El Diablo

• Peter El Khoury, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2014

A 34 year old trucker named Sanchez has made a stop at the Plumpton service centre after a week’s drive starting from Wollongong and stopping at multiple areas for breaks and deliveries. Sanchez ordered a black coffee during his stop at the Plumpton service centre. The lady barista came by and handed him an espresso - Sanchez grabbed the ladies hand and with a whip of his wrist “I ordered a black coffee señorita, not an espresso” he said in a heavy mexican accent. The lady looked at him confused and replied with a stern voice “I see it was my mistake I didn’t take your order correctly” Sanchez yanked the seat back and the lady gave him the espresso for free. Sanchez started to feel dizzy.

Sanchez turned into a motor inn and decided to take a nap to ease the dizziness. He dimmed the lights and took a hot shower, Esteban was already asleep while Sanchez was getting changed in his pyjamas and went to sleep. In his dreams he started to hallucinate, he saw a red figure appear, Diablo, Diablo stood there with a grin on his face as he yanked an object from Sanchez chest and then laughed maniacally as he faded away into a thick river of smog. Sanchez felt a wet sensation on his face, he woke up with a sudden jolt and saw esteban licking his face.

Sanchez started driving and felt worse than ever before, something about last nights encounter made him feel soulless. He needed to find out what had happened to him that night, he stopped at an odd looking store with red drapes hanging down and a rusty old frame outside that said come in with a small clown grinning. Esteban felt uneasy as he walked in with Sanchez. Sanchez sat down and was greeted by a short old lady who was skinnier than a peeled onion. She came up to him and told him to pick 3 cards, Sanchez looked at her with a gazing eye and picked them out. She looked at them for a couple of minutes and explained to him, “ you have had an encounter with the devil and need to meet his needs or suffer the consequences"

Sanchez thanked her for her hospitality and walked off into the woods. Sanchez wandered off to a similar place he had seen in his dream, He approached a bench and took a seat, a red figure emerged from the river and sat beside him. It whispered into his ear with a ghastly tone “Sanchez, you haven’t spoken to me in a long time, have you been avoiding me? a grin appeared on the creatures face. Sanchez sighed and told him with a bitter tone “I have not been avoiding you señor Diablo, I just have been doing a lot of things lately" Diablo just stared for a moment and laughed so much that river rumbled even after he finished. “Now Sanchez are you going to repay me or do i have to do it my self? Sanchez looked at him and replied in a stern voice “no ese i will not repay you" Diablo was furious and did deed himself, he took Esteban away and threw him into the river. "Now its been repaid".