Solitude darkness, personifying the mind of Jack Samr, a young man who has succumbed to the hollowed feeling. His vision blackned, the personification of ringing ensuing, feeling light as a feather; Jack Samr feels dead.

Why, why me? Jack thought. Why couldn’t this life be given to someone else? Out of every soul, even the worst of all, and potentially born, I was given this life of hell…

The young man can feel his hands clench, the anger swelling inside of him. The urge to explode in his rage, hate towards those who’ve given him the life he’s taken on.

Do I deserve this? For changing, changing into the monster that I’ve become… No-no! I-I refuse to partake in this any longer!

He wanted to awaken, but at the same time, didn’t have the motivation to do so, and instead, welcomed the sensations revolving in and around him.

Maybe… maybe I do deserve this, for all the lives I’ve taken. Yet, why do I feel as if God’s purposely messing with me? He’s gotta be the one behind this journey I’m on, it has to be.

The anger deflated, and he started to see familiar swirls of purple beaming across his vision of black.

Yeah, it has to be him… right? William said he’s helping me to become a better man. Dr. Cato wanted Angela to be raised by a better person, but hid her from the public; for good reason?

As Jack’s conflictions started to appear, the swirls were growing more frequent by the second.

Wait, there has been one person who did make my life a hell, but she was more of a blessing than a curse…

The swirls grew, ping ponged and twizzled, and then, muffled screaming occurred amongst the swirling insanity. Jack felt confused as to why he’s seeing these colours associated with the person he feels half responsible for his wretched life besides God.

Ma-Mallory… where are you? You’ve been gone for a week now, I need you more than anything. Despite the hate I have for you, everytime I hear your soothing soft voice, it heals my depression.

The screaming grew louder, one of that of being tortured. Jack can recognize the screams just from the tone, its pitch, more notably, the after whimpers that occur once the screams restarted.

I can hear you, I can sense your pain, my heart aches, I strive for your presence. Yet as you’ve done this, repeatedly, why haven’t you appeared?! Where are you!

The screaming got so loud that it shattered the darkness, creating a swirling purple abyss that spewed black smoke.

Mallory, Mallory… just come to me! If you’re in this much pain without me, then come to me!

Suddenly, a chalk white arm came out of the abyss, reaching for him. He wanted to raise his arm but felt weighed down, and wiggled.

Is that you? Are you reaching for me?! Mallory!

Jack can finally lift his arm, bringing it up to his view as the hand coming towards him grew closer and closer. He opened his hand, hoping to tie his fingers with the hand coming to him.

It has to be you, I-I recognize those nails from anywhere! Those long, shining black nails!

Their hands were inches in reach, until an explosion of gold light ruptured behind the arm, shattering it and turning it into shards of glass that flew away.

“JACK, SAVE ME!” she screamed.

Hearing that voice made the young man scream as the light consumed the area, and eventually, his vision.

“MALLORY!” Jack yelled, jolting up from a bed without a shirt on.

He had his right arm reached out, he’s panting and sweating. Jack dropped his arm and placed his hand on his face, catching his breath.

After calming down, he lowered his hand and glanced at his surroundings. “Am-Am I still—?”

The door to the room was opened and upon looking, it was Oskar. “Ey, you’re up and screaming, my friend.” He walked over to the young man with a mug of coffee and sat next to him with a wooden chair placed beside the bed. “Look at you, a sweaty mess, and you got a crazy look in your eyes too.”

Jack grunted and lay back on the bed’s back rest, frustrated. “I’m still here, it seems.”

“What? What are you talking about…?”

“N-nothing, sorry Oskar. I’m just, just upset.”

Oskar sipped on his coffee and smacked his lips. “Shit, I know that when all you’ve done is scream for an hour. You’ve got a lot of stuff hidden inside that heart and mind of yours, don’t you?”

Jack sighed. “I-I don’t want to talk about it. I’ve got too much going on, so let's not discuss it. Sorry for bothering you and your sister with my presence.”

“Ahh, we don’t mind the company,” Oskar then coughed, “especially me, she drives me mad, and sometimes I want to give her a really nice right hook; but that would be bad. Instead I just annoy her and call her a nagging bitch in our language haha!”

“Hm, well, that’s one way of getting along, right?”

Oskar groaned and stretched his mid-forties body. “Yeah, but of course. Do you have any siblings?”

“Me?” Jack replied, shrugging, “I-I have a younger sister, but she’s adopted.”

