Shifters

Massacre

Guilt filled within his heart as Josh stared at the bloodied bodies of the deceased villagers that were strewn carelessly before him. Unable to come to terms with what he'd seemingly done, Josh stared at his hands, fresh tears washing away the bloodstains before they could fully dry. Burdened by the feeling that the death of the innocents amongst the primitive tribe was solely his fault, he lowered his head as he wept uncontrollably. 

"What have I done," he muttered yet again as no memories of the massacre sprung forth in his mind, "Why? Why can't I remember doing any of this? What kind of monster am I? Is this the kind of person I've always been?" Josh paused as an even darker thought crossed his mind, "Is that why I'm undergoing this amnesia? Could I have done something like this before?"

As he began to question his morality before his amnesia, the strange ring around his finger suddenly began vibrating once more. The moment it started a feeling Josh did not expect to feel in this instance, flooded through his entire body. As the ring continuously trembled on his finger, a sense of relief washed over him, slowly removing his feelings of remorse until they were no more. 

"You," Josh began, stretching out his hand as he stared at the ring, "Just what are you? What do you want from me?"

After waiting a few seconds for a response, Josh retracted his arm, feeling somewhat silly for shouting at an inanimate object. With his guilty conscious no longer rampaging, thoughts of his companions suddenly entered his mind. 

'Where are they?' he thought looking around frantically, 'I di-, I didn't do anything to them, did I?'

Staring at the cage where they'd been held just mere moments ago, Josh spotted Herman's form still slumped in the same position he'd been in since they arrived. Although Josh couldn't be sure whether or not he was alive or dead from where he knelt, the lack of any fresh wounds were enough to put his mind to rest. 

'What about Cass?' he wondered, remembering the scene he'd witnessed earlier, 'Please be alive!'

Switching his gaze to the crude stone altar, Josh spotted the young redhead laying exactly where he'd seen her last, seemingly unscathed. 

"Thank goodness," Josh breathed, genuine relief flooding through him at the sight of his companions. 

No longer weak-kneed, Josh rose to his feet, overlooking the massacred villagers as he straightened his posture. Previously wrought with enough guilt to completely cripple his mind, the current him, although not totally unaffected by the gruesome aftermath, no longer felt the crushing sense of responsibility for the tribesmen's untimely demise. Whatever the ring had done to him seemed to have neutralized the extremity of the emotions he'd felt just moments ago. 

"Who should I head too first?" Josh said, questioning himself, "Herman's closer but I think I should check on Cass first just in case."

Staring down at the blood soaked sword as well as the half-severed corpses at his feet, Josh nervously wondered aloud, "Should I take the sword, or would that be rude to the fallen villagers?"

Caught in two minds, Josh stood still as he tried to finalize his decision. However, his doubts, just like his earlier emotions were soon washed out of existence as the ring, vibrated even stronger. 

"No, whoever that was, it wasn't me," Josh concluded shaking his head as he grabbed the gemstone blade by it's bloodied handle. 

Stepping over the fresh corpses that littered his path, Josh nonchalantly made his way toward Cassandra's unconscious form, somewhat surprised that the ring's calming effect was able to soothe his mind to this extent. 

*Note From Author - Ok hold up, what's going on here. Anyone else think this ring is, idk, suspicious?*

Making his way over the last maimed body, Josh paused, staring up at the massive goddess' statue that towered over them a few paces behind the altar.