43 Tower System III : The Service

UNKNOWN LOCATION

UNKNOWN TIME

UNKNOWN CHARACTER

UNKNOWN MEMORY

Jason held his breath and scrunched his eyes in pain as the belt came down on his bare back. He could almost feel the red welts and bruises appear just as much as he could feel them inflicted. He wanted to cry, he really wanted to, but tears would only make it worse.

"Why Did you Lie!, What did I tell you about lying!Tell me!, tell me!"

Each word his father spoke was fried with the drop of his leather belt. Each word promise of pain and agony. Jason hated him, he hated him so much. But what made this worse, was the fact that he understood why this was happening, and he loved his father none the less. But he still hated him too, how was this possible, how could you love someone so much, but want them to die. But Jason knew he had to answer, if he did not, then his fair skin, would end up with more than just bruises and welts by the time this session was over.

"You said never to lie, even if I'm going to be killed, I should never lie. Liars go to hell!"

"SMACK!" the next drop of the belt was so hard that Jason involuntarily bit his tongue as blood filled his mouth.

"What did I tell you about the truth son! What does the bible say about the truth?"

"The truth shall set you free."

"SMACK!" "Now tell me the truth. Why are you home so late, tell me!"

Jason got up as his father had stopped with the beatings. It was expected that the truth had to come out now. Jason walked behind their couch, and picked up a wrapped box with blue ribbons on it. Then he walked towards his father, stretching his twelve year old bruised arms with as much strength as he could muster towards his father.

"What's this?" His father asked, with a face that was slowly turning horrified.

"Happy birthday Dad. I went out to get you a present, but I missed the bus back. It's why I was late. I know mom doesn't give you anything good or even remembers your birthday until the last minute, so I had to do something different this year. I'm sorry you got angry."

Jason did not really know what to expect after he gave his father the present. More beatings, more yelling, a slap. But it was definitely not a hug, or the tears that kept falling from his father's face. Or the words that came after.

"What have I done, O God, what have I done. Jason, my boy, my son. I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I don't want to hurt you, I never wanted to become this monster, and especially to my own son. It's just that every time you lie, you remind me of....you remind me of"

"Mom?" Jason answered his distraught father.

"Yes you remind me of your mother..... So you know of her infidelity. For how long?"

"About two years now" Jason answered with a pensive tone, still wary of his father's mood, considering he was still tightly clutching his belt.

"Why did you not say anything?" His father asked.

"Because I didn't want your hurting anymore." Jason answered with all honesty.

It was a painful thing for both father and son, but it was a night that was bound to change both their lives forever.

"Listen to me Jason, I don't if I can stop myself, or control my temper. I can't do anything to your mother, because I still love her so much, even with all she has done. So you have to promise something, the next time I raise my hands at you,...….Jason you have to fight back, because that's the right thing to do. That's the only way you can get justice for yourself...…and for me.You have to fight the monster that your mother created, you have to fight back, please...…..I don't want to hurt you anymore, but I don't know if I can stop. Do you understand, fight back, please."

Jason understood, he knew this was a turning point in both their lives. And he accepted the duty that came with it.

"Don't worry Dad, whenever the monster comes out again, I'll fight back!"

And it was so, that the next time the belt dropped, Jason fought back, and he fought hard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

BLUE DISTRICT

SECTOR 13

AREA 7

TOWER 5

ASARE SOLAGA

Being here was nothing short of annoying. If could think of w fewdozen ways to torture myself than to listen to a fanatic preach about religion. But I had to be here, this way at least I knew what I was dealing with.

Lady Asha had went looking for information about this dark horse on her own. She had pulled Asha along, and no matter how much I tried to convince her to let me come along, I was brutally shot down. What was it with my lord and willful women, why couldn't he be just like every other man, and want a woman who is demure, gentle, pure, and sweet. Instead he wants them wild, calculative, sexy and gorgeous, pretty or beautiful were not his type.He's drawn to women who could hold their own against a man, and I should know, after all Asha is not his first love.

But none the less thendays just seem to stretch, hours upon hours wasted as I waited for a sign of any sort, something that could fuel the embers of my dying hope, and let me know that my lord would wake up soon enough. But there was nothing, he just laid there, unresponsive to anything and unresponsive to the people who love him.

