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December 15, 2014; Indianapolis, Indiana

You know, I like snow, but I don't like being out in it. Because it's always so freaking cold, especially here in Indiana. I can have on like five layers outside and I'll still lose all feeling in my body. Oh well, at least it looks pretty. And it keeps us out of school (even though I was on winter break at the time, but that's beside the point).

Anyways, I got another call from Chelsea that Monday. She sounded pretty anxious.

“You need to get down to the hideout now,” she said. I told her I was on my way. I hung up, rushed outside, hopped on the Cardinal and sped on over to the Assassin warehouse.

As soon as I arrived, I went to go find Chelsea. I found her in one of the warehouse’s living rooms, sitting in front of a laptop with Angie. They looked at me as I came in. They were clearly uncomfortable about something.

“Hey squirt,” said Chelsea, though without the normal enthusiasm in the expression.

“Hey,” I said. “What's up?”

“We've got good news and we've got bad news,” said Angie. I raised an eyebrow. “The good news is,” she continued, “we finally dug up info on our next target, Dr. Patricia Cassidy.”

“And the bad news?” I asked cautiously.

Chelsea motioned for me to come closer and she spun her laptop around to show me the screen. A video was set to play.

“This is what we dug up,” she said. I sat down and watched as Chelsea hit play. The video was security cam footage of Natasha Wolfgang’s office. The Templar Grand Master was sitting with her face buried in her palms. My mom was sitting next to her, talking with a man in a suit that was also in the room. He didn't look happy.

“This is despicable,” said the man.

“Shut up and do your job, Carraway,” said Wolfgang through her hands. So, this was Stanley Carraway, the Templars’ new head lawyer.

“I can't believe you're actually allowing this crap, Natasha,” he said, trying to contain a hidden anger.

“I said shut up, Carraway,” said Wolfgang.

“I mean, human experimentation? With unknown technology? With an unreliable scientist? I can't cover this kind of crap! Not for long! Not with the supposed death toll you've given me!”

“I said. Shut. Up.”

Mom spoke up. “Things would be going much smoother if we-” She was cut off when Wolfgang held up a hand to silence her.

“No, Trina, shut up right now! Not a single word about your kid.”

“You know it's true, Natasha!”

“I know you're a pain in my-”

“If we had just held on to Carter for one day more, we could've sent him to the labs and the tests would be done by now!”

“Oh my God, shut up! You bratty little-”

“I had everything set up perfectly! Everything was going to plan! If you hadn't given the Assassins time to gain an advantage over us, we wouldn't be in this spot! If we'd just gone with my plans, we'd already rule this city!”

Suddenly, Wolfgang shot up out of her seat. She was ticked. “Let me get one thing straight here, Spainhower! I'm the Grand Master. I run this show. Not you! You've grown so focused on being right all the time, so focused on being the queen of the world, that you forgot what we're actually fighting for! We fight to stay in control, as an order! The Templars fight to gain power to shepherd people into a peaceful world! We fight to gain control, to get rid of the evil that is freewill and freethinking! And we don't fight to put a crown on your childish little head! Am. I. Clear?”

Mom was taken aback. She clearly wasn't convinced, but she still slouched in defeat.

“Yes,” she said untruthfully. Wolfgang fell back into her chair. “Good,” she said. “Now shut up.” Suddenly, she reached over and pressed a button on the intercom. “Let's ring up Cassidy,” she said. “See what progress she's made with the Piece of Eden. God knows I need something to take my mind off of you two morons.”

Suddenly, the large screen on the wall lit up. It was all staticy. The three Templars raised their eyebrows. Wolfgang hit the button again. The static shifted, but didn't change. Wolfgang hit it again and again. And eventually, the static cleared. But on the screen wasn't the doctor as they were expecting. Instead, the camera was facing the wall. And on that wall, something was written in big, red, bloody letters: “I quit.”

The Templars stood staring at the gory sight. I could tell just from the footage how unsettling it was. Suddenly, a man came spasming in front of the screen. He was covered in some sort of veiny, red, pulsing slime. He started babbling nonsense as he spasmed that sounded more like a rabid raccoon than actual human speech. But that wasn't the most unsettling thing. No, the most unsettling thing was his pure black, soulless eyes. Good God it was creepy.

The sight was gone, however, when a raggedy slicing sound was heard behind him. The man froze and collapsed to the floor. As he fell, a knife slid out of his back. A giant knife held by a dark-haired woman in a lab coat. Her eyes were glazed, and her smile was terrifying. She looked like a horror movie ghoul. She stared soullessly at the camera, a toothy grin widening on her face.

