Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Vessel ❯ Greed ( Chapter 17 )

Greed

“Reily! Reily! Wake up! Reily! Are you okay? Reily! Reily!” Hands shook her side. She slowly opened her eyes.

“Hm?” She looked and saw Quinn huddled over her. He breathed out in relief.

“Oh good. You're awake,” he said. Reily paused.

“Your face,” she said. The black veins stood out against his pale skin. Quinn felt along his cheek.

“Oh. It's nothing,” he said quickly. Reily stared at him in worry.

“I'm fine. I'm fine,” he insisted. “Really.” He looked so desperate.

“Okay,” Reily said, nodding. “Okay.”

“Are you alright?” Quinn asked.

“Yeah,” Reily said. She sat up and stretched her neck.

“Here,” Quinn said. He held out his hand. Reily took it and stood up. They looked around.

“Where are we?” Reily asked. Quinn didn't have an answer. They froze when they heard a jingling noise.

“What was that?” Reily whispered. Quinn gently shushed her. Both took a listen. The jingling gradually grew louder. Reily braced herself to fight. Quinn held his breath.

Step. Jingle. Step. Jingle. Step. Jingle. Step. Jingle.

“Well, well, well,” a man's voice said. “What do we have here?” The pair looked up to see a man walking up to them. He had on a black and dark blue pinstripe suit. His bulky build could put any football player to shame. He flipped a silver coin in his right hand. A cigar hung lit out of his mouth. A white fedora shielded his eyes. Reily frowned.

“Really?” she asked. The man grinned.

“Looks like I have two little rats in my house,” he said. Reily pushed Quinn behind her.

“Who the hell are you?” she asked. The man chuckled.

“Call me Greed,” he said. “Welcome to my domain!” Could this get any lamer? Reily threw up her hands.

“What do we need to do to get by?” she asked. Greed licked his lips.

“Straight to the point, I like that,” he said. He caught the coin in his hand.

“I'm not into fighting,” Greed said. “Instead, let's play a game.” The girl raised her eyebrow.

“What kind of game?” she asked. The man lifted his head.

“Twenty-one,” he said.

“Huh?” Reily asked. Greed snickered. He held out his hand.

“Come with me,” he said. Reily rolled her eyes. Like she had a choice.

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Greed and Reily sat at a poker table. He drew out a deck of cards. She sat with a stern look on her face.

“This game is easy,” Greed said. “You have to get up to the total of twenty-one to win.”

“Uh-huh,” Reily said. Greed shuffled the cards before dealing them. The girl picked up her hand.

“Let's begin,” he said.

“Right…” Reily said. And the game began.

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The landing wasn't an easy one. Melissa and Spencer hit the spongy around with a thud. The thief jumped to her feet.

“Yes! We did it!” she shouted. Spencer sat on the ground, groaning. He rubbed his head.

“Where are we?” he asked. Melissa looked next to him.

“My friend! Welcome to Hell!” she shouted. She hadn't expected to come back here. Spencer trembled.

“Hell? Hell?!” he shouted. The man started shivering. Melissa knelt in front of him and patted him on the head.

“Come on, buddy! Get it together,” she said. The thief stood up.

“Let's get going! We've got to steal back your sister!” she said. Melissa began marching down the hill. Spencer sat there, blinking.

“Come on! Get going!” she shouted. Spencer scrambled to his feet and ran after the demon thief.

V