flash fiction friday

it's that time again, so big up jj for the setup:

It was just a bad feeling... it meant nothing.
at least, that’s what i’ve been trying to convince myself since i followed, down the eerily-dark-passage to nobody-knows-where. but the nagging “you don’t know this person” followed by “was this wise?” wouldn’t let go.
usually, i listen to these voices. i figure they know better and are trying to help me out, so i should take advantage of the free assistance. but when you’ve officially made and signed your deal with the devil, those nudges can no longer be your guide. you’re on an alternate path with divergent rules.
so i kept following quietly.
down the twisty stone steps, my high hopes for what was below getting lower with each step down, i didn’t know if it was encouraging or creepy that the stairs were so worn, but hoped it was a sign that those who went down did come back up.
“is this necessary?”
“how else could we guarantee your presence when he came to claim his payment?”
that didn’t sound so much like i’d be back up. and besides, didn’t he have to give you your desire before claiming your soul? i’d thought a soul would be prerequisite in the fulfillment of a dream.
but here i was, headed down and suddenly scared.
when i first found the ‘we want your soul’ website i was sure it was just elaborate satire, so i took the test. i mean, somebody offering a quantitative quote on the monetary value of your soul- i had to take the test just to see what the criteria were- how could i not?
they asked some decent questions, and all in all, i found it highly entertaining. then i got my quote and started taking it all a little more seriously. i mean, to pay off student loans and mortgage…i had to consider it.
of course my sister said no. and i didn’t dare broach it with mom. and dad would’ve thought me silly, and a disappointment to his great expectations. but i couldn’t stop thinking about how vastly it could improve my lifestyle, and how i didn’t really believe in god anyway.
did i even have a soul? and if souls exist, do you have to believe to get one? if i were lacking that’d be their loss, because i wasn’t actually expecting to need one. and if i was wrong about the whole god thing, it’s not like i would’ve been let in anyway.
and it seemed that being soul-less would probably result in a more complete enjoyment of my new financial easement.
but still, i thought about it for a long time. even after 9 tattoos, selling my soul seemed such a permanent choice. and i’d been wrong before. and i still wasn’t sure of the extrication process…
still going down, i wondered if i was walking all the way to hell. that’d be proper punishment for a non-believer: sent to hell and an eternity getting there.
then, an unexpected end to the staircase, as presented by a door.
i knew i didn’t want to go in, but i didn’t see any other options and my guide looked very displeased at my hesitance.
i’m still trying to dismiss it as a meaningless bad feeling brought on by unfamiliar surroundings, as i wait in this dank, dungeon-like room and hope that’s not a hint of burning flesh in the air.

walk good.
ps: since i refuse to acknowledge daylight savings bullshit on my machine, this is the first post of the season where trini-time and dc-time are 1hour off...