Ascension

$20,000.

Clear as day before George’s very own eyes laid a bag full of money in the middle of a field, yards away from the commune he resided in. If the others saw this, he’d be done. No materialistic desires, no siree, not in their group. But George was optimistic, head swarming full of dreams and hopes that him, his wife Penelope, and their unborn child could live a cushy life on the outside.

Where had the money come from? No idea. But he wanted to keep it… Even if it was forbidden and he was silenced, or even kicked out for thinking of such desires, it was a risk he was willing to take. He lugged the bag through the empty field, following the familiar dirt road back home to his little dorm-like residence. Slipping past all the others readying themselves for the evening ceremony to their idol, he presented the bag to his wife.

Eyes glimmering, he spoke, “Penelope, this is for you and the baby.”

She shook her head, fear already welling in her eyes, “No, George—You can’t. You know you cannot have that.”

“But Penelope… You know it’s for the greater good. We can get out of here, live on our own. Make lives for ourselves.”

“Do you really want out of here so bad?”

It’s not like they haven’t had this talk before. The life on the outside, in a world where their whole life isn’t about living in the vicinity of an immaculate being that can answer all their questions and quell every worry known to man.

“No, not necessarily. I love the Blessed One and Bliss. I treasure them, I do, but what about us?”

They wanted a life outside of the commune, especially with the newfound knowledge that they were to start a family. They can’t always be at peace with just their idols, they needed to be on their own. Man strives to be on their own; it’s human nature to be curious of the outside world, to want to prosper and make light of themselves.

“It’s just not the way, George. I must think about it. I want us to start a new life with our child, but I want it to be proper. The outside world isn’t what it used to be since Bliss’ birth.” She was curt with her words. As much as she wanted to start anew, she was right, the world is not like it used to be. “Think about what life our child is going to live where their father has to go out and hunt for food, where their mother has to lock them up at night in fear of someone eating them, to look different than anything else out there. Our child can be with people that look like them, George, people that are just like them.”

He’s a bit defeated. To have the love of his life shut him down so quickly without giving it thought about what their future would hold felt devastating to him. This commune, their cramped three-roomed space they resided in, the beautiful Bliss and the mysterious Blessed One was not their whole life. There was so much more just beyond these cobblestone walls that fenced them in.

“Please think about it, Penelope.”

“I will, George. We must do what is good for the baby.”

That was that. George really needed to think about what really is best for the baby. Their world had been changed years ago with the birth of the immaculate Bliss, with features that you could only find on the most perfect of angels despite giving life to putridly abhorrent transformations to everyone around into disgusting, feral monsters. It was a sight that only happened in fables, to have Earth damned to high hell with a biological reset like that. Everything had changed like a flip of a coin. Oddly enough, everyone felt drawn to this flawless being, even George and Penelope. It’s weird to explain this unconditional love, to love something that’s destroyed your whole world, but Bliss felt like home to them, as odd as that sounds.

“Get ready for the Feast, honey.”

“I will.” George replied quietly, tucking the bag under their small bed, away from prying eyes.

This was the house of the Blessed One after all; an all-seeing eye in its wake.

--

The jingle of metal down the corridor was a routine they only knew as Bliss’ usual walk to the Feast Hall. Sporting thin, gold anklets, Bliss was like a cow with a bell, turning every head they walked by with the sound—as if their albinism and stark white clothes wasn’t already a head turner.

“Good evening.” As if to match their delicate features, Bliss’ soft spoken voice spoke to them from behind. “Are you on your way to the Feast Hall?”

“Absolutely, Bliss. How are you this evening?”

They were a beauty on the eyes, even the corners of their lips slightly turning up into a gentle smile had their heads swimming.

“Well. It’s a peaceful night, Father intends to have a quiet night in his quarters after the ceremony.”

Their crystal blue eyes gaze toward Penelope, eyes drifting to her stomach. “Your child?”

“Doing wonderful, Bliss.” Penelope replied. She felt a certain way towards Bliss—they were the one that could tell she was pregnant, so she felt a motherly connection towards them. “She’s kicking. Would you like to feel?”

Like a graceful deer, Bliss put their nimble fingers to her stomach, a transfixed expression on their face as if they were lost in thought for a moment. If anyone had noticed anything about the young one, it was that they became strangely detached when it came to pregnancy. Bliss was delighted as can be when announcing pregnancies but would have this atypical behavior when it came to interacting with these same women. No one knew why, no one questioned why, but George had assumed it was because Bliss didn’t know where they came from.