“Hey, boss,” she said. She turned to the blood message and then back to the camera. “Get my message?” she said.

“What's going on?” asked Mom.

“I'm quitting. I've found much better alternatives to this job.” Suddenly, she reached off screen and pulled up something covered in blood. It was a guy's head. It was covered in that same weird slime. “Isn't that right, Wilson?” Cassidy asked the head before dropping it.

“This Piece of Eden,” she said, reaching off screen again and pulling up a glowing jar with bizarre patterns on it. “It’s so beautiful! I've learned so much from it.” That evil grin returned. “I've made so many friends with it.”

Carraway looked horrified at the screen. “What have you done?” he asked.

“Had fun,” said Cassidy nonchalantly. “And I'm gonna let everyone join the party soon! Oh god, it's a blast! I can't wait…”

Suddenly, some of that slime started wrapping around her head a bit with tiny tendrils. “...to share this with everyone. I already sent the invitations!”

The Templars looked in horror. I looked in horror. Chelsea and Angie had uncomfortably looked away. Suddenly, another infected man came charging, snarling loudly, at the doctor. She rolled her eyes and sliced the guy's head off when he reached her. She turned back to the camera. “This is gonna be fun, isn't it, Assassin?” she asked. My stomach dropped.

“Yeah, I know you're watching, kid. You've got to be. So come join the fun.” She gave one last grin before the camera went staticy again. The three Templars stared in horror for a moment before Wolfgang turned the screen off. The last thing I saw before the video ended was Carraway rushing both angrily and sickly out the door.

I slowly closed the laptop and turned to my cousins, my facial expression now matching theirs. I stood and quickly started heading to the exit.

“Where are you going?” asked Angie.

“I'm gonna put down a mad dog,” I said.

“What?” said Chelsea. “Not by yourself you're not!”

“Fine,” I said. “You two watch the exits while I go in and put a bullet in that nut job’s brain.”

“Carter, you can't go in there alone. Did you see what Cassidy did to those people?”

“Yeah, and there's no way I'm gonna let her do the same to the people of Indianapolis. I'm going.”

Chelsea and Angie stood. Chelsea quickly swiped a sniper rifle from one of the walls.

“Then we're going too,” she said.

I nodded. “Alright. Let's go then.”

------------

I have to think really hard to remember what happened next.

The three of us set off to the university lab that Chelsea and Angie had figured out Cassidy worked at. By the time we arrived, the stars filled the night sky. A dark, misty cloud cover blotted out a bunch of them, though. We stood around the area's perimeter, analysing the building. Windows were busted, doors were bent, blood splattered the walls. It looked like some sort of sick haunted mansion or something.

“I still say we should be going in and helping you out,” said Chelsea. I shook my head as I checked my weapons.

“It’s easier to sneak when there's less people. We don't know what we're up against, so stealth is our best option.”

“It's still risky.”

“I know. But you have to trust me, Chels. I can take care of myself.” Chelsea stared at me, then to Angie, who shrugged in defeat. Chelsea sighed. “Alright, squirt, just be careful. If you die in there, I'll be so ticked at you that I'll haunt your ghost. Hear me?”

I couldn't help but smile at her. “I hear ya, Chels,” I said. Then, I stood up and pulled up my hood.

“Right then,” I said. “Allons-y.”

“Good luck,” said Angie. I nodded, and then I was off. I darted to the building, silent as a cat in the night.

I jumped through a busted window and found myself in a bloody hallway. The lights flickered as they swung on loose wires. As I made my way through the halls, I had to step over a few mutilated corpses. My god it was awful... Thank God I don't have a sense of smell. I'd imagine it must've smelt pretty terrible.

And then suddenly, the speaker above me crackled. I froze. At first I just heard a creepy, raspy breathing, but soon a familiar voice came on.

“So, you finally made it to the party!” said the voice of Dr. Patricia Cassidy. “You know, it's rude to show up late. Your mom sent you an invite over a year ago and you never came!”

I tried to ignore it. But wherever I moved, the speakers shifted to sound directly above me.

“I'm up on the fifth floor,” she said. “Take the elevator. First giant lab on the left. Come on up, Assassin. It'll be great!”

The speaker cut out. I knew I was walking into a trap, but it was all I could do at that point. I still didn't take the elevator though. I was smart enough to not get trapped in there. So I took the stairs, and as I climbed, the intercom came back on.

