As Sin led Cara out of the alley, she couldn't believe what had just happened. The two men were still caught in each other's embrace when Sin grabbed her arm and dragged her out. It wasn't until they were walking down the street, she finally found the usage of her voice.

"You knew," She said, astonishment pushing through her vocals. "You knew Alistair was gay?"

"Alistair struck a deal," Sin merely told. He released her from his grip as they continued down the street and pocketed his hands instead. Cara was aware of his two guard dogs following them just a few feet behind. It seemed like they had orders to keep their distance, but to stay nearby, just in case. Just in case of what, though?

"How is that any payment on your behalf? What the hell could you possibly get out of making him do... that?" Cara growled. Besides maybe feeding his God-complex – although in this case, a Devil-complex was the more fitting word, wasn't it?

"One man's sin is another man's pleasure," Sin smiled, tightly. "Or in some cases, as you witnessed back in the alley, both."

"So you admit it?" Cara snapped and stopped up. "You admit that you did that to Alistair? You made him sin, even though he clearly didn't want to."

"Oh, he wanted to," Sin chuckled. "He'd wanted that all of his life, as a matter of fact. I found him, just like I found you. It's a curious thing, though..." He said and suddenly stopped up as well. He slowly turned to look at her with slightly speculative eyes. "His stench of sin overpowered yours... had you not come up to me that day, I might never have found you."

Cara twisted her face in a grimace. "Are you trying to say all of this is on me? All that you've done to me is my fault?"

"No. That was always inevitable... but it should've happened years ago. Perhaps then this would've been easier..." Sin added, though it sounded mostly to himself.

Cara stared for a moment, trying to read him, but then shook her head. He was distracting her from her original question and using his mind games instead to try and convince her all of this somehow made sense. "Stop evading my question. You just confessed to making Alistair sin, which means you've been lying all along. You make people sin. You force them to—"

"I never force anything," Sin's thunderous voice broke through. Her lips closed when he walked up to her with his glowing eyes growing a darker shade. "There is so much you don't know about sinning yet. We don't make people sin, we liberate the sinners."

"You keep saying that, but I'm not a sinner!" Cara seethed, stepping closer to him. She was furious and she could feel her heart pumping with adrenaline and her fists coiling in rage. "I've lived a virtuous life and always praised God's will! I grew up with His word and—"

"And you never listened to the voice he put within you," Sin cut her off again and suddenly gripped her arm. Cara gasped and felt a zap go through her as Sin yanked her closer and cupped her face. "Not all sins are committed, Cara, but all must be released. You're a sinner who hasn't sinned yet, and that is the biggest sin you'll ever commit. And that will be your doom," He whispered against her lips.

Cara sensed his bodyguards shift behind them when Sin moved closer to her. She couldn't breathe, but heat was coursing through her veins like lava. She could feel his throbbing aura pulsing in the air around her, making her ears thud and her heart hammer in her chest.

But then, Sin suddenly pulled back and softened his grip. His eyes boiled down and he exhaled, the tension evaporating like fog. Just like that, he let her go and stepped away, like nothing transpired.

Cara was in shambles. What had just happened?

"Go home," He then ordered, straightening his suit. He eyed out his guards who gave a swift nod back and stood down. "Go to sleep. Think about what I've told you and what you've seen tonight. I'm not here to corrupt you, Cara. I'm trying to help you."

Cara couldn't find heads or tails in this. One moment he was saying she was meant for one thing, the second he was done touching her like she was the forbidden fruit. He said he was trying to help her... but help her with what? He wasn't giving her any explanation – only touches and words that made her stomach churn in that way she wasn't sure how to interpret.

One thing was certain, though. He was the spawn of the Devil, and the Devil would do anything to lead an innocent soul into corruption.

"Why should I believe a word you say?" Cara whispered, lightly shivering from the way Sin clenched his jaw. "You'll say anything to get me to stray from my path."

"You can't see your path yet," He said, a muscle working in his jaw. "And you never will, unless you open your eyes."