“Adopted, ey?” he said, scratching his bristly chin, “what does she look like? And she can’t be as annoying as my sister, haha.”

Jack blinked and scratched his eye, glancing around to see where his phone was. “I wonder if I have any photos of her…”

“What? You carry a picture of her in your wallet?”

“Oh, yes I do, I almost forgot that it existed.”

Jack reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet. He pulled out a photo of him and Angela but it was different from the original one he had of her. Before giving it to Oskar he stared hard at it, feeling conflicted about the photo.

Just look at her, she looks completely different; her hair and eyes, they’re almost like—

“Mallory…” Jack said.

“Malla-who? Who’s that?” Oskar asked, taking a final sip of his coffee before it was empty.

Jack deeply sighed and handed the photo to Oskar in silence. Oskar set the mug down on a nightstand beside the bed. He observed the photo and nodded, grinning at the photo.

“Wow, she’s very beautiful. You two look very happy, even though you’re not blood related, just by the gleam of happiness in your face, I can tell you care about her.”

Jack nods. “You can say that. We’ve had our hiccups, complications too hard to say, but I love her and would die for her.”

Jack’s words were meaningful. Oskar felt the impact of the word die just by his tone sounding strong yet gentle. Jack patted himself and looked to his right, seeing his phone and shirt folded neatly on the same nightstand with Oskar’s mug set next to them.

“Say, what’s the time?” he asked.

“It’s the next day, morning. Uh…” Oskar brought up his wrist, checking his watch, “exactly 8:00.”

“Is that so? Huh…”

Jack rubbed his face and the young man began to think.

So William’s going to call me two more times today? I wonder when, and if so, will it be enough to get me back home? Whatever these trials he’s speaking about, they better not get me killed… I hope so. Jack thought.

“Whatcha thinking about? You’re looking pale again.” Oskar said.

“I-I am? So-sorry, say, uh, what are you doing today?”

“Me? Eh, since I was forced to cancel tours for a while, today I was just going to church before taking a long walk in the deep woods behind our glorious old building of prayer.”

Jack liked that idea, and wanted to accompany Oskar, but before answering to partake in his day, his sister came in. She spoke natively but stopped when she saw Jack awake.

“Well look who’s awake, care to join us on a nice traditional Norwegian breakfast, Jack S-a-m-r?”

Jack grinned, “Sure, I am hungry, if you don’t mind.”

Linnea rolled her eyes but sarcastically, “First you sleep for free and also get a free tour, all this costs, Jack.”

“I have money, if you're so worried about it.” he replied.

Linnea smacked her lips, “oh, then pay up American, hehe!”

“Ah, stop bitching so much about money and let us eat. I’m starving.” Oskar said, standing up.

Linnea flipped him off, said something vulgar in their language and walked off. Oskar soon followed and he was out of the room. Jack sat there, alone, thinking again about his complex situation.

If what William said is true, then for now, I’ll just go along with what he’s talking about. Just play into his game, as if I was meant to be in this time and act normal. It’d be better for my mentality and not have these two look at me as if I’m crazy.

Coming into the senses of his problem, Jack felt less stressed. He got up and put back on his black shirt. After that he grabbed his phone and headed downstairs to meet the other two. Once coming into the vicinity of the dining room, he was met with the scent of nostalgia. Linnea was cooking and Oskar sat there reading a newspaper, waiting to be served. Her cooking smelled similar to that of his mother, which made him drool.

Jack took a seat and waited, placing his hands on the table and taking a breath. “So, Oskar…”

Oskar lowered the paper to look at Jack. “Oh, didn’t notice you there. Damn you're a quiet, sneaky bastard.” he chuckled, “what’s up?”

“About my last name, Samr, can you explain more about the meaning, instead of the brief definition you said.”

“Ah, so you want the full meaning and lore behind your dark last name huh?”

Linnea interrupted them, dropping Oskar’s plate in front of him. “No! I want to tell you, Jack. I know more about it than you do, my brother.” She then walked over to Jack, placing his breakfast gently, “sorry for earlier, I can’t help but act a bitch sometimes.”

The young man chuckled while Oskar groaned and grabbed his fork, taking a bite of his hot breakfast. Jack stared at the food as Linnea went back into the kitchen, getting a huge reminder of how much he missed his mother’s cooking.

