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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-05
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2,213
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1/1
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23
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1,886

A Bargain Made

Summary:

Fandom: Original Fic
Summary: a man makes a deal with a demon.
Author's Note: this was published back in 99 under my mainstream pen, can't remember the scifi rag that used it, its been a long time, but I found it in on of the writers lists and since the contracts lond since run out, I figured I'd post it for public veiwing

Work Text:

 

A Bargan made
By PEJA (Chance Lee)

blank_pageIt wouldn't be long now. Soon the dark angel would claim Nina, leaving Judd Hyet alone after forty years. Alone with the shattered dreams of his youth and no hope of a second chance.

It was too late. Had been too late since he'd listened in stunned disbelief to Nina's terminal prognosis. And soon, more than likely, today, his beloved wife, his reason for life, would pass from his cherished care.

He turned away from the window, taking care to tuck the curtain back into place. The light tended to bother Nina's eyes when she was awake now, which wasn't very often anymore. She was tiring easily, drifting in and out of sleep at all hours.

An exhausted groan poured from deep in his throat as Judd padded on silent feet to stand over his wife. Keeping a serene face had aged him inside, but Nina didn't need to know his terrible grief. His suffering would make the passing all the harder on her. It wouldn't be fair, adding to her burden.

"Judd?"

"Yes, my own," his voice broke in a raspy whisper.

"Judd, are you here?" Nina's hand trembled as she reached out for him.

"Here," Judd gingerly took her paper-light hand in his, afraid he might crush the fragile bones. "Can I get you anything?"

Death clouded eyes opened. Her ravaged features brightened. Blue tinged lips turned up in a quivering smile. "I don't need anything, Judd. Except a promise."

"A promise?" Frowning, Judd unbuttoned his dark gray suit-coat before he settled in the chair next to her bed, never once releasing her hand.

Nina drew a shallow, wheezing breath. "You always look so nice, Judd. I can't remember a day you were not dressed to the tens."

"You mentioned a promise, love?"

"I did, didn't I?" She hesitated and smiled again. "When we met, dear Judd, you spoke of writing. You dreamed of writing a novel."

Judd grimaced. "We did a lot of nonsense talking back then, my dear."

"But... it wasn't nonsense, Judd. It was your dream and I want you to do it. I want you to realize the dreams you shared with me in our youth."

"Let's not go into that, Nina."

A spark of stubborn determination gleamed in her faded blue eyes. "Promise me you'll try."

"I have tried," Judd brushed a stray lock of silver hair from her eyes. "I can't do it. I don't have what it takes."

"But you do, Judd. It was me who turned you away from your dreams. Me who couldn't live with the uncertainties. I denied you the life you wanted. The life you deserved. That's why you have to try. Please, try again."

"All right," Judd said quickly, not wanting to upset her any more than need be. "I'll do it. Hell, I'd sell my soul if it would buy you one more second of happiness."

"A bargain offered," whispered in his head, "A deal made."

* * * * * *

She was gone.

God give him strength.

His beloved Nina had left him alone. And he wanted her back.  Desperately. With ever breath he drew he wanted her back.

Judd roamed listlessly into the tiny kitchenette and poured himself a cup of coffee, then wandered into his study. He stopped in the middle of the floor, staring at the computer that dominated his large antique oak desk.

The damn thing beckoned him, reminded him of his last promise to her. A promise made to his dying wife.

And the eerie words that had ran circles in his head.

"A bargain made?" he whispered. But to who?

Fear jolted down his spine and his hand trembled, sloshing coffee into the saucer. "Oh, blast," he grumbled, setting the cup and saucer down on the desk.

He reached out, touching the computer's black screened monitor. "Damn. Promises always did come back to haunt me."

But he had made the promise to Nina, hadn't he? He'd said he would give writing another try.

What if he tried and failed yet again? What then? Would that satisfy the promise, or would he feel compelled to return again and again?

If he failed could his fragile ego accept that?

