The Wicked End

I was taking a much needed day off from watching Nicky and being around Matt and Brian, and it was being spent in downtown Las Vegas doing what some girls do best: shopping. I had already beento the spa and had gotten a manicure - the frst I'd ever had in my entire life - and I was feeling very relaxed as the day continued onward. I'd bought a few cute tops and more eyeliner, since I was running out, and I wasn't plannig on heading back to our penthouse suite for a few more hours.

"Dude, are you sure this won't hurt him?" I heard a muffled voice ask from nearby. I looked up discreetly from the rack of clothes I was searching through. The voice belonged to that of a male, but the only guys in the shop were the cashier acros the room, and one of the workers who happened to be a few feet away. I shook my head, figuring it was just my imagination, and looked down again, trying to find something to my liking. But then I heard another voice dinstinctly different from the first.

"...Of course not. He'll be fine... I wouldn't do it if-" I heard, but it seemed as if the rest of what was being said turned into static, floating away before I could hear the rest.

I looked up again. Neither of the two male workers in the shop were near anyone, let alone talking to anyone. I shook my head again. This was making my stress-free day turn into the exact opposite, and fast. I felt paranoid for some reason, a reason I couldn't place. I didn't want to think that there were voice... conversing inside my head. That would be just what I needed when nothing seemed to be going normally anymore.

Matt still took Nicky out into dangerous situations, no matter how many times I told him off. It really bothered me, but Nicky would never come back harmed.

As my paranoia grew in my head and in the pit of my stomach, I decided it was due time to be leaving the shop and go somewhere else. Somewhere where such odd things wouldn't be said by apparenlty no one.

I sighed once I got back on the street, mingling with the crowds as I thought of where I wanted to go next. I came upon a music store and figured I'd take a look around inside to see if there was anything good.

I walked past rows upon rows of albums, some catching my eye, some blending in among the rest.

"Is this even going to work?"

"Of course it's going to work! What, do you think I'm completely stupid?"

The voices. They were following me, the first sounding skeptical, the second sounding annoyed and angred. Both were the same as the ones earlier. They almost seemed...familiar to me.

"What if Davy walks-"

"Davy is gone for the day. She won't be back til nightfall. But then, I will be finished with this."

Without a moment's hesitation, I dropped everything in my hands and made a mad dash toward the door of the music store. I sprinted through the streets, running into people left and right without bothering to apologize for my rudeness. I had a feeling that what I was hearing in my head wasn't something I'd just imagined or made up. Somehow, I was able to hear Matt's words, and even more remarkably, Brian's as well. And then I thought back to the wedding, when Matt drank my blood. I'd heard of 'blood ties' before, but this was just ridiculous.

Soon, the Stratosphere Hotel came into my view, and I felt relieved that I was so near. I'd never known I could run such a distance in such a short amount of time, but the adrenaline of fear must have been powering me and keeping me going.

I burst through the front lobby doors, almost knocking the bellhop off his feet, but I didn't once look back until I had to stop in the elevator. I took it all the way to the top, getting antsy when guests kept boarding on and off before I'd reached my destination. It seemed all too long before I came upon the door to the penthouse.

But when I opened that door, all the lights were off in the suite. I reached for the light switch and flicked it on, but remained in darkness. I took a slow step into the room, leaving the door open to shed some light onto the living room. It was empty of all human life.

Walking further into the room, I noticed a light peeking out from under the crack of my bedroom door.

"Alright, hold his other hand now... You're doing fine Nicky," I heard Matt's voice, but it was still in my head. I inched toward the room silently through the dark, making sure I didn't mae a single peep.

"Anything to make you happy, Sir," came Nicky's soft voice, and I took a breath, wondering what could possibly be going on behind the closed door.

I was right up to the door, my hand feebly reaching out to touch the knob, eager to open it, but dreading what I might find on the other side. I paused sharply when I heard a hammering noise from behind the door. I closed my eyes, swallowing the lump in my throat before opening them again and twisting the doorknob, praying to God it would keep quiet.

As the door smoothly opened for me, I was greeted by the soft light of a hundred black candles all alight with glowing yellow-orange flames. I squinted a little, adjusting to the light, before my eyes landed on Matt and Brian, both of their backs to the door.

