The cold wind rustled the few remaining leaves above as tension hung thick in the air, like a suffocating fog. Ethel lay on the frozen forest floor, her breaths labored as blood seeped from the dagger embedded deep in her shoulder. Zack, his fangs and claws betraying his demonic side, had positioned himself between Abby and Ethel, determination filling his dimly glowing pink eyes.
"Stay back, Abby," he warned. Abby''s hands were steady as she held the revolver, her hazel eyes darting between Zack and Ethel, calculating which to kill first. Jessica, armed with the truth, aimed her gun at Abby, ready to defend the exorcist code from the girl who had once been like a sister to her.
Deb stood off to the side, her face a mask of shock and disbelief as she tried to process the revelation that Abby was responsible for the fire that had destroyed Kyle''s home and taken innocent lives five years ago.
As if summoned by their turmoil, Gluttony emerged from the shadows of the trees, a sinister grin stretching across his face. "You were right, Ethel," he said, his voice dripping with malice. "She would expose herself to clean up the loose ends."
Without hesitation, both Jessica and Abby turned their weapons on the monstrous sin. But Gluttony was faster; in one swift motion, he disarmed Jessica and hurled her into a nearby tree trunk, rendering her unconscious. Abby managed to squeeze off a shot, but Gluttony easily evaded it, snatching her ankles and knocking her off balance. His voice filled with an eerie glee as he told her, "Time to confess your sins" before dragging her, screaming, towards his old home.
"Jessica!" Deb cried out, rushing over to her. The urgency of the situation jolted her back into action. She checked for a pulse and sighed with relief upon finding one. Turning her gaze towards the direction Gluttony had disappeared, she steeled herself and followed, determined to save Abby from the sin''s clutches.
"Zack, go after Deb," Ethel managed through gritted teeth, her voice strained from the pain in her shoulder. Nodding, Zack took off after Deb, his heart pounding as he worried about how long he would be able to fight Gluttony on his own.
Upon emerging into the backyard of his burnt-out house, Gluttony tossed Abby towards the charred remains like a ragdoll. Just as she tried to rise, he grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up. "You took everything from me, right here five years ago, and now you are going to apologize to my wife and kids for taking their lives!"
Gasping for air, Abby choked out an apology, "I''m so sorry, I wish I could take it all back." but Gluttony''s eyes remained cold and merciless.
"That didn''t feel very sincere," he sneered before crushing her windpipe, dropping her lifeless body to the ground.
As Deb emerged from the woods, her eyes fell on Abby''s body, she hurled a dagger at Gluttony. He dodged it with ease, laughing cruelly. "You''ll have to do better than that," he taunted as his body began to shift, growing horns and becoming more muscular in response to his completed act of revenge.
"Deb, get back!" Zack shouted as he arrived on the scene, noticing Gluttony had become even more powerful. Ethel stumbled out of the woods, the dagger still lodged in her shoulder, and lunged at Gluttony only to be easily swatted aside. Gritting his teeth, Zack powered up and engaged Gluttony in battle, using his psychic barriers to protect himself from the sin''s devastating blows. But as he fought, doubt gnawed at him: how long could he hold out against such a formidable enemy?
-----
Rob''s car screeched around the corner, tires squealing in protest as he accelerated down the street. Boon gripped the door handle nervously, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.
"Rob, why did we have to stop at the dorms for water balloons and a ring?" Boon asked, unable to contain his confusion any longer.
"Boon, I already told you," Rob sighed, rolling his eyes. "We''re going to seal Gluttony away, Paulina gave us the last piece of the puzzle we needed, a sin can only be sealed at the place it was created. Zack and I have been working on this plan for weeks, and tonight is the night we have to do it."
"But water balloons?" Boon persisted, furrowing his brow in disbelief.
"Look, just trust me, alright? You were the one who begged to help, so try to have a little faith in our plan," Rob replied, his tone firm yet reassuring. He glanced at his phone briefly, checking the Find My Friends app in the hope that Zack was still alive and holding his own against Gluttony.
