Chapter 7 – Death and Rebirth
The address that I found isn’t too far from here. It’s a broken-down house that looks like it could fall apart at any time. From the looks of it, it could be a perfect place for a temporary hideout for crazy people. I go into the building to find a small pathway to the basement. In it, I find two people sleeping on old mattresses. They’re dressed similarly so these people must be part of the same group.
Since they’re both sleeping, I wake up on who looks around before being knocked right back out. The noise wakes up their friend who I climb on and beat their face in. There’s nothing on them that tells me who they are so these might be the only ones here. They might not even be part of the Doll Factory and are just a group inspired by them. That’s a shame. I wanted to get justice for myself, but at least these people will know better. I call the cops using their phone and leave it on them as I leave the area.
That was more fun than I thought it was going to be. Alexa’s dad used to tell us stories all the time about his dad’s secret vigilante activities while also being a boxer. Now I know why he liked doing it. I want to find more people to fight. Hillside City is full of crazy people. I’m sure to find one if I look hard enough.
It only takes a short while before I see a few suspicious people. They manage to steal some food and drinks out of a store without anyone noticing. I go after them and wait until they lead me to their place. Maybe there are more of them. The two people meet up with another who they start to share the food with. That’s three people to punish. Because they outnumber me, I sneak up behind one and punch them in the back of the head. I then punch the next person in the mouth to make them choke on what they’re eating. The next person gets punched in the gut to make them puke what they ate. Their face gets smashed into the concrete.
“Wh-why are you doing this?” the barely conscious man asks.
“Because you stole food.”
“But we’re hungry and poor!”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor. A crime is still a crime. A sin is still a sin. Your justification doesn’t make you innocent.”
I smash the person’s face into the concrete one last time. More! More! I want more souls to punish. Suddenly, more people form out of the shadows as the area around me constantly shifts from the outside to the inside of buildings. So many people to punish. I get to work as my desire for violence overwhelms me. It overwhelms me so much that four tendrils come out of my back. Good. I need more tools for this. Faces get broken, necks are crushed, and my tendrils stab their sharp points through torsos. It’s a sweet symphony of carnage that’s inflicted upon the guilty.
Huh? What’s this? Some of the people I see appear to be normal people. Wait, was that Alexa? Was that my dad? Mom? Myself? When I focus on myself, it steps out to face me. I try to fight it, but it beats me down. No, I won’t let you beat me. I throw a punch at myself, but something tells me to stop, so I stop before I hit myself in the face. The fighting has stopped for some reason and my heart feels calm, and yet, it is also concerned. After blinking a couple times, I see Alexa. Is that really her? What’s going on? What have I been doing?
“I’ve finally found you, Michael”, she says with tears in her eyes.
How did I lose myself for so long? Who was I for that short amount of time? What did I even do?
“I’ve been searching the entire city for you, Michael. Please come back to me.”
Is Alexa really here?
I reach out and she holds my hand. She is real!
“No, Alexa. I’m not sure if I can come back after what I did. I’m not sure if I’m worth it.”
“It’s okay. I forgive you. To be honest, I’ve been feeling the same way, but we have to control ourselves. It’s the right thing to do.”
“Oh…that’s right.”
End of Phase 2
Phase 3 – Sanctification
I remember why I need to control myself. I’ve only been thinking about myself and what I care about for the past few days. There wasn’t a single thought about what really matters in the world. You were always with me through my troubles. You were waiting for me to come back to you. When I was about to be forcefully wedded, you freed me. When I was in a haze of desire, you took my hand and woke me up. You’re an integral part of who I am. Without You, I am nothing. I’m sorry for forgetting that. I promise not to do it anymore. Just give me the chance to prove it.
My monstrous appearance disappears from me as I go back to normal.
“Let’s go back home, Alexa.”
She nods her head with a smile.
As we walk through the streets while holding hands, I ask her, “Are you out here by yourself?”
“No, my dad should be out here too. He shouldn’t be too far.”
When we turn the corner, I see a group of people approaching me. A few cars stop in the center of the road and more people come out of it. I think I recognize one of their faces. No way. Is that Serenity? Half of her is burnt, and yet, she is still wearing a revealing red dress. The group of people surround us and push us into the alley. I protect Alexa by putting myself in front of her.
“Serenity?”
“That’s Serenity?”
“I’m so glad you didn’t forget about me, Michael. I knew you would be okay after that fire and after all these days. Is this that girl you would always talk about? I told you that she abandoned you because she left you.”
“That isn’t true,” I say, “What do you want?”
“I want you, of course. You proved to be the man I’ve been searching for my entire life. Even though I gave you up to my husband for marriage, that was just to subjugate you and to see if you would kill him. You’ve proved to be more than that.”
“How do you have so many people with you?”
“You didn’t figure it out yet? I guess that’s just how men are. I’m the headmistress of the Doll Factory.”
“What?”
“Why do you think I have such a large reach and the people to kidnap young people like you? I might be exposed now, and I might need to pay a big fee to have this event forgotten by the city’s security, but it’s worth it to get you.”
“You can take me but leave Alexa alone.”
“Michael!”
