Running Out

      There is a knock at the door.

           “Who in the hell is bothering me now?” asks Devlin as he gets up from his cozy chair and marches to the front door. “This better be good, for this is my seventh day. My day to rest.”

           Devlin opens the door, a fierce look on his face, ready to berate the one who disturbs him. He opens his mouth to speak forth foul words, but clamps it shut when he sees a young girl. Dark, curly hair, and olive skin that is the perfect color for Devlin. She is smiling as she shows off her dimples, and such large, brown eyes with long eyelashes.

           “I can make lots of money selling her to the trade,” he thought as his look turns to hunger.

           “Hello Devlin,” she says with a voice of an angel.

           “Have we met before?” he asks, as he wonders how she knows him. His name is nowhere in sight outside his luxurious home.

           “We have, but you will not remember,” she says. “You are very busy and prosperous with your good luck of late.”

           “Yes indeed. Good luck has come my way,” he says, now showing off his two gold teeth. “My next step is to have a wall built around my house, and a sturdy gate to keep people out. But there is a possibility I do not want to keep you out, young, beautiful girl,” he ends with a devilish look.

           “I just come to tell you your luck is about to take a turn for the worse,” she says with her smile widening.

           The smile on Devlin’s face dissipates, and his look of anger returns. “What are you talking about, little girl? I do not know you and I think you do not know me. It is not nice to say such a thing to an adult.”

           “Unfortunately, you do not know what nice is,” she says. “In fact, you are quite the monster.”

           The beautiful smile is rapidly making Devlin irate.

           “I think you better leave before the monster comes out,” he says with a stern look.

           “Change your ways,” she says as her smile leaves, replaced by a stern look. “You have caused much evil.”

           “I do not know what kind of game this is, but I am done with it. You better run along before I carve a larger smile on your face or send you off to make others happy in one of my happy houses.”

           “Repent Devlin,” she says.

           “That is, it,” he says as he turns around and grabs his favorite knife off his coffee table. Showing the girl, the long blade should scare her off. “Welcome to my friend,” he says as he turns to her. She is gone. “What? Where did you go? You cannot be that quick.”

           Devlin takes a couple of steps out, looking all directions. This could be a trick, and someone else could wait for him to take him out. His life is doing well right now so there are ones who will love to take over his business. His tactics also brought forth quite the body count so there might be ones who want revenge.

           “No one around,” he says.

           He goes back into the house, slams the door closed, and locks up.

           Devlin goes over to his sofa and lies down. He wonders what that was all about. Who put that little girl up to trying to scare him? He will find out and make them pay.

           “This brief episode makes me want to have some company,” he mutters.

           He grabs his cell phone to call his friend, Rachel. Have her come over to chat and have lots of fun. Devlin is about to punch the auto dial when the memory surfaces. He sent her off to a whorehouse a little while ago after the owner offered lots of money.

           “That was dumb of me,” he says. “She was quite good at keeping me occupied. Oh, well.”

           She is no good now, being all doped up.

           Devlin puts his phone back on the coffee table, but as soon as he did, the phone started playing his favorite tune.

           “Who is calling me?”

           Devlin grabs the phone. “Hello?”

           It is one of his henchmen, Bob, who tells him in a high, squeaky voice that one of his houses had been raided. The largest one that he is a part of just recently. One management was knocked off weeks back, thanks to Devlin. His plan, with his great luck, put him in the management role. Now, it is at an end way too soon as he listens to Bob.

           “That damn girl couldn’t have had something to do with this,” he thought. “Not possible.”

           Bob finally quieted down and Devlin can only hear his hard breathing.

           “Settle yourself down,” Devlin says to the panicked man. “They won’t be able to track us.”

           “We lost all our merchandise,” says a hysterical Bob.

           “There are plenty of fish in the sea. All you have to do is walk the streets and you will see plenty of victims. Now, settle down and have a drink and pop a pill.”

           Devlin clicked the phone off and dropped the phone on the rug.

           “What a shit show?” he says with a groan.

           He closes his eyes and tries to picture being on a pleasant beach relaxing.

           A sound of a girl’s giggle is heard in his house.

           Devlin jumps up and grabs his knife.

           “Who is there?!” he yells.

           Nothing. Did he doze off and think he heard the giggle? He had just closed his eyes, so that is not a possibility.

           Devlin starts going to every room in his house, finding no one about.

           “Maybe I am hearing things?’ he thought.

           He went back toward the living room to relax, but as he passes the back door, he can hear a lot of talking from his backyard.

           “What now?” he moans.

           He unlocks the door and opens it. What he sees makes his mouth drop. His yard is full of people conversing with each other.

           “What the hell are you doing in my backyard?!” he yells as he steps out.

           The people continue to converse, paying him no mind.

           “Hello! You are on my property! Better get out of here or I will start shooting!”

           No one responds or turns toward him.

           Devlin was about to turn around to get his gun when he recognizes some people. But it is not possible. They are dead. One or two, he saw himself die. Others he set-up for their demise.

           “Am I having a nightmare?”

           Devlin goes back into the house and slams the door shut. He turns around and the girl he met a little earlier is standing a few feet from him with a smile.

           “I see you got to meet all of your victims,” she said.

           “How did you get in my house?” he asks as he points the knife at her.

           “I’m here to tell you that your luck has run out.”

           “Your luck has run out as I prepare to gut you,” he says with a snarl as he takes a step toward her.

           Next moment, the beautiful girl morphs into a hideous monster. The sight of the monstrosity takes Devlin’s sanity away and his heart gives out.

           A couple of days later, Bob stops by, not being able to contact Devlin. He finds his body with an expression of pure terror.

           “What happened to him?” Bob asks.

           It does not take long for a grin to appear on Bob’s face.

           “Now I can be in charge,” he says with a chuckle. “My luck has turned for the better.”

           He leaves, hoping his luck continues to prosper.