Deal With the Devil

For a split second, Winnie had thought she’d become immune to the pain. That was a total and utter lie and she should’ve never believed it. It wasn’t like anything had actually changed in the….however long she’d been there.

Fiery hooks shot through her; a slow, torturous burn began humming throughout her entire body and another scream, like the millions before, leaked from her throat. She knew she should’ve been hoarse by then, but the thing was… she wasn’t. The pain, that scratching at the back of her throat like she was about to go silent at any second was present, always present, but the soundlessness never came. Unfortunately, that’s what happens in Hell.

The screams began again… not hers, but someone else’s and she tried to shut her eyes but she couldn’t. Her eyelids were pierced with the same hooks that covered the rest of her body. Barely able to move her head, she surveyed all of them; four in each shoulder, two in each arm, one in each hand, spreading her arms out. There was also at least six in each leg, spreading those out as well; the two in her back, she wasn’t sure served what purpose, but she supposed it was her own pit of hell, suffering for the rest of eternity.

I guess that’s what happens when you make a deal with the Devil, she thought bitterly, before the fire came close again. Your time comes and then you go to Hell and you suffer. Except… her time had come too early and it was her fault.

She screamed a guttural sound coming deep from the pit of her stomach. It was funny; she hadn’t even considered the fact that she hadn’t been hungry or thirsty. She looked down as a lash appeared across her stomach, the flesh tearing open, blood pouring out. It healed in moments, but that didn’t make the pain go away any sooner.

Winnie had no idea how long she’d actually been in Hell; one minute on Earth felt like fifty years in Hell. It was excruciating.

Another round of lashes had just started when suddenly the pain was gone. Poof. Nothing.

She was submerged into complete blackness. She could close her eyes! She blinked a few times, kept them closed, and then blinked a bit more. Finally, opening her eyes, she came face-to-face with the Crossroads demon himself: Crowley.

Popping her neck, she looked at him. Her body was sooty, naked, and red from the flames but she felt no more pain. With a snap of his fingers, they were in a dungeon-looking room and he was sitting in a throne. Looking down, Winnie saw that she was now clean and wearing a pair of jeans and a tight-fitting long-sleeved t-shirt. She was clear of any trace that she’d been in Hell. Reaching up, even her hair was clean and slightly curled.

“What’s this?” she asked, hearing her voice for the first time in so long. She’d stopped begging for any form of release or relief ages ago. It was raspy and almost hurt.

He got off his throne and walked towards her. One of his henchmen came forward, seemingly from nowhere, with a small jar. Something bright, almost white and shining was floating inside of it. She realized what it was almost immediately. Rolling her eyes, she looked from it to him.

“What am I supposed to do with that?”

“Two years ago, I came to collect your soul…” his voice lilting with his accent.

Two years. So she’d been in Hell for two years. Tears almost came to her eyes, but she lifted her head to look at him again. There was no way the Crossroads demon was going to give her soul back to her Scott-free.

“Now, as the King of Hell, I have the authority to give it back.”

Ah. So Lucifer wasn’t in charge anymore. This was really starting to pique her interest. Crowley was now the Devil.

“So, out of the goodness of your heart, you’re going to give it back to me?”

He rolled his eyes, but then he smiled. Snapping his fingers, she felt her body jerk. She blinked, and he held up a mirror. Peering into it, she could see that her blue irises were gone. Replacing them were completely blacked out eyes. Outwardly, she showed no emotion, but inwardly, her heart jumped. She was a demon.

Shit.

Her breath hitched and her eyes flicked back to him.

“I’ll give you your soul back…” he said, drifting off.

“At what price?”

His lips lifted at one corner and a small chuckle shook his upper body. He took a few steps until he was right in front of me.

“I need a favor…”