Page 27 of Greed

“Why did you create all this,” I asked as I followed Luci toward the bed. I had to wonder if he was sleeping in here.

“Why not? Just because this is Hell doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, right brother?”

“Yes, I agree.” I nodded enthusiastically but caught the slight change in Luci’s face as he turned to look away. Was he bored? Depressed maybe? Was that even possible? I didn’t dare ask. Even I had my limitations, so instead, I said, “Have you seen the other Fallen lately?”

“No, not really. You’re all so busy.” Luci sat down on the edge of the bed, but the shadows that crossed his face reminded me of a human mother that was experiencing empty nest syndrome. Not that I knew exactly what that looked like, but I had a pretty good idea.

Sucking in a deep breath, I wandered over to the large stack of games. I wasn’t much for board games, but this was one of those rare moments that I knew it shouldn’t be about me. Spotting the game I was after, I pulled out the drinking version of Jenga. Neven had shown me this game, and I had to admit I found it entertaining.

“Luci, come over here,” I beckoned as I made my way to one of the random standing tables that were set up to have a drink. “When was the last time you got your dick wet,” I dared to ask. If I was going to get away with a question like that, this was the day…or night. Who knew what time it was down here.

Luci scoffed and rolled his eyes. “All the time.” Laying the game on the table, I stared at Luci and gave him my best ‘don’t lie to me’ face. “Okay fine, it’s been a bit,” he said quietly. “But, not because I can’t,” he finished making me smile.

“I’d never think that. We’re going to need two of your best demons and two more bottles of whiskey for this.” I quickly erected the game and smiled as I remembered how it was to be set up. Neven would be impressed.

Two leggy demons swayed in our direction as Luci waved them over. I looked them up and down and decided they would do. Not my first choice, but the Ol’guth demons were accommodating and a favorite even at my casino.

“Pick a demon,” I said, not caring which one I got. Once the demons were chosen, I quickly instructed them to bend over and grab their ankles.

“What are we doing?” Luci eyed the game.

“Here are the rules. We each hold a bottle in one hand and fuck these demons, but to add excitement to the game, we will play Jenga at the same time. To play the game, you pull on one of the little pieces of wood, read what it says on the piece and then do or say what’s there, and you sit it on top of the tower without making it fall down. Each successful piece pulled, you take a swig of the whiskey. But, remember you can’t stop fucking the girl.”

“What’s the goal?”

“There are three goals. The first is to get shit-faced drunk. The second is to see who can make the demon come the most before they fall over, and last and certainly the most fun, the winner gets bragging rights. Do you think your pride can take losing to me?”

Luci’s nostrils flared with the challenge. “Fuck that. You’re going down, brother.”

“I should tell you that Leviathan would really love playing this game,” I said and internally laughed my ass off as I pictured the look on Leviathan’s face when Luci tried to get him to play this game. That Sin was so prim and proper that he made the word ‘stately’ look shabby.

This was not how I saw my trip going down here, but as the game started, I had to admit it was fun. I laughed hard as the first tile Luci pulled said he had to add the saying, ‘in my pants,’ to the end of everything he said. It quickly became clear that I wasn’t getting back to Earth on schedule.

She sat up straight and gasped as the memories of the creature invaded her mind. The sun was shining in through her parted curtains, and she stared around her room. The only words coming to her mind were, “what the fuck?”

Toby was in his usual spot beside her on the bed, and he was softly snoring, his side rising and falling as if there wasn’t a care in the world. She leaped from her bed and looked down at herself. There wasn’t a mark on her except one tiny bruise that she could’ve gotten anywhere. Breathing fast, she grabbed her phone, not wanting to leave it behind this time, and yanked open her bedroom door. She jumped back half expecting to find the strange beast hanging out silently on the other side, but all that was in the short hallway was her bookshelf. She peered out her door and down the stairs.

“Toby, come,” she said, and he lifted his head long enough to moan and then flopped it back down. “Really? You’re going to make me go down there by myself after last night?” His soft snores were his only reply. “I’ll remember this.”

She tiptoed along the hallway and cringed with every creak that her feet made on the stairs. The sun was also shining in the living room, and the kitchen windows, and not a damn thing was out of place. She jogged across the kitchen floor and hit the light switch. The old bulbs hummed and then came on, bathing everything in the warm glow.

Her mind was racing. She couldn’t have imagined all of that, could she? The knife she used to cut her morning fruit was exactly where she always left it, and her mother’s throw was once more laying over the back of the chair in the living room.

“No, no, no, this is not happening. It had to be real, it had to be,” she mumbled, not yet sure what freaked her out more. The fact that she possibly was losing her marbles or that if it was real, then that creature existed. Both seemed equally terrible possibilities.

Chewing on her lip, she made her way to the living room and even got down and inspected the floor, not a scratch, not a dent, not a droplet of the black blood anywhere. Shaking her head, she stood and went to the front door. It, too, looked perfectly new. She turned and stepped on something sharp.

“Ouch,” she yelped as she jumped and leaned against the wall to look at the bottom of her foot. She stared at the small red sliver and then at the door. Reaching down, she picked out the piece and held it up to the light. It had happened. Anyone else would say she was crazy. Shit, she still might be losing it like her mother had, but she felt it in her soul that what she’d seen last night was real.

She needed to get out of this crazy city for a while. Maybe this was a sign, a warning of sorts. She had no idea what it could be a warning of, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to spend tonight in the house. Running up the stairs, she pulled her small traveling suitcase out from the closet and threw everything in she thought she might need to go away for a few days. She’d planned on seeing her mother anyway, so this was simply an added incentive.

Next was to get Toby ready to go, and lucky she was a crazy dog mom and had a travel bag for him. She stuffed in his favorite toys, and his bowl then grabbed the unopened bag of dog food.

She dashed into the bathroom wanting to shower, but as she looked at the tub and thought about the prospect of being naked and alone there, she nixed that idea. She scooped up the toiletries and stuffed them into her suitcase before zipping it up. The last thing to get ready was herself, so she quickly changed.

Pulling out her phone, she dialed an Uber and then whistled to get Toby to come so they could wait outside. The warm glow of the summer sun shone down on her, but it didn’t seem to matter. She was still cold inside. By the time the car arrived, she had herself in a panic, but the sensation settled once she and Toby were on their way and away from the house of horrors.

“Are you sure this is where you want me to leave you?” the driver asked. She looked over her shoulder at the used car dealership and nodded.