Too Good For Me

Chapter One - My Pleasure

'Please state your name.'

"Aquilo Leis."

'Welcome back to the Demonic Correction Facility, or the DCF. Today you will be meeting...'

The robotic voice droned on. I've already done this, I don't need to hear it again. I zone out as it explains everything.

I snap back to reality when it asks me, 'What is your age?'

"Ah, twenty-three years."

'How long have you been dead?'

This takes me a second.

"Four years, from three weeks ago."

'Gender?'

"Male."

'Loading, please wait.'

I ponder for a minute on why it needs all my information again. My fingers pluck at my brooch. This is taking much longer than the first time.

'Your assigned demon is Desmond, 24. Please wait to appear.'

Desmond? That's just the word 'demon' with some extra letters. I take a deep breath. Hopefully it's an easy one. The Voice didn't give me any more information on him other than that.

Today, right now, I'm meeting a demon that I'll be seeing every day. I have to show them around heaven. Teach them how to be better people. See if they can be reformed. I've already done this for someone before, Charlie.

Charlie was a bit of a fireball, but I'm proud of how he's grown. He now works in the Churching unit, where he can laze about for most of his time. Reformed demons are becoming more and more common in Heaven, with the new Reforming job now available.

'Appearing,' The Voice suddenly says.

The baby blue room I was in fades to a bright white. I close my eyes in anticipation.

As I hear the process ending, I get goosebumps at the drastic change in temperature. It's warmer than the previous room, so that the demon is more comfortable.

My eyes hesitantly open. I see nobody in the room, so I let out a quick breath I'd been holding.

"Ah," Calls a voice from behind me.

I whip around so fast it gives my wings whiplash.

Sitting against the wall of the room, I see a young demon, looking up at me with big eyes that have golden-yellow irises in pitch black scleras. He's a Spawn, a Hell-Born. He's never been alive on Earth.

I spend a second or two taking in his features. His horns are curvy and smooth-looking, poking out of rich, chocolatey hair. It curls flawlessly, shining and reflecting in the blinding white room. His skin is a light ash, like the color of a worn highway road. It's cleaner than I've ever seen a demon's appearance.

His - Desmond's, I remember - softness and cleanliness makes me a bit self- conscious of my own body. My mousy, dirty-blond hair that needs a trim, my once tan skin, lightened due to a lack of sunlight, and my own mossy-green eyes that sit in a lightly freckled face probably don't look all that appealing.

He's actually... really pretty. It's kind of strange.

"I'm sorry," He apologizes for no reason as he stands up.

'I'm sorry'???

Did this demon just apologize to me??

This guy's just handing out one surprise after another.

Desmond stands in front of me, not opposing but still defensive and unsure. I notice a mole on the corner of his jaw. He's smaller than me, but definitely more buff than I've ever been. He is wearing a long sleeve shirt that tapers at the ends of the sleeves. His pants are like bell-bottoms and do the same. His coversome clothing confuses me further. Isn't it supposed to be hot down... there?

Trying to push my confusion out of the way, I hold out my hand to introduce myself.

"I'm Aquilo, your refo-"

"Yes, yes," He cuts me off, "I listened to the robot thingy."

He doesn't accept my handshake, and is now refusing to meet my eyes.

He seems uncomfortable, and without thinking, I worry if I did something wrong.

"Are you... okay?" I ask.

"It's," Desmond pauses and sighs, "I'm just a waste of your time. You can just report me as a lost cause or something."

Confused, I take a step closer to him, questioning, "A waste of time? What do you mean, you seem good enough to me?"

A strange sadness can be seen in his eyes as he looks at me again.

"You're not going to be able to change me," Desmond explains, "I don't want to leave Hell."