They’ve entered the last part of the complex. A large room that was dark and served zero function. Jackson could tell the place was built around it, the creature they came to kill. The Maw moved its lips, its teeth rattled like chimes as one of its seven tongues wagged around. It was hungry, salivating for human flesh.

That was what made Jessica’s father obsessed with control, to please a creature that titled itself as a god. She was never allowed to see it because her father would forbid any women to lay their eyes on what was holy. But it was clear to her, it was a creature of evil, a mockery of nature, and an insult to her old faith. All of her sacrifices, all of her pain. Was because her father bent the knee on something that should’ve drowned in hellfire.

Cultists rushed to their positions from the left, they carried a variety of weapons from swords to axes. To her right was the leader of the cult, her father. Jackson ran off to deal with the cultists, she was glad that the reptile did that. For he should deal with her, not an outsider like the reptile.

Her father’s eyes widened, ‘you did this? Why did you attack what is holy? What is right with this world!’

‘Holy?’ She dropped her weapon as she approached the old man. ‘There is nothing holy here, father. It is a monstrosity of flesh! A lie that you peddled!’

‘Insolent girl.’ He batted her insult away with a mocking gesture of his left hand. ‘You never learn, do you? You always liked to cause problems, go against my wishes!’

‘What about mine?!’ She shouted back. ‘I never wanted to be here, I never wanted to be a baker. You robbed me of my teens and early twenties. I never made friends because you kept me in a cage.’

‘I did what was best for you!’

‘You did what made you look good. You couldn’t handle that your only daughter wanted to explore the world. I was a trophy to your friends and nothing more! The only time you were kind to me was during my purity ball. After that, you never cared about me. You made me sign an agreement that I remained pure, but turned an eye when your friends used me.’

Her father pulled a knife out, a crooked blade he used to carve flesh for the monster. ‘Look at you, fired up over the little things. Stupid girl!’

She snapped, in a rage she charged towards her father with clenched fist. He raised his hands and transported her to the centre of a body of water. Jessica waved her hands around, trying to find a bearing while she struggled to hold her breath.

Jessica burped and swallowed a fistful of water. As she choked, her memories flashed through her dying mind. Of all the people she killed, she remembered they were kind once. She wondered what life would’ve been like if she wasn’t just a prop, a tool to be used by her father. All the times she was hurt, she blamed herself for the response of others. She wanted to do good to the world, but the world never cared about her kindness.

Why bother? She thought to herself.

Then it clicked, all that pain, all of those restraints and shackles the world put on her. How they did everything they could to limit her voice. Yet the rules forced on her were never forced on others. She was afraid of the consequences; it made sense for her to sit down. Now she saw that fear for what it was, a tool for them to strangle the life out of her.

No!

She reached her hands out and grabbed onto something, yet she couldn’t understand what she grabbed onto. All of her life she was told to not be angry, and that if she was hurt, she must learn to look the other way. She was never told to take revenge, for it was just how the world worked and she must suck it up. She must be afraid, for that made her obey.

Now she saw it all differently. She saw her anger for what it was, a suppressed need to lash out at a world that marketed itself as fair but was only fair for anyone but her. That revenge was not always selfish, but a manifestation of the injustice she faced and an avatar to bring what was right. She now saw that her fear was fair and real, she was terrified of fighting against them. It was okay to feel fear, but to her, it is always best to do what is right while you are afraid rather than wait for a moment of bravery.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Her grip tightened, and the force around her hands compressed. The moment she heard a loud crack, she returned to her normal world. This time on top of her father, her hands around his neck. His face was purple, he slapped her face a few times, but she couldn’t care. You’re getting what you deserve! It didn’t take long for him to die; at the hands of a person he considered the weakest in his family.

She stood up; she touched her stomach to see a knife sticking out. The reptile walked up to her and noticed the dead old man. ‘The leader?’ They questioned.

‘Yeah, that’s him.’ She spat on his corpse, her final goodbye.

The reptile noticed her wound, but they had other plans before they could treat her. ‘Come,’ they said before they took Jessica to the edge of the Maw while it whispered and begged for flesh in an alien language.

‘So this is it? The Mouth of God?'

‘No god. A poor imitation.’ The reptile reached for its back and handed her a Thermite Bomb.

She hesitated, ‘what is this?’

‘A device to kill the creature.’

‘What if I don’t want to?’

‘I’ll do it.’

She took the bomb from their hands. Another choice she was gifted by the reptile. She armed the bomb and a red button blipped. The last step to make, the kill the last remnant of her father’s madness. One that needed to die. She pressed the button and threw the device into the mouth of the Maw. The monster screamed as its insides erupted in flames; it spewed out fire like it was a raging volcano.

Jessica sighed; it was finally over for her. ‘What now?’

‘You have two choices. We wipe your memories, and we give you a normal life. Or you can join us.’

She paused, unsure what her life should look like. What road she should even take after all of these years of being denied her freedom. ‘What will it be like if I join you?’

‘Depends,’ the reptile coldly replied. ‘You can be a scientist, a doctor, a mechanic, or a soldier.’

‘Is it to fight cults like, well… this?’

‘Yes, and more.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘There are always more horrors to fight, more beasts to kill.’

‘Why would God make something like this?’

The reptile pointed to the dead Maw, their tone harsher than before. ‘Is that a God? Others claimed to be one. All should die.’

‘There are more?’ She asked, but it wasn’t her real question she wanted to be answered. What she wanted to know was if there were more people like her. Trapped and forced to follow the orders of others, to have their freedoms stripped from their grasp.

‘Yes.’

That was all she needed, it answered her question. ‘I’ve made my choice.’