Dust to Dust

30

The ritual would happen a week from then. And if she had any questions, Charlotte would provide. That was the last thing he told her before sending her back that night. He had just told her she needed to kill someone so casually. She was given a week to brace herself, because from what she understood, he wasn't going to die peacefully. Charlotte was going to explain to her how she was going to kill Asher, and what needed to be done beforehand in order to communicate with this god, and let him know what was happening. She was currently with Jenny near the center of camp, and was beginning to explain.

"Now I wouldn't exactly call this thing a god. That's just what he calls it to make it feel... satisfied. It's more like a supernatural being. It latched itself onto Asher's soul and is keeping him going, passing from body to body. Or that's what he's been telling us anyway." she sounded so unsure of something.

"Do you believe him? About being reincarnated? And please be honest with me." all the adherents supported what Asher was trying to do, but they didn't seem too convinced about his beliefs, which was the part that confused her.

"I... I do. He hasn't shown any signs of dissociative disorders or anything similar to that. And he's too smart for his own good. He's so difficult to read sometimes. And I actually find the idea of reincarnation fascinating. I never believed in God, but I believe we have souls. When we die, I wondered where we would all end up. I think it makes sense for reincarnation to exist, and most people forget their memories from the past. But if Asher remembers it all, it's because of whatever demon is making him suffer. That's reasonable enough, don't you think?"

It was. Most of her family was Christian, but didn't talk about it much. They never really went to church, either. So Jenny had never really thought about religion, but she did have a fair point. If souls didn't go to heaven, where did they end up? Switching bodies seemed like a good enough answer.

"Yeah. It's just hard to believe something that crazy, coming from a crazy person."

Charlotte sighed under her breath. "He's not crazy. He's just in terrible pain. And while I really don't want to do this to him, if it's his wish, I'll allow it. It won't be the same without him, though." she had known Asher since he was a kid, and she was really letting him go just like that. However, his goal was suicide from the beginning. He probably begged them for it at some point.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, can you tell me what I have to do? He said I have to kill him in a specific way."

Charlotte looked even more concerned after that. "Yes, I'll tell you, but this is the part I've been worrying about. Are you sure you can handle this?"

She knew now that some fucked up shit was about to go down in that church. "Okay... just tell me."

She grit her teeth together uncomfortably for a moment. "Well, how you'll kill him is just part of the ritual. You'll need to crucify him."

It was a fitting death for him, but still disgusting, nonetheless.

"You'll need to bind him to a cross we've constructed. But that's not all. That alone won't kill him. Once he's been secured, you can kill him in any way you want. But he'll probably have a preference. Knowing him, he'll go for the most painful way possible, just because he wants to feel something. I'm afraid of how he wants to get this done."

So it wasn't all that specific. He just needed to be tied to a cross while doing it. Other than that, she would try to make it as painless as possible, even if he tried to talk her out of it.

"Well... that doesn't sound awful. I mean it does, because he's going to die, but I could think of worse ways to go out."

"That's not exactly what I'm worried about, Jenny." Charlotte had looked so much more pained lately, and it was all because she was worried about her. Jenny was comforted that she still had someone around who was caring for her, but seeing Charlotte so down was bothering her, so the feeling was mutual.