Darned to Heck

Friends

After a few minutes of following Egg past all the machinery and people being whipped by demons (cliché right?) I leaned forward to talk to him. "So uh, Egg right?"

He turned his head slightly at the sound of his name but didn't look at me. "What's the Hollow, and who is 'Passus'?" he grumbled something but still wouldn't reply to me, I sighed irritably. "Is this because I kicked you?"

Another mumble. I had to think this one through, it seemed like the kind of place where you needed all the friends, or at least allies, you could get. Having Egg on my side might become useful in the future, even if he wasn't exactly high up on the pecking order.

"Listen, I'm uh, I'm sorry about kicking you, it was an accident."

"Humph. Dint feel like no accident."

Well you were the dumb ass that... remember the plan Allie "...Its impressive you know, how strong you are Egg."

"S-strong?" He turned his head slightly.

Gotcha "Oh yeah, I think, you know most people-er demons, I don't think they would've been able to stand up to being kicked that hard, not only that I mean you fell all that way down and still managed to get back up and fetch Mersheas and Taureel!"

"Well I- I is pretty strong..."

"So strong Egg, so strong, honestly just, wow." So so stupid.

"Whas it you wanted to know? About Passus wassit?" he asked

Yasssssssss high fives to me *internal fist bumps* *cheering crowds* Go Allie Go Allie!

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it was just a few things that Mersheas mentioned, you know, Passus, slots...punishments."

"Well Masser Passus is oner the higher ups. E's the one wots in charge of Masser Mersheas and Masser Taureel, and yous new souls, see?"

"So he's their master too?"

"Thas right. He sets the new souls to their slots, which is the work you be doing for the time yous been set."

Ah, so he's the slave driver in this operation. "And why is it that I'm going to be punished?"

"Well yous late for one, yous been bad for another. They don't ashally care wot you kicked me missy, theys just want any excuse to be punishing." Egg shuddered at the thought of punishment "Yous want to be wachin out for that missy, be on your goody two shoeses to be avoidin it."

Yeesh, I didn't like the sound of being punished... or being on my best behaviour. "Thanks Egg, just one more thing, I also heard the word 'hollow' being thrown around as well, what's that?"

"T'aint a nice place missy, but it be where I'm takin you anyways. Is where all the new souls is set to workin in the first time, sortin out the rocks. Yous got a hard time ahead of you in there... hush now, we's arrived."

We both approached a large entryway and soon joined a ridiculously long queue of people, or their souls at least if this really wasn't a dream.

Egg stopped walking and whispered to me "One word of advice missy and yous might not be punished so bad, keep yous eyes to the floor and keep yous mouth shut, all and every one of the days you is ere."

I nodded as the giant conga line of damned souls inched forward. Jees this is a long queue.  The entryway opened up into yet another large cavern, they seemed to be really fond of those, personally I felt they left a little to be desired. I looked at the people lined up in front of me, there were all kinds of people waiting, all accompanied by their own 'Egg'. Young, old (mostly old) men, women (mostly men) all different ethnicities, shapes, sizes. Basically a person to represent every corner of humanity. The worst part was that quite a lot of them looked vaguely familiar, like I'd passed them on the street before or something. The other end of the queue disappeared into another, smaller arched entry about four hundred million miles away. I sighed, it was going to be a long wait.