The devils contract

Chapter 4: The First Rule

Ethan stared at the phone in his hand.

The screen had gone completely black.

But for one brief second, he could still see his own reflection.

Smiling.

Ethan wasn't.

He slowly lowered the phone.

His eyes moved toward his mother.

Sarah was still lying beneath the white sheets, her breathing steady and her eyes closed.

The black symbol remained on her wrist.

Three circles.

One line connecting them.

Ethan pulled the parchment from his pocket.

EVERY WISH HAS A PRICE.

The words looked different now.

Not because they had changed.

Because Ethan finally understood that they weren't a warning.

They were a promise.

His phone suddenly lit up again.

Ethan flinched.

A new message appeared.

> [CONTRACT STATUS: ACTIVE]

Another message followed.

> [FIRST COLLECTION: COMPLETE]

Then:

> [NEXT PAYMENT: 23 HOURS, 56 MINUTES]

Ethan stared at the countdown.

"Payment for what?"

The screen remained silent.

He looked toward the door.

The hallway was empty.

The footsteps were gone.

But Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

He moved closer to Sarah.

"Mom?"

Her eyes opened slightly.

"Ethan..."

"I'm here."

Sarah looked around the room.

Her expression immediately changed.

"Where are we?"

Ethan frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"The hospital."

"Yeah."

She looked at him.

"What happened?"

Ethan hesitated.

"You don't remember?"

Sarah shook her head.

Ethan's stomach tightened.

"You were talking to me."

"When?"

"Just now."

Sarah looked confused.

"I've been asleep."

Ethan stared at her.

"No."

"Yes."

"You said something."

Sarah's eyebrows drew together.

"What did I say?"

Ethan remembered her black eyes.

The unnatural smile.

The voice that sounded like her but wasn't hers.

The Collector says hello.

He couldn't bring himself to repeat it.

"Nothing," he finally said.

Sarah studied him.

"Ethan..."

"I'm serious. It's nothing."

She reached for his hand.

Ethan took it.

Her fingers were warm.

Normal.

He almost convinced himself that the entire thing had been a nightmare.

Almost.

Then Sarah looked down at her wrist.

Her face changed.

"Ethan?"

He followed her gaze.

The black symbol was still there.

Sarah stared at it.

"What is that?"

Ethan's mouth went dry.

"You don't know?"

"Should I?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know."

Sarah touched the mark.

The moment her finger made contact with it, the heart monitor began beeping faster.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Sarah pulled her hand away.

The monitor returned to normal.

Ethan stared.

"Okay."

He stood.

"I'm getting a doctor."

Sarah grabbed his wrist.

"No."

Ethan looked at her.

"Mom?"

"Don't leave me."

There was fear in her voice.

Real fear.

Ethan sat back down.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Sarah squeezed his hand.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then Ethan noticed something.

The black mark on Sarah's wrist was fading.

Slowly.

The edges became lighter until the symbol disappeared completely.

Ethan stared.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

He looked at her.

The mark was gone.

"Never mind."

His phone vibrated.

Ethan pulled it out.

Another message.

> [RULE ONE: NEVER SPEAK OF THE CONTRACT TO THE UNMARKED.]

Ethan's eyes widened.

He looked at Sarah.

She was staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sarah frowned.

"You keep saying that."

Ethan quickly locked his phone.

"I'll explain later."

"Explain what?"

"I said later."

Sarah's expression hardened.

"Ethan."

He looked away.

He couldn't tell her.

The message was clear.

If Sarah was "unmarked," then she couldn't know about the contract.

And Ethan had no idea what would happen if she found out.

He stood.

"I need to get some air."

Sarah's grip tightened around his hand.

"Ethan..."

"I'll be right outside."

He gently pulled away.

"I promise."

He walked toward the door.

Before leaving, he looked back.

Sarah was watching him.

Her expression was worried.

Ethan gave her a small smile.

Then he stepped into the hallway.

The moment the door closed behind him, his smile disappeared.

He pulled out his phone.

"Rule one."

He stared at the message.

"If there's a rule one..."

His eyes narrowed.

"...there's a rule two."

The phone vibrated.

Ethan jumped.

A new message appeared.

> [RULE TWO: DO NOT TRUST THE COLLECTOR.]

Ethan stared.

He almost laughed.

"Well, that one's easy."

Another message appeared.

> [RULE THREE: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BREAK THE CONTRACT.]

Ethan's smile vanished.

"What happens if I do?"

No response.

"Tell me."

Nothing.

Ethan typed another message.

WHO ARE YOU?

The reply came immediately.

> [YOU KNOW ME.]

Ethan frowned.

NO, I DON'T.

