July 12

One of the suits, Sarah, came and spoke to me today. I looked into her eyes and The Water looked into me.

We went into some blue world where everything was quiet and soft. I thought the realms were messed up when I erased The City?

It is not a realm. It is more. It is The Water and it is Legion.

“I am one of Them and you have no reason to trust me, but you must listen. You have sent The Ravager from this world but his whisperings remain. They rest in the subconscious of all those he has touched, waiting to be triggered. Even though he is gone, he has taken your facility. He will wait until you have destroyed us all, then his controlled will summon him back to this world and he will rule it all.”

I laughed at her. They couldn’t summon it back. How would they even know how? Besides, all we had to do was take out its minions and that would be that.

“Could you do that? Kill innocent humans? Kill the people you mean to protect from us? They have lives. Families. This behavior is an unconscious impulse they are forced to obey. Could you kill them for that?”

“I wouldn’t kill them. I’d erase them. No one would miss them. It would be like they’d never existed.”

“In erasing them, they would never have existed. Their children would never have been born. Their grandchild would cease to be. Would you destroy the children for the faults of their ancestors?”

I stared at her. The endless being that spoke through Sarah’s mouth. Could I erase these people to keep The Ravager from returning? Could I stop The Ravager again should it return?

“There is a third option.”

“I won’t join you.”

“That was never an option. Just an empty promise to weaken your guard.”

I held out my hand. It hesitated. Backed away.

"The third option–"

I took a step forward. I was on the hill, talking to Sarah’s empty body. Some suits took her away to be buried.

I will never take the third option.