John Galahad
"What did the doctors say?" My assistant - a sharp looking man in square glasses - one of merely a few people that still visited me asked while cutting an apple into bite sized pieces.
"Same old, same old." I answered. "We're going to try a new revolutionary medical technique that should help you with your condition. You know, the works."
"I see, how many does it make by now?"
I weakly smiled. "I neither know, nor do I care, it's always the same - a new, revolutionary technique - a new hope that doesn't come true. After so many of these false hopes, you become hollow to the very idea of getting better."
My assistant's hand stopped in the middle of slicing. "Are you going to give up, sir?"
I laughed, my laugh hollow and lacking humor. "You know as well as I that I want to live more than anything, if I could, I'd sell my company, sell all of my assets and even my soul just to live for another day." I turned to the assistant, my eyes locking onto his expressionless face. "Tell me, why are you still here? I already left you a hefty sum in my will, are you planning on getting some more by staying by this old man's side until his very end? Do you believe me to be that soft?"
"There's no need to overthink it." He answered. "I simply come here to give you the news about the company. Nothing more, nothing less."
I looked at the apple in his hand. "And yet you still remember to bring the exact apples that I like every time."
"That's just a coincidence, 'Granny Smith' is my favourite apple as well."
"Strange, since I've never seen you eat apples at all…"
The man finished cutting the apples and stood up. "The visiting hours are almost over, I should get going." He said. "I'll come tomorrow, same time. Oh and please do not give up." He said while walking out the door.
"I don't need you here! Who even asked you to drag your bony ass here every night?! Do you think that I can't get apples without you?!" I shouted for him to hear.
Don't give up, huh? Like I'd ever would. But do I really have a choice now? I've built an empire from scratch, I reached the top of this world and what for? What good is all the money, all the power that I have if I'm dying. I looked around, my hospital room was truly grand - filled to the brim with newest, most advanced medical equipment and yet all it did was slightly extend my ending life. Is this really all that unlimited money can give you?
I sighed. "I tried praying to god, now I pray to the devil. Please grant me one more chance at life, please save me from the death that I so desperately fear and in return, you can have anything you want, my soul included." I finished my prayer and waited for an answer. nothing. Well, it was worth the try. I thought.
Suddenly the lights flickered and went out completely. A voice pierced the night - a voice as sharp as a blade, unwavering, full of power and confidence. "I might not be the devil you seek, but I'll answer your prayer."
My heart raced. Is it a hallucination caused by my unconscious desires? Is it a dream, or the meds working their magic, or did that lousy assistant of myne put something into the apples? "W-who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling with a mixture of fear, hope and something else - something akin to the feeling of being in the presence of something profound and grand. "Show yourself or I'm calling the security!" I bluffed.
"Call whomever or whatever you'd like, no one will come, no one is able to come." The voice answered. "But, since you wish to see me, I'll oblige." The shadows in the corner of the room congealed and began taking shape. They morphed into something demonic - something with horns and jagged teeth.
I smiled. Will my wish actually be granted? This being is definitely a demon, I can't believe my luck. The figure emerged from the shadows and was illuminated by the light of the full moon through the glass and I was finally able to gaze upon its true form. The figure was clad in black and wearing a golden demon mask.
I swallowed hard and finally asked the most pressing question. "Can you save me? Are you able to heal me? No, scratch that, can you, at the very least extend my life for a few more measly years?"
"I can…" The figure answered. "But it will cost you…"
"I know that already and I'm prepared to pay any price. Whether it's my fortune or even my soul, I'll give you anything you want, just help me!"
The being in front of me started laughing. "Well said! Is there anything more important than your life? Very well, I'll give you a chance to live, as for if you'll survive… That depends solely on your will."
"What do you mean, my will?"
Without a word, he walked towards my night stand and took my crystal glass in his hand, examined it thoroughly and spilled the contents onto the floor. Then a flask materialized in his hand and he poured its contents into the glass. After that, he rolled up one of his sleeves, took out a dagger and slid his wrist over the glass, letting the blood flow freely. To my surprise, the wound on his wrist closed mere moments later.
