A Price Paid

*2022*

"-And what if someone is getting about YOUR driving?" The innocent question came from a woman, sitting upon a stool. Beside her was her coworker. They both dressed in professional attire as they questioned the man across from them in front of dozens of different cameras, each having different angles.

The man being questioned held his hands in a passive way. "You can't let them get to you…for example: in 1996, some guy gave me the middle finger after I cut him off.-" he was met with a fake gasp from the woman interviewing him while her coworker wondered…

'He remember's something like that from 26 years ago?' The man in the suit internally questioned the man he was co-interviewing. He's simple man, docile, soft talking and articulate with his words.

The docile man continued "-You see, I recognized the guy from TV.-" The male co-interviewer's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "-Thats when I decided to become a defensive driving instructor. Developing the skills I needed to eventually be invited on his show, as an expert. Once you're there, its just a simple matter of switching out his muffins with the ones you made yourself." He shrugged his shoulders innocently.

The male co-interviewer looked to his right. At his thigh was a table with a plate of muffins on it. He had already eaten most of them on the plate so only two were left. 'Yeah…they were super delicious.' The unaware man thought.

"The muffins were pretty good….weren't they, Jim?" The docile, articulate man asked him as he stared into his soul. He basically radiated smugness. "How many did you eat?"

The silence that reigned after that question was ironically loud. Jim, the co-interviewer, glanced at the plate again before some sort of dread settled in his heart. 'W-What is going on?' He asked himself as he felt like something was wrong. "What…I d-didn't— I dont know-"

"THANK YOU so much for sharing your tips, Danny!" The woman smoothly took over for her coworker.

Danny, the docile and articulate speaker, went cold. As if emotion was flushed out of his head and all that remained was a unfeeling monster. "Danny is not my true name."

———

Jericho Drumm POV

Many people did not know Baron Samedi like I did.

Well...….of course they knew who he was, those who practiced Voodoo or knew of its culture. Typical knowledge the initiated knew was…..well.....typical. Lord of Saturday, Cimetiere, and Kriminel, amongst more names. Loa of Death and Fertility and an all around 'fun' guy to be around.

He is often a chaotic spirit and greatly enjoys smoking, drinking and interacting with people. The thrill of the partying, gambling, swearing, deals and celebration gathered followers around him to easily.

(Sorry)

But, they didn't know him like I did.

He's morbid at best. His very nature often turns to him possessing others, he will lay down on the ground and expects ritualists to perform ceremonies similar to those they would in funerals.

A pure sadist with his fondness for interacting with others may become more violent, 'the more fun you are'. Like all Loa he is neither fully good nor fully evil, but he takes it to a new level.

"You thinkin' bout me, boy?" I turned to the man beside me. He was tall and lanky, his linear black and red clothing fitting his wiry figure perfectly. Through, I do have to say that the top hat with the red band, a purple feather in it and a skull and crossbones on it was a bit much.

"English? This some sort of special occasion?"

His chuckled darkly. The gap between his front teeth showing. "Hahaha, 'special occasion'-" he formed quotation marks with his fingers "-Of course it is! Don't you remember?-" he took a moment to look around the dark corner of a bar we were in, "-I told you, a price must be paid."

"And this is your price? Mr. Saturday, why do you-"

"Ah ah ah, I already told you. When im like this, use my 'secret name'." He said childishly. Giddy to have a secret identity.

"...…..'Dr. Facilier', why you gotta be so cruel?"

He looked at me aghast, "You think this is cruel, boy? This aint cruel….trust me, I can get REAL 'cruel'." He warned before instantly switching to a upbeat, cheery voice. "NOW! Lets go get some ******!" He yelled with no shame. He even smiled when everyone in the bar looked at him with weirded out gazes.

"You have a wife. Im sure Madame Bridgette wouldn't like that, now would she? Out here sleeping with bare gyal, huh?" As soon as I said that he became abashed, and fearful, although that disappeared quickly.

"What she don't know won't hurt her."

"And what doesn't she know? Be careful, Baron-….I mean 'Dr. Facilier'." I quickly fixed myself as he gave me a pointed look.

"Nevermind that boy, LETS GO!" He pulled me along comically, his arm stretching like a cartoon.

———

"-How degrading! I've never been so humiliated!" A man of embarrassing proportions cried out in shame as he picked his huge belly off of his employer, a young man with tan skin, sharp facial features and a fit, muscular body.

A patch of darkness, shaped like a man entered their vision. With the sun to his back, he casted a large, lanky shadow across the wall to their back.

