Beat the Devil

by Steven Cuffari

Inspired by Sammy

Why’d he do it? That’s always the question. To answer it would ruin the story. Any good story follows a path littered with bodies. And like any good story, this one is ruined by its most interesting character. This one had tattooed a QR code on the left cheek of his face. A mark of Cain? A wager gone wrong?

The QR code man was Dan. Dan the man. Dan the Damned. Did he damn himself? Some say maybe it was the tattooist. Or his parents. Or the tattooist’s parents.

Whatever. He got the tattoo way after he had already hit rock bottom. Some would say his downfall was self-imposed. Either by his inability to stop himself from falling or by the punishment for it he received from society.

The QR code was there in spite of it all. It had a more infernal reason for being. The code went to a website. On that website was a text that when read in full compelled the reader to sign a contract to sell their soul. It was enchanted. Cursed. Whatever you want to call it. Dan’s face was a touchpoint for eternal damnation. Because of it, he kept to himself. But he was human. And humans sometimes want a beer at a local bar.

One day, Dan was having a beer a random dive. Someone sat next to him. A woman. He was instantly attracted to her but did his best to ignore her presence. He blinked in her direction assuming a millisecond glance would be imperceptible. He was wrong. She turned to him and lit a cigarette. He kept his left cheek out of her view, making sure not to cover it with his hands or any other object. He hoped she would forget about him if he ignored her long enough. He wanted to be left alone in his solitude and longing and loneliness. No such luck. She began speaking to him. She kept at it despite his silence. At some point, he realized she was never going to stop, so he spoke.

“Stop.” He said it without turning to her. Without emotion. When she kept talking, he huffed and hung his head between his shoulders. He became more and more aware of her, what she looked like, what she seemed to be. He knew that if she started asking about the QR code it would lead to her death. Her damnation.

Dan twitched. He flinched as the woman got closer and leaned toward him searching for his face. He could no longer hold his ground, so he got up, placed enough cash under his beer glass and rushed out.

It was wet outside. Crispy. People walked around him, and he kept his head down, always making sure not to cover the QR code in any way. He had just wanted a drink and fresh air. Still did. But he didn’t dare drink on the street, for fear of cops. Not afraid of what they’d do to him. But what he would do to them. Even they were not impervious to the allure of his freakish tattoo.

“Maybe they’d deserve it,” he thought. He had often thought of using the tattoo to get revenge on the many people who had wronged him in his life. He could use it as a weapon. “More souls for the demon,” he thought. No. He could never do that. He had made his choice. He was going to beat the devil at his own game. Giving the devil his due was exactly what he wanted to avoid. More souls meant more points for the lord of darkness. He couldn’t risk giving up more points. He had his reasons. He had made his choice, and it was time to go home. His only safe haven.

As he turned the key in his apartment door, he realized too late that the lock was already open. His key was stuck in the door as the person inside opened the door, pulling him in with it. Before he could make his body obey the commands of his brain, he was face-to-face with her. She saw his face and she went wide-eyed and reached out to him. He recoiled and turned away from her, resisting the instinct to cover it up with his hands. She spoke to him, but he couldn’t listen. It would only make him want to look at her more. But he couldn’t risk that. She would be tempted. Now he didn’t care about the bet with the dark one. He wanted to escape. He wanted to end it. Make it easy on himself. He wanted to die. But then he remembered. He simply had to run. Again. Until she found him again. He had made his choice. To save her soul, he had to disappear. And soon enough he could lay eyes upon her. He could beat the devil. He remembered. He ran. She shouted after him. He lost her on the street. This time he’d need a new city. A new name. She was getting older. Smarter. More resourceful. Maybe it was time to tell her the truth. The reason he had left her and her mother all those years ago. The truth was he was protecting her. He always had been. It all started five years ago. Before he had met the devil. Before he had bargained for power. Before he had paid with his soul.