It was probably a familiarity type of thing; even if Bliss didn’t know where they came from, they naturally feel drawn to mothers. If George was right, he would never know.

“Bliss?”

They snapped back, as if pulled back into reality. Their features looked ghastly, clammy and neurotic, and they scuttled backwards. “Mm, I must take my leave, I’m sorry. The ceremony is starting soon.”

And with that, Bliss took their leave.

--

George was… upset to say the least.

During the ceremony, the Blessed One spoke words of knowledge—particularly, the love of materialism.

Penelope was bothered, and George was fearful that he had been found out. The all-seeing eyes of the Blessed One was not one to tempt in his kingdom; these walls spoke to him and only him and did not leave any rock unturned. To make matters worse, he wanted to speak with Penelope after the ceremony, with George not included. He had said it was just a friendly chat, to ease the tension he could feel from her soul.

So here sat George by himself in their little dorm, worried and cautious of whether Penelope was to give him up for the sake of their unborn child. He didn’t think that she would, but he knows her guilty conscious would be the one doing the talking, asking for advice on what to do.

He mused himself in his and his wife’s life diary, a little black notebook they had kept together since getting married two years back. It held all their memories, all their plans, all their struggles, all their happy moments, it was their life together—now and forever. And he didn’t want to give that up any time soon. He wanted to start a new life with his family, he wanted to live the happy life that his notebook dreamed of, and he was going to make sure of that.

With ambition and drive resounding in his soul, he made his way to the quarters of the Blessed One, fully ready to pull his wife out and run out of there like a bat out of hell to start their new life.

--

It’s quiet leading up to the Grand Room where the Blessed One always had their talks with members of the community. A sort of uneasiness welled in his stomach as he made his way down the corridor, what should he do? Yank her out and run like hell? Say sorry and take their leave? This was sure to be awkward but hit needed to be done.

It’s dreadful leading up to it, there’s pins and needles on his skin as he stands before the door, he’s not sure what awaits just behind the door. He’s here to take his wife towards their new future, plain and simple. If the Blessed One didn’t like it, then so be it.

With a heavy weight weighing on his mind, he pushes the large door open slowly. A nauseating scent swirls around his face as soon as he opens the door, eyes burning at the sensation. The room is dimly lit by a few candles save for the light cascading from behind him. His eyes are quick to trail the red littering the floor into the darkness. Inching his way in he drudges his way deeper into the room until an unsettling noise hits his ears. It’s a noise unlike he’s every heard before, sounding something like labored breathing whilst slurping liquid… To have something like this in the Blessed One’s chambers is odd.

It’s not until he turns the corner that his eyes settle on Penelope’s body on the floor, pregnant belly hollow and torn to shreds, pooling in blood underneath her. Bile rises into his throat, but he’s not even given a chance to feel it as he spies something moving in the corner, something stark white flashed with red.

George’s stomach drops when he registers Bliss, standing tall and decorated with gnarly teeth splitting their torso open, holding his child that’s been ripped from his wife’s corpse just over the awaiting mouth.

“George.”

In the other corner, failing to be registered with how dark his black cloak is, the Blessed One called upon the man. His overhead looming was terrifying to George in this moment, concealed in darkness with the unsettling new form of Bliss he never knew of. “So nice of you to join us. I’ve heard of your desires to leave, how sad. Your family has moved into Ascension.”

As his eyes well, he’s forced to watch his child be torn to shreds just like his wife before those sharp teeth of Bliss’. There’s no sound, there’s no feeling, just an unwavering feeling of numbness. His dreams have been dashed in an instant—the Blessed One retaliated in the worst way possible, the most painful way possible, ripping his family away.

“You’re next in line to move into Ascension.”

There was always talk of Ascension from the Blessed One, and now George had finally seen it. Whatever he was talking about, none of it stuck with him. All he could do was run away, completely defeated and terrified back to his room. Gathering his things, his bag full of $20,000 and his little black notebook, he booked it for the hills just outside of the commune.

It was devastating to not have Penelope and his child with him to start over on the outside, a void in his heart was weighing heavily and he couldn’t help but cry at his loss. But he would live on—live on for his family, accomplish every dream they had in this little black notebook of theirs.