\u201cI am not supposed to be here,\u201d John said, crossing his arms in defiance as he looked the demon straight in the eye. \u00a0Trying to keep eye contact with its fierce, yellow eyes sent chills down his spine, but the alternative- focusing on the rusted iron gateway or the pools of eternal fire- were just as unsettling. \u00a0\u201cClearly, there has been some sort of mistake here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, you poor thing,\u201d the demon replied, its voice dripping with sarcasm. \u00a0\u201cSent to Hell by accident? \u00a0No one has ever said that before! \u00a0I\u2019m sure it must be a mistake. \u00a0We\u2019d better check the ledger, hadn\u2019t we?\u201d \u00a0It pulled a large leather tome out from under its podium, and began to leaf through the pages. \u00a0\u201cThat must be the solution. \u00a0The thought of you being in denial about your atrocious misdeeds is obviously not the case. \u00a0Everyone who comes to Hell admits their fate willingly, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The demon licked\u00a0its claws for emphasis as\u00a0it slowly flipped through the pages, making a theatrical production out of the whole affair. \u00a0\u201cIt make take a while to find your name, you know. \u00a0We find that so many more people end up here, especially now in the modern era. \u00a0I\u2019m sure you understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
John clenched his fists, resisting the urge to punch the smug grin off of the demon\u2019s face. \u00a0Even if it was just a lowly gate clerk, there was no way he would be able to fight his way out of this. \u00a0Anything he did here would be held against him. \u00a0If this was going to be a test, well\u2026 so be it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, here we are. \u00a0John Daniels. \u00a0Esteemed country musician, yearly charitable donations to the poor\u2026 well, that\u2019s all well and good, but the last few years of one\u2019s life usually are. \u00a0Let\u2019s just skip ahead to the good stuff, shall we?\u201d \u00a0The demon grabbed a handful of pages and flipped them aside. \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve got quite the record on Johnny Daniels, the hot-headed teenager. \u00a0We look at your whole record, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The demon propped its head up on its fist as it began to read from the book. \u00a0Its smug grin had become, if possible, even bigger. \u00a0\u201cWell, now. \u00a0Over one hundred different accounts of gluttonous drinking\u2026 countless citations of lust and debauchery\u2026 and the wrath! \u00a0We had to attach an entire appendix to your file just to get it all in here!\u201d it said, with a deep chuckle.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if we start pulling in your pride violations, why\u2026 it gets even better! \u00a0I\u2019ve never seen an incident so heavily flagged before. \u00a0You must have really screwed things up. \u00a0Let\u2019s see here\u2026 \u2018won a fiddle contest against the devil\u2019\u2026\u201d \u00a0The demon paused, jerking its head upright. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s you!\u201d \u00a0It spoke barely above a whisper, but John could hear the awe in its rasping voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d he said. \u00a0Relief washed across his body, but he tried to maintain his outward bravado. \u00a0Weakness was to be avoided at all costs. \u00a0\u201cAs I said before, this is a mistake. \u00a0So, what are you going to do about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The demon made no reply, instead pulling the coarse rope attached to the wall behind him. \u00a0A small squadron of guards walked through the gate, and formed a tight grid around him. \u00a0He supposed the demon had summoned them, though how exactly the rope had signaled them, John had no idea. \u00a0\u201cThe Sorting Department messed up big time,\u201d it said, addressing the whole squadron. \u00a0\u201cThis is case file #338. \u00a0Take him\u00a0where he belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The squadron tried not to betray their emotions, but John noticed a few of them widen their eyes when they heard his case number. \u00a0He couldn\u2019t help but smile broadly, even as the demons began to poke and prod at his body as they escorted him through the narrow caverns. \u00a0Soon he\u2019d be with the rest of his family up in the clouds, and they\u2019d all laugh at the spectacular final adventure he\u2019d had. \u00a0Although\u2026 were they descending? \u00a0John frowned. \u00a0He tried to look for visual clues, but what little he could see of the cavern walls through the close flanking of the guards offered no help. \u00a0The guards stopped abruptly, and shoved him unceremoniously through an open doorway. \u00a0The question was answered for him; he was standing in front of the Devil himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a deal!\u201d John screamed, losing all sense of decorum once he recognized the face of evil, just as he remembered it all those years ago. \u00a0\u201cI won your stupid bet, remember? \u00a0You weren\u2019t supposed to get my soul unless I lost!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, come now, Johnny,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cDo you really think I would go back against our agreement? \u00a0I am nothing, if not a man of my word. \u00a0I even have a transcript of that day, right here.\u201d \u00a0He opened a roll of parchment out of thin air, and began to read. \u00a0\u201cMe: \u2026give the Devil his due. \u00a0I\u2019ll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul \u2018cause I think I\u2019m better than you. \u00a0You: My name\u2019s Johnny, and it might be a sin. \u00a0But I\u2019ll take that bet\u2026\u201d \u00a0He snapped his fingers; the parchment vanished. \u00a0\u201cWell, guess what? \u00a0It was a sin. \u00a0So here we are. \u00a0And trust me, I\u2019ve been waiting for this day, oh yes. \u00a0I\u2019ve got quite the schedule planned for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 but\u2026 no!\u201d \u00a0John said. \u00a0\u201cIt can\u2019t be! \u00a0How could that possibly be a sin?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Devil rolled his eyes. \u00a0\u201cReally?\u00a0 Are you grasping at straws already?\u201d he said. \u00a0\u201cDo you seriously think God approves of His children wagering their immortal souls against material riches? \u00a0Honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n
John began to wring his hands in panic. \u00a0\u201cBut\u2026 our deal\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The Devil laughed. \u00a0\u201cWhat about<\/em> our deal, John? \u00a0The deal stated that I would get your soul if you lost. \u00a0It never stated that I would be unable to take your soul at a later date. \u00a0It\u2019s your fault for assuming otherwise. \u00a0I never take a bet unless I know that I will win. \u00a0Why would I ever be in a hurry to collect souls? \u00a0I have all of the time in the world. \u00a0Sooner or later, everything pays out to my benefit in the end. \u00a0You would do well to remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n John hadn\u2019t even noticed the squadron of guards appear around him, surrounding him once more to lead him to his next destination. \u00a0He plodded along, trying to keep up the pace when all he really wanted to do was fall to the ground in despair. \u00a0His confidence had vanished, and along with it the resistance to all of the wounds they had inflicted on him earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cChin up, Johnny!\u201d the Devil called out, his voice echoing down the narrow hallway. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a man of my word, remember? \u00a0That golden fiddle is still yours to keep! \u00a0I hope you\u2019ve kept your arm strength up! \u00a0We\u2019ll see how much you enjoy it, as we force you to play it for all eternity! \u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI am not supposed to be here,\u201d John said, crossing his arms in defiance as he looked the demon straight in the eye. \u00a0Trying to keep eye contact with its fierce, yellow eyes sent chills down his spine, but the alternative- focusing on the rusted iron gateway or the pools of eternal fire- were just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[422],"class_list":["post-8791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-flash-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}