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Crickets sang through the dark pines, oblivious to this camp and what these people were doing to us. I strained my ears and tried to catch snippets of what the guards were saying— “…and then she started ****ing my ****,” a male voice said. A series of low whistles and chuckling sounded through the darkness My stomach dropped. “Did she let you hit?” “Nah, man, said she’s waiting for marriage or some ****.” “****ing Chr***, these *****es, man,” a third guy said. “All a bunch of ****ing sluts,” the first guy agreed. As quietly as I could, I sank to my knees and leaned against the pine trunk. My gray, camp-issued uniform caught the sap and stuck. Sh*t. “—Hey, you think you can… set up a little party for us?” The second guy asked. “What do you mean, like, an ****?” “Yeah.” “Dude, that doesn’t happen in real life,” the third guy said. “You watch too much ****." “This isn’t real life,” Guy Two said. Then, he lowered his voice. “This isn’t real life bro… it’s Camp Obedience.” A silence settled among the three guys, humming with weight. Dark ideas seemed to swirl through the air. I swallowed. I lifted my gaze and saw the fence in the distance through an opening in the pines. The grating shimmered silver in the moonlight. If I could get past that, I could wander until I found a road— But what if there wasn’t a road? What if the forest just went on and on and on forever? “What are you saying, dude?” “I’m saying… we gotta make these *****es… obey.” Dark laughter echoed through the trees. “Dude, you’re talking about ****—” “It’s not ****,” Guy Two snapped. “Half these *****es in this camp want us anyway. They’ll do anything to get on our good side.” Disgust pulsed through me. I could finally place who Guy Two was: Kyle. A delusional, self-absorbed a**hole who’d been on a power trip since they made him a Three. He was notorious throughout Camp Obedience for imposing weird rules on a whim. A girl in my section had a “dress code violation” the other day: a lock of her raven-colored hair fell out of her bun. So this guy made her hop on one foot in front of everyone in the classroom for an hour straight. An hour. Since there were only five levels here, he could only bully the Fours and Fives—the two ranks below him. If there was a Two around, he fell in line and acted like the perfect, obedient Three. I looked down at my hand. On the back of my hand, the 4 drawn with silver Sharpie gleamed in the moonlight. “I’m just saying,” Kyle said. “We never have any fun here—” “Right, because it’s Camp Obedience. They’re trying to teach us Obedience—” “**** obedience,” Kyle snapped. “We’ve got to teach these Fours and Fives some ****ing obedience. That’s why we’re here. That’s why they made us Threes. They saw our potential.” “Dude… like, no,” Guy One said. “Kayla and I—” “Oh, you mean that Four? They don’t have names dude, they’re just Fours.” A heavy silence settled through the area. “Dude… like… you’re actually… going to just pretend they don’t have names?” “They don’t have names,” Kyle said smugly. “It’s the rules.” “You’re actually going to go along with that? That’s pretty ****ed up, man—” “Yeah, well, whatever they did to land in this camp was pretty ****ed up in the first place. This is their punishment.” “They do rank lower than us…” “I’m not going to pretend that they don’t have names,” Guy One said. “Kayla and I—” “Oh, you think she’s your girlfriend?” “No! Just—” “She’ll be my girlfriend tonight,” Kyle said with wicked giddiness. “All I have to do is ask her to **** my **** and that **** will be on her knees in like two seconds. You wanna be a ****ing **** and watch—?” A slap echoed through the trees. Punching and fighting and yelling broke out. My chance! I bolted through the underbrush. The silvery grating came closer and closer and— I glanced to the left where I knew the opening would be. Sure enough, there was that awkward one-foot gap between the fenceposts. That gap I’d heard whispers about. That gap that I’d seen when moving bricks across the yard. That gap that I’d dreamed about. I slipped through it and took off into the dark forest. I heaved and willed myself to run faster, but I knew I was in the clear. They hadn’t heard. I could still hear them fighting in the distance. A wild smile stretched across my face as I hurled myself through the dark forest. Free. Finally free! No longer a girl, not quite a woman, but something ethereal and silver and magical and I belonged in the forest; I belonged in the night, I was meant to be free—! The voices faded but I kept running. I ran through the pines, thrilled with freedom. The pine needles muffled my footsteps. I took greedy, ragged breaths as I ran. Finally, I could breathe— A clearing opened up in the distance. I slowed at the opening of the moonlit clearing and leaned against another sticky pine. I took heaving breaths as the adrenaline ebbed. At first, exhales. Then, my breaths wobbled into quiet laughter. I’d done it. I’d escaped! I’d only been at Camp Obedience for about two weeks, but it felt like years. My dad said he was sending me to this camp to help with my “behavioral issu—” “Well? Are you just going to stand there?” I jumped and scanned the darkness. “Over here,” said a deep, bored-sounding voice. My eyes locked onto a tall figure in the darkness, leaning against a boulder near the edge of a clearing. Smoke coiled into the night air. The moonlight filtered through it, highlighting the ghostly tendrils. It felt like a dream. A bright orange dot shone in the darkness, then faded and dropped a few feet as the shadowy stranger lowered his hand. Despair crashed through me. I’d been caught. I couldn’t escape. And now I’d get demoted. By tomorrow morning, I’d be a Five and have to do the worst of the pointless, hard labor— The shadow chuckled. “You’re running away, right?” I stared at him, rooted to the spot with fear. “I’m not going to tell anyone I saw you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He gestured to the right and the orange dot at the end of his cigarette brightened as it swished through the air. “The road is about a quarter mile that way.” He brought the cigarette to his mouth and took another drag, then smoke billowed from his mouth. “This is a pretty ****ked up place. You should probably get out of here while you still can.” I stared at the shadowy shape, frozen. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “You still dealing with that no-talking bull****?” I swallowed. “I don’t… I don’t know if I can trust you.” The stranger chuckled. “I don’t blame you.” He eyed me from the shadows and tilted his head. “What are you, ten?” “Twelve.” “Jesus.” He shook his head. “What, are your parents sadists?” “My mom’s dead,” I snapped. “And my dad…” I swallowed. “I don’t think he knew about this. What this place really was, I mean.” “Lucky you,” the stranger said. “My parents knew.” Something tingled through the air, and I could tell he meant more than what he said. I sensed an invitation. An opening. But I couldn’t figure out the shape of it. I glanced to the right—to the area he’d gestured at where the road was, a quarter mile that way. Well, ‘that way’ looked very, very dark. And I didn’t know if he’d lunge for me. I didn’t know if he was toying with me. Playing with his food. My intuition told me to stay put and keep him talking. I steeled myself. “So you’re in Camp Obedience, too.” Fear twisted through me. “What, are you one of the—” He held up his left hand. A gleaming 1 shone in the moonlight. My jaw dropped. “So you’re… you’re…” “Grayson Graves, yeah.” My throat tightened. He tilted his head. “And you are…?” “A F-Four—” “No, your name.” A curious warm feeling glowed under my fear. “G-Grace.” “Grace, huh?” He brought the cigarette to his mouth and the tip glowed bright orange again. He blew out a breath and smoke tumbled through the air. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could feel his gaze on me. “Grace… I’ll remember that.” “I’d rather you didn’t.” “Okay. I’ll forget about you,” Grayson said. “When they ask, I’ll tell them I didn’t see anyone.” The crickets sang around us. I scrunched up my face. “Why would you do that?” He shrugged. “**** ‘em.” **** ‘em. That phrase echoed through me and stirred something deep inside; a part of me that craved something I’d always been denied: Power. I knew I should take the chance to run, to escape to the road. But I didn’t trust Grayson Graves. I didn’t trust his name; a name that had been floating around the halls of Camp Obedience in whispers for the past two weeks. The name that seemed to sparkle with darkness. The name that implied there was some kind of connection to the people who owned this whole operation. Some said he was the CEO’s son— “What are you waiting for?” Grayson said from the shadows. “You gonna make a break for it or what?” I crossed my arms. “How do I even know there’s a road over that way?” “Well…” He pressed the cigarette against the boulder and twisted it. Glowing embers dripped to the ground. “I don’t have a reason to lie to you.” Grayson stepped into the moonlight. My breath caught. He was the hottest guy I’d ever seen. Dark, swooping hair. Deep-set eyes under thick, sharp eyebrows. A straight nose that sharpened into a point at the end. A strong jaw, and a sculpted mouth that seemed like it could easily twist into a wicked grin. He was a teen—a little older than me—maybe fourteen or fifteen. His shoulders were already filling out to the broadness of a man, but he still carried the slim awkwardness of a teenager. But there was something about the lines of his body that implied a secret sadness underneath. The same sadness that lived in me. Heat flooded into my cheeks. I felt embarrassed— So embarrassed. I’d never felt embarrassment swirl around in me like this and sharpen into this weird fluttering sensation— Wait. This must be a… Grayson threw the cigarette onto the ground and crushed it under his boot. I swallowed. His eyes cut to mine, silvery in the moonlight. “You should probably get out of here, Grace.” I twitched at the sound of my own name. It had only been two weeks at this camp, but I was used to people calling me ‘Four.’ “It’s not going to get better.” He scowled. “My old man made sure of that.” “So it’s true,” I said. “Your dad owns this place.” “He owns the ****ed up company that operates this place, yeah,” Grayson said. “It’s great PR for him to say he sends his own son here.” “That’s messed up.” “What do you know? You’re twelve.” Anger flared through me. “Yeah? So? And how old are you? Thirteen?” “Fourteen.” “Right. Then go ahead and serenade me with your worldly knowledge.” Grayson burst out laughing. My anger ebbed and I felt awkward. He leaned against the boulder, chuckling. He wiped a tear of mirth from his eye. “Sorry—it’s just been forever since I’ve had a chat with someone they haven’t broken. It’s… refreshing.” “What about you?” I sneered. “Are you broken?” He crossed his arms and looked off into the distance. “I don’t know.” “How can you not know?” “You don’t break all at once,” he said. “It’s not like… one day you’re defiant and everything and then the next you’re like an obedient little robot. They take pieces of you. One at a time.” He eyed me. “Anyway, why aren’t you running?” “What’s out there for me?” He raised an eyebrow. Blush heated my cheeks again. “I mean… what’s after… this? Where do I even go? If I go back to my dad’s, he’ll send me right back here. If you’re lying, and there’s no road out there, what, do I just wander through the woods until I starve?” Grayson shrugged. “Could go to the media. Tell them what’s really going on here.” He snickered. “That’ll really be a ‘**** you’ to my old man. Maybe they’ll even shut this place down.” So this guy has a motive to help me, I thought. “But what if no one believes me?” Grayson stared at me. Something heavy passed between us— Rustling sounded behind me. Grayson eyed something over my shoulder and frowned. “Time’s up.” I whirled around. The three guys I’d overheard earlier appeared between the pines. Terror rose through me. Kyle saw me and his eyes gleamed in the darkness. “There it is! We found the little ****! Oh, boys, we 'bout to have a party—” Grayson stepped in front of me. Kyle froze in his tracks and his face dropped. “Oh, ****—” “Party?” Grayson asked delicately. “Tell me about this… party.” I trembled behind him. “Er… um… party like, search party,” Kyle said. “You must think I’m stupid.” His voice was low. Dangerous. I’d seen clips of the CEO of APM—the company that ran this camp—use that same voice; that same tone. Then I had to remind myself that guy was Grayson’s father, so it made sense that his voice could also do— “Is that it?” Grayson asked. “You think I’m… stupid?” “N-no, of course not,” Kyle stammered. Grayson addressed the guy on his right. “How about you?” “N-No, sir—” He addressed the guy on Kyle’s left. “How about you?” “No! No… you’re very smart—” “You three were talking about ****** a twelve-year-old,” Grayson said. “That’s sick.” Kyle bristled. “We were not going to—” “Shut the **** up. Starting tomorrow, you’re Fives.” Horror shone on their faces. “But… but…” “You’ll be Fives for the rest of your stay here,” Grayson said. “That means toilets. Every day. No speaking. No names.” “But we didn’t do anything—” “You think this is a democracy?” Grayson sneered, his voice cold and sharp like a scalpel. “Think again.” Kyle’s eyebrow twitched. “We were just doing our job. That Four—” he pointed at me, “—tried to escape. According to the Handbook, it gets demoted to a Five and we get promoted to Twos.” “**** the Handbook. I’m the handbook now. And if I hear another word from you **** stains, you’re going lower than Five.” Kyle snorted. “Lower than Five? How?” The guy next to Kyle made a hissing sound. “Dude, just stop…” “Listen to your friend. Stop.” “Why, you gonna run to daddy?” Kyle sneered. “You gonna run to old man Gavin Graves and squeal like a little piggy? What are you gonna say to him? That mean widdle bully Kyle Sanders ****** your widdle girlfriend in front of you?” “Watch it.” The night air seemed to shudder. Kyle cocked his head. An evil grin spread across his face. “Is that what this is about? You want that little ****** **** for yourself?” “You’re disgusting,” Grayson hissed. “She’s a child.” “Yeah? You think she’s a kid? Kids don’t have **** like that—” Grayson lunged through the trees and swung a punch. I turned and ran. I ran, And ran, And ran. Panic shot through me as I sprinted through the forest. I hated the way Kyle saw me. I hated being seen. I clutched my chest as I ran, hating my body. Hating how it made me a… a thing to guys like him. I wanted out of here—I wanted to run away and disappear into the woods forever— My foot smashed against something and I tripped. “Whaaaaaa—!” I F E L L A N D F E L L A N D F E L L I N T O T H E D A R K N E S S 📚 Read what happens next by signing up for Lauren League's newsletter here! 👇 https://www.laurenleague.com/newsletter-signup

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📚 Dark Romance. Paranormal. 🔥 SPICY🔥

Obedience is a dark psychological fantasy romance with surreal worldbuilding, exploring obsession, identity, control, and intimate human connection. Perfect for readers who enjoy intense, character-driven narratives and emotionally complex relationships. Fans of Black Mirror, Westworld, The Matrix, ...