Sorry this one took longer than I would have liked.
All right, let's just cut to the chase.
Not many warnings in this chapter, except for maybe a few spoilers.
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The Hardest Part
Chapter Eight: You Really Broke My Heart
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"I love you, Eileen…"
Eileen had stood entranced by this man who had once again thrown his life down on the line to save hers. If it wasn't for the demonic sight of Haley in a blue, blood-stained trench coat, she might've explained everything to Henry… The brunette knew he would be taken aback by her somewhat distorted reasoning behind taking Brad as a boyfriend but he would understand; this was Henry and Henry wouldn't hurt her in anyway of he could help it.
But as of now, the photographer was in no place to talk leisurely. The Mother Reborn's eyes had widened when Henry had lunged at Haley and tackled her to the floor, causing a furious growl to escape the student's throat. They struggled against each other, one trying to overcome the other while Eileen just watched them almost fascinatingly. This lasted for several grueling moments before the male jerked his head back to look at her as the Southern freed a wrist and came close to punching his jaw.
"Damn it, Eileen, run!" he bellowed before a hand clutched his throat, effectively choking him. Instinctively, his rough hands fled to the lithe one strangling him in an attempt to pull it off as he vaguely recalled hearing her retort a 'no.' He didn't pay attention for long for the grip that was blocking his air passage tightened and soon Haley had taken put Henry at a disadvantage long enough to harshly throw him down to the ground on his back. "Always playing the hero, eh, Receiver?" inquired Haley softly as another hand went to caress the male's wet cheek. A soft chuckle coupled with some of the gargled sounds emitting from the brunet's gasping mouth and she noticed how the life was starting to fade from his emerald eyes. Grinning madly, she let her vice-grip slack before standing up to watch him cough severely. "Does she mean that much to you? Do you love her enough to be killed? Do you love her enough to kill the AntiSacrament…? I've always wondered why you fought so hard when I forced her to walk to her death… and now I know…" Haley's green irises averted to Eileen's pale, scared countenance before returning her gaze back to Henry.
"You leave her alone...!" Henry spat vehemently, the threat only reaching as far to Haley as Walter would let. Scoffing slightly at the hollow retort, the college student smiled psychotically before shuffling her hand about in a coat pocket and retrieving one of Walter's trademark guns. Pointing it at Eileen's stiff form, the younger female watched Henry's expression turn from rebellious anger to fearful shock. "Don't…"
"'Don't' what? Don't make the mistake by pulling the trigger? You don't realize what will happen if you don't die, do you? She's just the next stepping stone; the new body for Mother when her soul is split from it… But you're more than just the Twenty-first Sacrament…"
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The shifting of a long ebony coat fluttered along the wind as a young man reached the apartment building, slightly out of breath. He gazed determinedly at the structure, clutching the book tightly in his hands for support and motivation. He didn't have much time… The AntiSacrament had been found and already the girl was fading into the Receiver. Things were rushing a bit faster than the small, broken cult had expected and though he knew that his peers were joyful at the news, the dark-blond couldn't help but feel something was amiss. He had traveled from Silent Hill to Ashfield in order to figure out the imbalance between the Receiver and his Shadow and soon, with his book in hand, he would learn why.
Priest Michael Belington rushed quickly to the door, pushing it open before jogging quickly to the source of the imbalance…
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Henry heard the 'lucid' words coming from the Conjurer, panic, shock, and fear washing through his veins rapidly after hearing the 'role' he was born to play. A soft electrical hum and their short, almost inaudible breaths was all the brunet heard after the insane explanation came from Haley's mouth. He registered that Eileen was still in the room, unable to run since the gun was continuously pointing in her direction. She knew one wrong move would cause the trigger to be pulled and then all the blood and pain she had to experienced to the nightmarish world He had created would be for nothing…
But there was something strange about the new information Walter had given the Mother Reborn and the Receiver of Wisdom… something a bit deeper than what was explained to them by Joseph and his weird little notes. It was almost as if there was a whole new level of sacrifices and authorities beyond the Twenty-one Sacraments and it instilled chilling horror in her mind and heart.
