Corporate Contract
"It is now the close of business, and you have not collected souls worth exchanging for your own. So, as we agreed, I get to keep your soul."
Jake let out a deep sigh. "So... what happens now?" he asked, trying not to think about the implications of what he had just done in an effort to save his own soul. Had he really just damned a few kids in a frantic attempt to save himself?
"Well, for starters, I'll just file these contracts of yours away," Lucas said, opening the bottom drawer of his obsidian filing cabinet. "When it comes time for them to quit or leave the company, I'll be sure to collect on their promise. As far as what happens to you... well, I'll be taking back the gift of demonhood from you. It seems that you don't have what it takes to succeed. So, as a mortal without a soul... you'll feel nothing. Just like before, your consciousness will black out, leaving you with no memory of your time alive. Your body will be walking around, doing my bidding, serving the company as I see fit, until you eventually die. After that, your consciousness will awaken in Hell. For you, it will seem like an instant, but I assure you that your body will have been alive for at least forty more years, accruing even more sins that we'll be holding against you as we torture you for all eternity. How does that sound?"
Jake shook his head. "You know, the pessimist in me always assumed I was going to Hell. I just never thought it would be so soon or so literal."
"Oh, yes, hah hah. Brilliant quip. Very funny," Lucas replied, with a slow clap. "Are you quite finished?"
"I'm waiting on you, asshat," Jake said, with a grimace. His muscles tensed, as he tried to brace himself for the darkness which he knew would come. He felt a tap on his forehead, and an uneasy peace as his body fell away to the ground like discarded clothing. There was a brief glimpse of a wrinkled body in a hospital bed, presumably his own. Then there was nothing but deep, searing pain and the heat of the flames.
Jake let out a deep sigh. "So... what happens now?" he asked, trying not to think about the implications of what he had just done in an effort to save his own soul. Had he really just damned a few kids in a frantic attempt to save himself?
"Well, for starters, I'll just file these contracts of yours away," Lucas said, opening the bottom drawer of his obsidian filing cabinet. "When it comes time for them to quit or leave the company, I'll be sure to collect on their promise. As far as what happens to you... well, I'll be taking back the gift of demonhood from you. It seems that you don't have what it takes to succeed. So, as a mortal without a soul... you'll feel nothing. Just like before, your consciousness will black out, leaving you with no memory of your time alive. Your body will be walking around, doing my bidding, serving the company as I see fit, until you eventually die. After that, your consciousness will awaken in Hell. For you, it will seem like an instant, but I assure you that your body will have been alive for at least forty more years, accruing even more sins that we'll be holding against you as we torture you for all eternity. How does that sound?"
Jake shook his head. "You know, the pessimist in me always assumed I was going to Hell. I just never thought it would be so soon or so literal."
"Oh, yes, hah hah. Brilliant quip. Very funny," Lucas replied, with a slow clap. "Are you quite finished?"
"I'm waiting on you, asshat," Jake said, with a grimace. His muscles tensed, as he tried to brace himself for the darkness which he knew would come. He felt a tap on his forehead, and an uneasy peace as his body fell away to the ground like discarded clothing. There was a brief glimpse of a wrinkled body in a hospital bed, presumably his own. Then there was nothing but deep, searing pain and the heat of the flames.
