The tears flowed freely down Sarah’s face as the witch stood less than a foot away. She knew that the devil woman was right. She couldn’t even remember all of the sleepless nights that she used to lie awake and desperately wish for everything that the witch had said.
“It would all go away,” the witch said, her voice like a sweet, singing cadence. “No more scars, or bruises. No more fear. No more pain. Just think of all of the good that would be thrust back into your life. And we could make it so you never even remember this life. You’d be in your own world, Sarah. A perfect world. You deserve that life, Sarah. Don’t be afraid to take it now that it’s dangling right in front of you.”
The dinners, the birthdays, holidays, weekends, smiles and hugs and kisses and a love that she never knew swelled in her heart. Sarah desperately wanted all of those things. And the witch was right, Sarah deserved to be happy. Didn’t she? She wasn’t a bad person, never was, just someone who did the best that they could with the hand that they were dealt.
“What do you say, Sarah?” the witch asked, still keeping her distance, but offering her hand the way that Kegan had done. The fantasy of the life she’d always wanted. And an end to the life that she never did. “Let us help you, Sarah. Let us undo what God and all of his followers should have never let happen.”
Sarah stared at the hand through wet and bloodshot eyes then stared down at the pillowcase that held the orb. “The social workers always told me that I needed to learn to let things go.” She swung the pillowcase and flung the orb onto the bed. “But I was never good at listening.”
The witch cackled, and surprise flashed over her face as she lifted her hands in triumph. “Yes, Sarah! Yes! You’ve made the right choice. You’ve made the better choice.”
Sarah then dropped the cross, and the holy water, though the pistol was still in her pocket.
“Come here, child. Come.” The witch waved Sarah forward, who walked slowly, stiffly.
The orb had spilled out from the pillowcase and onto the bed. She shuddered when the witch placed her hands on Sarah’s shoulders, digging those red nails into her skin.
The pistol grew heavier the closer Sarah moved toward the bed, and the world around her slowed. The doubt that had plagued her mind prior to this moment had vanished. She knew what she had to do. No matter the cost.
“Are you ready to meet them?” the witch asked, her eyes wild, not with excitement, but a joyless madness. “They have been asking about you.”
Sarah stared at the bed and then slowly peeled her eyes from the white sheets and met the witch’s gaze. She nodded. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to tell them.”
“And what’s that, sweetheart?” the witch asked, her features slowly transforming from the beautiful woman to the demon that had taken control of her soul.
Sarah leaned close. “Fuck you.” She whipped the gun out of her pocket and aimed it at the witch, who only laughed.
“You tried that once before, dear,” the witch said. “You know it can’t kill me.”
“No,” Sarah said. “But it can kill me.”
The confusion on the witch’s face lasted only a moment as Sarah turned the pistol toward her stomach, and when she squeezed the trigger, the witch’s scream was drowned out by the gunshot.
The pistol dropped to the floor, and Sarah collapsed onto the bed on her back, clutching the wound on her stomach.
“You bitch!” The witch jumped onto the mattress, pinning Sarah down. The beauty had been wiped away, and nothing but scales, horns, and fangs looked at Sarah, the demon’s true nature. “You will burn like the rest of them.”
But Sarah had already extended her hand and placed her bloodied palm on the sphere. The moment her blood made contact the orb brightened, flashing white light so bright that she was forced to shut her eyes.
“NOO!” The witch howled.
And while Sarah wasn’t sure what she expected, she didn’t expect to feel as much pain as what coursed through her veins. Every cell and fiber of her being caught fire, and just when she thought that it would finally end, she felt hands on her face, and she opened her eyes.
The world was blinding save for one terrifying demon face that rested right on top of Sarah. The witch’s head had caught fire, and Sarah imagined that hers looked exactly the same.
“There will be others! You will not stop the dark lord from his destiny! He will inherit the earth! And until then you will burn with MEEE!”
“AHHHH!” Sarah screamed and shut her eyes as the pain intensified, and it stretched on forever. She thrashed and wailed, and it repeated for an endless cycle. And just when she thought that she couldn’t take it anymore, it stopped.
Sarah gasped, waking on a smooth white floor. Her heart was hammering, and she immediately looked at her hands and arms, expecting to find them charred and burnt. But when she wiggled her fingers, she found them exactly as they’d always been, pale and freckled.
“You did well, Sarah.”
Sarah turned and found Iris standing behind her. She was dressed in the same white gown that she had worn when she visited Sarah in the forest. But now that translucent look had disappeared, and she looked more like herself.
Sarah glanced down at herself and found that she wore a similar dress. She traced some of the white doilies embroidered on her stomach. She’d never felt anything so soft before. Then, she got a look at her surroundings.
An endless white stretched to the horizon in every direction. But no matter where she looked, it was only her and Iris.
Finally, Sarah ended her three-hundred
