"...A loud BANG! rang in my ears. I jumped. “What was that?” “Shhh,” Cassie hissed. “Don’t ruin my concentration.” BANG! “Cassie,” Aiyanna pleaded, “Do not make so much noise. We do not know who or what is on the other side of that door.” “Look, the quiet way isn’t working,” Cassie growled. “The only way we’re going to get out of here now is if we take a risk and make some noise.” With one final BANG! the door fell beneath Cassie’s foot, exposing the world above the dungeon. My jaw dropped. “Wow.” The floor here was not comprised of filthy stone, but of elegant black granite. The granite made up the flooring and the bottom third of the walls. Beautiful dark wood, separated from the granite by a jewel-encrusted gold trim, made up the top two thirds of the walls. “It’s so classy and creepy all at the same time,” Adam observed. “Yeah.” I added, “It’s extravagant, but dark and cold.” Cassie huffed. “Do you think we can possibly critique this motif later?” Adam nodded, “Right, we’re running for our lives.” “Yeah.” We raced down the hallway, then dove through a random door. We stood in a grand room with floors and walls like the ones in the hallway. Two mahogany doors, lined with jewels stood before us. We burst through them, and into the sunny, spring afternoon scene. Our eyes adjusted to the sunlight, then observed our surroundings further. Groups of people migrated into a large crowd. “From the stoutest wood comes the warmest fire,” a voice I had heard for the first time but an hour or so ago thundered. There must have been a thousand people. A fraction of them donned clean, beautiful, upscale attire. However, the majority of the crowd was grungy from hard work. Their clothing was old and tattered. Their filthy hair bunched into knots. Despite the obvious poverty of the majority, the individuals within it emanated rudeness and annoyance for all who appeared to be even the slightest bit poorer than they... With our heads lowered, we strolled down the hill, and weaved our way through the crowd. “From the healthiest steer comes the heartiest feast,” the voice continued, “From the most vital plant comes the richest meal. Life must be sacrificed so that it may thrive. Great life is only achieved through great death.” “What is going on?” Aiyanna asked. “I don’t know,” Adam answered. “Ten blessed years ago, our savior sacrificed his own life so that we may thrive.” I studied our people’s faces out of the corners of my eyes. They were ignoring us completely to focus their full attention on Cherape. I lifted my head. “Victoria, what are you doing?” Adam whispered. “They won’t see our eyes,” I whispered back. “They’re too focused on Cherape.” One by one, my siblings raised their heads, allowing us all to get a good look at our former captor. “That’s Cherape?” Cassie asked. Aiyanna gasped. Adam threw his hand over her mouth before she screamed. We all gazed in horror. Behind Cherape stood a marble statue; a statue of our father. His body was limp. His eyes were closed. A knife was driven deep into his back. This horrible scene, this painful memory that I had hoped to forget, stood before us forever engraved into Cherape’s stone, and forever engraved into our minds, hearts, and souls. High above us, from a marble balcony bordered by a jewel-encrusted railing, my parents’ killer declared, “As the nutrients from the plants and animals we consume are transferred to us through their death; the mercy of our great savior is transferred to us through his death..."" -- Beyond the Darkness by Samira Bellissimo; Chapter XI: Prisoners
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 12:06:35 +0000
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