Imagine by Christiane Shoenhair, Liam McEvilly Page A

not ever hear anything but sweet words come out of your mouth again” he tells me. “You were selected to be a part of our community; we are a brotherhood of Guardians called the Artemisians. We get our name from the goddess of light and protector of the vulnerable, Artemis. We have a long history of protecting the human race from destruction. You may have heard Eddie here refer to you as a Young Creator. These people are a direct descendent of a people called The Creators. 
    The Creators were a group of women that were able to manipulate ma tter into things that they imagined, or affect the space around an object to physically move it.”
    “But I’m not …” I begin.
    He ignores my interjection and continues “I realize that this may be very hard to believe, but every human being has some form of creating ability in them. Take ordinary women for instance, they can create new life inside of them. The Creators were worshipped by everyone, and for the longest time they made life itself simply beautiful.”
    “Great, but what does this have to do with me?” I inquire.
    He continued his story, ignoring my question once again “Greed and selfishness slowly influenced the hearts of the younger Creators however, so much so that over time they stopped bringing happiness to the world and instead began living for their own benefit. They were driven by their own personal gain. This brought much pain and destruction to the world around them.
    When the oldest Creators noticed this evil infiltrating the younger ge nerations she turned to her most loyal servants. All of them young men, strong, selfless and noble. The old Creator placed her trust in this group of men, imagining that they would not be influenced by any of the Young Creators. It was widely thought that throughout time the young men would help protect the human race. She had picked her servants because they supposedly were related to the goddess Artemis.”
    He pauses momentarily to take a sip of water “To answer your latest question, you are a direct descendent of the oldest of The Creators. This Creator was the most powerful; she managed to withstand the power of the darkness for the longest. This bloodline is why you can move things with your imagination Trish, the car, the dogs; they’re all thanks to your heritage. A heritage that you should be most proud of.”
    I just stand and stare at him in disbelief, my mouth gaping. I have just received an answer to the question that is at the forefront of my mind I don’t know if I can believe him. I simply just can’t fathom that this man, these men, everyone here believes what they are doing here is for anybody’s good.
    “So you’re telling me that whipping young women and treating them like servants is for their own good? To pr otect human kind from people like us, do I understand you correctly?” I can barely contain my anger; these people are absolutely out of their minds.
    “ Our lifestyle may not seem fair. It may appear unexciting and no fun at all, but trust me, we have noticed great results living this way. There have been no incidents of darkness over the last forty years, the only event that had occurred was when a Young Creator chose the wrong path and did not accept our ways. It is the safest place on earth for someone like you.” he tells me. 
    The look on his face is so serious; I know that I’m in trouble because even if none of this is for real, these people seem to believe it to be. Sometimes people, sick people, create their own realities. Perhaps this is a cult?
    H ow on earth does he know about the car and the dogs? I told no one about what happened. How do they know I was responsible?
    “I just don’t understand.” I tell him in as calm of a voice that I can muster.
    “I know. It’ll take time, but trust me when I tell you that you will adjust. Life here will soon seem normal to you and you will eventually enjoy living here.”
    The B rother’s face has now taken on a more