Once again, there was a faint thump of footsteps, this time running, approaching the apartment door and soon they stopped. Onerous pants crept into their ears before the door was forced open and a tall, young man, clad in black, with dark-blond curls and vibrant blue eyes rushed inside and threw himself between the college student and her soon-to-be victims…
"AntiSacrament…! Why are you trying to fulfill the Conjurer's deeds!"
Walter knew who this man was affiliated with… the black priest robes and the book with the Halo of the Sun reeked of that awful aura of superiority and all-knowing greatness. Just the sight alone brought a soft, poisonous hiss from her mouth and the priest sensed the hostility literally rolling off this young girl's lithe form. He didn't quite understand it… why was she taking the matter of sacrificing the last Twenty-one Sacraments when it was supposed to be the Conjurer's duty to fulfill the act before she was found? When the Descent of the Holy Mother was fulfilled, the AntiSacrament would rise from the ashes of the chaos and restore this Land of Sin by using the Sacraments themselves to ensure the people's cooperation in bringing about Paradise. … But this new situation perturbed Michael immensely and he wondered if something had happened to the Conjurer.
"Why? Because the Receiver of Wisdom wouldn't take death quietly and had to destroy My body… My flesh…" Haley began angrily, her dark emerald eyes glaring into the priests azure ones before furiously pointing the gun at the brunet male still on the floor. "He couldn't die like all the others! No, he had to fight back! He had to save the Mother Reborn! He had to make the AntiSacrament suffer by being alive so that she would fade into him! And he had to influence her into believing that he was on the side of righteousness even though she'll die because of him!"
Haley's vexed breaths filled the silent void of the room after her fit and soon tears fell from her eyes and down reddened cheeks, giving them the appeal of crimson liquid tainting her face. A sob convulsed through her body as the emotional distress showed itself fully to the four. "…I don't want her to die… I love her… and I want to be with her… Why won't you let me have that, Henry?"
"… Because killing innocent people who have done nothing to you is wrong. By torturing and murdering people… you bring upon a reputation that isn't easily made right by a 'cause,'" the brunet stated somewhat sadly, feeling a soft sting of sorrow for the man in the coat. He knew what it felt like to desire something that was out-of-reach… something that wasn't possible for you to take as your own and adore it all by yourself. Henry was very well aware of the agony that ransacked through his mind most days when he thought of Eileen's arm linked with Brad's… and more so when he imagined Brad taking her out to fancy restaurants and sending extravagant gifts and receiving her kisses of love and appreciation for it. "Look… I understand what it feels like to love someone so much that you want to stay with them forever… but you've… done too much to claim that you're… right for Haley."
A strange expression crossed the college student's face and one of the priest's eyebrows quirked upward in confusion. The Conjurer had been defeated? How had they not known of this…? Yes, the Order's limitations were great and they had only a few members left… but surely one of the higher priests or priestesses would have been able to at least sense that Walter Sullivan had failed in his plan to bring back 'Mother.' And now, here the man was, inside the mind of a young girl who had probably never even gave a second thought about being something more than she was. But Michael knew that the girl wouldn't be anything more than a Shadow if the Receiver's demise was fulfilled.
As the conversation was going on, Eileen had watched Henry intently as tears flowed from her eyes, picking up the hurt in his words as he spoke to Haley's possessor. She hadn't known… she hadn't cared enough to look deep enough in Henry's shy glances or comments to see that the brunet male felt more for her than anyone else in the world. Eileen had always assumed that Haley and Henry would eventually start dating and end up becoming a couple, but after those three words of commitment and affection fell from the male's lips to her, she thought differently. However, she doubted that she would have much of a chance to think through it fully until something was done about Walter… once and for all.
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He… was not right for the AntiSacrament?
The Conjurer began to ponder over the proclamation given to Him by the Receiver and then wondered how Haley was reacting to all this. The brunette female hadn't said much since the power struggle incident in Room 302, and He now realized her silence and compliance. '…Haley?' He asked telepathically, hoping dimly that He would get a response of some kind. After a moment or so, He heard a soft sigh escape from the AntiSacrament's lips before hearing a reply.