“Aw, what?” said the doctor. “You don't trust me?”

“Give me one good reason why I should,” I said.

She gave a sort of mock scoff. “I offer you a present, and this is what I get.”

“Well, after seeing what your ‘present’ does, I'd rather not take it.”

“Bah. You're no fun. You'll see things my way soon though.” The intercom shut off.

“We'll see about that,” I said under my breath. I don't negotiate with nutjobs.

I eventually reached the fifth floor and found the lab. I cautiously opened the doors, expecting an ambush. Yet, when I entered the room, there was only Cassidy. She was standing by a table with her back turned, humming. She was carving up something bloody (I didn't really want to look at what it was) and she tossed it behind the desk. I could tell she was giving another grin, even though I couldn't see her face.

Her lab coat was heavily stained in blood, as was the knife she was holding. I looked around the room. There were mutilated bodies everywhere, most of which were covered in that dark red slime.

“‘bout time you made it,” she said to me. “I knew you wouldn't want to miss out on this.”

“Miss out on what?” I carefully asked. Suddenly, she turned around, that creepy grin across her face. In her hands was a small golden jar with bizarre glowing patterns. Based on what Chelsea had told me, that thing was a Piece of Eden. I suddenly felt like I was way out of my league.

“This,” said Cassidy, indicating the jar. “You know, you could've been able to see it sooner, but you never came! That's pretty rude.”

“What are you on about?”

“Remember that ‘operation’ your mother had planned for you before the Assassins took you?” She held the jar a bit higher. It glowed a bit brighter. “This was gonna be the main tool. Oh, what a wonderful little test subject you'd have made.”

“What is that thing? What did you do to all these people?”

“I helped them.”

“I beg to differ.”

Cassidy gave a soft, creepy chuckle. “You know, these Pieces of Eden are so interesting,” she said. “Legends and myths given form. All the magic apples and shrouds of the world's fairytales. And what do you know? Turns out there was never magic, only technology. Technology beyond comprehension. This is the truth that became the myth.”

“And what ‘myth’ is that thing supposed to be?” Cassidy grinned again. Suddenly, the tendrils of the slime came crawling onto her face. “There's always been stories of possession throughout history, in one form or another. And they all spawn from this little beauty. This fascinating little organism. It was never the demons that possessed the humans, oh no. They merely wielded this thing. It bonds with it's host. It gets into their heads and shows them the truth.”

“Nothing is true.”

Cassidy ignored me.

“It showed me, for sure,” she said. “It showed me that I just needed to let go. Let go of conscience, of emotion, of feeling, of choice, and just leave it all to it. And now, it's bliss. And soon, I'll be able to give everyone that feeling.”

“I'm not gonna let you take a single step out of this room.”

“And I'm not gonna let you not let me take a single step out of this room.” She looked at the ceiling. “Sick ’em, boys!” she yelled. Suddenly, two infected people dropped down from within the ceiling, one of them shattering a light as they did. They were covered in the slime’s tendrils. Their eyes were pitch black. They snarled like animals at me, veins bulging out unnaturally wide. I flicked out my baton.

They charged at me. I was thrown off balance by their speed, but I quickly got back up. One ‘demon’, as I guess I could call it, roared at me and charged. It tackled me, and I started bashing at it with my baton. It stumbled back, I got up, and whacked it to the floor. However, the other one grabbed me, and it tried to bite me as I struggled. Suddenly, the other one got up, charged over, and grabbed my other side. They had me stuck. I tried to break out of their grip, but I couldn't.

Cassidy started walking towards me. I saw that she was twisting the cap of the jar, and I realized that she was using that to control her minions. I made a mental note to aim for that thing. She pulled the cap off of the jar, and grinned as she pulled out a blob of the pulsing slime. I struggled harder, but it was too late. She put the thing on my arm and it started crawling up.

“Thank you boys,” she said to her minions. Then she rammed her knife into both of them, killing them instantly. She took a step back and watched as the thing crawled and I struggled against it. It spread over my arm and a bit around my head. Suddenly, the world started wobbling and warping a bit. Everything seemed to look a bit darker. I could've sworn I heard whispers.

“And now it's my turn,” said Cassidy. I clenched my teeth as I fought to keep the thing out of my mind. Through my struggle, I looked up at the mad scientist. She was grinning. She raised the jar over her head. “Time to say goodbye to Dr. Cassidy,” she said. Then, she flipped the jar upside-down and poured all of the slime onto herself. She yelled in pain as the parasite wrapped around her. Between her cries were horrible cackles. Soon, she slowly stood up and faced me. The slime didn't completely cover her, but it did a decent job. Its tendrils pulled at her mouth and eyelids, forever keeping her face in that bug-eyed, grinning expression.

