Sacrifice

(A Gothic Setting)

He walked quickly down the street, rushing past the darkened houses on this, the dreariest of days. Necessity drove him this night, on his errand all too important. The most importance in essence.

He paused on a street corner and looked up at the sky. Useless...the sky would be no comfort tonight. Large black billowing clouds rolled across the sky as the sun cast its final rays of sunlight across the world. He sighed as he gazed up at those towering castles of gloom. He glanced down at his watch and shook his head. "So little time..." he thought to himself.

Darkness settled into his heart...so much courage would be required of him, and he knew not if he had it. With another glance at the darkening sky, he sped off into the deepening gloom.

As he raced along he noticed the lack of light in the street. "It's well past twilight...why aren't the streetlamps on yet?" He spared only the thought as he rushed to his destination...perhaps his final one. While he had never actually been to the church, he knew all too well where to find it and had no trouble finding it.

At long last, after passing many dark and depressing streets, he reached the cathedral. He shivered as he looked up at those big, blood red, windows of the ancient building. He thought back to when he had first seen the place. His friend Terry had told him that Satan himself had built that church and that no human feet had set foot there in centuries.

The building itself was constructed of dark grey bricks and tapered off to a sharp peak high above the entrance. He turned quickly for he thought he saw something moving stealthily between the gravestones. After a moment of looking, he turned back toward the church.

Closing his eyes as he took a first step into the graveyard, he knew for sure that he was going to be struck by lightning. Feeling no condolence for lack of lightning he pressed forward towards the entrance of the cathedral, passing many gravestones whose names have long since been erased by time.

At long last he reached the foot of the stairs that lead up to the giant doors. He quickly moved up the steps to stand before the huge doors. He grimaced as he inspected the doors, which he discovered, were elaborately decorated with human faces contorted in pain and agony.

He slowly wrapped his hand around the handle and pulled one of the doors open. Stale and putrid air rushed past him as if the very air wished to leave this place of death and decay. With a swift glance behind him he stepped inside.

Row after row of pews stretched out in front of him. While some still stood, many had quite literally crumbled into heaps of rotten wood. The floor creaked loudly as he made his way forward towards the altar.

As he walked down the aisle of the church, he thought about Casey.

Roughly one week ago she had been involved in an accident, which had left her with serious brain damage. The doctors only gave her a few days to live... In truth it was a dream that had led him to this place...somehow he knew he could save her if he could just make it here.

Without seeing or hearing it, he could sense an evil presence in this place... As he made his way close to the altar, he experienced what could only be described as an inverse flash of light. Exactly like a blinding flash of light, except that it was darkness that blinded him. When he was able to see again, he saw what looked like a young man sitting on the altar with one leg dangling over the edge.

"This place was built ages ago with the sole purpose to offer tribute to Me." said the man as he glanced down at his visitor.

"I don't have time to exchange cheap words with you Satan." Andrew replied.

"Very well, what DID you come here for?" Satan asked with an air of curiosity.

"I came to beg you to spare the life of my wife Casey," Andrew stated plainly.

"Ah yes, I remember her. She was involved in that delightful accident I created a week ago, correct?" He said with satisfaction.

"Yes." was all Andrew could reply.

"As you wish, I will spare her life, BUT I require something from you in return for my assistance," Satan said with a smile. He was afraid this might be the case. With as much determination as he could muster, he replied "Anything."

"You need not worry, I'm not after your soul...such a cliché...besides, so many people live in sin that I have more souls than I know what to do with," he said lazily. "No, all I ask in return is that you give your life. "Your life in exchange for hers." As he said this, Satan drew forth a serpentine dagger and handed it to Andrew. "Kill yourself with this, and I will spare the life of your wife."

Now that it came down to the choice, he didn't know if he could go through with this. There were so many things left unsaid, so many things left undone. He spent many minutes deliberating, but in the end he knew that he was the only hope for his wife, and without another thought plunged the dagger straight into his heart "I am a man of my word," he said with his dying breath.

With no expression on his face Satan simply said, and snapped his fingers.

Several miles away in a hospital room, Casey suddenly awoke from her deep coma, fully healed and fully awake. It was several weeks before anyone found his body, and they figured that he had committed suicide in grief for his wife. While Casey grieved for many months, she eventually moved on and lived happily ever after, never knowing the sacrifice that he had paid for her to live.