Beautiful to Suffer

Part 2

Today’s the day, I thought. I’d wasted enough time. Two days had passed since whatever the hell had happened that night. It was time to either confront Andrew, or find my way into that basement. And since I was never one for confrontations, it was time to get sneaky.

First I had to find out if Andrew was home. I actually hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning, and while his car was still outside, I discovered that it had two flat tires. If he did go somewhere, he couldn’t have taken the car anyway. I searched the rest of the house, and found no sign of him. If Andrew was at home, he had to be in the basement, and I would have to smoke him out.

Setting up a pot of water on the stove as cover, I picked up a dishrag with a pair of tongs and lit it using the burner. As soon as it caught, I held it near the smoke detector, and right on cue, it began to sing. I quickly put the fire out in the sink, and waited. I smiled grimly. No Andrew.

By the time the smoke alarm was silent once again, my decision was made.

I had no reason to expect the basement door to be unlocked, but my luck was two for two. The knob turned easily and the door swung open. The light from the hall barely made a dent in the complete darkness that awaited me. I reached along the wall to find a lightswitch, but felt nothing but cold drywall. Thinking quickly, I pulled out my phone and toggled the flashlight on. A thin beam preceded me, illuminating just one step at a time, as I descended. The movement of my feet caused the stirring of something white on the steps below. Crouching, I could see they were large downy feathers. I snatched one up, surprised to see it stained with small drops of red. What the hell was Andrew doing, sacrificing chickens? The thought of him practicing voodoo clashed with his cherub collection, but my mind was reeling with thoughts of what he could be doing that he would have to hide it from me.

Dropping the feather, I touched my fingers to my forehead and proceeded to cross myself, just in case. I wasn’t sure I believed in any of that stuff, but it couldn’t hurt.

I reached the bottom of the steps and had to fight back the chill crawling up my spine. Taking a breath, I steeled myself to look about the room. There seemed to be nothing but a bare floor and empty walls. A clank of metal came from my right, and I whipped my light around to see its source. I gasped, dropping my phone as I fell back onto the bottom stair.

It was Andrew. I had only caught a glimpse of him, but it looked like his mouth was smeared with blood. I frantically searched for my phone in the darkness. It must have gotten switched off when I dropped it. Scenes from every horror movie flashed in my head as I found the phone and turned the light back on, expecting Andrew to have silently moved to stand right before me. I shined the light around, ready to flinch back, but Andrew hadn’t moved; he was still slumped against the wall.

“Took you long enough,” he scoffed.

“Wh- what?” I stuttered, eyeing his bloody lips warily, desperately hoping it was his blood.

He smirked, as if he knew what I was thinking.

“I know about you, Cameron. I know why you’re here. I know why you’re so desperate for money.” He shifted his body to lean his head back. His eyes were glassy and looked like they were gazing into the distance.

“So what?” I asked, proud that my voice was stronger than before.

“So, I have a proposition for you. I’ll tell you exactly what I’ve been doing down here, all this time, all alone. And in return, you must partake.” He smiled in what he probably thought was a genial way, but was frightening in context.

“Partake of what, exactly?”

He hummed. “Well, that’s exactly what you want to find out, don’t you?” When I hesitated, he rolled his eyes, and for the first time, focused squarely on me. “Come on, Cam. Take it as a challenge.”

I clenched my jaw at his words. My mind screamed at me, telling me not to give in so easily, but I  nodded, all the while feeling I was making a deal with the Devil.

“Very good. You see, despite how I might seem, I do get rather lonely from time to time,” he said as he began to sidle along the wall. I was sure to keep the light on him, despite my surprise at his words. “That’s why I decided to share this with you.”

He stopped speaking, but made his way faster along the wall. As he moved, his entire face changed, going from a relaxed, almost giddy expression, to one of raw hunger. His lips pulled back and his eyes reflected madness. But he was not looking at me, as he lunged at something in the corner.

I could only stare in horror as my cousin latched onto a man. A man chained to the wall. A man with wounds on every inch of his body. A man with white, broken wings.

The man’s eyes were closed, and he did not move or make a sound, as Andrew dug his finger into one of the lesions and began to lap noisily at the flowing blood. I had to choke back my rising bile.

“Andrew, what the hell are you doing?” I tried to scream, but it came out a whisper.

He leaned back from his victim, only to look at him in an almost loving way, caressing his face with a bloody hand.

Turning to me, he cried, “I found him!” I jumped at his sudden vehemence. “He crashed in my backyard. No one else saw,” he continued, a happier note in his voice. “My beautiful angel. His wing was broken, spilling his precious blood. The smell, oh, it smelled so good.” Andrew closed his eyes and inhaled, seemingly reliving the moment he described. “I tasted him, and the world around me changed. It all became beautiful. I felt truly alive.”

I tried to wrap my head around what Andrew was telling me, but it was all too unreal. He must have gotten lost in a delusion, abducted this man, and dressed him as an angel. I had to figure out a way to free him. I raised myself from the stair and took a small step forward. “So, you brought him down here and now keep him as a blood supply? Is he still alive?”

“Of course he’s alive, he’s immortal! And no, I didn’t bring him here immediately. First I broke his other wing, so he couldn’t get away. I originally planned to keep him upstairs, but he didn’t cooperate,” he said, frowning. “But you’re right about the blood. I drink it every day. It keeps me happy. So happy,” he said, hugging the man, as if he were a willing participant in Andrew’s happiness. God, he’s really lost it.

His head whipped around and he gazed at me. “And now, it’s your turn.”

“I- what?”

He rose, and moved towards me. I stumbled back, almost tripping on the stair, but he reached me all too quickly. Grabbing my arm, he dragged me toward the bound man.

“It will take all your troubles away,” he said. “The money, the gambling, the accident. His blood will wash it all away.” He paused to smile, this time gently. “And there is plenty for both of us.” His words struck me, but somehow transformed into a soothing balm, as if I’d been waiting all these years to hear them.

Pressing a hand to my shoulder, he prompted me to kneel. I gazed at the man, and suddenly I could see past all the pain and gore. He was beautiful. Radiant. Unearthly.

Andrew delved a finger into his skin, bringing forth the blood. And that’s when I smelled it. It was the scent of honeysuckle, orange blossom, and lavender. Of chocolate, cinnamon, and coffee. The scent of winter, spring, summer, and fall.

It smelled like Heaven. And in that moment, I was lost.

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This story was written for a contest held by ThatColorblindArtist. It was inspired by the song "Gabriel" by The Nixons. The lyrics are posted in the next chapter.

Thank you for reading.