11

Elder Rose

          These boys disgust me. That boy ,Toby,... he should be dead. I don’t know why Roy is so hellbound on seeing Toby. I take Roy's hand and help him up and walk him down to the cellar. He stumbles a few times and almost falls. It'll be at least about an hour before he can walk properly again. 

            I open the cellar door and take Roy in and around the entrance. I look over at Roy to see the expression on his face quickly change as we get closer to Toby. 

            “Elder R-Rose….” 

             I sat him on the floor beside the bed. “Yes, Roy?”  He stares blankly at me and then back at the one he holds dear. 

             He acts like this is a surprise. I told him what happened and that he was either dead or very close to it. If he’s lucky he’ll live. He’ll be lucky if he even wakes up ever again. If he does wake up, he could ruin everything, the way of this place. I have to keep the population here a certain way and continue the studies that my elder once taught me. I am doing well, they would be proud. I have founded a village that represents the way I was raised. A small village with a small population and only one medic around, the leader, me. I can’t let it be destroyed. The elders would be disappointed in me if I let their ways fall. 

             “Elder Rose….could you fix him?” 

              “Fix him?” 

               “Yes. I'll do anything…just please make him live.” 

                  I go and put two fingers below Toby’s nose.  He’s barely breathing.  He is still alive, but barely. If I was to help him, I would have to make sure he wasn’t a problem. An idea then pops into my head. If I was to hit him in the head he would have memory loss, the amount of blood he lost will make him dizzy anyway. “You are lucky. I will help him hang on to his life, but only if you do me a favor.” 

           “A favor. What kind of favor?” His face turns less sad and more into worry. 

            “This place has a certain way of going about. There is this couple in their forties. I want them both dead by twilight, and brought back here. If you can complete this task then I will help him.” 

              “So….you want me to go and kill two innocent people!?” 

                “Well, if you don’t want to then I’ll just give him something that will finish the job. Then your precious Toby will be dead. I guess you just have to ask yourself something. Does Toby mean so much to you that you would kill those two people for me in order for him to live?” 

                  “I-I…”

                   “Don’t feel bad. He’s nearly dead anyway. No one has to know that help was offered but the conditions were too much for you, so you both died. One by suicide, the other suicide, being that all the evidence that is possible to find leads to that conclusion. ” 

                 “Ok, fine. I’ll kill them for you, but when I come back I want to see him up and kicking again.”

                  “Good. Now then, I’ll see what I can do. Firstly, I don’t expect you to kill them with your bare hands so I’ll give you something that should do the job just fine.” 

                   I look around. I walk over to the back wall and open one of the body bags that I filled with past items that I used to lessen the population. I pull out a blood stained scythe. I look it over and see that it is still sharp. I walk back to Roy and hand it to him. “Go over the bridge and you’ll find them in the 4th house to your left.” 

                 He takes it hesitantly. “Ok then. I guess…. I’ll be back.” He then slowly walks out with a blank expression across his face.