They go to unlatch my wrists when they notice that they are already unclasped.Here we go.I lift my foot and kick one in the groin as he bends over. I shove my body upwards and lift my arm, swinging it with my fist closed at the other man as he catches it in his hand. I grunt, trying to pull it away when he swings me around, pinning my arm behind my back.
My eyes flare as I look around, panic starting to swarm my mind, filling my vision with a blur of fear. I start thrashing in his hold, kicking, swinging my free arm, when he pulls my arm tighter behind my back, causing me to gasp and cry out.
I see Milly start to appear when I shout, “NO!” and she vanishesquickly. I feel her cool touch on my cheek, and I close my eyes, attempting to lean into it. “Trust me,” I whisper.
My arm gets pulled tighter, and I whimper as the man asks, “Who are you speaking to?” I hold my tongue, refusing to allude to Milly’s presence, and he pulls so hard I worry my shoulder will dislocate.
“N-no one!” I whimper in pain. The man tightens his grip as I let out a soft sob of pain. He pushes me forward toward Priest Brown as I dig my heels in, fighting against the direction.
I glance around frantically, looking for a solution—any solution. I lock eyes with Professor Blackthorne, and his jaw is clenched. I can almost hear his teeth grind under the mask. A tear falls from my eyes as I watch him stand there. His fists are clenched so tightly that his knuckles are bone white. I find myself smiling sadly at him.
I mouth silently, “It’s okay.” I might have failed, but Professor Blackthorne would need to continue protecting the community from true evil. I can’t expose who he is, or every sacrifice that comes after me would be left hopeless.
The professor steps forward out of his position when I shake my head at him subtly, his feet stopping immediately in his tracks. I swallow and look away, trying not to feel the emotion building between us, wondering if Milly is losing her mind as well. I know he’d help me if he could. I hold my sad smile at the thought when I get tossed at the feet of Priest Brown.
I shake off the pain in my arm as the blood rushes down it, creating an intense pins-and-needles feeling. I hold it against my chest, rubbing it to life, as I glance up at his menacing demeanor.
I shift on the steps and inhale a deep breath, staring at the raised platform where the priest is standing. I glare up at him, knowing without a doubt that behind the mask there is a menacing smile—one of pure heinous intent.
I spit on his shoes and let out a laugh as tears pour from my eyes. “Fuck you,” I say with the most hate I can muster when he bends over and swings his arm, suddenly being stopped by Professor Blackthorne.
“There are people watching, sir,” he says just loud enough for us to hear.
Priest Brown stands up straight and lifts the hand that was about to hit me with a small wave in apology to the congregation.
There’s a soft shuffling noise amongst the pews, and I turn my head over my shoulder. The congregation visibly shifts in discomfort.Nowthey give a shit? They care when they see a grown man about to hit a woman?Nowthey care when they see a man using his power to abuse a woman fighting for her life, her right tolive?Shocker. But a ritual in blatant murder, no one bats an eye? No, no one cares until it happens to them. If everyone stays silent, they’re just as guilty as the man standing in front of me.
Silence is violence.
If one person stood up and told him to stop, how many more people would open their eyes to what is blatantly wrong? I let the tears fall as I stare at each and every masked individual with all the rage I can showburningin my eyes. They’re just sitting there, letting the discomfort brew in their blood when theyknowthey are complacent in this…evil.
How many years have they witnessed innocent lives being lost? It has never mattered as long as it wasn’t their blood being spilled. They weren’t a part of the minority, the difference of the community—the choice of free will in life becoming one that isn’t tolerated because the man standing in front of me said so. God purposely states that free will is given for a reason—to have thechoice.This dictatorship that society has accepted as the words of the Bible is atrocious. How far gone has everyone become that they take a mortal’s word for what is right?
The congregation starts to hum a low note as they light white candles with matches. The smell of sulfur thickens the air as small trails of smoke spread throughout the room. Each member holds the candlein front of them, with their heads straight forward, facing past me at the priest, waiting for his next command. Fucking pussies.
Two members of the clergy take their positions and stand behind me, waiting for me to spring away as Professor Blackthorne helps Priest Brown prep the altar to the side of the Priest’s pulpit. I shift, and they move closer behind me on the bottom step.
Priest Brown nods at Professor Blackthorne and walks back to me slowly. He whispers as he bends over me, “Will you be making a scene or surrendering yourself peacefully to the embrace of God?”
I burst into laughter at his words and the fucked up mentality that he has. He lifts his arm up again and swings on my face with an open palm. My head flings to the side as I fall onto the steps and gasp at the force of the hit. I lift my hand slowly to my lip, feeling a split with a drop of blood. I glare at him.
I hear a throat clear, and he straightens and turns back to Professor Blackthorne. I glance over at the crowd and see some people looking at one another, but no one stands up or speaks. My heart races at the realization that no one is here to save me. No one will stand up.
I swallow and give a last-ditch effort. “Dad?” I call out. I look amongst the people, and only one moves. One subtly shifts, and I go to step toward him, but am immediately pushed down.
“Dad!” I shout as my vision becomes blocked by my tears. Nothing, no more movement. Just a stillness and their head looking directly at the altar, not down at me. Grief shatters like glass throughout my body as I hold in the sob that is so desperately slamming against my chest to be let loose, but I won’t waste my energy on this. In the end, no matter what, he’ll lose me.
Professor Blackthorne places the black, lit candles on the ground in the shape of the pentagram. “Why the color change? We specifically use white candles, Bones. You are aware of this. I understand that this is your first ritual, but surely you?—”
“Yes, sir,” he interrupts. “But let these black candles eradicate fullyand submerge the sin into the darkest parts of hell. A banishment for a blatant transgression.”
Priest Brown stands there for a few moments in silence, watching him set up the secret ritual right under his nose. I hold my breath; a tiny sob shakes out of my rib cage, and I press my hands over my mouth to stop the heartbreak and fear from seeping out. “Please, please, please,”I whisper to myself, praying to the God who's about to witness my blood spill wrongly in His name.
He suddenly nods. “Brilliant, Bones. I commend your forward thinking.” He rushes to the edge of the stairs where I remain and leans over me, grabbing the front of my white dress. He pulls me up, and I whimper as I dig my feet into the ground. I look around, desperate to see a final glance of Milly.
“Milly,” I whisper out with a whimper, and feel her finger trail on the back of my neck. I settle into her touch as he drags me in the middle of the candles. My knees scrape along the floor, and I wince as the sting burns.
“Kneel before the Lord, Grace. Show Him your repentance.”
