Winning

Making The Deal

She gulped and licked her lips. Charity had never seen anything like it before. Like them. They stood before her, a flickering human-esque blob. One minute it almost looked like an a boy her age, the next it was a very young girl. Asian, black, white, hispanic, old, young, male, female. The only certainty was that it was powerful.

"What do you want from me?" they asked wearily in an echoey, indeterminate voice.

Charity looked at them directly where their eyes should be and said, "Help."

"Help?"

"You're so much more powerful than you realize. We can help each other. Make a deal with me." She had had a long speech planned out, but now that they were right there, all her well thought-out arguments flew out the window and she spit out main points in a rush.

"Please," she tried again. She'd spent years researching them. A being containing both immense power, and self doubt. The being is not easily convinced, but once they are, they'll do what you want. And Charity wanted revenge. Revenge and attention.

All her life she stood in the shadow of her "perfect" family, and on the outside of every group of friends. People never noticed her. In highschool, she always had to do group projects on her own. At home, she could have done practically anything short of blowing up a wing of the mansion, and no one would have noticed. But with the help of this being, she could get powers! She could hurt people; make them regret leaving her out of life. But first she needed to convince them.

"Why?" they ask skeptically.

"Because you are special. I've looked up to you ever since I found a book about you in middle school. You're smart and powerful, and yet merciful and lonesome. We can fix that. I know you're looked down upon for helping humans like me. We can change that!" Charity was hurriedly making things up as she went, but they sounded reasonable. If the being had a face less like a staticy, old-fashioned television and more like a real human's, she prayed it would look interested.

"How?"

"By working together! You can give me some powers and stuff so I can do what I need, and you can get a friend and you can prove to the other beings that you're not some lame pushover! You're to be FEARED!"

"...what is it you need?"

"I...I want people to see me. To regret pushing me to the sidelines and ignoring me. To wish they had included me. In a way, I want them to fear me, too."

"And you'll...help me?"

"Of course!"

"...even if I ask you to do something?"

"Yes?"

"If I ask you to kill your older sister?"

"Yes." She wasn't sure how they knew about Charisma, but she was 100% certain she would do it.

The being looked a little taken aback by how quickly she answered.

"You're a wicked one, aren't you, Charity Goodman?"

"...perhaps. But it's only out of necessity! I'll do anything for them to notice me. For them to care."

"Anything?"

"Yes! Yes, I swear! I'll kill Charisma. I'll kill my entire family! I'll...I'll stab myself in the leg!"

They stood and looked at her for a good few minutes. Charity self-consciously pulled her jacket tighter around herself, but tried her best to remain firm. It felt like the being was staring directly through her and into her soul.

Finally, they nodded and said, "Yes. I'll accept your deal, Charity Goodman." They held out a flickering hand for Charity to shake, but pulled it away at the last second. "But hear this: Your motives are selfish, and there is cruelty in your heart. Things probably won't end well for you if you continue to live with this evil; this villainy. Be careful what you wish for."

"I know what I'm doing," she responded, trying her best to remain calm. She desperately wanted to snap at them for saying these things. These things she knew deep inside were true.

"Then let's make a deal." They once again offered their hand, and Charity eagerly took it. There was no going back.

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into," the being laughed in their echoey voice before they could even release their hands. It rang loudly through her head, screeching unpleasantly, but she refused to move.

The being seemed to be watching her wince with amusement. Maybe it was impressed by her determination. Or maybe, just maybe, it saw the storm of terror deep in her soul. The one crying "this is a mistake; it's not worth it!"

"No idea at all."