“My name is Legion,” she said, “for we are many.”

I struggled to my feet to face the monster that she had become. I could feel the parasite trying to push my mind out. But I still fought.

“Really? You're still fighting?” said Cassidy, or I guess now ‘Legion’, a hint of surprise in her voice. I stared at her, trying desperately to focus.

“I'm…” I said through my teeth, “not… giving up…” I was breathing heavily, and it was starting to sound like snarling. I reached for my combat knife and readied to fight. Legion just kinda chuckled as she spun her blade for show.

“Fighting’s hopeless, Assassin, but I appreciate the entertainment,” she said.

I yelled and charged at her. I swung my knife, but she caught my arm and kicked me back. I could hear the slime pulsing, trying to mess with my head. I charged again, the parasite making me a bit faster and stronger. She countered my blow and sucker punched me.

“Why do you bother fighting it?” she said as we sliced at each other. “It’s a blessing, don't you see? It can take away the pain. Take away your worries, your fears.” I managed to slice her a bit and I pushed her back.

“It would take myself, though,” I said through my teeth. “And I like myself.”

“Do you really?” laughed Legion.

“I like myself enough to fight for it.” I sliced her again. She sliced me as well.

“It’s not worth fighting for,” she said. “All that matters is getting to a happy place. And this route is quick and easy.”

“It sacrifices everything that's truly important. If my life's going to become happier, it'll be me who does it. I won't let some outside force control me. I won't sacrifice my mind for happiness.”

“Please, you know that isn't true. You'll never be able to get anywhere with free will.”

“No, I will. And I have! I was dragged through hell and back, and I found my way to a happy life from there.”

“And how painful was it? How painful is it? You didn't have to go through all that suffering. You could've gone my way.” She sliced, and so did I. I felt the thing work it's way deeper, but it seemed to be losing its grip at the same time. I kept fighting.

“I don't care!” I yelled. “Because I'm not willing to sacrifice myself, or my freedom! I'll power through any torment, and no matter how long it takes, I'll get to a happy life, under my own command! I've felt pain and I've made enemies, but I've also made friends and tasted happiness and liberty. And by God, I'm going to fight to make sure I can keep those things!” I started swinging harder, faster. I could tell that Legion was starting to loose. Still, she kept slicing back.

“Just give up!” she yelled once she realized that I might just win. I could feel the parasite losing its grip. “Just give in!” she yelled. “Just give in to the demons!”

“No!”

I shoved her back a bit, dropped my knife, flicked out my hidden blade, and rammed it into her throat. Her dead eyes stared at me as she choked and fell limp to the ground. I retracted my blade and started breathing heavily. The world felt like it was spinning. I knew I had to get this parasite off of me. I thought fast as I fought it. Then, my eye caught the glowing jar, and I got an idea. I ran over to it, picked it up, and started smashing it using the parasite’s strength against it.

I smashed it until what remained stopped glowing. Then, the slime started spasming. It fell off of me in a pulsing pile before finally evaporating out of existence. I fell to my knees and caught my breath. I looked around and noticed that the same thing was happening to all the other parasites, including Legion’s. I eventually stood up, and walked over to the corpse of Dr. Cassidy.

I was still shaking a bit, but I still bent down to close her eyes. I managed to pull out another post-it and place it on her. “We must never give in to the demons,” I said. “We have to trust in ourselves and help ourselves to make our lives happy. Me, I won't give in to the demons. I'm going to keep fighting with the angels. Rest in peace.”

I stood and turned to leave. I'm sure somebody would come across this scene eventually. I made my way out of the building, still shaking a bit. I regrouped with my cousins.

“Did you stop her?” asked Chelsea.

“Yeah. She's not going to hurt anyone ever again.” I gave a weak smile. I could tell that they could tell that I wasn't doing too well. We all just kinda let it be.

“Come on,” said Angie,“let's get out of this cold.”

Chelsea and I nodded. She packed up her rifle and patted me on the back as we turned and left. Even though my shock, I still felt kinda proud of myself. I fought off that hideous thing. I saved myself. I lived to fight another day. And now, I was one step closer to stopping the Templars. Indianapolis would soon be free from their grip. It was time to get to work.

