Reap What You Sow

Prologue

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"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death." - Revelations 6:8

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He sat on the edge of a roof lazily gazing out at the glittering cityscape below. Millions of lights representing millions of lives. Well, also millions of inevitable deaths as well but who's counting. A puff of smoke was released swirling in the night sky as he scoffed a bit at this thought. Tonight had proven to be a cold one if the small puffs of breath and empty streets below were anything to go off of.

"Sweet infernum," the lone boy muttered bitterly to himself and tried to pull his jacket in a bit closer, "Could they take any longer. I'm starting to freeze my ass off".

He let out another frustrated sigh as his gaze was redirected to the building that sat across from his rooftop hideaway. Soon after his mind began to drift as he observed each lit up window that illuminated the street below. A window on his left revealed a man sitting on a bed with a large book in his hand while a little girl snuggled up against him. The man's mouth moved animatedly but no sound could be heard through the closed window. From the little girl's sleepy smile it must be a damn good story. A slightly open window to his right showed an older couple embracing and swaying gently from side to side in a slow waltzing motion. The world will pardon my mush, Cuz I've got a crush, my baby, on you. The words of some sappy Sinatra song drifted into the quiet darkness of the night sky. The only witness to these heartwarmingly private moments were the few twinkling stars above and a lonely silhouette of a teenage boy perched precariously on the edge of a rooftop.

Suddenly his attention snapped away when muffled shouting broke out in the window two stories above the older couples apartment. 'Showtime' he thought as he watched the shouting shadows that moved in the window. He turned to look down at the tiny screen of the watch that rested on his left hand to check his timing. 'Right on time' he thought as he chuckled softly to himself. His gaze was caught by an inky leaf that wrapped delicately around the side of his wrist. He turned his wrist over distractedly as he traced the inky path of the leaf to look at the inside of his wrist. The moonlight provided a slight glow to the black orchid tattoo contrasted greatly against his skin. He lifted his right hand to gently caress the inky flower and closed his eyes as the memories overtook his restless mind.

The boy let out a painful gasp upon regaining consciousness. The smell of hellfire, blood, and brimstone seared through all his senses. The unbearable sensation of boiling hot liquid burned into his body from the waist down. The unspeakable pain caused him to lap in and out of consciousness for every few seconds. However, his body continued to wade through the boiling scarlet pool. His continuous torturous existence treading through the boiling pool of blood that he had spilled. He slipped under into blackness again for a split second before waking to see his surroundings had changed to an all-white room. Weakly the boy craned his neck to observe a suited figure standing off to the said watching him intently. The tall suited man gave the boy a sinister smile before walking in front of him and extended a hand towards him. In the man's grip was a ragged parchment roll with what appeared to read like a contract of sorts. 'Boy, do I have a deal for you' chuckled the man while circling the boy before swooping down and lifting the boy's left wrist. 'I think an orchid will make a lovely addition to your little ink collection. What do ya think?" He questioned as he gazed down at the boy's bare wrist. The boy held his breath in fear of this strange man but then-

A whisper of movement from the shadows caused him to snap back to reality. Cursing under his breath, the boy once again refocused his senses, listening intently into the empty silence that blanketed the area around him. A few seconds later another silent shuffle confirmed what he was dreading.