The car came to an abrupt halt in front of Kyle''s house. Without wasting a second, Rob pocketed the gold ring adorned with a large red gemstone and grabbed the cooler of water balloons. Boon followed suit, clutching another cooler tightly in his hand as they made their way along the side of the house toward the backyard.
As they rounded the corner, the scene that greeted them was one of chaos and destruction. Gluttony, now fully powered and more menacing than ever, fought Zack with a ferocity that made them appear as though they were holograms. Deb was helping Ethel, who was still struggling with the dagger embedded in her shoulder, while Abby lay lifeless on the grass nearby.
"Hey, Gluttony!" Rob shouted, doing his best to draw the sin''s attention away from Zack. He hurled the water balloon with all his might, watching as Gluttony snatched it out of the air and laughed dismissively.
"Is this your pathetic attempt to save your friend?" Gluttony taunted, his voice dripping with scorn.
At that moment, Zack made eye contact with Deb and subtly motioned for her to throw a knife. With a determined nod, she sent a blade flying. It sliced through the balloon in Gluttony''s palm, causing the water to spill down his arm. His laughter turned to screams of agony as his skin began to bubble and melt upon contact with the water.
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"Didn''t expect holy water, did you?" Rob called out triumphantly. Boon, finally understanding their plan, threw one of his own balloons, which burst on Gluttony''s chest and elicited another tortured cry from the sin.
The pain was clearly getting to Gluttony, his once-confident demeanor crumbling under the onslaught. As the sin writhed and screamed in agony, Deb raced over to Zack.
"Zack, this was your plan from the beginning," she said breathlessly, her eyes fixed on his still-demonic form. "I''m sorry for not trusting you." Before he could respond, Deb leaned in and kissed him, her lips pressing against his fangs without hesitation. Zack''s heart lept in his chest and he returned to his human form.
"Ethel, now!" Zack shouted, nodding toward the ring in Rob''s hand. Ethel, her eyes shifting to their dim green, charged at the sin, yelling for Rob to throw her the ring. With a swift motion, Rob tossed it to her, and she caught it midair before plunging it deep into Gluttony''s chest.
The sin howled in fury, clawing at the ring but unable to reach it as it moved throughout his body. Ethel pulled back and as she did, she absorbed some of the sin''s aura, causing her eye to shift to a dazzling emerald green. She could feel the power of the sin flowing through her and amplifying her own. At that moment, the moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting its light upon Gluttony and the burnt-out house. The ring of mushrooms that had grown around the house seemed to absorb some of the moonlight.
Realization dawned on Gluttony''s twisted face as he understood that he had stepped right into their trap. The mushrooms reflected the moonlight directly at him, forcing him back toward the house. He desperately clawed at the ground, trying to stop his movement, but it was no use.
With a final scream of rage, Gluttony passed through the doorway of the burnt-out house and was sealed inside. An invisible barrier prevented him from escaping, and he pounded on it in vain, screaming threats at the group gathered outside. His body slowly melted into the shadows.
"Let me out, or you''ll all face my wrath!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the night. But it fell on deaf ears, he had lost everything.
Ethel, now more powerful than ever, thanked Zack for his part in ending Gluttony''s reign of terror. "You know, now I have the power to kill Gluttony. We can end your curse, Zack."
Zack looked over to Rob and Deb, then turned to face Ethel, "Before tonight I think I would have taken you up on that, but I was only able to protect my friends because I had these powers," Ethel nodded in understanding.
"Then I guess the only thing left to do is find any other vessels Gluttony created, judging by his strength he made more than just you." She explained "But you don''t have to worry about them Zack, I can find them and you can be a normal student again."
With weary smiles, Zack and Deb rushed over to Rob and Boon, and the group embraced. For once, they could breathe easy, finally free to be college students again without the looming threat of Gluttony hanging over their heads.
