7 Sins Saga: Greed

The briefcase sat on the desk.

It was a simple, leather-bound rectangle, placed innocently in the middle of the cedar desk. He looked up and across the table at the woman, who was sitting forward, with her elbows on the table. "Interested?" she asked, a slight smirk on her face.

He reached out a hand, used to taking things that were rightfully his, by birthright if not earned by hard work. He slid the case closer to himself, the metal clasps making an awful screech as they slid across the well-polished wood. He waved away his bodyguard, who left the room discreetly, the sharp click of the lock marking his departure.

Two sharp clicks permeated the silence. He hinged the lid up, obscuring the woman's face from view, and looked inside. Bundles of cash were stacked neatly, hundred-dollar bills that he imagined greeting him like an old friend. He was friendly and familiar with money, even intimate, and as he picked up a stack, he let it run across his fingertips in a gentle caress.

He turned his eyes upwards. The hatch to his safe box hovered just above his head - a safebox full of cash, gold bars, heirlooms, all of which he had obtained through various levels of legality. He accepted his kleptomania and need for possession in open arms, and it showed. His neat suit, gold cuff links, and band upon band of impressive jewelery all showcased his craving for more.

The smell of freshly laundered money was intoxicating. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, letting out an audible sniff that echoed around the boardroom. He could hear his guest shuffling around with impatience. Let her wait, he thought to himself. The money is as good as mine.

He opened his eyes, ready to negotiate. He reached out a hand and made to pull the briefcase closed. Something cold - very cold - touched his fingers.

A skeletal hand delicately stroked his arm. Slowly, the briefcase lid dropped, resounding with a sharp clack as the locks engaged, revealing the face of his client. As he watched in mute horror, her skin peeled back like the lips of a flower, shriveling into black crisps that crumbled into scattered ashes.

The skull grinned at him. "I was so hoping you would pass the test."

Its skeletal arms tightened until he cried out in pain. "And you should really give your bodyguard a key to this room. By the way, isn't all that money extremely heavy?"

He let out a shrill yell, but it was drowned out by a loud crunch from overhead. Looking up, he gasped silently as the heavy safe emitted a low groan, and the reinforced ceiling began to sag. The skeletal face whispered in his ear. "Oh well."

With a sharp crack, the hatch split open, pouring gold bars, stacks of money, precious gems and jewels, antique furniture, and all the goods he had ever collected; tons and tons of material wealth falling like rain. He screamed.

7 Sins Saga: Sloth

Sloth
May 2, 2007

She forgot to turn the lights out.

He struggled out with his hand. No way. The switch was a good 2 feet from his grasp. He slumped back down into bed, too lazy to attempt getting up. Warm, snuggly blankets pushed back against his body.

The pillow felt cool under his head, and the springy mattress was worn down to his preferred shape. Leaving the bed was so hard to do, not just during the mornings. Most of the time, sleep was the only escape from his mother's cries for chores, and his 'responsibilities'.

He tucked himself deeper into the quilt. Hopefully, his mom would come in and turn off the light... until then, he pulled the blanket over his head.

Then, suddenly, the lights blew out with a sharp 'snap!'.

He rolled over to check the doorway. No sign of his mother. The broken lightbulb fizzed over his head, then sputtered out. He flipped back, grumbling complaints, unwilling to haul himself out of bed to get a new bulb.

Something sharp poked him in the side. He reached down, feeling something hard and pointed in his side. Pulling it up from under the quilts, he looked at it carefully. Some sort of white bone-like object. Odd.

He reached under the blankets. Something else was there, something cold... really cold! The lights sputtered and blared to life in a shower of sparks, lighting the room in sharp flashes. He shrieked as the sudden, frosty grip of something hidden under the sheets grabbed him. In horror, he looked down. A pair of skeletal hands reached from the tangles of the blankets, wrapping tightly around his armpits.

"Oh, and here I was hoping that you'd pass." A skull-face laid its cold chin on his shoulder. Leaning into his ear, it whispered to him through his screams. "Too bad."

Through the blank sparking of the lights above, he struggled against the apparation. A wayward spark fell gently, almost as if in slow motion, down, down towards his bunched up sheets. As it touched, the bedspread burst into a fiery conflagration.

He screamed as the flames licked his toes. The skeletal figure pressed his cheek to its, crooning softly. "Now, dear. For eternal slumber."

7 Sins Saga: Lust

Lust
April 30, 2007

With a glance to the side, he followed her.

He had spotted her a few hours back, perched on a barstool like a trophy on a pedestal. Her dress had hugged her curves seductively, her eyes were bright and full of life, but she sat alone, as if no one else could see her.

So he had followed her as she left the bar. His eyes were full of longing.

He ducked into an alley as she turned. That was close... He watched as her perfect gaze spanned the streets. Satisified she was alone, she continued with her mincing gait. And behind her, like an ill shadow, he followed.

She turned into an alleyway, slightly off the beaten path. Surprised, he quickly rounded the corner-

To find her staring straight at him with a slight smirk. He began to sweat as her hand moved towards her waist, expecting her to pull a can of pepper spray, or perhaps a cell phone to call the cops.

She looked at him, with the smile dangling off her lips. Her hand strayed unexpectedly, aiming towards her belt clasp rather than her pocket. He drooled as the click of her buckle undid itself. She let her pants fall.

Without a word, she beckoned. He complied willingly. Her body was warm in the night air, but she made not a sound as he took her. Her body was responsive, moving fast and hard, but no one came across them, no one heard a sound.

In his lust, he rolled them both to the ground. Twisting and turning, they were lost in each other. His mind swirled as they spun round and round, into the street, onto the open road. There they lay, linked together, with looks of ecstasy on both their faces.

He looked down at her, her closed eyes and open mouth displaying the pleasure she obviously felt. And as he watched, the skin began to peel from her face, the sweet eyes receding into the sockets, and the lips crackling away like dry leaves.

"That was fun," she said in a hoarse, crackled whisper.

He gibbered, his mouth frozen in horror. He tried to pull away but found, to his sheer terror, he could not.

"And here I was, so hoping you'd pass the test." The skull-face grinned up at him, the long bony fingers wrapping around his arms. "But I do hope you enjoyed your last moments."

He turned as the honk and headlights bore down on him. He screamed.