“This looks so much alike to what she makes,” he muttered, “I wonder if it tastes the same as her’s…”

Jack grabbed his fork and stabbed the meal with it. He takes a bite and is hit with a mixed bag of emotions. With his mouth half opened, a mush of food still inside of it, the young man’s relieving his childhood.

It-It, it’s exactly like my mothers… Does this me-mean that she’s, foreign? Jack thought.

“Linnea, your cooking is wonderful!” he exclaimed, “it-it reminds me of my moms, and I mean it.”

Linnea smiled and then it turned smuggish when she looked at her brother.

“At least someone appreciates my cooking, unlike this Jeavle!”

Oskar grunted and laughed. “I’m guessing you made his breakfast better to try and get some Pikk! Eh? Tipse!”

Jack couldn’t understand the Norwegian words they were throwing at each other, which made him tilt his head. “What are you guys saying?”

“Oh nothing, we’re just being petty that’s all,” Linnea said, “don’t think too much about it.”

“Yeah, what she said, now enjoy her shitty cooking Jack.”

Linnea laughed and so did Oskar. Jack chuckled beneath his breath and ate his breakfast. During their breakfast, all three enjoyed themselves and laughed as well as explaining the origins of Jack’s last name. During that conversation Linnea told Jack why it meant darkness, dating back to the times of humanity’s near extinction; The dark ages. With the black death spreading across Europe, fear at an all time high, Norweigians created that name to label it.

Hearing this made Jack question his last name and why his mother had it in the first place. He thought about it and asked himself why in normal American tradition he didn’t take his fathers last name. Instead of getting a nice answer, again, he got more questions stacked on top of the never ending mountain top of his life. After breakfast was done Linnea collected all the dishes and washed them. As for the other two men, they decided to help tidy the place up by cleaning the table, dusting off lamps and damping the sofas. This felt odd for Jack since he’s not used to cleaning up because he never had time to; his life’s been too hectic for him to do basic chores.

Jack felt relaxed and actually enjoyed doing the activity, reminding him once again how much he missed basic life. After their chores were done, Oskar reminded Linnea that it was time to go to church and pray. He asked Jack if he was coming.

Jack replied, “Of course, I got nothing else better to do.”

His answer made Oskar smile. “So I take it you’re going to be my client for the day?”

“Yeah, if you say so.” Jack said.

Linnea rolled her eyes and went upstairs to get ready. The two men waited for ten minutes and she came back down, wearing a red velvet trench coat this time, which reminded Jack of someone with the same colour scheme. The three were ready and off they went, going outside to the freezing air that is Norway. Again, Jack can’t help but gaze around the town for a moment to captivate the calm beauty he’s surrounded by. Oskar had to smack his back to have him move and it made the young man chuckle.

While walking to the church that Jack first caught eye to, just down the street, he saw the same two teenagers who confronted him yesterday going inside a store. Once they were close to the store, getting a closer look at what they were doing, he noticed them window shopping, pointing at some flammables and the one with black hair lighting up a lighter to stare at the flame, deeply gazing at it. The blonde one who got into Jack’s face noticed the young man's gaze and glanced at him, immediately making Jack squint his face.

Jack stopped and had a staring contest with him. Oskar noticed and tapped Jack’s shoulder. “Oiy, you alright Jack, what's up?”

“It’s those kids, they look like they’re up to no good, especially the one looking at us.”

“Huh?” Oskar looked to his right and saw what Jack was talking about. “Gah, why’s he staring at us like that?”

Jack squinted harder. “Should I say something?”

“Don’t waste your time, Jack, they’re probably involved with those pesky edgy brats in the metal scene.”

Linnea came behind them and got both of their attention. “Ahem, we’re going to be late you dumb guys. Ignore the stupid kids and let us go pray.”

The other teenager saw what his friend was staring at and he too made himself look tough. He stuck devil horns up and scrunched his face, mildly head bobbing. Jack smacked his lips and so did Oskar. The three were back on track and once they were out of town, on the dirt trail that Jack was on yesterday, the young man had to stop and lock his eyes at the magnificent view of the historic church.

“Look at that thing,” he muttered, “it’s haunting looking yet so captivating at the same time…”

Linnea and Oskar didn’t pay attention to Jack’s stopping since they wanted to hurry up to get to the church. Jack took a step forward and the first church bell went off, scaring local birds and gaining the attention of crows instead. The sound that it created was distinct and sent chills down Jack’s spine. The gathering crows landed on nearby trees and on top of the building, cawing. This made Jack feel excited. Whenever crows were present, throughout the years, he noticed it usually signalled that Mallory was watching or perhaps closeby.