And with nothing more, the three sinners disappeared into thin air right on the street without warning. Cara was alone once again, left with too many questions and no answers. She let out a frustrated sound and gripped her hair.

How much longer could she take this madness?

~~~

It was early morning in the Thompson house. Cara's mother was clearing the breakfast table while her father was upstairs tying his tie and her brother was in his room. He was still grounded and hadn't made any effort to clear the air yet. Their mom was taking him to church later in hopes of redeeming himself. Perhaps Father Michael could talk some sense into him.

Cara was on laundry duty today and was walking around the house gathering all the laundry from the different baskets while her mind raced with everything that had happened last night. She had done as Sin had advised and thought about it all; what she had seen last night and what it meant.

Sin had walked up to Alistair and... done something to him in that moment he pressed his hand to his chest. Alistair had then stalked up to his secretary and... kissed him like his life had depended on it. Had it?

Cara bit her lip in thought as she loaded all the laundry into the machine.

'You made him sin, even though he didn't want to.'

'Oh, he wanted to. He had wanted that all of his life, as a matter of fact.'

Sin's words echoed in her mind in endless tides. If he has wanted to do it all of his life, then why hadn't he?

Something stirred in Cara's stomach. Something... uneasy, yet familiar.

Maybe he hadn't wanted to admit it, but couldn't... maybe he had tried to deny himself the truth because he didn't want to be what his heart said he was... maybe, he had hidden the truth for so long, the lie had grown almost believable.

Until temptation came along...

Cara finished loading the machine and started it, before going up the stairs from the basement to the kitchen again. All her her thoughts were swirling around in her head like a maelstrom when she suddenly caught her mother's voice, speaking with someone at the door.

– A man.

"Oh, yes! She's home alright, she's right downstairs, doing the laundry. How very nice of you to stop by!"

Cara's breath hitched. Before she could stop herself, she was rushing towards the door, adrenaline pumping through her veins. He wouldn't—

"Oh, honey, there you are! Look who came to see you," Her mother smiled, happily. "Your boss, Mr Alistair. Isn't that nice?"

Cara breathed out a sigh of relief.

Alistair stood in the door, looking nothing like he did last night. He was no longer the feeble resemblance of her old boss; he was her old boss again. Handsome, debonair and neatly styled, he looked as if he had been revived since last night. He smiled tightly to Cara's mom who greeted him in the door and offered him to come inside.

But the way his eyes shifted over to Cara's and met hers told her he hadn't forgotten a sliver of what happened last night.

"No, thank you, I'm afraid I have a busy morning ahead of me," He politely declined her mother's offer of coming in for a cup of coffee. "I actually just stopped by in hopes I might borrow Cara for a quick talk. If she wouldn't mind."

Again, by the look in his eyes, it was clear it wasn't a suggestion, but an order. Cara took a deep breath, knowing full and well this would be about what she had seen last night. And what he might've seen, too.

"Of course," Cara replied. "Why don't we take a walk?" Cara suggested, looking at Alistair who gave a curt nod back. Outside they could talk in private without her snooping mother trying to listen in.

"Alright, well," Her mom spoke up right on cue as Cara grabbed her shoes and her summer jacket. "It was nice meeting you, Mr Alistair! Do come back another time, we'd love to have you and your wife over for dinner."

"That would be lovely," Alistair replied politely, but in a clipped voice as Cara and him then stepped out together, bidding her mom a farewell. They calmly walked out onto the street, but Cara could feel her mother staring after them through the window as they walked on, probably wondering what this was all about. House visits from the boss wasn't exactly standard procedure these days; She probably thought Alistair had a crush on Cara.

If only she knew, Cara thought and pocketed her hands as Alistair and her walked down the street, much like her and Sin had done last night.

– Apparently taking a walk was the best way to discuss supernatural existences and laws.

"So..." Cara started when Alistair hadn't spoken up yet. There was an awkward silence and Cara nervously picked at the inside of her pockets. "I, uh..."

"You haven't told anyone about what you saw last night, have you?" Alistair's much too chilled voice then bit. This was the snappy boss Cara remembered.

