Carmen

ONE

CHAPTER ONE: CARMEN

  Everyone told Carmen that she was lucky. The world had ended and Carmen was one of the very few people who got to survive. Her mother's money and political influence had secured her a ticket into one of the Outposts - and not just any either. The Sanctuary, where Michael Langdon himself lived, The Antichrist. Such an honor to be in his presence every day, people would say. But Carmen didn't agree

   A part of Carmen wished she would have just died in the blast like the rest of the world. It would have been way better than being surrounded by the fancy, crazy snobs who inhabited the underground mansion Carmen was in. Her mother spent most of her time drunk, depressed about the fact that her father didn't make it. Carmen had been there for six months and had managed to make no friends. As the youngest member of the Sanctuary, people disregarded her. Some made fun as well. Carmen could hear their whispers when she would pass by them and sometimes she wished to just throw them outside to choke on the radiations. Of course, she never did that. No point in destroying the little bit of humanity the plant had left. But still... Carmen thought about it.

  As for Michael... Carmen didn't like him at all. She hated the way he seemed to parade everywhere, in his extravagant clothes and makeup, with that pompous attitude that let everyone know he owned the world and all of her. Even if it was true, it made him highly unlikable in her eyes. 

  In all honesty, the truth was that Carmen was scared of him. Everyone else in there had sold their soul to his Father, and to him by proxy. Carmen was not a Satanist like them, or a member of the Cooperative like her mother. Carmen was just a lucky girl who didn't feel lucky at all.

  Carmen spent most of her time alone in her room, reading books and listening to music, trying to pass the time away. She felt bored the first few days, then became depressed and eventually turned bitter. Carmen had so many questions and no one to ask them to. So many feelings she didn't know how to control. So she kept them all in. Carmen thought nobody cared or noticed the fact that she were the only visibly unhappy and pissed off person in that place, since they were all too busy dealing with their own shit. But Michael noticed.

  When she was announced that he requested to see her in his office, she felt like someone had punched her in the chest with a brick. He never requested to see people in private. Usually he just talked to everyone at once by gathering everyone in the living-room, which was large enough to fit over 50 people. What the hell could he want?

'He's gonna kill me,' Carmen thought. It was the only answer her brain could find. 'Maybe he wants to bring someone better in to replace me. Or maybe he just doesn't like me.' Her mind was running wild while she were being escorted to his room, her heart pounding in her chest. Carmen wanted to run in the opposite direction, but that would have been distasteful. If she was going to die, she'd go to her death gracefully and take it as a champ. There wasn't much to live for anyway.

  Michael's office was large and warm. The fireplace at the left side was bathing the room in heat and orange light. There were two armchairs next to it, and he was sitting in one of them, cross legged and staring at the flames. There was a desk at the back of the room, but it looked intact, as if he never used it. The rest of the furniture seemed unnecessary and ridiculously expensive, like statues made of gold depicting demons and the fluffiest rug she's ever seen made out of a bear's fur that still had the bear's head intact. 'Trying to show off as always,' She thought, trying not to roll her eyes.

  The woman that had brought her in left as soon as Michael turned to look at them both, leaving the two of them alone. ''What do you want?'' she asked right away.

  He raised his eyebrow and smirked. ''You're all fire, aren't you? Come, sit down.'' He pointed to the armchair in front of his. ''There's no need to be rude. I won't bite you.''

  Carmen crossed the distance between the two of them and sat down, looking at him with the coldest, calm expression she could pull. ''If you're going to kill me, you should do it fast.''

  ''Is that what you think I brought you here for?'' He shook his head. ''Oh, no, dear. Quite the opposite. See, I want to give you life eternal. At my side, of course.''

  ''You're gonna turn me into a vampire?'' Carmen asked, sarcastically.

  ''Funny,'' he said, but didn't laugh. ''We don't have to lie to each other here. You know who I am and I know who you are. The only person here who does not belong to me. At least, not officially. And that bothers me. So, I want you to give me your soul.''

  Carmen looked at him with wide eyes and giggled nervously. ''Now that's funny.'' 

  ''It is not a joke,'' he assured her. ''See, if you were to die right now, your soul would go to Heaven. And I don't like that thought. Not one bit. I didn't go through all the trouble of saving you just so that you could join my enemies. You're a smart girl, I am sure you understand. You're here with me, so I want you to be on my side.''

  He was so calm and collected, his voice as soft as a cat purring, but every word he uttered sent shivers down her spine. He looked not much older than Carmen, but he had all the power in the world in his hands and Hell wrapped around his little finger. Why would Satan choose a pretty little boy to represent him? It all felt unfair to Carmen, Or like a perfect trap.

  ''First of all, you didn't save me,'' Carmen said. ''My mom bought my way in here. Second, I wouldn't give my soul to you even if I was on fire and you were the only one who could put me off.''

  His smirk disappeared and the anger in his eyes that replaced it made Carmen free in her chair. She almost regretted her words, Almost.

''You're an impertinent little girl, aren't you, Carmen? Perhaps I should introduce you to my pets.''

''Pets?'' Carmen repeated, confused.