'What is it?'
'Are you happy?' came the timid inquiry from the almost childish man.
Once again, she waited in responding to Him, not knowing quite how to answer such a simple-sounding question. Instead, Haley just sat there, still as a statue, locked in her own mind, thoughtfully going over the inquiry. Half of her could say 'no' because of Walter's actions against innocents, her friends and herself… but another side said 'yes' because someone out there loved her and was willing to kill for her existence. But, she reminded herself, murder is a murder no matter how anyone might angle it. Whether the act is for self-protection or for revenge, blood still tainted the hands of the one who took another's life. So, finally deciding on an answer for the blond male, she straightened her shoulders and tilted her head upward to look him straight in the eye.
'Well?'
'… I don't know…' she answered in an almost wistful tone.
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"Conjurer?"
No response.
Michael supposed now would be a good time to interject his words into the room while the air was stilled and safe so he turned to the man on the floor and the female kneeling just a few feet from him and put on a stern face. "The Conjurer, I suppose, is talking with the AntiSacrament… Maybe she is fighting His presence… Come, while He is busy…"
Henry and Eileen both glanced at each other hesitatingly before looking at Haley, who wore a blank expression and had deep, fathomless dark emerald pools for eyes. A shiver ran down the brunet male's spine icily which felt as if a knife was lightly dragging across his back and he nodded to Eileen, signaling that it might be best to leave. They slowly stood up, fearful that any movement would startle Walter into awareness and provoke any kind of attack, but obviously something was wrong inside Haley's head and they took advantage of it fully.
They had proceeded sluggishly downward to the third floor when they decided to increase their pace and soon, the Receiver and the Mother Reborn were trotting swiftly down the stairs to the Lobby, glancing behind their shoulders almost every other second to see if Haley was stalking them in their flee… but nothing followed their descent and soon Henry and Eileen found themselves outside of the apartment building with a young man they had never even seen before. Deciding that they would be out of danger long enough to learn a bit about this new acquaintance, the photographer stepped towards the priest and sternly asked who he was and how did he know about Haley and Walter.
"My name is Michael Belington and I'm a priest for the Order," the dark blond answered before stepping back when anger flared in the brunet male's eyes. He thought it would have been obvious, since Walter's murder case was internationally known and since this man and woman had experienced His worlds, but he guessed that both held heavier contempt for the blond murder than he imagined.
Henry's teeth gritted together and he felt his jaw ache at the pressure as his fists trembled. He was from the cult that had brainwashed Sullivan! He had helped them! He had the nerve to show his face to them! It was baffling and infuriating and almost insulting since this man had just walked in and helped them escape when he was part of the same cult that had caused this whole mess! The Receiver found himself wanting to strangle the younger man and then snap his neck so that he could scream that he exacted some revenge on the Satanist organization…
But he kept himself in place, taking in Eileen's presence when he felt her comforting hand on his shoulder and using it as a vent for his vexation. Henry almost shuddered when he felt the soft palm begin to rub his upper back and the fury that swelled with the intensity of a conflagration fade into silent calmness- or as calm as one could get with a psycho, Mother-obsessed killer after them.
"I know that you're angry about all this… but the girl is in danger and having the Conjurer inside of her mind could be doing more harm than good to her…"
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Haley's corpulent form still stood in Eileen's apartment, the two presences in her mind causing the body to remain motionless. Walter knew that the Receiver of Wisdom and the Mother Reborn had left the room, but He couldn't bring Himself to go after them when His AntiSacrament was still sitting on her knees on the 'floor' of the dark void around them, wondering whether she could accept this Fate or not. He found that if He watched closely enough at her beautiful countenance He could see the faint traces of conflict wrinkling her brows and lips.
'I'm sorry… that you don't know if you're happy or not… I wish you could tell me what would make you happy…'
Haley just raised her head at Him and shook her head, denying His apology. 'You can't do anything… Because no matter what… You'll break my heart either way.'
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End of Chapter Eight
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R&R, please.