The Church
A fiction prompt by @dirgeThe air was sticky and they’d been drinking for hours. It was late into the evening of the going away party for Ron and Jenni. They’d been good friends to Sean when he first arrived, but since then they’d grown distant. In fact, it had been awhile since Sean had hung out with anyone. He’d arrived to a room full of people he didn’t know, already well on their way to getting drunk.
“It’s so great to see you,” Jenni said, offering a hug. “Sean, oh man!”
Ron offered a handshake. “Hey man, good to see you one last time.”
“Thanks for the invite,” Sean replied. “And sorry to see you going.”
The room erupted with laughter. A man had slipped and fell on his ass and he was rolling on the ground hollering away. “I’m goanna grab a cigarette,” Sean said.
“Oh wait!” Jenni grabbed his arm. “Let me introduce you to everyone!” She proceeded to bring him through the rooms of the townhome they rented for the night’s going away party. There was a Jack and a Royal and a Jeremy and a Kim and a Karen and more and Sean soon forgot all those names anyway. He finally go outside for a cigarette, his heart racing and his anxiety peaked.
“Fucking…” he mumbled to himself. “Too many fucking people in that space.”
“I know, right?”
The voice startled him. He peaked over and saw a girl sitting with pink dyed hair. “Can
I get one of those?”
“You know Jen and Ron?” Sean asked, offering her a cigarette.
“Sure,” the girl replied. “We met a few times at church.”
“Church?” Sean asked. “I’m incredulous. I didn’t know they were Christians.”
“Oh, it’s not that kind of church.” The girl took a drag on her cigarette and the presumed air of mystery she was attempting to paint annoyed him.
“Okay,” Sean said. “Well, then, what kind of church is it?”
The door to the porch opened and the music blared from inside. Ron came outside with a group of other party goers, all drunk and cheering.
“I’m telling you,” one of the guys was saying. “That girl’s totally into me. I’m going to go for it.”
“Do it!” Ron said. “We all believe in you man. Believe in yourself!” Then, turning to Sean. “We’re going for a swim!” Ron announced. He shouted it again, and the group cheered.
Sean glanced over to the girl, whose name he still didn’t know. She was smiling.
They trekked down the dirt road from the pension then through a dirt path. The ground was rocky, volcanic in some spots in that way typical to Jeju. Drunk, most of them stumbled. They passed by a fish farm, the ponds of which were covered in nets. Then a water treatment plant with rumbling generators inside its deep warehouse.
Then they reached a secret, secluded beach. The pink haired girl stripped down, an obsidian necklace dangling from her neck, glowing in the moonlight. She descended into the water.
“It warm and wonderful!” she said. “Come on.”
The group stripped down, and Sean saw many were wearing the same pendant. He began to strip as well, as the idea of warm ocean waters in such a hot night was intoxicating. He went into the water, swimming till it was deep enough to fully submerge.
When he came back up, he heard screaming.
And this is my ending
Two guys were trying to strip a girl and force her into the water.
"Imbeciles!" thought Sean, however, he wouldn't intervene, he was fed up with the bunch of drunks and wouldn't get into a problem that forced him to interact uncomfortably with the unpleasant group. "I'm not in the mood to be a hero."
The hysterical girl intensified her cries as the pair of men struggled with her, the others watched from the water laughing at the embarrassing spectacle.
"I told you we couldn't trust her," one subject told the other.
"I really thought she liked me and wanted to be one with me.
Suddenly, another subject approached the girl behind her back and struck her with a rock behind her head. The screams ceased and the girl's body fell to the seashore, everyone applauded the outcome of the brawl, all except Jenni and an incredulous Sean who had been left in shock.
"I'm so sorry Jenni," said Ron "but if she kept screaming that way they would listen to her".
"You don't have to worry, I'm sure our Sean will deliver," Jenni explained as she frowned, "don't you, Sean?"
Sean remained motionless without knowing what to do, it was a very large group to face him alone, if he tried to escape he would surely suffer the same fate as the murdered girl.
"I..."
"I'm sure, he'll comply" was interrupted by the girl with the pink hair while he gave her an intense and passionate kiss that Sean did not reject.
"Well, let's all go to the altar," cried Ron.
"Don't do anything crazy and follow me," the girl with the pink hair whispered in his ear to a Sean who was starting to come out of his daze.
They all swam a little until they reached a small islet near the coast, the naked group went along an improvised path until they reached an indivisible place from the beach but from where the sea was contemplated in its fullness, The light of the full moon illuminated a great stone altar surrounded by coconut palms arranged in such a way that they formed a symmetrical and elaborated strange symbol.
"Brothers, let us begin with the ceremony, I will be one with the sea and the moon."
"I will be one with the sea and the moon," repeated the group, all began to participate in an unbridled orgy, where the bodies were intermingled with each other, the large stone altar served as a bed for lovers who copulated in a frantic and wild form. The girl with the pink hair took over Sean, who, in spite of everything, was following the game, "leaving aside the murder of that woman, this church is not so bad," he thought.
After everyone was exhausted and relaxed, Ron climbed the altar "Sean, please climb" with some fear Sean climbed the altar, "it's time for my ascent, brothers, I say goodbye." he said as he put Sean's obsidian necklace on.
A silver dagger was placed in Sean's hands, kneeling and smiling Ron offered his neck placidly.
"I will be one with the sea and the moon" choreographed the group.
This is a participation for the Finish The Story - Week #56 from @bananafish. I hope you like it there, do not hesitate to comment.