-----
Rob and Zack stood in the sterile white hallway of Grand River Hospital, their expressions a mix of concern and confusion. They had come to check on Ahmed, but something wasn''t right – he wasn''t healing like a vessel should.
"Is it possible for a sin''s curse not to work?" Rob asked, his brow furrowed as he glanced through the window into Ahmed''s room.
Zack shook his head, his blue eyes clouded with uncertainty. "I don''t know," he admitted, running a hand through his spiky blond hair. "But Ahmed''s aura is strong. I really believe he''ll pull through."
As they watched their friend lying motionless in the hospital bed, tubes and monitors surrounding him, both young men couldn''t shake the feeling that there was still so much they didn''t understand about the supernatural world they had been thrust into.
-----
The sun had started to rise when Boon arrived at Ethel''s house, determination burning in his chest. He found her outside, cleaning up from the exorcist attacks, her movements swift and precise.
"Ethel," he called out, approaching with purpose. "Change me into a vessel. I want to compete with Zack. I''ll follow your lead."
Ethel looked up, her once-dark eyes now a dazzling emerald green. She regarded Boon coolly, weighing his words before responding. "Boon, the rage in your heart would make you too unpredictable and dangerous as a vessel. You need to appreciate the life you have."
Frustration simmered beneath Boon''s skin as he turned away, sulking down the street and back to his car. As he slid into the driver''s seat, a tap on the window made him jump. A pair of glowing yellow eyes stared at him through the glass, and a woman''s voice, shrouded in shadows, asked, "Do you truly want the powers of a vessel?"
Boon hesitated, but his desire for power overcame his caution. He thought it was Ethel, having changed her mind. "I would do anything," he whispered, desperation lacing his words.
The woman smiled, her features still hidden in darkness, and reached out to touch his wrist. A burning sensation seared Boon''s skin as a mandala appeared, and he gasped at the sudden pain. As the burning subsided, he looked up to find his eyes had shifted to flowing strands of blue and red DNA.
Boon''s mind clouded with doubt as he realized that he had just made a dangerous bargain, one that could change the course of his life but there was no turning back now.
-----
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the windows of the small chapel where Jessica sat on a wooden pew, her eyes scanning the newspaper in her hands. The bold headline screams "Serial Killer Unmasked" and implicates Abby as the killer responsible for Joanna, Greg, Rachel, Peter, Adrian, and Wes''s deaths. A sick feeling settled in her gut as she stared at the black and white photograph of her former friend.
"Father Bill," Jessica said, folding the paper and turning to face the stern exorcist who stood near the altar, his arms crossed over his chest. "Abby''s death will no doubt bring her husband to Waterloo. We need to be prepared."
Father Bill sighed, his gaze locking onto hers with an intensity that made her shiver. "I understand your concern, Jessica. But hiding Zack from him won''t be easy."
"I know." She swallowed hard, fear and uncertainty clawing at her insides. "But we have to try, don''t we? We have to uphold the code."
"Indeed." Father Bill nodded solemnly, his expression softening ever so slightly. "We''ll do everything in our power to maintain the code."
Meanwhile, in Deb''s dorm room, the weight of recent events seemed to hang in the air as she and Zack sat side by side on her bed. Snowflakes danced outside the window, creating a serene backdrop to their conversation.
"Deb," Zack whispered, taking her hand in his, his blue eyes searching her face for any hint of hesitation. "I... I love you. And I know things are complicated right now, but I can''t imagine facing any of this without you."
A warm smile spread across Deb''s face, and she leaned in closer. "I love you too, Zack. No matter what happens next, we''ll face it together. We''re stronger together."
Their fingers intertwined as if drawing strength from one another, and they stared out the window, watching the snowflakes continue their dance. They both knew that the road ahead would be filled with danger and uncertainty, but as long as they had each other, they believed they could face anything.