Wonderful are the things of Heaven and Earth,

But Greater is Man’s Liberty

To Choose between Good and Evil.

Magdalene was blindfolded, gagged and tied to the supporting beam again. Elijah was released and Carter had passed him the serrated knife. He could hear Magdalene’s muffled screams- the soul pleading for liberation from the frightening darkness she was seeing; the awful claustrophobia from the forced extraction of her senses. He wondered then why Carter could not just go and leave Magdalene alone. Let Ben and Alicia take the blame.

He then concluded that Carter, in brainwashing the kids, had brainwashed himself also. Carter believed then that he was God or he could actually usurp God’s throne. Holding the innocents lives in his hands, bending youngsters’ minds to his will; it brought him a rush that Elijah could see clearly glinting madly in those hazel eyes. No, he would not leave. Like he said, he wanted to prove his intelligence, to see to some completion of the disrupted rituals and still escape.

Power once again drive the corruption of Carter’s soul to yet another level closer to the molten lava as it a mad rush of evil psychotic euphoria would surge through his veins- compelling light to retreat into the shadows in his mind. Elijah thought that Carter was pathetic. He had let his own silly little fantasy ruin him. He saw no way out for Carter but arrest. Carter did not know that the code was about to be broken. Elijah had given those who would take over the case a huge clue. He had a hunch the Swastika would lead to this secret place, where bloodstains carpeted the concrete ground and echoes of the dead were to yet to be avenged.

However, there was an organized crime aspect to this farce. Carter’s warp psyche was interesting but it was not the whole story. There was the nagging sliver poking into Elijah mind’s eyes. He could not see until someone extracts the shard away and allow his eyes to open.

Elijah wanted know the real masterminds, wanted to know if these ritualistic killings were used as some sort of ploy or if they were really intended to draw strength from each sacrifice taken to feed the evil outfit that Carter had talked about.

"Do it, Elijah. Slash her wrists, her neck… see the blood spurt and spurt. That’s the only way you’ll survive. Go on; don’t be shy in front of your future brother and sister. After this, I’ll introduce to more of your siblings…." He leaned closer to Elijah and whispered into Elijah’s ears.

"You’ll know what we’re all about. You’ll rise up in our ranks. You’ll taste our power."

The hushed message was the message Carter wanted to hear. The nutty proclamations were for the benefit of Ben and Alicia who perhaps did not even know anything about their newfound faith that stained their hands with the blood of innocents. They believed in Carter and his lies. Whatever Carter said to them was right, even if his words made no sense. Even if his messages should contradict their consciences.

However, with each added entanglement into the web spun falsehoods, their consciences were suppressed forcefully-numbed- and they became shells of indifference for evil to work with.

Emptiness was very conducive for evil. It made hurting other people bearable because the culprit would feel nothing until the day he awoke from the bloodbath to see himself drowned in the blood of those he slaughtered. Then his mind would go insane as his conscience, freed, wailed.

"Feel this Elijah? I’m pointing your own gun at you. If you don’t do it, I’ll shoot you and you’ll die. Then you can haunt my sleep and tell me if there’s a hell but I don’t give a damn. The thing is, you’ll die. You can do the Math. Save yourself and kill her. Or save her and kill yourself and in the end, she’ll die too."

Elijah thought he heard his father’s words of affection again. He closed his eyes and images flitted in his mind. The house. The final station.

"Power? Glory? Rule the world?" Elijah traced a finger on the sharp, serrated edge of the blood, drawing some blood as his eyes fixed vacantly on the sacrificial lamb that he had to carve, the sacrificial lamb whimpering for mercy as she heard Carter’s crazed rambles.

"Yes. Everything!" Cater hissed sharply, rubbing his hands in glee.

He spun around and stabbed Carter’s hand, the one holding on to the gun. Carter, in shock, opened fire and Elijah felt a terrible wave of pain radiating from his side before the thunderous rumble that ricocheted off the walls deafened him momentarily. A muted scream came from Magdalene and it was her suppressed cry that jolted him away from the paralysis the agony and the shock suffocated his system with. His mind churned as the demand of speed barricaded the dagger-hands of pain from stabbing into his consciousness. Alicia and Ben would soon awake from their shock at the twist of fate, seeing their Master failure to induct in another believer. When they did, Elijah knew he would have no chance.

