Sunny Side Of Hell

CHAPTER 6

The next morning Thea woke up to Cobra frantically licking her face.

"Alright, alright, I'm up," she said groaning and stretching.

She got out of bed, threw on a pair of leggings, one of Luce's t-shirts and a pair of fuzzy socks. She walked downstairs and to her surprise Luce wasn't asleep on the couch or in the kitchen, in fact, Luce was nowhere to be found. Thea was a little worried, but didn't think too much about it. He must at work, she thought.

Cobra whined at her. Thea couldn't understand what was wrong with him. He never acted like this. When he needed to go out he would use the doggy door and when he was hungry he would just sit near his food bowl and stare at Luce. Thea had never seen him act like this. Maybe he needs to go on a walk, she thought looking at him. He did seem a little antsy. Thea ran upstairs and put on a pair of tennis shoes. She walked over to where Luce kept all of Cobra's things and found his leash. She clipped it on to his collar and grabbed what she assumed were poo bags, opened the door and stepped out into Hell.

Thea often forgot the fact that she was in Hell. Luce made sure that his house didn't betray the fact that it was in Hell. He kept it at a good temperature, filled it with beautiful things and made sure there was a noticeable lack of red. It was hot in Hell, Thea wished she had worn shorts instead of the leggings. Cobra seemed to be doing better once they left the house, although he still seemed to be a little whiny.

Thea started to get a strange feeling, like something was following them, but she kept walking. Cobra continued to whine.

"Hello pretty," a scratchy voice said, startling Thea. Cobra growled.

"H-hello," Thea stuttered. She looked around and spotted the thing that spoke. It was one of the ugliest things Thea had ever seen. It looked like it was human at one point, but it's skin on some parts of its body was peeling off in some places like it had sat in water for too long and started to sluhf off and then on other parts its skin looked as if it was exposed to heat for too long and cooked. The thing terrified Thea. It apparently terrified Cobra too because he broke out of his leash and took off running, leaving Thea alone with the thing.

"My how pretty you are. What is a pretty thing like you doing in this place, huh pretty?" The thing asked her slinking closer to her. Thea wanted to back away but it was like her body was frozen in place. She couldn't move. The thing kept getting closer. "I know why pretty is here," it said with a big grin on its face showing off it sharp and ugly teeth, "you're her for me, a snack for me, a pretty pretty snack for me." It was at this point that Thea started to cry, and not the silent unnoticeable kind of crying either, the big crocodile tears that shook her whole body.

It was at this point that a large growl ripped through the air. Thea turned to look towards where the growl came from and saw Cobra looking bigger and fiercer than ever and with him was Luce. Only Luce wasn't normal Luce, he was no longer that kind man who talked to her about books and movies and cooked her dinner, no now he was scary Luce, who could break down brick walls with his bare hands and could kill a man with just a look. Thea was relieved that he was here, but was still scared. She had never seen Luce look like this and she didn't know if she liked it, this new Luce kind of scared her. He reminded her of someone she didn't want to remember.

"Get away from her scum," Luce said, his voice the epitome of strong, "get away now and I won't let my hound rip you to shreds."

The thing backed away quickly muttering about pretty and not a snack. Thea continued to cry, but could move again. She sank down to the ground and curled up into a ball. Cobra, his hackles still raised, walked carefully over to her. He sniffed around her as if he was checking to see if she was injured anywhere. Once he was sure that she was physically ok he licked her face in a comforting manner and then wrapped himself around her. Luce walked over and pulled her up to his body, cradling her in his arms.

"I am so sorry," he said his voice gentle, "I should have been there. That shouldn't have happened. I am so, so sorry."

"Oh Luce," Thea said through her tears, "what was that thing?"

"I'll explain when we get home. You need to get out of here." Luce picked her up, and she wrapped around him like a toddler clinging to their mother. Luce started to walk back to the house, Cobra trotting along with them.

When they finally got home, Luce set Thea down on the couch and went to the kitchen and grabbed her a glass of water. He came back into the living room to see Cobra cuddled around Thea, comforting her in the only way he could. Luce smiled and sat down on the couch, sitting as close as he could get with Cobra in the way.

"Luce," Thea started, her voice still a little shaky, "what was that thing?"

"That was a soul," Luce said looking at her sadly. "That is what happens when a soul comes to hell. It's ugly, but necessary. That particular soul has been here for a while. I remember the day it came. He used to be a serial killer, he killed young college girls who rejected him." Luce saw Thea's face fall. He could tell that this was making her sad. "I don't tell you this to make you sad or to scare you, I tell you this so that you are prepared. Hell is not a nice place. It is full of dangerous and scary things that will want to hurt you. I don't want you to worry though, because as long as you are here in this house you are safe. The moment you step out off of the property without me or another angel, you are no longer safe."