THE END OF THE WORLD // MASS [02/09] .

[truce.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]
Samuel was birthed in a place where nothing shined.

A perpetual darkness would overhang the life which humankind was forced to face, an ugly world where the majority had strayed from the virtue of the supernatural. But Abaddon was their protector, an entity so awe-inspiring and wonderful that He shined a light within the void of Earth. It was He who allowed the helpless find their way through the dark, the tenebrosity split open not by the glimmer but a full beam of brilliant luminosity.

Abaddon was good.

Samuel knew that ever since his dear cousin had placed responsibility onto him to watch over the flock, he realized that this ought to be a calling. A sign. This was exactly what Abaddon had set out for the denomination; Samuel was to be Messiah. The voice of the sanctified. He harbored the very gift that Kai had once procured - he could feel it within himself!

A smile faltered smoothly as warm eyes scanned the faces of like-minded children. ❝ Before we finish for today, I have several announcements to make- ❞ He chose to say, closing off Mass with this declaration. He held his arms out in an open gesture, voice so soft and eloquent. ❝ I have been seeing signs from Abaddon and they have been clear as day! Of course, we have been plagued with quite the sickness across Isaac as of recently... at first I had believed that it was nothing more than a run of bad luck- ❞ He paused, features sobering somewhat.

❝ But then, I realized- this was no coincidence. Kai was supposed to be back by now, and yet he is still absent. The possibility of Kai's death is extremely plausible - his mission was a dangerous one, after all. And so, there comes a time where we have to move on without him. It pains me to say that, but it's what Abaddon wants! ❞ Brows furrowed thoughtfully. He didn't look to be grieving.

❝ And, I have to listen to His requests. So, next Sunday, there will be a sacrificial Mass ceremony. In Kai's absence, we have not honoring Abaddon in the way that He deserves. Now, I see it all clearly; the spread of disease is punishment for our wrongdoings! ❞

Hands clasped behind his back, Samuel's lips twitched into a smile once more. ❝ Together, we will honor Abaddon in the way that He intended and cleanse ourselves of our sins. This is the beginning of a new era, everyone; I can no longer disregard His word over the instructions given to me by Kai. Therefore... Abaddon, I am now listening. ❞

[ALMA.]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; bordercolor=transparent; text-align: justify; width: 435px; font-size: 8.5pt; color: #808080; line-height: 120%; font-family: arial; text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"]⋆ alma bounced around from place to place. she never found her place. a place where she felt like she belonged or was important enough, like she wasn't just some background shadow. the closest she ever got to feeling like she belonged was in this weird ass cult run by children. they had a lot in common; hate of older authority, trauma, whatever. the only thing she didn't get about this place was their beliefs.

alma didn't come here to believe in some great deity. she came here to find a home. she knew how to play the part, though. go to mass, give some big hoorah to abaddon, and then go on with her day or her night. for the most part she spent her time alone, thinking and people-watching. looking at those who were bound to die at some point or to the young girls who were forced into motherhood too soon. that might be her... a true nightmare.

she couldn't really care much for the disappearance of kai. she didn't even know what was truly happening, seeing as she had come back from a brief stay in los santos where the people weren't as welcoming. what she didn't expect was to come back to the cult and see someone even younger than kai stood at the head. yikes.

when samuel finished his speech the girl looked from the ground back up to him, apathy clear across her features.

[OLLIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; color: #494949; font-family: karla; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 0.2px; word-spacing: 1px; margin-top: 10px;"]kai dead.

two very words she never assumed she'd hear in her lifetime. sure, kai was coming of age. already sixteen, he was three years away from his ultimate — a flourishing youth soon expected to take his place. who was that ? despite it being far too soon to know , samuel settled rather comfortably into the position kai was was. what was supposed to be a temporary lead rolled over into days, months . . . samuel wasn't supposed to harbor half the power he does , and yet he plans Crucifications, a privilege , something he claims to potentially have. blood hadn't much to do with the gifted . very few knew what qualities The Pastor sought for when looking for His next , but what if it were true ? kai dead , somewhere other than home , without his disciples present to celebrate his living ? did he fail what he sought out to do ? and was this their punishment?

