I met someone who claimed to be the devil...and I think I believe them.

I met someone who claimed to be the devil. The actual devil. Satan. Lucifer. Beezlebub. The Prince of Darkness. You get the idea. As crazy as that sounds, I think I believe them. And I’m going to explain to you why. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the idea of Satan - not in a good way, either. It was hard for me to explain, even then, but I guess I just didn’t like the idea of someone out there who was *supposed* to be evil. Someone who was so against us that they had started a whole war. What if they were right? What if God was actually the bad guy? The whole idea terrified me. So I spent a lot of time researching. Not just about the devil, but about *every* religion. I wanted to know more about any and all gods, just to see if there was anything that suggested *any* of them were actually evil. I spent hours scouring through all different holy books from all over the world, looking for any sign that someone or something was trying to manipulate people into doing something bad. And I never found any evidence of that. Like, at all. I even went as far as to read translations of the Koran, Satanist texts, and even tried to do some research into voodoo. None of it suggested worshiping an evil entity. After that, I kind of lost interest in the subject. It was still something I occasionally thought about, but it wasn’t as big of a deal anymore. I also stopped going to church, which made my parents angry. They tried to guilt me into going again for a while, but eventually they gave up and even started going less themselves. So, life went on. And I forgot all about the devil. I was pretty busy dealing with school and other issues, so it wasn’t often that I had time to sit there and think about that kind of thing. But then, one day, I got a message out of the blue. I still don’t know how they got my contact information, but I got a text from an unknown number that read: “Meet me at the Comfort Inn on 5th and Main at 3:00 AM. Come alone.” It was so random and weird that I didn’t think much of it. I figured it was someone playing a prank on me or something. It wasn’t until I went to bed that night that I remembered the message. I laughed to myself, thinking it was funny that they were so specific with the time and place, but then I felt a sudden compulsion to go. Like, I didn’t have a choice. It was just something I had to do. I didn’t even think about it. I just got out of bed, got dressed, and left without even bothering to grab a coat or anything. It was cold, rainy, and windy outside, but none of that mattered. I got in my car and drove to the hotel, not stopping for anything, even though I passed several red lights along the way. When I got there, there was a man leaning against the wall outside, smoking a cigarette. He waved at me when he saw me, and walked towards me. I got out of my car, and he smiled. “Thanks for coming,” he said. “I know you aren’t the type to do reckless things, so I appreciate the effort you put into coming here tonight.” I shrugged, feeling a little dazed and confused. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said. “Who are you, and how did you get my number?” He chuckled. “I can get anyone’s number. As for who I am…” he paused, then smiled. “You can call me Michael.” I frowned. “Michael? Who’s that?” He chuckled, then swept his arm towards the hotel. “Shall we?” he asked, without answering my question. I shrugged again, then followed him inside and up to one of the rooms. I don’t know how he had a key, but he did, and he used it to unlock the door and gesture for me to enter. I stepped inside, and he stepped in behind me. The room was pretty empty, except for a single chair sitting in the middle of the room. There was no bed, no table, no TV, or anything else. Just a single, metal folding chair. He sat down in it. “Thanks again for coming,” he said. “I know this is all very confusing for you, but I promise you, it’s important. And you look like you could use a change in your life.” He smiled. “I think we can help each other, if you’re willing.” “Help each other? How?” I asked, getting annoyed. “Who are you, and why did you bring me here?” He chuckled. “Well, you see…that’s a long story. But, if you want the short version, I am who you think I am. And I’m here to offer you a job.” I scowled at him. “You’re insane. Or high. Or something. Neither of those things is possible.” He leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “I see. You’re one of those people who doesn’t believe in anything they can’t see, huh?” I shrugged. “No, I just don’t believe in ridiculous things.” He chuckled. “Ridiculous things? Like what?” “Like the devil,” I said. He laughed, but there was an angry glint in his eye. “Well, I think we can safely say that you, at least, believe in the devil. After all, you’re sitting in a hotel room with Satan himself, listening to him try to convince you to take a job with him.” I peered at him skeptically. “And how am I supposed to believe that?” He sighed. “Well, there’s no real way to prove it to you. But, if you want to try something that will convince you, I’m happy to let you try. Though, I have to warn you, it isn’t going to be pretty.” I frowned at him. “What do you mean?” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “You know the saying about better the devil you know? Well, that’s partially because of me. People who don’t know me are often more scared of me than they are of people they actually have reasons to be afraid of. And I think I know why that is.” He smiled. “You see, when people don’t know someone, they don’t know what they’re capable of. But when you *do* know someone, you have a better idea of how far they’re willing to go. And that, my friend, is where the saying comes from. That, and the fact that I have gone to a lot of effort to reach out to people who I think would make good employees.” I frowned at him. “You’re talking in riddles,” I said. He chuckled. “Just trying to make conversation. You’re a tough egg to crack, you know that?” I scowled at him. “What do you want from me?” He leaned back in his chair again. “I already told you. I want to offer you a job.” I laughed. “You’re the devil. I’m a Christian. That’s not going to happen.” He raised an eyebrow. “A Christian? Really? I didn’t think you were the religious type.” “How did you know me?” I asked. He smiled. “I told you, I can get anyone’s number. I can also get anyone’s background information, and I have access to all of their social media. You, my friend, have been all over the place when it comes to your faith. At times, you’ve been a Christian. Others, you’ve been an atheist. Once or twice, you’ve even claimed to be agnostic or Buddhist.” I frowned. “How do you know all this?” He shrugged. “Like I said, I can get anyone’s information. And I think that’s enough chatting for now, don’t you?” He smiled. “Shall we get down to business?” I raised an eyebrow. “What business?” He leaned forward again. “Like I said, I want to offer you a job. Specifically, I want you to be an acolyte.” I frowned. “An acolyte? What does that even mean?” He smiled. “It’s pretty simple, really. See, I have a lot of employees, but they specialize in certain things. The most common are demons, angels, imps, and possessed people. But sometimes, I need someone who works for me and *only* me. No overlapping loyalties. And that’s an acolyte. They do jobs for me. Important jobs. “And before you ask, yes, this job would pay very well. As you already know, I can get anything, so I can give you anything you want. And I will, if you take this job.” I stared at him, then laughed. “You expect me to believe that Satan is sitting in a random hotel room, offering me a job? What makes you think I’m stupid enough to believe that?” He peered at me thoughtfully. “You know, for someone who’s trying not to seem scared, you’re doing a terrible job. Why don’t you sit down and try to calm down for a few minutes?” He gestured behind me, and I turned to see a couch I hadn’t noticed before. I looked back at him. “You tricked me into coming here and now you’re trying to make me think you’re magic or something

I met someone who claimed to be the devil...and I think I believe them.

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