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And so his hands laid over his back, searing touch that he couldn’t stand. Yet it was enough to ground him through the foggy haze of his own existence. Consciousness was fading, the grasp over the ax in his hand kept tightening as if trying to register just how real it was. So much had happened and it all felt as if it hadn’t happened at all, nothing but a paranoid dream. Nothing but him trudging through the rocky remains, searching, searching for something he’d never find.
Looking at her, eyes widening at the beast before him. But where was that beast now, shallowly breathing on her side, blood circling her corpse. Well, she wasn't a corpse yet. Should he help her?
“What are you waiting for?”
Finally, a voice to connect these deceitfully gentle hands too. Norton lazily glanced up, still trying to make out the odd shapes of a face through his blurry vision. Certain features were so familiar, so why did his face not make sense?
Ah, he knew why. What was Orpheus doing here? And why was he wearing a mask? Norton opened his mouth to speak but the hands suddenly traveled to his chin, as if they owned his body and saw it fit to control his movements. His mouth was swiftly shut, silenced.
“You found her.” Orpheus spoke softly, each of his words carrying clear intent and purpose. “You have cornered the one thing standing between you and your dream.”
Norton looked at the woman, the dull look of life fading from her eyes as the cloth just barely covered her face. The cloth was stained red, contrasting heavily against the ghostly pale in her cheeks. Her chest heaved with shallow breaths, her body was actively fighting a losing battle. She was practically already dead. What had happened to the ugly beast he was just fighting?
There was a sick feeling stirring inside him, a heavy burden pressed against his chest. He didn’t know why he was here, where he was, or how he got there. Did Orpheus bring him here? He remembered this prize he spoke of, yet everything leading up to this moment was lost to the fog of his memories.
Orpheus removed the mask from over his face, finally revealing such a stern expression, as if unbothered by the events before him. The bird-like mask was held at his side as he adjusted his hair with the other hand, he was missing his monocle. Did he even need that thing?
Norton groaned and clutched his head, so much was happening, the world was spinning before him. How could everything feel so dizzy when he had done nothing but sit on his knees? He reached up, gingerly grabbing Orpheus' arm with a weak grasp.
“We have to leave.” He murmured shortly, trying to stand up.
He found his legs felt like crumbling pillars. He tried again, this time using Orpheus to aid himself, only to have his support ripped away.
“We have to finish what we started.”
Norton looked up at him, confused. “We”.
He gulped yet it hurt more than anything, feeling how unbelievably tight his throat grew. His chest ached with an unidentifiable feeling, he felt as if he needed to reach in and retrieve his aching heart. He dare not voice his pain, lest Orpheus indulge himself in tearing open his ribcage and tenderly holding his breathing heart. Perhaps a Novelist like himself may find it romantic but the thought horrified Norton to no end.
“I thought you wanted your reward.” Orpheus sighed from over him, his voice mimicking something soft and sweet…a facade of caring, almost mocking in nature. “We worked so hard for this, why are you hesitating?”
He may think he can keep up a good facade, yet the impatience in his question was obvious. Norton gripped the ax once more. He knew what he needed to do, he knew it would be worth it! It’s what he’s always dreamed of…many would kill for it!
“We deserve this.”
He deserved this.
“We worked so hard for this!”
He worked so hard for this.
“They will never look down on you again.”
Norton looked up at Orpheus, eyes wide with a kind of shock he’s never felt before. Even in that explosion, he can’t say he was very shocked…not like this. But with this promise, the days where an explosion of shame and guilt was the answer would be long over. No longer would he have to scurry and scrounge for his piece. No longer would he live like a rat amongst these pampered cats. No longer would he have to endure these scars, like maggots crawling just beneath his skin, staining and tainting him.
“You’ve got only one job, don’t disappoint me now.”
It was too easy.
It should be easy.
Norton pressed his hands to the cold soil, devoid of the life that had been drained long ago. On trembling legs, he tried to make himself stand firm. The world was spinning in a less dizzying fashion, he could see his target and how easy it would be. It would be so easy.
“You’ve earned it, the reward will be yours. You’ve done well for your masters.”
Norton lifted the ax over his head.
“Now fetch.”
No more darkness.
Chop.
No more filth.
Chop.
No more suffering.
Chop.
No more dying.
He was born into this curse.
He used to believe that poverty was the worst curse of all. He believed he could make that change in his life. He believed that a change was possible. But now, drenched in the life of another human, he understood it.
The worst curse of all was living.
How could one liberate themselves from such a heavy burden?
Ah.
He felt cool steel press to his back.
“You have done well.”
Norton had no words, he had nothing else he wished to speak into the world. Prolonging his death. He saw what death looked like, he knew it came for them all. Those miners, his father, Benny…they couldn’t escape it and neither would he. Yet the fear in his brain still had to speak up.
“Why- I thought- where’s the reward?”
Orpheus cocked his head to the side with a smile, “Only useful dogs are given treats. You’ve overstayed your welcome.”
Oh, it made sense now. Life was made of many cruel jokes, so why did Norton feel like he was a jester to some sadistic god?
“I thought you wanted me, you said you liked me! You told me I was useful!” He regretted the words as soon as they fell from his lips. He knew the response he would get yet the sudden preservation of life instinct was desperately pleading with the man behind him.
“I never said I liked you.” Norton felt his heart drop. “Just that I needed you. And now, I no longer need you. A pity, really. You were a nice distraction at times. But one can never get too distracted from his goal…she’s close, I can hear her.”
“Then why did you lie to me?”
Orpheus paused, hesitated. Then the vile sound of his laugh broke out amidst the barren forest. Was he really laughing? He had the gall to laugh at a time like this? Norton knew better than to trust anything he had said and yet…why was he so naive? Hellbent on making things better, was this a game some sick god was playing with him? Was he being punished for his selfishness? What else was he supposed to do?
He doesn’t deserve this!
That’s the lie he always told himself.
When he toiled away in the mines, when he cared for his sick father, when he was beat up over a simple coin.
When he put the fuse to the fire.
All humans are born with sin, they are deserving of their fate from the moment they are born. Eve was weak and we followed in her footsteps. Indulging and scrapping for whatever hint of desire glinted in our eyes. We are greedy, gluttonous by nature.
And nothing could change that.
He needed to stop believing it’d ever change.
If glutton were to be personified it’d have two names and two faces.
Norton turned to Orpheus, an almost cheerful smile pressed to his lips.
“Thank you for your contribution, Mr.Campbell.” He leaned forward, a gentle kiss placed to the underside of Norton’s jaw. He could feel the maggots crawling over his skin once more. “You were invaluable to my research. You’ve served me well.”