Young Writers Society

The iron door closed with a bang, as I was pushed through at the last moment. And as the bang slowly resounded around my new found cell the sounds of locks and gears could be heard from inside the door all being controlled by the puppet master guard. The guard then slid the door’s peep hole open and all I could see were his eyes.

“You killed them, my family…” I tried to say without whimpering as the guard looked down on me with a fierce glare while holding a torch close to his eyes so he could see in.

“I did it because of your crimes. If you hadn’t committed your sins then you wouldn’t be here but it’s a bit too late for that,” replied the guard without a hint of caring in his voice. He muttered a few words then said, “Your crime is a game changer you know that right? Everyone knows that you killed the queen,” he spat. “And if you say otherwise that you didn’t it’s a load of codswallop.”

The guard shut the window and walked off with his wet boots resounding down the hallway. I, a royal guard dog entrusted with the protection of the queen and all of her people, am accused of her murder! I am accused of the queen’s murder, a crime against her people! I, a royal guard am now falsely accused and am now treated like a low life hanging in the Courtmeiner Prison! With all these thoughts looming above me, I simply drifted off to sleep.

I awoke to the smell of burning timber and thought I was at my home lying asleep on the rugs of the parlor. But as I came to my senses, I realized that I heard wooden beams and trusses falling to the ground with an earth shattering crack. I started to panic; I could hear screams resounding up and down and all around the hallways and my cell. I realized my cell door is still locked and that there is no one coming to get me because of my false crime.

“Then I am to die in the fire alone with my thoughts,” I said to myself aloud.

Suddenly time abruptly stopped and my motions went slower. I felt relaxed as the cell door opened and a man with a black tailcoat entered the room.

“To die is a certainty but to die in the fire is a choice,” said the stranger who was now hovering over me.

“What do you mean,” I asked half-heartedly, doubting that I would be saved.

“I mean, I’m giving you a choice, and that choice is this. You can either be consumed by the raging fire, be burnt to a crisp, or you can make a contract with me and gain unbelievable power,” the stranger replied slyly.

His voice was soothing in a demonic way and it made me fearful of the man I saw in front of me. His features were masculine. He looked like he could flip a building and knock a couple of heads together without breaking a sweat, but he was also pale with red eyes that could look into the depths of your soul.

“I’m-m-m sorry sir. I don’t have any money; all I have is my soul and thoughts. Also my body if that means anything, if you’re lonely that is,” I replied croaking from thirst.

“I do not require your money or your thoughts or your body, but your soul is very valuable to me.”

“You can’t collect a soul. No one can except for in children stories,” I said getting up slowly.

“Oh, I assure you this is not a mere children’s story. It is much, much, more than that. I am a demon if you haven’t already figured it out. Look around you everything is slowed, your movements are sluggish. Only a demon of immense power can do that. So now answer me! Do you want to make a contract? If you do all you have to do is give me your soul and the souls of those you slay in exchange.”

“Why me,” I asked, looking down not wanting to see the demon’s eyes.

“You seek revenge. You want to find the actual murderer of the queen. I know that you did not kill her. Revenge is a lot better than dying. Now do you accept,” he asked putting his hand out to me.

“Alright what do I have to lose,” I said accepting his hand and shaking it.

“Good. Now I will give you my mark.”

I cried out in pain and agony as black lines started to appear on my right hand. It began to form into a cat around a wine bottle.

“Consider it a gift and remember if anyone is looking to trade their soul send them to me Bartleby Domeicus.” And with that he waved his hands over my eyes and I instantly fell unconscious, unaware of my placement in a sewer.

I awoke feeling heavier than ever realizing it wasn’t my weight. Instead of looking down to see the rags of a prisoner, I saw a fine black tailcoat trimmed with white lining and white gloves. I instantly tore the right one off to see if all this was real and there it was Bartleby’s mark. I looked around in my pockets and found a considerable amount of ammo balls and a map along with a book of How to Control your Newfound Powers for Beginner Demons, inscribed on the cover. I looked at my waist and found a silver flintlock with a gold latch to arm it. I also found an odd blade that had a hilt that formed a circle, with a cat and wine bottle in the center, then it continued upwards to a straight blade.

“Bartleby makes sure his clients have suitable arms, “I thought to myself.

I looked at where I was and I found I was in a sewer with two cobble pathways on the side and running water down the middle. The only light was coming from the iron bar windows up top and even then it was hard to see as the sun wasn’t shining. It was all gray light from the cloudy sky. The sewer was about 9 feet high and 20 feet wide. I kept on walking throughout the sewers forking here and there. I kept trudging along for 5 hours not finding any exit and then realized that I was not getting hungry or weary at all. I guess this power does have some effect there too. I then heard a guttural scream echoing down from a tunnel to my left. I could see a torch reflecting light off the wall down there and I could see a woman dying with her bones all but falling out of her failing body. Blood was splattered everywhere. I loaded my flintlock instantly and waited there frozen to the spot waiting for whatever was around the corner. Then my mark glowed bright and without my will I put my right hand to the woman’s bosom and my hand went ghostly and picked up a small misty green glowing object from within her and then without my will and my intentions, my right hand forcefully fed the green object into my mouth. Somehow it was pleasurable and delightful to eat the green object and my first guess was that it was a soul. I was assured it was when a deformed mass of muscle came into my view.

“THAT’S MY SOUL!!! I KILLED HER FAIR AND SQUARE AND YOU LOAD OF CODSWALLOP COME UP AND BLOODY STEAL MY SOUL, MY DINNER, YOU’RE GOING TO PAYYYYYYY,” He yelled furiously and then charged at me.

I barely had time to move. He crashed me into the wall and the wall broke on impact. It brought us into a warehouse. My body tensed and my attacker was glowing red 5 feet away from me. He tore off his tattered blue shirt. Underneath he wore an even more tattered white shirt that was stained with the blood of the woman and the odd rib here and there on his pants. He yelled again then charged even faster. This time my mark glowed as I pulled out my flintlock in the nick of time and shot my attacker dead center in the eyes.

“No...I…I,” and the attacker lay dead and my right hand then moved again against my will and pulled not one soul out but hundreds.

I regained control and then still cuffing the souls in my hand found a pouch to put them in and strapped them to my side. They might come in handy later on I thought to myself as I strolled out of the warehouse doors mixing in with the crowd.