Sin After Sin

Chapter 4: Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be

The sirens wailed late into the night, startling me as I organized my knives on the wall of my bedroom. One clattered to the floor, the violent vibrations from the horrendous noise outside making everything shake in the room. I wish they weren't so loud.

I sighed as I picked it up, laying it on my nightstand. A beast had escaped - again - for the second time this week. It rarely happened in general, so I was sure the new keeper that maintained them would be a lost soul from now on. He had been let off with a warning the first time, my father's voice heard from every mile of Hell. There was no way he was going to get off that easy again.

I winced and covered my ears as the sound intensified. I crawled into my bed, pulling the blankets over my head. I'd have to get some earplugs next time I was on earth, although I doubt they'd do anything to help block out the noise.

Five minutes later, the sirens stopped.

I cautiously removed my hands from my ears, dropping them to my side and getting out of bed so I could look out the window to see what was going on. I wish I hadn't.

The sky was pitch black, the lake of fire mesmerizing in the stark contrast. Demons were slowly passing each other in silence, not looking up. Instantly, I knew something was wrong.

A guard shoved him to the ground with surprising strength. I watched in fascination as Enemy, a demon I had known since I was fifteen, was beaten. Punch after punch was thrown after him yet he didn't fight back. He didn't beg for it to stop either. It was like he...shut down. That was when I noticed a syringe at his side. I hadn't even seen someone inject it into him.

The thought of him becoming a lost soul killed me.

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"Have I taken you around to the school?" Darkness asked. We had been walking around Hell for hours, bored out of our mind. We hadn't been given any assignments for months now.

"No. I'm surprised you haven't shown me after all these years," I teased. "I've heard it's cool."

"Well, it's where all the training happens. Fascinates the younger demons who are in the lower levels."

We paused in front of the massive building, it's four stories towering over the smaller two story ones surrounding it. It's aging brick walls and dark windows reminded me of an asylum. My eyes trailed up to the dark sky, a bolt of lightning appearing out of nowhere.

He opened the heavy metal doors for me. Thinking of what happened last night, I turned to him. "Hey, what's gonna happen now that Enemy is gone?"

"One of the demons that are graduating will take over his place. It happens a lot, Nyx."

"I didn't want something like that to happen to him though," I wailed, covering my face with my hands. "He was a good demon. I don't even know what he did wrong."

Darkness paused, pulling me into a pitch black corner. "Nyx, he was working for God. It had to be done."