Issue #154 : In Good Faith
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Jennifer pulled her coat around herself and looked up into the sky, wincing at the thunder that was already starting to roll down off the hills. The wind cut down to her essential core, like being dumped into a tank of frigid water.
She heard the crushing blow of the horn as a city bus rumbled past, sending an avalanche of water over her. It wasn’t clear if the driver had been meandering too close to the curb and was trying to warn her, or if he was just being an asshole . Either way, the result was that she was now even more cold and wet than she had been already.
As the rain started to fall, she cursed Jessie with every foul thought she could muster. There were times when his expectations came close to exceeding her willingness to provide. All of this over money, always the stupid money and his stupid problems.
From month to month, she would learn about a new bookie that he had sweet-talked into lending him money. She was constantly surprised that there were any left but still, he would end up coming to her with a sob story, pleading for her to help with money in order to save him.
How could she say no?
It was probably what she should do, make him learn his lesson the hard way, but she couldn’t. Regardless of anything else, he was family and she had to respect that, had to support him even if that meant saving him and then knocking him on his ass when this was all over.
Her destination towered in front of her, not a shitty dive bar like all the rest. This was actually a dumpy house in the middle of an even dumpier looking neighborhood. How Jessie had even thought to come here in the first place was beyond her. What few windows she could see were covered with a layer of grease and dirt. She was starting to wish that Jessie had actually met this guy in a shitty bar. She would take that before walking into this disaster of a house.
Still, it was clearly the place. His description had been incredibly accurate as well as his instructions. The house was actually split into two separate units, one on the lower and one on the upper floor. She was supposed to walk around to the back, let herself in and go to the upper unit. She trudged down the alley next to the house, wincing at the sensation of garbage and muck under her feet as she walked. The back porch groaned as she made her way up the steps to the back door.
It was stuck initially and she felt uplifted at the possibly of having an excuse to turn around and go home. Suddenly though, it turned, the knob protesting as she pushed in and walked through. There was no light on the inside but she was able to use the minimal amount of sunlight creeping in through the filthy windows to find the switch. A single bulb popped on, swinging slightly from side to side as it barely illuminated the small room.
There was nothing to see, no posters, no pictures or furniture. Just plain walls, peppered with the occasional hole in the plaster and dark, rust-colored stains. There was one closed door which presumably led into the first floor unit and the stairs, which she stepped onto and began climbing.
Jennifer put a hand out against the rail to steady herself as she moved upwards into darkness. She took out her phone, ready to use it as a flashlight if needed.
“Hello?” She called out into the silent lurking of shadows.
Jessie had been very clear. She just had to go up and knock on the door. She was supposed to do was tell them that she was there for Jesse and they would let her in.
They were expecting her.
As she took another step, the sound of wood splintering filled the air around her and the ceiling pulled loose. Not single strips of wood but the entire ceiling, sucked upward as if pulled by a string into an empty void. It revealed bright white light beyond, temporarily blinding her. She frantically reached out behind her into open air as she stumbled backwards and fell, roughly landing on each step until she was back to the bottom. She pushed herself up off the floor, squinting into the light as she tripped again and fell. There was the dull sensation of impact as her head struck the wall.
She opened her eyes.
She was lying on the floor of another nondescript room. She sat up and looked around. The room was neat and tidy, not at all what she would have expected from the way the house had looked from the outside. Through the one window in the room, she could tell that the storm had passed. The sky was clear and as she stood to walk to the window, she discovered that everything had changed, not just the room she was in. She looked down from the fourth or fifth floor of a building. It wasn’t the wet disgusting alley below, but rather some kind of cobblestone courtyard.
“What in the—” she started to mutter.
“Who sent you here?” The voice interrupted her from behind. Barely stopping herself from crying out, she spun around to face the person, seated against the far wall of the room. She squinted to make out his face but somehow, despite the fact that sunlight streamed in around her, he was still shrouded in shadow.
“Who are you?” she demanded
The amusement was clear in his tone. “I believe that is for me to ask you,” he replied. “After all, it was you that intruded into my home.”
“You—” She looked around, still trying to get her bearings. “I don’t understand how I got here. What is this place?”
“This place…” He held up his hands in one grand, sweeping gesture. “This place shows you what you bring with you, how it will be for each of you and I must say, this is quite different than what manifested upon your brother’s arrival.”
It took several moments before she registered what he had said. “Wait a minute,” she said. “I thought you didn’t know who I was.”
“I never said that,” he replied gently.
She wanted to argue, but as her recollection clarified, she realized that technically, he actually hadn’t said that he didn’t know who she was.
“How do you know my brother?”
“Your brother owes us quite a large sum of money,” he said, ignoring her question. “And while I am not entirely unreasonable, certain repayments are expected and I have to follow through. You understand, I’m sure.”
As much as she wanted to retort, she did understand but she still needed him to answer.
“What is this place? How did I get here?”
“How you got here and where you are are not significant,” he said as he started to rise from the chair. “Your brother got mixed up with us and he will pay what is owed. If not, then we may be forced to take what we need in other fashions. Possibly from those he might care about.”
She felt herself being examined, as if a prize in the contest. She shifted from side to side, uncomfortable from the sudden scrutiny.
“Did you come here to make good on his promises?” he asked.
“I… I don’t understand.”
There was an annoyed exhalation. “You only could have found this place if he told you where and how to find us. That would suggest that you are here on his behalf.”
“If I was,” Jennifer said, trying to regain her footing in the conversation, “what would I have to do?”
“Payment in full is your only option. Anything else and your brother’s and likely your life will be in jeopardy.”
“But how am I supposed to—”
“Repayment must be made in full.”
“But I don’t see—”
“Repayment must be in full!”
Jennifer took a step back. The conversation was going nowhere and she just wanted to end it. She took out her wallet and started pulling out the hundred-dollar bills she had withdrawn earlier in the day. He waved the gesture off.
“That is immaterial.”
“Then how am I supposed to pay you?”
There was a pause, followed by deep laughter.
“What?” she asked.
She screamed as she was suddenly lifted up into the air, flipped upside down and slammed into the ceiling. She tried to pull her arms free, but they were held tightly against her sides.
The room around her started to melt, as if the walls had been made out of some kind of thick wax. They dripped down like syrup and collected on the floor. The surface of the walls underneath was revealed to be coated in blood, smeared with dried and congealed matter The window behind her was gone, the entire wall replaced with raging fire. Where the floor had been was now rusted metal grating and from underneath, she could hear a cacophony of human screams. There was a heavy smell of rot, all around her.
The man approached her, still lost in shadow but she could now see wisps of smoke coming off of him as his features finally started to clarify. The scream in her mouth struggled to release as she saw the bloody visage of his face, more bone than flesh. She could hear the snarl behind his voice as he spoke.
“Your brother has entered into a pact. He sent you to us. He sent you to settle a debt but you clearly do not understand. He did not send you to pay his debt.”
“You are the payment.”
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