We got off the RV to see something that scared all nine of us. 

On the road, a giant pit was formed and right in the centre was a black-winged creature. The creature wore tattered clothes, shredded all over and he remained unmoving. The air had seemed to thicken in the presence of the creature, as if the air held its breathe in fear of the creature.

"Irrumabo," Wrath mumbled.

Envy decided to venture in the pit. He slowly made his way into the hole, carefully sliding down the sides till he reached the unconscious creature. He bent down and turned the body towards his.

"Quod irrumabo," he whispered aloud enough for an unsettling feeling to arise in the sins. He grabbed something and began his journey back to us. He looked over at his brothers and shook his head. They stood out facing the body and whispered, "Spero pacem Idithun."

Envy showed us the parchment in his hands. He unrolled it and began to read it aloud, "you have until the full moon to retrieve my chalice. Let this be a reminder for you." 

He eyed each sin and whispered, "that was Azazel."

The sins eyes widened and I felt their unshed tears. I could sense the sadness radiating off of them as they remained stunned.

"Who is Azazel?" I asked. They flinched at the name as if it pained them to hear.

"He was a close friend of ours," Envy managed to say. The sins all remained quiet and made their way back to the RV except for Wrath, who remained at the edge of the pit. I observed what he was doing from a distance. He raised a hand and whispered, "duxit confidenter." 

The body began to disintegrate and fly towards the sky. Wrath watched as the specks flew away, riding along with the wind. I heard Wrath's sigh and he said, "you don't have to stand there, Maia."

I stiffened but I approached him. I could feel his muscles tense up as I placed my hand on his shoulder. We stood there together, dwelling in each other's sadness.

***

The drive back was supposed to be for Wrath, but Joshua insisted he drove while I sat next to him, giving the sins all the space they needed. We drove in silence until Joshua pulled over to get some fuel. The sins kept talking in their language for the remainder of our ride until they asked Joshua to pull over.

"The note said we have until the next full moon to retrieve the Malum, which is in seven days." Greed informed, "how much longer do we have to drive, churchgoer?"

"Approximately twenty two hours," Joshua replied.

"Meaning we have six days left to find the Seer, get the reading, find the chalice, go to hell and give it to Father," Sloth listed out with a groan.

"Irrumabo," Wrath whispered again, which made me assume that was a curse word.

"If we drive faster and use another route, I'd say we could reach there in eighteen hours. We could use the extra time," Joshua suggested.

"Nice thinking, churchy," Wrath complimented.

"Explain the route to me, church boy," Lust asked. Both boys got up to go to the drivers seat and Joshua began to explain the route to him.

Wrath looked at me and I caught his stare, "I-I should probably go hear the route as well."

***

I lay in bed thinking of the events of the day. I tossed and turned around in the bed, so I decided to get up. Joshua was snoring on his bed, and the only one awake was Wrath who was driving.

"Hey," I called out.

Wrath's head turned to me for a brief second, "hey. Why are you awake?"

"Couldn't sleep." I informed as I sat down in the unoccupied seat next to him, "How are you coping now?"

"It hurts," he paused, "a lot."

"I know, Wrath, I really do."

"I know you do, Maia. I know you know my pain, but your pain is far worse than mine."

"The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said nor explained. Wrath, I know it hurts, but after a while, the pain goes away and they become a treasured memory."

"Thank you, Maia. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

But I had already dozed off, and the last sound I heard was Wrath's laugh.

***

I stood in a vast room alone. I looked around to see where I was. This place looked so familiar but so foreign to me. 

"Choose!" a deep, booming voice commanded.

"What?" I questioned.

In front of me, three platforms began to rise. The one on the far left revealed Joshua, standing unfazed. The one on the far right stood Wrath and the one in the middle had Lust. 

"Choose one, while the other two die," the voice informed, "or choose her for the lives of all three."

Behind me I saw a woman with the same tanned skin as me and the same hazel eyes, only she was older and covered in bruises. She was trapped in shackles on her legs, hands and neck. She was on the floor, caked in mud but I recognized those hazel eyes anywhere.

"MOM!" I wanted to yell but my voice came out as a scream.

"Choose!" the voice edged, angrily.

"I choose-" 

I bolted awake, my palms sweaty and my heart racing. I gasped for air as I took in my surroundings. I was still on the RV and Lust was still driving. He worridly glanced at me.

"Are you all right?" he asked, but whenever I looked at him I recalled my dream.

"Y-yeah. Bad dream, that's all. How long have I been asleep?"

"About four hours."

My heart was still pounding, but I had began to relax. I definitely couldn't sleep after that and an hour later Lust announced, "welcome to California!" we will reach San Francisco in six hours."

Joshua emerged from the back and said, "let me drive for the remainder of the trip. You guys go have breakfast."

Lust curtly nodded and pulled over. I eyed Joshua and gulped.

***

Those six hours were passed in dread and worry as to what is going to happen. We finally reached San Fransisco and decided to find a RV park. We settled for one near the beach, which had a nice camping spot. By the time we reached, it was already sunset but we decided to make some dinner.

While eating, we discussed our plan. Tomorrow morning we would look for the Seer and get the reading done. After that we would have to find one of the three doors to heaven and go through that to Hell.

"Why isn't there a door to Hell?" Joshua asked.

"There is, but it opens on Halloween only," Pride informed.

"Are we allowed in heaven?" I asked.

"No, but they will understand," Gluttony reassured.

"Who is they?" I further questioned.

"Our counterparts, the virtues," Sloth answered with a smirk.

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Author's note:
YO WHY DO I LIKE THIS CHAPTER!! I can't wait for the next chapter myself! You'll get the reading in the next chapter probably!
Anyways just to inform you about the meanings of those Latin words:

•Irrumabo: f*ck

•Quod Irrumabo: what the f*ck?

•Spero pacem idithun: may his soul rest in peace.

•Duxit confidenter: take him to safety.

I really like how Maia can open up about her pain to Wrath but the relationship between Lust and Maia is so real and friendly. WHO DO I CHOOSE?!

Lxrxib