Elijah, trying desperately to divorce the agony from his system, now aimed for Carter’s palm. The blade pierced through flesh and bones and Carter screamed inhumanly, dropping the gun on the floor, clutching his bloodied hand with his good one. Elijah kicked the gun away, knowing if he should bent down and pick it up, he would not make it up in time to train it on Carter’s skull.

He could not make it up, ever.

The gun slid underneath a rotting cupboard at the other end of the room, unobtainable by anyone for a while. Elijah heard Magdalene struggling more violently against her bondage as the he wrapped an arm tightly around Carter’s hands and chest and pressed the blade dangerous into the jugular vein flowing with the bad blood of Carter’s soul.

"You fools! Help me!" Carter yelled, having snapped out of his painful shock. Elijah was suddenly glad for the torment his father put him true. It gave him a much higher threshold level for pain than other people. Without the constant practice of being hurt, without the tears that culminated to become a deep pool of endurance for him to draw freak strength from, he would be in shock as well and all would be lost.

Ben and Alicia stepped hesitantly forward, holding knives in their hands.

"So you don’t trust them enough to give them guns too, huh? Regretting it now?" Elijah asked blandly. Carter grunted with anger and intense pain.

"Stay back or I’ll slit your Master’s throat in a sacrifice to damn your faith." Elijah threatened, speaking in their language, turning it against them to control them.

Ben gave Carter a quizzical look. Carter, amazingly still able to put on a mask of serenity though his mangled hand must be shrieking, spoke to him soothingly- hypnotically-, "Do as he says. He won’t escape. We will triumph. Believe in me."

Alicia smiled upon hearing those words. Ben bowed down. Elijah saw double visions.

"Release Magdalene. Set her free." Elijah commanded and cocked the gun. He heard Carter suck in a deep breath.

"Go on, do as he says. It’s ok… I understand. You didn’t fail. Ultimately, this lesson will help you grow."

Elijah wanted to puke at Carter’s pitiful attempts to save himself, or maybe it was the churning his stomach from the nausea from loss of blood.

Blood, it was so warm. Life, so red, dripping from his torso, staining his jeans, forming a crimson pool on the concrete floor to mix with those already dried there.

Ben untied Magdalene and Alicia took out her blindfold and gag. Magdalene saw Elijah and gasped. Elijah wished she could be smarter and more selfish.

"Give her the keys to the front and back door of this stupid place." Elijah commanded Ben. Ben looked at Carter who, growling with rage, nodded. Ben passed the keys to Magdalene who took it, staring at him like he was some sort of alien.

"Ben?" She tried to touch her boyfriend but Alicia stepped in and pulled Ben away.

"Master! Are you sure?" Alicia was beginning to doubt Carter’s infallibility, though she still believed. Carter nodded again, fuming.

"Run. Run out of here. Go to the police, ask them to call Isaiah Raily’s mobile. Go!" Elijah knew he was about to lose control. Control seeped away as his blood gushed out from his side. Also, Elijah was concerned that with each question Alicia asked, Carter’s hold on her would diminish because what he brainwashed them with had no grains of truth inside at all.

And it was the web that Carter wove over their eyes which loan success to Elijah’s actions. Should Alicia become aware of the lies, she might go berserk at the sudden draining of her false faith and massacre everyone else in the room.

Magdalene stretched out her hand as if to take Elijah along.

"Don’t be a moron! GO!" Elijah screamed, sending the throes of bullet wound coursing through his bloodstream to wreck his mind.

Magdalene took one last reluctant glance at him and ran away, out of the door and hopefully, into safety.

"Do we let her go?" Ben asked Carter who glared back fiercely. Elijah wanted to laugh so badly but he wanted to faint too. He took a few, stumbling steps backwards, dragging Carter along with him, away from Alicia and Ben. A few more seconds to kill before time would kill him as he waited to hear some slamming of door; indicating Magdalene was out of the building.

Alicia and Ben drew closer- the light from an overhead hanging light danced off their blades.

He heard the faint sound of a door slamming at last. His double vision became triple, quadruple and the ground slipped under his feet.

Now, he just wanted to sleep and dream of his mother and if he was lucky…