The Faustian Bargain
Graduation had come and passed and Drew found himself lost in a swamp of opportunities. So many college offers and trade schools looking for new talent that he felt overwhelmed.
The desk chair beneath Drew creaked lightly as he leaned back and stared at the pile of mail he had received in the past month.
'21 colleges and 4 trade schools...' Drew thought to himself as he finished scanning the pile with his eyes.
"Ugh,"
A knock on the door interrupted him in his thoughts however as he found his mother entering the room before he could even say anything.
She stood at 5 feet tall and had brown hair and a ruddy face. She was the kind of person who you would have a hard time remembering no matter how many times they told you their name.
"Yes, Mother?" Drew asked hesitantly, afraid of what she might say.
"Go to the store and fetch something for your brother's entry into high school," She said in a demanding tone.
Drew withheld a sigh and simply nodded as he made a note of his diminishing funds. He stood up and left the house with a sigh of relief after getting out of sight of his mother.
You see there was something strange between Drew and his family's relationship. His mother was a manipulative woman despite her unassuming looks. She held him on a short leash and if he didn't do as she said he would be on the streets in a matter of minutes.
His father was always at work and despite making a decent amount of money Drews's mother always ended up having him pay for things with the money he took out in loans for college which he hadn't even enrolled in.
They did little for him other than keeping a roof above his head, but Drew didn't want to break ties with them just yet. Connections were everything in Drews's eyes and though they wouldn't do much for him they still could be useful in a pinch.
The walk to the grocery store was a long one but Drew didn't mind. He had grown accustomed to the route and enjoyed a more scenic route than what he normally took, enjoying his time out of the house and his time away from his family.
'I graduated high school and the only thing they care about is Carter entering high school... Doesn't seem fair but has life ever been fair for me?' Drew thought to himself as he took down an alley to get to his destination a few minutes quicker but something seemed off.
Drew wasn't sure what exactly it was but there was something off in the familiar alleyway that he had walked dozens of times before.
He stopped in his tracks and took a good look around him before noticing that someone had snuck up behind him while he was walking and their face was obscured by a black face mask and a hood that came up from their jacket.
The only thing visible of the person was their darting eyes. They scanned Drew up and down in a frantic manner and before Drew could even twitch they pulled out a crooked-looking pocket knife and pointed it at him.
Drew's eyes darted around him in panic as he realized that his casual walk had gone from fun to life-threatening in a matter of seconds.
Drew raised his hands into the air slowly and began to speak in a slow and calm manner despite the flurry of thoughts that were whirling through his mind.
"My wallet is in my right-hand pocket. It's money you want... right?" He asked out slowly and calmly.
The man's eyes darted towards Drew's pocket before he surprisingly shook his head at his statement.
Drew furrowed his brows at the man's reactions and went to say something but was stopped by the man lunging forward with the knife.
The knife nestled its way in between Drew's ribs and was left there as the man ran away from the stunned teen who had fallen to the ground and disappeared from sight.
That was the night that changed Drew's life.
All he could recall after that was a blur. An ambulance of some sort. Nurses and Doctors... But not a single family member in sight.
'So much for connections...' Drew thought as his mind was a blur of unfamiliar faces and pain.
Eventually, however, he was left alone and he found himself awake and fully conscious for the first time in what felt like forever.
The room he was in was dark and it seemed as if the nurses had turned off the light to help him sleep.
He couldn't feel any pain at the moment but still had a buzz that was filling his mind which he assumed was pain meds of some sort.
He looked around the dimly lit room and noticed that he was not the only person in the room.
He sat in a guest chair and wore a simple trench coat and smoked a short cigarette and seemed to savor every puff.
His Hair hung low and obscured parts of his face but his facial features were undeniably beautiful.
"Who are you?" Drew asked in a short manner.
'Family friend?' he thought before shaking his head. 'Never seen him before...'
"Hey, kiddo!" The man said in an excited tone as a crooked smile lit up the man's face.
"I'm... a friend..." He answered as his black eyes locked onto Drew's face.
Drew felt a chill travel down his spine as his hair stood up on end.
'This man... He isn't right,'
Silence permeated the room as the man took a long inhale from the dwindling cigarette.
"I'm here to bring you some good and bad news... Which do you want first," He piped up suddenly.
Drew furrowed his brow at the statement.
"Bad?" He asked hesitantly.
The lights in the room seemed to flicker lightly at his statement and a chill permeated through the room.
"Well... Your parents have skipped town,"
Confusion filled Drew's mind at the simply impossible statement that came out of the man's mouth.
"And that's not all..."
"They were the ones who tried to get you killed,"
"Your father is in some sort of a bad bind... And his only options were to leave the country and taking something like you with them was completely out of the question,"
"Hence the attempt at your life a few days ago,"
Drew felt his fragile mind break at that moment as realization overcame him.
'But... I did everything they wanted me to!'
The man took the last drag from his cigarette before he slowly began to grin.
"Now... Time for the good news,"
He stood up and moved towards the hospital bed that Drew was laying in. He stooped low as his form became slightly taller than Drew had first determined.
"I can help you go somewhere else... Somewhere where you might be able to make an impact and have some choice in your life,"
"As long as you don't let someone control you... You should be able to accomplish any dream that comes to your heart in due time,"
"And all I ask in return is a little favor,"
"We have a deal?"
The words the man said echoed out in a silk-like manner and made Drew's body recoil slightly.
'Am I hallucinating?'
He began to wordlessly nod in reply as he just wanted everything to stop. To begone from this hellish world.
And after the man's face grew wider and taller seemingly out of nowhere... Drew felt darkness overtake him.
---
"You're still here?!" A voice rang in Drew's ears as he felt his mind splinter with a painful headache.
He groggily sat up in the chair he found himself in and rubbed his eyes and slowly came to realize that he was no longer in the hospital with that strange man.
Instead... He seemed to be in some sort of bar. It was old and rustic and didn't really even feel like a bar, but the alcohol behind the man in front of him said something different.
"W-what?"
The man in front of him was a portly gentleman who wore clothes akin to a beggar. A loose cloth tunic and grey pants that hung loosely to his body.
"You were supposed to clear out before the morning rush came in, ya begger!" The fat man said with obvious annoyance in his voice.
"Where am I?" Drew asked aloud as he looked around him and found that nothing modern could be seen in sight.
It looked like he had just stepped into a tavern from medieval times.
The portly man frowned at Drew's statement and the look on his face bordered from pity to annoyance.
"You poor sod... You must have drank yourself silly,"
"You are in Rickten,"
"Specifically in my tavern, known as 'Fig's Briney Tavern',"
Silence began to permeate the air.
The headache that had overwhelmed him moments earlier began to clear up as memories slowly slipped back to him.
'That man... What did he do?!'