Hell in Stilettos

Have you ever been to hell? I have. Trust me, it’s even worse than described. Pure torture and no escape. The agony down here is endless. Not to mention the toll it takes on your mind with all the screaming and before you ask yourself if you ever get used to it let me just say; no, you don’t. You never do. Today was particularly worse for me. The pain was more unbearable and the heat was too much. I never thought of death as a friend but now I wish for it everyday. Especially with the torture masters getting a little too involved in their work. Like right now for instance, my body was being stretched and on the verge of ripping apart when the chamber door flew open.

“Newbie!” The demon guard shouted.

My eyes had been cut out a while back for trying to fight one of the demons so, all I could do was turn my head to where the sound of his voice was coming from.

“Boss wants to see you.” I felt my shackles being undone and I almost cried with joy.

“Am I leaving?” I asked with hope.

“Shut the fuck up and follow me.”

We walked in silence with only screams of agony and the putrid smell of burning and rotting flesh to accompany us.

“What makes you so fucking lucky?” He grumbled. I didn’t bother to respond in fear of him throwing me into the scorpion pit. I heard him stop and the sound of keys made me perk up.

Licking my burnt lips in excitement I dared to ask, “Where are we?” Instead of a response he tugged me inside.

“Stay right here.” He commanded. Rustling noises came from the far corner and shouts of frustration bounced off the walls. “Where the fuck is it?!” The sound of wood and metal crashing against the wall made me jump.

“W-Would you like help?” I stuttered.

“No.” His lips were too close to my ear and his breath smelt of blood. How he got over to me so fast I’ll never know. “If I knew touching you wouldn’t get me killed I’d eat you alive.” He snarled. I shook in fear as I felt his hand on my face. I tried to inch away but I felt his fingers grip my hair. “He won’t protect you for forever. Eventually he’ll get bored and then it’ll be my turn.” I couldn’t help the frightened whimper that left my lips.

In a normal situation you would just call the cops or scream and run. But, this is Hell. No one gave two fucks about you. Love and empathy didn’t exist. Just pain, despair and darkness. So much darkness.

“Take this.” He shoved something in my hands releasing his grip on me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I said take it. Not to ask fucking questions." Shoving the substance in my mouth I swallowed saying nothing more. My eye sockets began to itch and the sound of skin melding together resonated throughout the room.

Pain rang their bells in my head and I couldn’t hold back my scream. “What did you give me?!” I cried. I clawed my face, collapsing to the floor.

“You are being dramatic.” He stated. Suddenly I could see. The pain no longer present. Peaking up from my position on the floor, I looked around the room in awe. I can see! I thought to myself. The walls were dimly lit with antique candles while the floor was overflown with books. A writers desk that was in the corner was littered with open half-empty bottles of some type of liquid and a broken wooden chair laid crumpled in the middle of the room as well as a…man?

“You’re not a demon.” I stated.

“Want me to tear my flesh apart and find out?” He asked excitedly. Bile rose in my throat.

“No thank you.”

He pouted.

“Pussy.” I’ll admit it when I say he was very handsome. Way better than any human man I laid eyes on. “Shit! We’re late.” Grabbing me by the arm he dragged me through a corridor and into a long extravagant hallway.

“Where are we going?” I asked. My feet stumbled to keep up and the fear of tripping became more present.

“I told you, the boss wants to see you.” I stayed silent. The last time I saw his boss was on my judgement day.

“Why?” I asked.

He huffed in annoyance, “Why do you ask stupid questions?” Silence washed over us like a heat wave and after a while I got bored.

“Can you at least tell me your name?” He gave me the side eye but said nothing. Questions filled my head and my nerves were getting the best of me.

You couldn’t blame me though. No one just gets picked out of their torture for no reason unless they were transferred to another side of Hell. As we got closer to the boss’s chamber the more on edge I became. We stopped at a giant wooden door and the guard turned and gave me a cold look. “Move and I’ll slit your throat.”

Gee thanks for the encouraging words! I thought sarcastically. Reaching in his pocket he pulled out a key ring and unlocked the door. Here we go. Through the door was an office like room. Giant windows overlooked Hell and a sleek looking desk sat in the middle. “You may leave Syrus.”

The demon that brought me here pushed me in front of him and scurried out, slamming the door behind him. The sound of a clock ticked away in the background and whoever was behind the desk didn’t bother to turn and face me. “Sit down Clementine.” He said.

I watched as his hand waved to a chair next to the window but the anxiety I was feeling had me too anxious to sit. “I’m fine with standing thank you.” I said nervously.

“I said sit down. I won’t repeat myself again.” He hissed.

I knew that was my warning so I shuffled over to the chair, waiting for him to continue. “Do you know why you’re here?” He asked. Afraid to catch his attention I focused on a blood stain on the ground.

“N-no sir. I-I don’t.” I answered honestly.

“I’m sending you back to earth.”

My head shot up, eyes widening in shock. “You are?” I asked in bewilderment.

Excitement coursed through my scorched veins but something told me there was a catch to this wonderful news. “Yes but, you are going to do something for me.” Knew it! The chair turned and a man who looked someone out of some high end magazine faced me. The only disturbing feature on him were his eyes. They were the color of fire. “You were attractive in your previous life were you not?” He asked.

It had been so long since I thought about my appearance that I couldn’t even remember. “I-I don’t remember.” I mumbled.

