A nail.

Such a simple, innocuous thing. Usually about one or two inches in length. They're always there, and you tend to just ignore them. They hold everything together, keeping your home from falling apart in the middle of the night. They're tools used to help us stay safe. I never really thought about it before, but I realize now that I really like nails.

A hammer.

Well, that's how the nail gets to where it's going. Someone has to hammer it into place. Hit the nail on the head and drive it into the wood. The hammer is no more or less of a tool than the nail, yet people notice it more. Perhaps because when the hammer moves, it makes a sound that people know. You hear a hammer and you know right away what's happening. It's not the type of thing I think of often, no, but I guess I like hammers too.

I've never used a nail or a hammer, but I can respect what they do for us. The hammer and the nail are a team that work together to hold things from falling apart. It's not their fault if they're used improperly. In fact, thinking about them, all I can do right now is commend the hammer and the two nails for doing such a good job. Such a good job at holding my hands to the wall.

These aren't those one or two inch nails. These nails are six inches long, ensuring that they won't come loose until someone with some strength left in their body comes to pull me free. I have no strength left, so I can't be the one to do it. That hammer did its job well, too.

I wonder who that girl was. The one who put me here, the girl with the spear. I don't know for sure why she did this to me, but I can guess. She came out of nowhere and dragged me off to this church. She said it belonged to her father, but it doesn't look like it's seen use in years. And here I am, nailed to the wall in between two of the broken stained glass windows. I have a feeling why she did this to me. Why she left me here of all places, and left me to die like this.

It's because I read a Bible, and I believed what it said. It's because I told everyone what choice I had made. I didn't expect everything to change so suddenly. I didn't expect Kyousuke to turn me down the way he did. I didn't expect Sayaka and Madoka to look at me like that. I never thought my parents would yell at me.

And hanging from the wall of a broken down church, that's when I saw the white creature. It just sat there staring up at me from the dirty floor. I don't think I've ever seen an animal that looks like that, or even heard of one. Part of me is saying that it's more than an animal. That it will understand my pleas for help. Another part of me is saying that it's something evil, and that I should be afraid.

I tried to cry down at the creature, to find out if it understood me. My voice came out strained and painful, breaking several times. "What do you want from me?"

It stared at me for a few more moments before finally answering. I hadn't really expected it to answer. "I was hoping I could make a contract with you."

A contract? "What do you mean?" It was getting hard to talk. I felt blood dripping down my face, and remembered that the girl had hit me several times with her spear.

It answered. "I find young girls such as yourself that are willing to make a contract with me. In return for one wish that I can grant no matter how impossible as it may seem, the girls become magical girls and fight against witches. Part of this contract is that the soul of the girl becomes separate, held within a soul gem. That is why I cannot make a contract with you. I cannot access your soul, because it already belongs to someone else."

I don't understand what he means. I wish I did, but none of it makes sense. What does he mean that my soul belongs to someone else? Who does my soul belong to?

I think I already knew the answer to that.

I wanted, for some reason, to hear this creature say it. "Who has my soul?"

It stood up and started walking away. "I am not sure who they are, but I do know that they infuriate me to no end. It has been a while since he stole away one of my prospective magical girls, so I was beginning to hope he had stopped working. I suppose this is not the case. At least you'll be out of the picture soon."

It left, and as it walked away, I began to feel peace. It's strange, but I know what I felt. It felt like the little white creature was evil, and it wanted to ensnare me. Somehow, I was out of reach for it. I died only a few minutes later, smiling. I smiled because I knew who had my soul, and that he hadn't lied when he said no one could take me away from him. I hope that creature doesn't get Sayaka's soul, or Madoka's. I think it said it went after girls, but I still wished Kyousuke to be safe.

No. No... I didn't hope. I didn't wish. I prayed. I prayed that it wasn't too late for my friends, and that they could see and feel what I have. Kyousuke... Sayaka... Madoka... my parents, too. Even that girl with the spear. I pray that they all have a chance to be saved. Jesus, please save them.