Humans aren't born pure

"When the fifth day came to a close, her reign had ended and what survived mourned, asking God why this could have happened. What was left fell into the depths of hell shortly after."

	Revenge. Envy. Anger. My blood was mad of those three elements. Behind the face I fronted most of the time, it was hard to tell that I had any struggles. I knew people loved me, I wasn't that bad off. I was rather successful, upper-middle class, owned a house before thirty, friends, family, there was nothing wrong on the surface. However, on the inside, I knew a lot. By looking into anyone's eyes, I knew everything about them. Their whole life flashed before my eyes. I can tell you this, humans aren't born good. We're all filled with the poison Adam and Eve ingested when they bit into the apple. From the time we're born, our impulses lead us to do what we know is wrong. I've seen people killed, raped, beaten, you name it. Even the ones that look like angels have skeletons in their closets.

	When I was born, I had a birthmark on my upper right thigh in the shapes of a spade, heart, diamond, and club. My parents just saw it as a coincidence, but when I became a teenager, I realized the marks started to change colors. Red on the top row, and black on the bottom. I didn't think much about it until the day I felt them burning. I rushed to the restroom from class, upon reaching it, I saw what I could only describe as the embodiment of evil. He held a hand out. My hand grasped his. I didn't grasp his hand. I didn't have control of my body. Everything went black. When I woke up, there was an EMT beside me. I knew that I had collapsed, so I knew where I was. Asking how I felt, I went to respond with something snarky and quick witted, but I saw his eyes, everything seemed to spin. Time seemed to stop and seeing through someone else's eyes, I saw something that would affect me for the rest of my life. She was begging for more time to pay, pleading to get back to her children. The eyes I was seeing through tied her up and threw her in the back of a van. "I" then reached for a phone and told the person on the other end "This one will earn a lot, a lot sexier than the other ones.". Reality set in and I must have looked like I saw a ghost. He put a hand on my shoulder and told me to relax, that we'd be at the hospital shortly. The only words I could make out were "She needed to get back to her kids...". I watched his face turn white and his hand tensed. He shook his head, regaining his composure. "Have a bad dream?" he nervously spoke through his teeth, not looking at me. "Yeah, I must have hit my head or something when I f-" I realized. I heard his voice when he spoke on the phone. I looked back up at him, starting to put two and two together. I saw the same scene again. My leg burned. After a minute or two of silence, he spoke. "I don't know how you knew, but I didn't have a choice. I was forced into that line of work. I owed a lot of money to a lot of people. I've served my time and never looked back. Trust me, okay?" . He looked away, tears in his eyes. That's when all of this started. It's been ten long, painstaking years since then.

	A friend of mine had been severely sexually assaulted a few years back. She never caught what the culprit looked like, though. She had to stay with me for a couple months to recover. Night terror after night terror, I held her in the middle of the night. I went everywhere with her. I never let anyone hurt her. Every time I'd lock eyes with her, I'd see it happen. Over and over again. I shared her pain. I never once complained that she was staying with me. I developed feelings for her a month in. Something about caring for someone at their weakest makes me love them even more. I never brought up these feelings, and it was obvious she didn't feel the same, but I was okay with that. I enjoyed our friendship. If anything, it just made me look after her more. Needless to say, when she left, I was heartbroken. I didn't let it show, I was happy for her. She was finally stable enough to be on her own. I helped her move into her new apartment, I hugged her, kissed her forehead, and left. I didn't make it far from her house before I had to pull over. I already missed her. Parked in a 7/11 parking lot, I cried. All of my body sobbed. After about a half and hour of Taylor Swift and a box of tissues, I walked into the 7/11 to grab a snack. I needed it, I was both physically and mentally exhausted. I grabbed a blue raspberry icee and a box of zebra cakes. Making my way to the register, I try to get my wallet out of my jacket pocket and accidentally drop it. The man behind me in line gets to it before me and hands it to me with a smile. I made the mistake of looking him in the eyes. It was him. I watched him rape my best friend. Dropping my icee and snack cakes, I run to my car and leave as fast as I can, my head is spinning, I can't make sense of anything. I'm filled with every emotion possible. I scream, I sob, revenge, anger. I feel my blood change into those two elements. Wiping my eyes, time stops. My vision fades to black.

