Amanda had held it together for the most part, as they walked through the woods. She had held it together as Claudette shared a few of the details about her latest date, and how wonderful he was turning out to be. She'd even held in together for the entire walk back to the survivor camp and to the door of their cabin. But after the door was shut, Amanda had exploded.
"It was AWFUL. Awful and dirty. And it made him CUM. FUCK." She was pacing around the small space of their cabin in her fury. "I HATED it. And I had to pretend to LIKE it. And I feel like total shit!" And suddenly, she burst into tears. "He used me to fucking CUM!"
And as he came over to her and wrapped her in his arms, he felt an intense wave of love for her. She hated it so thoroughly that her emotions exploded as though a nuclear bomb had gone off inside of her head. He kissed her head as she bawled. She hadn't cried this deeply in quite a long time. But of course he knew why. He remembered the time she had come into the cabin and immediately confessed that she'd stared at one of the female survivor's asses before she caught herself. Even though it was a mere stare, and even though she had caught herself and stopped, she'd immediately had to confess as though she were the second gunman on the grassy knoll.
When he'd been mentally debating earlier and wanting to know Amanda's thoughts, he'd forgotten to factor in her mental state. She'd been doing evil deeds for so long that when she became a survivor she'd thrown herself into it, seemingly intending to be a perfect angel. Even the smallest infraction seemed to make her remember the time when she wouldn't have cared at all. If Jake or anyone else happened to stare at someone's ass while married, they'd have just brushed it off, after all, nothing had really happened. But Amanda seemed to feel that it was a signal she still hadn't made herself into a good enough person, even after all the work she'd done on her mind. In her mind, today it was a casual glance at a girl's ass. Tomorrow, she'd be back in the Gideon realm, ready to murder, knife in hand.
So with such a strong reaction after a mere glance, the knowledge that she'd let another man get off with her help probably did feel like she'd murdered someone. The guilt she was feeling would be that strong. But more than that, she was probably petrified that after feeling compelled to confess the sin, that Jake would explode at her for "cheating" and storm out. And if that happened, all the self-doubts, all the wondering she had done about whether or not she actually deserved him, and that she forced to stay buried so she stayed happy, would seem proven right. She hadn't deserved him, and now he was gone. She was a horrible person and got what she deserved. How could she even think she could have happiness? He could practically hear those voices speaking to her in her head himself.
He sat them both on the couch and let her weep the guilt and anxiety out into his chest until she calmed down. He lifted her tear-streaked face to look at his and said, "I'm not mad. I mean it." And he wasn't. And it killed him that the guilt and the voices in her head were so strong that she was completely tuning out the fact that after she'd left that cabin, he'd touched her until she came by the fire. She was not registering at all that Jake would not have done it if he was so angry he was going to storm out.
Jake's words had brought a fresh wave of tears, and as she cried, she said, "I don't fucking know a woman like me got a man like you. I just don't fucking know how. I don't know how you can look at me like that right now and not think I'm a horrible fucking bitch. We talked about something happening, but we were thinking maybe at the most, a kiss, MAYBE a touch or two. He fucking dry-humped me, and I'm so sorry I had to let him do it."
Jake's face turned hard. "I fucking hate him." His tone was so deadly serious it completely shocked her. She sucked in a breath and stared at him, her eyes round saucers.
Jake's next words positively dripped with venom. "I didn't like him when you told me about how he was, and seeing him, and talking to him...I hate him. I hate him even worse than I hate Hoffman, and I had to watch Hoffman murder you with that trap. I've encountered plenty of killers in this realm, and he's the one that I would say hands down is the most fucking evil. Because he HIDES his evil. Because the evil we face in the trial is impersonal. They need to kill us, it's the rules. This is...He's fucking with you mind because he's decided you're a shiny new toy and he wants you all to himself. He cares nothing about how happy we are. He'll gladly fuck up our lives and use you because he believes he can get away with it. I hate that he's making you feel guilty and worried and I hate that he's made you cry, because I really really love you Amanda, and nothing he makes you do will change that."
Amanda still stared at him. Jake usually said fuck only after sex or when he was when was extremely pissed off. And they hadn't fucked, so...
"I know what we're doing won't amount to much. Certainly not as much as what the Entity will do to him. It'll definitely deflate his ego, and definitely humiliate him, but not much beyond that. But...If we do it, I think it would be enough. I don't think since he's perfected his manipulation, or brainwashing, he's ever lost, and I think finally losing, even just this once, will fucking destroy him. And that will be his last memory of this place before the Entity removes him from it completely."
Amanda remained silent. Not in fear, but in wonder. She'd never seen him so laser-focused in his hostility.
"While you were away, I got to thinking about the two girls with him. Did you notice they never even showed their faces once? I'm not friends with them, and they do shitty things to us, but even so, I got to thinking earlier how little they must think of themselves that they'd just stand by and support the son of a bitch that will probably be using them for sex right about now, after he spent a solid chunk of the evening trying to get sex from you. I hate users, and that's all he is. A lying user."
"Absolutely," Amanda replied. Now that she and Jake were focused in their hatred, the guilt and self-doubt screaming in her head had been overwhelmed into silence. "I didn't think of it then, but I realize it now. Earlier, when he was...It was like every fucking one of the people who used me, and who I let use me, to get high, had all been formed into one fucking person and that person was lying on top of me. And you should have fucking heard him sweet talk me after he fucking used me to get some of what he wanted, all the fucking lies about how he was constantly thinking of me and needed me more than you did. I think I've been on the edge of vomiting at least 10 fucking times tonight, yet I haven't had food in my belly in almost a year. Your finger bang was absofuckinglutely the only highlight of that entire shitty fucking visit."
