The next day

Having completed your assignment, you have a whole day before you have to think about the devils again. You wake up, still a little sleepy from the excitement of last night. At least work will get your mind onto something else.

You work for Geek Squad at Best Buy. Okay yeah, it’s not something you love admitting to people, but it was what your settled for directly out of college and then you just… never left. At least it pays a lot better than you were expecting. Plus, it’s easy, and sometimes you do your makeup just so and undo a few buttons and then you get to watch nerds stutter and blush as they try to ask a question to the bombshell employee. Well, maybe bombshell is overdoing it, but it doesn't take much to fluster your customers.

You head to work, and it’s a day like any other. Rebecca drones on and on about her boyfriend; Eric spends most of the day on his phone, throwing out a few quips to you and others. Contrary to popular belief, most of this job is done in the store, but you do have one on-site install today -- it goes fine. Soon enough the day is over and you’re back at home.

You aren’t in any kind of hurry to see the devils again. But, getting it over with sooner rather than later seems wise. So, after taking an hour to decompress at home you pile back into your car and drive to Cloisters Apartments for the second time in as many days. A shitty name befitting a shitty building with shitty “people” inside it.

Anxiety rises in tune as you take the stairs up two stories. This conversation will take a delicate balance; you aren’t going to give them any reason to mess with your body again, but you definitely aren’t going to let them walk over you either. If you can even help it.

*knock knock* -- and then, once again, the door opens almost instantaneously.

“Glad to see you back, dear. Did you have fun in the fountain last night?” Cecilia asks with a grin.

“Err, yeah something like that”

“Well, come on in and you’ll have to tell us all about it,” she says.

You awkwardly shuffle into the apartment and take a seat in the living room, where Cassius is already sitting. It’s a very odd setting for a meeting.

“Uhh, why do you care so much? Do you two just get off on this or what?”

“Well yes, but more than that we like to see our little children grow! To expand their horizons and all that,” Cecilia says.

“Oh so I’m your child now?”

“It’s a turn of phrase, dear.”

“So you have others like me then -- who you’ve captured? What are you doing to them?”

“No, you’re one of a kind right now. We aren’t nearly so interested in our other playthings.”

“But there were others before? Tell me about them!” you demand.

The male devil leans forward, cutting off your inquiry.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says seriously. “Tell us about the fountain. If you had the guts to do it.”

You frown at him, upset at being cut off from knowledge that might help release you from their grasp.
“You think I would come back here if I didn’t? Just so you can freeze me again or something?”

“Alright, then don’t be shy. We want to know exactly what happened.”

“I got in my car last night, drove to the park, and got in the fountain. And it was cold by the way, so thanks for that. Could’ve gotten hypothermia.”

“And did you strip? That was the whole point.”