The Wicked End

As the year began to pass before my eyes, I felt a sense of anxiety seize me. I knew this war was coming, but I didn't want it to. It would be the greatest, most horrifying war the world had ever seen, and would mean the end of all time.

"Davanee, I need you to come outside," Johnny requested, waving me to follow him as he entered the living room.

"What for?" I questioned, but Johnny didn't answer so I rose to my feet and followed him through the house and out to the back yard, which was closed off from the rest of the dead, quiet neighborhood by a tall wooden fence. Following him onto the lush green grass, I stopped when he turned to me. On either side of him were silver swords, staked into the ground.

"Johnny?" I asked curiously, glancing down to the weapons.

"The war is coming; I know you can feel it inside you. I must teach you how to wield a sword, defend yourself, and kill your assailants," he explained, ripping one of the swords from the ground and tossing it, handle first, toward me. I cautiously caught it, sidestepping out of habit and shooting my arm out.

"Now first, you must learn how to hold your stance while in combat. Your dominant hand is...?"

"Left," I informed, and he nodded his head, coming to stand to my left, slightly behind me.

"In your left, you will carry the sword, in your right, you will hold your shield, which you will receive soon. So," he said, moving until he was pressed against my back, "when you stand, you'll want your left foot ahead of your right, so that when you step forward, you can thrust your sword forward into your opponent." Johnny then positioned my torso and arm so I was standing in the correct position to fight before moving to stand before me again. He pulled the second sword from the ground and wielded it himself.

"Now, when I move I want you to counter the move," he instructed. "So, if I move here," he said hesitantly, looking hard into my eyes and cross-stepping to the left. After a brief moment of thought and a glance down as he moved, I cross-stepped to the left as well, still facing him as we were directly opposite. "That's good," he commended, "but try not to think about it too much. Just let the movement come naturally to you."

Nodding, I maintained my position, waiting for his next move. Suddenly and without warning, Johnny jumped forward, startling me as I jumped backward, almost dropping the sword.

"Jesus Christ, Johnny," I said, holding my hand to my heart as I regained my posture, willing my heart to slow. Johnny just laughed, and I glared at him.

"Good, good. Now try not to get startled like that. When you're really fighting in battle, your opponent's moves will be unpredictable, and you'll have to be ready for anything," Johnny said, calming down from his quiet laughter.

"Now, how about some actual sword play?" he asked, albeit rhetorically. I nodded, taking stance again. "Alright. When your opponent makes the advancing moves, your going to do all you can to block them with either your sword, or your shield."

"What about when I make the advance?" I questioned. Johnny briefly smiled.

"We'll get to that in due time, don't you worry." With that, we both grew quiet, taking our stances.

"Wait," I abruptly said, and Johnny sighed, resting his posture. "What if I hurt you?" Sighing once again, Johnny rolled his eyes.

"You're not going to hurt me, don't worry. Get ready again," he instructed, taking his stance once more as I did the same. Breathing deeply, I tried to ready myself for what I knew was coming. Johnny didn't move for awhile, just stared into my eyes hard.

Then out of nowhere he stepped forward, sword swinging at me, and out of instinct I swung forward as well, closing my eyes tight and blindly hoping I didn't miss. Feeling the hard vibrations of metal on metal pulse through my hand and up my arm, I opened my eyes to look.

My sword had caught Johnny's midair, and we both held them there as we looked at each other. There was a smirk on his face and I couldn't help but smile, knowing I had blocked him. Drawing his sword away, Johnny stepped back.

"That was great; it's almost like you're a natural. But there is one thing... Don't close your eyes," he said, holding his sword at the ready. Nodding, I quickly followed his actions. But on the next move, I wasn't so lucky.

As our swords clanged together, the vibrations through my hand became too much, this swing being much more forceful than the last, and I hissed in slight pain as my sword slipped from my fingers. I tried to grab for the handle, but it was already too late. The glinting silver weapon seemed to sail in slow motion toward Johnny, and I watched as the blade fell, slicing across the skin of his arm, ripping it open.

"Ow, shit," Johnny said, dropping his sword quickly and recoiling his arm in pain.

"See Johnny!? I told you you'd get because of me!" I cried out, taking a step toward him.

"Don't," he ordered, putting his hand out to stop me. I stopped where I was and watched as he looked down at the bleeding gash in his forearm.