And some of the tension evaporated as they both giggled. "Did you see his FACE?" She giggled again. Then she said, "Before, it was just kind of a game. I was a manipulator, so I knew what he was doing, and decided with little thought or planning ahead to simply try and beat him at his own fucking game, just for kicks. Now I feel like the stakes have raised, especially with what the Entity said the other night. I want to do more than just get his fucking goat. I want to fucking destroy him. But mixed with that I'm horrified of the guilt I felt then, and am still feeling now. It felt like cheating. I still don't fucking know how you can not be mad about it. The fucker blew his load laying right on top of me."
"Do you love me?"
Amanda's head turned sharply. He knew she did, didn't he? "Of fucking course I love you. I love you more than any other fucking thing in this place. I love you more than anything I fucking loved before this place. I definitely love you far more than I even loved John, and you know how much I fucking loved John. Fuck, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't stop for a minute in complete fucking wonder that I even got the chance to love you. All I had before you was an extremely shitty, fucked-up life. I also definitely love you more than I fucking love myself right about now."
Jake said, "Did you enjoy any of it, anything at all?"
"FUCK no!" Amanda couldn't help but shudder. She felt like she could stand in the shower for an hour and still feel unclean from it.
"Did you do it because you felt you had to in order to keep our little sting operation going, and keep him from getting suspicious?"
"That is the ONLY fucking reason I did it. The ONLY." If she'd stopped him after he dropped her on the bed, Frank would have instantly known she was gaming him. Whether Frank had done it intentionally or not, his taking her to that cabin had definitely been a test of her devotion, though she hated the way she'd been forced to prove it.
"That's why I'm not mad. and that's why, to use your vernacular, I fucking love you more than anything else I've ever loved too."
It was a simple, matter of fact statement, honest, straight from the heart, and it immediately triggered a fresh stream of tears. She asked herself again how a trailer trash ex-junkie, ex-murderer like herself had done anything even remotely worthy in her pathetic existence that had made her deserving of this man and his love. She didn't care if he'd been sent by God, or the Devil. She was overwhelmed in her happiness either way. She wished she knew what he kept seeing in her that made him want her, so she could make sure he always kept seeing it. Even after all she'd accomplished in herself, she still sometimes felt the other girls in the camp would be easier for him to deal with, and yet, he'd claimed her and he refused to let her go no matter how many times she collapsed into her guilty, crying hysteria. If she lost this man, and lost what she had with him, she'd truly, and honestly, rather be fucking dead. She'd tell the Entity to send her back into the woods and let the Tetanus finish killing her.
She squeezed him tightly, she squeezed him with all of the might of her thin little arms, and Jake smiled. A warm, tiny little vice locked around him so completely that it was almost hard for him to breathe. He squeezed her just as tightly in return. At least that fear, he knew, he'd finally killed.
As he held her, she said, "I agree the stakes are raised, and I'm 100 percent in agreement with you that I want to fucking destroy him, even if it's just in this small way." Her voice dripped with as much venom as Jake's had.
He released her, but she still clung to him like a drowning person would cling to a life preserver, as if she felt that if she let him go right now, for some reason he'd simply vanish. "Amanda? Amanda." He could actually feel her reluctance as her thin little arms slowly relaxed and she let go of him, but still pressed herself against him as tightly as she could while looking up at his face.
"This is going to sound corny, but...I've watched a ton of movies. I mean a ton, and among them, I've seen a lot of those movies with the cop, or the two cops, who infiltrate the drug trade, or a gang, or whatever, and get in so deep that even though they win, it leaves lasting effects."
He grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "Even though you did what we both agree you had to do tonight, I can see that it hurt you. It left a deep wound. It left you feeling ashamed of yourself. I mean, I literally got you off in front of Frank but you were still terrified I was going to blow up over it, that's how bad it made you feel. I think I've healed that hurt. But if we see this through to the end, you're going to have to do other things like this, and they'll also wound you."
He took her face in both of his hands and locked his eyes with her. "Amanda, I swear to you, no matter what happens between now and we finally break him...No matter what you have to do, even if that includes you having to do things like you did tonight to keep fooling and manipulating him, I will understand, and you have my full and blanket support to do whatever it takes. You have my complete permission and understanding to do whatever you feel you need to do based on the situation," Jake told her. "You have that because I know that there isn't another living soul you want other than me. You have it because even though it breaks my heart to see you blow up in guilt, it also makes me feel warm because I can see how much it destroys you inside when you have to do things that you think hurt me. You think they hurt me, but to you, it's a pain like you've covered yourself and gas and lit yourself on fire."
"No matter what you have to do, I am telling you, absolutely, that I know it's not because you want to, and I know that after it's done, you are still completely mine and I am completely yours. I will not stop loving you, I will not resent you, and I will not blame or hate you. I promise you. I HAVE to let you do this after the shitty way I saw him treat you, while all the while pretending that he was doing it for you, and lying and pretending that he was...In love with you, I truly and deeply want to hurt him, and fucking make him regret he ever started what he's trying to do with you. I have to let you do this because you're the only one that can hurt him. Even though I feel exactly the same way as you do, I don't have the things in me that you do that I know will destroy the image he's built of himself and shatter his fucking world completely."
Jake almost growled in his irritation. "He's a fucking predator. wannabe cult leader predator. I mean that's the long and the short of it. He preys on the weak, he manipulates them to his will, and he feeds off them. He ENJOYS causing them pain while making them love it. He orgasms over making people suffer and manipulating them into loving it so much they come back for more and more."
