The Pact

Set against the backdrop of 1873, a young man learns the dangers of asking for your hearts desires.  For some forces and dark and enjoy the folly that follows such requests.  The young man’s wish comes with a heavy price that not only he must pay.

A single bead of sweat crept from beneath the band of Little Joe’s hat, burrowing through caked-on dirt until it worked itself down into a muddy afterthought.  The young man rubbed the back of his grimy hand against his cheek, smearing the streak and wiping away bits of dry earth.  He squinted up at the sun while he pushed the heavy plough behind the family’s old, tired draft horse.