Everything Is Eternal (Book Two)

VII

Will's original goal was to write an article about the missing burnt victims. He spent so much time researching and searching for sources. Now he found himself at the heart of the mystery. He tried convincing himself this was an opportunity. Once he was free, he would expose all the sordid secrets of Sister Celine.

Of course, he was no longer an objective reporter. He was part of the story. But he could look at it as an undercover journalism opportunity. When he was free, he would print an account of the entire ordeal.

There were a few problems with Will's plan. One difficulty was keeping a proper account of the days. He read a story once where the imprisoned protagonist kept track of days by making marks on the walls of the dungeon.

That was pointless in Will's prison.

Time—always elusive in a sanctuary—became even more tenuous. After the Eternal Midnight, his sense of time utterly collapsed. Keeping track of it by meals was quickly proved to be a flawed method. Sometimes it seemed like he was fed twice a day and other times it was only once.

So he was hungry, and time was lost to him. His foul attitude also made him a target for the guards. He should be doing his best to find some sort of opening in the guards and coax out information.

But he couldn't seem to stop himself from making a bad situation worse.

It started the first day that he was escorted to the Purification Chamber. Another prisoner was being removed from the Purification Chamber. Will's heart jumped at the sight. He looked like Shin. Same haircut, same body shape. It was only when Will got a look at his face that he realized the man had at least a decade on Shin.

Will felt a surge of relief that it wasn't his friend, then guilt for feeling that way when a stranger suffered. The man's face was bloody and bruised. Will had a feeling they deliberately timed the arrival so he would see what happened to those who resisted.

A sight intended to horrify and humble him, and he was horrified, but not for himself. His anger grew as the prisoner staggered wildly, disorientated from the purifying ritual. A waste of a purification since when the man collapsed to the floor, he commenced a vicious, blasphemous tirade against the Eternal. The man was utterly out of it and probably unaware of what he was saying. But to the guards, it must have seemed like an intentional affront. They started beating the man into the ground right in front of Will.

This wasn't the first time Will had witnessed that sort of brutality and probably wasn't even the worst example. He still had enough detached journalistic skills to know they wanted him going into his own purification on edge. He could separate himself from his feelings to understand why they did it and the reaction they wanted to provoke. But the separate, analytical part of him was quickly drowned out by the rage from the rest of him. The guards provoked a reaction, but it wasn't what they were expecting. Will's explosive rage helped him wrench away from the guard holding him and launch himself at one of the brutal guards. As he attacked, every profanity he knew came flooding from his mouth. Most directed at the guards, but many at the Eternal Light and a choice few for Sister Celine.

He really wasn't surprised that he was the one who ended up being knocked onto the floor. He also wasn't shocked by the barrage of pain that followed. The guards already didn't like him because he kept asking questions. All it took was one blatant act of defiance to attract their ire.

They had no idea that had been his intention. It made them forget the poor prisoner as they redirected their rage at Will.

There was also a more selfish reason for his actions. A comprehensive purification couldn't take place if a prisoner was too injured. Abuse was a ritualized aspect of the process, but there was a method to the madness. If he was too out of it from pain, the purification wouldn't be effective. The Light might temporarily banish the pain, but it would return at full force when the Light extinguished. Will read once that the effects of the Light could be overcome if someone was in great pain. He never had a chance to put it to the test.