"I really find it amazing that he can't feel a thing..." I heard Brian's voice as he turned his head toward Matt, but I had been watching his lips the entire time. They hadn't moved, except for the edges when they curled into a sadistic smile to add to his amusement.

Matt was kneeling, and when he moved to the side, my breath caught in my throat and I gasped, my hand coming up to cover my mouth. My darling boy Nicky was there before me, nailed to a cross. One that was turned upside-down; the sign of Satan. There was blood draining down from his hands from the nails, dripping onto the carpet, staining it black like Matt's had at our wedding ceremony.

My gasp caused both Brian and Matt to snap their heads in my direction. I looked at my husband, only to see two piercing red pupils gazing back at me. THey weren't the eyes I had fallen in love with, and he wasn't the Matt I had fallen in love with. He didn't even seem human to me.

"Matt," I whimpered, my hand trembling as it was held at my chin. He took a step forward and I took one back, stepping out of the threshhold of the room.

"Davy..." he spoke with his mouth. It wasn't even Matt's voice that emanated from his lips. Now, it was a low growling sound. Inhuman by all means.

"What have you... oh...God," I said, stumbling back into the darkness as Matt followed, his eyes glowing in the dark. He cringed at the use of the word 'God'.

"Davanee... do not crawl away from me," Matt growled. I could barely stand to look at him. I didn't see Matthew. I saw a monster.

I turned and ran through the dark to Brian's bedroom, locking the door and leaning against it, not knowing if that would keep Matt out. I felt it slam into my back as he it it.

"Open this door now... I command you," came the deep growling voice. I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes as I finally realized. It was like a fog was lifted from my brain and I understood everything clearly. I remembered back to whenI was a small girl and my parents would take me to church. Everything I learned there was right. What Zacky had told me was the truth. Matt was the one who couldn't be trusted, now that I knew what was truly lying within his soul, not Zacky. Zacky I could trust, and it was Zacky I needed.

slid down the door and sobbed into my knees. All these years of being deceived, and I never know, not once, the trap I had gotten myself into. I had picked the forbidden fruit from the tree - I had to pay the price. And I knew how to do it.

Silently, I called Zack to me, hoping somehow he could hear me and would come to my rescue, like I was a fair damsel in distress.

"You okay?" I heard a soft familiar voice ask. I looked up to be met not only by Zack, but Sarah as well, both looking down on me in sympathy.

"Zacky," I choked on my words, and I held my arms out to him. I just wanted to be held.

"Shh... it's okay," he cooed softly in my ear as he was by my side, his arms wrapped around me.

"I can't believe I was so stupid. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"It wasn't our place to tell you. We're not allowd to sway the decisions of the key to any certain direction, we're only allowed to ensure that the prophecy is fulfilled," Sarah aid gently, kneeling down in front of me.

"I can't believe I was in love with.... that... that thing," I shuddered.

"It's not all your fault. The Anti-Christ is very deceitful. He'll make you believe whatever he wants you to believe. He'll cloud your mind. It's what he was create to do. That no longer is Matt. His soul has been dead for years now. The spirit of the Anti-Christ chose to consume his body, knowing it would give him great power over you. He knew of your deep desire for Matt, before even you knew of it," Zacky explained, and I sniffled.

I felt the door pressing harder into me. "Davy, don't listen to him... You love me, remember?" came a sick-sounding voice, almost like that of a serpent, from the other side of the door.

I squeezed my eyes shut again, trying to block him out. "Oh, that'll do you no good princess. Did you forget I can get inside your mind?" came his voice inside my head.

"Get out," I moaned, and I heard him laugh maniacally. "Get out!" I screamed, hitting my head repeatedly. The voice left my head, but I could hear it laughing on the other side of the door, and it got deeper and deeper until it made me think of the darkest pits of Hell itself.

"Davy, listen to me," Zacky said, putting his hands on my cheeks to get me to look at him. "You need to get out of here... get as far away as you can. Because as long as you are this close to the Anti-Christ, he will still have some powers over you," he explained.

"Zacky, I'm scared," I said, trembling beneath his gentle touch.

"I know... But you've gotta run. I'll always be wherever you are. Just call for me like you did today and I'll be there. There are others looking out for you as well," he said, and then he and Sarah were gone.

I slowly stood and backed away from the door. The only way out was through there. The only way out was through the very form of evil and sin himself.