Midnight Playground

A deal with the devil

There is a place that lurks outside the hustle and bustle of ordinary towns. Beyond the barricades of the looming forest trees, a home cradled between two rocky mountainsides, away from the prying eyes that look to ensnare them into the rules of normality. In this place, where the high hills touch the sky, heaven and hell meet and offer you sanctuary amongst them, for a price. For those who choose the light, the end is quick and painless, though unbearably short to truly have lived. For those who choose the alternative, a frightful fate awaits them. For these are the souls who were abandoned by god in their misfortune and offered a hand by devils who have ultimately succumbed to their own burning desires. The century old game of 'chance' now plays its part in a series of twisted events that will lead to the salvation or damnation of all those who follow the path of Crimson.

This is a place where even in the darkness; there glows a glimmer of light. It is a sanctuary for all those who have called on their saviours, the demons who chose not to ignore them. In this house, away from the large cities and even the possibility of a normal mundane life, lives a family unlike any other. It is a household of 'clients' and their contractors who seemingly live in harmony amongst one another, lying in wait.

Cassie sat at the dinner table with the others, just like she did every night at 5 o'clock. She didn't look up much from the food on her plate, she had learned not to. The room was always so unexpectedly louder than she imagined anyone to be when face to face with a demon. Did they really recall the deals that they had made with each of them in turn? She shifted away slightly from the chattering girls next to her who continued to accidently elbow her with their exaggerated movements. She'd had a long enough time to get used to them now, so she no longer got annoyed about it. Still, she never conversed with them whenever they tried to speak with her. It wasn't out of bitterness, or at least she didn't seem to think so anyway. Most of them were nice enough girls who saw the pleasant side of things. She envied that about them but she wasn't going to get to know them or even try. What would be the point? Sooner or later they all met the same fate -there was no getting away from that.

Cassie scrolled her eyes slowly up the empty chair opposite her before setting her stare back down onto her plate a moment later. Yesterday they were a family of twelve. Today, they were a family of eleven. No one ever talked about the disappearances, it was better not to because it reminded everyone about the fate that would befall upon them, when the contract was complete. It was just easier to play ignorant to the harshness of reality, especially for those who had already completed their contracts with their demon and now simply waited for them to make their move. It was a cruel waiting game. For Cassie, that moment hadn't yet arrived.

She glanced out the window that stretched along the room on the far end of the wall. It was getting dark out now and soon the light would be consumed by the darkness that would conceal the arrival of their so-called saviours - the devils that preyed on their weaknesses. Minutes passed and before long, anticipation hung in the air, tension filling the room, as it did every night. The chatter of the girls died out almost in unison as each of them turned to face the door that lead to the main entrance hallway of the house. Cassie knew better than that. She wouldn't wait for them like some love-struck puppy, eagerly awaiting its master. She didn't care about meeting with her contractor. She quietly removed herself from the table and headed for the door, just as the room was awash with a blur of swirling colours that held no obvious reflection within the world of mirrors or the shiny surface of the large windows. She took her leave, knowing well that they wouldn't leave her be if she was seen.

She avoided all the creaky steps, the fault in the floorboards, anything that would reveal her presence to the persistent devils. Not that sound would be needed. She rounded the corner of the dark corridor that was barely lit by the two lamps that was set at either end, its orange glow exposing the outline of a shadow that lurked in the door way.