I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Please R&R.

Crack!

I clenched my jaw as the whip tore into my flesh once more. It didn't hurt as badly as it had the first time…or the second…or what felt like the hundredth, even though I knew I was only to thirty.

This is why I was born, I thought, mostly to distract myself from the pain of another lash. To suffer this…only a little longer. To further distract myself, I looked for the few familiar faces in the crowd of shouting, jeering people.

The first I found was my mother, Mary. Seeing the pain in her eyes cut my heart as the whip cut my back. I knew that, given the chance, she would take my place in a heartbeat. With her were John, one of my closest friends, and Mary of Magdela, the woman who, had I chosen the married path, I would have taken to be my wife.

Suddenly, I sensed that something was wrong. The air smelled of sulfur, so powerful and overwhelming I had to fight back the urge to gag. The flashes of pain from the whip fell to the back of my mind as I searched for the source of these changes.

I found it.

You didn't think I'd miss this, now, did you? Satan jeered.

I could see his form, shades of black defining his features. He moved through the crowd, completely human, save for the fact that only I could see him. His voice inside my mind made my stomach churn, for his words were made of the screams of mothers who have lost their children, the shrieks of dying men, the cries of starving children.

You will win, Satan said with the voice only I could hear, but do not think I will go home empty-handed. He stopped beside a man. A man I knew well.

"No," I whispered, "please, Father, don't let him take Judas!"

Oh, but I will, Satan gloated. He's betrayed the Son of God.

A destiny given to him before he was born, I shot back, speaking silently as my enemy did. This was not a conversation for innocent ears. This will not be held against him!

Not if he doesn't get the chance to repent.

I looked into the eyes of the man who had been my friend, and my betrayer. I felt no anger towards him, nor did I blame him. Judas, however, didn't feel the same. In that moment, I knew what he meant to do.

"Judas," I called. His eyes filled with terror, he fell back into the crowd and disappeared.

He's mine!

"No!" I screamed, "Judas! Judas, please don't do this! Judas! JUDAS!!"

I pulled at the chains holding me prisoner, fighting to save my friend from himself. The Roman guards had finished my sentence and had loosened them, so I was able to break free. The whipping had left me weaker than I'd thought, though. After a few steps, I fell to my knees, lacking the strength to help my friend.

"What's wrong with him?" one of the guards asked.

"I don't know," the other replied.

I saw Satan looking at me from across the crowd. He sneered at me. Ah cruel fate. In order to save the world, the Savior will have to sacrifice one of his closest friends. He will be my greatest trophy. With that, he evaporated into the air and was gone.

An inhuman roar escaped my throat, and, from somewhere deep within, I found the strength to fight. I struggled against the guards as they called for help. Finally, one of the other guards hit me in the head with the butt of his spear. As I sank into unconsciousness, the last thing I heard was Satan's mocking laughter.