"Johnny, I am so sorry," I apologized, feeling bad that I had hurt him.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." With no further words said, Johnny looked down at his arm. His skin began to glow, and I found my eyes were stuck on it as well. Closing his eyes tightly, Johnny clenched his jaw, his other hand slowly going over one end of the cut to the other.

Right before my very eyes, I watched as the cut turned rapidly into a scar as Johnny's hand passed over it. My eyes widened, and the scar soon vanished.

"Johnny..." I said shakily, my voice just above a whisper. He opened his eyes and looked at me, slowly rubbing the place where the cut had once been as the skin returned to its pale color. "...What was that? What did you just do?"

"I can't answer that right now," he replied, his voice as quiet as my own. "I know you're very confused right now, and I promise your questions will be answered later, but not now. You just have to trust me, okay?"

Taking a shaky breath as I looked at him, I nodded my head, instilling my trust in him for the time being despite all the questions that had gone unanswered.

Off in the distance, I could hear a sudden mighty uproar of people, causing a clamor. Johnny turned in the direction of the noise, and then calmly turned back to me. Once I listened carefully, I noticed two voices rose above the rest.

"What's going on?" I asked, hoping to get an answer.

"Today, Zacky and Sarah are speaking to the masses. We should be there," he said, reaching forward with his once-injured arm and taking my hand in his. He led me out to the front yard and into the car we had found abandoned. Driving through the Las Vegas suburbs skirting the inner city, it didn't take long to get to the community park where a large crowd of people were gathered. Johnny parked the car and we stepped out, pushing our way toward the front of the crowd as best as we could.

There Zack and Sarah were, standing at what appeared to be a golden altar that I had never seen in the park before. Staying quiet in the buzzing crowd, I looked up at Zack and Sarah as they continued to speak.

"If you don't turn away from your sins and ask for forgiveness, you will be in for dark times. The Anti-Christ is building his army out of you sinners as we speak, and if you don't turn away and take the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart, you will die a fiery death, banished to Hell for an eternity," Zack spoke, his voice magnified though he had no microphone.

"What a load of shit!" someone from behind us in the crowd shouted, drawing Zack and Sarah's attention.

"What we speak is the truth," Sarah said calmly, her voice also sounding louder than normal. "The end of days has come upon you, and the Lord is calling upon you to ask for his forgiveness for your sins and wrong-doings to join his league of angels and overthrow the Army of the Damned and its Captain."

"And what happens if we are forgiven?" a woman called out, and Zack went to open his mouth to answer when the sky grew unnaturally dark, deep red clouds rolling in and blocking out the already-dim sun.

Turning to look around, I watched as the crowd grew silent, shifting and parting down the middle to reveal Matt slowly walking up to the golden altar. From where I was, I could fee the static building in the air, tingling with his unholy powers, and could see his eyes blackened over with the evil that consumed him.

I felt a pang of fear course through my body, and tightly grabbed Johnny's hand.

"What's wrong?" he asked, holding me still as I tried to pull away and get as far from Matt as I could through the crowd on our side.

"I need to get away. He's going to know I'm here and he's going to kill me," I whispered, my heart pumping off-beat.

"You're fine. He won't come for you even if he knows you're here. He's come for one thing, and one thing only," Johnny whispered back in my ear, pressing a reassuring kiss to my temple.

Matt's slow movement along the path that had been made brought him ten feet from the altar, where he stared up at Zack and Sarah with a dark look on his face.

"Well well well," he said, grinning evilly, "if it isn't the two prophets, pitting the world against its rightful master," he growled.

"The only rightful master in this world is Him, and He won't let you win," Zack growled back, his hands clutching the top of the altar as he leaned forward.

"That's what you think, servant," Matt spat at them. "Now step down, and maybe I'll spare your souls."

"Never," Sarah answered, standing by her man behind the altar and daring to defy Matt, looking straight into his eyes.

"Have it your way then," Matt laughed evilly, and his eyes flashed a crimson red as he stared down the two prophets. I watched as they stood unmoving, the crowd around us staying completely silent as they kept their eyes on Zack and Sarah. It looked like their bodies were being engulfed with smoke.

"Johnny..." I whimpered, taking his hand tighter as I feared what would happen to them.

"It's alright," he cooed, gripping my hand back.