“I’ll leave her alone alright. She’s a witness and needs to disappear. Trust me. I’ll make sure my people treat her right.”
“I’d rather die than have you take us!”
“I knew you would say something like that. Go ahead. Resist.”
Serenity steps in front of her guards with her arms out. I walk ahead with my fists clenched, and am about to punch her, but then I’m shot in my legs and arms with a couple shots hitting my body. I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Serenity smiles as I fall down.
“Michael!” Alexa screams.
The guards then point their guns at her.
“You’re truly a man among men, Michael. To fight for your love even when you have all the odds set against you. You truly will be my perfect husband.”
“No…that isn’t going to happen.”
“But it will. I’ll get you back up to good health in no time then make you mine forever.”
“No…that isn’t going to happen!”
I can feel a massive amount of energy exit out of my head and enter into the minds of the people around me as I try to stand up. Serenity’s guards start shooting and fighting against invisible things that appear to be attacking them. Some of them are also experiencing things that make them crumble to the ground, run away, or just go crazy. The pain from my arms, legs, and body begin to fade away as the bullet pop out of me and my strength is restored.
“I should’ve known that you would be affected by the Human Mirror in this way,” Serenity says as she swipes away her monsters, “But you’re still going to be mine.”
“I don’t think so.”
The alley we’re in enlarges itself in the size of a parking lot. I see Serenity as her monster form while I stay normal. I can also see the monsters of everyone else.
Alexa approaches me and says, “It doesn’t look like we can escape unless we make it past her.”
“We can beat her together.”
“Let’s do it.”
A monster pops out of the ground as we approach Serenity. It has bloodied spikes on its scissor-like head and on its thin legs, and its arms are like pincers. It reminds me of the self-harm and hate that I had within me, but that’s not part of me anymore.
“I used to hate myself and what I was, but that’s not who I am,” I say aloud, “From this day forth, I’m going to be a different person!”
Alexa says, “I hated myself for leaving the most important in my life and my faults. I’m above that thinking now. Worrying about that will only keep me down.”
The monster breaks apart and disappears. We approach Serenity who has just fought off her monsters.
She says, “Come back to me, Michael. I can give you an easy life that you deserve.” She slams her foot on the ground, which shakes it. “Submit to me!”
“I won’t!” I say as I take Alexa’s hand, “I don’t need an easy life. All I need are two things; God and the love of my life, who’s hand I’m holding.”
“He’s mine, Serenity, and I’m going to be a better wife than you can ever be.”
“But I have everything. Money, power, and sex. I have what makes the world turn.”
“Those things are nothing compared to what I have. All you have are demons and vanity. Repent or perish.”
“No, I won’t.”
Serenity’s monsters become stronger and appear more nightmarish to reflect her stubborn mindset. Her energy attracts the monsters from other people who pounce on her. Along with her monsters, they overwhelm her, take over her body, and transform her into a summation of everyone’s sins. It’s a three-headed demon with nine breasts, black fur, a showing spinal column, and a tail with a phallic appendage in it.
It screams out in anger then says, in a combined voice, “Submit to me or die!”
“We won’t!” Alexa and I say together.
The summation then winds up a punch. We wind up our own and clash with it. A light from our body transfers from our fists to the summation, which infects its body and tears it apart. It then explodes from the light. When it's over, Serenity and her guards lay unconscious on the ground. I then fall down due to the pain coming back to me.
“Michael! Hold on! I’m going to get my dad.”
Alexa’s dad arrives at the alley just in time and is shocked by what he sees before he goes to help me. He rips parts of his shirt to wrap my wounds.
He says, “You’re going to be fine, Michael. My mom taught me how to stabilize a person. Thankfully, whatever you got hit with is out. I’ll ask what happened here later.”
“He saved me, dad.”
“He did? I don’t know why I’m surprised. You’re a good kid, no, you’re a great man.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Alexa…”
“You don’t have to say or make up for anything. You showed me how much you love me.”
Alexa kisses me on the forehead. Her dad and she take me to the hospital while also calling the police. The authorities arrest Serenity and the rest of her guards, who have gone soft in the head for some reason. Since we tell them who they are and they admit it publicly, Serenity is publicly executed with her other guards who have killed and raped people. Alexa and I are credited in dealing a fatal blow to the Doll Factory and are celebrated by the city and the world. The Doll Factory isn’t going to be heard from for a long time even in their circles.
As for Alexa and I, we enjoy our fame and our rewards. We decide to lead somewhat normal lives despite our unordinary present situation, but then again, who is truly normal? I wake up to a new day to my wonderful family. My stepparents head out to work while my girlfriend and I get ready to enjoy another day today.
“Are you ready, Michael?”
“Yeah, I’m always ready to spend another day with you.”
“Haha, come on.”
Alexa and I step outside while holding each other’s hand. My life has been a series of challenges. Life, in general, is a never-ending challenge with beginnings and endings. I fail a lot, but I always get back up to try again because love lives within me, and I live for love.
End of Phase 3
The End – Grace
“Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.”
― Fulton J. Sheen
The song for this chapter is Rebirthing by Skillet. One of my favorite songs.
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