Sold My Soul

We sat in silence for awhile as my sluggish brain processed what he had just said. There was no doubt that I was needing some medical attention, and soon, but a demon? Considering the state Brian was in, I’m sure he was right; I could be fixed up in no time. But at what cost?

“We don’t have to.” Brian said eventually. “I could drive you to LA. Thing is, it wouldn’t be long until they start scouting around there as well, and I’m sure it won’t be a quick in-and-out trip to the hospital.”

“I guess we don’t really have a choice then, do we?”

He sighed and kissed the top of my head. “I guess not...” he stood up before grabbing some clothes from his bag in the corner. It was funny, any other time I would have quite enjoyed watching him change clothes. Right now, though, all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep. And that probably wasn’t a good idea.

After trading his blood-stained tshirt and jeans for some clean ones, Brian helped me to my feet and we headed back out into the hallway. Jimmy, Johnny, and Zack were still in the living room having a whispered (but rather heated by the looks of it) conversation.

“Just taking Ash to the hospital, we should be back soon.” Brian said as we headed across the room, not stopping to chat. They didn’t say anything, but once Brian closed the door behind us I could them start talking again. Their voices were too muffled to make anything out though.

Brian helped me into the passenger seat of my car, and soon we were headed to God-knows-where. Or maybe God didn’t know, if there were demons there...interesting thought.

“How did they find us so quickly?” I asked, watching the palm trees fly by as we headed down the highway.

“I’m not sure. Maybe someone heard Zack’s little announcement at the beach?”

I pondered that. It did seem to be the most likely explanation. Zacky was never one for subtlety, and there were a lot of people at the beach. That morning already seemed a lifetime ago.

“So what did you think of the party?” Brian asked suddenly, turning the radio on but keeping the volume low.

I gave him a rather disbelieving look. “What?”

He shrugged. “Just keeping you awake. So?”

“It was...fine.” I was going to leave it there, but then I remembered something else. If I had been a little more coherent, I probably wouldn’t have said anything. But, as it was... “Michelle asked when we were getting married again.” I said, a little pointedly.

He gave a little nervous laugh but didn’t answer right away; he just kept his eyes on the road and started tapping on the steering wheel, matching the rhythm of the song that was playing. He always got fidgety when he was uncomfortable. “She’s always been a little nosy, hasn’t she?” he said finally, avoiding my indirect question. Typical guy.

“Sure.” I turned to look out the window again, and noticed we were in a somewhat...shady part of town. “Where are we going?” I asked, just as he slowed the vehicle down.

“We’re here.” he pulled into the parking lot of a rather rundown looking building. There were a few other cars in the lot, but there were no signs or anything on the building to inform me as to where or what exactly “here” was.

As soon as we were inside, I was thinking I might be willing to risk the gang at the hospital. It was obviously a nightclub of some sort, but one that preferred not to be advertised, and I could see why. It was the darkest, dirtiest club I had ever been to, and the theme of the place seemed to scream hedonism. Call me a prude, but this was definitely not my kind of hangout.

“What the fuck are we doing here?” I said as loudly as I could, the thumping of the bass in the “music” making my head swim.

Brian put his arm around my shoulders and steered me towards a round table near the back of the room. “This is where I meet him.”

“Your idea or his?” I asked drily as we took our seats. I stepped on something squishy as I sat down, but there was no way in hell I was looking under the table.

“Ha ha.” he said distractedly, glancing around. “We shouldn’t have to wait long.”

I looked around also, against my better judgement, and wondered what kind of person Mephistopheles would look like. Or would he look like a person at all?

A few minutes passed, in which time I had rested my head on my arms, doing my best to drown out the music and various other sounds. I was sure my head was going to crack in two.

“Brian. Can’t say I expected to see you here anytime soon.”

I looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, and with minor difficulty I focused on the man standing at our table. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this definitely wasn’t it.

