Carissa felt the warmth from the fire on her skin. It took a moment before everything came back to her. Roman, the fight, the car crash, the pain, the strange man in the forest. She opened her eyes and sat up with a gasp.
"Roman!" She called.
She looked around but the only man there was the guy with dreadlocks.
"Bray, right?" She asked.
He smirked at her and nodded.
"Where's Roman?" She asked.
"That depends on whether you want to know where his body is or where his soul is," he answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"His body is still in the car where you left him. His soul is trapped in hell," he said.
She shook her head no. She refused to believe that. This man had to be some sort of psychopath messing with her head.
"Did you call for help?" She asked.
"What would be the point? I could only save you which I did. It was already too late for him," he said.
"You don't know that," she said.
"I know a lot of things, Carissa," he smirked. "I am a warlock after all."
Her jaw dropped for a second and then she started laughing.
"There's no such thing as warlocks," she said.
"Isn't there?" He asked.
He blew out his breath, and the fire suddenly doubled in height. She crawled back in fear until she felt his tent against her back.
"Don't even try going in there. I won't let you," he said.
"Okay," she whispered. "Give me a second to wrap my head around this."
She looked down and pulled her tank up to look at her injury. It was gone. It was as if she had never been hurt in the crash.
"If you could heal me, you must be able to bring him back too," she said.
"I personally can't," he said.
"But someone can, right?" She asked.
He grinned and nodded.
"Bring me to them," she said. "I demand you bring me to them right this second."
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"I want him back!" She snarled.
The fire burned extra bright for a second and then she felt a presence next to her. She turned her head to look at a dark haired man.
"Greetings, Finn," Bray said.
"What have you summoned me for?" Finn asked.
"Carissa wants her boyfriend back," Bray answered.
Finn looked at Carissa. It felt like he was swallowing her whole by one look alone.
"You will have to pass seven tasks. Make no mistake, my dear. Death does not play fair. You will be faced with hard choices. Are you sure you're ready for it?" Finn asked.
"I'm ready," Carissa said.
The fire went out and she was suddenly in a world of darkness.
"Bray?" She asked.
"His help is no longer needed," Finn stepped into her view. "It's just you and me now."
"What do I have to do?" She asked.
He stepped to the side and held out his hand. There was a sheep and a goat looking at her. She couldn't help but smile. Animals had always been the most precious thing to her, and these two looked so cute.
"Pick one," he said.
"They're both cute," she said.
"One has to die," he said.
"What?" She asked.
She stared at him but it was clearly not a joke.
"This is the first stage. It's only gonna get worse from here," he said.
"What else will I meet?" She asked.
"I can't tell you that. Every stage is personalized to you. This is your seven stages to battle. I'm just here as a tour guide," he said.
"I don't wanna do this," she said.
"You can choose to go back. You don't have to do this. Roman's already dead. What does it matter? Go back and live your own life," he said.
She gritted her teeth and stared at the two animals. Both of them seemed to know what was going on. She saw something shiny in the corner of her eye. Finn had a big knife in his hand, ready to slaughter the animal she picked.
"You can always go back no matter what stage you're in," he said.
"The sheep!" She growled.
He walked over to the sheep. She closed her eyes and covered her ears while the sheep cried out in pain. Once the sound died down, she opened her eyes again and looked at the bloody mess in front of her. The goat was still alive and walking away from them. It didn't take long until she couldn't see it anymore.
"Ready for stage 2?" Finn asked.
"Fuck you!" Carissa screamed. "Leave me alone!"
"As you wish," he said.
He disappeared in the air and she was left with the bloody sheep on the ground. Its eyes were still open and staring directly at her. Just like Roman had done in the car.
"Roman," she cried. "It's not fair. Why did you have to die?"