Description
December 15, 2014; Indianapolis, Indiana

You know, I like snow, but I don't like being out in it. Because it's always so freaking cold, especially here in Indiana. I can have on like five layers outside and I'll still lose all feeling in my body. Oh well, at least it looks pretty. And it keeps us out of school (even though I was on winter break at the time, but that's beside the point).

Anyways, I got another call from Chelsea that Monday. She sounded pretty anxious.

“You need to get down to the hideout now,” she said. I told her I was on my way. I hung up, rushed outside, hopped on the Cardinal and sped on over to the Assassin warehouse.

As soon as I arrived, I went to go find Chelsea. I found her in one of the warehouse’s living rooms, sitting in front of a laptop with Angie. They looked at me as I came in. They were clearly uncomfortable about something.

“Hey squirt,” said Chelsea, though without the normal enthusiasm in the expression.

“Hey,” I said. “What's up?”

“We've got good news and we've got bad news,” said Angie. I raised an eyebrow. “The good news is,” she continued, “we finally dug up info on our next target, Dr. Patricia Cassidy.”

“And the bad news?” I asked cautiously.

Chelsea motioned for me to come closer and she spun her laptop around to show me the screen. A video was set to play.

“This is what we dug up,” she said. I sat down and watched as Chelsea hit play. The video was security cam footage of Natasha Wolfgang’s office. The Templar Grand Master was sitting with her face buried in her palms. My mom was sitting next to her, talking with a man in a suit that was also in the room. He didn't look happy.

“This is despicable,” said the man.

“Shut up and do your job, Carraway,” said Wolfgang through her hands. So, this was Stanley Carraway, the Templars’ new head lawyer.

“I can't believe you're actually allowing this crap, Natasha,” he said, trying to contain a hidden anger.

“I said shut up, Carraway,” said Wolfgang.

“I mean, human experimentation? With unknown technology? With an unreliable scientist? I can't cover this kind of crap! Not for long! Not with the supposed death toll you've given me!”

“I said. Shut. Up.”

Mom spoke up. “Things would be going much smoother if we-” She was cut off when Wolfgang held up a hand to silence her.

“No, Trina, shut up right now! Not a single word about your kid.”

“You know it's true, Natasha!”

“I know you're a pain in my-”

“If we had just held on to Carter for one day more, we could've sent him to the labs and the tests would be done by now!”

“Oh my God, shut up! You bratty little-”

“I had everything set up perfectly! Everything was going to plan! If you hadn't given the Assassins time to gain an advantage over us, we wouldn't be in this spot! If we'd just gone with my plans, we'd already rule this city!”

Suddenly, Wolfgang shot up out of her seat. She was ticked. “Let me get one thing straight here, Spainhower! I'm the Grand Master. I run this show. Not you! You've grown so focused on being right all the time, so focused on being the queen of the world, that you forgot what we're actually fighting for! We fight to stay in control, as an order! The Templars fight to gain power to shepherd people into a peaceful world! We fight to gain control, to get rid of the evil that is freewill and freethinking! And we don't fight to put a crown on your childish little head! Am. I. Clear?”

Mom was taken aback. She clearly wasn't convinced, but she still slouched in defeat.

“Yes,” she said untruthfully. Wolfgang fell back into her chair. “Good,” she said. “Now shut up.” Suddenly, she reached over and pressed a button on the intercom. “Let's ring up Cassidy,” she said. “See what progress she's made with the Piece of Eden. God knows I need something to take my mind off of you two morons.”

Suddenly, the large screen on the wall lit up. It was all staticy. The three Templars raised their eyebrows. Wolfgang hit the button again. The static shifted, but didn't change. Wolfgang hit it again and again. And eventually, the static cleared. But on the screen wasn't the doctor as they were expecting. Instead, the camera was facing the wall. And on that wall, something was written in big, red, bloody letters: “I quit.”

The Templars stood staring at the gory sight. I could tell just from the footage how unsettling it was. Suddenly, a man came spasming in front of the screen. He was covered in some sort of veiny, red, pulsing slime. He started babbling nonsense as he spasmed that sounded more like a rabid raccoon than actual human speech. But that wasn't the most unsettling thing. No, the most unsettling thing was his pure black, soulless eyes. Good God it was creepy.

The sight was gone, however, when a raggedy slicing sound was heard behind him. The man froze and collapsed to the floor. As he fell, a knife slid out of his back. A giant knife held by a dark-haired woman in a lab coat. Her eyes were glazed, and her smile was terrifying. She looked like a horror movie ghoul. She stared soullessly at the camera, a toothy grin widening on her face.