Which was why I was here, I got tired of sitting on my ass. I had to do something, and this strange elder who's going around performing miracles in the name of my lord and a one God, who's name I might add was still pending. My lord Kael always had some sort of fear for religion, but on more than one occasion I had caught him praying. I had no idea which God he was praying to, or why he had to kneel down and clasp his hands together to do it.

But the bottom line was that, religion was never a big part of our household. Any one was free to believe in whatever God they wanted to, but lord Kael never encouraged nor discouraged anyone from pursuing religion. Which was why having this guy so damn close to us, a d being followed by thousands of vampires made my skin crawl. I've seen the dark side of religion, a war that Shearath has been unable to win since the inception of the Gods themselves. I had to make sure this guy was no danger to my Lord, especially since his name is mentioned every five sentences that flies out of this vampire's mouth.

" Brethren, I welcome you once again to another wondrous service. I guarantee you, that by the time this session is over, you would feel great change in the depths of your soul and all to the glory to the one God."

Typical opening speech of any average preacher or priest trying to propagate religion. So far this guy seemed harmless, and I rather, in fact it was more like I was praying I didn't come here for nothing. Going back to twiddling my thumbs did not seat well with me.

"To those of you joining us for the first time, welcome to our congregation. Here I deliver the mandate of the one God as shown to me in a vision, regarding the great heroes of the universe. And one of them, lie not far away to the west from here, the great hero Kael, who with the help and supreme mandate of the one God, has fought desperately for the liberation of vampires everywhere.

And I am happy to say, the liberation! Is close at hand!"

"WHOAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

The roar was deafening, but it was not enough proof. What ever this guy was cooking, they were eating it up no doubt, eating it like it was the blessings of heaven raining down for on them on the behest and benevolence of a God whose name is not currently known. What exactly I'm I looking for here.

"Brethren we. Are. Vampires. Our destiny is so great that even the world has conspired to keep us chained, buried, forgotten, lost in the darkness, But no more!, I say no MORE!!"

"NO MORE!!!!"

"Listen to me children of the first night. Listen! To me followers of the one God!.The vampires were the first to be born on the darkening of the sun, on that auspicious hour when the night came into being, we were there, were strong, and we were Gods!.But are we Gods now?Do we look like Gods?, do we dress like Gods?"

"NOOOOO!!!!"

"No!. No I tell you. And why is that, it's because those heathens, those sinners on the council of light, they fears us. They refuse to understand, that the night is ours to rule, and with it, the power of the day. They forget, that everything was born and made from darkness, from chaos. When there was no Shearath, all that stood in existence was the way, and the way was in darkness, for it was darkness, and darkness was it's companion.

They have strayed from the true path of worship and adoration, which is why the one God has sent our poor hero Kael, who now lies down weak helpless, and struck down by the machinations of our enemies after he won a huge victory over them.Tell me brethren is this fair...is this fair!"

"NOOOOO!!"

He was crying now, tearing and pulling at his hair in some sort of anguished display of pain. He was really going at it, and he was mutilating himself by scratching his skin with longer than normal finger nails. This guy is crazy, even if there was no danger but his insanity he was to dangerous to be left alone. He was inciting this crowd of people, whipping them into a frenzy.

"They all must pay, they must pay for what they have done to us. They must pay for burying us in the darkness, for trying to forget us!, for trying to erase us!, for taking our identities away from us!, for taking our lands!, our homes!, our children!, our future!,...…for trying to take our HERO!!!!".

Then he paused and raised his hands up, a sigil appeared on the palm of his hand as he raised it up. It glowed with an eerie purple glow that suffused the entire surroundings. But I could feel something from it, something dark. Every vampire would be capable of feeling what I was, if they we're not sealed, but to them all they could see was a mysterious light from the palm of a sealed vampire. Something that he should be completely incapable of doing.

But I recognize that feeling, it was somethingI had grown up in, something I recognized from my years growing up. A feeling I hated to the core of my very being, it was the power of decay, a sigil of sorts, from the dark God Orthos. This bastard was not the servant of any one God, he was a chosen prophet of the Dark God Orthos the Devourer. And entity that will take and kill everything on Shearath, until there was nothing left.

"We must have our revenge my brothers and sisters, we must make them pay for all of their transgressions against us. For their sins against our family, our friends, our lives, our hero's, and our future.We must have blood, and we must have it now,we must have retribution and we must have it now. We must have WAR!!"