henri's august cdc tracker

[madster]

2. hurt
word count : 591

Spoiler:

it was an awfully cold, dark night. henri, nearly thirteen months at the time, was lounging in the empty cathedral by himself. moonlight shone through the stained glass window, reflecting off of his glassy eyes. he was deep in thought. he had heard twelve people die so far- all of them hurting, bleeding out. he had heard their death rattles, their blood gushing out of their bodies... it made him excited, thinking about it. still, this pleasure was reserved for once a month, on the night of the full moon.

he looked at the celestial body in the sky, her features full. it was tonight. currently, there were sixteen members of the church of belial- one would die tonight, he knew. he tried to run all the possibilities through his head like a sick choose-your-own-adventure game. what if it was him? what if belial wanted him dead? he began to salivate at the thought- he couldn't wait until he was finally chosen to join his savior. however, he was ripped away from his interwoven threads of thought when he heard his father's clear voice ring through the still air. "it's time, henri, dear," he greeted. andras leonidas had a smooth voice like velvet, and always knew what to say. henri leaped up from the pew he had been laying down in and followed the sound of his father's voice into the garden.

it was cold, and henri began shivering. the garden was beautiful- nightshade and poppy bloomed all around them, and in the middle was a stone circle with belial's sigil carved into it. around the circle were the sixteen members, all elated at the chance. soon, andras would recieve a message from belial on who was dying tonight, and they would step into the middle and be promptly killed.

"greetings and salutations, my followers," andras spoke, not hesitating. "as you all know, belial demands a sacrifice on the full moon, once a month. this is the greatest honor a church member is given." andras stood tall and mighty, much different from the others. "tonight, the one joining belial will be..." he paused, almost for dramatic effect. "belial has asked me to take my life, so i shall do so."

he smiled, turning towards henri. "my son- will you do the honors?" he brandished the blade, stained with the blood of the previous deaths. a sudden pain coursed throughout his body- why was his dad dying? why had andras chosen the one he loved most? why couldn't it be him? "i don't want to kill you," henri protested, feeling hurt. he couldn't do it. not to his own father. he was blind, which made the deal slightly easier, but he didn't want to have to live without him. "and you want me to just- lead these people? you're the prophet, who's going to communicate with belial? you know he's never talked to me before, and i just really want you to-"

henri realized that the knife was gone, and there was a sickening squishy sound. then, he heard a thud and the sound of blood pumping onto the ground. the rest of the members murmured, confused on what to do without their leader, who had suddenly taken his life right in front of them.

andras bled out, and there was nothing henri could do. this was the worst pain of all- losing the only person he cared about. that day, henri decided that he'd avoid any more hurt- he'd follow belial blindly. after all, it's what his father would have wanted.