He extended the glass to me with a warning. "This will be your test. If you succeed - you'll not only be cured of your affliction, but be granted a power unlike that of any human. Bullets will become like mosquito bites, poison will become but a child's play, you'll be able to outrun a car and accidentally bending metal with bare hands will become the norm, you'll become a being above the rest. But, if you fail…"
"I'll die, right?"
"Precisely."
"So, my test is just drinking that glass with your blood, is that right?"
The being softly shook its head. "The test will start after you drink it."
I didn't hesitate, grabbed the glass and chugged it all in one gulp. The taste was horrendous, but the pain that followed suit, was indescribable. All my bones, all my muscles and internal organs, all at once began breaking, reconstructing and reforming. I screamed my lungs out, or, at least, I think I did, since I didn't hear a thing. I didn't see, I didn't hear, I only felt the pain wracking my entire body.
It probably took a few minutes at most, but to me it felt like an eternity. Finally, after it ended, I fell into a deep, deep sleep and slept until the morning.
I awoke in the morning when the nurse brought me my breakfast, still dazed and extremely groggy. Last night's events felt so unreal, like a vivid dream, so I scratched it to my overactive imagination and went on with my day. A demon came in and cured me? Yeah right…
My first clue that something was off was when I finished the whole portion and still wanted some more, when, usually, I never finish it. When I was told by the nurse that there was no more, in my anger, I crushed the silver spoon I was provided with. This shocked me and I began somewhat believing that what happened last night was real.
The biggest shocker was when, after my daily examination, a very puzzled doctor told me that the condition affecting me was nowhere to be seen. I was immediately scheduled for more examinations in the afternoon, but before they could take me, I made an urgent request that my dinner would be three times the usual size.
The tests were numerous and tiring and they only confirmed what I was already feeling - that I was finally cured and somehow became far stronger than before.
When I returned back to my dimly lit room, it was already dark outside. I didn't bother turning on the lights, just rushed to the table with three trays on it and took off the steel domes covering the plates. To my great disappointment and frustration the plates were empty.
I was about to call the nurses over and start a scandal when a sweet and metallic smell wafted into my nostrils making me turn towards it. Only then did I notice a figure clad in black, wearing a golden demon mask, standing in the corner, holding a heavy looking, brown paper bag in its hand that was dripping something onto the ground.
"Yo… Long time no see, old man, you feeling better?" The figure asked.
"For some reason you seem less demonic today… Is it the lighting?"
"Yeah, I tend to act all high and mighty when I want to make an impression and get someone to do something for me…"
I looked at the empty plates. "I believe that this wasn't the price I'd have to pay for your help, right?"
"I sense a bit of resentment in those words, is the richest man in the world against sharing? I never had fancy food in the past, so I got a bit curious."
"It's not sharing if you eat it all!" I sighed, trying to control myself. I always got groggy when hungry, but today the hunger was simply unbearable. "That smell… What is it?" I asked.
"Oh that?" The figure threw the paper bag onto the table, the bag landed with a flop and spilled chunks of what seemed to be raw beef on the table. "It's your dinner, enjoy."
"What is it? Raw beef? Why would I ever eat…" When my eyes saw the meat, my mouth instantly began to water.
"You want it, don't you?" The figure asked. "I find that, to us, meat, especially raw meat, is what we crave and what fills us up the most. Eat it."
I stretched my hand and took a big piece, the smell was intoxicating, my mouth began to water more and more, so I took a bite, then another, then one more. I ate the whole bag's worth which amounted to something around ten pounds. The figure just stood there, in the corner, silently observing my every move.
When I finished eating and wiped the blood from my mouth, I finally asked the question. "What is it that you want from me? You don't seem like the type to go for souls, so my company?"
"There are a few things that I want from you." The being said. "First and foremost, I'll need your help in financially destroying a certain rich and influential family on my behalf…"
"Consider it done. And the second?"
"Me and my companions are kinda homeless at the moment. Fix that."
I smiled. "I have a penthouse apartment a 20 minute drive from here, it's yours. It's just that I never expected to find myself a homeless demon. What should I call you?"
"I call myself Adam."
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