Macabre - His Beginning

- Chapter Three -

I was leaning against the outside wall of a store waiting for Bastion to finish his purchases inside. My arms were weighed down with various things he had bought at a number of stores before this one. He was taking a particularly long time which gave me a moment to reflect on the past few years I had been with him. In fact it has been six years to the day that he chose to teach me about his craft. He was patient about my lessons. He had to be, seeing as he first had to teach me to read. But luckily I was a fast learner. It would have been around four years ago that he first actually let me see the ritual first hand. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The people looked almost peaceful. Bastion still refuses to let me actually perform it myself though, saying I'm still to young. My only task for the past few years was to pick out people for him to use. I knew exactly who my first choice would be the moment he asked for someone. The sleazy man from the workhouse that my parents tired to leave me with. I knew he was awful when I first saw him and Bastion said that it was because of my special ability. Looking into the workhouse owner a bit more just to make for certain he was bad, made me sick to my stomach when we found out the things he did with the children he took in.

Bastion came out of the store and dumped another item into my already full arms. It surprised me and made me jump slightly. I shook my head to rid myself of the thoughts of the man from the workhouse. It was a good thing we did by getting rid of him.

"Are you alright Rogan?" Bastion asked as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I raised one corner of my mouth in a half-hearted smile. He was used to me not talking much and could read my slightest expressions very well.

"Well then, seeing as you are alright, we have just one more stop to make. Let us be off." he said with point and a smile, and we made our way to the last store.

The final stop of the day took me to a familiar part of the city. A place I didn't want to come back to ever, and the reason was just up ahead. I almost dropped all of Bastions things when I saw them. My parents.. but not just them. A deep furrow had formed in my brow when I saw them. With my parents were two children not much older than perhaps four or five years old. And my mother seemed to have a third child on the way. I had frozen in place and my body began shaking with rage. Bastion had kept walking but when he noticed I was no longer at his side, he turned back with a worried confusion on his face. He came back to me and looked directly into my eyes, but I never took my sight off of my parents and their new family. Bastion followed my gaze and when he found what I was staring at, he also frowned at them.

"Despicable." he said under his breath. "They abandon one child just to have three more. Come Rogan." He put his hand on my back and lightly pushed me, encouraging me to walk forward. I thought we were just going to walk right my them but Bastion had other ideas. His face was now lit up with a brilliant smile but I could sense the anger that he was hiding. Family meant a lot to him so my situation right now now made him somewhat mad. He walked towards them and I followed a few paces behind.

"Hello there!" he said as he waved and closed the distance between him and them. They looked over at him, perplexed by the sudden greeting. I moved slower and slower as I approached them, not wanting to be there. I stopped at Bastions side and turned my head away from them and looked down towards the ground. Bastion continued to speak,

"I do apologise for surprising you all like I did but I just had to meet you." My parents looked at each, slightly worried, like they were facing a madman. Honestly they were right to be on their guard around Bastion but they weren't to know that. Finally my father spoke up,

"This is a little odd. Why did you have to meet us, exactly?"

"Ah, well you see, I just had to meet the people that had brought a fine young man such as Rogan into the world." Bastion chuckled as he patted my back. My mother and father then turned their attention towards me. My head still turned away but my eyes met theirs. They gave audible gasps when they realised it was their son that was standing before them.