26 comments

Fantasy Mystery

It had all supposed to be a normal day, but… it wasn’t.

James was woken brutally in the middle of the night by a phone call.

“Wassamatter?” he asked drowsily. A voice snapped at him. “You’re supposed to be awake at this time of the day, James!”

James chuckled into the phone. “It’s not even day, Benjamin. Get your head together.”

The other person, named Benjamin, sighed. “Stop insulting me with your odd timings, you devil. I’m an angel, and I have to do your job. You were supposed to be on the night shift, weren’t you?”

James groaned. “Angels can stay up at night, and devils can stay up during the day, Ben.”

Ben’s voice took on a serious tone. “Look here, I have not called to chitchat with you. I found a lost soul in the corporate building. You better take care of it. I need my rest.”

“The building twelve blocks away from my house? Sure, I’ll take care of it,” James waved Ben’s worry away and quickly disconnected the call.

Yeah.

Bizarre though it may sound, it was true. An angel was working with a devil. Literal supernatural beings. The last month, both of them had got into trouble with their respective departments- Heaven and Hell. God and the Head Devil had a small negotiation and settled on making them work with each other for twelve months on Earth as punishment. Little did they know that James and Benjamin were fast friends.

James rolled and rolled in his sleep, mulling over the facts. He finally couldn’t stand the insomnia- not that he slept regularly- and walked over to his desktop sitting patiently on the table. He opened it up normally, and then clicked an icon labeled ‘Rampage Software’. It looked normal from the outside, but on opening, it demanded that the user answer a question.

‘Code?’

He smirked. The Devils’ Code was easy to decipher… only by a devil. He typed it in and surfed through all the news he could find straight from Hell about the building. It had apparently been swarmed by ghosts since the beginning of its existence, but lost souls were a rarity. In fact, this was the first occurrence of that kind of soul in there.

“Loves to inhabit the elevator… what the Hell?” he commented.

The next day found him feeding on waffles for breakfast. He was late for the mission.

“Ben! Can you pick me up at eleven?” he yelled into his phone. He could feel the angel rolling his eyes through the call. “Seriously, why don’t you buy your own car?” he sighed, but agreed to pick James up anyway.

In exactly twelve minutes, both of them were speeding towards the target site in the car. James turned to Ben. “Hang around near the place, okay? If I need backup, I’ll call you ‘Benjamin’.”

Ben nodded. “And let’s not use phones. They’re easily traceable.”

Soon, James was rushed into the building. He smiled at the receptionist. “I heard you were having trouble with the computer systems on the third floor,” he said in one of his sweetest voices. She blushed. “Yeah,” she said. “They have been acting up lately. You can use the elevator. It will be more convenient.”

He smiled and winked at her before moving away. Everything was going according to the plan. Now, all he had to do was take the ghost to the third floor where Ben had set up dormant spells the night before. Isolate the lost soul and activate the spells- it was all simple. The humans were cleared of that floor, so nobody would know anything.

He stepped into the elevator along with two more people. The doors closed and it started moving up. Suddenly, it jolted to a halt in the middle of two floors. Panic took root in the two humans. James tried to calm them, but he was tensed himself. How would he reach the third floor without alerting the two now?

“Hello, look what we have here,” a voice echoed behind him. His head jumped up and he turned around.

There it was, lounging across the wall, phasing in and out. The others couldn’t see or feel it, so it was pretty safe. James hissed in frustration.

“You are the lost soul I have to eliminate, huh?” he whispered through grit teeth. It only chuckled in a wily manner. “But you can’t, can you? Ickle devil can’t without using his powers!” it cackled loudly. He closed his eyes. “Why are you here?” he demanded.

“I’m lost, aren’t I?” it said again in a voice which made a chill travel down his spine (even though he himself was a devil). He sighed. “’I meant,” he growled, “Why are you lost?”

One of the two behind him leant towards the other. “Isn’t that man mad, talking to himself?”

The soul grinned and James prayed for patience. He had been getting this ever since he descended on Earth, but he had never got to getting used to it.

“Alright,” he spoke again to the soul. “Spill the beans. It was you who broke down the elevator, right?” The soul looked away. “It is called cutting access to electricity, but whatever.”

“YOU SHUT DOWN THE ENTIRE BUILDING’S CURRENT SUPPLY? WHY?” James roared. The other two persons’ worst fears seemed to have been confirmed, and they cowered in a corner, one of them furiously dialing a number on their phone.

James looked desperate now. “I beg you… I don’t want to be the cause of even a moment’s misery to the humans,” he pleaded the soul. The person trying to call someone shouted out, “You’re making us pretty miserable here!”

James ignored them. He looked pitifully at the soul.

“They did me wrong and killed my mortal form brutally. Why should I forgive any of the humans?”

James inhaled deeply. At least he had found out why this soul was still on Earth.

“I need a promotion back at Hell,” he said calmly. “And I need you out of here if I want to stand a chance.”

The soul looked skeptical. “Oh, but do you expect me to help you out without something in return?” it cackled again. James grunted. Of course, it was a lost soul after all, and all of them were clever and selfish. He could not risk calling Ben; the soul would know it. He had to agree.

“… What do you want?” he murmured. The soul beamed gleefully. “Now we’re talking! Don’t kill me, and I get you out without harm to the people. I won’t even step in here again.”

“Is that a deal?” he asked in a tiny voice. It nodded. He inhaled. “Fine, then,” he agreed.

