Greed's Game

4 months, 4 victims.

First a local middle school teacher, a painter, a city councilman. The youngest was number 4-Marsha Walker, off to college in the coming fall. All victims with nothing in common, no DNA or evidence left behind, and no suspects. All missing the first day of the month, all found dead in their homes the next day. Like clockwork.

Red River Falls, Montana went on lockdown. Every first of the month, people stayed indoors, traversing in groups if they had to. Schools closed for the day, non-essential businesses locked their doors, churches offered refuge to those who went without. It quickly became a ghost town, for nobody knew who was next.

"Are you crazy?? You could be next!" Layla cried as Felicity flopped onto her bed, making sure her window was locked for when her dad would inevitably come to check.

"Keep your voice down! Nothing is going to happen, but I can't just sit around inside with my parents all night! They're boring! You could come with me, ya know?"

"I can't. Noah's home from school, and my parent's are insisting we have a movie night together, so they'd know if I snuck out. Why can't you just stay inside and we hang out tomorrow?" Felicity had met Layla's brother before. He was a senior in their Sophomore year, graduating and going to college in Washington.

"I don't want to sit inside all night. I've already decided I'm going out, I'm leaving around 11. My parents will definitely be asleep by then. Oh, I have to go! Talk to you later!"

She could hear her friend protest as she cut the call, slipping her phone under the blanket as her parents entered the room.

"Hey, sweetie, whatcha up to?" her father asked, as he sidled across the room, not-so-discreetly checking the locks on the window. Her mother took a seat on her bed, smoothing out Felicity's hair.

"Just going to finish up some homework and call it a night," she replied, waving her notebook in her dad's direction.

"Alright, honey. Well, your mother and I will be in our room watching a movie, so if you need anything, come grab us, alright?" She simply gave her dad a thumbs-up and kissed them each goodnight as they made their way out of her bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

Felicity did just as she said, until around 11 at least. Once she could hear her house turn silent, she crept off her bed, locking her bedroom door and tip-toeing over to her window. She slipped into her shoes and pulled her jacket on before unlocking the window and creeping onto the fire escape. She paused with a creak, but made her way down as quickly and quietly as possible, finally touching down on the concrete. She made her way across the street, sticking away from the streetlamps, and into the shadows of Red River Park, which included a Hiking Trail.

Well, it is pretty peaceful out here. I knew it, they're all just overreacting, she thought as she stepped onto the Trail, making her way into the woods. Felicity walked quite a ways away from the town when something breezed by her, catching her attention as it landed in a bush nearby. Felicity picked up a small piece of paper, when a number caught her eye.

"$20,000?!" she gasped, dropping her voice to a whisper as she double-checked the writing on the piece of paper. Who in the world just dropped such a big check?!

"Well, you aren't supposed to be out this time of night, now are you?" a chilling voice asked from behind, leading Felicity to turn and peer into the shadows, searching desperately for it's owner.

Finally, a pair of golden eyes met brown, and a thin smile appeared in the dim moonlight. "Why, hello there, little thing. What would your name be?" His accent was suave, rich with an experienced charm. His eyes glistening through the dark like medieval lanterns and from what Felicity could make out, he wore a well-tailored suit, red ascot to match the handkerchief in his pocket.

"Uh...I have to go," she said, turning back towards the trail. Felicity's breath caught in her throat as a hand wrapped itself gently around her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back to face those shining golden eyes.

"Your name, my dear? I'm simply trying to chat, especially with the kind stranger who happened upon my check. It blew away from me as I was sitting on the bench, filling it out. I thank you for stopping it," he mused, releasing her wrist to add a gentle bow at the end of this sentence.

"What were you doing filling out a $20,000 check in the park at this hour...?" Felicity wondered, growing more and more terrified for her own safety by the second. His story just didn't seem to make any sense.

Was he the one who-

"Well, I do find the nighttime quite peaceful, and I was hoping on doing some very important...business, with this particular check," he explained, brushing some dirt off the corner of the paper.

"With me? What do you mean?" Felicity's interest was piqued, and any thought of racing home abandoned her.

"Let me ask you, if I were to give this to you, what would you do with it? Give it to others, or keep it for yourself? Assuming you had to use it all one way or the other, of course," he wondered.

Felicity opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. "I would give it to my parents. They could use it more, and they can decide what they'd put it towards."

The man smiled, holding out a hand towards her. "You may call me...Greed. I believe I asked your name?"

Felicity paused, taking the man's hand and shaking it lightly. "Your name is Greed...?" Suddenly, she remembered something she had learned once at church with her Aunt Kathy. "Like...Wait, like the-

"Yes, yes, like the Greed. Prince of Hell, it's a pleasure. Now, you are?"

"...Felicity."

"Well, pleasure to meet you, Felicity. I must say, I like your answer. I suppose we have a winner, then. Congratulations, you know, all that..."

"Wait, wait, a winner? What are you talking about?" Felicity asked.

"I call it a little social experiment, my siblings call it 'Greed's Game'. Bunch of pests they are, honestly..." he mused with a chuckle. "Truth be told, I've been growing bored. So, I picked up a little game. We are demons, after all, at least according to some people," he groaned.

"Hold on, so...this was you? You've been killing people? You killed a kid, she was 18!" Felicity cried, backing away from him and stumbling on a root. She righted herself and set her eyes back on the man...demon...in front of her.

"I don't typically ask, but if it would make you feel better to tell me? I'm not going to kill you!" he chuckled.

"You're not?"

"Of course not! I said you won, did I not? You really should listen more often," he scoffed, pulling a little black book out of his pocket, and scribbling something down before looking back up, "Did you give me a last name? I can't remember."

"Dawson...?" Felicity watched as the man finished his writing with a smile and pocketed the book and pen once more.

"So you're not going to kill me, because I won your little 'game'? What did the others do to lose? To deserve to die?!" she asked.

"Simple. They took the money for themselves. Being the embodiment of Greed gets absolutely boring after millenia of getting what you want. I wanted someone to challenge me. Offer them a life-changing amount of money, and see them still kind enough to give it all up to someone else. You were the first to do so. The others were so much greedier than you could imagine. You do not know your neighbors very well! Didn't think they would take it, huh? They jumped on it. Now, their souls will keep me in company in my kingdom," he shrugged, as if they had simply moved to a new house down the block.

Felicity looked horrified, to which he simply chuckled and patted her shoulder. "Why do you look surprised? Still a demon, child."

"Well, I'm not just going to shrug off the fact that you killed four people! Purely out of boredom, no less! What happens now? You leave, this game ends? You said I won, so you're going to leave us alone?"

He chuckled as he stepped away into the shadows, dropping the check at her feet.

"I suppose you'll have to see next month. Farewell, Ms. Dawson."