if kai died , he wasn't the only one. an unknown sickness was killing off the vulnerable like flies. as kai would expect them to , they consulted to prayer. but prayer could only take one so far. dillion hadn't much trouble bitterly pointing this out , and although millie dismissed it , she knew the truth. but this could only be a test, could it not? to sam it was not a test , but a sign laid out by Abaddon Himself , to move 'forth in life. lives weren't being taken in as a test , sam observes , but rather as a punishment for the what they've failed to do. since kai has been gone , those who've come of age were building. she did make sense , she supposed. but she didn't understand. . . Abaddon was supposed to protect him.

out of all the words samuel spoke throughout the four hour mass , these are the ones she ever hears. she barely participates in song , in praise . high , cataonic . . . at peace . every once in awhile , she'd mumble under her breath ,  perhaps to only thank Abaddon for the good life she's given , before falling silent once more . only the new of kai's death breaks the cycle and — pulling a complete 180 — her body shrivels up , her body collapsing between the pews. kai was the only one who reassured her . the one who promised her that Abaddon had something far greater than a mother , although for Heaven's sake , it's all she's ever wanted to be .  she trembles , choked up sobs escaping her throat as she yells out , "Abaddon help us!" her voice falling out into a defeated whimper. although there are similar reactions , hers is the most intense. 

if not kai , then who ?

[KAREN]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth; width: 500px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 15px; font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: arial"]Rage.

A burning fury so painfully hot, Karen was certain she would light aflame. It bubbled in her blood and spread throughout her entire body, there was a tremble in her hands as she dug her nails into the flesh of her arms; though she couldn't be sure if it was a product of betrayal or a directed anger. The fleeting fear of Kai truly being dead giving her pause, before her mind dismissed the possibility in favor of putting down an upstart who thought he could simply replace their Messiah. As if he could ever be Kai. The silence of everyone around her seemed to fuel her anger, the idea that people were so willing to accept this as a fact—as if they believed that he would not come back to them. Karen knew better, she liked to believe she knew him better than the others. He wouldn't leave her here—them, she corrected. He'd made a promise to return to Isaac and assuming his death was an added insult to the infected injury that had spread over the children. If this was some test given to them by Abaddon, then surely they had failed.

Calloused hands slammed against the pew in front of her, the loud bang ringing throughout the church as she pushed herself to unsteady feet. She could feel her jaw throb—once, twice, thrice—and the rhythmic dripping of blood from the corner of her lips, having bitten down too deeply into her tongue. Grabbing the arm of the young farmer aside her, Karen threw the boy out of her way as she pushed into the isle; she could see nothing now, the red haze over her eyes blocking everything but Samuel's face from her vision. She had never wanted to throttle someone as much as she did in the moment, wanted nothing more than to see him bloodied and limp at the feet of their Messiah when he returned.

"Kai is not dead!" He couldn't be, he wasn't, she reasoned. Standing fully, she took a shaky breath in as brown-blue eyes cast accusation against the gathering of disciples. They were going to let this happen, were going to sit back and weep for someone they believed dead without demanding proof. She had always been loyal to Kai, her belief falling more upon the Messiah than it did upon their demonic God; perhaps it would damn her one day, but she'd die knowing she had follow the preaching of her chosen one. "You speak blasphemy, deception, how do we know you're following the word of Abaddon? You know nothing about His wants, about His design, none of us do—none but Malachi. I refuse to follow you, and so should the rest of you!" Turning away from Samuel, Karen stared into the crowd—hatred, anger, disappointment, betrayal—"He isn't dead and you're all going to let someone take his place, whatever test Abaddon has given us... I'm sure we've failed."

She could feel her hands curling up, nails once again digging into flesh as she squared her shoulders and faced the liar. "When he returns, I'll see you dead. You were right, this is a cleanse, and all heretics will be put down like mutts." By her hands if need be, she would not see Kai tossed aside as if he meant nothing. Even if he was no longer alive ( the ache thumping against her chest ), he deserved to be brought back to his home and not forgotten while some temporary leader tried to take more power than they deserved.

[OLLIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 9pt;"]'Tis seemed as they true cause was being lost in translation.

'Tis normal, he supposed, for the Messiah to acquire fangirls. He was the landline between Earth and The Otherside, transferring and interpreting messages, prophecies. That quality alone was enough to be a chick magnet, sure, but it wasn't enough to put as much faith into Kai as they did Abaddon, no. Sometimes he wondered if those who put they faith into their religion was out for the true cause, or just because they Messiah looked slightly more presentable when he wasn't covered in dirt. As a loyal disciple of The Pastor, he took on the responsibility of huntin' down the faith, almost as if he were a bloodhound. It was easy to spot the signs if you was observant enough, and he's got a few names on his checklist. Out of all of them names, there's one cruisin' at the top. Katherine.

She was a little harder than the rest of 'em. Far more vocal, more active within Isaac —  a close friend of Kai himself. Karen undoubtledly had faith, but not in What you might expect. Her loyalty ain't rely with The Pastor as much as it did with Kai. Had he been more vocal about his leavin', he's sure she'd have followed Him blindly without his askin'. Jagger held nothing against their Messiah, although closer to his end, Jagger had some questions on whether or not still had his head screwed on straight. He seemed to give his prior right-hand, Silas, way too much credit. The Devil? If the Devil was scrawny and stupid, sure. The Pastor was testing him to see how he'd respond under pressure. And that pressure sent him into a downward spiral into potential death— and now he was, and rightfully, chaos ensued. But no one made a scene quite like Karen did.

If people generated fire, then it'd surely be at her feet. Jagger watches her, absorbs in the halfwitted words she spoke. Not at all surprising for a woman, especially not for one named Karen; she had a knock at being an belligerent bitch. She seemed to give herself far too much credit than what was due, attempting to convince the congregation that she was right. That Kai was not dead. That they have failed Abaddon. For Jagger, however, the signs was there. Life discontinued without the presence of Kai, someone that they was dwelling on coming back. Jagger doubts little that he made it. Even if Silas ain't corrupt him, something else might've. Maybe Kai ain't have this in mind, but he at least had some idea what he was doin' by putting Sam in Temporary lead. Didn't Karen know that by questioning Sam, she was trusting her own 'sovereign's judgement?'

"Ain't meanin' to be rude miss but," Frankly, her accusatory words in Jagger's faith pissed him off. Someone had to speak for them. "I'm sure Abaddon came to you Himself to say that, right?" The question is rhetorical, he doubts it. "Because if not — if you just making assumptions without any proof — then why should we believe you? Accusing us of blasphemy ain't going to stop our future from dying, and frankly, I'm sure this is what Kai woulda' wanted." Young have always died, sure, but never at this rate. The numbers was rising of those of legality, of Sin. No wonder they young was dying left and right. It only made sense that Sam was tryin' to follow Abaddon's — and maybe even Kai's — rule in life movin' forward.

[CALLUM .]

THE WORTH OF MY LIFE

CALLUM . MALE . THE CHILDREN OF ABADDON . A DECREPIT ROSE GARDEN

he was jerked back down to the earth as the idea of kai being dead was expressed , dissociative fog dissipating quickly and the feeling left him winded , breath stagnating in his rose lined lungs and eyes watering painfully until they spilt messily over pale cheeks . neurons sparked and lit ablaze under pale smooth skin , fingers twitching , urgently grabbing onto the closest thing to him as he tried to find his breath again , trying to find some kind of stability in the face of the ground shaking idea of someone he cared so much for being dead . 

