I have suffered through a thousand blazing hells for the Lord, slaying the lives of my mortal brothers and sisters as a penance for my sins. The name Thanatos, permanently etched into my soul as a blade of silver strikes death upon each fated life I reap. Time has no effect on my unresting spirit. The rays of sunlight set across the dull horizon in the morning cast shadows upon my dark figure. As I walk through the ashen streets of the plaza with my black cloak billowing in the autumnal wind, a premonition ignites within my chest. Closely I observe the young man with revenous eyes.
He was dressed in large clothes which ung from the malnourished frame of his body. Each defeated step he took I followed in pursuit, remaining a good distance away as to remain inconspicious. We arrived at a small house nestled in a poverty stricken area of the city. The boy unlocks the door and dissapears into the shadows of the dingy building. My eyes observe the barren streets for witnesses before approaching the house wtih confident strides. I knock upon the wooden door thrice and wait. It swings open and the young man stares at me in annoyance.
What d’ya want from me? ” he sneered, “get the bloody hell away from this house you posh ba-” Immediately I push the an onto the ground and shut the door behind me. His head bounces against the cement floor. He stares at me with shock and fear as I take my knife and approach his trembling body. I plunge the knife deep into his chest. A scarlett stream surges out of his body, rapidly pooling around his body. The last inkling of life left in the man’s milky eyes vanished. I wipe my crimson stained blade with a cloth and stuff my bloodied hands into the pockets of my coat.
Stealthily, I leave the young man’s home and re emerge into society. The sky hung oppressively upon my shoulders as my figure haunts the desolate streets of the city court. The blade remains tucked inside my coat pocket, freshly rinsed of today’s kill. By instinct I grip the blade’s handle while passing by the town dwellers, their eyes directed at me with glazed looks of vague suspicion. I lengthen my stride and travel at an accelerated pace, anxious to escape their scrutiny. Gradually the streets of the city transformed into the reclusive terrain of the countryside as I near the outskirts of town.
I enter my isolated abode sitting modestly upon a hill, protected by gates of iron and brick fencing. Wearily I barge through the doors, entering the hallways and taking lumbering steps up the stairwell. I reach my bedroom chambers with relief at the sight of amontillado sitting on my dresser. The bottle stands like a radiant being, enticing my impulses and ultimately conquering my sobriety. I raise the bottle up to a toast. To Elizabeth! ” | cry. The amontillado passes through my lips, the warm liquid bursting with a dark complexity of flavours as it runs down my throat.
A burning sensation emerges from my stomach and fills me with an intense desire for more. I push the bottle to my lips and drink again. My accursed soul is weighted with the death of an angel so pure and heavenly. I drink to erase the bloody trail left by the sins of y past, yet the memories I’ve kept locked in the shadows of my heart begin to re emerge. The little darling’s death though I admit I have committed, was not in its entirety my fault. I come from a line of admired and notable aristocracy, where fine wine runs through my throat as easily as the blood in my veins.
That grim night I was intoxicated beyond my capacity; every action I performed was driven under the influence of liquor. When she had come for me with a happy smile displayed upon her radiant face and her blue eyes gleaming with compassion, it was not within my nature’s capacity to drive a knife straight into er heart. I was possessed by the destructive vices of alcohol and yet the Lord’s judgement upon my soul remains unforgiving. The memories consume me with severe despair. I climb into bed and lay restlessly in silence with the weight of my sins directly on my chest.
Fatigue raids my conscious, and slowly I try to lure myself into a fitful slumber. In the chamber of my bedroom a luminous light pierces through the darkness, tearing me away from sleep. My darling Elizabeth stands at the foot of my bed, a white garment falling from the frame of her small body as crimson blood drips down from the wound in her chest. I jolt upright as tendrils of electricity travel down my spine. Her gaze remains fixed upon me, the sockets of her eyes replaced with glowing embers. I fumbled out of bed dazed at the sight of her apparition.
“Elizabeth? I whispered. The corners of her mouth rise up in a bright grin. She stands paralleled towards me and reaches her fair hands to touch my face. I grimaced at her touch, an icy sensation blooming in my cheek sending chills of fear in my soul. Her smile grows wider and I stumble away in terror, as she reaches into the bloody wound of her torso, pulling out my silver blade and brandishing the knife towards me. Will you join me in Hell? ” she asks, taking long steps towards my paralyzed body. Swiftly she lunges at me the knife barely missing my face before striking the wall.
A terrible shriek pierces the sombre silence of my room. “You will pay for your sins! ” I fled aghast. My feet tearing onto the wooden floorboards as I navigate myself away from the horrors my eyes witnessed just moments ago. A roaring howl suffocates the house and I force my legs to hasten pace. I was within the threshold of escape when searing pain begins to seize within the muscles of my legs quickly spreading like wildfire throughout my body. My hands ere bound to my sides leaving me helpless against the actions of my feet leading me back into the bedroom. A knife lays on top of my bed, awaiting my return.
It’s blade newly polished and gleaming with destructive intent. Sobs resonated within my throat as I took the knife in my hands. With Elizabeth’s memory freshly embedded in my mind, I can hear her taunting me. The airy melody of her voice vibrating in my head shaking my sanity, driving me into a chaotic state. With one swift motion I drive the blade straight into my gut. The thundering choir of hell rises to a crescendo as a million creatures unleash in a fury of torment. The sheer fabric of my spirit tore, descending into fiery depths as my gut erupts with crimson.
Never has a sound so inhuman escape my lips, as the music of Hades floods my corpse, ravaging my heart with a firm and cruel hand grasping tighter each beat. The shadows rise, dancing across my vision forming into one uniting figure and Death is there, wrapped in black gossamer silk. Rushing darkness surrounds my feeble conscious, each passing moment closer to oblivion. It’s skeletal hand, luminous in the darkness reaches for me and I am a bird trapped in a cage. With one last intake of breath I lay eternally still in the hands of the devil.
