Cypher Bones:

“Cypher Bones,” the tall twenty-something stopped and sigh, “yet again we find you walking out of that exam hall,” drawled the cop who was obviously taking great pleasure in prolonging this arrest.

“Well, what can I say; I like exams,” cypher smirked back. Sounding slightly exasperated, the cop pulled out his handcuffs and instructed him to turn around. The other students leaving the hall were watching him, mostly curious but one or two looked nervous; his friends, Matt and Luke, who were also sitting the entrance exam for clients. They gave him an apologetic look and hurried, calmly as possible, in the other direction.  Officer Benton led him swiftly out to the car,

“So who’d you cheat for this time?” again there was a sigh behind that serious tone,

“I don’t know what you mean,” Cypher said exaggerating his tone of innocence; the car pulled out onto the road and closer to the police station, it was like Cypher’s second home.

He was only in the station for a few hours so the sun was still bright as he walked home, rubbing his wrists. He was three blocks from his apartment when they dragged him into an alley. He knew who they were and what they were looking for,

“I don’t have it yet, I’m working on it,” the leader, a man who’s features were permanently lined with disdain, almost laughed, instead he pulled out a long blade.

“You’ve said that, so, so, so many time; my friend.” His slight South American accent help make his voice sinister, creepy, the voice of someone you wouldn’t ever trust. The to companion’s pushed Cypher up against the wall, he tried to struggle free but to no avail. The knife flashed violently and buried itself in Cypher’s stomach. They let him go and he fell to his knees, his hands finding the hot, wet stain spreading across his shirt. Cypher blacked out while his attackers walked back to the real world. 

“Hello there,” the man wore a nice suit, and walked towards him hand outstretch, “Mr. Bones, is it not?” the man’s voice was efficient, business-like, but with a cold edge. Cypher nodded, feeling completely disorientated, he had the over powering urge to feel his stomach. He couldn’t speak through panic and confusion, so just nodded absently while he tried to calm himself.  He looked around himself, nothing but completely white walls, it was hard to tell if he was in a wide hall or narrow corridor. Carefully, feeling foolish, he reached out and stroked a wall. Feeling stupid he concentrated on the man in the suit. The only other person around. He wore a Rolex but the numbers made no sense, and his dark eyes showed amusement but also something else, something Cypher hadn’t seen before, but it made him feel cold.

“Good, had hoped to meet you before long, please,” the man indicated a doorway at the end of the corridor.  The door, which to was the pristine white, led to another disorientating room. In here was only three thing, two glass chairs opposite each other and a large glass desk. The man walked confidently to the desk, and sat in the furthest chair, facing Cypher. He folded his hands in his lap and waited. Cypher walked swiftly to the other chair and sat.

“Look,” he paused trying to find the guys name but realized he didn’t know, “um, where the hell am I?” even to himself he could here the fear, the white walls seemed to move in and out on him, like a pulse, it gave him the odd feeling they weren’t really there, that there was something he just couldn’t see.

“Well, Mr. Bones, that’s just it, you’re in hell.” The man smiled, his eyes lit up and he seemed genuinely happy; but only for a second, then he reverted back to cold hard, business-like look. “Before you start, let me introduce myself; my name is Lucifer. I’m here to give you anything and everything you want.” Lucifer smiled quickly and stared at Cypher.

“I,” he looked around quickly, trying to find something to see, to clear his mind and figure out what was happening; he was stuck in a white room with a crazy guy. He tried to stand but couldn’t move.

“Ah, yes, now look we don’t allow people to leave; it’s not our rules, it’s just the way it is.” The voice was knowing, taunting and Lucifer had a glint in his eyes; Cypher felt his pulse quick, as he did the walls sped up to match.

“Whatever you want, in return, I get your soul; now don’t panic; you’re already dead,” Lucifer smiled again, this time his delight was obvious. Cypher told himself he was dreaming; he just had to calm down, that it wasn’t real. Lucifer sat forward and as he did and piece of paper appeared, pure white like the rest of the room, he waved his hand over it and words started to print across the page. He watch them appear, so did Cypher. 

“All you have to do is sign, then you get one request; eternal life, millions of dollars, that certain someone to fall madly in love with you” Lucifer smiled, “I would be carefully of the wording of that last one, ‘mad’ isn’t something you want to mess with.” He chuckled and clicked his fingers. Cypher was suddenly push forward and was almost crushed between the table and the chair. The cold glass felt like it was slowly slicing through him.

“Just name your price,” the pen appeared and Cypher felt his hands pick it up.  He felt the pressure building in the room, he couldn’t think. He took a deep breath and nodded, slowly he signed his name on the bottom or the paper; he could almost feel Lucifer getting bigger watching him.

“Anything I want?” Lucifer nodded, “ok, well I want; I just want to go home,”

He recoiled quickly into his seat, the paper was flaming but not burning, Lucifer was standing; his eyes completely black, staring at Cypher with pure hatred.

“Nobody leaves!” the scream came from all around him, hissing at him, it sounded like it was in pain.

“Nobody ever asks to leave!” Cypher tried not to freak out, clinging to his ice cold chair and watching the white walls shudder around him while Lucifer stood there; palms pushing cracks into the glass desk, his cold black yes staring at him. He looked frozen. The floor beneath Cypher suddenly turned black and he felt himself drop.

Cypher landed on his bed, he looked up to see the black square from the white room slowly close up to show the old pale color of his bedroom walls. He looked around himself; feeling everything with is hands and breathing deeply. He fell back covering his head with his hands; he felt cold, sick.

“Just a dream,” he said to his room, but the silence made his voice into a plea; one he knew wasn’t true.