“Hey, boss,” she said. She turned to the blood message and then back to the camera. “Get my message?” she said.

“What's going on?” asked Mom.

“I'm quitting. I've found much better alternatives to this job.” Suddenly, she reached off screen and pulled up something covered in blood. It was a guy's head. It was covered in that same weird slime. “Isn't that right, Wilson?” Cassidy asked the head before dropping it.

“This Piece of Eden,” she said, reaching off screen again and pulling up a glowing jar with bizarre patterns on it. “It’s so beautiful! I've learned so much from it.” That evil grin returned. “I've made so many friends with it.”

Carraway looked horrified at the screen. “What have you done?” he asked.

“Had fun,” said Cassidy nonchalantly. “And I'm gonna let everyone join the party soon! Oh god, it's a blast! I can't wait…”

Suddenly, some of that slime started wrapping around her head a bit with tiny tendrils. “...to share this with everyone. I already sent the invitations!”

The Templars looked in horror. I looked in horror. Chelsea and Angie had uncomfortably looked away. Suddenly, another infected man came charging, snarling loudly, at the doctor. She rolled her eyes and sliced the guy's head off when he reached her. She turned back to the camera. “This is gonna be fun, isn't it, Assassin?” she asked. My stomach dropped.

“Yeah, I know you're watching, kid. You've got to be. So come join the fun.” She gave one last grin before the camera went staticy again. The three Templars stared in horror for a moment before Wolfgang turned the screen off. The last thing I saw before the video ended was Carraway rushing both angrily and sickly out the door.

I slowly closed the laptop and turned to my cousins, my facial expression now matching theirs. I stood and quickly started heading to the exit.

“Where are you going?” asked Angie.

“I'm gonna put down a mad dog,” I said.

“What?” said Chelsea. “Not by yourself you're not!”

“Fine,” I said. “You two watch the exits while I go in and put a bullet in that nut job’s brain.”

“Carter, you can't go in there alone. Did you see what Cassidy did to those people?”

“Yeah, and there's no way I'm gonna let her do the same to the people of Indianapolis. I'm going.”

Chelsea and Angie stood. Chelsea quickly swiped a sniper rifle from one of the walls.

“Then we're going too,” she said.

I nodded. “Alright. Let's go then.”

------------

I have to think really hard to remember what happened next.

The three of us set off to the university lab that Chelsea and Angie had figured out Cassidy worked at. By the time we arrived, the stars filled the night sky. A dark, misty cloud cover blotted out a bunch of them, though. We stood around the area's perimeter, analysing the building. Windows were busted, doors were bent, blood splattered the walls. It looked like some sort of sick haunted mansion or something.

“I still say we should be going in and helping you out,” said Chelsea. I shook my head as I checked my weapons.

“It’s easier to sneak when there's less people. We don't know what we're up against, so stealth is our best option.”

“It's still risky.”

“I know. But you have to trust me, Chels. I can take care of myself.” Chelsea stared at me, then to Angie, who shrugged in defeat. Chelsea sighed. “Alright, squirt, just be careful. If you die in there, I'll be so ticked at you that I'll haunt your ghost. Hear me?”

I couldn't help but smile at her. “I hear ya, Chels,” I said. Then, I stood up and pulled up my hood.

“Right then,” I said. “Allons-y.”

“Good luck,” said Angie. I nodded, and then I was off. I darted to the building, silent as a cat in the night.

I jumped through a busted window and found myself in a bloody hallway. The lights flickered as they swung on loose wires. As I made my way through the halls, I had to step over a few mutilated corpses. My god it was awful... Thank God I don't have a sense of smell. I'd imagine it must've smelt pretty terrible.

And then suddenly, the speaker above me crackled. I froze. At first I just heard a creepy, raspy breathing, but soon a familiar voice came on.

“So, you finally made it to the party!” said the voice of Dr. Patricia Cassidy. “You know, it's rude to show up late. Your mom sent you an invite over a year ago and you never came!”

I tried to ignore it. But wherever I moved, the speakers shifted to sound directly above me.

“I'm up on the fifth floor,” she said. “Take the elevator. First giant lab on the left. Come on up, Assassin. It'll be great!”

The speaker cut out. I knew I was walking into a trap, but it was all I could do at that point. I still didn't take the elevator though. I was smart enough to not get trapped in there. So I took the stairs, and as I climbed, the intercom came back on.

