The Wicked Within

12. The Final Test

You know what it is. Somehow, it makes sense. There's a darkness, and you feel it now.

You are evil.

You are depraved.

You are wicked.

****

Finn looked down at the ground. He was hurt, to say the least. Eddie, who had been so happy and bubbly, who he had spent so much time with, who was nothing but a traitor.

Finn had really thought Eddie was his friend. He had thought Eddie had saved him from being an outcast. But now...he was just too confused. All this about him being the evil of the world and Eddie being a part of a weird cult...it was to much for one guy to handle.

And Finn could tell Allison was sad, too. Eddie and Allison had been friends since the third grade. She just stared at him, a tear forming in her eye.

"Eddie..." She muttered, her mouth going wide.

"Yes!" Roberts exclaimed. "Eddie! Read it, Alva."

Alva flipped through the book and stopped once he found the right page.

Evil is not always sought out.

Sometimes the great come.

Sometimes a mistake happens and the average come. Forget them and let them leave.

But induct the great, and you will flourish.

The book snapped shut. Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way that Eddie was great with a destiny to save the world while Finn and Allison were pieces of filth. And the average...was that referring to Travis and Elaine? Them coming here was just a mistake? It made no sense. These people were just psycho.

"I can't be evil! We can't!" Finn pointed to Allison.

Alva sighed, like he had explained it millions of times and didn't feel like doing it again.

"You are so young, the two of you. You wouldn't have known. But it could be in you...somewhere. It lies in your body from birth, then flourishes. You must be tested."

He nodded to Roberts.

"Alright," he said. "Strap them up."

The hooded men stepped forward. They tackled the two teens to the floor. In a matter of seconds, they were shackled to the floor.

"Daughter, give Eddie the knife."

The girl stepped forward and did as she was told.

It was time to start the final test.

****

Eddie loomed over Allison. Finn watched in anticipation, waiting for the results to be in. Though he was pretty sure he knew what would happen.

He had nothing to say to Eddie. He had hurt them both so badly, and he had no words for that. It was so unlike the Eddie they used to know. Finn wondered if they offered him riches or good fortune to join. Bribed him...

He didn't even feel like protesting.

So he waited. If this was the truly end, then so be it. He had no fight left.

At least Eddie looked pained. His face was all scrunched up, and his eyes were watering. But he didn't lower the knife.

Instead, he sent it into his own side, only enough to to draw a bit of blood. Finn remembered the man from his visions doing something similar. It was
probably just another insane part of an insane ritual. Then he sent it flying towards Allison's stomach. Finn and Allison both screamed, watching in horror.

But right when the knife was a about to dive into her intestines, it...didn't. It bounced right off of her stomach.

Finn's eyes widened. He laughed- not an amused laugh. A grateful one. And amazed one.

But it was cut short by a sharp pain in his gut. His mouth dropped open, and he coughed, blood spewing from his mouth.

No, no...

This was it. It was over.

Finn's vision began to blur, but he saw Eddie bawling on the ground, screaming, banging his head on the floor. Allison screamed, crying. All the others remained neutral.

And as he faded, Finn thought about his dad. And his sister. And Travis and Elaine. And Allison, who wasn't really evil. The only people that mattered to him. And he thought about, if this whole thing was true, all those people out there like him. People who lived every day with evil in their souls, ignorant to who they were or what could become of them. Could he be one of them?

Don't convince yourself you're something you're not. Remember your father. Remember how you tarnished your relationship. Did you really care about what he felt? Or did you just feel sorry for yourself? And think about Allison. Your friend, who gave you a chance. Did you care about saving her because you were thankful for the good she has done you, or did you want to her  live only for the pleasure of having people like her, and save yourself so you could keep it? You were using them, Finn, weren't you? Your mother died when you were young, correct? That's where it can stem from, a broken childhood that breeds hate, Finn. And it only gets worse from there. That was all nothing. You'd tear people down if you stayed. Know why your fall came now.

And as the wound widened and the blood poured at a faster rate, he faded some more. The same voice whispered to him again, saying it was all true. Maybe he cared about some people, maybe it had not fully manifested. But Finn Johnson had a pit of darkness in his soul, and if they hadn't killed him, it would have began to turn to chaos.

He felt himself fall. His vision went completely black, except for a giant red net. A giant red net that loomed below him. He landed in that net, bouncing up and down before coming to a thick, cozy rest.

And he was carried away.

It's funny how similar the places of living and dying are, the places of dwelling at least somewhat contently and suffering painfully.

The general store was more eye catching than the others in the Bridgeport.  As you can guess, not because it was that large, just because it was worn out. Grubby windows. Dirty, stained bricks. Weathered roof. It was one of the oldest buildings for many miles, it had character, it had story, it had a past. It was 35.06 miles from a somewhat similar place. It just goes to show, in a perhaps far fetched yet still sickening way, that wickedness has a mind, that it has eyes, that it can see who it wants.