John had always been a gambler, ever since he was a kid playing poker with his buddies. He was good at it too, but sometimes, he let his love for the game get the best of him. That’s what happened three years ago when he sat down for a high-stakes game of poker with some shady characters he’d met in a bar. He had been on a losing streak and was desperate to win back his losses, so he bet everything he had, including his wife and daughter’s souls.
John lost the hand, and the devil came to collect his due. He took John’s family, and they were gone without a trace. John was devastated, but he knew he only had himself to blame. He spent the next three years trying to find a way to get them back, but it seemed impossible. Until the devil came back to him with a proposition.
John was sitting alone at a desert truck stop, nursing a cup of coffee, when a tall, dark stranger walked in. There was something about the man that made John’s skin crawl, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The stranger sat down across from him and said in a low, gravelly voice, “Hello, John. It’s been a while.”
John looked up, surprised. He didn’t recognize the man, but there was something familiar about him. The man grinned, revealing sharp teeth, and John felt a shiver run down his spine.
“I’m here to make you a deal,” the man said. “I’ll give you a chance to win your family back.”
John’s heart leaped into his throat. “How?” he asked, hardly daring to believe it could be true.
“I’ll ask you a riddle,” the man said. “If you get it right, I’ll return your family to you. If you get it wrong, I get your soul. And your family stays with me.”
John hesitated. He had never been good at riddles, but he couldn’t let this chance slip away. “What’s the riddle?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
The man leaned in close, his eyes gleaming. “I am everywhere and nowhere, in everything and nothing. I can be seen, but never touched. I can be felt, but never held. What am I?”
John’s mind raced as he tried to think of the answer. It seemed so familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. He racked his brain, trying to remember where he had heard it before.
“Time,” he blurted out, his heart pounding.
The man’s face twisted into a snarl, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. “You got it right,” he hissed. “But there’s a catch.”
John felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. “What catch?” he asked warily.
“I never said your family would be alive when you got them back,” the man said, grinning wickedly. “They’ll be waiting for you in the cemetery outside of town. You have until sunrise to get there and claim them. If you’re late, they’re mine forever.”
John felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. This was not what he had expected. He had assumed his family would be alive and well, waiting for him to come rescue them. But he had come too far to turn back now. He had to see this through to the end.
He left the truck stop and headed out into the desert, driving as fast as he could towards the cemetery. The moon was full, casting an eerie glow over the barren landscape. John’s mind raced as he thought about what he would find when he got there. To his surprise, his family awaited him, swaying rhythmically to the tall pines behind them.
As John embraced his wife, he noticed something strange about her eyes. They were dull and lifeless, lacking the warmth and love that he remembered. He looked at his daughters and saw the same blank expression. He realized with horror that the devil had tricked him once again. He had never specified that his family should be alive.
John fell to his knees, overcome with grief and regret. He had made a terrible mistake and had lost his family forever. He looked up to see the devil standing before him, a wicked grin on his face.
“Congratulations, John,” the devil said. “You solved my riddle, but you didn’t specify the terms of our agreement. Your family is back, but they are not truly alive. They are merely shells of their former selves, trapped in a state of undeath. I suggest you enjoy their company while you can, because their time on this plane of existence is limited.”
The devil cackled and vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving John alone with his undead family. John knew he had been foolish to make a deal with the devil, but he was desperate to see his family again. Now he would have to live with the consequences of his actions.
Days turned into weeks, and John tried to make the best of his situation. He spent time with his family, taking them on drives through the countryside and playing games with his children. But the longer he spent with them, the more he realized how wrong everything was. They never laughed or smiled, they never showed any emotions at all. It was like living with robots.
One night, as John lay in bed with his wife, he heard a strange sound. It was a low, moaning noise, and it seemed to be coming from outside the house. John got up and went to the window, peering out into the darkness. He saw a horde of shambling figures approaching his house, their eyes glowing in the moonlight.
John realized with a sickening feeling that these were the undead, the same as his family. They had come for him, drawn by the presence of other undead in the area. John knew he had to act fast if he wanted to survive.
He gathered what supplies he could and fled into the night, leaving his undead family behind. He never looked back, knowing that they were no longer the people he had loved. As he ran, he realized that he had been foolish to think he could outsmart the devil. He had made a deal with the devil, and now he was paying the price.