Jack glanced around, “Mall-Mallory? Are you here?!” he said, “please, signal that you're listening.”

Jack then brought his attention to one of the crows who was tilting and cawing. The young man nodded to it and at first, it seemed as if it recognised Jack, convincing him that it was a sign from her. It made him smile with relief but the crows casually looked away to another, cawing at it and flying off.

“Wait! Mallory! Are-Are you really—listening?!” he shouted.

Sadly, the bird flew away, disappearing into the foggy sky. This made Jack feel sad and worried.

“Is my mind playing games with me? Or is she just… messing with me.”

Jack sulked his shoulders and looked again to the church. He heard his name being called out by Linnea who was waving at him up the hill at the entrance yard to the building. The young man acknowledged her shout out and glimpsed one more time to the trees at the birds of signalled death. He shakes his head at them and turns away to the direction of his new friends. Once he arrived, she asked why he stood there looking ominously at the trees? Jack didn’t reply and walked past her, staring at the front entrance to the church.

Now that I have a better view of this place, it’s even more bone chilling to look at. Jack thought.

Linnea's shoulder bumped Jack while her arms were crossed. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so weird?”

Jack couldn’t help but keep his eyes locked to the brown wooden building. “This place, it’s giving me goosebumps I’ve never felt before.” he mumbled.

Oskar came by after he was talking with someone at the other side of the yard. “You guys ready?” he asked, looking at his sister who looked annoyed. “You alright, my sister?”

She looked away and walked off to the front door. “Your friends acting weird, I’m gonna go pray not only for myself but for his sanity too.” She opened it and shut it behind her once she was inside.

Oskar raised his hands, “Okay, no need to be so angry.”

Jack still hasn’t come to his senses, ignoring everything around him. Hm, guess I should go in and see if inside will make me feel more uncomfortable. Better than just standing here and looking at it crazy.

Oskar waved his hand in front of Jack’s still face, snapping his fingers too. “Ey, you okay? What, don’t tell me you American’s never seen a church before either? Bwahaha!”

Jack came to his senses and rubbed his eye. “My bad, it’s just been awhile since I’ve been to church, let alone stepped into one.”

“You’re a weird guy ey? Ah, nevermind that, come, let’s go inside. Afterwards, we can take a nice walk into the woods.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice.” Jack said.

Oskar nods and walks up to the door, holding it open for Jack. Jack walked in and was wowed by the interior. Never has he seen a church like this one. The chairs were handcrafted, dark oak wood, the lighting looked misty yet mystical, a giant window placed behind the priests stand, and the decor felt right out of a fairytale. Jack glanced at every classic portrait of Christianity's history, especially one that stood out the most. It was a painting of three horsemen, wearing the iconic controversial crusader outfits, holding golden swords and the leader had long mildly tinted brown hair with golden eyes.

“His eyes look exactly like Williams…” Jack mumbled.

Oskar was already seated next to his sister two rows down, leaving Jack alone to bask in his people's history. He already knew he would do so. Jack then brought his eyes to the rows of benches, seeing that there were only a few people inside, quietly praying or staring at the giant crucified statue of Jesus Christ. As he walked down the red carpet aisle, his eyes scanning the room, someone in particular caught his dead fish eyes. In fact it made the young man gasp because they looked familiar to someone whom he knows.

“The back of the head, their hair?! It-it can’t be…?” Jack muttered, “Sa-Sa-Sarah?”

The young man power walked to the second front row of the benches to get to the person. Once he got a good side view of the woman, he definitely was certain that it was his friend Sarah.

“Sarah?! Why are you… how did you?!”

The woman looked to her left and saw a confused young man staring at her. She raised a brow to him but slowly grinned at him. “Sarah? I think you’ve got the wrong lady, handsome.”

Jack scrunched his face, “Huh? Re-really?” He looked off to the side briefly. “It has to be her… I-I mean…”

His whispering made the woman feel suspicious of him, enough to turn her grin upside down. “If you wish to know my name, it’s Samantha. Does that ring any bells to you, stranger?”

Her tone, her eyes, her skin, the incredibly black hair, all resemble his friend. She also wore gothic-like clothing, but had a distinct long fur trim coat. It made Jack shiver, giving him chills, and sweat. He balled his fists and tried to control his emotions without freaking out as usual.

