by Bart Ringer

Created on: March 02, 2011

How long had it been since he had awakened with nothing but his thoughts? Vainly he tried to remember: Had it been a day? A week? A year? An hour? The clammy velvet darkness that swirled around him gave no hint.

With each step his feet struck something solid and he was able to continue. He had lost count of the times that he had stopped in the darkness to kneel and blindly grope about where the ground should have been. Each time had been the same: his frantic hands had clutched nothing but emptiness.

The silence around him was broken only by an occasional whisper. Was it the wind? Was it someone else trying to tell him something? Perhaps a wild beast, ready to spring? He knew not.

Alone with his thoughts, he continued onward.

Indignantly, he reminded himself that he was not a man to be trifled with. After all, he was well thought of and respected. He smiled to himself as he thought about how stupid they all were. In the name of God he had become a rich man. Donations, tithes and offerings had all come his way.

Smirking to himself in the darkness he thought of his riches. The trusting widow who had signed her house over to him, The Gilberts, rich folks with more money than they knew what to do with. What a pair of pushovers he thought, as he remembered how he had persuaded them to make him the sole beneficiary in their will.

Then there were the women. Young, old, it made no difference. They were so trusting, so stupid. All it took was a few kind remarks, a pretense of caring and a sympathetic nod or two and they were his.

He shivered uncontrollably in the cold. Holding his hand up in front of his face he pulled it towards him until it touched his nose. Nothing. The darkness was utter and complete.

Again the rustling came. He stood silent and motionless as every fiber in his being strained to understand the soft whisperings.

The soft clinging darkness muffled a terrified scream of anguish as the message finally became clear. Sinking to his knees he continued to scream until he was utterly emptied. With a final whimper he rose to his feet to continue the walk into the blackness that would be his eternity.

Justice had been done.

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