The Hollowed Eye Man

Chapter 25: Reborn

Looking at Sophie, all those wonderful moments that we spent together raced through my head. Everything from her gentle smile to the way she'd play with her hair, even the tone in her laugh that I found simply angelic. I couldn't rob the world of that. However on the other side of the stage, I looked over at my parents.

Their bodies were still emotionless and held the wide grins on their face. Underneath I knew that they were still alive, they were just here as figureheads to bend my will. Even though it might not have been planned like this, they were certainly altering my decision as I looked at them. Growing up in the school system or just watching the news you'd always see or hear stories of parents losing kids and how much it devastated them.

Would that happen to my parents? How severely would this affect them? I thought to myself as I felt a growing pain in my heart. Each heartbeat reminded me that I was now alive but was that what I truly wanted. I looked back over at Sophie again and then back to the parents and focused on her mom this time. Only a few minutes ago I killed the man she loved and had been married to for all these years, that taking Sophie from her would just be like salting the wound. I couldn't do that, and maybe if I took myself out, then all of this would be over. Death was hunting me after all.

"I made my decision Death. We're going to save Sophie. I'd rather die then rip her away from this world. She doesn't deserve to perish in this world." My voice was the only thing that filled the air as the hellish winds started echoing outside the corrupted church.

"As you wish." Death spoke to me, for what I knew would likely be the last time.

"Just let me say my goodbyes first." The words spilled out of my mouth.

"Alright but don't waste time." The demon within me spoke, and I knew he was right as the cocoon continued to wiggle.

Not wasting any time I hopped off the stage and approached Sophie's mother. The smile on her face was like a kick in my gut since I knew that, that would fade when she learned of her husband's passing. I didn't dare touch her since in my head I knew she'd push me away if she could. I gave her, her space as I leaned against the stage and looked at her.

"Hey, Miss Fields. I'm sorry for killing Greg. I had no other choice, but I'm going to sacrifice myself so you can have your daughter it's better that way." I confessed to the woman, I once thought would be my mother in law before I continued to my own parents.

Stepping in front of them it felt like their eyes were actually watching me. Yet the ability to smile no longer existed in my body as I hugged my mother one last time and then hugged my father, before backing up and looking at the two of them. Unlike with Sophie's mother, my body couldn't choose a set of words that seemed to express how I felt. Scanning every combination of letters in my vocabulary, I couldn't find the words and my emotions hit me like a truck.

Next thing I knew I was crying, actual tears were rolling down my cheeks and then fell on the rotting floorboards. Everything in my body was escaping me as I stood there and only three words found their way out of my mouth.

"I...Love you." They were the only words that could find their way out, and nothing followed them.

It had felt like an eternity since the last time that I had said those words to them, but yet there was nothing more for me to say. They'd always have the memories of me, and it wasn't any of their faults that this mess had happened. It was all motivated by the man that had already died at my hand. There was only one person left now that I needed to say my goodbye's to and looking at the cocoon it was starting to wiggle faster and It pressured me into my toughest goodbye.