Marietta and Anne Faith
stood battered, bruised, and tired of lies. They took an extra day of
relaxation in the hotel to unwind, and Marietta said to Anne, "Do you remember
what the hope of love is? Isn't it that love is stronger than death, more
powerful than the grave?" Marietta said to Anne Faith, "We have to see what
this Crowned-Deep thing wants from us, or from our bloodline.
Anne Faith said, "I agree
we need to stop running and set some kind of trap."
Marietta replied, "But
what can we do to trap the Covenant of the drowned, much less the Crowned-Deep,
their maker?"
They headed toward their
mom's car and drove back to the Congregation of Lies' house.
The car ride was mostly
silent; music being argued over was the only noise… After a day of driving,
they arrived at the sore in the ground where the Mire and the Congregation of
Lies originally stood. They then noticed something: it was no longer a sore;
the leftover residual energy of all the sites coalesced into a mall. The door
was impossible to see, but when they approached it, it hummed and breathed with
the joy of shoppers enjoying their stay. Intrigued but cautious, they opened
the door and immediately smelled saltwater mingled with fresh Caramel popcorn
and fresh candy apples. The environment appeared completely normal — a shopping
mall. Regular lighting, regular atmosphere, nothing overtly threatening. Anne
Faith said to her sister, "Mhm, I've never noticed this mall here before; it
must be new. Do we have a few dollars left? I want a candy apple, sis!
Marietta said, "Uh, umm, I
don't know." While rustling through their pocket bag that held protective
charms their mother had left in there. "There's some change; Marietta scraped
the bottom and found nothing. I think we're shit out of luck." Anne Faith said,
"Let me check, she checked three times; nothing. You're right, dang, I hate
when you're right. I was starving; that smell made me hungry." "Me too,"
Marietta said. Their stomachs growled fiercely. Then, out of nowhere, a $20
bill mysteriously appeared beneath Anne Faith's shoe after she stepped on gum
as they were browsing around. Anne Faith said, "Eww, a person's gross ass gum
got stuck to my shoe! But look what I found stuck to the gum, Marietta. A $20
bill now we can not only get candy apples, but we can get a souvenir too!"
Marietta rolled her eyes and thought, dang, Anne acts like nothings happened to
us. I wish I could have that kid-like joy after what we've been through lately;
it's sucked the joy right out. Maybe…
Maybe I should just have
fun this time instead of worrying.
They arrive at a stand
seeking Caramel apples, then they smell a faint trace of salt water again, but
the scent of the Caramel apples overwhelms their senses…
"Sir, can we have two
Caramel apples?" Anne Faith asked the person behind the stand. Sure, the Man's
eyes darted towards the apples and back at them and then towards the cotton
candy. Want some cotton candy or a cold drink too? Marietta responded, "No, sir,
thank you; we're low on funds, and we're looking to buy a souvenir before we
leave the mall." Well, since you girls are buying Candy apples already,
I'll give you a freebie drink of your choice for the business. Anne Faith
said, "Oh, I want a cola, Marietta. Can I have one? I haven't tasted soda in so
long." Marietta said, "Sure, Anne, but just don't forget we have to still
finish what we started; don't get too comfortable!" Anne rolled her eyes and
smiled widely like a kid in a candy store. "Thanks, you're the best sister I
could ask for. Thanks for grounding me too. Don't worry, I won't forget; we
just need to unwind a little. All the stress lately has been too much for me,
so I know it's been too much for you!"
Marietta said, "Teeth deep
into a Caramel Apple, this is heaven, you're right partially, this is the best
thing I've had since… Since we were kids, it brings back fond memories of us at
the carnival with our mo… when we were young, and I used to tease you for being
scared of the carnival rides. And called you, a little crybaby bear.
Anne Faith, enjoying the
soda after every bite of the apple, said, "Yeah, don't tease me about that. I'm
still scared of rides, always afraid they're going to go off the rails, ya
know? And I'm not a baby anymore! growl!
Marietta responded, "Oh,
believe me, I know. You're such a dork."And as they finished their candy apples
and drinks, they entered a boutique shop looking for bobbleheads, or a toy, or
something they could spend their last $10 on so they remember this memory and
this new mall. As Anne Faith was looking at a mini fairy toy she called
Marietta from across the store and said, "MARIETTA, come here, I found
something within our budget!"
Marietta rustles over from
looking at poster-boards. What do you think of this, Marietta? Anne Faith holds
up a miniature fairy with a dove in its hand. Marietta said nice choice, now
let's get out of here as they walk towards the register and are cashing out,
the store clerk rings them up: "Alright, that'll be $7.99, girls." Anne Faith
hands over the $10 dollars, as Anne hands over the money, Marietta's water
sense surged, and she felt a cold chill up her spine. She thought, something's
not right about this mall; she thought it was never here before, and it popped
up out of nowhere. Then smelled salt water, mixed with rotten eggs. And before
she could say a word, she saw the store clerk regurgitate water that, first, a
little, then the smell came, it reeked of drowned souls and dead beasts.
Eventually, his mouth couldn't stop like he was drowning, clinging to air. Anne
Faith said, "Whoa, what the hell, where the hell are we, Marietta? This isn't a
mall, is it?" Marietta said, "No, it's not; I think we're in the belly of the
beast." They were both unaware that the water was slowly pressing into
everyone's lungs at the mall. The drowning was slowly sucking air out of
their lungs with every breath they took.
Anne Faith clutched
Marietta and the jagged cross in her pocket hard enough that her already
scarred palm bled. JESUS HELP US!
A light appeared from
within the darkness — from the marrow within the beast's belly… They both
grabbed onto it. It led everyone out from inside the Crowned-Deep.
After snapping back to
reality
The daughters appeared
outside the foggy mall's double doors, with an overwhelming sense of relief.