He sighed. "And if Claudette had gone there with someone other than you, he'd have sniffed out their weaknesses and done the same thing to them that he's doing to you. I mean if it had been any other survivor, he'd have chewed them up in minutes. That's what he knows, and up until now, he's never failed. That stops now. He fucked with the wrong manipulator, and the wrong guy who totally and completely loves her."
She squeezed him tightly again. She just couldn't help herself. Had the Entity created him? Maybe. Maybe the Entity had somehow created him. He could be the creation of a God.
He paused. "But at the end of the day, YOU are the one who is at ground zero, and you are the one that is going to have to make the tough calls until we finally can pull the rug out from under him. So...I want you to decide if you can handle it, even though I've said what I've said. I need to know whether you think you can give *yourself* the permission you need, to do what I'm sure you'll need to do as this continues. And if that requires you doing things that make you feel guilty or ashamed, like tonight...Can you recover? Can you heal? Can you walk away from it after it's done, not unscathed, but only cut enough that you can fully heal after? Or will the damage remain long after, hurting you, like it does to the characters in the movies? If you don't think you can, we can just stop. You can stop going over there, and after some time passes, I'm sure we'll forget all about him, and get over the fact that we were unable to beat him. You know now, for sure, completely where I stand, and it will not change one bit. But you're the only one who can decide where we go from here. I completely support you either way."
So Amanda thought about it. And the more she thought about it, the more it enraged her. The more she thought of his face, the more he merged into every person she'd encountered in the past that had made her life shitty, and had left a lasting hurt in her that had turned her into a psychotic bitch, before she found the handful of people, including her husband, that helped her be reborn.
The things she did had to do tonight sucked, but Jake had been honest with her, hadn't blamed her one bit, and had promised her it would change nothing between him. And when she'd looked into his eyes, she'd known he meant it. If it brought about Frank's downfall, Jake was 100 percent on board. She knew her personal guilt would resurface, but knowing Jake was being her, as she knew now, would make it manageable. She did not love him, she did not enjoy it, it was purely and completely a means to an end. Beating Frank, even if she had to do things that were morally questionable in order to do so, would finally destroy the baggage she carried from those that used her.
She'd have to do things that would cut her. Things that would crack the vows she'd made at her wedding that she never EVER would have willingly broke. But Jake had told her she had her complete permission to do so if she had to.
So she said, "I can. But I can't promise you that I won't come back here after it's over every time and not collapse like I did earlier. I promise you I hear every word you say and I believe you totally, but I live with what goes on in my head, and sometimes those guilts and voices are just SOOOO FUCKING STRONG. I can't promise you that they won't start up so loudly that for a time, I forget what you've told me and how much you'll love me no matter what. But if you're willing to pick me up off the floor and do the things that only you seem able to do to make me feel better and shut them the fuck up again, I can do this. I can finish him. I can fucking beat him so bad that I'll make him cry as loudly as I just did."
Jake held her face in his hands. "I will. I promise."
And then, completely out of the blue, and to their complete surprise, the Entity came out of nowhere and spoke to them. And it was angered.
"I watched you again tonight. I watched him make a mockery of the person I chose to speak for me. I looked into his mind, and he believes you to be a completely fragile, broken idiot. I did not know before, because until recently, I paid no attention, but he treats the other females in his camp with the same disdain. I looked into his mind and saw that too. He has convinced them he is smarter than them, and that they are completely stupid."
"TONIGHT HE MADE AN EXTREMELY VAST ERROR!" Amanda and Jake's eyes widened. They'd never heard the Entity scream in anger, ever. The worst they'd ever heard was the tone in its voice when it quietly stated something had made it "displeased."
"A doorman. He referred to a God. A being that created this entire world and gave him temporary immortality...A DOORMAN!"
Jake and Amanda shared a glance. THEEERE it was
The Entity had been angered of course, and while it had not spoken of hearing it before during Morrison's conversation with Joey in its conversation with the pair that night a week ago, now that his two humans had heard it from Morrison's lips themselves, there was no need for it to remain as a hidden part of the Entity's agenda. He was able now to react to the insubordination as strongly as the two humans had expected it to when it had been spoken in the Legion camp.
The Entity regained its composure with apparent effort. "He committed the first strike tonight by openly attempting to manipulate you into abandoning Jake and attempting to manipulate you by promising that you would be lovers. I am aware through the words that you have just spoken that he rubbed his form all over you. It demonstrates his complete lack of understanding of his position in this place, that he believes he can manipulate you, or any of the other humans of this realm, physically and emotionally into contact with him of a sexual nature to suit his own desires.
There was a silence. Amanda and Jake were terrified to move. "I could torture him. I could twist him, and hurt him, and now of course, I intend to. But he would only feel pain. He would learn nothing. He would eventually recover fully. I could expel him, and you know what he must do to warrant that action. But even that will not make him truly suffer as I have decided that he needs to, for his complete lack of respect for my abilities.