He made a humming sound but said nothing else. “Your file tells me you were a stripper?” He raised a brow at me and for some reason I felt embarrassed. Clearing my throat I nodded yes. “Well since you know the scumbags that frequent these types of establishments I need you to find someone and bring them to me. In return you will be free to live out your days on earth again.”

I tried to keep the sliver of hope out of my voice. “How?”

I forced myself to keep eye contact, trying not to let his disturbing features get to me. I watched with caution as he got up from his desk and walked around to the front of it.

“Kill them.” He said.

Nodding my head I decided not to ask any more information. “I’ll send you over to Jess for your makeover and then over to the portal. Don’t worry about your living situation everything has been taken care of.” He said. He watched my reaction closely before narrowing his eyes. “Here is the person I need you to find.” He handed me a folder and walked back to his desk. “All of the information is there.” I opened it and studied the details. “Jess!” He hollered. A girl, with fiery red hair that was styled into messy knots on her head, popped out of nowhere.

“You rang?” She chirped. For a shitty place like this there were a lot of good looking people but, when you are being tortured for all eternity everyone becomes a monster.

“This is Clementine.” He gestured toward me. Her sharp green eyes bored into me with what seemed like jealousy. I don’t know what she has to be jealous of. She wasn’t the one being tortured.

“Derek she is hideous! No offense darling but, Hell isn’t a good look on you.” I know she was trying to insult me but I wasn’t trying to ruin my chances of getting out here so I gave her a tight smile instead.

“Yes, I know and that is why she will be given a new human suit. Make her look good or I’ll be eating your eyes out for breakfast.” I watched her demeanor change.

“I uh…I won’t disappoint you. P-Promise.” She stammered.

He nodded. “Good. You ladies have fun.” Taking that as my cue to leave I looked over at Jess who just stared at Derek. “Leave Jessica.” He spat. I watched as she huffed in anger before turning to me, a fake smile plastered on her face

“Seems like for the next eight hours you and I are best friends!”

I tried not to cringe and at her over enthusiastic tone. “Can’t wait.” I mumbled.

Taking the folder Derek gave to me I followed Jessica into a different looking hallway. This one seemed more modern. Something you would find in one of those rich people magazines for being classy and elegant. “So Clarisse, how do you know Derek?”

“I don’t know him…”

She glanced at me with scrutiny and then smiled.

“Well in that case let’s just get this out of the way shall we?” Before I could answer she continued, “Derek is mine and I don’t need some human skank from the torture pit pawing at him. Got it?”

I didn’t hold back my annoyance this time. “You can have him. I’m not interested.”

She laughed. “That was what the last one said.”

Nothing else was spoken between us so I took the remainder of the time observing my surroundings. Black diamond encrusted chandeliers hung proudly above us and the walls were decorated with sleek modern paintings. The floor glistened with is a unique design of marble. I was truly surprised that there was anything nice down here but who am I to judge. Jessica came to a stop near a heavy looking metal door with a key pad next to it. “Touch anything and Derek will be the least of your worries.” She sneered.

I nodded watching as she punched in a series of numbers to get in. The door made a loud buzzing sound before opening automatically. We walked in and the first thing I notice was how cold it was.

“What is this place?” I asked.

I wrapped my arms around myself trying to shield my body from the cold. Jess flipped on a nearby light walking to the center of the room; bodies were hanging from the ceiling and it took everything in me to not throw up.

“Welcome to the body locker. Kind of like a meat locker only with bodies.” She gave me a dark smile.

Jesus Christ. I didn’t know if it was from the temperature or the fact that this room was more disturbing than the pits they throw us in but, shivers racked my body. “Now don’t go getting soft on me, Clara.” She tsked.

I watched as she ran her fingers over the different bodies before stopping at one that caught her eye. “Here we are. I wanted to use this for a last day event but Derek said I had to make you look good so…here.” She through the lifeless vessel at me.

Surprisingly, it was as light as a feather. “Put this on.” She commanded. I stared at it with confusion.

“Uh…how am I supposed to ‘put this on’?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes at me. “Oh yeah, you’re human I forgot.” She grabbed the vessel and put it back on its hook. “Looks like we need a live one.” She stated with a sadistic smile.

Grabbing salt she began to make a pentagram on the floor. Chanting something in Latin she slit her wrist and left droplets of blood within the circle. I was terrified. I watched as she set candles on the points of the star as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her chanting started getting louder.

In a flash, a bright fiery light burst through the room and Derek appeared. “What?” His face stayed impassive but you could tell he was irritated.

“Burn victim over here needs a live body.” She said jutting her thumb towards me.

“Then get her one.” In a blink of an eye he vanished.

Jess sighed walking farther into the room moving towards a travel chest. Muffled screams began to fill the room. “Oh shut the fuck up!” She barked and swiftly kicked the chest.

The room had quieted down before the sound of a creaking lid being opened filled the silence. Whoever was in the chest began to squalor with pleas of mercy. “There is no mercy darling. This is Hell.”

With a sinister laugh she snatched the person by their hair, dragging them to the middle of the circle. “Charlie get over here.” She barked.

“It’s Clementine.” I snapped.

She gave me a blank stare and then rolled her eyes. “Does it look like I care? Just get over here.”

I huffed and shuffled over to the circle. She grabbed my hand and held me and her slave close together. Whispering something in Latin she slit the slave’s throat, blood splattering all over my face. My body felt like it was being sucked into hers and then everything was black.