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11:59

By: C.S. Poe
Narrated by: Wyatt Baker
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About this listen

Asuka Kawashima is a man without dreams.

Nightmares plague humanity and cross into the waking world - chasing after their dreamers and transforming them into hideous monsters that haunt New York City at night. When Asuka is faced with the choice of either dying or selling his soul to the Devil, he offers it in exchange for the chance to continue protecting people. But the Devil is sly, and while he takes Asuka’s ability to dream, making him immune to nightmares, it also removed Asuka’s abstract sense of dreaming. Now life is gray, hopeless, and without wishes.

A chance meeting five years later leads Asuka to Merrick Grace, a man who, despite the dismal world around them, still believes there will be a day when monsters cease to exist. When the Devil reappears, asking for a favor in return for his soul, Asuka must make another difficult decision...

If the chance to dream again - to share a life with Merrick, full of hope and happiness - is worth the risk of almost certain death.

Previously featured in the Devil Take Me anthology.

©2020 C.S. Poe (P)2021 C.S. Poe Science Fiction Fiction Dream
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This is a clever and compelling tale of a pact with the Devil. The Devil is persuasive and urbane, and the unfortunate cop is currently falling to his death from a high rise. A bargain, continued life for his soul, seems a better bet than the concrete below, but, of course, the Devil cheats. Along with removing the memories of the horrors he was facing, his ability to dream is taken too. And he is left with a grey thankless existence, where he can only continue to hunt and kill the living nightmares who turn their victims into monsters. A hell, but on earth.
A neighbour tries to chat him up, and persists despite rejections and refusals to engage. The story of how, together, they face down nightmares, the Devil's pact, and sort out the afterlife itself, is exciting and entertaining. Oddments from mythology and folklore drift into the narrative, increasing the intrigue of what is really going on, and whether the Devil wants more than a soul.
Beautifully narrated, too! Highly recommended.

The Devil and the cop who can't dream

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I read this as a short in the Devil Take Me anthology. A cop sells his soul to the Devil to avoid death and help others escape nightmares that become monsters. Of course, there is no such thing as a simple deal with the Devil, as Asuka finds out! It's a darkish, but good story - lots of atmosphere, a hint of menace and a solid ending.
Speaking of atmosphere, Wyatt Baker is a great choice - he had me seeing NYC the way CS Poe had written it - a little dark during the day and menacing at night. I could hear Asuka's weariness before he met Merrick, and the hint of hope for a HEA after meeting him. Oh, and the way he voiced the Devil, not sure I wouldn't have made a deal with him as well!

When you deal with the Devil...read the fine print

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