The Devils Temptation

"Its mine and you can't have it!" "Stop being selfish Ivy." "Yea I agree with Sarah, you shouldn't answer tough times like these with greed!" "Shut up Lucy No one wants to hear you preach all day!" "How about you all be quiet? I think the amount of dinner is pretty good today, especially with our current circumstances." As Christine said that, we all began to look at the deserted piece of land that we had no choice but to make do with.  Honestly, I never thought I would be sitting on an island catching unlucky birds and eating wild berries with some girls I barely know but I always tell myself god works in mysterious ways.  "Are y'all still hungry?" "Sarah look around, of course, we're hungry but we aren't complaining" "Yea just go to sleep trust me you can't be hungry if you're asleep." “Fine I guess I’ll just go to sleep.” Ivy lights a cigarette using the bonfire. “Ivy put that cancer stick away!” “Shut up Lucy! Not everyone is this perfect little Christian girl ok? So just let me smoke in peace” “Perfect Christian girl huh?” 

First I see you kissing a girl now you're smoking.” “Who gave this to you?” “I'm sorry mom it was an accident” “oh and now you're lying, heaven has no place for sinners like you Lucy, do you hear me” “I'm really sorry I mean it.”  

“I have a plan so that we don't have to go hungry” Everyone exchanged confused looks “Well what is it?” “Good question Lilly.  I think that we have too many mouths to feed and not enough food to go around” “Duh” “Let me finish Katrina. I think that we should  get rid of the stupid one.” “Who? Sarah?” “Yea her.” “Well, what are you going to do to her?” “God hasn't given us much of a choice, so I think we should kill her.” “Kill her?!” I heard them all say in unison. “Well I mean if you ask me, I think the Christian girl is on to something.”  “What? Not you too Ivy! I really don't think that's a good idea.” “I don't know Christine, I think it's a good idea.” “Really Katrina? Well, what do you think Lilly?”  “Even if it's not morally right, I think that it's necessary right now.” “But we kill her just to do what with her body”

 All exchange knowing looks “You guys really aren't going to do what I think you're going to do?” “I think we should call it a night.”

That morning I woke up extra early to get the scheme in motion. Poisonous berries for the idiot I thought to myself as I picked some berries and put them in a small bag.  

“Good morning everybody” “God why would you wake us up so early Lucy?” “Because I felt like it. Now come eat before there is no more left.” I assume everyone heard me say that because they all rushed from their sleeping places to come see what was for breakfast “Wow that's a lot of berries!” “Yup! And I picked out some extra ones just for you so that you will last until dinner” “Aw really? Thanks, Lucy.” “The rest of you please take regular portions, everyone else still needs to get some.” “Hey Lucy, can I talk to you really quick?” “Yea sure.” As we began to gain some distance from the rest of the group I heard her say “If you're trying to fatten her up before we kill her then that might take too long. I think we should just get rid of the problem now instead of feeding it.”  “The berries I gave her are poisonous silly.” “Wait really?” “Yea.” “Wow Lucy, I like your style” “Thanks”

When we got back to the others I watched as Ivy relayed my message to everyone. The reaction that stuck with me was Christine's.  She looked guilty, so much so she couldn't bear to watch Sarah idiotically eat to her demise so she got up and went for a walk.  

Soon enough, the evening rolled around, and luckily, Sarah had eaten all her special berries.  

“Guys I don't feel so good, my stomach is killing me.” 

“What? Did you finally eat too much?”

“(chuckles) That was a good one, Katrina.”

“I'm serious, I feel terrible.”

“You shouldn't have let your greed consume you, Sarah.”

“There is no time for you to sit there and preach Lucy do something.”

“What should I do Sarah?”

“Something! (lets out a pained groan) “UHHH!”

“The berries!” 

I knew Christine would crack soon. 

“Sarah it was the berries and I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier!”

“What was wrong with the berries?”

