We All Go to Hell

Chapter 1

The endless, obnoxious ticking of the clock that hung by the door had kept Katsu awake and restless the entire night, along with the freezing conditions of the small box of a room he and three other kids were placed in for the time they spent in the facility. By the time the few rays of sunlight had somehow pushed their way through the boards blocking the only window in the room, he had given up on getting a good night's sleep and resided to watching the clock, finding it interesting as the small red hand quickly made it's way around, making it seem like the minutes weren't as long and dreadful.

Besides, the other children in the room had began to stir, groaning quietly as they tried to find a new, comfortable position so that they could continue to sleep. But, of course, once one was awake, it was nearly impossible to fall return to the beautiful realm of dreams.

Katsu sat up in the bed he shared with a much older boy, yawning as he rubbed his eyes, despite being told by Lise multiple times that it could eventually ruin his vision. At this point, he couldn't care less. He already felt like dying, therefore he couldn't care less about his health or his vision.

He tried to be as slow and quiet as possible while getting up, but of course, he had failed miserably, as he felt the thin blanket be ripped away from his lap. With the sudden exposure to the cold air, he shivered, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. He looked down at his bedmate, Yuudai, who had covered himself entirely with the blanket, obviously not caring about anyone but himself when it came to surviving the dreadful conditions called reality.

Sensing Katsu's despair, he just groaned, peeking from underneath the gray fabric. "That's what you get for keeping the bed all to yourself throughout the night," he snapped, disappearing back into the warmth.

He just sighed, glancing over at Lise, who was busy reading a novel in the dim light trickling in through what was visible of the window. In even the dimmest of light, it was easier to see the dark markings that dappled her body, a sign she was the host of a ruthless demon.

That was why they were even trapped in this room to begin with, why all the other kids in the facility were going through the same things they were. The Council wanted to experiment with and on them, to see how the mind of demons actually worked. That way, they could defeat the enemy once and for all, torturing innocent children in the process. They could be living happy, normal lives now, but the Council had to take them away from their old lives, their families, and everything dear to them.

Katsu assumed Lise could tell what was on his mind, probably from his body language, because she shut her book, eyeing him for a few seconds before speaking.

"Everything will be alright, Kat. We'll get out of here eventually, I promise."

Yuudai snorted, still remaining in his spot underneath the blanket. "Yeah right," he replied, his voice slightly muffled. "I've been here for nearly nine years, and me and my friends have attempted numerous amounts of times to break out. It's never happened and it never will. Why must you be so persistent?"

Lise's bedmate, Takumi, sat up, a wide grin on his face, as if he had been pretending to be sound asleep this entire time. And Katsu knew that he most likely was.

"What if I told you me and Lise snuck into HQ and stole a few maps of the facility?" He said, keeping his voice quiet enough so any guards outside wouldn't hear, but loud enough to meet the others' ears.

The older male threw the cloth off of him, sitting up as quickly as he possibly could to glare at Takumi. "That's impossible! One of the guards would have caught you! And besides, the door to our room is always locked, you can't get out."

The other just laughed, pulling out a few maps from underneath his pillow he and Lise shared. And with that, in the first time in Katsu's entire time in the facility, he saw a glimmer of hope in Yuudai's eyes as he grabbed the maps from Takumi, studying them carefully.