MICAH

sixteen.

People so long ago believed in Heaven, Hell, Paradise, Purgatory, the list went on. What I remeber from school is people fought to get in which is ironic because the requirements were to not fight. It's been discovered what we now understand as The Void.

It's exactly as it sounds. The Void is void of everything. Once you go you become void. Rumor is though, if you have enough fight in you left, you can fight The Void and if you win, there's a secret room to spend eternity in. The only catch is you have to be killed by an innocent for innocent reasons.

We know all of this because only one person has ever made it to this secret room. The room has a door that allows you to come back as many times as you want, theoretically. The one person who made to the room apparently went back and forth a lot but then stopped randomly.

The room doesn't just hold the door to a portal home. This room has power. Pure energy waiting to be harvested. With this power in one person's control, what they could do would be limitless.

"You're going to kill me and send me to The Void." Raven walked over to me placing her hand on my cheek tenderly and a gun into my hip.

"Why do you need to get in the room?" I gritted my teeth. I didn't like the idea of these two with all that power.

"He's smart. You're smart." Ray rambled, "Go figure."

"Here's the deal, you send me to The Void, we get what we want and I'll bring Omega back to you while I'm there." She smiled centimeters from my face. I could see the venom running off her tongue as she spoke.

I thought about Omega in The Void alone. "Why don't you send me to The Void and I'll do your little field trip myself." I said half smiling.

Raven plunged the gun deeper into my side pouting, "You don't trust me? That hurts my feelings."

Ray laughed, "Because you have so many." He walked over to me standing next to Raven equally close to me. I squirmed uncomfortable, "Here's the deal, you and Raven go together, retrieve what you gotta retrieve and then come back home." He smiled brightly.

"No deal." I kept my face blank of expression.

Raven sighed and swung her gun across my face knocking me on the floor. White heat shot through my eyes. I stayed on my hands and knees trying to clear as many black spots as I could.

"If I say no you just kill me and I go anyways, you have no leverage here." I shoved myself up trying to stand firmly.

"He's got a point..." Ray rubbed his chin walking away in deep thought. He snapped his fingers looking up quickly, "Oh but wait! We do have this," he pointed to the doors which opened on cue.

Murphey Jr. was being dragged in by two large men, a third walked behind them holding a long riffle. His mouth was gagged and stained red. He looked dirty like they had thrown him in dirt. His clothes were torn and his hair disheveled. They shoved Murphey on the floor and he fell to his knees howling in pain.

"I believe you two know each other." Ray walked over to Murphey ruffling his hair as Murphey whined.

My heart began to race as Murphey cried. He began screaming into his gag choking every now and again. As soon as he caught his wind back he would continue to scream out. His face became red and blotchy. I turned away ashamed for him.

"Let him go." I said to the ground.

Ray walked over to me picking my chin up forcing me to look at him, "Sad puppy, are we?" He asked frowning, "Tell you what, you've touched me, you really have. You've moved me so much that I'm going to put a new offer on the table." Ray let go of my face and walked back over to Murphey grabbing a fistful of his hair yanking his head back, "You send Raven to The Void, the kid sends you, and I don't kill him out of bordem." Murphey screamed frantically "Or annoyance." Ray added.

"Leave the kid out of this! He has nothing to do with any of it." I pleaded.

"You were so strong before. You were ready to die a few seconds ago and now this kids life has your insides all mushy." Ray shook his head pushing his lips to one side of his face, "Your soft." He nodded.

"I say we just kill the kid now." Raven inputed. She leaned into my ear whispering, "His rage will get the best of him and he'll kill me just for having long hair." She kissed my cheek and vile threatened to come up my throat.

"I wouldn't lay a finger on you. " I spat, "Let the kid go or no deal."

"See this is not how it works. I was feeling generous but now not so much. Raven dies, the kid will kill her and I kill you." Ray let go of Murphey's head and walked over to the table inspecting finished guns.

"If I say yes, the kid goes unharmed?" I yelled at him.

Murphey began crying hysterically. His breathing became short and jagged. He began to hyperventilate.

"I don't know why you want raggedy Andy but sure, he gets to live a long pathetic life." Ray shrugged, "As a coward." He glared at Murphey.

"And we both die. We both come back. I get Omega, you get the power in the room." I looked at Raven and then Ray.

"He's stalling for time and I'm bored." Raven rolled her eyes.

"You want me to make a death wish without getting all the facts straight in the contract?" I asked her.

"This offer expires." Ray said cocking his head to the side.

I looked at Murphey sniveling. He looked scared. I owed it to his mother to get him home safely. I looked up at Ray taking a deep breath, "Deal."

Author's note:
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