Headaches & Hazbins: Book 1: New Kind of Life, New Kind of Hell

-=Hell To Pay=- Chapter: 23: Can You Tell Me Where I Am?

*Flip* *Flick* *Flick* *Click*

[The lighter's clicks bring a flame to life after a few good tries. The flame it brought into this world with bloodied fingers begins to burn the end of a cigarette held directly above it. As the orange flame singes the death stick, it eventually catches and glows a fiery orange. The man holding the lighter with a bloodied left hand, who happens to be Asher, flips it closed.]

*Flip*

[Asher lowers his left hand and places the lighter into his pants pocket as he takes a drag from his cigarette. The smoke fills his mouth, allowing Asher to get that dry taste but a light kick that makes him want another puff. He then removes the cigarette from his mouth and blows the smoke aside.]

2 Hours Later... Somewhere in Pentagram City...

[Asher remains quiet, leaning against the glass window of some sort of storefront. From the street view, it appears to be a butcher's shop of some kind. Asher stands there still, holding the cigarette in his right hand as he takes calm, controlled breaths while the blood on his hand begins to stain the cigarette red. His outfit hasn't changed, but there is a bit more blood on the left side of his stomach where he was stabbed. Though, it looks like the bleeding has stopped for the moment. The blood on the left side of his head and the right side of his chest hasn't changed besides looking more dried. A fresh coat of red is on his hands, staining his skin and everything he touches. He doesn't even want to think about his wounds right now... Besides the additional blood, his gas mask seems to have found its way back around his neck. Good for him... He then returns the cigarette to his mouth and leaves it between his lips. He leans his head back against the glass window. A demon walks past him, paying him no mind, as Asher begins to rub under his eyes with his left hand. He looks tired and exhausted, the skin under his eyes appearing darker than usual and now with a touch of blood. It's the kind of tiredness that can't be fixed with a good nap, which Asher would love to take right about now. He grumbles quietly before he stops rubbing his eyes. Once again, he goes completely silent, now staring upwards toward the rooftops of the buildings across the street from him. He can see the solid sky of Hell just above that. Nothing interesting besides a few crows flying over. He then lowers his head, looking across the street from him. More storefronts, these ones looking cleaner than the one he is resting against. There appears to be a clothing store, a general store, and one that Asher can't quite figure out what they sell. His eyes then lower further, landing on the road before him. He blows a puff of smoke out of his mouth as he goes up to his neck with his left hand. He reaches past his gas mask and at the neck part of his dress shirt and slips his fingers below it. He grabs something and then takes the object out. It's the silver locket he keeps on around his neck. Some of the blood on his hands smudges against the pure metal. Asher just stares at it with a silent, blank expression. He seems to want to speak but can't bring himself to it. Instead, he takes the cigarette out of his mouth with his right hand and brings the locket closer to his face before gently placing it against his lips. He kisses it. Not muttering a word or noise. He leaves the locket against his lips for seconds as the world around him disappears. He feels heavy... Some more of the blood on his fingers rub against the metal. Then, he slowly takes the locket off his lips and places it back beneath his dress shirt. Out of sight from all. Asher places the cigarette back into his mouth and pushes himself off the glass storefront. He turns and takes a few steps to the right, reaching the store's front door. He looks at it, lifts his right shoe up near his waist, and kicks the door near the handle hard, breaking it and sending it flying inside.]

*KICK!*

*Slam!*

[The noise from the kick is loud, and the door hitting against its hinges is almost as noisy. Asher looks inside, dead ahead of himself. There's a countertop inside the storefront with a selection of various different kinds of meats. Different cuts, different animals, different parts of people... He looks to the left of the counter, where an open doorway leads to some kind of back room. There is a light on back there, but it's hard to tell what's in the room from all the way out front. What you can see is a meat hook hanging from the ceiling with some chains attached to it leading to the right out of view, a large fresh pool of blood, and several fresh bloody footsteps leading out of the room to the front before disappearing. There also seems to be something else on the floor leading out of the back room up all the way to the font where Asher is. It's a transparent liquid with a hint of yellow that seems to mix in with the bloody footsteps in some spots. The liquid looks to have been poured and trails from the backroom to a large puddle directly in front of where Asher is standing. Asher looks down at the liquid, eyeing it blankly. He can smell it... A smell that he finds incredibly familiar... A smell that he loves... He takes in a puff of smoke into his mouth before blowing it out in front of him into the building. He then takes the cigarette out of his mouth with his right hand and turns to his left, but he keeps the cigarette in his hand, hovering above the liquid. Then, after remaining silent all this time, he speaks.]