“They were…poisoned!” 

“What?!”

“You guys poisoned me?!”

“Technically Lucy did.”

“Shut up Ivy! I don't believe you.”

“She was the one who gave you the berries.”

“(tearing up) Lucy please tell me it was an accident!”

“Well, I guess I don't have much of a choice since lying is a sin so-”

“You are in no place to talk about what's a sin and what's not.”

“You’re literally trying to kill me!”

“I came up with that plan to save everyone!”

“Everyone except me?!”

“Don't make me feel bad because I offered a fix to the problem.”

“God, you’re so selfish!”

“Selfish?!”

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  What do you not understand about this?”

“It's never about me”

“It's always about you, Lucy”

“No it’s always about you mom, so I think that I deserve to be just a little selfish”

“You heard what I said Lucy selfish!”

“Would you just suck it up, it's too late now everything is already in motion, and you’re going to die soon.”

“How could you all let her do this to me?”

“I'm so sorry Sarah.”

“Christine, if you really felt bad then you would have said something before I ate the berries.”

“I couldn't bring myself to say anything.” 

“What are all of your excuses?”

“You complain too much.”

“Yea and you eat too much.”

“I kind of just followed the majority.”

“I bet you did Lilly.”

“Well what's that supposed to mean?”

“You don't have a mind of your own and all you do is- (pained groan) OHHH!”

In Sarah's last moments I could tell anger was consuming her. If she could she would get up and ring all of our necks like washcloths.  

“How do we distribute everything?”

“How would I know Katrina?”

“Because you went from Nun to a serial killer in a second, I thought you had some experience with this.”

“No, I don't actually.”

“Ok, I found a pocket knife in my bag.”

“I feel kind of bad guys.”

“Lilly don't start acting like Christine”

“I'm not”

After that was said I glanced in Christine’s direction 

“Are you not hungry Christine?” 

“Nope, not in the mood for humans.”

“Christine, if you don't eat this, you’re going to starve.”

“Yea don't feel bad about what happened its already done.”

“Exactly if you were going to do this then you should have just said something before she ate the berries.”  

“I know that but unlike some people here I actually have a moral compass.”

“Well ok then enjoy the air for dinner.”

As I took Ivy’s pocket knife and dug it beneath Sarah's skin blood began to rush out, but I kept on and I began to cut pieces of her flesh off and hand them around the bonfire.

As we began to feast everybody could hear the rumbling of Christin's stomach, so it was no surprise when she asked me to cut her off a piece as well.  

For as long as we’ve been on this island laughter and smiles have never been more vibrant than they were now but soon we would find out the weight of the greed that filled us has already dragged us to our grave.  

“Does anybody else's stomach hurt?”

“You’re not the only one Lilly.”

“Yea it feels like my stomach is doing cartwheels.”

“Lucy, did you set us up too?”

“No I  didn't. My stomach hurts too.”

“So then what's going on?”

As we all sat there in silent pain thinking of what could have caused this I hear Lilly yell “The berries!”

“Lilly I'm trying to be nice to you but would you just shut up and stop stating the obvious!”

“Katrina, Sarah died from eating the berries and we just ate her!”

“Yea and..?”

“Oh my god, the berries!”

“Now you get it?!”

“So we poisoned ourselves because we ate Sarah?”

“Yea basically Ivy.”

“That's ironic.”

“Lucy Christine, are y’all ok?”

“I'm in disbelief.”

“Trust me we all are Christine”

“What about you Lucy?”

“Just leave me alone. I want to pass in peace.”

“Oh ok.”

In my dying moments, all I can think about is greed.  Greed, greed, greed I am suffering the consequences of toying with the devil's wrath.  

Father, thank You that our many sins can be forgiven through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your promise to put our sins behind Your back, to bury them in the depth of the sea, and to remove them from us as far as the east is from the west. Let the blood of Jesus cleanse us from every sin we pray. Amen.