The Binding of Isaac belongs to Edmund McMillen and NICALiS
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Three rooms later, the trio was standing in front of the skull door, feeling anxious of what waits on the other side. "This is it..." Maggie said.
"Yep." Cain uttered, "Ready Isaac?"
"As I'll ever be." He admitted, "Let's get this over with." With a final sigh, the three walked through, instantly hearing the door slam shut behind them. In front of them awaited a large blob of flesh with crooked teeth and big, black eyes. It instantly threw itself into the air, aiming itself onto the trio.
"Scramble!" Cain shouted as the three split up, nearly being crushed under the monster's girth. A spray of blood nearly struck Maggie as she struggled to get up.
"Maggie!" Isaac cried as the monster hopped towards her. He unleashed tear bullets on it, prompting the creature to hop towards him instead.
"Keep going Isaac!" Cain shouted as his eye started to water, "I'll help you in a sec!"
"I don't have a sec!" Isaac shouted as the monster jumped into the air again. Isaac panicked as he slid away, nearly having his feet crushed by the creature. "Ow..." he uttered as he got up, "I think I got rug burn."
"Keep strong!" Maggie said as she and Cain produced tear bullets, "We only just begun!"
"Don't remind me..." Isaac uttered as he cried, pelting the rotten, rubbery flesh of the creature.
The fight went on for a few minutes, the three doing their best to cry, dodge and repeat until the monster finally froze and began to bleed, exploding into a mush of flesh and bone.
"We did it!" Maggie cheered.
"Hooray..." Isaac panted.
"I need eye drops..." Cain moaned, "And a nap."
"So, what now?" Isaac asked.
"I don't know..." Maggie admitted. Suddenly, a section of the floor collapsed. The three looked down the hole, seeing only a small speck of light.
"It appears we probably have to go down another floor." Cain pointed out.
"You mean, we just begun?" Isaac asked.
"I'm afraid so," Maggie sullenly admitted, "But it's better than waiting around."
"Might as well." Cain said as he jumped down the hole. Maggie followed suit, leaving Isaac to stare down the hole, hearing the small screams of his friends. He swallowed and jumped down, feeling a sense of Deja vu.
/
The new floor welcomed Isaac with a new smell as he landed. He looked around to see Maggie and Cain looking at the two doors that were in the room. "Glad you made it Isaac," Cain said as he turned from the left door, "You can help us."
"By picking a door?" Isaac asked.
"You got it," Cain said with a thumb up, "So, be a good pal and pick my door."
"Cain, stop pressuring him!" Maggie said, "It doesn't matter which door we pick!"
"Then why won't you go through my door?" Cain asked.
"Because you always pick the doors that lead us to death!" The girl argued.
"No," The boy said, "I pick the paths that have the coolest stuff!"
"We don't need any more unnecessary damage!" Maggie pointed out.
"But we need more keys and bombs!" Cain argued. Isaac tuned the two out as he looked at both doors. They were similar, and he couldn't see beyond the door frame.
"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Isaac quietly asked. A scream suddenly erupted from the right, making the three turn to the right. "Who screamed?" He asked.
"Wasn't me." Maggie said.
"I didn't do it." Cain said. Another scream rang out and Isaac ran to the right.
"There's someone else here!" he uttered, "Come on!"
"Wait up!" Maggie said.
"Don't be a hero stupid!" Cain shouted. The three children ran in and saw a girl with black hair getting ambushed by three long-legged spiders.
"Why'd it have to be spiders?" Isaac whimpered as he prepped his tear bullets.
"No different from what we faced," Cain pointed out, "Just bigger." Isaac unleashed watery bullets on the creatures. The spiders turned their attention to the three and charged, one of them pausing to squat down and lay a white sack.
"Great," Isaac uttered, "It laid eggs."
"I'll take care of it!" Maggie said as she cried on the sacks.
"Can't let you have all the fun!" Cain chuckled as he joined Isaac.
