A Wish From The Devil

{If you're going to join a gang, the least you can do is be the Mastermind…} “I will slide in first. Followed by Billy and Jack while Ray squeezes in right behind us. Look at me, boys.” He said in a deep voice, oozing a big aura of confidence along with some obvious drops of sweat as we all huddled together in the small basement of an abandoned building we found, doing nothing but listen to him tirelessly speak without pause, “I can guarantee that we can hit those ladies hard and bloody fast before they even realize what’s going on and I can bet my life, that we’re going to enjoy every minute of it,” Tom, our leader said beaming from cheek to cheek as he addressed the rest of the gang, in the same manner, a president would address his cabinet members, smooth, and without giving a s**t about what any of us had to say, “And when we’re done, we would then discuss how the goods would be shared amongst ourselves,” Tom finally finished nodding his head with a proud smile on his face, as we all pretended to feel the same way he did, However, I was pissed and as if it wasn’t enough that he was trying to rob us of our own loot before the robbery, he went ahead to insult us by assuming that we were all too dumb to figure that fact out, I’m the youngest member of the gang and I only joined three days ago, but I didn’t need to be told that all-important decisions should be made before any shady work was done, just in case things went south, “Errrm…” Billy suddenly began, clearing his throat softly and drawing everyone’s attention in the process. Finally, someone is about to speak up for justice, I mentally thought. “I agree with you boss. Until we have the money in front of us and in the palm of our hands, we shouldn’t worry our heads over such things,” Billy finished. However, if thoughts could kill, Billy would already be rotting in the ground and his death would forever remain a mystery. ‘’Why the hell are we going to rob a bank if money isn’t something we need to worry our heads about’’ I thought trying my best to keep a neutral expression on my face, “Eeerrrrm…” Began Jack, as he shyly raised his hand with the intention of speaking, and, the moment he did so, I couldn’t help but raise my hopes up only for me to intentionally knock them back down the moment I heard him begin to stutter, “bu..rrr..tttt, what…what if, I mean…you, youuu know, theee mo…,” “Oh please, Jack…” Tom quickly interrupted, with no intention of allowing Jack to finish his statement, “Like I said, all of you just need to leave everything else to me and everything would be fine,” Tom said as he looked around the tiny and poorly lit room we all huddled in, trying his best to make out the various expressions on our faces, Billy most likely had a happy, puppy-dog look on his face since he was basically Tom’s loyal, to - hell and back follower, Jack on the other hand was most definitely very scared of Tommy even though I had no idea what background story was between them but it must have been very bad since both of them knew each other way before Jack and I did, I on the other hand couldn’t help but do nothing but go over the bull-s**t plans Tommy laid in front of us in my head. The more I thought about it the more I couldn’t help but wonder if joining the group was really the best thing to do, “Ray…RAYYYYYYY,” I suddenly heard Tommy shout, jerking me away from my thoughts and from the silent corner where I rested my back against the wall, “Whhhhaaaaat?” I immediately replied in my bored and inattentive manner which I always made sure to display around him, “You haven’t said anything since we began talking. You agree with the plans, right? And you have no objections.” He said, framing it in a way that made me think he was telling me instead of asking me, Tired and in no more to argue, knowing fully well that the majority was definitely not in my favour, “Of course not,” I belted through my teeth, trying my best to bend my head in a servile manner, “You’re the boss,” I say as I watch him nod back at me without saying another word to me. Instead, he turned right towards where Billy stood before going ahead to address us all, “We should all go to sleep then. We have a beautiful day ahead of us tomorrow, cause tomorrow, our miserable fates are sure to change,” he said before marching out with Billy who walked right behind him at the same pace. With only I and Jack left behind in the room. The scrawny man who couldn’t help but stammer whenever he got anxious while talking, looked over at me and looking back at him, I could barely make out a pitiful smile on his face almost as if he had something terribly painful to confess but didn’t have enough courage to do so, “You are good at hiding how you feel sometimes but somehow I seem to be able to read you like an open book,” “What exactly are you trying to say, Jack?” I fired back in a slightly annoyed tone, not in the mood to take the idea of being referred to as a coward lightly, “You don’t have to come tomorrow you know…You and I know that this plan stinks more than a cow’s ass,” “Then, why the hell are you doing it, Jack? Going ahead with such a shitty plan while at the same time trying to convince me to back out of it… what? Remove me from the picture in order to get a bigger share?” “You know that’s not….Fine. You’re right. We all get to make decisions and then all we can do is live with the consequences,” Jack replied turning around as he did so, slowly walking out of the room, “You sound a little sad Jack. Cheer up. Whatever happens tomorrow, at least we know that we’ve got each other’s back,” I say to him with his back turned towards me as I watch him leave me behind in the poorly lit room whose lights kept flicking off and on almost as if the bulb couldn’t make up its mind on what it wanted to do, “Sleep well, Ray,” Jack replied as he walked away doing so without stopping or looking back even though I was glad to hear a hint of a smile in his voice, “Sleep well, Jack,” I shouted back, just before I lose sight of him. Left alone in an empty basement, I scramble through my pant pockets until I find the only pack of cigarettes, I had left on me. I bring out a match