Demon Breathing Down My Neck

Chapter Ten: Mind Tricks

The devil network smiles right back at me. "Hee-hee, how can we lose when you never know who we are in your tiny little life? How do you know we're not disguised as everyone you've ever known? How do know who we might be in the future? You yourself said we lie..."

I spit at the freak.

He lets go of my face and steps back to three feet away. "Before I erase your memory of our little meeting, I just want to assure you that I will not take away your free will. I will not cheat for your soul or love. The only thing I will do is make you accept me into your life. Then we'll see if you can resist me."

I stumble backwards and fall hard on my butt. The concrete swats me far harder than my dad ever did. "That is taking away my free will!"

"More like a temporary trick. To see if you will love me or not."

"Jesuuuus, help me!" My words seem to fall flat right in front of my face. The air is warm now, but still frozen and stiff. There's no breeze. The sun's light rays do not dance across my face. "Jesus, help me!"

The devil's thin lips quirk at the corners. "Go ahead! Call out to him! He's the very one who has given you into my power! Who else approves evil if not the Almighty God?"

I shut my mouth and hold my breath. My chest moves in and out rapidly. Pressure builds up in my chest. Hot little droplets form in the corners of my eyes. Why else would this powerful spirit mess with me, unless Jesus actually did let it...

The devil bends down and points at my right hand. "Give it to me!"

"Why-y-yyyy."

He frowns and slaps his scrawny palm. "Give it to me! Now!"

"Wh-what you going to do?!"

The devil grabs my right hand in a grip like steel. I try to pull back from him, but he forcibly turns my hand over to expose the soft flesh of my palm. He positions his free hand right above mine. Transparent razors emerge from his bony fingers and whir loudly. They glisten in the frozen sunlight, the blades far sharper than any human knife.

The devil looks over my pale palm and pink finger pads, slowly nodding. "Now, what we're going to do is this. I will cut your hand open again, put you back kneeling over on the concrete, and we'll have a little replay of what happened before I revealed myself." He stares at me. "I'm not doing this to be mean, or anything." He chuckles. "Or am I?"

All of my strength seems to run away from me. "Nooo-ooo, please!"

The devil sharpens and elongates its razor claws. All of its voices cackle softly, "I hope you enjoy this as much as we do."

"Nooo! Please don't! Please don't!"

He positions the spinning claws an inch away from my palm. "Oh, but we will."

I grind my teeth and press them together. The ghostly razors descend very carefully onto the pulsing, warm surface of my flesh. Beginning at where my palm meets my wrist, translucent blade tips begin burning red lines up my skin. Then, the razors begin spinning into my flesh and bone. Exposing raw, blazing flesh. Crimson splatters spray upwards and then rain red on the gray concrete. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The devil's claws are now at the center of my palm, digging about an inch into it. The transparent razors whir into my flesh like a blender creating a strawberry milkshake. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The claws move up and left towards my pinky finger. The devil sticks one of his razors into the base of it and shreds it up into a scarlet mist.

"OOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA-!" I begin choking on my own thick saliva. My small pinky finger now hangs once again by a ragged thread of bloody flesh. I swallow a thick ball of snot, then open my mouth again. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"