I Accidentally Summoned a Demon and Named Him Fred

Snitches Get Spirits

I woke up with a throbbing pain in the back of my head.

The sun was beaming like it had a personal vendetta against me. I groaned and threw my arm over my face.

If this was what a hangover felt like, I was never drinking. Ever.

When I finally forced myself to sit up, I froze.

Open air.

Where. Is. The. Bridge?

"What the hell..." My heart kicked into overdrive. Panic tightened my throat.

I'll just call Haime. Yes. No biggie. I dug through my pockets, fingers shaking, and felt my heart race faster.

There was nothing.

No phone. No keys. No lifeline.

I was alone... in the middle of nowhere.

Excuse me, I'm still here.

The sky darkened.

It's devilish eyes staring down at me. It had the outline of a human body with no face.

My chest tightened.

I shut my eyes immediately.

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope." I scooted back from that thing, gravel biting into my palms.

Ever so slowly—but somehow too fast at the same time—memories from that night started to drip back in, thick and sickly.

"C'mon, Mikaela. You were the one complaining about being alone. And here I am! Please open those eyes..." The demon taunted, his voice suddenly deep.

I opened my eyes.

Big mistake.

It had changed.

That thing towered over me now. Rows of teeth layered over each other, stretching too far, too wide, like someone had stitched extra jaws onto its skull. Claws long enough to carve me open without trying twitched at its sides.

"STOP IT!" I screamed, scrambling farther back on instinct.

My hands searched the ground for anything. Anything that could be used as a weapon.

Like that would help. What empty bottle or random piece of litter was going to save me from this thing?

"We are going to have a great time, Mikaela!" The demon cackled, its demonic voice still booming in my ears.

The demon's black‑scaled arms recoiled, drawing closer to its body. I was too afraid to look at it, so I shut my eyes tight again.

Why couldn't I have just died? I wasn't supposed to be here. That thing wasn't supposed to be here.

"Hey! What did I say about dying? It really pisses me off!"

"Then change the fuck back to anything but that thing!" I yelled, still covering my eyes as if that thin layer of skin could prevent it from eating me alive.

"...Fine." It gritted out the word like it didn't have a choice.

I peeked through my fingers.

Relief hit instantly.

Still creepy. But better.

Way better.

Fred stood there. He was much smaller now—a shadowy, distorted outline of a person, edges flickering like smoke.

"Well?" he asked, hands on his hips. "Better?"