"Sinner" - Drowning Pool (Closed) [Octane #13]

[Salem Croft]

Salem stood outside a large, magnanimous building, scuplted from cobblestones and decorated with many steepled towers and painted glass, a large cross basking in the light of the midday sun. Well-dressed but homely looking people passed in and out of the large wooden doors out front, taking the peculiar glance at Salem before hurrying away as he stood in a sleeveless Drowning Pool t-shirt and scuffed jeans, hands in his pockets and eyes studying the classic architecture.

"Huh. Looks like a big White Castle." he said, nonchalantly entering the cathedral.

Upon entering, Salem stood in a foyer of sorts, beyond which sprawled rows of wooden pews that stretched out over red carpet, ending at the back of the room in a raised dais upon which stood a podium and behind which was a large depiction of Christ's crucifixion. It was mostly empty save for a couple men robed in black, not paying much attention to the newcomer. Glancing to the side, Salem saw a dish of coins, and mistaking it for a 'take a penny, leave a penny', took some change and started walking through the pews.

Off to the side was a set of wooden, phonebooth shaped stalls with doors that prevented inspection from the outside. Approaching one, Croft felt happy to finally find a bathroom, the real point of his journey on the outlying street after an afternoon roaming the city, but was disappointed when he only saw a bench and slitted window to the neighboring stall. With a moment's hesitation, Salem shut the door behind him and turned into one of the corners, fumbling with his belt as he sought to relieve himself while no one knew he was in there.  

[Cartwright]

Wild-Eye Sky

???: "Greetings, my child."

A startled Salem quickly zips himself back-up, thinking that God himself is watching over him and has taken offence to what he was about to unleash on to his church.

???: "Welcome to your confessional. This is Father John. I sense a great anger radiating from you. Do you have anything to confess?"

Salem looks unsure about what is going on, but he goes along with it and sits on the bench.

Father John: "Let's examine your past actions. Let's reflect on those that have hurt you and other people. Let's clear you of your sin."

The confessional booth goes quiet as Father John allows Salem all the time he needs to think and talk. There is no rush.

 

[Salem Croft]

Salem blinked in confusion, unsure what to say back to this mysterious man talking to him through the slotted window. It made him uncomfortable, and not just because he was trying to take a leak. But, those two things together made the situation feel like an awkward bathroom exchange, making Salem leery as his bladder was suddenly forgotten.

"Uhh, are you hitting on me, man? Because I'm not into that. I was just trying to take a piss, so I don't know what you're talkin' about. Is this place like Starbucks, I gotta pay to use the restroom, or something? Do you take my order, or what?"  

[Cartwright]

Wild-Eye Sky

Father John: "No my child. This is your confessional. Shall we begin?"

 

[Salem Croft]

Salem looked puzzled for a moment as the soft-spoken man's words sunk in. Confessional? Ohh, okay. This was some Catholic s**t, like what Croft remembered seeing in "The Boondock Saints", one of his favorites. A sheepish smile came across Salem's face as the understanding dawned. So he really hadn't been hitting on him, he was too old for a priest's interests. Laughing to himself, Salem found a whole new game to play. He was far from the religious type, in fact he was known to mouth off to men of the cloth as a child. But this could be fun to play along with.

"Okay, Padré, exactly what am I confessing to? You ain't a cop, are ya? You know ya gotta tell me that, or it's entrapment."

Chuckling at his own joke, Salem leaned back against the wall of the booth, shrugging his shoulders with his palms up. This was part of why Croft hated church as a kid. The boring rigidity of it. Such a place of ritual and routine, creatures of habit whom Salem never saw eye-to-eye with. Still, it was his whimsy to indulge the old man, now that he was older, himself, and could better appreciate the experience.

"Look, Monseigneur, I don't know what to tell ya. I'm not the devout type, if the taped hands fooled ya. It's not stigmata and I don't go around feeling bad about things I do. So what do you want me to say - better yet, what's Bruce Almighty saying to you right now?" Salem asked, leaning forward a little as he rested his hands on his knees.  

[Cartwright]

Wild-Eye Sky

Noticing that this strange man is struggling with the basics, Father John decides to assist.

Father John: "Repeat after me, my child. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been so many years since my last confessional."

