Story 1: The Lost Key

As soon as Jack realized he had lost his apartment key, he felt a pit in his stomach.
He retraced his steps, checked his pockets, and even searched through the trash, but
the key was nowhere to be found.

Feeling defeated, Jack slumped onto the stairs outside his apartment building. That's
when he noticed a small piece of paper under the doormat. It had a message
scrawled in messy handwriting: "If you need help, call this number."

Jack hesitated, but decided to call the number. A gruff voice answered, "What do you
want?"

"I lost my apartment key," Jack said sheepishly. "I found this number under the
doormat."

There was a pause, then the voice said, "Wait there."

A few minutes later, a tall man with a shaved head appeared. "I'm Slim," he said,
holding out a hand. "I can help you get back in your apartment."

Jack was skeptical, but he followed Slim up to his apartment. To his surprise, Slim
pulled out a set of lock picks and deftly unlocked Jack's door.

"Thanks," Jack said, still feeling uneasy.

"No problem," Slim replied. "Just remember, if you need help again, I'm here."

As Jack closed the door behind him, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just
made a deal with the devil.