Heaven and Hell is pretty cringe, actually: Part Two

*This story is underneath my folder titled “Heaven and Hell is pretty cringe, actually”. Gacha Club character designs are under my forum titled “My character designs<33[2]”. Enjoy!*

We’ve been falling into this insanely bright blue void for I don’t know how long. All I know is that it’s been long enough for me and Adele’s screams to sound like they are both one continuously wailing noise. I hope that this isn’t some kind of creative punishment that Carrie came up for us, because if it is, then this really sucks and I’ll blame Adele, because she’s the one who pushed me down this damn hole and-

Well. It looks like we’ve stopped falling.

As I stand up, I see that we’re in what looks like an expansive, expensive living room, the kind that would be in a mansion that’s more than a hundred years old. The walls look to be painted with black lacquer, there’s a red velvet couch bordered with oak next to one of the windows on the right side, on the left side there are two armchairs that match the couch along with a coffee table draped in a red velvet table cloth, there’s a grand piano at the far-off corner of the left side, its polished black surface and white keys gleaming in the moonlight, a black velvet piano chair underneath it.

At least, that’s the kind of light I think is coming out of the windows. The blue light that me and Adele were falling down appears to be glowing out of all the windows. The way it glows is close to moonlight, but it’s brighter and more blue, like the water at a tropical beach. The windows have red velvet curtains that allow the light in. It’s beautiful, the light, but I still don’t know where we are and-

“Look! It’s the hole we fell from. It looks a little unnerving from down here…but at least we’re out of Hell.” Adele’s voice says.

I turn around to face her and see that she’s looking up at the ceiling. There’s blue light emitting from a hole, a wide hole that looks like it’d be a terrifying drop, but at least we’re already dead, so it’s not like anything can hurt us. Although…

“How do you know we’re out of Hell? This could just be a different part of it.” I say, because wouldn’t it be too easy for us to just land somewhere else that quickly? I hate that I’m still thinking of how we could be trapped in Hell endlessly, because I don’t want to think that, but I can’t ignore the most plausible, logical outcome. It’s so glaringly clear in my mind and sometimes, it can hurt.

“That would be correct. You are still in Hell, you’ve just happened upon my office. I could call Carrie right now and tell her that you’ve broken out, but…I won’t.” A woman’s voice responds.

Wait, a woman? Who else is here?

I turn towards the voice and find that’s there a pale woman with azure blue eyes sitting on a high black chair over a high black desk, wearing a black beret and black dress, her platinum blonde hair cascading around her face as if she were a ghost. It doesn’t help that she’s so, so far away from us that it’s almost like she’s not there at all and that her voice echoes all around the room.

I’ve watched enough horror movies to know that something isn’t right, but everything hasn’t been right lately and I don’t really think that we can get ourselves out of this. I just hope that she’s like the vibes I got from Carrie so far: Strange, but not sinister.

“There have been other demons before you who have fallen into my office, trying to escape their judgement. My office is just the beginning of the three more horrible things that await you, for I am called Celeste, the Seeker of the Sinners. Where it is Carrie’s job to rule over Hell and come up with fitting punishments for its inhabitants, it is my job to watch over every single person in the entire world who may be terrible enough to go to Hell. I am responsible for reporting back to Carrie who she should accept in Hell and who she should not, it is my job to keep watch of every human’s behavior and I cannot waste time with what you lesser humans call “breaks”. My job has no room for laziness.” Celeste says and I swear, I can see a wrinkle form right in between her eyebrows like she’s already tired of us.

She looks like a young twenty-something year old woman, but her voice has a sort of dipping-and-twirling enunciating quality that makes her sound elderly and moody, like a few of my teachers who weren’t exactly mean, but who spoke in this tone as if they thought so little of me and other students. It’s bringing me back to how I tried to tell my parents how these teachers were unpleasant and looked down on the class, but they’d just make me feel crazy and say that I was “making a problem out of nothing”.

It’s taking every bit of strength within me to not yell at Celeste like how I yelled at my parents when they were so confidently not understanding me. Only because she’s a supernatural being who has the power to do literally whatever she wants, though. I’ve learned enough from fairytales to never anger those with magical powers, even if they totally deserve it.

