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devil lived eht

The Devil Lived

Ah parked the car in front of the grocery store, the three of them stepping out.

"They said it was behind here?" Ah confirmed and Matrix nodded. "Okay, Beta and I will go around the left and you go around right." Before Matrix could suggest that they all just stick together, Ah was already pulling Beta away. Matrix muttered incoherently to himself as he went off in the other direction, pausing to check cars that looked similar to the one Hershey was taken into.

Beta felt scared. He hadn't been alone with Ah since they had met, and especially not since Richard had "died."

Beta took a breath in, and another out. It was that reminder of his presence that got Ah talking. "So why'd you do it?"

Beta turned to her, but she didn't turn back, still facing forward. Beta clenched his jaw, not sure what to say. "Ah, I didn't mean to kill him." He could see Ah tense at that, and she snapped her head toward him. "I'm so sorry—"

Ah cut in front of Beta, making them both halt. They knew how important getting to Hershey was, but at the time having their moment just seemed so much more crucial. "I'm not talking about that," Ah said. "I know it was an accident."

"Okay," Beta said awkwardly. "Then what—?"

"I'm talking about the massacre you pulled on the Syncs." Her tone was stern. "Why'd you do it?"

Beta's whole body tensed when she said it. When he didn't say anything right away, Ah just kept talking. "Matrix and Hershey told me that you were done with this Elias stuff."

Beta sighed, glad that he understood now what she was trying to say but upset that she didn't get it already. "That's the problem Ah, it's not 'Elias stuff' it's 'Sync stuff', and are you really just going to stand there and tell me that the Syncs are innocent in all of this—?"

"They are!" she exclaimed. "Walker is the only Sync with a problem here!" She stepped closer to Beta. "None of my neighbors had to die that day."

"They weren't going to let us pass—"

"Then you could have gone the humane choice, Beta!" Ah said. "I'm not saying my people are innocent in all of this but god damn it they aren't all guilty either."

"They're not even your people Ah. You're human and it seems you like to forget that." Beta sighed, avoiding eye contact with her. "We need to go."

He brushed past Ah and kept walking down the alley of the store without her.

"Wake up."

Hershey was drowning, or it felt that way. He sneezed the water out of his nose and parted his lips to breathe. Eyes opened wide, Hansel and Gretel, or what assumingly was them, stood there before him.

The walls were covered in liquid and grime. Even the ceiling and floor were covered in the rough-looking substances. He was in a sort of underground cave, except it looked like a giant, metal sewer and reeked of onions and old milk.

Hershey was strapped to a metal chair, leather buckles around his wrists and legs. What concerned him the most was that the straps felt worn out and used. "You know I have powers, right? I could...burn you," Hershey said, confident in his ability to kill.

"Mm, sure," Gretel said. "If you could, then you would have done it already."

"That..." Hershey sighed, realizing his powers had no effect in the dark. "...is painfully true."