Short stories

The Devil's Gambit

The old man sat in his rocking chair staring out the window at the darkness. He had been sitting there for hours unmoving, unblinking. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the mantel.

Suddenly, the old man's eyes widened. He
sat up straight and listened intently. There, in the distance, he could hear it: the sound of footsteps, coming closer and closer.

The old man stood up and slowly made
his way to the door. He opened it just a
crack and peered out. In the moonlight,
he could see a figure standing on the porch. It was a man, tall and thin, with long, dark hair and a pale face.

The man on the porch raised his hand and
knocked on the door. The old man hesitated for a moment, then opened the door wider. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a place to stay for the
night," the man said. "Can you help me?"

The old man looked at the man for a
moment, then stepped aside. "Come in,"
he said.

The man stepped into the house, and the
old man closed the door behind him.
"Thank you," the man said. "I'm really
grateful"

"It's no problem," the old man said. "I'm
just glad to be of help."

The man looked around the house. "This is
a nice place," he said.

"Thank you," the old man said. "I've been
here a long time"

"I can tell," the man said. "It's got a lot of
character"

"Yes, it does," the old man said. "I've been
very happy here"

The man nodded. "I'm glad to hear that,"
he said.

The old man motioned to the couch.
"Would you like to sit down?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you," the man said.

The old man sat down in the rocking chair,
and the man sat down on the couch. They
sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost
in their own thoughts.

"So," the man said finally, "what's your
name?"

"My name is John,' the old man said.

"And yours?" the man asked.

"My name is Thomas," the man said.

"It's nice to meet you, Thomas," John said.

"It's nice to meet you too, John," Thomas
said.

They sat in silence for a few more
minutes, then Thomas spoke again.

"I'm glad I found you, John," he said.

"Why's that?" John asked.

"I need your help," Thomas said.

"What kind of help?" John asked

"I need you to help me find the Devil,"
Thomas said.

John laughed. The Devil? he said. "YouI're
joking, right?"

"I'm not joking," Thomas said. "I need your
help to find him."

John shook his head. "I don't believe in
the Devil," he said.

"That doesn't matter," Thomas said. "He
exists, whether you believe in him or not.
And I need your help to find him."

John looked at Thomas for a long
moment, then he sighed. "Okay," he said.
"I'll help you."

Thomas smiled. "Thank you," he said.

"But I don't know how we're going to find
him,"" John said.

"I have a plan," Thomas said. "But first, we
need to get some rest. We'll start tomorrow"

John nodded. "Okay," he said. ""m going
to bed."

"Good night,"' Thomas said

John went to his room and got into bed.
He lay there for a long time, thinking
about Thomas and his request for help.
He didn't believe in the Devil, but he knew
that Thomas did. And if Thomas believed
that the Devil was real, then John was
willing to help him find him.

The next morning, John woke up and got
dressed. He went into the kitchen and
found Thomas already there, making
breakfast.

"Good morning," John said.

"Good morning," Thomas said. "I hope you
slept well."

"I did," John said.

{633}