You are nowhere near the level of my intelligence, but you are still highly intelligent yourselves. You have figured out the way to hurt him that I could not. You are right, Jake. I have decided you are worthy of no longer being referred to as meat in my presence. I have listened to your plan, and what you want to do will accomplish that objective. You are correct. Having seen into his mind, discovering that he could be out manipulated by a WOMAN would shatter his world completely. Even after being expelled, the humiliation would make him forever second-guess what he believes are his talents, and if he were to make an attempt such as the one he has made on you on another in the real world, the self doubts your victory will instill in him will remain with him until his death. No matter how strongly believes his efforts are successful, he will forever wonder if he is once again being played himself. The destruction of his ego, and his confidence, for the remainder of his existence is the only thing that will cause him permanent pain that he is unable to heal from. If he manipulates again, and is somehow successful, even that will bring him no joy because he will forever be reminded of the crucial time that he was a complete failure. He will forever know that he is no longer...As you would put it, "the best."
"From the conversation I have overheard, and since this is my realm and I am everywhere and thus you have no secrets when you are speaking, it seems clear that you intend to continue Amanda's game. I also want you to proceed with it. I wish to observe your punishment of him after he commits the act that will banish him from the realm for believing he has the power to take people from this realm into his own, for being egotistical enough to believe he can simply do so, without even thinking ONCE to even ask for my permission. Permission, I may add, that would I would not have considered granting for even a mere moment. I also wish to observe the punishment for his derision to the being that is his master. For referring to a God as a mere doorman. I have existed longer than either of your human minds could comprehend, His words are the worst insult I have experienced in my existence. Were I not compelled to remove him through fair means, rather than personal, I would have vaporized his impudent flesh as he stood before you."
Amanda and Jake shared a glance, realizing that their involuntary step back had not been a terrible move. It may not have done it, but it had definitely considered it, and it had been in its power to do so.
"Once you have humiliated him, convinced him you are his, before showing him that you never were, even for a moment...Once I witness you decline his eventual Legion invitation that in his mind, he completely believes he can convince you to accept...Once I witness the destruction to his ego, I will cripple him and banish what is left from the realm. That is my absolute promise to you. However, I have spent the last week thinking extremely strongly about the two of you and your actions.
And again Amanda and Jake glanced at each other. But they weren't fearful.
"I have...Requested you engage in certain actions that are far beyond the normal expectations of the actions you are required to do. I have not commanded those actions, even though as servants of my realm I could have chosen to do so. I have not done so because of my unimpeachable stance when it comes to free will. While these are actions that you have indicated you would have chosen to partake in anyway, they are also the actions that I have requested you to do. You are serving beyond the expectations set in your capacity of the realm. I cannot ignore this. I have decided that for these actions, you must be rewarded."
The Entity paused for effect. "In return for these services I will give Joey the ability to travel between the killer and survivor realm. That was not part of my original rules that I shared with you, but it will be a special exception for him. He will be a normal human with no killer abilities in the survivor realm, they will only return when he returns to the realm of the Legion. If he decides to stay permanently as a survivor, he will be allowed to do so. If he continues to serve in both roles, even if his performance is affected, he will be allowed to continue, unpunished for any trial failures."
Amanda smiled, Claudette would like that.
The Entity said, "But that does not benefit you personally, and since you are doing what I request in addition to desiring to do it yourselves, and because I believe in fairness, you deserve something in return for doing this important bidding."
It paused. "I told you when you returned here that your time in this realm was at my discretion. I suggested it could be forever, but never made you a guarantee. I am making it now. I have heard you speak and am aware that while the concept of forever is daunting for you to comprehend, nevertheless, you both desire it. You desire to remain in this realm forever, so now I will speak what you have wished for me to say. Your presence here is guaranteed forever. My powers will leave you unaffected by aging, and you will have complete immortality. You will not be randomly summoned into a trial. You do not have to participate in a trial again if you choose not to. If you do, you can simply think about it, and the fog will summon you. Based on the way that you perform in the trials, it is clear to me that you will never reach a point when you never wish to do them, but now you have control of when, and how many, you participate in."
That was quite generous, and Amanda let the Entity know they appreciated it in her own special way. "Holy fucking shit. Thank you"
But the Entity was not finished. And based on what it was making them do, it could not be finished, even though it knew that this thing, which was so simple for it to do, already felt to them like the Entity had given them the world. No matter how displeased Morrison had made it, it was pleased once more by the reverence the two humans had for the enormous gift it was offering them that, to the Entity itself, did not feel that enormous at all.
"However, I have decided that is not enough. Not for this act. I can see how deeply you love each other. I understand the powerful bond and the statement of your love that your Earth marriage and the rings on your fingers creates between you. Despite your love and understanding for each other, tonight you have had to engage in activities that are a challenge to that bond. I witnessed how profound an effect that had on you, Amanda. The awareness between you and the acceptance of its occurrence was not enough to heal the guilt you felt of betrayal for engaging in it. You still needed to be comforted by Jake, and he was successful in his comforts. However, you are also both aware that after tonight, those activities that challenge will have to continue. That will again bring similar feelings and reactions from Amanda that Jake will have to accept and provide comfort for. Perhaps if it had been ended tonight, my first offering to you would have sufficed. But because I am requesting you to engage willingly in further activities...No...The first offering is not enough."
Amanda and Jake looked at each other for yet another time, and considered just keeping their heads in place. What more could it offer them beyond forever?
"You are aware that this realm is unlike any other. You are also aware that once you enter, It is of my discretion when I allow its subjects to leave. And once you have left, it is, of course, extremely difficult for the subjects to simply return again."
Jake said, "Yeah, we know that's the case. Why?"
The Entity responded, "That had been the case, until now."
Amanda and Jake's eyes widened, but this time they didn't glance between each other. Was the Entity telling them what they thought it was?
"You will now be granted the ability to enter, and exit the realm as you choose, and will be able to move between this realm, and the real world, as little, or as much, as it suits you."
