Hammer of Trials

""I did you a favor, by the way"

I figured a challenge such as this required a new tool suitable for the task. Up to this point I had been throwing all of my used instruments into the lake. Even though leaving them in the warehouse would cause them to vanish, I felt much better disposing of them myself. My newly found fondness for blunt objects caused me to remember my Dad's favorite hammer. A whole section of my memory unlocked right then. I remember he fixed my window seal with it. The window would leak cold air into my room at nights, but I never told anyone about it. He must have seen me shivering one night and decided to fix it.

It was early Saturday morning, I had just woken up and went to eat breakfast. When I came back, he had already hammered the nails in place and was in the process of finishing up. He held his trademark tool proudly while he inspected his work. I used to call it "sunlight" because of the custom red, orange, and yellow grip he fitted it with. "It does kind of look like the sunrise" he said, "Dawn. That's what I'll call it" he remarked while smiling at me.

I went back to the old house to find Dawn; I knew beforehand it would be a surreal experience. It was an empty shell of its former self. Everything still sat where it did however many years ago it was since I had seen it. I didn't want to stay long, who knows what kind of tabs were being kept on that place. I headed straight for the attic, where my father kept most of his things dear to him. He would spend countless hours up there everyday. After searching for a brief time, I found the hammer in an old red toolbox covered in cobwebs. Since I had found what I needed, I decided to leave. That was when I found a guitar. It sat next to a milk crate with what appeared to be sheet music and guitar tablature sat on top of it. It seems my father was up here writing music. I didn't give it a second thought and left.

This page is a bit smeared. I'll try my best to transcribe it.

I met up with my "father" at an unkempt cemetery outside the cathedral. I figured he wanted more appropriate mood lighting to hammer out the details of our pact. The rules were as follows:

I: Only hearts will be accepted as proof. Anything else will be rejected, and the kill null and void.

II: No children or animals.

III: Whomever has the highest number of hearts six months from now at midnight will be made the victor.

We were both already clear on the stipulations of victory. He "gets" me for eternity if he wins, and I am rid of him forever if should I.

"I did you a favor, by the way" he said with a smirk on his face. "Go check the web." I walked in and saw there was already a heart on my web. "I don't need your help, I--" I stopped talking mid-sentence. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Seeing the heart made my own stop beating for what felt like forever. I felt sick. The heart was still, but I could hear it beating. Pounding in my head like a storm of thunderous drums. "Who is this?" I asked. He just looked at me in silence.

I had to sit down. I literally couldn't breathe. He knelt next to me and said;

"Shall we begin?""