Sheep to be Slaughtered

~Chapter Twenty-Six~

********* TRIGGER WARNING *********** Gore, graphic themes - please read with caution!! 

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          "They're close," Damien hissed as he looked over his shoulder.

           Curse these ropes, why were they so thick?

          "Hurry up, Eleyah."

          Damien was going to get a fist to his jaw if he didn't stop stressing me out. I was going as fast as I could... Matthew's muffled voice seemed desperate, and I was glad for Damien's hand over his mouth for he would probably be saying something similar to Damien...

          I was through one of the ropes and had started on the second when I heard a pained cry come from Damien. I paused what I was doing to look... I saw a flash of red before Matthew was screaming again.

          "Away from me!" He screeched. "I have been chosen; I am the Selected! Away!"

           I took a step back unknowingly, daring to look back to Damien who held his bleeding hand... had... had Matthew just bitten him? In a blur, Damien darted forward and landed a brutal punch to Matthew's face. Matthew fell silent a moment, his eyes seeming to cross as I watched.

          "Shut up you filth," Damien growled. "You'll get us all killed with that yelling." He wrung his hand out in the air, a few droplets of blood landing on the ground. He pulled a bandage out of his shirt to wrap his wound, all the while glaring at Matthew.

          There was no time to hesitate. Matthew could yet be saved... but did he... want to be here? His screams repeated each other in my head... he saw himself as the Selected... did he want to die? Did he want to die for Founder Marco? I returned to the ropes, holding one in my hand as I prepared to cut.

           "Are we saving him or what, Eleyah?" Damien called, noticing my hesitation.

           "No!" Matthew cried. "Leave me! Do not undo the ropes! This must be! Away from me!"

           Damien looked dumbfoundedly at Matthew, while I looked to Damien as doubt and uncertainty began to replace my will to save this fellow villager... this villager that didn't want to be saved...

          "Away!!" Matthew's screams became more hysterical. "I am the Selected! I go before the Venge to express my gratitude! I make the ultimate sacrifice! I atone for my wrongdoings, and they will bless me for it!" A manic laugh slipped out from him.

            Damien glanced to me and shook his head. "We can't save him," he said.

            I could barely hear him over Matthew's cries and wild laughter... but I knew what he had said... and I knew we needed to leave... I was at a loss. How... how did we become so blinded... so molded by Founder Marco and his teachings that we truly believed being torn to shreds while we were still alive was something we should look upon with grateful hearts? It was truly astounding... even when death was practically breathing down his neck... even though he had cried and sobbed as he had... Matthew wanted to die...

            I felt Damien grab my arm... I could just feel him pulling my bewildered self out of the clearing and into the cover of the trees and bushes nearby. Only seconds after we had crawled into a bush, I heard the low, crackling growls of the Venge. There were two of them this time... two of the massive, horrifying creatures that slowly came into the light. Damien I were so close... so close to them we could smell their rotting flesh... we could practically taste the horrible odors of whatever oozing substances attempted to eat away at what fur and muscle remained... I fought the urge to throw up...