“Not that I need breaks, since demons are stronger than humans. But with all of this time I have, I see demons fall from the transportation hole a few times a year, all with the intent to accomplish one thing they couldn’t while they were alive. If it’s something endearing, like visiting a loved one, then I will let them proceed. If it’s something evil, like, say, murder, then I will immediately call Carrie and she will promptly take them away to continue with eternal damnation. Now, what is it that you two desire most? Is it worthy of me to let you go and not call Carrie, hm?” Celeste asks, leaning forward on her desk and raising an eyebrow at us.

I’m a little confused. She’s willing to let us go only if we are “worthy”? So what, we just have to not want something cruel and then we get our wish? That’s it?

Maybe she’ll let us go. I know what I want, I’ve just got to hope that Adele doesn’t ask for something that gets us in trouble, because with the idea that I can see Amanda, even if it’s just for once, can’t be passed up. It just can’t.

“I’d like to see my girlfriend, Amanda Cantrill, up in Heaven. Is there a way for me to do that?” I ask. I said her first and last name just so Celeste can know who I’m talking about, since Amanda is a pretty common name.

I hope she knows who I’m talking about. I know she’s mostly looking for those who deserve to go to Hell, but it’s not completely impossible for her to not know who is in Heaven. She probably knows a lot of things that we don’t know, given her status and all that.

“That won’t be hard to do. Seeing someone as dear to you as a girlfriend makes you worthy to go. You just have to be worthy to fight off the three great horrors and then get past the rest of the general area of Hell, because if I teleport you there, then you will have not learned any real character. Now, you.” Celeste says, turning her head towards Adele.

Adele has this big smile on her face like she’s about to get the greatest gift on Earth. It’s the same smile I saw on her when I first brought Amanda over to our house and I swear to God or whatever rules Heaven that if Adele says she wants to see Amanda, I’m going to jump right on her and strangle her. I hope she’s learned her lesson. I seriously hope that, for her sake.

“What do I want? Well, I would like to go to Earth, haunt some random abandoned house-could be any abandoned house-then I’ll just wait until a living family shows up to live there. Then, I’ll start talking to one of the living teens, we’ll become best friends, then we’ll gradually fall in love, then I’ll convince the teen to die and-“

“I will have to stop you right there. That wish is both unethical and impossible. You might want to rethink it, because getting someone to die and join you in the afterlife is what gets you a punishment worst than what Carrie already gave you. Also, I will only let you go if it’s for one day. That’s long term and it can’t happen. It’s not safe to go up in Earth anyway because just recently, there’s been a demon who has escaped Hell and broken into Earth, a natural demon like me, not somebody who died and became a demon like the two of you, and she’s currently possessing the spirits of dead people and making them kill humans. We don’t quite know why she’s doing it, but we think it might be so she can recreate Hell on Earth, as we have heard this demon talk about doing this before but haven’t seen her do anything noteworthy until now. While we look into the problem, it is in your best interest to not wish to go to Earth.” Celeste says, her long, pale hand hovering over a black 1950s rotary phone.

I’m not surprised that Adele made a wish like that, but I am a little disappointed in her, because I thought that she’d know better by now. At least she didn’t ask for Amanda, that would have been unwise of her. What’s this about a demon possessing dead people and then killing humans just so she can recreate Hell, though? How can a demon even possess dead people? Like I understand if the person is alive, but dead? I’ve never heard about that!

I know that Celeste said that she and Carrie, maybe even some other demons, I don’t know, were taking care of it and that it’s really not my business, but my parents always told me to relax when I warned of Adele’s slightly problematic behavior, and this sounds too big for me to ignore.

Celeste’s hand abruptly moves away from the phone, then she looks at me and says:

“Don’t look all stressed. I said that we were taking care of it. Now, go walk past my desk, the both of you, and you will see a door. Open the door and walk down the hall. You are free to go. Think about what you want, Adele. Something less criminal and I’ll see if I can arrange for that. Though you both deserve Hell, you are young, and this isn’t easy for anyone, even for more sadistic grown adults. We understand that objectively good people aren’t the only people who have last wishes. I know that me and Carrie may seem harsh, but we’re not monsters. We’re only doing our jobs. Best of luck to you both. Quickly get out of my sight, I have work to do.” Celeste says, gesturing towards the right side of the room with both hands.

