Wait to start the song and watch out for Author's Notes. This one gets gory.

Josh remained silent as he trailed behind his father, trying to hide his limp as he carried Abigail to the temple. His left eye was swollen shut and every inch of his body ached, but he didn't complain. He'd brought this upon himself. No amount of bloodletting was going to erase what he'd done to The Family.

Each member of The Family had been allowed to hurt him once today since he'd stolen from all of them. He'd been punched, kicked, slapped, pushed, cut, and bruised by the people who'd raised him. Pete had tears in his eyes when he'd punched Josh, whispering an apology when he left. Patrick hadn't ever shown up. Josh was glad. Patrick shouldn't have to see things like that.

As soon as they'd finished, he was to go let the bad blood out. His father had watched, repeatedly telling him to go deeper until Josh was dizzy from blood loss. His mother had looked helpless and afraid as she'd stitched him up.

"You did the right thing," she'd whispered to him when his father left the room.

Her confirmation had meant more to him than he could ever express, but he didn't have the words to tell her anyways. He was numb, and at this point, he didn't care what they did to him. They could torture him and punish him and even kill him, but it wouldn't change anything. Tyler and Ashley were safe, and Josh would never regret that.

Even now as Josh carried his little sister into the wooden building he'd been spending far too much time in lately, he wouldn't let them scare him. What he'd done was right, and he wouldn't change a thing.

Start the song. It's Cantara by Dead Can Dance.
***This is going to get scary and gory. Watch out for the next Author's Note if you aren't comfortable with that. What comes after is important.***

His father led him to an immense altar, decorated with various animal bones, crystals, small red flowers, and goat skulls. Thick incense scented the air with myrrh. This must have been the altar they'd been preparing the night before. Abigail clung to him nervously as she looked around.

"Sir, what's going to happen?" She asked their father quietly.

"Ask your brother," Mr. Dun grumbled as he pulled his thick black robe on and pulled out his dagger.

Abigail looked timidly up at Josh. "Bubba, what's going on?"

Looking at his little sister with the knowledge that he couldn't protect her from this made him want to die. In this moment, he had no choice but to assist the elders in harming his baby sister. Nothing justified this, yet he still said the words he'd heard all his life.

"Your initiation is when Satan sets you apart from the rest. After this, you won't be someone who just goes to Hell. You'll be worthy of ruling it alongside him. It's a blessing, Abigail."

Somehow, he kept his voice even throughout the description. His heart ached when she nodded trustingly, looking back to their father. The patriarch looked content with Josh's response. Maybe that had been the intention. They wanted to remind him why people were willing to go through so much for their god.

"It is a blessing!" Lilith agreed cheerfully. "Abigail, you'll be a full member of The Family. You'll be powerful, just like Satan. You'll have earned his love and trust. Isn't that wonderful?"

Abigail smiled proudly. "Yes!"

"You'd willingly give your life for him?" Their father asked her.

The little girl nodded. "Then I get to be with him. Of course I would."

"Then you're ready, Abigail. You're ready to become a god like him," their father told her confidently.

Josh held his sister a little bit tighter. Just like every other member of this insane cult, Abigail was brainwashed into blindly following the elders. Their father's words were the be all end all of any conversation. He was the prophet. Satan spoke through him, and for some reason, that was enough for everyone here to believe and trust in him.

"Joshua, since Abigail is no longer just human, you will do everything in her place. You are her servant. Care for her as you would for Satan if he were here in a physical form," Mr. Dun told him firmly. "Change her into her robes."

Josh nodded pitifully as he set her down atop the stool in the corner. He knew that her feet couldn't touch the floor today. This was the day she became a deity. He had to treat her as such. That was what he had to keep reminding himself as he undressed his ten-year-old sister in a room full of people. Thankfully, her face held no shame. They'd been taught from a young age that the human body was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Bubba, does it hurt?" She whispered as he pulled her pale dress over her head.

Deciding against lying to her, he smiled sadly. "I don't know, Abigail. I'll be here with you the whole time, though, okay?"

She nodded trustingly, allowing him to help her into the pale silken robe she was expected to wear. It covered her body completely, swamping her small frame slightly. This was one of the most despicable parts to him. They made her look as childish and innocent as possible, just to take the first major step in destroying her forever. He picked her up once again, ignoring the pain in his body. He'd hold her and keep her safe for as long as he could.

"I love you," he whispered to her, keeping his voice low enough for the elders not to hear.

His little sister smiled. "I love you too, Bubba."

"It's time!" Their father announced. "Joshua, place her on the altar."

Feeling his heart pounding throughout his damaged body, Josh laid his sister down in the middle of the altar. She was surrounded by all kinds of relics that Josh wished she'd never have to see. This was going to be the hardest thing he ever did, and quite possibly the most terrifying thing she'd ever experience.

Asag carried a chalice to Abigail, holding it out for her to drink from. She sat up slowly and downed it easily, her face scrunched up in disgust when she handed it back.

"What is that?" She asked.

The elder chuckled. "It's just a little something to ease your nerves and let the Lord in. Lay back down, darling."