Amanda and Jake found themselves too stunned to speak. But the continued doing so, for them.
"Obviously the time that would ordinarily pass in the real world will continue. If you leave this realm for a year before returning, you will age for that year. If you leave for five years before returning, you will retain that five years of aging once you return. But you will be allowed to return. Forever is a long time to remain in a single realm. This will allow you the freedom to, as you humans would put it, travel. If your exits from the realm remain brief, then your aging will cease forever, and you will remain the ages that your bodies currently are. The only limitation is that you will always return to the real world at the date in the year that you re-entered, 2006."
"But...I was dying." Amanda said slowly, trying to wrap her head around what was going on.
"Naturally, I have already worked out that solution," The Entity replied.
And she should have known. Of course it had.
"Naturally the restorative and healing capabilities of my realm will keep you healthy and unaging forever as long as you remain here. But you will retain a much more temporary period of its healing abilities even if you return to your Earth. While I am uncertain of the exact time frame, my estimate would be that you will remain fully healthy and healed for up to one week of time in your realm. The symptoms you experienced that eventually were about to claim you in the real world would once again begin to manifest after the first week, and I estimate any remaining restorative and healing abilities of my realm would cease in your body completely after one month."
Amanda thought she was a fairly intelligent person, but the offer, and the way the Entity was describing it in the big words it used was making her brain mush. She said, "Ok..."
"I can see your confusion, so I will give you a brief example. After the completion of Frank's defeat and removal from the realm, if you decided to return to the real world immediately after, you'd remain completely healthy and unimpeded for a full week. I believe there is a vaccine available for treatment of the condition that almost claimed you, correct?"
Okay, that made a little more sense. Amanda nodded.
"In that week of time, while remaining healthy, you could immediately seek out a medical facility and inoculate yourself with the vaccine, which would prevent the infection from ceasing your life functions after the limited healing capabilities of the realm dissipate and leave you completely. You would be able to heal yourself, which would allow you to remain in the real world for as long as you wish upon your first return once you have received your inoculation. You could heal yourself of the virus that lurks in your body before it spreads."
"So I can go back, and be healthy long enough to get the vaccine so I don't die from it when the leftover power of the realm quits healing me. Then it won't matter how often I go back, the infection is dead."
"The grandeur is minimized when it is you that speaks of it," The Entity's tone could not hide the gentle sarcasm.
"The frequency of your returns, and the time you spend when you do will be entirely at your discretion," The Entity continued. "It is your free will if you decide to limit your time to remain your current ages, or if you wish to further age before returning by staying in the real world longer."
"I dunno. I kind of like being 28." Jake looked at her. "And I kind of like you being 36."
Amanda flashed him a grin. "Well, I definitely like you being 28."
'Well then, that's settled. If we go back, we're staying less than a year," Jake grinned back.
They wrapped their minds around what the Entity was telling them. So if they went back in 2006 and stayed until 2011, they would age five years. They could then return to the realm. If they chose to go back, they would again return in 2006, but Amanda would then be 41, and he'd be 33. One of his first thoughts had been that he'd be able to see his parents again, and he would, but...they'd only remember him while he and Amanda stayed in the real world. If they went back the first time, it would be like he'd only been gone for a day. But if they came back to the realm and decided to go back, it would be like a reset. To him it would again seem like a day or less had passed, but if he once again reconnected with his parents, they would reunite with their now 33-year-old son and his 41-year old wife.
"Groundhog Day," Jake muttered. Still, it was better than nothing. They could return to 2006 and maybe stay a few weeks, sometimes meeting his parents for the first time again, or doing anything they wanted instead, but...Wait...If they kept going back, even if it was for a few weeks at a time, cumulatively they would age. Their bodies would age by two or three weeks at a time, and eventually, Jake's body would reach a natural 29, while Amanda reached 37. And then...30 and 38, et cetera. Brief visits would certainly slow how they aged to close to a standstill, but not cease it completely.
"You forget my words to Amanda," The Entity said, reading his thoughts. "I estimated that you would retain the powers of my realm, on a full or partial basis, for up to one month. You will remain fully healed, but the power of the realm will also prevent the physical aging of your bodies, as it does here, for that same earth time period."
Ah, Jake thought. Ok. So...Yeah, if they kept it to under a month...Shit, they'd never age.
"The only other...I hesitate to describe this as a warning, more of a suggestive statement. In the real world, you also will retain the risk of fatality from other means the longer you remain there. While my contact with your Earth has been limited, I am aware of the activities and situations humans encounter on a daily basis. If you return and after one Earth week decide to board an aircraft and fly to another destination, and the aircraft encounters difficulties, the results would be fatal. In the first week, the full power of the realm would allow you to heal unscathed, provided the destruction of the aircraft did not destroy or vaporize your bodies. A collision in an automobile that caused fatal injuries would be deadly to you if it occurred after one month."
Temporary immortality, and temporary invincibility, Jake thought.
"Precisely," the Entity responded. "Or a different deadly infection. There are of course a variety of situations in the real world that would all be fatal to either you the longer you remain there. Again, it is not a warning, simply an understanding. If you remain here forever, the realm promises you permanent immortality and rather than invincibility, permanent resurrection. It is an ability that will only remain with you on a very temporary basis once you leave this realm."
Jake had one more question. "But let's say we're both in a plane that's about to crash...Couldn't we just wish to return her and be brought back to the realm, you know, instantly?"
