8 October 2025, 10:47 PM
Devil's Side
The neon flicker of a payday loan sign buzzed like a broken flytrap in the corner of Devil's Side. The streets had dried from last night's storm, but the city never really washed clean.
I sat on a rooftop, crouched between a satellite dish and a rusted pipe, watching a man get thrown out of a pawn shop. Skinny. Shaky. Not dangerous. Just desperate.
He stumbled down the alley and collapsed against a dumpster, cursing into his palms.
I dropped behind him a few seconds later.
"Rough night?" I said.
He didn't flinch. Devil's Side had already broken him. A guy in a bunny mask barely made the top ten weirdest things this week.
"Go ahead," he mumbled. "Take my shoes. Not like I'm gonna need 'em."
"I'm not here to rob you."
I crouched beside him. "You lost something."
He looked up at me with red eyes. "Everything."
His name was Eli. Twenty-one. Worked warehouse gigs.
Last week, he scraped together enough cash to finally buy a car — said he found a decent deal at a local lot near 8th and Rail. Some suit in sunglasses handed him keys with a smile and a discount that felt too good to be true.
He didn't even get to fill the tank.
By the next morning, the car was gone. No broken glass. No alarm. Just vanished.
Then his phone stopped working. Then his bank account.
Zero balance. Password changed. Game over.
"I went back to the lot and it was still there," Eli said. "Still smiling. Told me I must've left the door unlocked. Told me maybe I gave the keys to a girl and forgot."
His eyes twitched.
"Man made me feel like I was losing my mind."
I asked for the name.
He didn't remember.
"He had one of those... fake smiles, you know? Real slick. Looked like the kind of guy who sells lies better than cars."
That was enough.
I stood up.
"Get somewhere warm tonight," I said.
Eli blinked. "That's it?"
I nodded. "For now."
He looked at me like he wanted to believe I was some kind of hero.
I didn't correct him.
11:36 PM
Car lot on 8th and Rail
The place looked normal. Too normal.
Rows of used sedans and lifted trucks under busted floodlights. A crooked banner read "HOTTEST DEALS IN DEVIL'S SIDE!" in red.
I saw him through the office window. Slick hair. Expensive watch. Flashy suit.
Smiling at a late-night customer like it was a game.
I didn't go in.
Not yet.
You don't confront the devil without learning his tricks.
I watched from the shadows.