Greyfriars’ Abbey

A Dark Cult Hiding in Plain Sight

Genre: Psychological Horror Thriller

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michele-e-northwood

Can young teenager Elle, overcome an ancient cult who plans to cleanse the earth of mankind? Or is the aged organisation too deeply rooted in civilisation to bring it to its knees?

Synopsis

Elle disobeys her parents and attends a party. The following morning, she wakes up in her bed with no memory of the previous night, but instinct tells her she is no longer a virgin. “Run. Never return. Your dad must never know!” Her mother whispers when she discovers Elle is with child.

Destitute and homeless, the teen is approached by JADE, who describes Greyfriars’ Abbey as a haven for pregnant girls and entices her to join. Dubious but desperate, Elle accepts but soon regrets her decision.

Madame Marion, a woman older than time, runs the decrepit building with a smile laced with malignancy. Her mere existence incites fear, and no one dares to disobey her. The old crone tells Elle she is destined to follow a different path from the other recruits but won’t reveal why. Elle’s special status ostracises her from most of the girls, even from her friend Liz. When her attempt to flee fails but she receives no punishment, Elle realises the cult will never let her go.

The discovery of an ancient journal written by a long-dead friar helps her fit the clues together. She believes the crumbling Abbey and the other neighbouring communes harbour vampires who are hiding behind religion.

Her belief grows stronger when Elle encounters Kai, the young man who defiled her at the party. He has power within the cult and vows to win her affection. Elle must obey, although she wants him nowhere near her. He showers her with gifts, which only increases Liz’s envy, and the breach in their friendship widens even further when Kai gets Elle a job as his secretary in an enormous investment building in the city.

Elle continues to collect evidence. She discovers the cult abducts babies. The infants undergo a procedure but are later returned to their parents. What she can’t uncover is the reason behind it or what the process involves.

After Elle gives birth, she refuses to be parted from her son and incites her friends to escape. Jade offers to help. She gets them out of the abbey but double-crosses them by taking them to the investment building, where the League of Vampires stands outside awaiting their arrival.

They take Elle and her band of escapees up to the Head office. Once there, she discovers the CEO is her father. He tells her about a mass cull, planned to reduce humanity and save the planet. Elle must conform and join their cult if she ever wants to see her son again.

When she vehemently declines, her father sedates her, and as she loses consciousness, she hears him tell Kai it is his last chance to woo her. If she doesn’t comply, next time, Kai will have to find another bride.

Elle wakes up. Her brain has been wiped clean. She’s in the car with Jade travelling to Greyfriars’ Abbey.

“Do you believe in déjà vu?’” she asks, when she sees the abbey, “because I feel like I’ve been here before….

Excerpt

Dark grey clouds wept a deluge of icy tears onto the freezing city streets of Leeds. The heavy rain beat its angry rhythm on the cafeteria’s half-frozen windowpanes. Frosty mist, like ethereal ghosts, swirled with menace around those who dared to take to the waterlogged streets, wade through the deepening puddles, and fight the blustery winds.

The overall greyness of the evening mirrored the teenager’s mood to perfection. Her hands cradled the steaming mug of coffee. The heat transferred to her frozen fingers, warming them and reducing the bone-chilling pain that throbbed through each digit. Her entire body hurt, but her soul ached more from a deep sense of loss she believed she would never overcome.

On a small television propped on a precarious shelf in one corner, a female newsreader informed the public of yet another child abduction.

“The eight-month-old baby was taken during the night from inside his home. Police believe the perpetrators entered by removing the windowpane and climbing inside. Just like all the previous incidents, the highly organised gang has left no evidence behind. However, on a more positive note, the baby twins who were abducted two weeks ago have now been reunited with their parents.

“After a thorough medical check, both boys received a clean bill of health. Nobody knows why the infants were returned, but their mother and father, as I’m sure you can imagine, are overjoyed.”

The story cut to an interview of the two relieved parents, hugging their subdued twins while beaming and crying, but the teen wasn’t paying attention. She kept her eyes lowered toward the scarred Formica table, trying to make herself small and unnoticeable. She wondered how long she could expect to stay in the considerable warmth of the café before they closed for the night or threw her out sooner because of her disheveled appearance.

Girl in the Corner

At another table, Jade picked at her burger and fries. Her eyes zoned in on the young girl in the corner. The teen sat, shoulders hunched, head down, hoping to become invisible. Straggly ash-blonde hair, hanging lank and unwashed, covered most of her tear-stained face. Her eyes focused on the tabletop, avoiding contact with anyone.

Jade spied the scruffy grey hold-all the girl hugged between her thighs. A weak attempt at protecting probably the only possessions she owned. One leg jittered up and down. The nervous twitch only piqued Jade’s curiosity even more. She was reminded of herself not so long ago, broken and lost in an uncaring world.

Jade reached into her bag, pulled out a pillbox, and dropped a small white tablet into her Coke. It fizzed, breaking into a thousand tiny granules that headed for the bottom, dissolving completely before they got there. She snatched up the glass and her meal, then strode over to the teenage girl and sat down.

“Hi.”

Soulful eyes, filled with pain, flicked with panic before focusing on the food and then returning to the tabletop. “I’m Jade. What’s your name?” The girl froze. Even her bouncing leg halted mid-twitch.

“Come on, I promise I don’t bite!” Jade coaxed, flashing a kind smile.

The teenager paused, assessed the situation and wondered how much info she should divulge to this interloper who had singled her out and zoned in on her misery. “Elle. My… my name’s Elle.” Her front teeth gnawed at her bottom lip, and the table shook as her jiggling leg began again.