"I cannot make that guarantee," The Entity told him. "Any time you choose to return, the results will be immediate. This is my realm. This is where my powers are at their full potential. I cannot guarantee my abilities will retain the same immediacy when they are reaching through my realm to reclaim you both from the real world when you wish for me to return. It will also depend on my activities here at the time you both wish to return. If I am overseeing a trial, my response time to your request to return may be slightly slower than if I am unengaged in any other activity."
Jake had a sudden fear that he may sound like he was questioning the Entity's abilities in the wake of this incredible offering and felt guilty.
"I'm sorry, I'm not...Asking these questions because I'm...Doubting your power, or ungrateful...I mean...It's just...When we started this... Well, when Amanda did...We certainly never expected it would lead to what you're...Offering us. I mean...You said if we came back it might be forever and I was...Perfectly content with that and would have been just fine if you...You know...Never decided to return us...I just can't believe what she, and now I...Are doing has that much value but...I'm grateful. I know she is too.
He was. They were. The Entity knew that even without accessing their memories. Again, even though granting them the ability to come and go as they chose from its realm to the real world remained a mere fraction of its true abilities. It could have given them a world, and it realized that it had, what was a world to them didn't require a world from it. Even the smallest generous use of its powers was to them, the Entity giving them the world. It did not love. It did not understand affection. But it knew these two were special.
It no longer believed it could continue the game without making these two special humans aware of the true stakes.
"There is more to the offerings than your mere actions. They are also a form of compensation for...Something else."
Amanda and Jake both looked at the ceiling. It was invisible, but they always spoke and thought to it that way, as they believed it was hovering over them somehow.
"When selecting the killers of this realm, all had specific criteria that were necessary for their selection. I looked into your Earth realm and examined your cult leaders, some of which you have spoken of. All were rejected due to their influence over the free will of their followers. Examining Morrison's true nature, as you may suspect, shows that he himself does not meet the criteria expected, allowing his followers, and yourself, to retain your free will."
Jake and Amanda said nothing.
The revelations of his true nature have exposed certain...Oversights in his selection. At the time he was chosen, he had wandered into one of my collection points on Earth, in a very similar scenario to yourself, Jake. A cursory glance into his abilities showed his nature was appropriate for killing, and since his abilities were the simple use of the knife, his method was entirely appropriate to the rules of the trials. He would need no extra precautions, unlike the example I most often cite, Mr. Krueger."
When his three followers searched for him and came to my collection point, they were also selected due to their similar disposition to Morrison. I considered them his equals, not his followers. I did not give him the scrutiny which has been applied to the other killers of this realm. It was merely situational. Suitable killers are not easy to locate due to the specific nature of the trials. Their abilities were suitable, and without examining further, they were granted access to the realm."
Amanda and Jake were understanding. The Entity didn't know Morrison was a manipulative cult leader asshole If it had, he'd left him where he was.
"It was an oversight that came to light when you first began your duel, pitting your capabilities against his own. It was an oversight that was impossible to be left unaddressed. And I know based on your respect for me that you understand that it was not a mistake. A God does not make a mistake."
"We understand completely," Amanda said.
"The timing of this oversight could not have been more inopportune, due to the other recent oversight where Krueger was urged to limit the use of his powers but due to his nature, was unable to resist. That oversight was rectified. However, it resulted in displeasure among the survivor subjects that one of their party could be incapacitated beyond the normal rules of the realm. It resulted in uneasiness that took significant efforts to ease, even beyond your recovery. But the situation was rectified and the uneasiness of the survivors has completely dissipated, much to my satisfaction."
Amanda nodded. The Entity said, "So now that this additional oversight has come to light, and now you have revealed there is another killer in the realm who does not possess anywhere near the capabilities of Krueger, but has abilities that would have the potential to affect a survivor mentally by attacking their judgement and free will, you can also understand how, after witnessing mental manipulation used to incapacitate one of their number, they may once again feel uneasy about another killer being able to impact them mentally, simply in a different method. You can also see how the second revelation will impact them more greatly, and lead them to sustain even more uneasiness, and speculate if there are even more killers in the realm that they need to fear more greatly than they already do. I do not like to surprise the survivors, nor do I expect them to appreciate being surprised over a revelation of this nature."
Amanda remembered even after she recovered people were wary of trials with Krueger, and there had been many conversations around the campfire about what other hidden powers were out there after they discovered what Freddy could do. She even remembered David King asking if this was gonna be a new trend, or if it meant that the killers were acting out, and whatever control was over them was breaking down.
Of course, the Freddy thing was like the polar opposite of Frank. After all, Freddy did what he did in a trial, and Frank only could do what he was doing because he lucked into someone fresh being able to visit the camp after hours. also, Freddy basically put her into a coma, Frank just wanted to dupe her into giving up her pussy, and maybe turn her back into a killer. Both things fucked with her mind, but Frank's mindfuck, if it worked, would have done a lot less damage than what Freddy's did.
Having looked into Amanda's head while she was thinkin', the Entity said, "However, your access to that realm was granted due to my using the relationship you developed with Jake as a template in my decision to allow survivors and killers, if they chose, to pursue a relationship similar to the one you and Jake established. Since you regained your humanity, and since Joey was also human when he arrived, I felt little hesitation in allowing a similar relationship to further develop between himself and Claudette. My only concern was due to the seeming hostility in the camp, which was one of the reasons I requested you, as you have said, chaperone. Had I learned after Morrison's arrival of his cult-like personality, even after his arrival in the realm, I would have rejected seeking your participation and potentially would have rejected Claudette's decision to allow him to pursue her. I did not learn of his nature until after you became present at Morrison's camp...Another oversight."