 

[Salem Croft]

Salem rolled his eyes and sighed, muttering under his breath why it wasn't any wonder that so many people hated going to church, especially the Catholic ones. But, even as his shoulders slumped as he leaned back, an almost bored expression on his face, Salem ran a hand over his eyes and lips, exhaling the words drolly.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been never since my last confessional. So, what now?"  

[Cartwright]

Wild-Eye Sky

Father John: "Now you should begin your confessional. You have come here to seek forgiveness and to become better. Consider that, my child. Let's examine your actions. What hurtful actions have you been thinking about?"

 

[Salem Croft]

"What hurtful actions have I been thinking about?" Salem asked, chuckling a little. "Well, I've been thinking how my balls have been itching lately, must be that herpes Miranda gave me coming back. Hey, there's something I regret - ever hooking up with that juiced-up ring rat. Thought she'd be a fun lay, even with the weird, puffy nipples, but then I started pissing needles."

As though the thought of Miranda made him need to scratch, Salem leaned back in the booth and raked nails over the crotch of his jeans.

"Should've worn a condom. But if that wasn't bad enough, she starts blowing up my phone all the time about getting title matches, wanting to be all close to me, make people think we're an item, just because I was signing her checks at the time. Now I feel like Harry Potter, my d**k stings every time she's around."

Salem turned towards the camera, holding up a hand as though trying to keep the priest from hearing.

"Bet yours does too, Cyrus, since you like laying down for her, huh?" Salem said, winking before turning back to Father John.

"No wonder Freakshow ended up a whoring, boozing slob. I'll tell ya, abusing your power just isn't as fun as it used to be, is it? I'm probably preaching to the choir, though, I'm sure you Catholics know all about that, right?"  

[Cartwright]

Wild-Eye Sky

The camera shows the priest for the first time on the other side of the confessional, looking rather troubled by what this lost soul has to say.

Father John: "It sounds like God punished you, for not waiting until marriage before engaging in natural acts with someone that you love, my child. I hope that there are no children involved now. A child needs the love of both parents to flourish."

The crowd watching in the arena don't seem to think that the priests words are going to have any effect on Salem.

Father John: "What will you do to solve this? Will you forgive this Miranda of her past misdeeds towards you?"

 

[Salem Croft]

"Forgive her?" Salem scoffed, shaking his head, drawing a thumb to jab at his own chest. "I got mine, man. She's hung up on me, wanting to have a match, but I don't fight bitches, I ******** 'em. Then again, I dunno - what's God's stance on me beating women? Can I get Old Testament with it, or what?"

Salem shook his head, making an idle gesture with his hand as though to waive it off.

"Anyway, I don't want kids. I'm out for me, man - don't need no rugrats running around complicating s**t. Right now, I've got someone I need to deal with, y'know what I mean? Give 'em the ol' one-two, loosen their jaw up a bit, whatever. I'm not much for that turning the other cheek s**t, Padré."  

[Cartwright]

Wild-Eye Sky

The priest has a curious look on his face.

Father John: "Something to deal with? It sounds like you are going to be fighting someone. Not this Miranda....so what is going on with this other person?"

 

[Salem Croft]

Salem sighs, reaching up to rub one of his temples before fishing in his pocket for his vape, taking a long drag off the piece before blowing a thick cloud of smoke that fogged up both booths.

"Look, Father, imma be honest. I hate religion. It's for idiots who need a book of rules to tell them what being a good person is. It's for weak-willed people who need a 'higher power' to make them feel special, to make them feel safe. But no one's special. No one's safe. The world is a dark, scary place, and when you get to the bottom of it, we're all just animals."

Salem takes another puff even as he sees the priest about to object, but chokes the man with another cloud before he could speak.

"We think cars and clothing and civilization makes us better, but you push people to the edge, you make a person see the world for what it really is, and their simple little pieties will shatter like a baseball through your living room window. It's still a jungle out here, only instead of trees and grass it's buildings and concrete. People think hiding behind religion or ignoring the world around them makes it okay, makes everything alright...well, I'm the reality. I'm here to show people what they really are, what they pretend they aren't. You deal in burning bushes and ten commandments, I deal in hard truth. People aren't nice. People aren't sweet. There's two kinds of people in this world, victors and victims. I'm just seeing what one Drako is, and no, I don't regret what I have to do to find that out."

With that, Salem took another drag from his vape pen, feeling the rush as be inhaled before blowing another thick fog of vapor.