Hell is Swell [bxb]

Chapter Ten~ Body

CHAPTER TEN- Let's Go to Hell, then. I Guess.
Body's POV

Jolenik was staying true to her word so far. The second we had finished eating, she gestured for us to follow her out of the restaurant.

My stomach felt ready to burst-- that was my fault for drinking two chocolate milkshakes and a slice of "cheesecake." I didn't think that mixing cheese with cake would be so tasty. Was everything good with cake? Ketchup cake? Green bean cake? Carrot cake? I scoffed to myself-- there was no way someone could manage to make something called a carrot cake taste good.

Jolenock led us to a sleek, black car with dark windows. It was pitch black and menacing to look at. I could see my reflection perfectly through the windows. She gestured to it. "Hop in."

"These window tints cannot be up to code," Renee muttered, but opened the passenger seat and sunk into the vehicle.

I opened the backdoor nearest to me and plopped in, holding my stomach. "I really shouldn't have had that second milkshake." I groaned.

Grant scoffed as he got into the other side of the car and buckled himself in. "I told you."

To be fair, he had.

Jolenik turned the vehicle on with her key-thing. That was something I never really understood. Guess I never would. She grinned. "I regret nothing. That Patty melt, chicken-parm combo was the best decision of my life."

"You're right. The second milkshake was totally worth the pain."

Jolenik nodded in agreement as she started to drive us... somewhere. Hm.

"Where are you taking us?"

"We're going to a common entrance to Hell," she answered, shrugging. "Once you go in, you'll want to find some sort of place to stay at. Maybe a hotel? But be careful with that, about 80% of them are scams, and about 15% of them are secret murder-houses."

"Sounds lovely," Renee said sarcastically. "So, we have a 5% chance of getting a normal place to stay?"

"Oh, no. 4% of all the normal places are booked out. Your best bet will probably be to avoid hotels."

Grant leaned in. "Should we stay on the street, then?"

"Oh, sure. If you want to be abducted, that's a great idea."

"Any ideas that won't get us killed, abducted, or drain our bank?" Renee asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jolenik shrugged. "I dunno. An abandoned warehouse? Just look out for crackhead ghosts. I'm sure you'll figure it out. As long as you're far away from me, I don't care where you stay."

"You helped Cal. You were willing to help us for a bit." Grant pointed out. "What's so different about Ishmael's case?"

Jolenik groaned. "It's hard to explain without you knowing how Hell works. Basically, there's a hierarchy down there. Some lower-level demons just have all these souls that they collect and it's not really a big deal if they go missing. Buuut, the higher-level demons are usually pretty tough to deal with. And rare souls are pretty impossible to steal. Like, I'm pretty sure Lord Xavion wears his around his neck."

"Lord Xavion?" Renee inquired, eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"His father is the chief of torture, or something like that," Jolenik explained. "He's pretty famous. Plus, he's been all over the gossip channels lately– everyone is talking about how they think he and Lucifer would be a cute couple. I mean," she chuckled, "I agree. I've written the fanfiction to prove just how compatible they are. Like, woah. I'd pay to see them–"