Discovering Hell [COMPLETED]

Chapter One

I stuffed my hands into my hoodie pocket and looked down at the sidewalk, allowing my hood and my curly hair to shield my face from the wind just a little bit more. I was only a block from my apartment but it seemed as though I couldn't get there fast enough. Although I wished I had an unlimited supply of money, I did not. So instead of buying a car and parking permit, I paid for my tuition and saved for a car.

I reached my apartment and threw my bag just inside the door. I'd just spent my whole day in nursing classes taking furiously extensive notes as I tried to keep up with the teacher that droned on about the same facts that were in her Power Point presentation. I desperately needed a shower, popcorn, and a cheesy movie.

I froze, however, when I saw the three men in the kitchen. The first was tall and Asian with a sour face and a full head of hair. The second had a pudgy face and beady eyes, also scowling at nothing. But it was the third one that caught my eye. He was standing with his back to me, pouring two glasses of wine. I could tell his suit was probably more expensive than everything I owned.

That thought came to me and that was when I realized he was pouring my bottle of wine. My roommate, Sage Milton, and I had bought it at the start of the semester as motivation to actually graduate. We hadn't planned to open it until then.

I briefly wondered how they even got into my apartment before my shock disappeared. "Excuse me," I demanded, "sorry to interrupt whatever is going on here, but that's mine and this apartment is mine."

The man that had been pouring the wine turned around, a look on his face as though he'd been caught murdering someone but was trying to cover up his pride. He had some scruff and a receding hair line and, for a second, I thought I would recognize him, but I didn't. "Sorry, we came a little early."

"How'd you even get inside? I know I locked the door."

He shrugged. "You'll find out soon enough."

That made things clear as mud. It suddenly occurred to me that they could kidnap me, rape me, or kill me. My cell phone was in my purse; there was no way I'd get to it before they realized that that's what I was doing. "You're not gonna kill me if I get my cell phone out of my purse and call the police, right?" I asked, just curious.

He waved a hand dismissively. "They're harmless unless I tell them otherwise and I would never hurt you. I'm just here to talk."

"You couldn't just...I don't know, call?" I took a cautionary step towards my bag.

"I don't do phone calls," he said rather seriously, holding one of the wine glasses out to me. "Please, have a drink and I'll explain everything."

"I think I'd rather stay sober for this." For all I knew he'd drugged it and I wasn't taking any chances.

He pursed his lips but put the glass back on the counter. "I understand. Let's go have a seat in the front room."

I stayed where I was. I was maybe a foot from my purse and I didn't see any guns...

There was a fluttering sound and three new random strangers appeared out of nowhere. The one in the trench coat pressed his palms to Asian guy and pudgy guys' foreheads and they screamed as their eyes burned out of their heads.

The suit guy had disappeared, leaving behind only the glasses of wine as proof that he had ever been there. I didn't move but stared at the three new strangers--I could feel my brain aching as my day got more and more confusing.

So I did the only reasonable thing: I ran. Or...tried to. I spun around and barely touched the handle when someone grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back, lifting my off of my feet and spinning me back around.