Page 90

Watching Joyce be obliterated over and over again, unable to do a single thing.

28

THE FLOOR IS LAVA

Shit. That hurts.

I lift myself from the floor and look around. The room is now empty. What the hell happened? I remember being here with Aiden and my father. But then it’s a blank. I stand up trying to stabilize myself. I feel an ache in my chest, so I rub it. A jolt of pain hits my head as my memories come back. Aiden.

Where the hell is Aiden? And aren’t I supposed to be, like, gone? I look at my wrist and still see the scythe tattoo, but it’s more faded than before and still fading. I wonder if this is what brought me back. I don’t feel whole though, but I don’t have time to contemplate my condition. I need to get to Aiden and my father. I don’t know what happened to them, but it can’t be good. That bitch probably did something to them.

Glancing around, I move quietly towards the door, only stopping at her desk when I notice the blue serum that the reapers used on us to prevent us from getting away. I also notice a long gold dagger. I grab both items, placing them in my back pockets. I continue to the door. Once I’m there, I open it slowly, peeking my head out. I do not know where anyone is, so I have to be careful. I see a reaper at the end of the white and silver hallway with his back to me. He is looking down at something.

Perfect.

I take a deep breath then teleport. Thank goodness the serum ran out. I pop up right behind him and before he can turn, I kick behind his knee. As he starts to fall, I wrap my arm around his neck and stab the serum in his arm. I let him go and he drops to the ground. The serum won’t knock him out, but it will make him weak enough to where he can’t use any reaper abilities. He looks at me in shock. I grin down at him as I pull out the knife. I would prefer to not have to use it, but I will, to find Aiden.

I hold the knife against his chest and ask, “So we meet again. Where is Aiden, Mac?”

Face set with determination, he replies, “Screw you.” We could really save each other time and pain. But alas, he’s being an idiot.

“Wrong answer.” I cover his mouth and slice his chest. He lets out a scream, but it’s muffled beneath my hand. I remove it from his mouth and give him a second chance.

I pat his chest. He winces from the pain. “Okay buddy, let me explain how this is going to go. Sooner or later, you are going to tell me. You can voluntarily tell me and save yourself pain. Or—and hear me out—I will slice and dice you until you tell me where Aiden is. What is it your boss said? Oh yes. Eden is all about free will.”

A couple of seconds tick by. He says nothing. I roll my eyes. Alright, I guess we have to do this the hard way. I move the knife down to where his cherished jewels are and start to press the knife down into the fabric of his pants. Before I can do any real damage, he finally yells what I want to hear.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you! Please move the knife!”

I let out a breath. I’m glad he gave in. That was not going to be pretty.

He continues talking, “She had us take him to the Hell department. But deep in Hell. Next to tier three. I can get you in. But since you injected me with the serum, you’ll have to find a way out.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “You better. This serum doesn’t run out for another hour. I’ll hurt you if you trick me and I’ll be going straight for the balls.” He nods his head, fear in his eyes. I pull him up with my knife pressing against his side.

“Before we go, why can’t Aiden just get himself out?” It would make this a whole lot easier.

“Because we put him in while he was under the influence of the serum. Usually reapers aren’t affected by Hell, but since he entered under the influence, his mind got taken over. He is trapped in his own personal Hell and probably doesn’t even realize it. He could technically leave at any point, but it will be near impossible to snap himself out of a Hell trance.”

“How long has he been in there?”

“About thirty minutes.” Shit. That’s about six months in Hell time. I need to get to him quickly. I shove the reaper forward with a newfound urgency.

“Aiden helped you through something and you just…help throw him in Hell? You’re a piece of shit.”

“I would do anything for Director Young,” he replies. If I hear her name one more time, I’ll lose it.

“Oh, shut up and take me to Aiden,” I demand. He walks us towards an elevator I never noticed before. It is tucked away in a corner. It’s different from the main elevator I’ve used to get around Eden.

Once we are inside, he clicks level zero, and we zoom down. I stumble a little at the speed, but find my balance. A few seconds later, the elevator stops with a ding to announce our arrival and we walk out of the elevator with Mac in front of me. I trip over my feet a little from the sudden wave of dizziness that hits me. But just as quickly as it comes, it’s gone again.

Glancing around our new surroundings, we are in a barely lit empty room. I look at my scythe tattoo again and see its fading even more. Time is running out. The more the tattoo disappears, the weaker I feel. It is probably the only thing that is keeping me here right now.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“This is a secret entrance into Hell. But it is only an entrance. Director Young had it built in secret to send souls she believes should be in Hell.”

“And you don’t think that’s messed up? Who is she to make the determination of who should be in Heaven? That's why there is a non-bias system called Karma.”