Current Events > CYOA: You are eleven years old and you summoned a demon.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Your fourteen year old golden retriever stands from her squat, leaving behind a fresh pile of dump. "Thanks, Rosie," you think to yourself as you pick up the dump with a rubber glove. You gag as you sprint over and throw the turd on top of a cigarette butt and a People magazine. You carefully peel off the glove and add it to the pile. Hmm... what else? You've burned Rosie's poop enough times to know you'll need something to counterbalance the stench. You grab a handful of pine needles and sprinkle them over the dog poop.

You run over to your dad who's scrolling through his tablet on the patio. "Dad, can I have the matches?"
Your dad looks down his reading glasses to meet your gaze. "What do you need the matches for?"
You fidget nervously. "I'm gonna burn Rosie's poop with one of mom's magazines."
"Again?" Dad places the tablet on the table. "I know you're getting stir crazy during quarantine, but is this the hobby we really need to dive headfirst into?"
"I'm a prince of hell, Dad," you mumble.
"I know, I know," Dad replies. "I mean, I don't "know" know, y'know? I'm not the king of Hell so I don't understand how you're a prince."
"Well you wouldn't be my dad, Satan would."
Dad rubs his nose and takes his glasses off. He folds them neatly on the table and takes your shoulders in his hands. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but instead just sighs. "Well if you make it big in Hell, don't forget about the guy who raised you. And be careful with the matches."
You smile as you snatch the matches and start to skip back to the dung pile.
"And don't go summoning any demons! I won't be taking care of it!" your dad calls after you.

You swipe the tip of the match across the striker, but it doesn't ignite. You try it once more, nothing again. You utter a slight grunt as you try a third time and spark a flame. Your fingers are a little too close and you quickly feel your fingertips burning. You let out a small yelp and drop the match on the lawn. You quickly stomp out the flame before it can set the grass on fire.
"Everything okay over there?" Dad calls out.
"Yep!" you call back before looking down and murmuring, "Sorry, Dad. I'm usually better with matches. You'll see when we meet."
You strike the second match on your first attempt, holding the blaze to the People magazine. It ignites way faster than you anticipated, as a three foot tall plume of flames shoot out from the People cover. You stumble backwards onto the lawn, inhaling the scent of a very smelly autumn. Soon, a shadow starts to form in the flames. The shadow grows darker and more defined as the flames burn hotter. One of the shadow's arms reaches forward. You spot a sickly beige hand stick out from the flaming tabloid pillar. The rest of the arm follows, then an emaciated torso and skinny legs. On top of the shoulders is a head way too big for the malnourished body beneath it, with two miniature horns emerging from above the creature's eyebrows. The imp stands about two feet tall, and the fire that berthed it did not go out as he emerged from the passage. He continues to burn away in your backyard. He locks eyes with you, cocks his head sideways, and gurgles loudly, but curiously.

Dad shouts, "Whoa whoa whoa!" from the patio and rushes to your side, sweeping you behind his legs. "Stay back!"
You tremble for a moment, then try to get past Dad's grasp. "I brought him here."
"And what did I tell you about summoning demons?" Dad asks.
"...Don't?"
"That's right, I said don't," he nods. "Now what are we gonna do? We can't keep it here, who knows if it'll get along with Rosie."
You and Dad turn to look at Rosie who is barking full tilt at a watering can.
"She's not looking the right direction, but she can tell something's off," Dad nods at you. "We can't load the..."
"Demon," you jump in.
"-entity," Dad insists, "into the car either. He'll burn up the Sonata something fierce. Also I don't know how coronavirus effects these guys, but I bet they can't wear a mask."

Dad removes his face mask from his pocket and tosses it limply on the imp's face. The mask burns away to ash as the imp stares indignantly at Dad.
"See, that's unsafe at a fire code level and at a pandemic level," Dad puts his hands on his hips.
"Dad! Stop throwing stuff on it!"
"Well, I'm sorry Junior! I don't really know what to do about the demon you summoned against my wishes."

Your neighbor Jon pops his head over the fence. "Hey! What's going on here?"
"Nothing, Jon. Just a demon my son summoned," Dad responds.
"Well after that's settled, Lucy wants to know if Junior can come over to play Mario Party later," Jon winks at you.
Ugh, you can't stand hanging out with Lucy. Her family always teases her that she's soulmates with "the boy next door" since that's how her parents met. She seems to put way too much stock into it, but you're just not interested. All you wanna do is earn a place in Hell's hall of fame. Does Hell have a hall of fame? You don't know. You don't think science has proven that one way or the other yet.
Luckily, your dad knows how you feel about the Lucy situation and responds, "Sorry, Junior is grounded tonight on the charges of bringing a creature of Hell into our mortal plane."
"Aww, you wouldn't let an otherworldly summon get in the way of true love, would you? Jon laughs.
"HE'S GROUNDED, YOU DAFT BITCH," Dad shouts as the baby demon tries to gargle over him.
Jon frowns and sinks beneath his fence.
"Thanks, Dad," you smile.
"I'm serious," he seethes. "You're grounded until we figure out what to do with this thing."

What do you do?

A) See if you can douse the flames surrounding the imp.
B) Call animal control.
C) See if the imp responds to basic commands.
D) Offer the imp some of Rosie's kibble.

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