( his biggest f e a r . ) his heart felt to big for his body .

samuel , he could never take kai's place . ( he had no right . ) callum wasn't as connected with abaddon like some of the others , but he knows with every inch of his being , with every atom that kept him together , abaddon wouldn't let this happen . a preposterous notion , nothing more than a boy trying to force himself into a rank he didn't belong . but however crazy , however blasphemous the idea may have been , it left callum drowning , forced under deep heavy waves , where chaos stirred and pulled him deeper and deeper .

he couldn't breathe , he couldn't breathe , he couldn't breathe . he . couldn't . b r e a t h e .

his vision blurred and darkened along the edges , the world fading out to nothing more than muffled sounds and voices , some louder than others but no easier to make out . ( someone was arguing . why ? ) pressing a hand to his chest as he finally managed to drag in a breath ( then two , three . . . ) , feeling it rise and fall sharply . lungs opening gradually , shuddered breaths in , out , in , out .

( one , two , three . one , two , three . one , two , three . )

he slowly resurfaced , but not without flushed cheeks , stinging eyes and fat tears streaking his face , the remains of tumultuous thoughts and feelings . feeling so strongly about something was rare , breath stalling and heart pounding loudly in his ears , and he couldn't help but wonder if that was some kind of sign . the kind of sign that others spoke gleefully about , how abaddon spoke to them through something rare and fleeting . he had heard plenty of times that he'd know when it happened .

( but did he truly know ? )

callum wouldn't believe a word said about kai being-- about t h a t , it was impossible .

#psychosocial.

[CLAUDIA.]

[align=center][div style="0px; width:450px; height:auto; text-align: justify; font-size: 9pt; line-height:13px;"]CW for: drug use, vomiting, particularly in the 4th paragraph
Claudia cannot breathe. Perhaps the infusion was too strong this time - perhaps Abaddon is no longer willing to push blood through her veins, perhaps he is mercifully, lovingly leading her down to the path to... darkness. A world without pain. This pain chokes inside her as .... Samuel? That was his name, as Samuel speaks, his words drifting in and out of her reality like the stars blinked in and out of her vision at night. She's crying, maybe. Claudia doesn't know. The girl is clutching her raggedy stuffed bear close to her chest, eyes screwed shut as she lays on a pew, wondering if perhaps this is punishment for something she's done. There's no euphoria, there's nothing that Claudia is used to.

Then, the words are spoken. Kai is dead. Samuel is the new Messiah. That can't be right. That can't be right. Frankly, Claudia couldn't give a shit if Kai himself is dead or not - he would die someday. Someday soon. She knew that, just like she knew everyone she encountered would die. But this isn't right. Kai... he had plans, he had ideas.... a scream builds in her throat. She needed him. Samuel could speak to Abaddon the same, sure, but she didn't know how he'd react to the things Claudia had done for Abaddon. What she'd been doing. If he'd even bother to speak to Abaddon with the same seriousness Kai had.

The eight year old rises (despite her building headache, the rise of nausea coming from her throat), clutching her bear in her hand as she fixes her pale, bloodshot eyes on Samuel (she had been crying, after a careful examination of her cheeks). "This isn't right." Her voice is high, whining, half-pleading for Samuel to take back his words. "We have no proof he's dead. We have no proof that this... any of this isn't a test. From Abaddon." Claudia takes a pause, thin shoulders heaving as she suddenly gags. The infusion was wrong. This didn't feel right....

Perhaps Abaddon was sending her a message, a message that was now splattering the floor of the church, stomach acid and prophetic understanding mixing and melding and pouring out the girl's throat. She's crying harder now, wondering if anyone else had felt promptings in this way. Abaddon couldn't send her a normal message, she was never good enough. Claudia had done some apparent wrong, and this.. this was a warning.

Shaking violently, the child wipes her mouth, tries to spit out any aftertaste. Peyote was one hell of a drug. "I want to find him." Claudia says, voice oddly stable despite the feeling of fear that rose up in her. He was speaking to her, He was warning her. Abaddon would do something worse to her, next time, if she didn't speak her mind. "I have to find him." She's not requesting. "Even a body, for burial. If we found him, maybe the sickness will end."

Claudia sighs deeply, a sigh that goes beyond the worries of an eight year old who's just thrown up in front of her friends. "If we cannot find him, if I can't find him... I'll accept his fate. Abaddon must find a new Messiah soon, anyways. But until then.." Claudia shakes her head, tight ringlets rippling like a golden river.

"This is wrong."