#01

My phone rings themoment I step out of class, and I think nothing of it until I answer the call, and a robotic male voice speaks to my ear.

Hello, Sheena.

The whole world vanishes for a single moment, and I"m left all alone with my fear.

He knows who I am.

A part of me expected this, but the knowledge still sucks all the hope out of me, and dragging air into my lungs suddenly becomes a chore. I look around me, but everything is a blur, and my heart feels like it"s about to stop beating at any moment.

You knew this would happen sooner or later, Sheena.

You knew.

So deal with it.

Time marches on, and the numbness that"s taken my limbs captive gradually recedes. I start breathing again, and with this, I regain the need to survive.

That"s better.

This time, I feel like hyperventilating. I have a feeling I know why he"s said those words.

You have more color in your face now.

And it"s exactly what I feared.

The Devil is here, watching me, and I guess that means either my university was lying about having "top-notch" security...or their best simply isn"t good enough to keep the Devil out.

Start walking to your next class.

Now is the worst time to draw attention to yourself.

Things like this aren"t supposed to happen to someone like me, and the disguised element of his voice only makes things feel more surreal than they already are.

I"m an eighteen-year-old girl in my first year in college. My looks are as nondescript as my grades, and ever since the Devil made me quit my part-time job at the motel for safety reasons, school is the only thing I can write about in my planner.

I"m ordinary with a capital O, the kind that the meanest and most popular girls on campus wouldn"t even waste time bullying. I"m the type of person you wouldn"t even remember having classes with...and yet somehow, I"m the one who ends up in a phone call with a guy who"s supposedly arranged countless unreported deaths of rapists, pedophiles, and murderers.

It can"t get any more surreal than that, can it?

You look like you have something on your mind.

The sudden sound of the Devil"s words nearly has me jumping out of my skin, but even though I"m tempted to lie, I chicken out at the last second.

"I"m worried about what you"d ask of me."

Ah.

From the moment I answered his call, my mind feels like it"s been spinning farther and farther away from sanity, and the robotic sound of his voice only has my mood creeping closer to the edge of hysteria.

Tell me, Sheena.

It"s a struggle to even remember who I"m talking to when the Devil sounds no different from a male-voiced Alexa, but I wouldn"t put past it him at all if this is all part of his plan.

What do you think I"ll ask of you?

"My nudes." I say this without hesitation, since it"s this very thought that has me tossing and turning in bed night after night.

And are they worth asking for?

"Nope."

A strange noise comes out from the other end. I think it"s the Devil"s laugh, as interpreted by AI.

People usually know better than to lie to me.

Oh God.

I feel like I"m trapped between a rock and a hard place. It"s obviously not a good thing for the Devil to think I"m lying to him...but is it going to be any better if he finds out I"m actually telling the truth, and that I do believe my nudes are worthless? I"m not exactly the skinniest girl out there, but neither are my breasts the kind that"s big enough to noticeably bounce.

But because you"ve made me laugh, I"ll let it go, just this once.

I should probably feel relieved at hearing him say that, but his words only make me question my sanity even more. Is panic making me read things wrong...or was that the Devil"s roundabout way of saying he thinks I"m hot?

Keep walking, Sheena.

I force myself to get moving again even as my entire body turns cold at the reminder that the Devil still has his eyes on me.

Let"s say I do ask for those...

The words make me stumble over my feet.

Would you give them to me if I ask you to?

"Not right away."

Explain.

"What do you intend to do with them?"

Nothing.

"So why do you want to have them?"

I just do.

"Will other men see them?"

They will be for my eyes alone.

I take a deep breath, and the words eventually tumble out. "Then yes, I"ll give them to you."

Just like that?

"The Devil always keeps his word."

Do I?

My heart slams against the wall of my chest, but I tell myself this is all just a game he"s playing. "People would"ve long stopped asking you for favors if it weren"t true."

A few moments pass before I hear the Devil chuckle...or at least I think he did. It"s hard to tell with how his voice-disguising software is doing a great job at making him sound like a robot one moment, and a monster the next.

You intrigue me, Sheena.

It"s getting harder and harder not to laugh and cry at the same time.

Most people think I"m boring while the Devil alone thinks I"m intriguing. That must mean something"s wrong with me. Doesn"t it?

So for you, I"m willing to play a game to decide your fate.

This just keeps getting worse and worse and worse.

I suck at games—-

Do you have a coin with you?

And I suck even worse when it comes to games of luck.

"Can we play something else?"

I"m afraid not.

Well...at least I can tell myself I tried, and I wouldn"t have to drive myself crazy with endless what-ifs.

Do you have a coin then?

I dig out a quarter from my pocket.

We"ll only do this once, so listen very carefully.

If you flip tails, you will give me your nudes, and you will never hear from me again.

I"m so dizzy with fear I can"t even figure out whether what he"s offering is a good thing or not.

But if you flip heads, you will hear from me again, and you must answer my every call.

"But what if I"m in—-"

No excuses.

"What happens if I don"t get to answer your call?"

It"s best that you don"t find out.

I wish I could convince myself he"s just bluffing, but I"ve already heard one too many horror stories about the Devil. If he says it"s that bad, then it surely is.

"And that"s really all I have to do? Answer your call?"

My every call.

"For how long?"

For as long as I see fit.

"And that"s really all you"ll ask of me? Nothing else?"

Yes.

I know I"m missing something here. This is the Devil, after all. There has to be a catch. There has to be. But what?

Do you agree to these terms, Sheena?

My mind is still spinning like crazy, but it"s not like I really have a choice. It"s the Devil who"s calling the shots, and so the only acceptable answer is...

"I do."

Then stop walking, and flip it.

My steps crash into a halt, and in the corner of my eye, I see the other kids looking at me like I"ve lost my mind when I toss a coin in the air all of a sudden.

It lands on the ground, and my heart starts pounding so, so hard I can barely hear anything over it.

Tell the truth, Sheena. Don"t lie. Don"t risk lying.

Well, Sheena?

The world around me seems to spin as I hear myself choke out, "Heads."

My fingers tighten involuntarily around my iPhone, and I feel like I"m floating as I wait for the Devil to speak.

None of this still feels real, even though it was only days ago that I had my back against the wall, and I was so desperately terrified I found myself begging for the Devil"s help.

Would you like to flip the coin again?

The words are completely unexpected, and they scare me even more for some reason. "I...uh..."

What"s the right thing to do here, God?

Make up your mind, Sheena.

Do you or do you not want to toss the coin again?

"N-No." Because only an idiot would choose tails, which would involve sending him my nudes. Right?

Another full minute passes.

So be it.

It"s the same robotic voice speaking to my ear, but why does it feel like I can practically hear the grimness underscoring the words?

You"ll hear from me again.

The line goes dead, and my knees buckle immediately after.

God. Oh God. Help me.

I know I could be dead by now if I hadn"t asked the Devil for help.

But what"s the point of living if I"m to spend the rest of the days being the Devil"s toy?