“I’m… sorry. I thought you were someone I knew, didn’t mean to offend or make you feel uncomfortable.” Jack shook his head, “Look at me, I’ve gone so crazy that I was almost certain that you were her.” he whispered.

The woman felt intrigued by Jack's weirdness, and was amused. Her grin came back and she tapped the seat next to her, offering Jack to sit down. He was nervous but decided to. Once he did, her aroma immediately kicked off his hormones.

She-She smells so good… and being this up close to her, she one hundred percent looks like her, except for—

Jack’s eyes diverted to her chest. She sensed his perversion and brought her finger to his line of sight.

“Up here, sir.” she said in a calm soothing tone. “What’s your name, stranger?”

“Ja-Jack… Jack Samr, is my name, ma’am.” he replied, gulping afterwards.

She giggled and got closer to him. “Jack Samr huh? Such a dark last name for a young man such as yourself.”

“Yeah, my mother gave me that name, ma’am…”

She giggled, “you talk to me like I’m old. I’m only nineteen silly.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, and I believe it. You just remind me of a friend of mine named Sarah.”

She gripped her chin and smiled. “Oh, Sarah ey? That’s a cute name, I like it.”

“And you fully understand me too, which means you're American, right?” he asked.

She softly shook her head and winked at Jack. “No you idiot, I’m Norwegian but half, if you can guess the other, hehe.”

Jack was about to reply until his head started to hurt, which made him twitch an eye and grasp it. The woman felt something inside of Jack, which brought out a gleam of wickedness inside of her eyes. She blinked to erase the suspicion and decided to rub his back and once her touch settled against his back, his headache exploded into a flash of red and black. At first he wanted to scream but after a second, it went away along with the mild pain. He felt calmer, more relieved, and less mushy.

“You okay?” she asked, resting her hands on her thick lap.

Jack nods. “Yeah, better if I say so.”

“Wonderful, you had me worried there, Jack.” she said as she winked again.

“It’s so weird hearing you say my name, you sound too similar to my friend. Damn, it’s spooky even.”

“Hehe, I take this Sarah is as beautiful as I? If I’m so similar to her.”

“On the same level. Your eyes, hair, skin, everything is on point… besides the uh, chest.”

She softly laughs and taps his arm. “I don’t think that was necessary to say, learn your manners, idiot.”

Jack smiles, feeling fuzzy. It was like he was talking to his friend. Their conversation continued until the two siblings intervened. Oskar grabbed Jack’s shoulder, making him turn round to them. Linnea had her arms crossed to him as she tapped her foot on the carpet.

“We thought we lost you, dummy.” Linnea said.

Oskar shook his head but as soon as he was about to say something to Jack, his eyes were captivated by the seated beauty next to him.

“O, o, o, o, oh my goodness…” Oskar walked closer to her, and spoke in his language.

He brought his hand out to her, kneeled and she only smiled at him. He continued talking like someone singing a love song to their crush. She raised her hand, waved and said something in response to his charisma, which made him sulk. He rose his feet in defeat but quickly smiled and laughed, walking away in a cloak of shame. Linnea rolled her eyes and apologised to the young lady about her brother’s behaviour. She giggled and so did Linnea.

Linnea grabbed Jack’s arm, “Now Jack, let us—” but his phone that was alien to them rang, stopping her.

It was loud and made a couple of people bring their eyes to him, confused by this rude interruption in their praying. Jack’s eyes bugged out and he panicked, jolting out of his seat and running out the front door, leaving Linnea concerned and the young lady feeling more intrigued. Jack ran around the back of the church, and pulled out his phone, seeing the mastermind behind this madness calling him again.

“Wi-William…” Jack swallowed and flipped his phone open, answering. “He-Hello?”

“Hey Jack, enjoying your time in the past so far my friend?” William asked, but he sounded genuinely polite.

Jack furrowed his brows. “I-I don’t know if you're messing with me right now, but to answer your question, I-I am.”

“Good, I’m glad actually. Although it would’ve never occurred to me that you would bump into a carrier of Sin.”

“H-Huh? A what of Sin?”

William lay back on his cloudy chair. “Oh, that’s right. You’re still oblivious to the real world, but that’s okay! I don’t mind telling you this, you ought to know it anyways since you’re this deep in the shit of reality.”

Jack glanced around and sighed, looking forward to the deep woods that were behind the church. “Is this part of the trial? Or is it something you’re willing to tell me.”

