The Atonement

VI

Tossing and turning, that was what Craig was going through. All night his head was in a fit of chaos. No matter what he did, the Pastor could not fall asleep. He could not get over the thoughts of Tweek. What happened between them earlier that day meant a lot to him. He could not get it out of his mind. The noirette wanted to scream. How could he be so stupid? He let sin get into his head, and the worst part was that he wanted more. He knew the consequences of being a sinner, but his body told him that it did not matter.

He looked up at the ceiling, hoping that some answer would come to him. He wanted an answer from God. Hell, what was he telling himself? God never really came to him, he just interpreted the omens and signs around him. There were no signs to help him with this one. This was horrible on so many different levels. For starters, Craig was a pastor and was not really supposed to love someone in a romantic way, as he did for Tweek. In addition, he could not be with a guy at all. That was despicable. Let's not forget the fact that Tweek was not even an adult. He was still in high school for Christ's sake. There he goes again, taking the lords name in vain.

He sighed, looking around his room aimlessly. Craig did not know what he wanted anymore. All of his life he had been told that what he currently wanted was bad, but when he felt Tweek's body against him everything seemed alright. He groaned, grabbing his hair. Life was so complicated. He wondered why there even was such a thing as religion. It seemed to take away all of the enjoyments in life.

Craig closed his eyes, palming his temples. The melatonin* that he took earlier on that night definitely was not helping. He tried to calm his mind in hopes that the medicine would eventually take action, but it did not. Or at least, it seemed that way. Craig hissed in annoyance, twisting his body back and forth as he anticipated for a more comfortable spot.

Suddenly, the room started to burn. Something in the room started to smell of eggs or something. He flinched. That was sulfur that he smelt, wasn't it? Even though he went to a Christian boys school that basically refused to teach most of science, Craig had learned this smell. It was not the most pleasant of scents and normally it was not the best thing to smell. It could be a sign of something dangerous.

Craig blinked, rubbing his eyes. That was when he was ultimately shocked. No longer was he really in his room. He was still in a bed, although there were no blankets, rats started to dart across the floor and smoke poured around. He squished his face in distaste, covering up his nose with the top of his pajama top. He hesitantly swung he body over so that he was getting out of bed. As he pressed his feet to the ground, Craig hissed. The floor felt like it was pure coals. And yet, something alluded for him to continue walking.

He took his other foot and pressed it against the burning ground, walking to the scolding door. It was interesting since the door now had a window in it for reasons that he could not explain.

Craig rested the back of his hand against the door, the burning sensation covering his feet. There was fire on the other side of the door. His door. Suddenly, everything started to make sense to him. Something in his house had caught on fire, right? That would not explain the window that was on his door that could only be seen through one side, but he figured that was just a figment of his imagination.

Tweek!

His face went ghostly white as he thought about the younger boy. He would have to find him, make sure that he was alright. He would never forgive himself if he let him perish. He put others before himself, and Tweek was no exception. He charged at the door, it falls down as he ran into it. The wood attached to the hinges were practically all ash, and thus weak. Even though some of the embers spat back at him, he ignored that. It hurt a lot, and his face started to tingle. Craig did not even bother to crawl to where Tweek was residing, he sprinted for him. The older ran with as much of a stride as possible for him, finding himself in the room that Tweek was staying in. He was not in there.