Prices to Pay//Michael Langdon

Papa

"Papa?" I ask out to the man in front of me. It's a familiar face, one I've known since I was eight. Papa Legba and all of his glory was right in front of me, but something isn't right. "Am I in Hell?" I ask and he laughs a little bit.

"Bitch!" A young lady calls out to me, but she's not a normal girl. She's got a facial deformity and her words sound slurred, "I know what you did to the coven witches, and I will make you pay!" She screams and Papa raises his hand indicating that she needs to stop talking.

"What's going on here, where am I?" I ask and she gives me a nasty snarl.

"Yes, you are in Hell, my child." He says in his satisfying accent. "You have committed immoral crimes and soon you will pay the price," He says and I give him a strange look.

"Soon? Why not now?" I ask him and he gives me the same small chuckle.

"Now is not your time to go, Natalie," He says and I hope that he's not saying what I think he's saying.

"What are you talking about?" I say frightened that I am not staying here in Hell. Where else would I go?

"You have unfinished business, child," He says smiling, letting out the same damned small chuckle. "The antichrist has offered me a deal I could not resist," He smiles to me, and I shake my head.

"What does that have to do with me?" I ask, praying that he is not saying that I will be back on earth. "I can't go back, it's impossible, I never sold my soul!" I say as fearful as ever.

"He has offered me over billions of souls, all for you, I did not need your soul to keep you alive," He says and I feel tears form in my eyes. "Soon enough you will awake in your bed, you are immortal, darling," He says and I shake my head, he's lying- he must be.

"No, Papa! Please, don't make me go back, I can't do it anymore," I scream out to him, falling on my knees. "Please! You can't make me go back, I beg of you," I scream from the top of my lungs, tears are falling from my eyes uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, a deal is a deal," He says calmly, he raises his arm out to me. I shake my head rapidly, mouthing 'please'. "I'll see you on the other side, my child," He says and fists his hand into a ball, and I scream out feeling my environment changing around me.

I continue screaming until I find myself in my bed, I gasp for air as I feel myself awake from a slumber. There's no way that I dreamed of my death and of Papa, I refuse to accept it. I should be dead and in Hell right now. I look to the side of me and see Michael on a chair, holding my hand. I'm in our room on the bed, why am I here? Swiftly, I remove Michael's hand from mine and go to touch my neck.

"Oh, no. Don't touch your neck, it's still healing," Michael says springing up from his chair, blocking me from touching my wound. He keeps my wrist in his hand, and I look at him in horror. The tears escape from my eyes and he wipes them with his other hand, "You know, you really scared me Natalie," He says quietly, squeezing my wrist tightly. Trying to use my powers to remove myself from his grasp, I fail. It's not that I'm not strong enough to use my powers, I can't feel my powers at all anymore, they're gone. "When me and my Ms. Mead saw you on the ground, she told me that you killed yourself, but I didn't believe her! Not for a second, why would my Natalie leave me?" He says smiling to me, removing a little bit of pressure off of my wrist. "Grandma told me everything, that intruder killed you in cold blood! Don't worry, I've already found the perpetrator, he's dead now," He says smiling, brushing my hair behind my ear. I look at him in fear as the tears stream down my face, "He almost killed Layna, you're lucky I met with Papa Legba before all of this nonsense happened," He says rubbing my stomach, I look at him in confusion.

"How? B-but we never-" I begin to say, looking down at my almost flat stomach.

"I thought I would do us both a favor, I know how depressed you've been lately. I knew she would make you happy," He says smiling innocently, his intentions were pure and wholesome. He's still such a naive antichrist he seems so innocent, I feel pity for him, but right now I pity myself. I'm not supposed to be here, I was supposed to die for all of the sins of which I have committed. Constance Langdon must have told him that there was a break in, and I can't help but feel guilty for his death too. Everything that I do is a complete disgrace, dead or alive.