The response appeared.

> [YOU HAVE KNOWN ME LONGER THAN YOU THINK.]

Ethan's stomach twisted.

"Who the hell are you?"

He stared at the screen.

Then something caught his attention.

A reflection in the glass window beside him.

A man was standing at the other end of the hallway.

Black suit.

Black umbrella.

Ethan turned.

Nobody.

He looked back at the window.

The man was still there.

Standing behind him in the reflection.

Ethan's heart began pounding.

He slowly raised his phone.

The reflection showed the man moving closer.

One step.

Then another.

Ethan spun around.

Nothing.

He looked back.

The man was closer.

Ethan's breathing stopped.

The reflection smiled.

Ethan took a step backward.

"You're not real."

The man raised one finger to his lips.

Then the reflection disappeared.

Ethan stared at the glass.

Nothing.

His phone vibrated.

> [HE FOUND YOU.]

Ethan's blood ran cold.

He looked toward Room 402.

Sarah.

He immediately ran back.

He grabbed the door handle.

Locked.

"Mom!"

No response.

Ethan slammed his fist against the door.

"Mom!"

The door opened.

Ethan rushed inside.

Sarah was still in bed.

She looked at him.

"What happened?"

Ethan stood there, breathing heavily.

He looked around.

Everything was normal.

"Did anyone come in?"

Sarah shook her head.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Ethan, what's going on?"

He didn't answer.

His eyes moved around the room.

Then he saw something beside Sarah's bed.

A black envelope.

It hadn't been there before.

Ethan slowly approached it.

Sarah watched him.

"What is that?"

"I don't know."

He picked it up.

His name was written across the front.

ETHAN BENNETT

The handwriting was neat.

Almost impossibly neat.

Ethan turned the envelope over.

No seal.

He opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

Ethan stared at it.

It showed the hospital.

St. Jude Hospital.

But the photograph looked old.

Very old.

The hospital entrance was different.

The cars were different.

The sign above the building had another name.

Ethan turned the photograph over.

A date had been written on the back.

October 17, 1928.

His eyes narrowed.

"What is this?"

Sarah looked at the photograph.

Her expression suddenly changed.

"Ethan..."

"What?"

"Where did you get that?"

"It was outside your bed."

Sarah shook her head.

"That's not possible."

"Why?"

She stared at the photograph.

"I've seen it before."

Ethan froze.

"When?"

Sarah looked at him.

"I don't remember."

"Mom."

"I said I don't remember."

Ethan stepped closer.

"Try."

Sarah closed her eyes.

Her breathing became uneven.

"I was young."

Ethan frowned.

"How young?"

"I don't know."

"Where did you see it?"

Sarah opened her eyes.

"I don't know."

Ethan stared at her.

Then Sarah whispered:

"But I remember the man."

Ethan's heart stopped.

"What man?"

Sarah looked toward the window.

Her voice dropped.

"The one holding the umbrella."

Ethan went completely still.

The room suddenly felt colder.

"You've seen him?"

Sarah nodded slowly.

"Where?"

She looked at Ethan.

"When I was a child."

Ethan's face went pale.

"That's impossible."

"I know."

"How old were you?"

Sarah shook her head.

"I don't remember."

Ethan stared at the photograph again.

The old hospital.

The black-suited man.

The contract.

The card.

None of it made sense.

Then his phone vibrated.

He looked down.

> [NEW OBJECTIVE]

A second message appeared.

> FIND THE FIRST CONTRACT.

Ethan's eyes widened.

Another message followed.

> LOCATION: ST. JUDE HOSPITAL.

He stared at the screen.

Then at the photograph.

Then at his mother.

The final message appeared.

> [DO NOT LET THE COLLECTOR FIND IT FIRST.]

Ethan slowly folded the photograph.

For the first time since receiving the black card, he wasn't thinking about money.

He wasn't thinking about his mother's hospital bill.

He wasn't even thinking about the million dollars sitting untouched in his account.

He was thinking about the contract.

If there was a first contract...

Then someone had signed it.

Someone had created this.

And somehow, his mother had seen it decades ago.

Ethan looked toward the hospital hallway.

The lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then every light on the floor went out.

Sarah gasped.

Ethan grabbed her hand.

"Mom?"

From somewhere beyond the darkness came a familiar voice.

Calm.

Quiet.

Almost amused.

"Ethan."

He froze.

Sarah's fingers tightened around his.

The voice came again.

"You shouldn't have opened the envelope."

Ethan stared into the darkness.

Then a single red emergency light flickered on.

At the far end of the hallway stood the man in black.

His umbrella rested against his shoulder.

And this time...

He wasn't smiling.

End of Chapter 4.