Carissa dried her eyes and stared at the dead sheep. Nothing would come from crying. No one would come to help her. She was on her own. There were only two options. Go back home or push forward to save Roman.
"Finn!" She yelled.
He appeared in front of her with a grin on his face.
"Where to?" He asked.
"Stage 2," she answered.
He held out his hand to show her in what direction to walk. She walked past the dead sheep and into the darkness. Not long after a new sheep and a new goat appeared.
"What the fuck? Do I have to watch you kill seven sheep to get through this?" She asked.
"I won't be killing this one," he said. "You will."
Her jaw dropped and she just stared at him in disbelief. He grabbed the blade of the knife and held the handle towards her.
"I'm not killing anything," she said.
"That's completely your choice. Do you wanna go home instead?" He asked.
She looked over at the sheep and the goat. Maybe she could outrun Finn. She had to try. If she could just run through all seven stages fast, she could make it to the other side and save Roman. She went into a sprint and ran between the two animals.
"You can't run from this, my dear," Finn laughed.
She kept running for several minutes but nothing changed. It was just one long run in darkness. She turned around and gasped in horror when the sheep and the goat were right there behind her along with Finn.
"No way," she said.
"You can't run from your own demons," he chuckled. "I told you death doesn't play fair. You play by its rules. It doesn't play by yours."
She turned left and tried running in that direction instead.
"Stop running!" He yelled.
She stopped and turned around. It was the same thing. The sheep and the goat were right there along with Finn and that big knife. He walked over to her and placed the knife in her hand.
"I don't wanna kill an animal," she said.
"Then go home," he said. "There's no shame in giving up. A lot of people don't ever make it through stage 1. It's okay to go home and live your life."
"No, I gotta save him," she said.
He stepped aside and she walked over to the two animals. Tears were streaming down her face. This was so hard but she knew she had to. She knelt down next to the sheep and looked into its eyes.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
She slit its throat and moved back when it cried out in pain. She dropped the knife and crawled backwards until her back connected with Finn's legs. They both watched as the sheep bled out on the ground. Once it was dead, the goat walked away like the first goat had done.
"Please, no more animals," she said.
"I don't create the stages. I don't know what's in them until I enter them with you," he said.
"Who came up with something this cruel?" She asked.
"Does it matter?" He asked. "You got the choice to leave. You can always leave, my dear. No one's forcing you to do this."
She nodded, stood up, and looked at him.
"I have to do this," she said. "Take me to stage 3."