Thomas laid over her bed, clasping her hands to be reassured that she was still there, still breathing. The blanket rose and fell every breath that escaped her small mouth. Thomas’s vision started to blur while looking into her eyes that stayed dormant. The blue eyes that once held the life of his sister were now glazed over with defeat and dread. Thomas stayed there, listening to her heartbeat. Thomas heard the door creak open and close. As Thomas turned around he stared at the stranger in front of him. The man had a black suit and tie and stood there with no explanation. He just stood there, motionless. “Sorry, we don’t need any nurses right now, may I have a moment?” The man still stood there, motionless. He walked over to the corner of the room picked up the chair and dragged it over. The wood hissed against the floor as the stranger dragged it. He sat facing Thomas and took his jacket off and slung it over the chair. As the room grew more silent the louder you could hear the commotion of the hospital going on outside.
“Oh, poor, poor Thomas. I’ve heard about your sister, and I would like to help” The stranger grunted as he settled into his chair. “Excuse me but who are you?” “I’m the creature that’s going to help you, is there any alcohol around here, they wouldn’t let me in here with any booze.” The stranger asked while getting up. He started to poke and prod through out the room, looking through drawers, cabinets, but found nothing. “Very well I’ll have to settle with nothing.” The stranger confirmed as he sat back down. Thomas stared at the man who sat in front of him. He was a tall, slim man, maybe in his 50’s with slick black and gray hair. “Seriously, who are you? Don’t make me get the police.” Thomas started to shout. “And what would they do, after all you can’t kill the devil.” The man’s eyes started to turn from a brown to a darker red. Thomas stepped back and almost tripped over his sister’s cords. “Now, Now Tommy I don’t want to hurt you, what fun would that be, I’d like to make an arrangement for your sister over here.” The devil hissed while pointing at the girl beside him. Thomas started to shake, he couldn’t move, he was helpless. “Now you may be thinking that monsters aren’t real.” The Devil said while waving his hands. ”But that’s unimportant considering I’m here and your… there” The devil sneered. “But that’s impossible, the devil has horns, tails, and sharp teeth?” “And who told you that! I find that a bit offensive, but yes I do fit the criteria for that except the tail, but I can take the look of any human, it’s one of the many perks of being the devil. ”The Devil responded. Thomas’s breath became quicker and quicker, he started to pace back and forth then he screamed, “You can’t be real, it’s impossible!” But all the Devil did was frown. “After all that time we spent together, its unbelievable how stubborn you are, I’ve met some stubborn people. But you.” The Devil dragged his chair towards Thomas and gestured him to sit down. “Now this might look weird so just stay in your seat and no one will get hurt.” The man in front of Thomas started to change. Red scales started to develop from his forearms, sharp teeth started run out of his lip, and horns came from the side of his head. “Told you I didn’t have a tail”. And then he was back to looking like a human. Thomas ran towards the other wall, away from the door. He looked for any weapon around him, anything that can stop the creature. He quickly found a broomstick and held it in front of himself. “Look I don’t want any trouble.” Thomas squealed. The Devil laughed at Thomas. “Can I just tell you what to do to help your sister or are you just going to freak out the whole time?” He asked. Thomas looked at him, then his sister. An intense fear started to develop over Thomas as he nodded. “Well first you need to trade something to help your sister, perhaps an exchange of one soul for another? There’s a lady three doors down that’s now living on life support, all you have to do is just shut down the equipment and poof, your sister is as good as new, this is a limited time offer so you have an hour to do this until I won’t help you” and then just like that, he disappeared.
Thomas just stared at the empty space where the devil once was. He couldn’t believe what was going on. He dropped the broomstick and knelt by his sister. He started to remember everything about her. The way she had those tiny dimples every time she smiled, the way she talked when she was in a good mood and the way she talked when she was in a bad one. Thomas started to cry over his sister. She was only nine years old; she didn’t deserve a life like this. Thomas knew that the devil could save her but he also knew he would have to kill someone else. Thomas picked up the chair and threw it across the room and started to melt down. He took his sisters hand and stayed by her side.
Thomas stood over the woman that was still breathing. She was hardly 60 years old but looked 90. Thomas talked to the doctors before hand about her. She had later symptoms of Alzheimer’s; she didn’t remember any of her children that had abandoned her and all the medical bills that came with it. The lady laid there, the pungent smell of lavender floating around her. Thomas couldn’t stand this. He was only 13, how could he choose for life and death between this lady. It just wasn’t fair he kept telling himself as he walked over to the machine. Thomas heard the door creak open and shut and heard a nurse scream as Thomas started to yank at the cords. She yelled and yelled for security but it was too late. Thomas had killed the woman, for his sister. Thomas heard the security guards run down the hallway he walked out the door and ran towards his sisters room. His sneakers squeaked against the polished floor of the hospital and he heard the guards behind him, quickly followed by sirens. He was soon grabbed by one of the younger guards in front of his sister’s room. All he would have to do was open the door to see his sister for the last time before he went to prison. He pushed the door open with his foot, and all he saw was the doctor. He looked at him and shook his head. He put the covers over his sister’s head and Thomas went limp.