Abigail did as she was told, her eyes starting to look hazy. That's when it hit Josh. This was why they didn't remember their initiations. The elders drugged them before it began. Abigail let out a soft sigh before she drifted off to sleep, and Josh knew this was about to become his worst nightmare.

"Asag, remove her robe," their father said calmly. "You're her husband anyways. I don't want anyone besides Asag, Josh, or me handling her body."

Josh swallowed thickly as he watched the old man remove the only layer of fabric apart from her underwear that kept her from being exposed to all of these terrible people. Without a word, Lilith went to the door of the temple and opened it. Lamia came in with a large black goat tethered by a rope.

"Joshua, this is your task. You're responsible for the baptism," his father said calmly as he pulled his dagger out of his robe.

"The what?" Josh asked quietly. His stomach churned uneasily as he eyed the goat that was being tied to the altar.

Lamia chuckled, a deep throaty sound that only decades of smoking could create. "How dark is your blood, boy?"

"I don't know," he whispered back.

"Baptize her in the blood, Joshua," Lilith guided in a gentle voice. "It's easy, dear. Cut the head off of that goat and hold it over her. Soak her body in it and you'll be done."

Bile rose in the back of Josh's throat. He couldn't do that to anyone, but especially not Abigail. How could he do something so terrible to a little girl who still slept in his bed when there was thunder? She wasn't a conventional child by any means, but she was still a child. This was wrong, and he knew it.

"Then you'll be ready for your second task," their father added as he handed Josh his own dagger.

"Second task?" Josh asked in a small voice.

Asag smiled as he helped Lilith wash Abigail's body with rose water. "You'll bestow this lovely little creature with her first mark of scarification."

Hesitating now would lead to Josh's death. Without him, no one would be able to get Abigail out of here in the future. He knew the code, and only his father was supposed to know it. If he wanted to save his sister, he'd have to do this.

Taking a deep breath, Josh walked over to the goat. It let out a frightened bleat when he crouched down and pressed the dagger against its neck. He looked up at his father, whose eyes were cold when they met his. What Josh had done last night was the right choice, but his father would never forgive him for it. Helping with this ritual was the closest he'd be able to come to earning his father's respect back.

Looking determinedly at the goat, Josh grabbed the top of its head and brought the knife down hard against its throat. It took three hard whacks before the head separated with a terrible squishing sound. Careful not to waste any time, Josh stood, holding the head severed side down above his sister's feet. He moved it up her body slowly as the blood dripped heavily across her bare frame.

There wasn't a drop of energy left within Josh to provide him with tears as he allowed the goat's blood to soak her. Once she was covered from head to toe, he handed the head to Lilith, who set it inside of a wooden bowl.

**It's safe to continue reading again.**

They all looked up when the door to the temple slammed open. Pete stood in the doorway with wide eyes. "Sir, someone is here asking questions. They want to speak with you."

Josh watched his father's features harden as he shrugged out of his robe and washed his hands in the rose water, leaving him free of any trace of having been in this room at all. He looked around the room and sighed.

"All progress is to be halted until I return. If she wakes, knock her out," Mr. Dun commanded calmly.

The elders all nodded, but Josh was frozen with fear. Who was here? He felt Lilith's gentle hands pull him back a bit. It was only then that he realised he'd been standing in a thick puddle of goat blood. He was trembling when she took his hand. She didn't say a word or betray him to the rest of the elders as a coward. Instead, she squeezed his hand reassuringly.

The prophet didn't return for ten minutes. His face was drained of colour when he did come back. "Satan has spoken to me," he announced to the elders. "Abigail need not be imitated. She'll be welcomed by him anyways. It's time."

Josh wasn't sure what that meant, but the rest of the elders apparently did. They all whispered amongst themselves as they hurried to clean up. He looked anxiously at his father, who seemed conflicted when his eyes landed on his son.

"Joshua, go home and collect your siblings and mother. Bring Abigail with you. I have to go announce to The Family that it is time," he told him distractedly.

"Time for what?" Josh asked fearfully. His father hesitated for a moment before hugging him. Somehow, the action scared Josh even more. "Sir, what's happening?" His voice broke slightly.

"It's time for us to join Satan in Hell, Joshua. Tonight is the night we've waited for. It's the night we all take our rightful places alongside him," Mr. Dun explained quietly, still not releasing Josh.

A sick feeling twisted in Josh's stomach as he realised what his father was saying. "We're all going to die," he whispered.

"Don't be afraid, Joshua. Satan will protect us all. Go get your siblings ready. You'll need a cup for each of you as well as your mother. You'll be forgiven for your sins if you do as you're told."

Josh nodded slowly as his brain sputtered into motion. He stumbled away from his father and picked up his unconscious little sister, who was still drenched in blood. His father smiled at him weakly.

"And Joshua?" His father asked quietly. He looked up at his father, not sure if he'd ever been more scared than he was right now. "I know I don't ever tell you, and that it seems like I don't, but I do love you. That's why we have to do this."

Unable to find it in himself to say it back, Josh simply nodded and carried his little sister out of the temple. He ran through the community as fast as his broken body would allow him to. This was it. This was the last day of The Family. It was officially Doomsday.