"No," She replied, leveling off her own voice. "I figured it was none of my business."

"You figured right."

His tone was unusually brisk. Cara pursed her lips and figured maybe it was a matter of ego going on. He wanted to show her he was still the same Alistair, despite his newly discovered preferences.

Cara waited a beat before continuing. "Even if it was, I wouldn't even know how to explain what I saw."

"So why don't you forget what you saw and leave it at that." Alistair replied through a tight mien.

Cara sighed exasperatedly and stopped up. After last night, she was done with all of this bullshit. She wanted some answers and Alistair clearly thought he had them. "You know it doesn't matter, right? Nobody is going to think differently of you because you're—"

"Don't say it," Alistair hissed. "Don't... say it."

Cara pressed her lips together. Alistair halted beside her and closed his eyes, his face a tight mask of anger. Whatever happened last night... he was ashamed that the truth had come out.

"Alistair..."

"I have a life, Cara. A wife and a..." His lips locked. "I have a reputation, and this... detail changes nothing," He pushed out, his jaw winding up. "What happened last night was a deal I made wrongfully with a Sinner. I should never have... it was a mistake, and I want to forget the whole thing."

Cara's eyebrows slowly creased in concern. Alistair seemed put together on the outside, but on the inside it sounded like an avalanche was trying to rip through his life. He clearly believed that being gay would ruin his life. That admitting to the truth of who he was would destroy him and change everyone's perspective of him. As if they would love him less for being a—

Cara cupped her mouth. No... it couldn't be...

"Alistair, I need answers," Cara quietly whispered. Her own thoughts had provoked a feeling in her stomach. "Please. I'll keep your secret or forget about it or whatever you want me to, but I just need—"

"I saw what he did to you last night," Alistair cut her off when Cara's voice grew in desperation. He turned his head and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "I saw your sin."

Cara flinched at his words. Her sin. As if it had been bright as day. "W-what do you mean—"

"I saw how you responded when he touched you. I've never seen a Sinner with that much power before."

"What?" Cara blinked, confusion fogging up her train of thoughts. "Power?"

Alistair turned fully towards her and rose a brow. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" At her befuddled expression, Alistair seemed to realize she really did have no idea of what she saw last night. "What do you mean 'power'?"

"You really don't know," He said, furrowing his brows and stepping closer. "You don't know how they work."

"They touch you and they make you sin," Cara prompted, gritting her teeth. "I know that much. I saw it happen with you last night, I've felt it myself—they make you sin and make you comply to stuff that you don't want and—"

"Whoa, stop," Alistair said and met her with a grave expression. "It's true they make you sin, but the sin doesn't lie within them, Cara. It's within us."

"I... I know that, but I'm not a sinner," Cara explained, her voice losing its edge. "I-I'm Catholic, I go to church, I repent for my sins, I'm clean—"

"It doesn't work like that," Alistair shook his head and scoffed. "I can't believe you don't know this. He never told you?"

Cara was just about to open her mouth and tell him no when she realized... maybe that's what Sin had been trying to tell her all along.

She hadn't listened, because every time he tried to tell her, he had had his hands on her and had made her try and believe his words through his magic... through his tricks and manipulations...

"I haven't sinned," Cara repeated, trying to grasp back the reality she knew. "I never... I never sinned, not before Sin came along. He was the one who made me do it, every time he touches me—"

"Holy shit, Cara."

Alistair looked at her with a stone hard expression as he slowly rubbed his mouth with his hand in disbelief. Cara blinked in confusion again when he seemed shocked. "What?"

"That's why. That's why he's so fucking strong around you; There's so much sin inside you."

Cara frowned. "What...? How...? I don't understand, Alistair. Please."

Alistair gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes. Then, rubbing his forehead, he made a tilt with his head and gestured for them to keep walking. "Come on. I'll explain it to you."

Cara hesitated for a moment, but then followed him. She wanted answers, but by the look on Alistair's face, she wasn't going to like them. He just said Sin had more power around her than anything else... but why?

