Chapter 5: Cross my Heart

Angelo

"Shit, he's coming!" Someone shouted at the rest of the crowd.

He wasn't supposed to come back today. Did this mean they were all in trouble? Everyone was panicking. He never told anyone whenever he would show up. He always did this.

He gave a date when he would be back but never really followed up on his promise or even his dates.

He was always the unexpected, and there was nothing they would ever be able to do about it. They were just his employees, but then today would be different. They could feel it. Today someone would leave, not to go for a vacation, but today he would kill someone.

No one ever knew who was next.

No matter how hard they tried to keep up with his schedules, no one would ever be able to determine if what he said would come to pass or if he was just going to be his charming self.

"Who's coming? And why do you look scared?" Another person asked, curious as to why everyone was rushing to clear everything up. In no minute, the place was clean and orderly like it was never trashy a few minutes back.

This was something they should have gotten used to, his surprise visits, but then he was not even consistent, and no one was ever going to know what was going on in his head. All they could do was hope they were not next on his blacklist.

"Satan..he's here," someone tried explaining to the newbies in the den. It was something they had been used to.

He was called Satan for many reasons. Rumors were surrounding his names, too many rumors that it was almost hard to keep up. He never really cared about what anyone called him or even what they thought of him.

Satan, as they called him, was the worst of the worst. He hated everyone and liked no one. Most people thought that he was never born and that he was just dumped here by Satan himself. Others thought he was actually the real Satan.

He was merciless despite being kind to kids. He hated everything about life, everything. Maybe that's why he was never happy. Maybe that's why he never smiled at anyone. He was always stoic and hard to talk to.

How he associated with kids would always remain a wonder to the people who thought they knew him. He was dangerous and intelligent people stayed away from him. The stupid ones got caught in his tricks, and they always ended up paying enormous prices for the same.

"Damn, alright. Why do you call him Satan, though?" The curious individual kept asking despite seeing as his friend was hyperventilating because of the guy they called Satan. He had to have been a very terrible man if all of these people were this scared of him.

Did he kill?

Was he merciless?

Were they his slaves?

Was he their leader?

Why was everyone so scared of him then?

Someone was about to answer when suddenly the gambling den went quiet. Not even the bouncers who were collecting the profits made a move to talk. It was as if there was a plague that rendered everyone mute in the den.

It was eerily silent, but the silence was not scary.

What was scary was the aura that surrounded Satan. It was a mix of death, power, and fear.

The person with the question suddenly understood why he was called Satan, even though Satan seemed like an odd name for a guy who walked around freely. He looked like a nice guy, even if his aura completely denied the name.

There was nothing that they could do about that.

Maybe this was just a nickname.

"Hello, boss.." The first guy greeted him.

"Hello…boss," another greeted him and was met with silence, just like the first guy. He must have been terrifying because despite being ignored, the guys looked the other way, like they were scared of being hit by Satan himself.

As Satan went deeper into the den, everyone squirmed in their seats, scared of what he would do to them. He was just seventeen, but his name was already sending chills down people's spines.

He had told his assistant earlier that he would show up the following week, which meant that most things hadn't been done right.

They should have done them, though, especially since their boss was a freak for perfect things. They were in trouble, and they knew it.

Just like that, without asking any questions, and left, like he didn't just murder someone in front of a hundred witnesses. No one could talk, not until he left, and when he did, everyone started talking. They silently prayed for a miracle, but maybe the time for miracles was up since he shot the person next to him.

"wow, I'm never becoming a snitch; that was pretty cold. Imagine facing Satan himself. That would be a nightmare for me," someone whispered as everyone was chattering about what had happened.

No one even dared to look at the body.

No one was going to remove it either. That was the punishment for everyone who lost their bets. They would be doing that since in Satan's world, losses were accounted for by the punishments he gave.

His punishments always had a way of being tangled with dead bodies, but maybe that's how he was communicating with his people. Maybe this was his way of showing everyone who was the boss, but did it really have to be this gory?

The speculations and chatter continued as expected, while he was inside his office trying to deal with everything around him.

Today was going to be a very busy day for Satan, especially since his best friend had been played, and lucky for him, he would always be the listening ear. Not that he complained, but his best friend was a pussy, and he never failed to remind him of that.