This Is Not for You
By Gemma Files, first published in Women Destroy Horror issue of Nightmare
A sociopath joins an all women's cult so that she can satiate her desire to kill men. However, she begins to be convinced of the beliefs that the rest of the women preach and follow religiously.
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Gorgo watches as her counterparts in an all female cult that worships the goddess Persephone, brutally kill men that are lured into an old campground by the women. She speaks with another member Phoibe, who asks about Gorgo’s day job as a private-school teacher. However, Phoibe uses Gorgo’s real name which causes Gorgo to become angry. The leader of the cult, Aglaia, comes to diffuse the situation and to talk with Gorgo. She confronts Gorgo about not truly believing in their cause and Gorgo confides that she doesn’t believe in the goddess, but instead is there because she likes killing people. She reflects upon the fact that she is a serial killer, but is unsuspected by many because she is a woman. The group prepares for the sacrifice by drinking psychedelic punch. They get ready for another hunt as more men enter the abandoned campground. They run nude and covered in mud and catch the men in tiger traps laid around the forest. However, the first trap that they come upon contains Aglaia’s son who pleads for his mother’s help. Phoibe declares this as a sign from the goddess who is punishing Aglaia and challenging her rule. In a psychedelic induced fit, Gorgo stabs Phoibe in the throat and recites a poetic Greek line. She tells of Phoibe’s orchestrating of this event through her hacking skills and access to the website for the cult. The rest of the cult believe that this knowledge and recitation is a sign from the goddess and Gorgo still wants to deny it. They begin to cheer and head back to their final feast and some of the members ask what they should do with Aglaia’s son. Aglaia dictates that even though Phoibe lured him in, he only came by the will of the goddess and he must be sacrificed. Gorgo then sees that the leader and many of the others believe in this religion. She almost feels sad for the young boy.
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