“No and yes. You definitely deserve to hear about carriers of Sin, but all seven of the deadly Sins. You're Christian aren’t you?”

“I-I was… but I’m questioning my faith as life goes on.”

William softly groaned. “Ah, understandable, but what do you know?”

“No-Not much, I’ve only got a gist of what they meant.”

“Oh, and what can you remember, my dear boy?”

Jack gripped his chin. “I was only told the names but never the full details. If I remember, there’s Gluttony, uh… Wrath, shit. What else was there, hmm…”

William chuckled, “Pride, Sloth, Lust, Greed and—”

“Envy…” said a soothing womanly tone.

Jack quickly turned his head to the left, lowering his phone. It was the young lady who looked like Sarah that had spoken. She stood there, giving Jack a gentle smile. He stood there, silently observing more of her curvy features. Her outfit was in full display; her long black boots, her tight black dress and trim fur coat really gave off those gothic vibes.

She’s almost the same height as her too… Wa-Wait. As Jack’s eyes scanned her head to toe, he suddenly gasped. Could she be her mother?! No, no, impossible! We’re in Norway, I’m-I’m probably just overthinking it.

“You alright there, Jack S-a-m-r?” she asked while bringing her hand up.

Why did she say my last name like that? He thought.

Jack squinted his eyes, looking away for a second. “Ye…ah, so-sorry. I’m just, just thinking of something.”

She giggled, “well, sorry if I accidentally intervened in your self conversation. I couldn’t help but listen in and jump in as you were talking into that contraption, naming the seven deadly Sins.” She lowered her hand and giggled again. “So I wanted to help you by saying Envy to name one of them hehe.”

“Huh, okay? Um, why would you be interested in my conversation if I may ask?”

William was listening to the two talk while he was left hanging. He rubbed his bristly chin, feeling intrigued by their interaction.

I wonder if she can sense me… if she can, then she’s a great actor at playing clueless, heh. William thought.

The young woman crossed her arms and looked to the forest, keeping that gentle smile on her face. “It so happens Jack that I’m a researcher that’s on a mission; studying the core aspects of Christianity.” She turned her whole body to the forest, “finding out more about the roots of every Sin, and their respected Virtues that combat those wretched feelings.”

Jack listened closely, his face turning stone cold. “Vi-Virtues?” he asked, taking a step closer to the woman. “What’s that?”

She briefly looked at him, gently sighed, “Oh wow, you really don’t know?”

Jack shook his head. She grinned and flung her hair.

“Ready for a quick lesson, Jack? I’m going to ask you some weird things that humanity has yet to fully explore but has ‘debunked’.” she looked at his still face, gently blinking, “you ready?”

“Ye-Yeah… please do ask.” he said, calmly.

The trees in the forest creaked, rattled, a gentle gust of wind blowing leaves across their feet.

“Virtues are the combatants of Sin, and there’s a total of seven.” she said, sounding serious.

Jack squinted his face, “do-do you know who possess Virtues and Sins?”

The gust blew harder, making her hair blow across her face, and their clothes flutter. As her hair settled down, it revealed a wicked soft smile, one befitting for—

“Do you believe in Witches, Jack?”

Jack grew nervous, he didn’t like her smile, and he was sensing something from her. A darkness which he never felt before. It made him trickle a drop of sweat off his face to the ground. She stood still, like a statue, her black outfit gently fluttering as she stared deep into Jack’s soul with those bright crimson eyes.

The young man balled his fists and took a deep breath. “I-I didn’t before, but after some life changing experiences… I do, I do believe in Witches.”

Her eyes grew sharp, a fierce glint had appeared while her smile grew more twisted. Jack started to shake, the sensation he was feeling from her grew more, and more. She slowly lowered her arms to her sides and brought her body to face Jack while keeping her eyes locked onto him. The young man’s face mildly twitched as she stared at him, feeling her gaze scorch his soul.

“That’s wonderful to hear, Jack. It so happens there’s a correlation between the two, and that’s what my research is about.”

Jack clenched his jaw, “is-is that so? Could that be the reason you’re here in this rural town?”

The woman’s glint grew sharper, and the giggle she gave off sent chills down Jack’s spine. “You could say that, Jack. The strange thing is, this town has some tie in with past Witchcraft.”

“Really? Do-do you have information to back that up?” he asked.