/
Later, the three spiders fell and the three checked on the girl. She was their age, with long, black hair and black eye shadow. A dead bird pin rested in the hair's part. A black and red tattoo was printed on her left arm. "You okay?" Isaac asked.
"I didn't need your help," the girl said as she carefully stood up, "But thanks."
"My name's Isaac," Isaac introduced, "And this is Cain and Maggie."
"Peculiar," The girl mused, "And I thought my name was weird."
"Well, what's your name?" Maggie asked.
"Eve," she answered, "The First Sinner."
"Kind of a harsh title," Cain said, "I mean...what does that even mean?"
"Don't you read the bible?" Eve asked.
"I forget everything I read." Maggie said.
"Too big, and no pictures." Cain said.
"Never thought of it," Isaac said, "My mom was into that stuff though."
"Same here," Eve said, "Kind of a fanatic for the stupid shit. Drilled that crap into my head every single night. Ran down here because she was gonna kill me."
"Same for all of us." Isaac said.
"This is getting to be beyond a coincidence." Maggie said.
"So," Eve began, "Your moms tried to kill you too?"
"Yeah," Cain answered, "So we ran into this basement to escape."
"Two coincidences...how troubling." Eve uttered.
"What do you mean 'two'?" Isaac asked.
"Well," The raven-headed girl began, "Besides our own moms trying to kill us, we're all named after peculiar people of the bible."
"Hold on!" Cain butted in, "That's just a coincidence! I mean, our names are pretty damn common."
"Have you heard of another guy named 'Cain'?" Eve asked.
"Er..." Cain uttered.
"Any way," Eve continued, "I might as well shed some light; could make this a little interesting. Maggie, was it? Is that an abbreviation?"
"Yeah," Maggie said, "Short for Magdalene."
"I see," The raven-headed girl said, "Magdalene was considered the friend of the Virgin Mary and one of Jesus Christ' followers, being witness to his crucifixion and resurrection."
"Sounds a bit much..." Maggie admitted.
"Hey," Eve said, "You didn't personally see it; stop getting weepy."
"Okay hot shot," Cain butted in, "What about me?"
"Cain was the first murderer," Eve explained, "Killing his brother Abel in order to gain favor in the eyes of the Lord. Instead, he was forever forced to live out the rest of his life with this guilt."
"Sounds dumb," Cain said, "I don't even have a brother!"
"And me?" Isaac asked.
"Isaac..." Eve said, "Oh yeah. Isaac was the child nearly sacrificed to the Lord on behalf that his dad was a devoted follower. Turned out it was a test."
"That's...scary..." Isaac uttered, "My mom was gonna sacrifice me before I ran."
"Huh." Eve said, "She was a fanatic too?"
"Well," The boy said as he scratched his head, "She did watch a lot of day-time Christian shows. And, she kept talking like she could hear somebody, though I didn't hear anyone else."
"I see..." Eve uttered, "Anyway, thanks again for saving my butt. I gotta get going; gotta find my worthless partner."
"Wait," Isaac said, "We can help!"
"Hey, don't drag us into this crap!" Cain said.
"I don't need help." Eve said.
"Funny," the eye-patch wearing boy said, "You nearly bit it when it came to those spiders."
"I was caught off guard," Eve answered, "Again, I thank you guys, but I can take care of myself." She gripped her left arm and repeated, "I can take care of myself." She walked out the way they came, leaving the trio to ponder.
"Ain't see a charming lady?" Cain spat.
"I think we need to help her!" Isaac said.
"Lady don't want our help," Cain said, "So I say we keep going."
"We have to follow her." Maggie said.
"Why?!" Cain asked.
"Well," Maggie began, "I'm concerned for her health; she looked a hair's width to death. Also, this room is a dead-end."
"Oh yeah." Cain said as he looked around.
"Let's go then," Isaac said as he walked, "Before we lose her!"
"Okay!" Maggie said.
"Fine," Cain uttered, "But she better be grateful; I'm not getting any richer."
/
/
To be continued.