"Huh?" Was all I could say at first. I stared at his callous, unfriendly eyes and tried to discern if they were currently being truthful, staring at those things just gave me cold chills instead.
"You heard me, kid." He ran a hand through the tangled dreadlocks and sighed, almost wearily, like he was tired and exasperated all at the same time. With the cigarette stick still dangling between his black lips, he spoke. "Do me this favor and I'll free you, terminate our contract and give you your soul back."
He blew out the cigarette smoke right at my face and I coughed, inhaling the choking smell. I surveyed him through narrowed eyes, not trusting him one bit. After all, they always said, once bitten, twice shy and I didn't want to get my hopes up for nothing.
"Release my feet first," I told him, pointing down at my black boots which he had enchanted to the pavement, causing my inability to move. He rolled his eyes, like he was shocked about the fact that I wasn't excited at the prospect of getting my soul back. With a snap of his long, bony fingers, my feet became lighter and I could move once again.
I sighed heavily, releasing my short hair from it's tight ponytail and sunk to the floor to take a seat. I felt more than heard him sit next to me and involuntarily moved to create some space between us. Being with him gave me the chills, the sudden and urgent urge to retch out my tuna sandwich lunch.
"So, what do you say, kid? Deal or no deal?" He asked, staring off into the dark street and bringing out clouds of smoke through his nostrils.
I needed more time to think this through, knowing this evil man, this was probably a trick and I didn't want to be made a fool of twice.
"Where's everyone?" I wondered aloud, wanting to buy some time to think this through. "My cousin, Frankie, what did you do to him, you didn't hurt him, did you?" Not that I would mind much but explaining to my aunt, Jackie later that the devil hurt her son wasn't something I wanted to end the night with.
"They're fine, just in limbo," he replied, dryly, like that explained the whole situation and I was expected to understand him.
"So, what'd you say about the deal?" He reminded me agitatedly, and I got the feeling he needed me, like really bad for whatever dirty work he wanted to carry out. I was suddenly curious as to what he wanted and why I was so useful to him.
"What do you want me to do for you?" I voiced out my curiosity as I wrapped my arms around my legs to keep warm. He sighed, leaning down his head to face the ground and shading my view of his face with the dreadlocks.
"Let me put this as easy for you as possible, kid." He spoke softly, the smoke drifting out steadily and diffusing in a Brownian motion into the dark night's atmosphere. "To release your soul, I need another one in place. Kinda like the a life for another life principle. There has to be a replacement."
"I don't understand." I was honestly puzzled by his words and the fact that I was currently sitting with this evil man here, discussing principles was suddenly funny. I even gave a tiny snort.
"I want you to get me a soul," he deadpanned and all traces of my initial mirth disappeared faster than it came.
"Me?" Wait, what?! "You're honestly insane, are you even really here or this a dream?"
"Does this look like a dream?" He whispered and his head snapped up to glare at me, I froze and stared into his black eyes and saw fire, the kind Christians claimed burned in hell and I cowered in fear of that powerful flame. I could hear voices of numerous people wailing about the suffering, they screamed and howled about how excruciating the pains were and I felt as though I had joined the multitude of voices perishing in there. Hell was real, everlasting suffering existed and he had just shown me a glimpse at it.
And that was where I was going as long as he had my soul. I was suddenly more interested in his deal now.
The formerly chilly night had turned blazing hot and I felt warm liquid drop onto the back of my palm and realized with a jolt that I was crying, the visual he gave me was that powerful and scary. I reached up to wipe my tears, ignoring the fact that I just ruined my make-up.
"I get it, it's not a dream," I said through gritted teeth, my voice croaky. "Just stop it, please." I could still hear wails of suffering and saw fire, endless fire blazing through his eyes.
The eternal fire and wails of torment ceased at once and the night's temperature became normal. Not chilly or blazing hot, just normal breeze blowing and I felt the beads to sweat that had pooled around my body start to dry up.
"You want a soul, why come meet me? You could probably trick someone else into giving up theirs," I said, spitefully and cautioned myself to avoid being rude so as not to anger him.
"I did you a favor that night, thanks to me your beloved mother is still running around happily, try to express some gratitude sometimes," he snapped, harshly and I cowered again before shifting further away from him. "Besides, I don't need just any soul, I need a particular one."
"Whose soul do you want?" I didn't like where this was going and I had a bad feeling about it.
He dangled the cigarette by his lips and cracked his knuckles loudly to give sickening crunches. "You know him, that new kid at your school. Blake Johnson, that's what he's called, isn't it?"
My jaw fell on the ground and I gave a quick glance, hoping to see if he was joking and was disappointed. Blake Johnson, Molly's crush aka Edgewood High's newest addition since about a month ago. The guy and I barely even talked, not that I cared but I was surprised that the devil was interested in him.
"Can I ask why you suddenly want Blake's soul?"
"No," he snapped at me. "Just know that you don't make deals with me and go back on them, I'm about to make him realize that."
"Why can't you just, I dunno...go over to his place and steal his soul, isn't that what you do? Why involve me?"
"Silly child," he chided and for the first time tonight, he gave a bark of laughter that seemed to echo down the street. "I can't just take souls, people have to consent to it. Agreement by both parties is key."
"Like the way you tricked me into consenting."
"Exactly." He suddenly got to his feet and pulled back on the hoodie of his black sweatshirt and I found myself wondering if he ever wore anything other than black clothing. "Now I want you to listen very carefully to me, kid." His voice was low, urgent and fast now like he was fast running out of time.
I nodded, scared of making him angry.
"I'm sending you back in time, to exactly a month ago-" he had jammed his hands deep into his pockets now as he whispered furiously.