Taking my eyes back to the sight of Zack and Sarah, I watched as smoke rose from their bodies, their skin beginning to turn the darkest of blacks imaginable. Zack's teeth were gritted against the pain of his body and soul being burned from the inside out, but it wasn't long before both he and Sarah were almost screaming out in pain.

The altar before them began to melt, the sides oozing downward toward the ground until there was nothing left of it. With the altar gone, I could see both Zack and Sarah clearly, their bodies turning to dark ashes as they burned.

Matt was smirking in triumph, and as he held but his hands out to the two prophets they burst completely into flames. Everyone in the crowd gasped, and those who hadn't left already began to do so, wanting to get away from whatever sort of evil witchcraft they thought Matt possessed.

Once the flames had subsided, there was nothing left but two piles of black ash - the only remained of my two friends. It was then that I realized I had a tear slipping down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away.

Satisfied, with the work he had done, Matt smiled evilly and turned, stalking back the way he came, back to his palace in the mountain side.

"I thought he said they were neutral - that they didn't belong to either side," I said quietly, my voice trembling as I spoke of what Zack had told me years prior.

"They were, but as soon as they began preaching for God, they had chosen their side, and knew the consequences they would have to pay in doing so," Johnny explained. "And even if they were still neutral, Matt has unlimited power - he can do basically anything he wants. Now, hurry and come with me. We must collect the ashes."

Confused, I followed him anyway up to where the golden altar once stood. Gazing behind it, I could see the two piles of ash where Sarah and Zack were stood before.

"How are we going to get all of the ashes together and take them with us?" I asked, watching as Johnny kneeled down to Sarah's ashes.

"You don't need a lot. Just a handful will work," he said, reaching to grab a handful from one pile. I quickly leaned down and grabbed a fistful of Zacky's remains as well, holding the feather-soft ashes tight so as not to lose them.

And with the ashes in hand, Johnny and I turned and headed out of the park, getting in the car and going home.

Three days had passed, and Johnny insisted that we take the ashes and head out into the desert. He had said it was imperative - we couldn't do it any earlier or any later.

It was hot as death out under the sun even tough it wasn't as bright. I could see the heat waves rising up from the sand as we walked across it, getting farther and farther outside of the city and surrounding suburbs.

"Johnny, will you just pick a damned spot?" I asked, irritated. Looking around, Johnny nodded and stopped, taking out the two small containers he had put the ashes in. Opening each of them, he spread the ashes in separate places on the ground. Moving back, he stood next to me, watching the ground. Several minutes passed, and nothing had happened.

"Johnny-"

"Shh," he whispered, "watch." So I did, and right as he said to, the two piles of ashes began to glow, almost sparkling with light. A wind picked up around us, fluttering through the ashes and swooping them up into a whirlwind. In a matter of seconds, the ashes began to materialize into Zack and Sarah. Only now, they each had a pair of gorgeous, pristine white wings.

"What the.... I thought you said you weren't angels?" I asked Zacky as he stood before me.

"I did, because we never used to be," he replied, and as I was about to open my mouth to speak again, he cut me off. "We don't have much time left here. We just wanted to say our goodbyes once we rose again, and be on our way."

I nodded, looking at him solemnly and thinking about how much I was going to miss him. The past six and a half years were the craziest I'd ever experienced, but before, when things were normal, Zack had been my best friend. I didn't want him to leave, but I knew it was his time.

"Zacky... Before you go, I want to apologize for running away from you and going to Matt. If I had just listened to you, things wouldn't have ended up this way."

His green eyes sparkling, Zacky smiled.

"It's alright, Davy. It was the way things were supposed to happen - I told you to stay away from Matt because I knew if I did, you would run straight to him. Before three days ago, when Sarah and I chose our fates, I wasn't able to tell you which way to go. Being neither on the side of good, nor the side of evil, I had to let you ultimately choose your own path... Though I may have just pushed you into the right direction," he chuckled, and I smiled. Stepping forward, I wrapped each of them in a hug, which was slightly difficult given their wings.

"I guess this is goodbye then," I whispered as I stood next to Johnny again.

"Yeah... But you'll see us again. Maybe sooner than you think," Sarah said with a wink and a smile, and just as quick as they'd come, they shimmered out again, leaving Johnny and I alone in the desert.