THE MOMENT
"Take it where?" Melthias asked. The portly, horned demon tilted his head at Paul. He stood inside the summoning circle in a garage. Paul stood outside the circle leaning against a dusty work table littered with tools.
"To... Hell...," Paul said. "I got everything I asked for, so our deal is finished... right? I summoned you so I could give you my soul." Melthias chuckled and shook his head.
"I don't want your soul, where'd you get that idea?" he asked.
"Where...we had an agreement!" Somewhere in the back of his mind, Paul realized what he was arguing for. Despite the fact that he was trying to give his soul away it was important that he wasn't wrong. He clearly remembered making a deal with Melthias.
"That's right," Melthias nodded. "You signed the contract and now I own your soul," he said.
"But you don't want to take it?" Paul asked. Melthias shrugged.
"Take it where?" he repeated the question.
"AARRGH!" Paul was beyond flustered. He was trying to do the right, mature thing and accept the consequences of his decision. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was more mature than a demon that had been alive for who knows how long. But, Paul had always been determined. It was part of how he learned how to deal with demons at all. He knew there had to be a way and he found one. It was also fortunate that he'd learned a surprising amount about Hell in his research; though, apparently, not everything.
"Let me talk to your supervisor," Paul said. Hell was just another bureaucracy.
"One moment," Melthias nodded, then disappeared in a plume of red, cinnamon-scented smoke. A pale teenage girl with rainbow hair stood in the summoning circle when the smoke cleared. She wore a crisp white blazer with a red crescent moon stitched on the front and white slacks.
"Hi Paul, my name's Monday. What seems to be the trouble?" she asked.
"I signed a contract with Melthias...," Paul said. He purposefully included the name just to be sure Melthias received appropriate consequences. "...now the contract has been completed and I summoned him again to take my soul."
"Take it where?" Monday tilted her head at him.
"WHY DON'T YOU WANT MY SOUL!??" Paul couldn't contain his voice.
"OOoooooohhhh," Monday's rainbow eyes sparkled with comprehension. "I see, there's been a misunderstanding," she said.
"Huh?" Paul managed to calm down. It was a different answer at least.
"For some reason, you're under the impression that you have to 'hand your soul over'...," Monday used air quotes around the phrase. "...after our end is satisfied. But, that's wrong," she said. "It wouldn't make sense from our side to do things for you before we get what we want; your soul belongs to Hell as soon as you sign the contract. But, we don't have to actually have possession of it to own it, it's ours on paper. You know, for bookkeeping purposes."
"Bookkeeping?" Paul chuckled. "You make it sound like accounting."
"That's exactly what it is," Monday nodded. "You're not the only soul on this Earth to deal with Sharp Development, and this isn't the only Earth where we have dealings. There are a lot of souls to keep track of."
"Sharp Development? I dealt with a devil from Hell...," Paul said. "Wait did you say there are other Earths?" Monday nodded.
"There are an infinite number of Earths and many of those Earths have a concept of an afterlife that Sharp Development has capitalized on. You can consider it Hell's parent company if that helps. Ms. Sharp, the owner, treats Hell as a customer service industry. I think we solved the original problem; you don't need to give your soul to us. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Monday asked.
"Oh," Paul nodded. He understood that they already owned his soul; but, Monday seemed pleasant and talkative. He felt like he had access to the mysteries of the universe now. All he had to do was find the right question. "Uhhhmm..."
"Oh!" he said suddenly. A stray thought came to mind. It wasn't a particularly deep question and he didn't expect much of an answer. But, he hoped that she wouldn't leave as long as he was asking questions. "So, Sharp Development runs the afterlife right?" he asked. Monday nodded.
"I know the deal I made, and now I know how that works; but, I'm curious. Since it's all customer-focused, is there a deal I could have made that ends with you taking my soul to Heaven?" It was a nonsense filler question and Paul wasn't surprised when Monday gave him a confused expression again. He was, however, stunned by the question that came with the confusion.
"Take it... where?"