"What?! Back in time-"
"Don't interrupt me. Please." He held up a hand, then reached to remove his cigarette stick from his lips. "I'm sending you back in time, a month ago to be precise and you have exactly till Halloween night which is today to get that boy to consent to giving up his soul."
I opened my mouth to speak but was silenced by the look he gave me, the look clearly said he didn't appreciate whatever I was going to say and I shut my mouth immediately.
"I need that soul by Halloween, I don't know how you'll do it but it's important that I must have it." His eyes were trained on mine, like he was trying to get me to understand the urgency of the situation. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," I replied. "But what happens if I fail?" I voiced out my fears and got to my feet to stare up at him. He was just a few inches taller than me.
"Trust me, you don't want to hear the answer to that question." With that, he threw the cigarette on the floor and stomped on it with his worn out black Nike.
The devil wears Nike.
"I'll do it, you'll return my soul, right?" I tore my eyes off the Nike and focused on his gaunt face currently wearing a crooked grin. "Deal?"
"Deal, Ruby Davies. Deal." He extended his bony hand out for a handshake which I chose to ignore. No way on earth was I touching that man.
"How can I even trust you?" The stars were returning now and the night's noises seemed to be coming back gradually and most importantly, the devil seemed to be fading bit by bit.
Like he was disappearing.
"You can't," was his only reply and then like the first time I met him, eight years ago, everything went all black.
Blake Johnson died on September 1st at exactly midnight. The doctors said it was the 'heart attack'.Belinda Johnson hadn't completed the Bible.When I woke up a few hours later in the same hospital where he died, I was arrested. Not for murder, which was the weightiest of my offences but for breaking and entering a psychiatric hospital and releasing a high profile patient. The memory of me being held in the questioning room at the police station was a blur, and I barely remembered any of the questions the hook-nosed lawyer my mom had hired had asked concerning the footage of me breaking into the ward.They had fired my mom.The lawyer had managed to get me off with only a major fine but that was only because he had everyone convinced that Blake's death was the cause of my trauma. However, I wasn't going through any trauma, just telling anyone that would listen the whole story."I killed
The EMTs had arrived, wheeling Blake away on a stretcher as we all stood in a crowd around them, the light party mood had instantly evaporated when I ran back to the school yelling my head off in panic.The ambulance had arrived in minutes and had to pry off my hands from Blake's motionless body. I kept shaking him, hoping to God or whoever was up there that he would move and say something back to me. Anything.One of EMTs had bent over him when they arrived, looking over at me where I was currently sitting on the dirty field floor where they had dropped me onto after pulling me away from him. "He's having a heart attack," he had told his partner before they started their necessary procedures of transporting him.By the time they had left, sirens blaring loud, I was still on the floor shaking and sobbing, simultaneously. The worst part of it all was that I could feel that strange, foreign feeling fluttering in my chest that in
Day 31.Everything had been leading up to this day.When I started this mission, I didn't think my feelings would get in the way of what I had to do but now staring at the number 1 on the back of my hand, I realized I couldn't do it. I was ready to die, I had failed and had gotten myself into this mess myself. On this my last day, I refused to be scared as I stared up at the school, the venue of the Halloween dance with the courage of the condemned.I was doomed and I knew it, coming here this evening was my own form of a closure, a goodbye. I jammed my hands into the back of my jean pocket and released a breath which blew the wisps of hair away from my face.Here goes nothing, I thought as I entered the building. The dance, like almost all of our dances was taking place in the gym and even before getting in there, I had already seen all arrays of outfits on the other students. Some that recognized me sta
Day 27.It was Sunday. Yet another Sunday and here I was still feeling completely lethargic and uninterested in doing a thing. Only this time, instead of lazing about in my room, I was in the living room watching Telemundo with my mom.I was lying on her laps, wearing three quartered faded jeans and tank as we watched the excuse of a TV soap. I yawned, using the back of my palm to close my mouth and seeing the 4 that was disheartening but I had accepted seeing it that way. I rubbed my eyes, sleepily, I had been up writing in The Devil's Bible again, that book held more of my attention than any school note had ever done.Writing in it had become an addiction."Mom," I yawned and she grunted in reply, not tearing her eyes off the TV. Her other hand went to the bowl of popcorn and she fisted it into her mouth with a few of it dropping on my face. "I hate to say it but this show is shit."
There was a little problem with picking another girl with your girlfriend and it was the sitting arrangement. Now, I didn't really mind staying at the backseat of the black SUV but then Amanda insisted on giving me the passenger seat because she was dropping first. It was the sensible idea but it felt somehow to me.I had then suggested we both stay there together but then Darren said he wasn't agreeing with that idea, he didn't want us making him the driver. So after a lot of awkwardness and the wind lifting my skirt up multiple times for Darren's view, I took passenger's seat while Amanda settled in the back and Darren started the car.I breathed in the warm air of the heater warming up the car and sighed."Bummer this rain, isn't it?" Darren started, casually as he got onto the main road. The rain had finally started just as we had gotten into the car and it was currently coming down heavily. Very heavily. The wipers on the
Day 26.I knew the game scheduled for today would be cancelled, I knew because it had been cancelled a month ago, when time was normal and yet, I still came today.Why?Because I needed some sense of normalcy, something to remind me that I wasn't really dying in five days, that there was hope. It was farfetched but it was my own measure of happiness. So, when Vice Principal Wilson announced that the game was postponed over the howling wind, I was quite indifferent. The rain, I had recalled was very heavy and I had gotten a ride from one of the other cheerleaders home, Molly had come with and stayed over for a sleepover.I doubted if I wanted Molly to come home with me.This rain was quite odd at this period but odder things have happened and at this point, it'd take a lot of surprise me. Quite a lot. I walked side by side with Molly as the crowd at the stands began to disperse immediately, hea