"Humans... are like batteries," Alistair started, after a long moment of walking in deep silence. "And Sinners are the consumers. Every human has a different amount of charge on their battery, either low or high or somewhere in between. It depends on the person. What charges us are our sins."

Cara frowned, but followed. So humans were energy and Sinners were the takers of that energy...

"Depending on how often we release our own sins, our power reserves are either high or low. Some people—like the two of us—are great at preserving our sins," Alistair said and looked at her shortly. "We hide them well or find a way to avoid them. Unfortunately that also means we become higher charged. More... full of juice."

Cara slowly paled when she begun to realize where this was going. But it just couldn't be...

"When we become too full of juice, that's when we become a hazard to ourselves," Alistair continued. "In theory, we could live with our sins our whole lives without releasing them, but just like a battery, it will eventually corrode us from the inside if we don't."

Cara felt a suck in her stomach. Suppressing the sin would corrupt you from the inside...

"That's where Sinners come in," Alistair sourly said, grinding his molars. "They walk around this planet and ensure that we humans release our pent up sins before the sins tear us apart. A touch is all they need; they hold the key to release our sins and face our inner deepest, darkest desires with just one little touch."

"But... How is that not making us sin?" Cara said with a dry tongue. All she heard was semantics, but the rest... "I-If they just didn't touch us and let us live in peace—"

"Then Hell would be filled to the brim with sinners," Alistair snorted. "If we don't confront our sins before we die, we pass on with a guilty heart. It's complicated logic, Cara, but essentially, Sinners believe they provide us with a service," Alistair shook his head and scoffed bitterly. "They think they redeem us by helping us face our sins, so that when our time comes, we pass over to the other side with a clean and unburdened heart. Sin-free."

Cara felt nauseous. If she understood what Alistair was saying, he was saying that there was no such thing as avoiding your sins. And if you did, they would eat you up from the inside and earn you a ticket straight to Hell. There was no winning; if you sinned, you went to hell, and if you didn't, you went there anyway. This couldn't possibly be true.

"No," Cara said, shaking her head. She refused to believe it. "No, it can't be..."

"It is," Alistair angrily stated.

It felt as if the world had just crashed. Cara felt sick to her stomach, but one thing was bothering her.

"Why do you say it like that?" She asked. She noticed the mockery in Alistair's voice throughout his whole speech, the bitter scoffing of the whole thing, like it was a joke to him. "Why aren't you more scared of this?"

"Because they might say that they're doing us a service, but they are not selfless pricks," He spat out, shaking his head again. "They don't just do it to help us for the heck of it. No, they're born from the Devil. They get something out of the deal, too."

"And.. what's that?" Cara timidly whispered. Could she handle more truths?

Alistair stopped walking. "Every time we sin, Cara..." He slowly divulged, "They get a recharge. They feed off of our sins, come whatever form they're released in. They get high off of our humanly faults. Our imperfections, our guilty pleasures," He snorted, disgusted. "When we sin, we fuel their existence."

Cara gaped. She couldn't believe this.

If what Alistair was saying was true, then that meant... every time he had come to her... every time he had made her sin and promised her he was trying to help her... it had all been for his own selfish needs.

– Sinners fed off of human sins, and oh, how Sin had feasted on her.

"He already made me sin," Alistair stated. Cara looked up at him, on the verge of passing out. "And now he's coming for you. Last night he got a high dosage from me, and there you were, another loaded needle."

"Oh, God..." Cara felt like throwing up.

Everything made so much sense now. All of Sin's words... his actions around her whenever they were together... when he said smelled her sinful scent... he was getting her high off of her misery.

"You're a sinner's wet dream, Cara," Alistair told. He turned and regarded her with a look when Cara bent over to stop herself from tilting over in faint. In disgust. "A human who's never sinned, spring-loaded and ready to fire any second at the slightest push. And Sin wants all that juice to himself."

"Oh, God," Cara clutched her stomach and had to swallow hard to keep her breakfast down. Alistair had tried to warn her. He's coming for you... what was worse than the Devil? A Sinner.