Hadn't he lost enough already?

Moving slowly, he settled behind the computer and ran blunt fingers over the keyboard. "What should I do, Nina? Ah, why did you have to leave me, my own? I need you. Now, more than ever."

Still he had promised to try. And her demand for his promise was made with her last breath. He had to try.

If only he could forget those cryptic words that had seemed to come from inside himself.

A bargain made.

What did it mean, those words? If he'd made some mystic kind of bargain, who had he bargained with? Did he dare keep his promise?

"Stuff and nonsense," Judd grumbled, shaking his head. "It's nothing. Just delayed reaction. That's all."

He drew the cup and saucer near and using a crisp, white, linen napkin, slopped up the coffee spill in the saucer and dried the bottom of the cup, then took a cautious sip.

Setting the cup down, he reached across his hospital-neat desk and picked up a faded picture of Nina. "You win, love. I'm going to do it." He set the picture back, resting his hands on the desk. "This is for you, Nina. For the way it used to be."

Rifling through the desk, he uncovered a stack of index cards yellowed with age, and set them to the side in a neat row beside the gently humming computer.

His hand dipped back into the drawer and he pulled out a second stack of brightly colored cards. He arranged these at the side of the white cards, shuffling through them until he was satisfied with their arrangement.

Determination radiated through him as he leaned back in the chair and stared through the large picture window into his yard.

Deeply repressed memories sprang to life before his thoughtful eyes. His past paraded before him, happening all over again.

Memories of Nina and him, meeting, of feeding each other tidbits on the checked blanket he'd brought to the community picnic. The street dance under the stars. The joys of newly discovered love.

Compelled by something Judd could not control, his fingers found and flew over the keyboard and the words poured out of him, filling the computer's screen at an amazing pace, giving his long-submerged memories life, the same way the ghostly images lived through the window.

When he finally stopped typing, darkness had enfolded the room. He'd been at it the entire day. Had not even noticed how the time had sped past.

He tipped forward, resting his head on his arms, emotionally drained and physically spent.

After a time, he sat up, staring at the glowing monitor before him. A feeling of utter amazement at what he had done surged through him until the eerie feeling of being watched brought him to his senses.

He slowly swiveled the chair around, looking out the window.

One of the figures on the lawn, the young version of himself, smiled, staring deeply into Judd's eyes.

"A bargain made," the words whispered in his head. "A deal done."

* * * * * * *

Sitting next to his daughter, Judd's attention moved restlessly to the window. The figures were frolicking in the yard. They were always there now, never leaving him a moment's peace.

The figure he'd come to call Young Judd cast an occasional, angry glance toward the house. That one always knew when there was someone visiting.

And it always made him angry.

Judd tilted his head, listening to the eerie, taunting voices. They urged him to return to his work, to forget the real world. Exchange it for their wonderful world of make-believe.

"Dad?" Jenna shook his arm forcefully, breaking through his musings. "Dad, are you hearing anything I've said?"

Judd shrugged. "I guess my mind's rambling a bit." He scratched at a dried, yellow stain on the front of his wrinkled sweatshirt. Eggs from his breakfast, perhaps?

Or the day before?

"The book, you know."

Jenna's worried eyes traveled over him. He knew what she was seeing. Knew he'd been neglecting himself, too deep into the book to think of anything else, too focused on the voices, on watching the figures through the picture window. They drove him to put the words down, to ignore his normal routine.

And they would not be denied.

"She's going to interfere," whispered in his head.

Judd glanced toward the window. Young Judd stared angrily at Jenna, his eyes glowing a sinister red.

"Make her go away. She must not be allowed to stop us."

"Dad," Jenna said slowly, "I've been thinking you might come and stay with me for a while. The book can wait for a few days, can't it? You can come back fresh."

Make her go. Or I will."

"No. I'm fine," His hand shook as he picked up his coffee cup. He grinned sheepishly. "I'm just a little tired."

