The Unseen Sin.
The man stood at the edge of the woods looking at the crescent moon, and asked himself, "How did I get here?" After a moment's thought, he said, "I don't know, and I don't care. Now is my time. I won't need to wait to be asked. I will take what is mine and nobody will stop me."
Months ago he questioned Does sin have a price to pay?
Having seen people win by cheating, and noticed the rising rate of unsolved crimes, he decided the answer is NO! Sin does not have a price.
The days of being guided by a moral compass were behind him, never again would he think "How will this affect my reputation?"
Once you cross the line, you can't go back and say sorry. The only way forward is into what Dante calls The Seven Stages of Hell. With a grin, he recalled the phrase from Nietzsche, "Never stare into the abyss for the abyss will stare back."
He laughed, then yelled at the top of his voice, "Abyss I dare you to try to scare me. Do you hear that I, Mark Elijah Johnson, challenge you abyss to attempt to take my soul? I've been to places and seen things that nobody should see, but I came back from there to live, if this is living, another day and fight another battle. So, give me your worst and we'll see how bad you are."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his victim shiver with fright. Rachel had known Mark longer than anyone but never had she seen this side of his persona. She knew his fight with the witch, Sylvia, had changed his mind, but she had no idea how much damage the battle had done to him as he locked himself away for weeks when he came back.
Mark sneered, then said, "Rachel dearest, have no fear I assure you that your death will be as a relief when it comes. Our friends wondered how deep your affections are for me. Not even I can answer that question as you never told me, not that it matters now. I can do what I wish with you, and there is nobody who can save you."
Rachel shivered, whether from fright, or the cold she had no idea. She had seen what Mark had done to Sylvia at the abbey and the memory chilled her blood even after several years. "Please, Mark, I have no idea what she did to you, if you have any feeling for me, release me," she begged.
