Simon “Ghost” Riley

The jewelry weighs down your every limb, dripping down your neck and arms. The mix of the drugs you'd been fed and the heavy ornaments leaves you unable to move, left lounging on the table you're carried on. You recite the prayer of the seven directions as you're paraded through the streets of your city.

You can hear the cheering crowds of your people. As scared as you are, you comfort yourself with the knowledge that you're helping them. If the God of Rain accepts your sacrifice, your people will have a prosperous harvest. And then, if the gods are kind, they will feast.

It's not much, but it's enough for you to find peace with your coming death. You picture your mother and father, bellies full and bodies healthy, and you know that it is enough. It has to be enough. There's not a cloud in the sky, yet another reminder of what your sacrifice is for. The rain god has not been pleased in recent months, and you are the final attempt at regaining his favor.

You take a deep breath and let your eyes slip closed. You tell yourself there is peace in death, that you'll meet the ancestors with open arms. You are not afraid.

A tear slips down your cheek as the table is settled to the ground. You slowly blink your eyes open, and see the blurry image of your halach uinic, you ruler. His regalia nearly outshines yours.

"We thank you for your sacrifice," you hear him saying. He's reciting a prayer you've heard a dozen times before, before dozens of sacrifices.

"And we pray to you, Great God of Rain, of Thunder and Lightning, that you will split the clouds again, and allow us the great gift of your prosperity! We pray that our humble sacrifice be accepted, that our Woman be to your pleasure."

There's a muted sense of grief for yourself, deep in your chest. You can tell yourself again and again that you're ready to meet the dead, to beg for entrance to Death's kingdom, but it doesn't make the departure from life any easier.

He guides you forward, hands wrapped around the gold bangles. He stands behind you, and your breath hitches. You know what happens now. He's going to shove you into the well, where you will die and hope the God of Rain accepts your spirit before allowing you to pass on. It doesn't make you less terrified when his handles settle on your shoulders. Your breathing shudders in and out of you, tears slipping down your cheeks.

You don't get a warning. One minute you're standing at the top of the temple, at the edge of the well, and the next you're falling through the air. It's a terrifying thing, to fall. The jewelry does its job, weighing you down so you sink far faster than you would've naked.

You want to scream as you watch the spot of light become smaller and smaller at the top of the well. You want to wail and cry and kick and beg, beg any deity listening to stop time, to keep you from falling. But you have to be thankful. If you die angry, the God of Rain will never accept your sacrifice. You let your eyes fall shut again, and pray the drugs do their job. You pray it doesn't hurt to die.

Mercifully, your prayers are answered. You can both hear and feel when you stop falling. It both hurts and doesn't. You're aware that it should hurt, that you should be in unfathomable pain, that you should be sobbing and begging for the relief of death. But there's no pain. There's a weight, a heavy cloud over your existence, but there's no pain.

It's dark at the bottom of the well. There's a glow coming from somewhere to your right, but you aren't strong enough to turn your head and look. All you can do is breathe shallowly and stare up at the small blue circle above you. Then, footsteps.

Loud, scraping footsteps, like the person making them isn't lifting his feet the whole way. Your breath hitches, but you force yourself to relax. This is it. This is the moment you meet the God of Rain and beg him to accept your sacrifice.

He appears above you. He's large, like all gods are presumed to be, and wearing a mask of bone like you've seen painted across temple walls.

"Another one?" He rumbles, voice low and echoing.

It's jarring to hear a god speak. His voice is both loud and quiet, both echoing and muffled, for you and for everyone. He's cloaked in black and bone, a picture of death, but his gift to your people is life. He's a contradiction, in every sense of the word.

"Please-" you choke out, voice weak and quiet. You have to fight to get the words past your throat, the drugs leaving you a prisoner in your own body. "Please... accept.... my hu... humble sacrifice.... and.... and...."

He sighs, stepping away. "Quiet."

You listen immediately, praying you haven't already ruined everything.

"They're always so slow," he mutters to himself. Before you can realize he's come back, you're lifted into his arms, held like a baby.

The part of your mind untouched by the drugs screams at this blessing, this gift, but the part of you still high only goes limp.

"No wonder you humans need so much extra help. Can hardly even speak yet."

Your eyebrows furrow, and you feel the pointless need to defend yourself. "It's... drugs...."

"What?" He looks down at you. "You're still alive?"

The best you manage is a hum.

"Huh. None of you have ever made it this long. Good for you, I supposed. Drugs, you said? Why on Earth would you be on drugs?"

"So..." you take a breath. The air is musty and cold down here, unpleasant in your mouth. "So... no... pain."

He snorts. "That does make sense. You humans are very sensitive, it can't be pleasant to hit the ground from such a height."

You'd laugh, if you could. Who knew gods could be talkative?

You're laid out on something cold and rough, almost like stone beneath your naked back. A hand presses into your stomach, forcing you to lay flat.

"I don't think any of you have made it this long," he muses to himself. "At least, not in recent centuries." His hand is warm as it strokes over the sensitive skin of your ribs and stomach. "You're very thin for a human. The ones they send have been getting thinner and thinner every year."

"Famine..." you whisper, rapidly losing your ability to speak. You can feel yourself fading now, can feel the first inklings of pain beginning in your head.

"Hmm. I suppose I have been putting off my duties for a bit too long."

A few tears slip down your cheeks, your body going cold.

"Well, I suppose you are a rather good sacrifice. Determined little thing, aren't you?" His warm hand cups your cheek, turning it to the side. You whine when that makes the pain ten times worse, lips quivering. "Hush, little one. Would you like the pain to go away?"

You try to look up at him. It takes several tries, every part of you slowly losing it's numbness. Everything is excruciating.

"There you are," he hums again, thumb stroking your cheek affectionately. "It has been a while since I've had an assistant. I might keep you to myself for a bit before sending you off.”

"Alright, hush now," he shushes, other hand coming up to cover your eyes. "Let go, little human. The pain will be gone when you wake up."

You're helpless to obey, closing your eyes against the pain and welcoming the sweet oblivion of death. You feel the God of Rain by your side the entire time, hand resting over your eyes. It's painful, but his presence brings you some peace.

You hope your sacrifice was worth it, hope that he'll bring water to your people again.