along with it, thankful to still find some sticks in the worn-out box I seem to have been using for more months than I could count. The truth is I didn’t want to go home which was why I dawdled knowing fully well that there wasn’t any difference whatsoever in staying or going home. Part of me was even more aware that going home was worse, “At least this place doesn’t smell like s**t,” I mutter out loud to myself, lighting a piece of cigarette that I had just taken out of its box. I then took a drag out of it, before lifting my head and releasing all the smoke in my lungs as I watched it swirl in the air before slowly dissipating into nothingness, “Well….” I began to say feeling the sudden need to speak and say something profound in the absence of anyone else’s presence around me when I suddenly feel a sudden draft blow into the room and across my face and hands while still holding my half-smoked cigarette in my hands, Now, A soft draft of air or the gentle billowing of the wind would have been welcomed anytime especially considering the fact that it was summer and I basically wore the only sweater I owned but with no windows in sight and with a clear knowledge of how deep underground I was, I instantly jerked my head in the direction of the weird breeze as my mind began churning to figure out where it came from, A couple of seconds had barely gone by with me standing completely still having already dropped the piece of cigarette in my hand, before disposing of it by stamping my foot over it when I suddenly heard a howl which sounded surprisingly human, “AOOOOWWW…” howled the voice louder the second time around, and this time I couldn’t take it any longer. I ran in the direction of the voice, which was also the direction of the entrance to the basement, “f**k…” I vigorously swore under my breath, wanting nothing more than to be out of the basement. There were too many possibilities that scared me. From ghosts to demons and to the fact that we literally jumped through the fence to get into the abandoned building. There was also the fact that a graveyard was right next to the building, which made matters worse since my mind began to imagine different scenarios as I ran in the dark corridor with nothing but my phone light as a touch, “AAAAAAHHHHHOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW…” came the screech like voice again in a slightly deeper tone which terrified me to the bone. I’m not a strong believer but the sounds of the gentle thumping of what sounded like nails on glass further reiterated my faith in the supernatural, Running up the sets of stairs in front of me and past what was supposed to be the lobby area, exiting the wide-open entrance of the abandoned business centre which had a very creepy vibe since the howls never seemed to stop and always felt like it was coming towards me, Exhausted and sweaty from the physical exercise I just performed, I bent down to my waist as I tried my best to catch my breath all the while making sure to hold my phone in front of me when suddenly, “AHHHHHHWWWWWUUUUUU….” Screamed in my ear from right behind me, “AAHHHHHHH…” I screamed right back as I immediately scrambled to the ground along with my phone, unconcerned about the sound of it breaking and more about how high my chances of surviving the night was, Without having to consciously think of it, My right leg immediately moved in front of my other leg in preparation to leap from danger when I suddenly heard a loud sound of laughter erupt from behind me, “AAAHH, Ah-ah-ah… Oh my, aaahhh,” bellowed the voice which echoed across the dark and silent night, Already, I could feel my blood boil as my anger seemed on the edge of erupting the moment I turned around only for me to see Jack on his knees holding his stomach together, laughing uncontrollably even though he seemed to be trying to hold it in, “OOOOOH…HMPFFFFF, You should have seeeen your face, Ray- Ahhhhhhhh. Oh, the moments I spent in the dark planning it out was worth it,” I watched Jack say while chuckling and laughing at the same time as I looked back at him with not a single trace of a smile on my face, “I could have tripped and in the process smashed my head on the floor and you still find this to be a joke?” “Pleassssse….if something so little is enough to scare you to your death then you definitely shouldn’t be coming with us tomorrow, don’t you agree?” Jack replied with a shrug pointing the light from his phone which he switched on the moment he realized I was about to flee, which he then pointed at the ground, where my phone was, “The good news is, if everything goes on well tomorrow then you wouldn’t have to carry such a broken thing around,” he said as he pointed at my phone whose light kept flicking off and on, a clear indicator that something was definitely wrong with it, “Shut up…Jack. This is your fault but it's not like you’re going to admit it,” I reply, dusting my pants as I go over to pick up my phone which was lying face down on the floor. I pick it and I’m not surprised to discover that the entire screen is broken beyond a manageable form, “Well…now I know who to thank for the remodelling,” shaking the phone and raising it for Jack to see, “All in a day’s work,” the doofus replies, before taking a bow as I resist the urge to shake my head as a tiny smile creeps onto my face, “I’m off. You should do the same. It would be a pity if one of the ghosts you were mimicking decides to take its anger out on you. Who then would act the fool in front of Tom tomorrow,” I say in an obviously tired tone before turning my back and walking towards the gate of the huge building we stood in, “Don’t worry. Even if I die, My ghost is sure to haunt you all for the rest of your days. Oh…and Cheer up Ray. Whatever happens tomorrow at least we know that we’ve got each other’s backs” “Right? Right!” shouts the i***t behind me and I do my best to ignore him as I continued walking out of the gate, “Right,” I whisper right back although too low for anyone but me to hear, still I raise my hand and gently wave the back of my hand towards him, not caring whether he saw it or if the ghosts had already gotten to him before any other thing could.