“Aw, what?” said the doctor. “You don't trust me?”

“Give me one good reason why I should,” I said.

She gave a sort of mock scoff. “I offer you a present, and this is what I get.”

“Well, after seeing what your ‘present’ does, I'd rather not take it.”

“Bah. You're no fun. You'll see things my way soon though.” The intercom shut off.

“We'll see about that,” I said under my breath. I don't negotiate with nutjobs.

I eventually reached the fifth floor and found the lab. I cautiously opened the doors, expecting an ambush. Yet, when I entered the room, there was only Cassidy. She was standing by a table with her back turned, humming. She was carving up something bloody (I didn't really want to look at what it was) and she tossed it behind the desk. I could tell she was giving another grin, even though I couldn't see her face.

Her lab coat was heavily stained in blood, as was the knife she was holding. I looked around the room. There were mutilated bodies everywhere, most of which were covered in that dark red slime.

“‘bout time you made it,” she said to me. “I knew you wouldn't want to miss out on this.”

“Miss out on what?” I carefully asked. Suddenly, she turned around, that creepy grin across her face. In her hands was a small golden jar with bizarre glowing patterns. Based on what Chelsea had told me, that thing was a Piece of Eden. I suddenly felt like I was way out of my league.

“This,” said Cassidy, indicating the jar. “You know, you could've been able to see it sooner, but you never came! That's pretty rude.”

“What are you on about?”

“Remember that ‘operation’ your mother had planned for you before the Assassins took you?” She held the jar a bit higher. It glowed a bit brighter. “This was gonna be the main tool. Oh, what a wonderful little test subject you'd have made.”

“What is that thing? What did you do to all these people?”

“I helped them.”

“I beg to differ.”

Cassidy gave a soft, creepy chuckle. “You know, these Pieces of Eden are so interesting,” she said. “Legends and myths given form. All the magic apples and shrouds of the world's fairytales. And what do you know? Turns out there was never magic, only technology. Technology beyond comprehension. This is the truth that became the myth.”

“And what ‘myth’ is that thing supposed to be?” Cassidy grinned again. Suddenly, the tendrils of the slime came crawling onto her face. “There's always been stories of possession throughout history, in one form or another. And they all spawn from this little beauty. This fascinating little organism. It was never the demons that possessed the humans, oh no. They merely wielded this thing. It bonds with it's host. It gets into their heads and shows them the truth.”

“Nothing is true.”

Cassidy ignored me.

“It showed me, for sure,” she said. “It showed me that I just needed to let go. Let go of conscience, of emotion, of feeling, of choice, and just leave it all to it. And now, it's bliss. And soon, I'll be able to give everyone that feeling.”

“I'm not gonna let you take a single step out of this room.”

“And I'm not gonna let you not let me take a single step out of this room.” She looked at the ceiling. “Sick ’em, boys!” she yelled. Suddenly, two infected people dropped down from within the ceiling, one of them shattering a light as they did. They were covered in the slime’s tendrils. Their eyes were pitch black. They snarled like animals at me, veins bulging out unnaturally wide. I flicked out my baton.

They charged at me. I was thrown off balance by their speed, but I quickly got back up. One ‘demon’, as I guess I could call it, roared at me and charged. It tackled me, and I started bashing at it with my baton. It stumbled back, I got up, and whacked it to the floor. However, the other one grabbed me, and it tried to bite me as I struggled. Suddenly, the other one got up, charged over, and grabbed my other side. They had me stuck. I tried to break out of their grip, but I couldn't.

Cassidy started walking towards me. I saw that she was twisting the cap of the jar, and I realized that she was using that to control her minions. I made a mental note to aim for that thing. She pulled the cap off of the jar, and grinned as she pulled out a blob of the pulsing slime. I struggled harder, but it was too late. She put the thing on my arm and it started crawling up.

“Thank you boys,” she said to her minions. Then she rammed her knife into both of them, killing them instantly. She took a step back and watched as the thing crawled and I struggled against it. It spread over my arm and a bit around my head. Suddenly, the world started wobbling and warping a bit. Everything seemed to look a bit darker. I could've sworn I heard whispers.

“And now it's my turn,” said Cassidy. I clenched my teeth as I fought to keep the thing out of my mind. Through my struggle, I looked up at the mad scientist. She was grinning. She raised the jar over her head. “Time to say goodbye to Dr. Cassidy,” she said. Then, she flipped the jar upside-down and poured all of the slime onto herself. She yelled in pain as the parasite wrapped around her. Between her cries were horrible cackles. Soon, she slowly stood up and faced me. The slime didn't completely cover her, but it did a decent job. Its tendrils pulled at her mouth and eyelids, forever keeping her face in that bug-eyed, grinning expression.

