Amen?

Encased In Sorrow

Through the eyes of a lost soul

I had watched Sammy perish right before my eyes, his lifeless body just tossed across the ground. 

I had to stand here helplessly from the window, unable to do anything to help.

He had locked me in here, he knew I had planned to intervene, and now, he's dead.

"I'm sorry friend..it was a pleasure knowing you."

His last words to me echoed in my ear.

My stomach swelled with guilt, seeing him hit the floor like that.

He had fought for us, and I didn't even get a chance to help.

I banged on the door of the office, trying to get it open, to get down there to him.

It had been a little while since it happened, and I just wanted to get out of this god forsaken office. I couldn't take staring out the stupid window trying to figure out what everyone was saying.

"S-Someone..let me o-out..!"

I wailed, like a wounded dog.

Heavy footsteps thundered outside the door and I could hear crates and barrels being moved around outside. Eventually, the knob jangled and clicked, revealing Tommy in the doorway. He carried a disheartened expression.

"Kenny? Why were you locked in here?"

I couldn't help but look at the floor.

"Sammy..h-he..locked me i-in here.."

I choked out, balling my hands into fists.

"He kn-knew I'd try to help..a-and.."

I couldn't finish, I felt so useless in that moment.

Tommy knelt down to hug me, his arms wrapping around tightly, whispering reassuringly,

"It'll be okay Kenny, I promise. There might be a way to save him."

My stomach leaped.

"Wh-What?"

He held up a small black book.

The cover was sleek and dark, with a thin yellow trim.

'The Illusion Of Living' By Joey Drew 

It read.

Tommy then continued on,

"Its a book the ol' boss wrote. There's a lot in here about his rituals and philosophies. There's some sort of 'reinkarnation' thingamajig mentioned.."

I couldn't find the words. 

Bringing someone back to life?

"..but, we need the Ink Demon to help us.."

I looked up at him, a little awestruck.

"W-well..I guess we'll n-need to...take care of whats left of S-Sammy.."

~

I made it down stairs, rushing over to Sammy's body. I tried to refrain myself from looking at the pool of ink surrounding his head.

Death had always made me skittish, and I was sorta..losing it right now.

I looked over at Tommy. He seemed to take the hint and crouched down next to me.

"W-We need to keep h-him..somewhere..for now.."

He nodded and helped me lift him up, grabbing him by his torso while I lifted his legs.

I felt cold inky blood run down my arm. It chilled me to my bones. Though, I tried my best to keep my hold on him.

We reached Sammy's living quarters and set him down on the large wooden desk while we prepped the bed.

Me and Tommy said nothing, silently arranging the bed with extra sheets from the infirmary.

Feeling Sammy's cold clammy skin made my heart sink. 

I caught myself eyeing him, he looked so...peaceful. It occurred to me that I had never seen him without his mask completely off. Such a shame I had to see under these circumstances.

We lifted him up again onto the freshly fixed bed, rearranging his limbs and clothing so that he lied on the bed tranquilly. We set his mask on the nearby table, and lit a small candle.

Tommy left the room, and soon it was just me and Sammy.

"I'm sorry y-y-you had to d-die..friend...but..m-maybe you'll b-be back soon.."

I whispered, shortly leaving the room afterwards.

I found Tommy in the barracks with Louise and Shirley, and a bunch of other people I didn't know.

As I neared, their conversation faded into earshot.

"..it says right here that through a ritual we can 'bring back those born from the ink machine.' "

Everyone was quiet, some looked confused, some taken aback, some very very interested. 

"..Tommy..you don't think this is..wrong? Tampering with life and death?" 

Someone queried, their voice a bit shaky. 

He breathed deeply and thought for second. 

"Don't you think that at this point, we're stuck between those borders?" 

He wasn't.. well wrong. We weren't exactly humans anymore, it didn't feel like we were living. 

"Our lives, our souls, were stripped from us. Why does any of it matter anymore?" 

"It just feels wrong. Maybe we shouldn't be messing with these things.." 

"Whats the worst thing that could happen?" 

Tommy challenged, his face painted with a very serious expression. 

"It's the least we can do for Sammy, he fought for us, for Jack." 

He looked down at the ground, he swallowed hard, as if fighting back tears. 

"We'll need to work with the Ink Demon to make this happen. Prepare yourselves" 

And with that he walked off, the book clutched snugly in his strong grip, towards the docks most likely to overlook the dark waters. 

Reinkarnation huh?