💎𝟥𝒱𝓈 𝓍 𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇💎

Part 1

Falling in Hell wasn't the most riveting experience of my life. I had lived my whole life believing I would go to Heaven, but as I opened my eyes to the sight of a glowing red pentagram in the sky, I quickly realized that Heaven was nowhere in sight. 

All around me were buildings of all shapes and sizes, each sparkling with neon lights and flashing signs. Wherever I was seemed like the Hollywood of Hell. However, despite the towering buildings, there were barely any people- no, demons, roaming about. For a city as big as the one surrounding me, I would expect there to be many demons on the streets. I became so lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the car driving down the road headed straight towards me.

As I finally turned to the sound of screeching tires, I braced for impact. However, the impact never came. Cautiously I opened my eyes and lowered my arms from my face. The pink limo was inches from my face, grumbling ominously. 

I was frozen in the headlights as the door to the limo opened and a figure stepped out. He was dressed in a black and blue suit with a red bowtie on his neck. It would've seemed perfectly normal except for the TV on his head. He furrowed his brow at the sight of me and turned to the limo, saying, "Yeah, it's just another new one. Nothing special." I nervously looked between the TV and the car as a higher voice spoke up, "Oh come on Voxy! I'll see about that!"

A girl with two voluminous pigtails hopped out of the limo with a phone clutched in her hand. Her scleras were the brightest red I had ever seen, and her dress seemed to defy gravity with how "poofy" it was. She held up her phone and snapped a picture of me, to which I replied, "Um. Can I help you?"

"Aw! See Vox? Adorable! What do you mean nothing special?" the girl chirped with a sly smile. The TV-head scoffed and snapped, "Shut it Vel. Hey, you. Why don't you get out of the middle of the road? You're lucky you didn't get run over." I cleared my throat and stood up, dusting off my clothes.

"What's the delay?" a voice hissed from inside the limo. As I stepped to the side the girl- Vel- said excitedly, "There's a super cute demon that just fell! And Vox is being really mean to them. Tell him to stop Val!" 

Vox, Vel, and Val? What's next, Vin? I thought.

"I would appreciate it if you could stop talking like I'm not here," I said, trying to appear bored. Then, a very tall figure gracefully dipped out of the car and rose to his full height next to the other two. With four arms, his staggering height, and his light blue skin, he clearly stood out from the others. Vox and Vel looked up at Val with shining eyes, almost like he was the sun.

"Aw, what's a thing like you doing out here before Extermination Day?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips. 

"Extermi- what now?" I asked, my mind reeling. 

"Oh Vox, Vel was right. Adorable. But I guess you did just fall, so I'll make this quick. Let me ask- Hell is a vicious place that will tear apart the weak within a second. So, can you survive among the denizens and freaks of this city? Can you stand out among the 'grays' and weeds of this world? Are you special? Or are you a nobody that will just blend in and submit?" Val asked, leaning close.

I could feel my hands shaking, so I took a breath and tried to process what I just heard. Grays? Weeds? Why would I need to be special?

"If you're wondering what I plan to do down here, I don't plan to be tossed around like chopped liver. If I need to fight, I will. After all, I ended up down here for a reason. I'm not scared of what will become of me. I'm already damned for eternity," I said with finality.

Val smiled, revealing two golden teeth sharpened to a point. "I see," he hissed. "Most would just run away. Velvet certainly was right. You are adorable. What is your name?"

Vox scoffed and rolled his eyes, though he kept sneaking glances at me. Velvet in the meanwhile was furiously tapping buttons on her phone and taking selfies every so often.

"I'm y/n," I said, all uneasiness suddenly gone from my voice. 

"Y/n," Val said as if he was tasting the name on his tongue.

"Y/n," Vox clicked and crossed his arms.

"Y/n!" Velvet squealed, hugging her phone with a grin. "Val, can we keep them, pleeeease?" she whined. Vox whirled toward her and snapped, "Velvet are you nuts? No way. No fucking way. Val, tell her she's crazy."

Val smirked and tapped his finger on his chin, considering his options. I swallowed nervously, unsure of anything happening. Everything was moving way too fast. 

"You know y/n, Extermination Day is arriving very soon. The three of us were just on our way to get shelter. Now, I don't do this very often, but would you like to join us?" Val said, his voice dripping with poison and honey.

Vox's mouth hung open while Velvet squeaked with a huge smile. Vox swatted at Vel, who swatted right back.

"I can tell you have many questions~," Val said softly. He placed an arm around my shoulder and guided me toward the limo. "Come on, I'll get you a drink and tell you everything you need to know." I swallowed, realizing I really had no choice. Velvet and Vox followed us into the limo, Vox grumbling and Velvet squealing all the way in. 

The door shut behind us and Val knocked on the power window. Suddenly the car lurched forward. Vox handed Val a glass of ice and Velvet slid over a bottle of liquor with a smile. Did she ever frown?

Before I knew it, the glass was full to the brim with alcohol and was placed in my hands. Velvet sidled up next to me as I took a tiny sip. I fought back the urge to wince at the strength of the drink. Vox kept staring at me with mild curiosity as if I was a creature that needed studying.

Val took out a cigarette and lit it, pink smoke billowing from the end. "So," he said, taking a smoke. "You must be wondering what Extermination Day is, little one." 

Little one? Seriously? I'm not a child. 

"I guess. I wouldn't be lying if I said I was interested," I said, taking another tiny sip of the liquor.

"To make a VERY long story short," Vox sighed. "Exterminators, or angels, come down from Heaven and essentially murder demons of Hell for 24 hours straight. And it's all because of the damn overpopulation. So everyone who has a brain is finding shelter or is already in shelter." Vox finished with another sigh and tilted his head, asking, "What that good enough for you?"

"Angels? They really come down here and kill demons? I thought angels couldn't sin," I said.

"Then you were wrong!" Velvet sang as she stretched out on the limo seats. I stared only for a second before Val said, "It's true. And usually, we would just run over any demon blind enough to be in the road but we just hired a new driver. I guess his paycheck will be getting docked this week. However, I will admit, you are different than most. So I guess letting you live was a good decision." I shivered. Did they really run over innocent souls?

"Duh! I told you! And you're just the cutest!" Velvet said. Vox rolled his eyes and looked out the window at the fast-moving city.

Val chuckled and patted Velvet's head. "I suppose you already know Velvet and Vox. In that case, I'm Valentino, and y/n, welcome to Hell."