Bedtime

Chapter 6
Answers

Chapter Description: Jessica meets the one who presented her with the box and tries to get answers.

Needless to say Jessica was not overjoyed to see Jeff. He lied to her over the phone and was spreading rumors about her having a baby. Jeff was greeted with her glare.

“How’s that box working for you? Did it get Andrew behaving better? Is Andrew even in there?” he inquired, much like an intrigued salesman.

“Oh he’s in here, all right,” she said, unlocking her door, “he hasn’t been ignoring me as much and for the most part he’s stopped getting into my food and drinks...”

“Might I speak with him?” Jeff insisted, not noticing the bag Jessica was holding, “If he’s available, of course?”

“He’s not feeling very talkative right now,” Jessica replied dryly, still upset over their phone call earlier that morning, “Maybe you should try again later.” She stepped into her apartment, the doorway separating her from Jeff.

Jeff grinned, which made Jessica feel very uneasy. It was as if he knew a lot of somethings that she didn’t. Jessica looked him in the eyes. He looked a lot different than when she saw him in the office, almost as if he wasn’t actually her boss... “Who are you?” she asked.

Jeff’s expressions returned to normal, but Jessica knew what she saw. He just gave a short chuckle and said, “Why, your boss, of course. Did the box trick give Andrew a good scare?”

Jessica’s eyes scanned Jeff completely; the man before her looked like her boss but wasn’t acting anything like him. Generally if he helped someone once that was enough charity on his part to last for months and he would never feel obligation of any kind to follow through with help he gave. As Jessica concentrated all her senses on Jeff, she came to realize that the man before her wasn’t her boss, in fact, he wasn’t even a man at all.

She had to look down to see it, but what was standing before her was a small devilish-looking creature similar to what she’d seen once on TV. She gasped, “You’re a...”

The creature looked about itself, becoming aware that its ruse was over. “Oh, you can see through my illusion,” it snickered mischievously.

“What did you do to Andrew?” she cried, “How do I fix this?”

It replied, laughing as though this was all a good joke, “I don’t even know what happened to poor Andrew. My familiars were supposed to escort his soul to the void, but I believe he took me seriously at my warning and hid under the covers, where lowly nightwalkers such as them cannot so much as influence him.”

Jessica’s jaw dropped. She thought the script she had read was just a ridiculous incantation meant to set the mood, not a survival guide. “What does that even mean?” she blurted.

The little devil before her cackled. It was high, shrill, and made her hairs stand on end. “Before I tell you what you want to know, first tell me what I want to know... What... happened... to Andrew? Being a devil, I don’t have to tell you anything, but if you let me know what I want... let’s just say I’m obligated to answer a question.”

Jessica swallowed. It was as if answering its question would somehow endanger Andrew. The thing drummed its thin, stocky fingers on its arm, wide toothy grin exposed. Feeling cornered, Jessica closed her eyes and replied, “... he...” she opened her eyes. She was already having a hard time accepting the whole scenario. She wanted, so desperately wanted, to wake up and find this all had been a really bad nightmare. The devil started to tap its claw on one of its sharp, pointy teeth, still waiting on an update as to Andrew’s condition. “... turned into a baby.” she gasped the last part of her sentence.

The devil in front of her howled with malevolent laughter. “Oh, but he’s much better behaved now. I’d even wager he’s even leaving your alcohol alone.” it continued its inhuman laughter, bringing tears to Jessica’s eyes. The devil broke off, “I would love to take him off your hands. I bet you don’t know the first thing about child care...”

Jessica felt as though this imp had her completely under its thumb. Her answer to it had given it some ground over her mental state, and she felt very uncertain of her situation. She knew she was playing her hand poorly, but seeing as this was her first encounter with another being not of her world she didn’t have any sort clue as to how things should be going. “You promised me answers,” she interjected.

“One answer,” the devil retorted, “and choose your question carefully... my answer might not be very helpful,” it started cackling again, watching as she cringed helplessly.

She wanted to ask how she could turn him back, but she felt as though this was just the beginning of something bigger. She bit her lip as she watched it start to drum its fingers on its arm again. Finally she concluded what she was going to ask, “What caused Andrew to turn into a baby?” she asked finally, sensing that she blew her last chance of restoring order to her life.

Her tormentor grinned, “The warning I had you read told him that if he got up off the couch, he would be noticed. Since he dismissed the warning, my familiars tried to trap him inside the box, where he would be sent to the void. The candles were his first line of defense, which must have failed for him to duck under the covers.” it snickered, relishing the agonizing look on Jessica’s face as she realized what she had brought into her home, “The second line of defense I provided came with a price. His reality would become false. Anything could have happened.” it cackled as it watched the tears stream down her face. Jessica was utterly ashamed with herself. “He could have turned into a cat, a lizard, a toy, a bug, or even another person... or his lifestyle could have even changed...” It fell silent, having kept its end of the bargain. “Now... let me see him.” Jessica’s head hung low.

She shook her head. “What will you do with him?” She realized she might as well have asked it the secrets of the universe. It wasn’t obligated to give her a straight answer as it had been before. It grinned its evil grin.

“Why, I will care for him, nurture him. He’ll grow up to be a powerful sorcerer. Together we’ll accomplish much...”

Jessica knew it was now lying to her. She shut her door on its face and turned her attention to her little companion.