Amanda remained silent, but could easily sense the displeasure the Entity had over the situation at hand.
"If it had not been you present, the current situation could have escalated even further out of control. You have even suggested that had it been any other female survivor present that night, his manipulations may have been successful. I would agree with your assessment. Morrison is not ugly, his appearance is human and very deceiving. And he possesses a level of manipulation and charm that leads me to an agreement with your thinking. Those skills could have easily resulted in him accomplishing what he has been attempting to achieve with you. Obviously he would not have had any thoughts whatsoever about recruiting any other female into Legion, but he also possesses a strong libido."
"Had he been successful, it would have resulted in further unrest among the survivors who have finally become at ease in the resumption of the trials. Their unrest would have been understandable. I can imagine two possible scenarios. Having seen the mentality of the followers of various Earth cults, the sudden display of similar behaviors and mentality on one of the female members of the group would have raised alarm. The alarm would only have escalated had the survivor been so strongly influenced that she suddenly decided to abandon the camp to join Legion for further manipulated sexual activity. Of course it would not have been allowed without my permission, but nevertheless, even a decision of that nature would have raised problems in your camp. If he had manipulated that situation into fruition prior to the attempt to relocate due to discovering Morrison's true nature, I can only imagine the reaction of the remainder of the group that a killer was allowed to use his unseen abilities to dupe and use a survivor for their own sexual gratification."
The Entity paused. Neither Amanda nor Jake had thought that deeply into it, but it was right. If Kate had gone with Claudette instead of Amanda, Frank probably could have sweet-talked her and used his appearance to get her to fuck him. At the very least, she would have felt used once she figured out what he'd done, and yeah, that would have pissed a lot of people off. It definitely would have fucked up the good thing Claudette and Joey had going, because Joey's "Friend" took advantage of someone Claudette brought with her to the camp. if Claudette hadn't taken anyone, Amanda knew, she KNEW Frank would have gone after Claudette, just because she was there and he could. And Claudette's sweet nature and because she tried to see the good in everybody, she'd have fallen for it. If it got out Frank had seduced and used her, it would have pissed people off even more, just because the most sweet-natured and innocent girl in the camp got lied to and fucked.
And yes, if Claudette or Kate, or any of the other girls had acted for real in the camp the way Amanda was having to pretend to act to make Frank believe he was duping her, it would have been noticed and freaked people the fuck out that someone was behaving that way after repeated visits to Legion. Someone attempting to pull stakes like Amanda knew Frank was thinking about getting her to do would have just added to it. They had a fair number of members, but everyone was close to everybody and they spent a ton of time together. A personality shift would have been noticed. Hell, people usually swarmed a survivor and tried to help if one of them had obviously woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. Amanda could turn her affected brainwashing off and on depending on whether she was with Legion, or here. A different survivor if they were under it for real wouldn't have been able to do that. It would definitely have got everyone wondering.
Jake asked it, "So, I'm guessing that you're having this game keep going because you're trying to resolve this quietly? I mean the quickest way would be just to kick his ass out since he doesn't belong here anyway."
"If you were faced with the situation that would be a natural course of action," The Entity replied. "You make errors, It's human nature. As is known in one of your sayings, to err is human. You would admit the mistake, and resolve it, and afterwards you would apologize and say that you couldn't be blamed, you were only human."
Amanda's eyes widened slightly. She began slightly nodding. The Entity was able to see that she completely understood, and of course, it knew that she would. After all while she was only human, for a brief time, she had also been somewhat inhuman. She understood that the Entity was not simply making a turn of phrase.
"No Jake, just booting him from the realm isn't the answer." Jake looked at her and his face was awash in confusion. "Look, if we were in the Entity's place, and we booted him, we're basically admitting it was a big mistake, so it's a good thing were not in that position, and instead, we can keep doing to help it. We know the Entity more closely that probably any other being in the realm, and one thing we know is that the Entity doesn't make mistakes. I mean come on, Jake. It's a fucking God. We both know that. Besides, it's not like Frank didn't check all the boxes to come here. I choose to believe that this small bit of oversight is gonna be solved as long as we keep doing what we're doing, cause then he'll fuck up and break the rules. "
Jake nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I mean anyone that breaks the rules should be punished. Bad."
The Entity's pride was not damaged by their brief conversation. In fact, it swelled as they decided to use their free will and CHOOSE to form the conclusion that it wanted them to, based on the information revealed to them. Frank's presence was a mere oversight that they understood, with their actions, would resolve the situation entirely. Their decision, based on the bond they had formed with it and their respect for it, displayed why the Entity knew it was correct to inform them of the entire situation. It was fully aware that they would use every means at their disposal to correct the oversight, and reveal none of it to anyone else among their group unless absolutely necessary. Nothing more about that matter needed to be said.
"I have been examining Morrison closely and I of course overheard your earlier discussion prior to my addressing you. The more I observe, the more I become convinced that the invitation we all are seeking Morrison to provide hinges upon Amanda allowing herself to engage in activities of a sexual nature with him."
"After tonight," Amanda said quietly, "I don't have a single fucking doubt." Amanda slowly turned her head to Jake. After a moment, Jake slowly turned his own head to face her. Amanda searched his eyes, thinking, but not speaking, the question she had for him. Jake nodded once, answering, but not speaking. Earlier he had given her permission to further crack the vows if necessary. Now, he'd given her his permission to break them.
