The High Order

6. Rain-demon

6.       Rain-demon

1. It had been the day after house number 42 had been destroyed in what many considered to be an attack. Alois' plan to remove the Purgatorian temporarily from the picture had ended in failure. Dan had managed to reclaim the few possessions he still had in existence from the charred embers of his former homestead. It had been a short and sweet stay for the guest of honor, who now roamed the streets of the city like the abundant street urchins around him. The red sun had given way to a steady evening downpour on Hell, making the situation for most even worse. Dan thought that down here, he was loved by almost everyone. Maybe someone jealous had heard about him and found out where he lived one way or another. What was done was done. Now Dan had to find a new place to live.

He did not want to leave Hell; it had grown on him in the time he had been there. Water dripped off the slanted low rise roofs and trickled in rivers down the numerous street side drains as Dan latched the wet sack on his back through the tourism center of Hell, the district of The Fallen. Dan had avoided Lucifer and his palace or anywhere else that could have provided temporary shelter due to his intense paranoia that the world was out to get him. Along Cerberus place, Dan continued his trudge at rock bottom, eventually coming across the shimmering front neon lights of the Nergal casino. It was the biggest and most prestigious casino in a realm of hardcore gamblers, handing out millions in prizes and booty to anyone who wished to quench their eternal addictions.

Dan was a novice fan of gambling in life, regularly winning poker games against all manner of opponents. His luck in the human world seemed to join him in the afterlife, as he won a game of Russian roulette against several demons in Hell recently. Beside the golden double doors and the lines of people attempting to enter under tight security, Dan swiped a look at a large poster on a nearby wall. It was advertising an upcoming poker tournament in three days, with the prize of a new luxury house and money for competing against some of the best cheaters and gamblers in all of Hell.

"hey, pal. Is this tournament thing free or what?" Dan walked up in front of the waiting line to the broad intimidating security guard in black.

"sure, but the only people probably doing that would be sleazy scumbags or hapless losers, now get going, you're holding up the line. Come back in three days if you feel lucky enough" the guard pointed to the street, making Dan roll up the poster and run back down further into the heart of the city. Maybe this was the big break he needed, like providence or destiny as his anticipation would get the better of him.

2. Alois Kelmer's office was a prestigious one at best. Patterned Persian carpets and blue wallpaper, wooden work desk, fireplace and hung memorabilia frames of Kelmer's days as a Nazi in the human world, newspaper covers, medals, and photographs of his "achievements". He was sitting at his desk beside the fireplace, looking down at the case holding the Iron Cross medal that he had received from Hitler in 1941. Nearly seventy years after Satan administered the Oblivion execution to Hitler, Alois had succeeded him and managed to keep the Nazis of Hell together as an unrelenting fighting force, often using military force to keep lower demons of the realm in line. He was proud of his current status, a pride that would be saturated with hate due to a glance at the morning newspaper. Alois looked to find the headline "PURGATORIAN ENTERS POKER TOURNAMENT: HAPLESS BASTARD BECOMES HOMELESS AFTER HOME EXPLOSION" adorning the front page. Slamming the medal case on his desk, Alois turned the rotary phone beside him.

"Guten Tag, Omar" Alois said.

"you have another job for us, mini Fuhrer?" Omar answered back.

"actually, it is about a previous job you were meant to have done before. Do you remember Dan the Purgatorian?" Alois continued.