#BATIM: A Gift Anewed

[golden-buddle]

It.. didn’t work.

Henry slowly blinked downwards as he kneeled in the pentagram.

It didn’t work. Why didn’t it work? He did everything the book said. The book, ‘The Illusion of Living’ had been filled with Joey’s ravings. Pages had been ripped out and he had to scour book after book to find the pages that he needed.

After all that work, after all those loops of practicing and dying over and over again to find everything he needed. It took forever to just find a cup that wasn’t covered in ink-!

And yet it didn’t work.

Henry grit his teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t cry. Not now. Not this deep in.

Taking in a slow, but shaking breath, Henry stood back up. He.. he needed to get bandages. The cut on his arm hurt. He needed to wrap it before the wretched ink seeped into his wounds and caused an infection. He couldn’t handle dying to another sepsis induced heart attack so soon since the last time.

He turned from the pentagram, purposely knocking over the blood filled cup and causing it to spill over the blood made pentagram.

Bandages first. Maybe a brief moment of respite, and then.. then, back to the script again. Back to the endless loops.

Henry softly shook his head as he reached the doorway.

..Maybe next time he can try to talk to Joey again. Maybe.

343rd time’s the try, after all. ..Right?

…

He left the room behind, the candles still lit in the flickering lights of the room.

Slowly, ever so slowly, each one of the candles went out.

A moment passed, and then ink started to bubble in the middle of the pentagram.