"How is that possible," Jack asks. He recalls how it smashed into tiny bits as he stares at it in disbelief. His thoughts travel further back to what the shopkeeper had said.

"Whoever releases the trapped souls will be enslaved by its powers from now until eternity."

 "That's not happening to me." Scooping up the ball, he runs to the fireplace and throws it inside. The flames dance around the ball leaving the object untouched. 

The demonic device laughs at Jack's defeat. 

"I'll fix you." Grabbing the starter fluid from the cabinet, he runs over and drenches the ball. 

He hears a loud whoosh as the flames roar to life; hungrily engulfing the gadget. Jack hears screaming as colorful lights glimmer through the flames. Terrified, he takes a shaky step back. 

Jack watches dark, eerie shadows ascend towards the ceiling and then fade away. He glances at the fireplace and discovers the gadget is gone. I finally got rid of it.

Jack turns to find it sitting on the table. He pivots around to find the fireplace clean. "How can that be? How can that possibly be?" 

"A little fire is not going to stop me." The satanic device laughs.

"I'll destroy you one way or another." Grabbing the object from its place on the table, he runs out the door.

Jack pulls up to the creepy shop a few minutes later. She's going to talk to me one way or another, he thinks as he climbs out of the car. 

He finds the store window empty when he makes his way to the front. They're probably working on the display. He pulls on the door and discovers it's locked. She couldn't have gotten far.

 He peeks inside and finds everything gone.  Am I at the wrong store?  Taking a step back, he glances around. Jack finds the salon on one side, the hardware store on the other. This is where I was earlier. He peeks through the glass again.

"Can I help you with something?" An elderly gentleman asks, stepping up beside him. 

Jack jumps, the ball falls to the ground. He glances down to find the hideous mask staring at him, an evil smile on its face. I could leave it there. It'd just find its way home if I do. He reluctantly scoops it up.

"Can I help you?" the man asks again.

"What happened to the shop?" Jack points behind him.

The man cocks his head to the side, a curious expression on his face. "The shop has been closed for years."

"I was just..." Jack feels the object vibrate in his hand, he looks down to see it flashing again. Tribal drums soon follow the vast array of lights. The gentleman continues to jabber away, unaffected by the sudden show. Jack nervously glances between the man and the ball, not sure what he should do. The lights flash faster, the drum beats louder and the man continues on. 

"Doctors claim she had a heart attack, but I think her black magic had something to do with it." 

"I'm coming for you, Jack." The object winks.

Jack screams, dropping the ball again.

"What's wrong with you, boy?"

"You don't hear that?"

"Hear what?" 

"The drums, the drums. Don't you hear the drums?" He anxiously glances at the ball. Jack becomes light-headed, his vision begins to blur. He teeters back and forth as his face turns ghostly pale. 

 "Is something the matter with you, boy?" the man asks as he steps away. 

"Look." Grabbing the object from the dirt, Jack shoves it in the guy's face.

The gentleman glances at the device and then the lad. "What am I supposed to be looking at, exactly?" 

"You don't see the lights, or hear the drums?"

 The man shakes his head. "Let me get you some help, son." He pulls a phone from his pocket.

"Don't bother," Jack yells as he darts across the road. Seeing a wood chipper at the construction site, Jack runs over and throws the gadget inside. To Jack's delight, the machine roars to life. 

"Hey, get away from there," a foreman yells.

"Sure, no problem." No problem at all. Smiling, he walks to his car. 

***

Jack sees his girlfriend pacing the floor when he opens his apartment door.

"Where have you been, Jack, hmm, where?" She stomps towards him.

"Why, what's going on?"

"You were supposed to meet my parents before they headed home."

"Was that tonight?"

"How could you possibly forget with a sticky note on your coffee pot and on the fridge?" 

Jack looks away. "I didn't realize it was tonight."

"You purposely stayed away, didn't you, didn't you?" she cries as tears roll down her face. 

"I'd never do that to you."

"What else am I suppose to think, Jack, huh, what?"

"Well, I..."

"You know what I think? I think you didn't want to meet my parents because I don't mean anything to you." 

"You know that's not true."

"Isn't it? When was the last time we did anything fun?" Seeing a mischievous smile creep across his face, she holds up her hand. "Besides having sex."

"I thought you enjoyed our little time in the sack."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might want something more?"

"You have to admit that it's the best you've ever had." He reaches up and massages her breast, a hint of playfulness in his eyes.

She slaps his hand away. "You're impossible, Jack, just impossible." She stomps across the room.

"Wait, Jen, don't go." 

 "Give me one reason why I should stay."

"Because you love me?"

"Yeah, well, it's too bad that you don't feel the same."

"I do Jen, I really do."

"The only one you love is yourself." She grabs her purse from the table. The wooden object falls to the floor.

"Where... Where did that come from?" 

Jen turns to see what he's staring at. "It was here when I came in." 

Jack scoops it up and inspects it. "That's impossible." There isn't a single mark on the ball. 

"You'll have plenty of time to play with that thing now that we're through."

"No, wait, Jen, don't go," Jack begs, running after her.

"I'm done, Jack, done." She throws the door open.

Jack grabs her arm to stop her.

Jen spins around. "What, Jack."

"I want to take you out tonight, dinner and a movie?"

"That sounds nice." She sniffles, drying her face.

The ball vibrates in his hand, the lights begin to flicker. "Not now."

"Not now, what?"

Jack glances down at the ball and sees that it's stopped. "Nothing, let me change and then we'll go." Setting the ball on the table, he heads towards the back.

"What is this thing anyhow?" Jen asks as she scoops up the gadget.

"Don't touch it." Darting across the room, Jack knocks the ball from her hands.

She glances over a shocked look on her face. "What the..."

"You shouldn't have done that, Jen." His entire body begins to tremble as he watches the ball. 

"What's wrong with you?"

"That... That thing is demonic."

"Demonic?"

"Yes, I've... I've been trying to get rid of it all day, but no matter what I do, it always finds its way home."

"The toy follows you home?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

Jen glares into his eyes. "You promised to give up the drugs, Jack."

"I have, I swear."

"I'm not just a bootie call either, right?"

"Of course not."

"Yeah, well, I'm not listening to any more of your lies."

"I'm not lying to you."

"And I'm the queen. I'm done, Jack, done." Jen slams the door behind her. 

"No, Jen, wait, I can explain."  He darts towards the door.

The barrier flies open; a strong gust of wind blasts through the apartment. Jack's brawny body flies across the room; smashing against the wall. 

"Your soul is mine, Jack, all mine." The satanic ball laughs.

***