Deal with the Devil

short story based on the 'devil and tom walker'

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           “Would you sell your soul to the devil?” Arthur asked.  Arthur was a small guy, very small.  He came to a height of 4’ 1”, but he was a card.  His looks portrayed that.  He had glowing green eyes and a mess of blonde, almost straw like, hair.

            “No,” barked Gabriel.  He was Arthur’s older brother by five years.  The two boys couldn’t be more different.  Gabriel was tall and broad shouldered, and his head was capped with heavily greased black hair.  Differences like this happened when siblings had different parents.  Or in their case, they weren’t related at all.

            “How ‘bout for that,” Arthur nodded as a tall red head passed them.  Gabriel’s gaze followed her.

            “Nah, I seen better.  Now for that.” He strolled up to the large Plexiglas window of Joe’s car shop.  “That, it cuts it pretty close.”

            “Sure,” Arthur glanced back at their old celebrity station wagon.  It was the sports model.  Cool.  His eyes came back to the restored Nova in the window.  “We got to go man.” They had to be home for supper at seven.  It was now seven-thirty.  “Like, now.”

            “Sure, hold your horses.”  Gabriel snuck one last look at his car.  Well, it should be ‘his car’.  Gabriel spun to face Arthur, but no one was behind him.  “Really funny Arth.” He called out.  A shaky laugh escaped him.  “Stop playing with me...we got to go.”  There was still no reply.  Arthur was really freaking him out.  Gabriel took in the rest of the street.  Everyone else was gone too.  The once cluttered and hectic streets of mid-town New York were empty.  He turned back to the car on display.  It couldn’t hurt to try.

            “Want it don’t you?” A raspy voice rose behind him.  Gabriel spun, his leather jacket billowing out around him.

            “Wh-who’s there?” He was one to be afraid of the dark.

            “Just me.” The small voice of an elderly woman answered.  He looked down to his left and there she stood.

            “Oh,” Gabriel replied.  He was clearly relieved, but wouldn’t let that show through a softening expression or lift in his voice.  “See ya.” He turned to leave.

            “You want that car, don’t you?” The woman asked.  Her voice was light.  It seemed to be continuously decrescendoing.

            “Yeah,” Gabriel said over his shoulder.  He really did.

            “I can get you that car,” a smile touched both of their faces.  But on the woman, it was spread from ear to ear.  “I can get you it, free of charge.  I just ask for one thing in return.”

            “Oh yeah, what would that be?”

            “Your soul!”  Gabriel spun, completely caught off guard.  The woman’s voice had changed drastically.  The once sweet and chirping voice of a grandmother was that of a crow.  It seemed to caw and hiss and was more of a sound of the wind, than that of a person.  She took a step towards him, and he took three back.  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  The woman started ‘changing’.  Her loose gray skin started to stretch, color filled it as high cheekbones formed.  Her posture straitened, and her legs seemed to make her extend.  Reaching a height of nearly seven feet.  Gabriel still stood in disbelief.  His legs were quaking in fear.  Within moments, the old lady was gone.  A man took her place.  He was tall, extremely tall, with bleach white skin and midnight black hair.  Hair, which his eyes matched.  The whites of them were no longer white, as his whole eye was obscured and glassed over.  His smile was the worst.  It was filled with white teeth, if you could call them that.  Instead of teeth, he had fangs.  They were in the shape of large diamonds, pointed at the bottom, and pointed where they went into the skin.