Bringing Back Marvin Gaye

2

Kate was sat on the floor in the middle of the pitch black room, hugging her shaking knees. Carley was walking slowly around the perimeter of the room, stopping to light candles that matched the ones in the shrine, softly illuminating the pitch-black atmosphere. Yet another Marvin Gaye record was playing in the background.

Oh, Mercy, mercy me. Oh, things aren't what they used to be.

Carley, finished with her task, calmly sat facing her petrified friend, hands folded in her lap. "Any questions?" she asked with a weary smile.

"Yeah, WHAT THE HELL?" Kate yelled.

"Please don't cuss in the chapel, Kate." Carley frowned. "I will explain everything."

Kate sighed. "Why do you have an obsession with Marvin? It's like you worship him or something!"

Carley smiled. "Oh Kate, but I do. Marvin is my savior."

Kate felt a sting of something running through her veins, like a drug. It was calming and inviting. "Is this a cult?"

"You can call it that."

Suddenly, something inside Kate changed. This room, the shrine, the candles, it didn't scare her any more. "So Marvin is like, your religion?"

"Yes."

"I want in." She smiled, loving the idea of loving Marvin.

Carley laughed and stood up, grabbing a jar, a poster of Marvin Gaye, and a knife. She held the knife tightly, saying, "Oh Kate, I thought you'd never ask."

As if it was scripted, Kate murmered, "I wish to devote myself to Marvin."

"Then do as I tell you to do." Kate nodded.

"Sing every word to 'What's Going On'. Now." Kate obeyed.

"Do not stop singing until the song is finished. Now, you must donate to Him." Kate now realized what the jar was for and held out her left hand.

Carley took her hand and held the jar underneath it. "For you, my love" She cut a circle around Kate's finger like a wedding ring, letting it bleed into the jar. The blood rushed out, quickly filling the jar to the brim. Like magic, the blood stopped as soon as the song did, leaving a wedding-band scar on Kate's finger.

"Now, you are bound to Him. He loves you, Kate."