The smell of caramel and Lavender on their clothes, Anne Faith said, "What in
the blue moon was that, Marietta? While she gripped the little fairy
they got from the mall."
Marietta said, "I don't
think it's us there were more than just us in that place. How many people were
stuck there?" "Fifty, maybe hundreds," Anne Faith gasped for air after spitting
out water from her lungs. "That was some sick stuff," Marietta said, coughing
water up. Well, hope those people are safe, and I hope they made it out alive.
The light well, it saved us."Gross" Anne Faith said, after spitting the last
drop of liquid out. "Taste like sewer and salt water." "I know sis like it
heard us"
Marietta said, "It
definitely heard us." She rolled her eyes.
Sawdust filled the air
around them, slow and certain; then corrupted moonlight seeped through the
mall's double doors towards them.
The Crowned-Deep whispered
you won't have the last laugh, girls; just because you escaped doesn't mean
you'll escape fate.
The Crowned-Deep melded
past reality and possessed Anne Faith with an insidiously powerful force.
Anne Faith, don't put your
trust in a creator who thinks making humans was a mistake; it even grieved him
at his heart once in the finality of history. Anne Faith retorts, "It might've
grieved him in his heart, but he's still the one I love; he cares enough about
me to let me choose; you just erase what doesn't fit your agenda, you cosmic
fucken bastard! Anne Faith is now possessed by the Crowned-Deep and is speaking
in tongues of serpents. The-Crowned-Deep whispers slur into Marietta's mind: Do
you love God for comfort? Marietta replied, "Love isn't comfortable; it's what
is left when the rest runs out! You mother-bitch. The residue lasts, but you
don't- you evil freak!
She snaps out instantly
from the Crowned-Deeps' grip, then hears the voice of her sister laced with an
insidious, metallic, deadly force. Give in as Anne did, give in to the fire
that will make you remember her. Anne Faith starts fighting from inside after
Marietta said, "I will never submit to you whatever you are! I'm tired of
this; it's all been lies from the beginning!"
Marietta said, "You lied
to us all along about remembering, and you've been trying to trick us into
giving in, AND YOU'RE TAKING MY SISTER!" I'm getting her back whether you like
it or not!" The-Crowned-Deep slithers its malignant force into Marietta.
Marietta sees herself in a crib as a baby and looks to the side. She notices
Anne Faith beside her and a motherly figure standing over them, screaming, "My
babies are mine!" While a dark blue force surrounded the figure like a shadow,
distorting how she looked. Marietta screamed out! "You cosmically deranged
sicko, now I know what you want! It's… A disgrace to life. You want to be
vindicated from your role, and you want all of us to dissolve into
non-existence. What kind of sick thing are you?" The-Crowned-Deep whispers
while controlling Marietta's vision: "I've been waiting patiently for God to
finish what he started. I was never allowed to choose, so now I choose erasure.
But you, Marietta, will be my witness. I'll say to God, look, even your own
love can't suppress someone from wanting a lie." Marietta shouted after her
body violently convulsed. She felt the currents of the choir, the drowned souls
of the damned reaching between realities. Marietta thinks to herself, "I could
just let go of the pain… I could just give…She grasped at visions manifesting
outside reality, then she fell to her knees in desperation… "I don't care, you
bastard. She thought I want this reality! ! I want my sister back. Listen,
Whatever fucked up hellhole you crawled out from, go back, because you're not
having me or my sister! I choose her! Not you or my fucked up memory!"
Marietta's body started
entwining with a golden white light, engulfing the darkness. God breaks
through. Marietta's soul jolted back into her body, then tackled Anne Faith
from floating in mid-air. The cross of Maryanne finds its way into both
Marietta's and Anne's palms; they are interlocked now. Anne Faith fights
The-Crowned-Deep until her very last drop of resolve is revealed. Marietta
grips the cross tighter, and her hand begins swelling up with blood. Anne Faith
feels the warm drops of blood on their interlocked hands. Then she trembled once
more and regained control of her mind and body. She said to Marietta, "Thank
God! I was always there when you needed me, Marietta. Thanks for being there
when I needed you."
" I love you sis!" Anne
Faith starts crying tears of joy and relief. Marietta sees Anne crying and
starts sobbing too, out of love for her sister's safety.
The-Crowned-Deep
pressurized air like sawdust in lungs vanishes. They both hear a voice soft as
mercy. Both said, God…? A voice justified by the feeling of love they remember
oh so faintly, calls them… "Daughters, I love you. The world may forget your names
someday, but I won't." Marietta whispered, tears still streaming: "We don't
even remember her name. But we feel her. Is that enough?"
Jesus Christ, softer than
breathing, said, "Remember love costs pain, but the same love delivers through
pain—without you needing to be enough, my Beloved."
"The Breadth of God Made
Flesh. Love."
Marietta and Anne Faith
awaken the next day to the fuzzy sensation of pure love from our creator,
Jesus. Marietta said, "What just happened, Anne?" Anne Faith said, "I think God
just saved our asses from that Crowned-Deep thing." Marietta replied, "Did you
hear what God said too, Anne? Anne Faith retorted, "The world may forget
your names someday, but I won't."
Love did the last thing.
Then out of the blue.
There was a violent crackle in the realms between dimensions.
The-Crowned-Deep's voice
thinned into the creases.
"This erasure isn't going
as planned. Erasure should have worked."
The Covenant will pay its
due when I return.
"You're only delaying the
executioner."
"I will return for the
lost."
The Crowned-Deep sealed
into the moisture left in the creases of reality patient as tide.
I will rest, I will
regroup, and I will find ways to corrupt again. But for now, SLEEP.
The air reverted.
A breath held too long underwater,
finally resurfacing for oxygen.