"Boo!"

"Camden! Not funny." Beneiah whined, hanging onto Donna's shoulder.

Camden laughed and used his flashlight to look out into the deep forest of the night. This was going to be epic.

Alec clapped him on the shoulders. "This is gonna be great, I call seeking, I'm the best at it."

"C-can I seek with you?" Beneiah asked with great big eyes. "Please, there's no way I'm hiding out there in the deep, dark forest. Not after what those ghosts said."

"What ghost?"

Benaiah squealed as everyone turned around to face their fashlights at Erin.

She snorted. "What's going on, you telling ghost stories now?"

They all tried to stammer out an explanation but before they knew it the slight altercation was over and Erin was into her hide and seek plans.

They all agreed Beneiah and Alec would do the seeking, while the other three hid. Camden already knew he would be hiding alone, he wanted to do Donna a favor and leave her be with Erin, which suprised him. He thought he had a crush on her, but turns out not, he wasn't jealous of the way she drooled over Erin or how she insisted they hide together.

Maybe he was just confused, maybe...

He looked between her and Alec. They looks pretty similar, though they had different personalities completely. Alec was sweet, and goofy, he did anything for anybody without complaints. Donna was, well...

He looked over at her showing Erin her collection of Ghostie trading cards that came in the packaging.

He shook his head. She was such a strange, strange girl.

Alec agreed to count to fifty and promised Donna to take things slow with Beneiah who was now latched onto Alec's arm in fright. The two boys took their position on the dirt road and began to count.

The three kids ran out in the forest, they stayed together for a while until Donna and Erin bid their goodbyes to Camden to go in search of a hiding spot deeper into the woods.

Camden stood for a while after they left looking for a tree. He figured he could just climb a tree and win the game. Easy. Simple.

Slightly scary.

He shut off his flashlight as he approached a tree that would be perfect, not to many leaves, so they'd be able to find him, lots of branches and not to high off the ground.

He hoisted himself up and began to climb. He could sort of see the branches he was reaching for with the help of the moonlight, but not really. He almost fell about four times.

Finally he got to a perfect spot, most of his body was covered by leaves and tree beaches, but you could see most of his torso and his head so he wouldn't be too hard to spot.

"Ready or not! Here I come! He heard Alec yell in the distance.

"And me too! I am also here!" He heard Beneiah chip in a bit quieter.

He smiled slightly and waited for them to find him. He's guessing they'll find the girls first, making him the winner, so he'll just have to hold out til then.

"Hey. Kid."

Camden heard the bittersweet, scratchy voices of a girl in his ear. He froze up with fright. He turned to next to him, to see a girl.

He almost pissed his pants.

She smiled at him. "Don't mind if I sit here do you, just enjoying the view."

He quickly turned his flashlight on her, his shakey hands making the light dance on her face slightly.

"Relax kid, I won't bite."

With the light on her he could see her in full. She had a dark pink top on, with black shorts over fishnet leggings, and chunky pink sneakers, along with a long black cardigan. Her hair was a shocking white, put in two wild pigtails, with the tips dyed a pastel wash of pink.

Her eyes, they glowed. A nice bright pink.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Abaddon, I'm Satan's spawn."

He breathed in, it sounded shakey. "What?"

The girl laughed. Her eyes turned a brighter pink as she locked eyes with him.

"You heard me, I'm one of Satan's many daughters, and I've come to take your soul."

Camden, despite his ever-growing fear, frowned. "Um, no?"

She glared at him. "What do you mean, no?"

"Don't I have to like, make a deal with you or something, in order for you to get my soul?"

"Yeah sure whatever." She looked down at her black polished nails

"Well I'm good, don't particularly want anything right now."

She frowned right back. "Well aren't you a let down, come on, there has to be something you want."

She looked closer into his eyes, the closer she got the more his head hurt. But he couldn't look away.

"Hmm, you know, I could fix your little problem."

He scowled. "What problem."

She smirked at him. "Boys are cute, sure, but are you sure you want to feel that way?"

His heart leaped into his throat. "It's not about what I want."

He looked down at his feet. "Besides, it's not like I have a problem with it, it's just...my parents would never allow it."

"Well then, I could, fix that for you."

He looked at her. "Fix what? My parents?"

"Yeah, sure, hmm, you're the middle child right? There always seems to be something in your way, I could fix that, in a flash."

He thought about it. Like, really thought about it. The thought made him sick go his stomach. No, he couldn't give away his soul. Not just for some attention to his parents.

"No I-"

"Tough nut to crack huh." Her glowing eyes wandered around the forest, as if thinking of something.

"Okay Kid, listen, between you and me, I'm not even supposed to be here, in a family full of seventeen other daughters, it's hard to earn a shot at the throne, I'm hoping to catch my father's eye by getting him a soul to prove myself worthy."

"Interesting, what throne?"

"The throne to the Land of Spirits of course."

Cool. He thought. So the Satan rules that spirit land thingy the ghost girls were talking about. Cool, cool.

"Ok? I'm not gonna pity you and give me my soul, thats stupid."

Camden was hoping they would find the girls soon. Sitting on a tree branch with one of Satan's spawn trying to bargain for his soul wasn't his ideal of a good time.

"I'm not trying to make you pity me, idiot, I'm trying to say that in order to be up here I need my father's power, without his power I need to kill organic life to keep myself up here, and killing squirrels just isn't doing it anymore."

Camden was now faced with the fact that this might lead to his untimely death. How tragic, well, at least he'd win hide and seek.

That's stupid, his about to die what the fuck?

"So, what I'm proposing, is a compromise."

He cocked his eyebrows. "What kind of compromise?"

"Human lives last a lot longer then a simple squirrel, all I'm asking is a couple weeks shaved off your life, and in return, I'll give you whatever you desire."

Camden wasn't completely sold on the idea, but it did sound appealing. Just a couple weeks? He didn't have to die, of give his should to Satan's spawn. Just a few weeks of his future selfs life.

"...but always I would need your help to find someonr that is willing to give me a soul, shouldn't be too hard."

That wasn't really so tough, he knew some guy that might be interested. A friend of his brothers, he tried to summon a demon once. He'll be so happy when he finally gets to meet one. Well, a version of a demon anyway.

He thought again. Of all the attention given to his younger sister, all the ballet recitals they've attended, and how they volunteered to chaperone multiple field trips.

He thought of the way they looked at his older brother with such pride, all the shiny new gifts he receives, how they were just so proud to have such a smart, young, boy in the family.

He breathed in deeply. "Okay."

She smiled devilishly, and stuck out her hand.

He shook it, they're hands glowed together a light pink.

Just as he was about to pull away she tightened her grip on his hand, and it glowed slightly more. He felt something leaving his body. Like when you throw up, but a lot less fluids.

She smiled again. "I'll be around, if you haven't found a soul for me in a week come back."

In the distance he heard his friends calling out to him.

"Heyyy! Cam! Where are you man, you wooon!"

"Alec shut up you sound like a idiot."

She turned to him quickly, and smiled again. "Bye Kid."

And then she was gone.

He climbed down the tree quickly, shaking all the way. His eyes watered slightly and he had dropped his flashlight feet below him. As his feet touched the ground, the thought of what he just did sunk in.

His friends greeted him. Donna went on about how they would've won if he wasn't such monkey. Beneiah congratulated him and handed him a juice box as his prize.

Alec clapped him on the back and brought him in for a sidehug.

Camden drank his juice box in silence as they walked home. He offered to walk Beneiah, because maybe he was afraid to walk home on his own.

Maybe Camden was too.