"Gentlemen!-" the man reached down to them, grasping the young man's hand and pulling him up with surprise ease. "-A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier." The lanky man pulled a card from thin air, surprising the young man and his companion. "How yall doin'?" He asked his handed the card to them.

The young man read it off "Tarot readings, charms, potions, dreams made real." The lanky man snaked his way into the young mans personal space, shooting an arm around his shoulder in a familiar way.

"Were I a betting man, and im not, I stay away from game of chance,-" he led the man down a street, whispering sweet nothings before turning in a dark alley. The pudgy man chasing after them after collecting their belongings. "I'd wager im in the company of royalty." He took the man's hand and traced a finger of his palm.

Once again, shock and glee at the trick showed on the young man's face. "Lawrence! This remarkable man just read my palm!" He said to the now gasping man. Behind him he saw a twisted, dead tree in the middle of the square corridor they were in now.

"Or checked instagram." The short man remarked skeptically. He moved to the young man, and whispered in his ear "this dude is definitely a fake-"

"DONT YOU DISRESPECT ME LITTLE MAN!-" He exploded in anger in only a instant. "Dont you derogate or deride. You're in my world bow not your world…and I got friends on the 'otherside'." He said with a silky voice. A strange melody out of nowhere.

"That's an echo, gentlemen. Just a little something we have here in Louisiana. A little parlor trick. Don't worry." He eased them as he led them into a dark room, suddenly lit by a wave of the hand.

"Sit down at my table, Put your minds at ease, If you relax it will enable me to do anything I please. I can read your future, I can change it 'round some, too, I'll look deep into your heart and soul (You do have a soul, don't you, Lawrence?) Make your wildest dreams come true!"

"I got voodoo, I got hoodoo, I got things I ain't even tried! And I got friends on the other side. The cards, the cards, the cards will tell The past, the present, and the future as well! The cards, the cards, just take three. Take a little trip into your future with me! Now you, young man, are from across the sea. You come from two long lines of royalty. I'm a royal myself on my mother's side

Your lifestyle's high, But your funds are low

You need to marry a lil' honey whose daddy got dough! Mom and dad cut you off, huh playboy?

Now y'all gotta get hitched, but hitchin' ties you down. You just wanna be free, Hop from place to place, But freedom takes green! It's the green, it's the green, it's the green you need, And when I looked into your future It's the green that I see!" He told his future with a sly tongue. Tarot cards flying across his body with natural ease and finesse.

He started on the pudgy man. "On you little man, I don't wanna waste much time. You been pushed around all your life. You been pushed around by your Mother and your sister and your brother, And if you was married You'd be pushed around by your wife, But in your future, the you I see Is exactly the man you always wanted to be!" A look of desperation came to the man as thoughts of a possible future came to him. Hope filled his jaded heart at the man's words.

He continued on, holding his hands out. "Shake my hand. Come on boys. Won't you shake the poor sinner's hand?-" The pudgy man, Lawrence, took his hand without hesitation, shaking it enthusiastically, mush to Dr Facilier's displeasure. The young man took it as well, although, with much more hesitation.

[A DEAL HAS BEEN STRUCK!]

"Yessssss. Are you ready?

(Are you ready?)

Are you ready?

Transformation central!

(Transformation central!)

Reformation central!

(Reformation central!)

Transmogrification central!

Can you feel it?" A quick slice and the young man's blood was in his hands. A huge mask appeared and out came a smaller mask fashioned into a necklace.

"You're changin', You're changin', You're changin', all right! I hope you're satisfied, But if you ain't, Don't blame me! You can blame my friends on the other side!" Masks of all different shapes, sizes, expressions, designs and voices hung down from the ceiling, each singing with the strange man. Lawrence's skepticism long gone at this point.

(You got what you wanted)

(But you lost what you had)

———

"Did you like that, boy?" Dr. Facilier disappeared from view and popped up on a roof overseeing the place he lead those poor fools into. "Like it?"

"Catchy song, definitely playlist material. You should make that a real song." Was all Jericho said, bumming the lanky man out.

"Thats it? What about what I did?"

"...I mean…they're not dead, they'll eventually go back to normal in like a week, probably no lasting damage, so I don't really care. But that song tho….should definitely get in contact with a producer. 10/10 would jam in the car."

(Right now I am currently writing the longest chapter I have probably ever written. Its for Plague Father. It has a very long fight scene(at least I think so) along with a HUGE timeskip. 500 years to be exact. Is that too big, I dont think it is but maybe it is, idk.)