Hellfire

Night five

It's dark today in hell. To Connor's relief, Kevin is no where to be seen. Instead the 'usual' torture begins.

Connor grimaces and eventually cries out in pain, he cries out for Kevin, but Kevin is still nowhere. It's selfish, Connor thinks, for him to want Kevin to be in hell with him, but he just needs someone who wasn't against him. It can't be Kevin, he wants Kevin to go to heaven, like he has always wanted, and often talks about in the forms of 'Planet Orlando'. The thought gives him some comfort as he is mercilessly slashed and beaten.

Connor wakes up. He can't remember dreaming of anything in particular, which hadn't happened to him for as long as he could remember. In his drowsy haze, he notes that Elder Price is sitting on the bed next to him, asleep again.

It is still dark outside, so he figures he should probably go back to sleep. Trying to focus on Kevin being close by, he uses his warmth as a comfort, and frowns when he doesn't find it. He opens his eyes and looked up at Kevin. He looks the same as normal, but he isn't warm to the touch. Then Connor realises- Kevin isn't breathing.

His eyes widen. "E-elder Price?" He asks quietly, sitting up. "Kev-kevin!" He shakes the other man. Still nothing. "No, no, no!" Connor shouts. "Kevin wake up! Kevin! K-ev..." Connor trails off into sobs. He frantically feels for a pulse, and even tries basic CPR, but it's no use. He collapses onto his knees, cradling Kevin in his arms, weeping and desperately crying for help. "God why!" He curses at the ceiling. "Why did you punish him?! Punish me instead! Just bring him back...." Connor doesn't know what to say, or what to do. He notices a note on his pillow It read:

Connor I died for you. I hope you're happy, I won't be, stuck down in this awful place I'm headed now, and it's not my fault- I don't deserve this. No body deserves this, except maybe the person reading this letter right now.

The pen had run out after that. Come to think of it, pens didn't usually have brownish ink... Connor comes to the shocking conclusion; it was blood. Kevin had written this in blood, his own blood. He has used his own blood to put across the very obvious point- it was Connor's fault. All of this is his fault, and there is nothing he could do now. Connor screams, he doesn't care how much his chest hurts any more. Then, when he can no longer scream, he sees red, and then black, and then he vaguely remembers collapsing.

Kevin woke up halfway through Connor shaking him and screaming, aware he could do little to stop Connor in this state. He just tried his best to assure Connor that they were both okay, and as per usual it didn't work. When Connor passed out again, Kevin got the cloth and dabbed his forehead.

He usually spent the night watching the district leader- he was a curious man. During the day, he was always so happy, bubbly and cheerful, and then at night this happened to him. All because why...? Kevin didn't know why. He gathered that the man was having hell dreams, Kevin having had two before, one a few nights prior. They were horrible, but nothing like what he saw Connor go through two or three times a night. He hated seeing the poor guy like this, it was horrible. He often had ready a cool cloth and a glass of crease water for Connor, and would help out whenever he could. He knew Elder Thomas had been doing it for the time before he had arrived, but he'd taken over. There were very few people in his life who he even bothered to help out genuinely (and not just because it helped his reputation and position).

This just wasn't fair on the elder, what couldn't he possibly have done that was this bad...? Kevin didn't know. He only knew he felt it was his duty to look after him, whatever that took.