Chapter Eight
I see him.
The voice starts immediately after I wake repeating the same words. “Come to me.” There is no pain this time just the voice. For awhile I think it may stop on its own like before. After an hour, it has not and I try to call out, but I can’t. I can’t even open my mouth. Anytime I try to tell my captors in any way what’s going on my actions are stopped. It’s like I was a puppet. My movements redirected by whatever being is behind that voice. For hours, this continues and I feel myself going mad unable to form a thought. The doctor comes in later that day and after noticing that I don’t even register his questions he calls for medical. At this point I can’t move with the only thing I can register being the words. “Come to me.” The doctors rush in trying to diagnose me. My arm strikes one of them without my consent. Two guards rush in to restrain me and the voice stops saying one last thing. “Kill yourself.” I feel light after the weight of those words leave me. I don’t know what I’m going to do until I see the guards pistol holster is unbuckled. For a second I can’t do it then I think about what happens when the voice comes back. I move faster then I thought possible grabbing the gun and putting it against my head. I see the shock of their faces and pull the trigger.
I never hear the gun fire and for a moment I think I’m dead. It’s not until I feel the dampness through my clothes that I open my eyes. I’m in the crypt at the bottom of the stairs facing the wall. There’s no gun in my hand. I try to move back, but I can’t move a muscle. It’s only when I try to place my hand on the wall that I can move. I place my hand on the wall and for a moment it’s like it was before. Warm to the touch with a vibration like a heartbeat, but then it moves. It doesn’t move like a body it simply slides out of the way without a sound. The sight that greets me was of a man who seems to be made out of darkness itself. Like looking into a blackhole he appears to draw in everything even the light itself. He is trapped in what looks like a dozen spherical cages made of a material that makes my eyes hurt when I try to focus on them. The being steps forward and even that one step shakes the crypt. I get the sense that each step is a colossal effort. Each step tares the crypt apart more and more. My body moves without my permission and I end up at the edge of what I see now is a doorway. The being only stops when it’s an arms length away from me. “My prophet. My son. You have come to me and will carry out my will.” I fall to my knees as my strength drains from me. “I will do whatever you want if you take me home.” The being laughs genuinely amused. “You are home. I have simply made you see what I need you to. To test if you’re worthy. I believe you are.” I start to hyperventilate and cry. This can’t be real. Those things can’t be my parents. I start to shake my head when he lifts his hand telling me to stop. The crypt trembles at his movement. “I am Inanis and you will be my prophet.” This is not god. I shake my head and manage to form words weak though they are. “No I will not serve you. You are not my god.” The being doesn’t seem affected by this. He simply reaches out and touches my forehead with only one finger crossing the threshold. His arm appears to start to lose form as it passes through the cages. I hear the crypt caving in and people screaming in the distance when he does this. “Perhaps you need time to think about it. How does an eternity sound?” The moment the last word leaves his form a surge of energy rushes through every cell in my body. It feels like I’m being ripped apart and then it stops after what feels like days. The instant he’s not touching me I fall backwards, but instead of rock I’m met by grass.
Slowly I rise to my feet every muscle burning as if on fire. The crypt has indeed collapsed looking more like a pile of rubble now. The ground feels odd beneath my feet. It is steep now like a hill. I look around as my head clears seeing that the clearing is now a crater the crypt at it’s center. A section of the base has collapsed into the crater and I can see a few bodies being recovered. I begin to crawl towards them when I see my arm. It’s black like Inanis, but to a far lesser degree as I can still make out certain features such as my fingernails. After what I just saw I can deal with this I just need to get to the doctor. It’s not like there is anywhere else I can go. It takes some time, but I do reach the rim of the crater where the base collapsed. When I clime into the base my muscles are burning even more and I can barely stand. The first guards to see me train their rifles on me. I’m not surprised. If I judge the look of the rest of my body by the state of my arm. Then I must look as monstrous to them as they do to me. I recognize one of them as the eyeless of my mother or after what Inanis said could it be her? No, it can’t be. Inanis is just trying to break my will so I’ll serve him. I see her lower her rifle. I can’t hear her, but by her movements I think she recognizes me. I take a few steps forward and one of the guards panics and opens fire. He must be new. I don’t feel them at first. I just fall and for a few seconds I can see the woman pull out her pistol and shoot the guard in the head. A couple of the guards come closer most likely to retrieve me. The woman signals them to stop, but its too late. They collapse about halfway to me spasming on the ground. The second they stop moving energy flows into me and I can feel each and every wound. I crawl forward pain erupting through me. I get to where the guards are and I see them start to rapidly decompose. “You won’t have to be as close next time.” I hear Inanis in my head. I don’t understand until I feel my wounds healing. Even the burning from my muscles before is starting to fade. Inanis once again pops into my head. “The life of others will fuel your rebirth every time you die. With every life, you will become stronger. Brace yourself the rebirth is not pleasant.” As soon as my wounds heal pain shoots through me like it did when Inanis touched me. It doesn’t last as long this time. Instead of days it feels like hours.
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