The Binding of Isaac:

The Teen Years

Isaac's first years were filled with great trials and humiliation but for the most part he kept a fairly positive outlook on life. Sure, he may have inadvertently exposed himself to a girl he liked or even realized too late that there was no toilet paper in his stall(who hasn't at one point or another?) but apart from these brief(usually briefless) moments, his life hadn't been too tragic. Okay, actually that's only true until his mom tried to sacrifice his physical body as well as his life on Earth to God (again, not entirely uncommon), but that's an old and common tale.

This weaved web of spelling and grammar fast forwards us a decade and maybe a bit and brings us to Isaac Bounde aged 15. Isaac found himself in a dark corner from which there seemed no escape. Taunting figures floated back and forth before him. Each of them larger and stronger than the last. This brought back haunting images for master Bounde. Images of fly-infested skin sacks that had once resembled innocent children. Images of red shoes and ankle fat.

Isaac began to feel nauseas. As if the entire room was spinning. Was it? Isaac's diet had remained much the same after escaping the basement all those years ago. He had been raised from that point by foster parents, Bob and Angela Bounde. They had always found Isaac's choice in food to be somewhat troubling. If a portion of meat went rotten in the Bounde household, Isaac would insist on not letting it go to waste. He would argue that it was good for the heart. He liked canned food, dog food in particular. Apart from that, a bowl of lard with milk had been one of his favourite ways to start the day.

Lard interlarded (look it up!) with kibble bits spilled forth from within Isaac, causing a major uproar in the hazy figures that encompassed him. They backed away, fading into the fog of darkness and Isaac felt doubly better.

The flashbacks combined with the heavy drinking during that night had not agreed with him and especially not with each other. Away from Isaac's putrid, dark, little corner, the party raged on. What kind of parents would allow such a party, Isaac didn't know. He had no memory of whose house it was or even how he came to be there. Luckily, I do (go figure) so let's go back to the beginning of the night...

Right around 6:03pm Isaac was going through his childhood toy chest. This is where he kept his pill collection from his parents. Ever since the early days of sifting through his biological mom's coin purse and pill bottle, Isaac found pills and ate them. Most effects of the pills wore off, even as soon as he left the room. At this stage, Isaac had a very good sense of which pills were good for him and which were bad, just from their appearance. Admittedly, he knew that his collection would be frowned upon. He knew that his parents wouldn't understand the pills effects. So Isaac kept them hidden away, exposing him to an odd mixture of nostalgia and deep-seated horror when he felt the need to scrounge around the old chest for one of his coping capsules.

As Isaac felt this very need, Angela walked into his room. She came in with the intention of talking to him about his recent drop in grades. Isaac knew this as he, more than anyone, knew how he struggled at school. Gym was the only class which he excelled at. It turned out that he had become very fast and strong due to his experience and pharmaceutical experimentation in the depths of his basement. Unfortunately, physical prowess was of little use in any other subject.

Angela asked if they could have a little chat about school. "You're in danger of failing if things don't get better at school", she said, "Your father wants more for you than this." She left the room, satisfied by the look of deep thought on Isaac's face. That statement had cut Isaac deep, like a Mom's Knife to the heart. He knew that she was referring to Bob's wishes for him but he really took meaning in the fact that Dad, his original dad would have expected more from him. Isaac fished around inside the toy chest, reaching past a two-toned white and red pill that would have been his target a few seconds ago. From it he pulled an old-looking photograph of an ordinary Friday with him, his mom and his dad at the time in front of his old house. It's funny how a happy photo changes one's perspective of the past, if only for a moment. Each time Isaac had had moments of self-confrontation he had a strange way of finding a piece of this photo. Eventually he located all of the pieces, taped it up and kept it in the chest.

This would be no ordinary Friday for Isaac.

As he opened the toy chest to restore the photograph to its care, a playing card slipped loose from the lid and glided down into the chest. Isaac recognized the card. It was the Joker. Something caused him to once again raise the card above his head. Maybe boredom. Maybe it was habitual. Most likely it was his need for escapism. Regardless, Isaac's physical form morphed and flashed skyward.

When he hit the ground, he found himself in quite the contrast to his well-lit, cosy room. That's not to say that the room wasn't familiar. Isaac had struck many a deal in a room just like this, years ago. Waiting for him was the goat-like prince of darkness himself. Satan looked upon Isaac, pleasantly surprised. "Isaac...You never write, you never call." "Satan! How have you been dude?" Isaac replied. Satan extended a hand to Isaac, pulled him in and gave him a no-homo bro hug. Only one tap on the back. "I've been good. Well you know, evil but good", Satan said.

Isaac and Satan reminisced for a while until Satan offered Isaac the decapitated head of his childhood dog, Max, for just a bit of Isaac's soul. "Hahahaha not cool man", said Isaac. "Yeah, don't forget who you're talking to. But seriously, the offer still stands. No one seems to want dog heads these days."

Satan walked Isaac out of the eerie room and into the main house. Once he opened the door, a rush of music struck the two of them. Satan was having a crazy house party and invited Isaac to join in and drink up. Satan enjoyed the party vibe so he held these events regularly. Sometimes people would actually party 'till they dropped, which was nice, well, from Satan's perspective at least.