	It was late in the night when I groggily lifted my head from the steering wheel. I wasn't alone. I felt someone in the seat behind me. I reach for the gun I keep under my seat as a voice cuts through the silence. "I can't stop you, but it'd be only a waste of bullets. It takes a lot more than a gun to kill the devil himself." he spoke triumphantly. I took another look out of the windows. It wasn't just nighttime. I was floating through empty space. Trying to hide my panic, "What do you want from me? I've had a pretty shitty night and you're the last person I want to see." I spat out. "You should be a lot nicer to someone who gave you such an amazing gift. How ungrateful." he taunted. Panic melting away and annoyance settling in, I hissed the words "Your "gift" has caused nothing but strife, did you keep the receipt? I want to return it.". "I guess there's no beating around the bush with you is there?" he laughed and continued, "I'll make a deal with you. You've seen nothing but dismay from the time you were a teenager. You must hate the world. Especially after what just happened. Surely you want to get back at them." he teased. I felt a flame ignite somewhere in my head. There's nothing but wrong in this world. Of course I want to get back at them. My blood boils. I think about everything I've seen since that day. Not one person is clean. The ones I'm closest to, the ones I love, none of them. The fire burns brighter. "Get to the point. I don't have all day." I commanded. "You can do anything you please for five days. You will have the power of a god. You can toy with and punish the world in any way you please. But I need to know that you are serious about this, so there is a catch." he stated. I made a hand motion signaling to continue. "You have to kill her. You have to sacrifice what you love most to get the revenge you've hoped for. After the five days, you will belong to me. You will be my slave for the rest of eternity." his words switched something on in me that I didn't recognize. Without saying a word, I nodded and the world returned to normal.

	Without hesitation, I drove back to her apartment. I fished her key out of my pocket, grabbed my gun and walked to her door. I touched the doorknob, but hesitated. I listened. I heard the sounds of intimacy. The third element entered my blood. Envy. Grimacing and shedding a tear, I opened the door and shot both of them. Feeling instant remorse, I stood there and the gun fell out of my hand. It didn't hit the ground. The world turned black. He was standing behind me. The embodiment of evil stretched out his hand. Unlike ten years ago, I had control of my body. I grabbed his hand and I felt a god's power surge through my body. Color faded back into my sight and I was in my own house. On the table in front of me lie a pen and paper with the numbers one through five written on it. Beside the paper was a note saying "Write your will".

"Day 1: All of the world's water will vanish

Day 2: All animals will die

Day 3: All plant life will die and earthquakes will spread across the land, leaving crevasses and craters as far as the eye can see

Day 4: The dead will rise and eradicate the living

Day 5: The sun will shine all day and at midnight, the world will fall into the depths of hell"

	I watched. Not with my eyes. I saw what God sees. The earth falling into shambles. The countless screams and prayers. I felt... something. Remorse? Sick ecstasy? I smiled, but it was a bittersweet smile. I watched five days pass in the span of what seemed like an hour. Everywhere I looked was a corpse. People falling into the earth, empty oceans, burning forests, the living dead, this was all my doing. Was all of this worth it? I guess it's not up to me to decide anymore. A familiar voice spoke from nowhere in particular. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he teased. "Almost as much fun as watching paint dry. Very exciting." I jeered. Everything was enveloped in darkness once again. "Go back and see for yourself what you've done." were the last words I heard before falling from the sky.

	I came to, near the end of the fifth day. Everything feels... solemn. Stumbling to my feet, I walk outside. Looking around me, all I could see were the decaying remains of whatever was left. Holding my head in my hands, I had realized what I had done. Is repentance acceptable at this point? Once you've taken God's place, is there anyone else to repent to? I'm nothing but the devil's plaything, carrying out his plans. Everything of mine belongs to him. Not even death can release me from the binds that I, myself locked onto my wrists. Hope doesn't exist. No one is coming to help me. I've brought this onto myself. There's not much longer until the earth is reclaimed by Satan himself. Checking my watch, it's 21:30. I will spend my last hours laying on the pavement, preparing myself for an eternity of slavery and torture. My body does not belong to me. I will enjoy these last hours of liberation. Turns out I was the evil one all along.