But it was more than that. She knew he trusted and loved her enough that he understood if it happened, it meant nothing. And he was right. And that knowledge would get her through it, if she needed. And if she broke down completely after, he'd comfort her and get her through THAT. And in that moment, both were surprised to discover that even though Amanda may be doing...THAT...Their bond was somehow just a little bit deeper than it was before.
It was Jake who finally answered the Entity. "We understand. If it needs to happen, then...It will."
"I am pleased with your assistance. I am...Grateful that you have chosen to provide it. My decision to allow you to make this realm your home forever, and to grant you the ability to exit, and enter it, of your own accord is the correct one, and nothing else will suffice to reward you for your assistance in correcting this...Oversight. Thank you. I will leave you to your evening."
And as the Entity left, Amanda and Jake realized it wasn't in their own marriage that their bond had grown stronger. It had also grown between themselves and the God who created and brought them to its realm. The Entity had the physical power to correct its own...Oversight, but they understood why it was impossible for it to do so, because it was a God, and because if its pride, which they both knew from their interactions with it up to now, was vast.
It had to remove Morrison for violating the realm's rules. The Entity could not remove him over the simple fact that he shouldn't have been there in the first place. Based on what they knew of it, they understood and accepted the powerful being could not be expected to admit it had made a mistake. Had the Freddy situation not occurred, things would have been different, they knew. It could have removed Frank himself if this was the first oversight it encountered. But having to resolve the situation with Freddy, and then having to remove Frank in the method that would be simplest would be beyond simple would have to admit to itself it had made two errors instead of one.
It had given them much already, and was now offering to give them more than they'd ever imagined. It could have simply commanded them to help it remove Frank in the particular way it was guiding them to do in order to keep Frank's acceptance to the realm the simple oversight that was all it was capable of admitting to, but it had respected THEM enough to allow them to choose to perform the actions for it, and would reward them for it beyond their wildest expectations.
Amanda knew it was a small price to pay. All it would require of her was to do the things she'd already done when her body craved sensations and sweet peace of the Heroin she injected into her veins. Instead of a mere hit, she and Jake would be able to enjoy the real world that otherwise would have been impossible to experience without having to give up their home and the realm's immortality. They now had the sweetest of cakes, and could eat it too. And it would increase the bond that she and Jake had developed with this interesting being that did not feel what they felt, but understood it.
But it was even more than that. It could not feel what they felt, but it understood it. Their vows were virtually meaningless to the Entity itself, yet it understood how important those vows were to them, and had been unable to suggest that they be broken in this effort to make things just so without showing its generosity. It was proof that despite the vast difference between the God and these two mere humans, that it cared.
They looked at each other. "The thought of being in bed with anyone other than you is just...Fuck...I married you. No one belongs in bed with me other than you. I don't ever want to fucking BE in bed with anyone other than you. But...Being able to do the things it will let us do after...I can do it. I can justify it. It makes up for it."
Jake nodded. "I completely agree."
She smiled. "I fucking love you."
"I fucking love you too," Jake replied with a smile of his own. He reached behind him to remove his wallet. He usually left it in his bag, but since he was playing the arrogant and rich character of Jake tonight, he thought it a nice touch to go ahead and put it in his wallet. He looked through his cards and said, "2006 works. All my credit cards are good until at least 2007."
Amanda arched a brow. Jake responded, "If we go back, obviously we'll want to do more than just sit around. Wining, dining, and travel cost money, and we'll have plenty thanks to my bank account and credit cards. Unless you were planning on working for a week to get us enough cash to travel." He chuckled.
Amanda shook her head, "No way. Outsmarting killers is my favorite job. But you know the best part about it?" Jake shrugged. "If everything resets to the same time every time we return, we can max out your shit every time we're there, and then after we return to the realm and go back, It'll be like the prior trip never happened."
"Shit, I never thought of that. That's perfect. The only thing that isn't perfect is that if we go back and reconnect with my parents, they won't have any memories of the time before, so every time it will be like the first meeting. but that's a tiny price to pay for everything else we'll be able to do. We'd have to age a lot to travel the entire world on our own. Now we can do it in small stages and not age a day. I'll get to do it and keep you exactly as you are."
She grinned. "I know I'm looking forward to letting you fuck me in Italy, Germany, France and Jamaica and knowing we won't have to age a day in order for you to do it. The real world, and us as we are, forever. And I know you'll help me cope with what I have to do in order to make it happen, but what about you?"
"You know I'm of a different mind than you. Will the thought of it bother me? Yes, I know it will if it happens. But you don't love him, you never will love him, and that's how it'll be easy for me to cope. You'll have no emotional attachment to him at all, and we both know you're not going to enjoy it."
Amanda's eyes widened and she shook her head furiously. Nope. The only feelings it would stir in her were feelings of disgust.
She ran her finger around his chest. They'd said it. They both understood it, now they needed to seal the deal, and Amanda wasn't interested in just a simple handshake.
"I'm happy to fuck you in Italy, but right now, I'd be equally happy to fuck you right in this cabin." Her smile dripped with lust.
And of course, Jake's own lust surged through him. That would also make him equally happy. within moments they were naked and in bed, and Amanda was savoring the sweet feelings that she knew she'd never feel in Frank's bed. She considered what was to come, and the guilt that she'd feel and the things Jake would do to help her cope and himself. But in her elegant way, she knew one thing.
She could force herself to let him fuck her. But fucking Frank fucking Morrison didn't have a fucking chance in fucking hell of ever fucking breaking her and Jake apart. No fucking way. Not fucking ever. Fuck him sideways with a fucking spiked baseball bat. He'd be long fucking gone and they'd have a ton of fucking happiness long after he fucking was.