top. Only when Zack was dressed in a hooded jacket did the leader read him his rights. “You have the right to remain hooded. Anything else you wear can and will be used against you in our tribunal.”

 

     “What the heck is going on?! I just got here!”

 

     “You have wandered into our sacred space without being part of our gang. Thus, you must face the punishment. You shall be forced to enlist in our sacred brotherhood.”

 

     “Brotherhood? Oh this outta be great! Look pal! I don’t do any cult stuff, you hear? I’m just some regular cityfolk!”

 

     “Silence! You are no longer a regular. From hence forth, you will join our gang, and be part of our sacred brotherhood. It is doctrine in us all, that we wear anything which covers our faces, hides our identities behind the veil of darkness, so that we may keep our unified identity as we are; the brotherhood of hooded brothers!”

 

     Zack held back the urge to chuckle, wishing not to antagonize these freak shows any longer. It didn’t melt away the sense of danger he was in, being forced to join a strange brotherhood. “Brotherhood of hooded brothers? Is there a camera somewhere?”

 

     “Nay! Those who stay hooded will be our brothers. You shall be known as one of us, a hooded brother of the brotherhood.”

 

     “Yeah? What does this brotherhood do anyway?”

 

     “We bask in the glory of being hooded brothers of course. Come! The rites to your entry shall commence soon.”

 

     “Wait what?! You mean you only exist to conceal your faces? You have no other agenda?”

 

     “Foolish mongrel. It is an honor to be a brother of the hooded brothers. We exist because we can, but also because we should. There is a place for us in this world, and someday, many more will join us.”

 

     After Zack was moved to another room, struggling to see from the hood forced around him, the rites began anew, as fellow members surrounded him to perform a ceremony with candles and minimum light.

 

     “This one called Zack has trampled on our grounds today, entering our space without a hood of honor. It is our sin; to reveal who we are.”

 

     “You guys can’t be for real! What is this? Don’t you remove your robes when you go home?”

 

     “You dare speak out during the ritual?” The leader made a hand signal to one behind Zack, where his brother gave Zack a good smack from the back-end of his head. “We are at home; we are at peace. We are all brothers here, and we are also hooded.”

 

     “What about when you sleep, eat, and shower?”

 

     “We are those who are always hooded. We wear our brotherhood robes in the shower, at the beach, at the grocery store, sometimes even in a college classroom.”

 

     “Wait what?!” Could this be any more bizarre?

 

     “Soon, you too will become our brother, bound by the sacred hood of our ancestors. It is of great honor to be part of our brotherhood. Resist us once more, and you will be broken down until your mind is capable of handling the load of becoming a hooded brother.”

 

     Did Zack wander into another dimension? He knew he wasn’t dreaming at least. As scary as this was, Zack eventually realized the only way out of here was to be as compliant as possible. So, for the next few hours, Zack took part in the ritual of the brotherhood. By the end, Zack was wearing a high quality robe just like the others were, one which was hooded and concealed his face of course. It was finally declared that Zack had fulfilled the requirements to become one of them, and thus let go.

 

     “You are now part of the brotherhood, and a hooded brother to us. Your identity is one and the same with us. Now, brother, go out into the world and spread our voice. Convince many others to put on a hood and enter our guild.”

 

     “It shall be done, brother.” Zack still felt strange saying this with any hint of seriousness, but he felt different ever since the ritual. Despite all he wanted to do earlier, all desires of the past were now washed away, all thoughts alien to him abducted by the brotherhood. As Zack left the home of the brotherhood, he felt a renewed sense of purpose in his life, for he was once a regular city person, but now a hooded brother of the brotherhood. It felt like a high honor, a privilege to be hooded at all times. And so, Zack left the cathedral, not to escape a fate foreign to him, but to embrace it.

 

     The brotherhood isn’t all that bad, Zack realized. They only wish to be one with all and all who is one, to be hooded at all times, hooded and brothers, to be connected by concealing that which makes them different and unique. The brotherhood is also recruiting many new members. It’s time to tell others to put on that sacred hood, and join the brotherhood of hooded brothers.