Delirium

.prologue

First, he sold his body...

_____

"How much for an hour?"

Slightly fearful eyes snapped up to an older male, examining him for a while before they nervously looked back down at the concrete sidewalk. The kid had never actually done this sort of thing before, so never had he thought of something like prices. He didn't know what to say. At that moment, all he knew was that he needed money and this was the second quickest way after thieving.

"10?"

"Is that a question?" The male asked with a raised brow.

"10."

"You actually value yourself like a cheap whore? "

The younger of the two stepped back at the insult, opening his mouth to say a higher price but the other had continued. "Kid, what are you doing out here, it's obvious you have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"I left home."

The guy rolled his eyes in annoyance causing the boy to look up in confusion. "Great. Another runaway teen whose parents pissed them off. Go home before you get killed out here."

"I have no home, I'm in the system."

"It doesn't matter, you need to go back to your foster parents or DHS or wherever the hell you came from because guess what? You're gonna get raped and beaten out here. They'll find you fucked and washed up on the coast by daybreak and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it."

Hesitating, the kid shook his head slowly. He wasn't going back because of what some random stranger said to him. It wasn't as if he could predict the future. "I can protect myself..." He replied, a frown on his face as he went into his back pocket and pulled out a gun.

That was when the man had shown sudden interest in him, raising his brow once again. "Do you know how to use it?"

"Yes."

He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. "No, you don't."

Unhappy at his doubt, he pointed the gun shakily at the man's face with his finger on the trigger. "I will shoot you." He threatened, gripping tight on the gun.

He hadn't known what to expect from the man. Fear...maybe anger at the weapon and yet, his face only held amusement. As if this entire thing was just so interesting to him.

To be honest, it discouraged the boy.

"No need kid, if I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it a long time ago. Why waste my breath talking, right? My name is Elliot."

"Cyan."

"Two hundred." Elliot began. "I'll give you two hundred dollars for each hour you stay with me, but I won't fuck you. I just don't want you out here tonight." Elliot stepped close to him, his hand reaching for Cyan now trembling fingers. "You're just a kid, I would be heartless to leave you out here alone."

"I'm sixteen."

"And I'm nineteen, now give me the gun. You won't need it anymore, I promise."

"Wh-what? Why would I do that?" Cyan asked in disbelief of Elliot's request. There was no way in hell...

"Because I got you now. You won't need to protect yourself because nothing will harm you."

Cyan shook his head nervously, trying to pull the gun towards his chest only to have Elliot pull his arm back, preventing him from doing so. "I can't trust you." Cyan protested.

"And yet I don't see anyone else offering to help you. Don't worry... I'll take care of you alright. I can give you food and a bed to sleep in for tonight."

Cyan chewed down hard on his lip, looking around at the dark street only that was only illuminated by the streetlight that they were standing underneath. He knew that he had wondered to the bad part of town but going with some random guy telling Cyan to trust him?

"I can leave whenever I want?"

"Sure. But I'll still feel obligated to watch after you."

"I don't need your supervision, I'm not five."

"So you made very clear earlier." He smiled. "I'm not allowing you to die though, I kinda like you kid."

"You just met me."

This time, Elliot said nothing, just shrugging as he pulled Cyan towards the car that he had pulled up in. It was black and way too luxurious considering what part of the city they were on. Maybe Elliot didn't live near here, but if that was the case, why was he here?

The gun was pried from Cyan's hand while he wasn't paying attention, quickly causing objections from him. Those objections, though, had ceased as soon as Elliot had pulled the trigger towards the sky and sent a loud noise piercing through the air. The action caused Cyan to fearfully duck down to the ground with his hands over his head.

"Oh, so it does have bullets." Elliot bemused, releasing the clip in the gun and watching it fall near the shaking Cyan.

"What the fuck!" Cyan screamed as he looked up at him. "What the hell is wrong with you man!?"

"Just seeing if you were pretending." Elliot opened the car door and motioned for Cyan to get inside.

"You're fucking crazy, there's no way in hell I'm going with you now."

"The gun is emptied out kid. I told you, if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have even spent the time talking to you."

Cyan stood back up, looking at the sleek black interior of the car before looking back at Elliot. He grabbed his hair, stepping back and looking around them once again, scared about his next decision. This man was insane and yet the falling temperature and Cyan's hunger was clouding his judgment. Quite badly actually.

"We don't have to have sex?"

"Nope."

Slowly, he made his way to the passenger seat, climbing in and sitting down. Warmth surrounded him but that didn't stop the tremors running down his body. Cyan kept his seat belt off, pulling his knees in and trying not to allow the fearful tears to escape as Elliot closed the door.

"Just, please... Please don't kill me."

Elliot glanced over at him, shaking his head and smiling slightly. "I promise," he said, pressing down on the gas and speeding down the road.

_____

...before selling his soul to the devil...