Protagonist problem

GiantGorilla

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The basic premise for the story I am writing is simple: a thrill-kill cult on the run from the law stumbles into a small town that seems perfect to lay low. But as some members cannot control their base desires, things get out of hand and the cult members quickly realize that the small town is home to a group of sorcerers in league with much darker forces. Soon, a war brews between human monsters and creatures of the supernatural kind.

Now, in order to actually have something the reader can relate to, I need a person who somehow ends up right in the middle of all of it, a viewpoint character who is not directly affiliated with the cult nor the townsfolk, as the town's secret will come to light only piece by piece.
So far, both groups are basically " Other" in one or more ways.
The cult members are basically human monsters, most of them sociopaths and/or sadists. Think the cults from " The Following".
They are not meant to be identified with.
The townsfolk...putting one of them up as a central viewpoint character would give the secret away. The townsfolk should be portrayed in a sympathetic light, though, despite their associations with the dark forces. Yes, they perform gruesome sacrifices, but I want to highlight how their way of life with all the many hurts, dangers and sacrifices is actually not much daker and in some cases even more rewarding than urban life today.
They are in the right to defend themselves.

Still, as I can hardly use one of them as fixed viewpoint character, I need someone else...but I cannot come up with anything compelling. Can someone just throw some ideas my way?
 

Maggie Maxwell

Making Einstein cry since 1994
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The person whose car breaks down on the outskirts of town.
The casual vacationer who decided to drive until they found somewhere interesting and ended up here.
The new town doctor
The police officer tracking the kill-cult
The estranged child or grandchild come to take care of an ailing parent/grandparent
 

RedRajah

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The IRS agent investigating why few in town have been paying taxes...
 

Crowned in Fireflies

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I'm thinking it might actually be interesting to write the POV of one of those sociopaths/sadists. You can explore the psychology of why people join cults, the influence of groups over individual thinking, as well as what drives someone to kill. It could be someone trying to leave the cult, but they can't go back to their old life after the things they've done.
 

deafblindmute

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I'm thinking it might actually be interesting to write the POV of one of those sociopaths/sadists. You can explore the psychology of why people join cults, the influence of groups over individual thinking, as well as what drives someone to kill. It could be someone trying to leave the cult, but they can't go back to their old life after the things they've done.

I'm with this. Explore the horror of losing your sense of identity to a hive mind. That works really well.