The darkness seeping out her pores erupted behind her, engulfing Jack’s vision with total madness. His own blackness that laid dormant inside of him felt afraid, wanting to tell Jack to run. It swirled, tickled his brain, trying to make it tremble to snap Jack out of her madness awe inspiring spell that made him freeze. She took a step forward, making the grass beneath her feet freeze and crunch. That twisted smile on her face hadn’t changed, and Jack had become a permanent statue.

She eerily raised her arm to her face, her balled fist gently opened to Jack. “Would you care to join me, and take my hand to find out, Jack.”

Jack gasped, and the blackness inside of him exploded, creating a misty barrier around his body. This enlightened the woman, making her eyes grow bigger with excitement, almost as if she knew this was going to happen. The woman gently blew at Jack, and once her breath reached him, it blew the darkness away, vaporising it. The young man felt the tar inside of him being killed off, lifting all his burdens off his shoulders. He felt so relieved that he could cry, and drop on his knees to let out a loud scream of joy.

“Wh-what did you just do…?” he asked, a tear swelling up on one eye.

She simmered down her smile to an adoring grin. “I blew away your burdens, Jack.”

The young man dropped to his knees, “what… are you?” he said, his eyes still locked onto her.

She looked down to him like an Angel. “I’m someone that can help you, Jack. A being who can not only give you what you desire, but answer the questions you have about your poor blackned life.”

William immediately jumped out of his seat once he heard her say that. “Jack! Whatever you do, don’t you dare take her hand! You hear me?! Hello?!”

The woman could hear the shouting through his device, and her blood red corneas bounced in its direction. She smiled again and could sense the being behind the phone, which made her softly moan.

Once she looked back at the baffled young man, the darkness behind her wrapped around her like a blazing black rope of chains. It gently evaporated around her and the woman reached her hand out more to Jack.

Her glare burned Jack’s soul with gentleness and hypnotization. “You have something inside of you that I like, and seem to be connected with people who might answer my questions on Christianity.”

Jack grabbed his head, feeling conflicted. “Wh-What do you mean? How can you help me?!”

“Jack, don’t you even dare think of it!” William shouted, “because if you take her hand, you not only will destroy the fabric of time… but you’ll pay dearly for your Sinful actions!”

“If you take my hand, all your questions will be answered, Jack.” she said, softly.

Jack lowered his hands to his lap, and stood to his feet, seeming to have already made up his mind. He gazed at her with a look of pity, a look she anticipated. The woman’s raven hair fluttered and she reached her hand higher to Jack.

“Jack! Don’t you dare! Everything that you’ll know will cease and you will face a hell like no other!” William said.

Jack ground his teeth, clenched his fists and slowly raised one hand. “What would happen, if I shook your hand…?” he asked in a pitiful tone.

“The peace that you seek will be answered and provided, Jack.” she blinked with arousement, “join me on this journey, Jack Samr, and form the contract that I seek.”

William grabbed his cane and pointed it at the screen. “If you screw this up, I won’t be able to fix this Jack! I can’t defy God’s orders! Don’t you bloody shake that Witch's hand!”

Jack was blinded by the possibilities of peace and the answers that he seeked. His eyes turned blank and he carefully reached his hand towards her snow white hand.

“Peace, the peace that I seek, can be answered.” he mumbled, “If I shake her hand, and she was able to easily blow away my Sins, then she can do more, more than—William…”

“Jack! NO!” William screamed.

William watched as Jack’s fingertips were inches away from the woman. Her smile turned vile and the forest cried, letting nature call out her devious actions from the wildlife that called it home. A storm was coming, dark grey clouds came running from the horizon, clapping the sky with might, letting the town know of a great reckoning was coming. A treacherous wind of black erupted from behind her, and her eyes started to glow violet, her black hair, the ends were withering away, revealing a fiery platinum colour.

“JACK!!” William rushed to the screen, “STOP!”

Jack groaned and was too blinded by his outcome to notice the horridness surrounding him. The young man's life flashed before his eyes, everything, up till now was being burned away as her eyes consumed his soul. Angela screamed for Jack, Annabelle tried reaching for him, Veronica shouted for his name, but Sarah stood in front of him, looking him dead in the eyes, welcoming him to a new Era, an Era of Sin. Everything turned black and Jack heard one last person screaming to him, that being—

“Mallory, I’m sorry…” he whispered. His hand had reached the woman's finger tips, and the two were about to lock hands, embarking the contract.