The man was wearing a smart grey three-piece suit, complete with a lighter waistcoat and red tie. He appeared to be about in his mid-fifties, with graying hair and a short, straight mustache. A black bowler hat completed his look, and he was holding a gold pocket watch as if he had just pulled it out to check the time.

All in all, he looked like a perfectly normal guy. That is, if this was 1910, and not over a century later. The sleazy nightclub only made him seem all the more out of place.

Brian forced a small smile. “Wasn’t planning to, believe me. Would you like to sit down?”

The man smiled and took a seat. He glanced at me, and I suddenly felt very, very cold. “And you are? Besides Brian’s anchor, I mean. What’s your name?” his voice was smooth and polite, but it held a tone as if he were hiding something much more sinister than the image of the perfect - if not antique - gentleman he was portraying.

I shivered, and not just from the cold. “I’m Ashley...how did you know I was - ”

“I can feel it.” he said simply before turning back to Brian, and the whole room seemed to warm up again. “So what can I do for you, Mr. Haner?”

“Well...Ash had a little accident.” Brian said, trying not to meet the man’s gaze. He
ran a hand through his hair. “You think you could, you know, help her out?”

The man laughed. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sound, but again, it held an undertone of malice. “I’m sure I could.” he said easily. “But you know we’ll have to come to an agreement in transaction beforehand.”

“I know. I’ll pay for it though, she doesn’t need to get caught up in anything.”

I was confused by the way they were talking, as if they were referring to money and things you could buy from a store, when in reality it was supernatural favors in return for Brian's soul, or who knows what else.

The man gave Brian a stern look. “Mr. Haner, you know very well you are in no position to be calling any shots.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Brian looked up and met the man’s eyes. “I know.” he said again. “But I’m not "calling" anything. I’m asking.”

The man laughed again and clapped his hands together once. “You’ve got guts, kid. And what can I say, I’m in a generous mood tonight. Shall we say...ten souls?”

It was fairly obvious what he meant by that, and I was about to open my mouth to protest but Brian had already said “Done.” and reached out to shake the man’s hand. I had almost been expecting sparks or an eerie glow or something, but it seemed to be a normal handshake.

The man turned back to me, and I couldn’t help but gasp. His eyes were now a dark red color; the color of blood, at the risk of sounding cliche. The cold was back as well.

“Don’t worry, my dear. Give me your hand.” he set his hand out on the table, palm up.

I glanced nervously at Brian, and he nodded encouragingly. Reluctantly, I set my hand on his own, and the cold suddenly increased dramatically. I tried to pull away but he tightened his grip and set his other hand on top of mine. “Hold still just for a moment.”

And a moment was really all it was. After a second of almost unbearable cold, he pulled away and stood up, his eyes back to a dull brown. “I’d best be off. It was lovely to meet you, my dear. I’m sure we’ll cross paths again.” he smiled, nodded at Brian, then promptly disappeared into the crowd.

“Feeling any different?” Brian asked, looking at me intently. “You sure look better.”

I reached up to touch the side of my head, realizing that I suddenly felt fine - the headache was completely gone. The blood that had dried on in my hair was also gone, and I couldn’t feel any cuts or gashes on my head. “I...I am fine.” I was more or less amazed. Demon or not, that man was a miracle worker.

He smiled, genuinely this time. “Well then I think it’s high time we get back and finally get some sleep." Grabbing ahold of my hand so as to not lost each other in the crowd and darkness, we were back outside soon enough.

“How could you agree to kill ten people?” I asked quietly as we walked back to the car.

He gave my hand a squeeze. “I had to. Ash, the count is long past ten anyway...” he said it so softly, I had to lean in slightly to hear him. “And by the time this is all over, I think it’s going to be a lot more...”

We walked the rest of the way to the car in silence.

“What’s this place called?” I asked as Brian unlocked the car, glancing back at the Godforsaken building. In more than one sense of the word.

“The Devil’s Rejects.”

Somehow, that seemed fitting.