The Devil On Our Shoulders

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The Devil didn't have horns or a tail or hot-red skin. He had a pretty smile and eyes that gleamed with innocence. The Devil didn't breath fire from his mouth. He spoke gently and his voice was almost calming. Almost. Pẹlumi was anything but calm as he listened to the words of The Devil. He could almost feel the young man sitting on his shoulder, speaking to him in the very gently tone he used over the phone.

"I think humans are incredibly beautiful things. But when faced with a gamble or a tough decision, they can be pretty ugly," he said. "I mean look at you for example. The things you did last night... Because I promised you money?"

Pẹlumi closed his eyes gently. "I was drunk."

"Were you drunk when you stole that bottle of alcohol?" There was a shift in The Devil's voice, a knowing fall in his voice that Pẹlumi couldn't ignore. He could tell himself he was drunk but it didn't change what he did.

"So what? I'm here because I stole a bottle of alcohol?" he said, anger creeping into his voice.

The Devil kissed his teeth. "if only that was it. I mean, we could ignore the fact that you jumped into the pool or kissed a strange girl during our gambles last night. But then I think we can't ignore the fact that you smashed a bottle on someone's head."

"He was harassing Kelechi," he said firmly.

That hint returned to his voice. "Was he?" asked The Devil. "Or were you just too drunk? Or blinded by my promise for performing the dare? Maybe he was harassing her... Does that justify your actions? I mean, seriously, Pẹ--"

"What do you want?" Pẹlumi asked again, holding his phone tighter in his hands.

There was a brief silence before an answer came from the other end of the phone. "It's a long way down from up there. You're going to jump, Pẹlumi," he said.

"Excuse me, what?" Pẹlumi said, rising on his feet again. "Is this one mad ni?"

"Kinda." A soft chuckle followed those words before he added, "Or twenty-seven kids will die."

"Sir?" Pẹlumi whispered sharply.

The Devil sighed. "You see, there's a school bus at the zoo in this university. There are twenty-seven kids in it, including three irrelevant adults. Those beautiful kids came to see the lovely animals in the zoo. But while they were looking at the lions and those ugly giraffes, I set a bomb in the bus." He released another sigh. "Would be a shame to blow them all up."

"You wouldn't," said Pẹlumi, the fear rising in him again.

"Unless you jump o. I'm killing the--Oh, look. The children are already coming out. They will soon fill the bus," he told Pẹlumi with the same tone one would use to inform another about a beautiful sight.

Pẹlumi swallowed. "How am I even sure there's a bomb or there are kids somewhere? Or that you won't kill them after I jump?" Pẹlumi was already raising his voice into the phone. His throat itched and his tired bones still quivered from the height he stood. His heart fell when he heard the stranger's response.

"Well, therein lies the gamble," he said.

"Please don't do this." His voice was a broken whisper now. He could already feel his eyes redden. The Devil had been right. Either way, Pẹlumi would lose.

"I'd say you have like ten minutes before all the kids enter the bus," The Devil said. Then he added in a whisper, "Be like say these ones dey snap pictures o." He turned the focus of his words back to Pẹlumi. "Ten minutes for you to go down the rope too. Or maybe more sha. Anyway, make you decision quickly, or I'll make it for you."

Pẹlumi didn't know what filled him with more dread, the words of the stranger, or the fact that the stranger hung up, starting the clock on the decision he had to make.

The world went by like shards of a distant memory. Pẹlumi found himself sitting at the edge of the building. He looked down and imagined his body hitting the ground. Maybe people would remember him, maybe they wouldn't. Did it matter either way? He wanted to believe this decision wasn't real. What kind of person would blow up kids? Perhaps it was an hoax to make Pẹlumi kill himself. Then he remembered the words the stranger and said to him the night before, "I am a man of my words." How those simple words bore such a weight terrified him. All his gambles with this person had proven to be true. He had no reason to believe this would be different.

Pẹlumi screamed. He vaguely caught the sight of someone looking at him from the bottom of the building. The person turned away and left without sparing a second glance at him. Humans could be pretty ugly. Pẹlumi decided he had been asking himself the wrong question. The question he needed to ask was; was he willing to give his life for twenty-seven strangers? His answer came to him instantly. Then he made his decision.

•

"Can't say I'm not surprised," The Devil said into the phone gently, a tiny hint of disappointment in his voice.

Pẹlumi took a moment before replying. He was still catching his breath from his climb down. "I refuse to be a part of your human experiment," he told him.

"The other guy wasn't so selfish though. He hesitated a little but he still set himself on fire," the stranger mumbled.

Pẹlumi leaned against the side of the building, breathing hard. He frowned. "David Ṣonde?" he asked, remembering the headline he saw the previous night.

"Yeah. His case was different anyway. It was his father's car I rigged with a bomb. How selfless he was, but I guess the world will never know."

"Why are you speaking with me right now?" Pẹlumi suddenly found himself asking. It was when he heard the cool chuckle of The Devil that panic began to set into him again. What was the stranger up to?

"I just remembered something I forgot to tell you while you were up there," he said. "It's about your friend... Kacey or something. What's her name agai--"

Fear grabbed hold of Pẹlumi. He felt his feet weaken and his heart beat faster. "What did you do with Kelechi?" he said carefully.

The Devil smacked his lips together and said, "Kelechi! That's her name. Oh, I did not do anything to her, but you know she serves at a school, right? You mentioned she was a corper. I mean, she teaches secondary school, but guess who decided to follow the primary three students on their excursion to the zoo!"

"No!" Pẹlumi said as the world dissolved into a blur. His head spun around and he felt his legs give in. "No. No. No..."

"Good day, Pẹlumi. It was nice playing with you," said The Devil before the sound of him hanging up echoed in Pẹlumi's ears.

It took a minute before Pẹlumi thought to call Kacey. He hurriedly moved through his call history until his eyes fell on her name. When he called the first time, it said her number was switched off. Kelechi never switched off her phone. He could feel his palms getting sweaty as he called again and again but he got the same answer. In the end, Pẹlumi gave in to the tears that came crashing down his eyes. The Devil had been right, either way, he would lose.

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