SaCrIfIcE - Ch. 1

SaCrIfIcE – Chapter 1

Slight warning for squeemish scenes. If you do not like blood or the tiny description of a bone breaking, don't read the end.

-------------

     Watching the symbol burn was like a simple day of nothingness. My cohorts seemed pleased as they mocked the burning corpse of the hated one. Although they were happy, I just watched with mere, emotionless thoughts. I directed my attention to my daughter, who was talking with her uncle, Rhyno. The two of them haven’t talked in a year or two. It was also nice to see that she was not as paranoid as she used to be. The scent of the burning corpse pleased my senses, making me growl with hunger.

     “Don’t worry,” I heard my daughter call out. “We’ll be eating when the service is over.” A smile faintly appeared on my face. I saw a grin appear on Rhyno’s face, too, as he walked to the church. Noticing their wistful expressions, I motioned the servants to walk back to the church.

     This place has to be at least centuries old. It’s nearly as old as me, from what I remember. However, this place is in perfect shape. Not a single window has broken, and a single floor hasn’t collapsed. This is good for me, because I haven’t lost any dumb servants to disasters. My daughter Thanatos was born here, but she only got to see very few of the wonders that lie within the church. We had to take her to her new family.

     I stood afar from the church with my daughter standing right beside me. As servants walked past us, I heard them whisper, “Glory to he who will save us from the light.” It brought rare smiles to my face, but they soon faded as I noticed Thanatos’s facial expression. Concern seemed to have overwhelmed her as she watched all of the druids walk by. I saw her clutching her trembling fingers around her T symbol. I carefully lowered her hood and placed a hand on her head, petting her to appease her thoughts. She looked over at me with her hazel eyes, managing to barely smile.

     “Is something bothering you?” I asked. She lightly nodded her head.

     “It’s just that normal bad feeling in the back of my mind,” she replied as she fixed her symbol. “I am hoping nothing bad will happen.”

     “Don’t worry,” I said with a grin. “This year it’ll be the best. Nobody’s going to get in our way.”

     The two of us walked back to the church, welcomed by the feeling of the warm torches and the crisp wind from behind. Druids began to slowly sit back down, hiding their faces with their hoods. Thanatos walked over to her chair and sat down, while I turned around and faced the mortals. Moistening my lips, I soon spoke.

     “Tonight starts a month of everlasting darkness and terror. He who stands before you may fall before you at will. Feel no regret and fight when you feel like fighting!” I waited a moment to let the mortals cheer with the temptations of evil. I soon raised my arms, silencing them and seating them back down. Once I only heard the flames of the torches, I lowered my arms to my sides and kept speaking.

     “You have until Halloween to fulfill your darkest deeds this Month of Darkness. If no deed is done, severe consequences will be at risk. Do this, my followers, so the darkness may be welcomed into your life. Do this, for Nicodemus.” They soon prayed his hymn...

     He spoke to Death all alone,
     And asked this wisdom to receive.
     To death, bring me not,
     Yet bring thee to damnation.
     Vengeance today,
     Silence tomorrow.

     I bowed my head, signaling the servants to leave the church. I approached Thanatos, and asked her, “ech gebar? “ Thanatos nodded her head and walked to the hallway with me. Candles guided our way through the stone halls, followed by echoes of screams for forgiveness. She opened the door, revealing a lanky boy with a symbol of an R around his neck. His hair was blonde, and his arms were covered with imitations of his tattoos. I scowled at the sight, nearly throwing up blood. Thanatos only looked at me, seeming too scared  to look.

     “Zeek and his partners found him hanging out with other people at another church, watching Rated-R videos and doing a strange sacrifice by kissing a woman.” Although it is funny how she calls making out a sacrifice, I had been too overwhelmed with disappointment to laugh it off. The boy was stuttering mad, trying to get free from the shackles.

    “Y-your darkness,” he gagged out. “I—I didn’t know what was happening. They—“ I grabbed the mortal by the throat, feeling his cervical just at my fingertips. He choked and gagged, coughing out blood at every breath.

    “You will be a perfect sacrifice,” I said. Then, with a swift clench, his cervical collapsed in my fingers, and he fell to his side, motionless and bleeding. I turned and walked to the door, shutting it behind me.

     “I think I’ll eat later on in the morning,” I called out to Thanatos. However, I heard no response. I turned back around to find her sleeping against the wall. The poor thing hasn’t slept in forever. I walked over and picked her up, carrying her back home. It didn’t take long to get home, since we live so nearby. Every job we go to is near us, which is good.

     I walked into Thanatos’s room and set her down on her bed. Watching her sleep reminded me so much of her mother. I still remember those days coming home from work, watching her sleep soundlessly in our bed. It’s a shame that’s all gone, now. However, I have moved on. I need to focus more on our child than finding a new mother.

   After watching her for a few minutes, I kissed her forehead and walked to my room. I lied down on my bed, immediately falling asleep when head met pillow. Yet something still felt out of place...

     Something.