Cleansed

Okay. This is just something I wrote for my English class. No cover yet, but I'm working on it. If anyone who reads it wants an expansion, sequel, or explanation on anything just comment on the story or send me a personal message witht your request. If enough people want an expansion or sequel I'll write one. Thank you for reading!

 

 The cold mountain air forced a light frost on the dead and dying grass. The soft wind blew in silence, smoothly engulfing and caressing the trees in it's icy embrace. The moss and lichen were slightly frozen against the rocks that were scattered in a line that was almost still uniform in placement. The limestone path chilling the soil surrounding each broken stone brick.

 Breaking the silence is the crunch of dead Autumn leaves. The frozen October forest's silent beauty, shattered by the crunch of leaves and the heavy dragging sound, is now broken amidst the cadence of an unconscious body being dragged among the leaves. Such majesty destroyed by the oncoming horror looming in the distance.

 And here is our Hero. No; not the unconscious body being dragged. But the man dragging the body. And the victim, the Mayor of a nearby small town, was going to be Cleansed of his Greed, his Gluttony, his Sloth. So deserving of Baptism in his own blood. How Holy of a ritual. To be Cleansed by the blood taken from the Innocent.

 But the Mayor is not the only Sinner to be Cleansed by our Hero. An Attorney, whose heart and soul have been Plagued with Wrath. And an Actress, who is Tainted with Lust, Pride, and Envy.

 And our Hero wants to Save them from their Sins so they may be accepted into the Pearl Gates. Our Hero, a devout Christian looking to Purify the Tainted and wash the Sin from their Unclean beings.

 As he drags the Mayor, in his unconscious state, the Mayor's suit snags and tears against the limestone. His leather shoes, now scuffed, are covered in dirt and his shirt has a stain from a spilt glass of red wine from the night before.

 It's amazing how tasteless, scentless, and how undetectable ruphylin is. And it's a Blessing how well it works.

 But to build upon the character of our Hero, we must understand his motive. And his motive is simple: to Cleanse the Tainted world of it's Sin and Save the Sinners so they may become Saints.

 His sanity gone, he now looks for those Guilty of committing Sins. His reasons are Holy, yet his methods are Brutal. But he believes the pain they feel shows their Salvation and their Redemption. To bathe in water is only a physical change, but to be Cleansed in one's own blood is a change in Perspective and in Moral value. To make them Plead and Pray for their Savior to aid them is almost perfect. But to send them to their Savior is Merciful.

 And as we have a Hero, we also have a Villain. Because without the Joker, the Riddler, or the Penguin, Batman serves no purpose. But like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, our Hero is also our Villain.

 His other goal, his dream, is to rebuild the Church he lives in, works in, and Cleanses the Souls of the Wicked in. He uses the bodies of the Cleansed as Mortar between the stone bricks of the walls. He layers lime within a cement mix to help hold each piece together and to prevent the bodies from decomposing or smelling.

 And now as he drags the Mayor to the front of the decrepit Church, he has reached his destination. He admires his work, but only for a second. To be Prideful of it would make him himself a Sinner. And that would be quite hypocritical and anticlimatic. But it is quite relevant to the larger scheme of things.

 As he drags the Mayor into the Church and slowly down to his Cleansing Chamber, he looks back on his most recent Cleansings: the Attorney and the Actress.

 The Attorney, charged but never convicted of murdering his wife after learning of her extramarital engagements, was released after the murder weapon went missing from the evidence locker. It was the literal "smoking gun" that would give him thirty years to life in prison without parol and the possibility of a death sentence by lethal injection. But a few payoffs to some very Corrupt policemen saved him.

 His Cleansing was slow, allowing him many chances to be released from his Sins. Rather than allowing for a quick death like his wife had, his was long and agonizing. Our Hero and Villain started low, cutting off and cauterizing each individual toe, one by one. He really enjoyed the crunching sound of the bones along with the feeling of the bones breaking through the dull cutters he used. It was a satisfying sound and feeling.

 With the Attorney strapped in a chair, an I.V. in his arm with a pint of blood keeping him alive, he was given a large opportunity to Pray and Plead for Forgiveness. He was not gagued so he had full vocal capabilities.

 Next our Villain had set up a hot wax mixed with salt and lemon juice to remove the hair from the Attorney's legs. Just to intensify the burning sensations he would feel and to increase the agony. And now with every sharp, swift, yank the Attorney screamed in agony. The raw skin burned and stung from the salt and lemon juice. And now our Villain took a razor blade and lightly had begun to pierce the Attorney's Flesh on the raw areas that had been waxed.

 He made precise inscisions, deliberately avoiding major arteries and tendons; that was for later. He cuts around the most sensitive spots until he's satisfied with his work. So he moves on to cauterizing the fresh wounds.

 Next, he moved onto the Attorney's fingers, the nose, the lips, the ears. Every expendable part of the body amputated, lest the tongue, the Attorney still hadn't asked for any Forgiveness. He was so Prideful that he refused God. Which angered our Villain so much that he almost became Wrathful. But he avoided the Sin.

 So he simply took a dull blade, and slowly scalped the Attorney before finally slitting his throat. Then he began to add the Attorney into the wall, adding in his lime and cement to seal off the wall of Flesh and Carnage.

 But now as he slowly guts the Mayor he thinks of the Actress.

 Such Pride in such beauty. Such Lust for so many. Such Envy for those with more money. Her materialistic Sins needn't go unpunished.

 And now, as he slowly finishes off the Mayor and begins to add his newly Cleansed (and dismembered) body into a broken column along with cement and lime, he can't help but smile as he remembers taking away every bit of the Actress's beauty.

 He'd cut off her hair and slowly reconstructed and also "deconstructed" her once Perfect porcelain face. Her Perfectly shaped nose cut off, along with her ears now strung on her Pearl necklace. He'd carved the Lord's Prayer onto her forehead and cheeks. And he'd removed her eyelids. She'd recieved a much swifter death than most, but this was only because through every second of pain and Agony she'd endured, she'd Prayed to God for Mercy. She Pleaded for Forgiveness for whatever Sins she'd committed to deserve such torture.

 So he ended it swiftly with once slice to her throat.

 And now as he prepares and Cleans his tools for the next Sinner to be Cleansed. He looks around his half-rebuilt Church, and in the most human and sane, but devout way possible, he thanks the Lord for another Peaceful day of Faith with Good Works.

Okay. So now that I am done sounding like a sociopathic and sadistic killer. Any comments? Questions? Feedback of any kind? I need to know so I can see how good this was. And I need to also know if anyone wants any expansion or elaboration on the story. Also, the words that are capitalized that in any normal work of literature would not be capitalized are words that have to do with either, the bible, or are key elements of the story. Which if you have any questions about any of them please feel free to ask because it has a lot to do with Christianity and it can get qutie confusing.

This was inspired by the movie Se7en (With Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey) and by the American history of the Puritans and the Salem Witch Trials.

Thank you for reading.