Karma Bites

Revival of the Sinners

The day of my initiation
I was so nervous. Finally all my sins would be nonexistent, I mean sure the whole process was against the government and it was sort of like a ritual but every student in the school went through this! And now it was finally my turn to show my parents I wasn't a lost cause.

There was a chance 50/50 chance I could die during the process but apparently it was worth it, it separated the 'damned' from the 'salvageable' or something like that? Some girls even got to go straight home after this, I could see my parents again! I could see Himiko! I wonder if she's grown taller than me? Being twins doesn't exactly mean much except being the same age and looking similar.

"Bring forth the sacrifice" there wasn't much I could do but waddle forward barefoot into the water, I was already freezing cold and scared but it was for the greater good, right?

I was handed a blade which I slit my wrists with, the 'sacrifice' was my blood, Togas and blood kinda go hand in hand. I remember a couple years ago, Himiko ate a bird or something, the look on our parent's faces was priceless!

Utter shock and horror filled their desperate eyes, desperate to believe their one chance at having a 'normal' non-blood-driven child just slip down the drain...well more like Himiko's mouth.

"Deeper, Toga, deeper!" I winced as I dragged the blade further up my arm. I only started to thrash when two girls from behind me grabbed my arms walking me further into the water "No! Please! I don't want to do this anymore, I can live with my sins"

The old woman held up her hand pausing everything but the suspense was killing me "that just shows how much you need to be cleansed, dear girl. You are supposed to be a thing of beauty" she took slow steps around the edge of the water "a thing of grace and elegance, and you can't be any of that with blood stained hands you claim to be clean...it's time you saw the red"

With those final useless words, I was forced down under the water screwing my eyes shut. I didn't want to believe it but I'd seen what this stuff did to people once they come back up - they go crazy like they're scared out of their minds, that's when I realised it.

Each and everyone of them had their eyes wide open when they got dunked. There was something in the water, they were drugging young teenage girls into fight or flight mode to show us we aren't as strong as we think we are...I'm about to prove this old bat wrong.

Out of no where, muffled talking and screams could be heard. I was suddenly dragged out of the water "Get the sacrifice out of here! We'll finish the ritual tomorrow night!" The knife I used previously came into view and within a split second, the cold grip was in hand and the blade was cutting new slices in my flesh

"If I wanted to play 'sacrificial lamb', I would've donated my body to science. If I wanted to be an object, I would've been a doll, and if I cared about your safety...well you should've thrown the knife a little further away" the blood flowed towards them as I chased them further away from all the commotion behind me.

It would save all three of us from further torment, not one of us knew our way around the woods, we were never allowed outside except for the initiation into the ranks of the 'cleansed'...that only happens if you don't upset the higher authorises for a while.

"I'm trying to help you!" The older one of the two shoved me to the floor "are you kidding?! Any one of us can only dream of being selected for the 'cleansed', then you go and screw up your chances like an idiot! And you're freak show thing got us lost!"

The slightly shorter one with soft white locks placed her pale hand on her friend's shoulder "Yua...you know it wasn't her fault. Kunugigaoka Junior High School came, you know the kids there hear things from the government. Mother's 'cleansing' ritual is illegal and we know that...but the outcome doesn't lie, mother wouldn't lie to us"