"Well then, there's all the more reason..."

"Send her away. Send er away now."

Desperation clutched his heart. "Jenna, I'm a grown man. I don't need a baby-sitter."

Damn, there was that hurt look she'd taken to wearing like a badge. He'd stamped on her brittle feelings again.

"What I need is a nap," he said softly, patting her hand gently. "Go home, okay? Okay, Jenna?"

She frowned, taking the cup from his cold hands. "Dad, I'm worried about you. Really worried."

He smiled sadly, nodding. "I know, Jenna. But I have to continue. I can't stop now." He stared at his hands, folded tightly in hers and knew she could feel the tremble in them. His hands shook constantly now, like a failing old man.

When had he gotten so old? So damn feeble?

"I miss your mother, Jenna."

"Dad, she's dead. I don't want you to die too."

"But the book gives me a connection to her, to my past. It heals me."

Jenna's concerned glance ran over him. She sighed, nodding, and patted his trembling fingers. "All right. I'll back off. For now. But you better start taking better care of yourself, or I'll be back. In force."

Judd glanced toward the window. The figure was smiling. "I'll do that, Jen. I promise."

"A bargain," the words taunted in a sing-song voice. "A bargain. A bargain. A bargain."

* * * * * * * *

 

"A bargain made, old man."

Judd, sitting on the edge of the torn and stained sofa, lifted his head to stare vacantly around the heavily draped room.

"I'm not ready."

"You spoke the words." Young Judd moved from the shadows and stood over him, almost as solid as the breathing man. "You called me."

"I was under a strain," Judd said. "I didn't realize what it all meant."

"You expected hell-fire? Or perhaps a contract signed in blood?" The doppelganger clicked his tongue, waving his finger in reprimand. "You have read too many dime novels, old man."

"I've changed my mind."

"Nice try, but disallowed. It ends today. You don't have the strength to resist me."

"I'm afraid," Judd whispered, chugging from the bottle of whiskey he had clutched to his chest. "What happens to me?

"You'll join your beloved Nina. You've known that all along. You wanted the exchange. You can not undo it. It's too late."

"I want to live."

"And so do I."

"At my expense?"

"You knew the cost."

"I suspected."

"Always at the end they want to renegotiate. You humans are bad businessmen."

"I don't want this."

"Too late. I completed my end. Now you pay up." He dragged Judd to his feet. "You have no power to stop me."

Judd stumbled against the strong, bracing figure. "I want to live," he repeated softly, desperately.

"It's time."

"Yes." Judd gathered his crumbling emotions around him, nodding. He shuffled from the bedroom, going to his littered desk.

The doppelganger trailed at his heels.

Seated behind the computer, Judd looked at the figure one more time, silently imploring the contract be dissolved. The dark creature smiled, shaking his head.

Resigned, Judd activated the computer with shaking hands.

Slowly at first, but picking up speed, his numb fingers pecked out the final chapter and as each word appeared the dark entity absorbed more of Judd's dwindling strength.

"Judd."

"Nina?" Judd looked up into the beckoning face of his wife. "Nina?"

"Judd, there's no need to be afraid," Nina smiled warmly. "I've come to take you home."

He laughed weakly. "I did it, Nina. I kept my promise."

"Yes, my love." The ghostly figure reached out and laced her fingers in his. "Come and rest with me."

Judd felt a lightness in his mind as his soul released the burdens of life and he smiled. It was indeed time. A happy time of reunion. "Ah, Nina, I never wanted to be parted from you."

"Nor I from you, beloved. But you were committed to finish what you'd bargained for in the soul's birthplace. I selfishly stood in your way. Because I had forgotten what we had pledged to do in this life, I had to go away, to give you time to do what you were created to do."

Her serene glance touched young Judd. "Now it is done, we can be together once more, can't we?"

The doppelganger shrugged carelessly. "Heaven and hell, reward and punishment. It's all part of the bargain. Where you journey now is beyond my control."

 

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