“My name is Legion,” she said, “for we are many.”

I struggled to my feet to face the monster that she had become. I could feel the parasite trying to push my mind out. But I still fought.

“Really? You're still fighting?” said Cassidy, or I guess now ‘Legion’, a hint of surprise in her voice. I stared at her, trying desperately to focus.

“I'm…” I said through my teeth, “not… giving up…” I was breathing heavily, and it was starting to sound like snarling. I reached for my combat knife and readied to fight. Legion just kinda chuckled as she spun her blade for show.

“Fighting’s hopeless, Assassin, but I appreciate the entertainment,” she said.

I yelled and charged at her. I swung my knife, but she caught my arm and kicked me back. I could hear the slime pulsing, trying to mess with my head. I charged again, the parasite making me a bit faster and stronger. She countered my blow and sucker punched me.

“Why do you bother fighting it?” she said as we sliced at each other. “It’s a blessing, don't you see? It can take away the pain. Take away your worries, your fears.” I managed to slice her a bit and I pushed her back.

“It would take myself, though,” I said through my teeth. “And I like myself.”

“Do you really?” laughed Legion.

“I like myself enough to fight for it.” I sliced her again. She sliced me as well.

“It’s not worth fighting for,” she said. “All that matters is getting to a happy place. And this route is quick and easy.”

“It sacrifices everything that's truly important. If my life's going to become happier, it'll be me who does it. I won't let some outside force control me. I won't sacrifice my mind for happiness.”

“Please, you know that isn't true. You'll never be able to get anywhere with free will.”

“No, I will. And I have! I was dragged through hell and back, and I found my way to a happy life from there.”

“And how painful was it? How painful is it? You didn't have to go through all that suffering. You could've gone my way.” She sliced, and so did I. I felt the thing work it's way deeper, but it seemed to be losing its grip at the same time. I kept fighting.

“I don't care!” I yelled. “Because I'm not willing to sacrifice myself, or my freedom! I'll power through any torment, and no matter how long it takes, I'll get to a happy life, under my own command! I've felt pain and I've made enemies, but I've also made friends and tasted happiness and liberty. And by God, I'm going to fight to make sure I can keep those things!” I started swinging harder, faster. I could tell that Legion was starting to loose. Still, she kept slicing back.

“Just give up!” she yelled once she realized that I might just win. I could feel the parasite losing its grip. “Just give in!” she yelled. “Just give in to the demons!”

“No!”

I shoved her back a bit, dropped my knife, flicked out my hidden blade, and rammed it into her throat. Her dead eyes stared at me as she choked and fell limp to the ground. I retracted my blade and started breathing heavily. The world felt like it was spinning. I knew I had to get this parasite off of me. I thought fast as I fought it. Then, my eye caught the glowing jar, and I got an idea. I ran over to it, picked it up, and started smashing it using the parasite’s strength against it.

I smashed it until what remained stopped glowing. Then, the slime started spasming. It fell off of me in a pulsing pile before finally evaporating out of existence. I fell to my knees and caught my breath. I looked around and noticed that the same thing was happening to all the other parasites, including Legion’s. I eventually stood up, and walked over to the corpse of Dr. Cassidy.

I was still shaking a bit, but I still bent down to close her eyes. I managed to pull out another post-it and place it on her. “We must never give in to the demons,” I said. “We have to trust in ourselves and help ourselves to make our lives happy. Me, I won't give in to the demons. I'm going to keep fighting with the angels. Rest in peace.”

I stood and turned to leave. I'm sure somebody would come across this scene eventually. I made my way out of the building, still shaking a bit. I regrouped with my cousins.

“Did you stop her?” asked Chelsea.

“Yeah. She's not going to hurt anyone ever again.” I gave a weak smile. I could tell that they could tell that I wasn't doing too well. We all just kinda let it be.

“Come on,” said Angie,“let's get out of this cold.”

Chelsea and I nodded. She packed up her rifle and patted me on the back as we turned and left. Even though my shock, I still felt kinda proud of myself. I fought off that hideous thing. I saved myself. I lived to fight another day. And now, I was one step closer to stopping the Templars. Indianapolis would soon be free from their grip. It was time to get to work.