And worse than that... A Sinner with access to a fully charged battery, dripping with sin.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Cara whispered. She stood back up again and was surprised to see Alistair as calm as ever. After everything he just told her, how could he not be more horrified? "Why aren't you freaking out as well? Was this why you were hiding from him? You didn't want him... feeding on your sin?"

Alistair pursed his lips tightly. "I couldn't give a shit about how high my sin gets him. For all I care, he can jerk off to it."

Cara slightly cringed at his words. But if he didn't care about that... "Then why did you—"

"Because I—" Alistair cut himself off and bit down on his own tongue. He took a breath, then started again. "Because... if my wife finds out, I'm going to lose everything. There's more riding on this than just feelings getting hurt. I'll lose everything I've worked for, all because of some stupid fucking..."

Alistair lost his temper again and closed his eyes, grinding his teeth to dust. Cara stood quietly and waited for him reel himself back into order. After another breath, he slowly eased up again.

"When Sin found me, I begged him not to release my sin," Alistair told. "He eventually agreed to strike a deal with me. He would wait to release my sin until I had handled my business, on the condition that all the energy from my sin went to him. He wanted the harvest."

Revolted by that statement, Cara scrunched her nose. "So that's why he came after you? You didn't keep up your end of the deal?"

Alistair shook his head and looked away. "I never intended to. I thought I could hide the way I had hidden all my life. Sin had explained the ways of sin energy and why he hadn't found someone like me sooner. I thought I could use his own rules against him. I ran and decided to wait him out until he eventually gave up or found a better target. Someone like..."

"Me," Cara whispered. A bitter silence fell as Alistair gave a desolate sigh. So he had used her as well.

"But then you called David," He continued. "And David found his way to me. He told me how upset you were and that I had to contact you. I couldn't..."

– David had gotten through to him. Just like Sin, Cara had found his weakness and used it against him, although Cara had done so unknowingly. After this talk, though, she didn't regret David invoking the guilt in Alistair. If it wasn't for Alistair returning her call and feeling guilty for leaving her to deal with Sin, she never would've found out just what she was dealing with. Sin had most definitely not been waiting to tell her this. Why would he?

"So you came out of hiding, and that's how Sin found you again," Cara stated. When Alistair merely clenched his jaw, she got her answer. "And then he forced you to sin, just because he wanted your energy."

At that, Alistair's eyes flew up. "He never forced anything. He couldn't have."

"But I saw him press his hand against your—"

"You don't understand, Cara," Alistair shook his head. But Cara understood just fine.

"You just told me you didn't want any of this," She growled, "You've spent your whole life denying it! If you didn't want it, then he did force you—"

"But I wanted it." Alistair quietly whispered. Cara's voice died when her eyes settled on her boss. Alistair slowly looked up, but didn't meet her eyes. Even still, she saw the pained anguish in them. "I didn't want it, but I... wanted it. I've wanted it all my life."

'Oh, he wanted it. He'd wanted that all of his life, as a matter of fact.'

Cara took a step back, realizing her mouth was hanging open. As she closed it, she watched Alistair shut his eyes and let go of a hollow sigh.

"First rule of Sinners; A Sinner can't sin," He revealed. "If we truly didn't want it... they can't touch us."

Cara's mouth dried up again, but this time it was different. Because if it that was true as well... then... that meant...

"The thing about sins and Sinners, Cara..." Alistair slowly looked up and out onto the road where a car idly passed them by. "We can lie to ourselves, but Sinners can see straight through it. If we didn't want the release, they physically can't even breathe on us. That's the hardest thing about this whole fucking mess."

Lying to themselves and denying their inner deepest desires...

'And that will be your doom.'

– And just like that, the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Cara.

• • •

Well, that was forever. Did anyone understand or should I summarize for the rape-whistlers?
Sinners can't literally touch humans if they didn't really want to sin in their hearts.
– Supernatural laws of physics.

Also, to the readers who don't follow my message board:
I am currently on a break which means Sinner will be paused for a long time until further notice. I can't say when I'll be back again, but hope that you will be patient.
Cheers!