That was all that the soul needed. It phased outside the elevator and pushed the whole thing downstairs. All three of them landed safely. As soon as it pulled opened the doors, the humans ran out, glad to be away from ‘that madman’.

James stepped outside in relief. “Thanks,” he told the soul. It bowed. “It has been my pleasure,” it said in return.

“Sir!” a voice called out.

James whipped around. The receptionist hurried towards him. “I heard the elevator broke down! Are you alright?” she inquired, worried. He blinked a few times. “Didn’t the whole building experience a power loss?” he asked, bewildered. She shook her head, equally confused and concerned. He turned to glare at the soul.

But it had already escaped.

September 05, 2020 16:18

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26 comments

Sam W
03:13 Sep 18, 2020

This was so much fun. The unresolved ending was as wild as the rest of it. Perfect. Change “grit” to “gritted” if you can still edit. How did Ben and James end up friends, btw? Ps. Thanks for checking out my subs.

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Authoring Studio
16:43 Sep 18, 2020

Thanks for reading a lot! I'm so sorry, but I can't edit any more. However, when I looked it up, the past tense of 'grit' is 'grit' and also 'gritted'. Ben and James currently don't have a backstory. I'll try to write one as soon as I find a fitting prompt. Thanks a lot for the inspiration!

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The Cold Ice
05:39 Sep 17, 2020

I loved this.Great job keep it up.Mysterious story.Keep writing.Waiting for your next.Well done.I loved your imagination.Poor devil was fooled. Would you mind to read my story “The dragon warrior part 2?”

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Authoring Studio
11:34 Sep 17, 2020

Thanks a lot! Sure, I would love to check out your story!

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Lonnie Larson
03:04 Sep 17, 2020

Very nice. A demon gets tricked for a change. Keep it up.

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Authoring Studio
11:32 Sep 17, 2020

Thanks a lot! :D

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Andrew Krey
01:12 Sep 15, 2020

Hi Pranati, I really liked this idea, a creative use of the prompt. There were a couple of minor errors, but that’s expected with such a short deadline. As far as further suggestions; I think at the beginning it may have worked well to delay the reveal they were a devil, as it’s in the title, so didn’t need to be revealed directly, and the reader could speculate initially. Just a thought. Also, be careful with dialogue as a couple of times with their back and forth, there wasn’t a new line when a new person spoke. Great story, and ...

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Authoring Studio
01:50 Sep 16, 2020

Thanks a lot for the suggestions! I will not be able to change them now, but I will definitely add it in my notes. Thank you so much for reading!

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Andrew Krey
09:44 Sep 16, 2020

You're welcome Pranati, I'm glad the feedback was useful :)

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Mila Van Niekerk
04:37 Sep 10, 2020

I just want to tell you WELL DONE with publishing your books. I read your bio and I'm really happy for you!!!!😀😀 ESPECIALLY since you're still in school; that's real dedication and a lot of work. I'm writing exams now😬😬Also me and one of my friends are working on a book together but we've taken a LOOOONNGG break because we're not in the same class anymore and don't have extra time other than whispering during class. Sorry I didn't read it I promise to come back to it, I just wanted to let you know well done with what you're already doing!

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Authoring Studio
05:27 Sep 10, 2020

Thank you so much 😁 You don't have any idea how much that means to me! 💜💜

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Corey Melin
23:06 Sep 07, 2020

Loved the imagination in this one. Poor devil was fooled. I lack sympathy for it. Well done

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Authoring Studio
04:27 Sep 08, 2020

Thanks a ton! :)

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Rebecca Lee
12:18 Sep 07, 2020

Hey. That is pretty good. As with everyone else, i encourage three things - 1. Write for yourself don't worry about what the rest of us say. 2. Write understandably, clearly and lastly, 3. Don't write just to submit a piece, write with purpose. And have fun with it. Make sure you read through it several times before you hit submit - and check for typos, verb agreement/tense and long sentences. Sometimes on the second run through you can catch that sentence that could be shortened better than I can tell you or suggest how to do it. ...

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Authoring Studio
17:27 Sep 07, 2020

Thank you so much for telling me all of this! I'll read your story once I get time, I'm a little busy right now. Thanks again! Please continue to read my stories and give me feedback 😁💜😊

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Susan Moreno
16:19 Sep 05, 2020

Lol I was shocked to know opposites were working together...

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Authoring Studio
16:27 Sep 05, 2020

Haha I know, right

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Mila Van Niekerk
17:30 Sep 09, 2020

I didn't read it, sorry I'm a bit busy but I just want to wish you good luck with your grades and your book. Mind telling me the titles of the others so I could check them out?

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Authoring Studio
05:26 Sep 10, 2020

Thanks! Please do read when time permits, no hurry 😊💜 I just updated my bio, so please check out the book names over there!

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Jan Querubin
03:24 Sep 09, 2020

Good story! It was new to see these two particular beings working together and you did a great job at portraying their relationship.

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Authoring Studio
10:31 Sep 09, 2020

Thank you so much! I worked hard on this 😁

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Amogh Kasat
08:02 Sep 07, 2020

It's a wonderful story! Please read my latest story

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Authoring Studio
17:24 Sep 07, 2020

Thanks 😊 I already did. It's brilliant 👌

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Amogh Kasat
02:00 Sep 08, 2020

got it

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Susan Moreno
16:20 Sep 05, 2020

Nice story :D

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Authoring Studio
16:28 Sep 05, 2020

Thanks! Please read all of my previous submissions!

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