So Isaac proceeded to party and drink. For the most part, the people at the party were of age and treated Isaac as if he were too. He may have been 15 but he looked 21. Growth hormones injected at a young age will do that to someone. This had been Isaac's first experience with alcohol and as it tends to happen, he over-indulged. At one point in a drunken conversation with a party girl, they discussed the similarities between drinking and popping a 'balls of steel'. Drinking appeared to be just as good for the soul. They went on to agree about the temporary nature of 'soul hearts'.

Two and a half strong drinks later and we come full circle back to Isaac's dark puke-ridden corner. He felt somewhat better now and wanted to get back into the crowd. Upon rejoining the party he mingled for a while until a couple of silhouettes caught the corner of his eye. These figures also caught sight of Isaac and the larger of the two called out to him. Isaac waded through the crowd of party-goers to reach the two familiar faces. He was far from glad to see them but for now, decided to hear them out. Isaac had a bit of a history with Steve and Little Steven. They had once travelled back from this time to Isaac's early childhood and attacked him in the height of his trauma.

Steve began with, "Hey kid, how have you been?" Isaac began to fill with rage as his eyes welled with tears. These were not tears of anything but malice. How have you been? After an attempt on my life!? "Fine, despite everything", Isaac muttered. "Good to hear my man. I've really been trying to turn my life around since attacking you. Well, Little Steven here and I both. You really set us straight." Steve said. "Definitely", Little Steven added. Isaac lowered his head, "Listen, you...when I defeated you, you just vanished. I vowed that if you were still alive, and I ever saw you again, I would end you once and for eternity. "A-alright dude, chill out." Steve stammered. "Word", Little Steven echoed. Steve continued, "We just want to make amends. What do you say? Truce?" Isaac couldn't keep it in any longer and his rage poured forth. "Scum...nothing but time travelling scum!" Isaac screamed, tears flowing.

Isaac ran at Steve with full force, striking him with a couple of his tears. Before he could reach Steve, Little Steven flew in with a clenched fist, landing a hard blow to the side of Isaac's face. He went down with a thud that was audible even in the midst of the blaring music. Satan turned a corner and saw Isaac in his fit of rage. He watched intently and observed Isaac's fall. In a moment of genuine generosity and maybe a hint of chaotic intent, he broke off one of his nails. In his hand it morphed into a black hardware nail. "Isaac, heads up!" Satan called as he threw him the nail.

Isaac caught it while he was down. With renewed vigour, he returned to his feet. A smile crept across his face as he bit hard into his thumb, piercing the skin. He then ran his bloody thumb down the cold, steel nail. The next moments were lost to Isaac. As his thumb reached the tip, his body started to levitate and his head dropped. Isaac's skin tone darkened to pitch black and large horns protruded from the sides of his head. His head slowly rose, his eyelids slammed open and stared straight at Little Steven with blood-red eyes. Isaac flew towards Little Steven with vicious fury, scratching him up and finally tearing him in two.

At this point, any few remaining spectators had turned and ran for the door. Steve fell back as his legs gave out in sheer terror. Isaac turned to face him, causing temporary paralysis in him. The image of his sundered little buddy caused an ice-cold wave of dread to pass over his heart. Isaac floated back to the ground and walked slowly towards Steve. Steve scrambled back, kicking and sliding. "Please, please see reason. I've changed. I just want to make it up to you." Steve pleaded. "I don't want any-", Steve was gored and lifted into the air by Isaac's horn. Blood trickled down his horn, occasionally dripping to the floor. In his tranquil, dazed state, Steve was able to appreciate the blood drippings on the floor as they formed the number '666'. The next instant, Isaac jerked his head, tossing Steve into a nearby wall. Isaac turned away from Steve and walked into the adjacent room. Steve rested in a growing pool of his own blood and experienced a final moment of peace. In a twisted way, he felt he had come to terms with his misdeeds. After the peace came sheer terror one hundred times what he had felt a minute ago. It was beyond comparison. Then in his mind's eye, as if to explain the gut-wrenching fear, Satan appeared. He didn't appear in the same form as he had taken during the party. No, this Satan was larger and with a hungry, animalistic look in his soulless eyes. What Steve had felt was the realization that his soul had been eternally damned.

Isaac, upon passing through the door, fell to his knees and the demon left him. He had just enough strength left in him to get up and stumble to the nearest wall. He leaned against it as the strength in his legs abandoned him and he slid to the floor. There he sat for what could have been any amount of time for it held no meaning. The recent events dashed around his mind as he regained his strength. Eventually a look of acceptance came over Isaac. A single tear slid down his cheek before he stood and walked out of the house.

Down the street he walked, moving with purpose but not direction. Thoughts of his tortured past came to the forefront of his mind. All of the kids who had tormented him, all of the creatures who had attacked him, all would pay. Head down, with a small smile and a glint in his eye, Isaac twirled the nail in his hand and then clutched it firmly before placing it in his pocket. Satan had a new hit man but tonight, Isaac would just find his way home and rest.