“Nice to meet you, Elle.” Jade pushed the plate of food towards her. ‘Here, have this if you’re hungry.’ The girl’s eyes flicked towards her, then back to the barely touched meal, coveting the contents. “Go on. It’s alright.”

“Thanks,” Elle mumbled. She snatched up the burger and tore into it with a ravenous bite. Ketchup ran down her wrist, and she licked it up.

Jade cringed. The gloopy sauce reminded her of fresh blood. She shook her head to dispel the image. Her eyes dropped to the glass of Coke she still twisted between her fingers and pushed that across the table too. “Here. You can also have this.” She felt the nervous twitching of Elle’s leg abruptly cease. The stillness appeased her.

With the lack of conversation, the television news filtered its way between them. “…and if the world population continues to grow at the current rate. Scientists believe that by the end of the next century, food shortages will be so prolific that famine will end millions of lives.”

Elle’s Guilt

Elle paused and stared at the remains of her burger. She should feel guilty, but she couldn’t. How could she pity future generations when she was starving in the present?

Jade watched the girl in silence and spoke when the teen had almost finished the meal. “Listen, if you’re not ready to tell me your story, so be it. I only have one question. Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?” She registered the sudden halt of Elle’s jiggling leg, and smugness oozed through her veins.

“No.” The single word echoed defeat.

Jade sighed. “I thought so.” Tension stretched between them. “With weather like this, it’s not a night to sleep rough on the streets.” She leaned backwards, tilting the chair onto two legs, creating more of a space between them, hoping the distance would lessen the girl’s anxiety. “Look, it’s just a suggestion. But, if you want, I know somewhere you could stay for the night.”

When the girl flinched, Jade centered the chair on four legs before holding up her hands in surrender. “I swear there’s nothing wrong with the place. I live there.”

Elle searched Jade’s eyes for compassion. Could she trust this stranger dressed entirely in black? Her hair was as dark as a panther’s sleek coat, and the deep sweeps of black eyeliner above her eyelashes, coupled with the charcoal lipstick drawn on her full lips, made Elle think of a cunning Egyptian cat. Felines could be devious. She should be wary of this intruder who had invaded her personal space and weakened her resolve by offering her food.

Jade wiggled in her seat and pasted on a smile. “Okay, listen. I live in a sort of boarding house in the countryside. The owner is Madame Marion. She’s devoted her life to taking in waifs and strays and giving us the chance of a better life.”

Her words, although intriguing, made Elle feel reticent to believe her. “A chance of a better life.” The words escaped her lips as her mind ran helter-skelter around the possibilities. What Jade offered was exactly what she sought. A new start and the opportunity to forget her past, but it sounded too easy. There must be more to the goth’s sales pitch. She pondered over her choice of words. Perhaps Jade’s speech was exactly that. Well-rehearsed spiel, aimed at drawing the innocent into her lair.

“What’s the catch?” She asked. Her eyes narrowed, and her fingers gripped the glass of Coke even more tightly.

You are, Jade thought. “Listen, I swear to you I’m only trying to help. Come back with me, stay the night, and in the morning, if you don’t like Madame Marion’s plans and ideas, you can leave. It’s as simple as that.” She studied Elle’s facial expression as she considered her options. “Come on! Anything’s got to be better than sleeping in a shop doorway or a park bench in this torrential rain, hasn’t it?”

Elle snatched up the glass of Coke and took two long swigs, all the while studying Jade more deeply. Her ears were home to multiple piercings. Another decorated her eyebrow, and a small silver ring squeezed her septum. Silver-coloured chains hung like forgotten Christmas tinsel from her clothing, bulbous rings adorned her fingers, and noir-painted nails drummed the tabletop, nervously awaiting a reply. Jade watched Elle studying her fingers. She pulled her hand away, then lifted her wrist to check the time.

“Listen, my ride will pick me up in a few minutes, so I’m going to need an answer. What do you say?”

Elle turned her head toward the window. The rain showed no signs of stopping. The wind had increased, and the swirling mist had thickened, lessening visibility even further. She could hardly see the opposite side of the road.

A horn beeped, making her jump. A sleek black limousine pulled up outside. It left the indicators blinking. To Elle, they reminded her of a black panther’s eyes, squinting repeatedly, irritated by the rain.

“That’s my ride. I’ve gotta go. It’s now or never, Elle, but whatever you decide, I’ve paid for your meal. Don’t worry about that.”

The teen’s gut-wrenched with indecision. Her eyes travelled from Jade to the car to the tabletop. Her vision remained locked on the scarred Formica. She shook her head. “No, thank you.” The voice didn’t sound like her own. She heard her own defeated words and wanted to scream, pull at her hair, and reprimand herself for her stupidity.

With a contrived sigh, Jade stood up. “Okay. It’s your loss. I’m sorry I couldn’t convince you. Nice to meet you, Elle. Take care of yourself.”

Elle followed her projection as she paid the bill, grabbed an umbrella by the door, and sauntered outside.

Through the window, Elle stared with disbelief as the driver, dressed in a suit and chauffeur’s hat, walked around the vehicle to open the door. On impulse, Elle swigged the last of the Coke, grabbed her bag and hurtled towards the exit.

‘Jade, wait!’

Michele’s Interview on this Site: Interview – https://writeanygenre.com/2021/11/10/michele-e-northwood/

Here BookBub site: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/michele-e-northwood

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