Me and Adele both speed-run towards where Celeste gestures, until we both come across a polished dark oak door with an elaborately carved gray stone door knocker that’s as big as my head, roses carved into the ring, and I turn the shining gold knob and go out into the hallway, Adele following close behind.

Perhaps I was wrong to judge Celeste, because she doesn’t seem all that bad, but really…why did she say anything about a demon in Earth at all? It doesn’t concern me at all but…I won’t lie, I’m kind of scared.

…………………………………………………………………

“Have you ever heard of demons possessing dead people? How does that even work?! Is that in like, some kind of mythology that I’ve somehow missed? Doesn’t it bother you at all?” I ask, because how I am supposed to just brush off the fact that there is a DEMON in Earth possessing THE DEAD? Adele is probably a little concerned too, because it’s not like nobody would be, right? I mean, I cannot be the only one worried about this, that’s just not possible.

“I don’t think I’ve heard of it in any type of mythology, this is completely new. But yes, I get why you might scared. Don’t be, though, because it’s none of your business and Celeste just let us go!” Adele beams.

Come on, really? Adele doesn’t even care? I thought that at least she’d be unnerved, but she seriously doesn’t care that there’s a supposed demon possessing the dead and killing people? I need more elaboration, I need more reassurance, just anything to let me know that the end of the world isn’t currently happening right above us.

That would certainly be unfortunate, I think.

“How can you just let it go? I know you’ve got some…issues, but innocent people could be dying and we’re in HELL right now, unable to do anything about it! Besides, this isn’t going to be easy for us. Didn’t Celeste say that there would be three great horrors and the rest of Hell to face before we would fulfill our wish for only one day? If you ask me, that’s a pretty rotten deal. What are the three great horrors? What does she mean by the “rest of Hell”? What-“

“Stella, can you just like, shut up for a second? I can’t hear that beautiful sound of horror music with your rambling and constant criticism of me. It’s so annoying, like can’t you just be happy and appreciative for once?” Adele snaps as if I’m the problem.

But hey…there is horror music echoing all around us. It has the looping, ghostly wooo sound of stereotypical Halloween music, but it’s also go this electric-dance vibe to it that I’m not sure if I’m excited or terrified. Both, I think.

And I see that right in front of us, there’s this black sign on a silver pole with a wait time, red velvet stanchions making a path for us, and the huge windows with the blue light glowing from them never left us, for they are in every single hall.

We both go up to the sign to look at what it says:

“Wait time: 5 minutes.

Congratulations, demons! You have come across the first great horror: The Cannibal Circus! Here, Carrie has forced all of the cannibals to eternally perform in a circus! Not only that, but she’s removed their teeth as punishment and now, they seek to kidnap unwilling demons and steal their teeth for themselves! Now, if these cannibals DO steal your teeth (which happens all the time), Carrie will most definitely take you back. But will she give you back your teeth, which she absolutely has the power to do? Probably not, since you’re a disgusting, rancid, pathetic sinner and in Hell for a reason, but it’s ultimately up to her! Maybe you WILL get your teeth back, who knows?

But moving on…you’ll have to use your skills and your smarts to outrun these ravenous freaks, for there are some you can see and some who will lurk in the shadows! You’ll run to the tune of this killer soundtrack, for death doesn’t mean the end of fearing for your wellbeing! There has never been a demon who has made past this horror, but can you? Maybe you’ll be the first!

Good luck! Hopefully you’ll make it out or else you won’t get a free tee shirt that is ONLY sold here!”

It’s like one of those haunted Halloween house theme park attractions I went to with Amanda, except this is all real and my teeth are in danger of being stolen. Going to the Cannibal Circus does not seem like a smart thing to do, but I don’t see any other way out and I don’t think that we have much of a choice.

Plus, I want to see Amanda. I want to hold her in my arms, run my fingers through her autumn-colored, auburn hair, and have the quiet date that we were supposed to have before Adele completely ruined it.

“A haunted house attraction? This isn’t going to be bad at all! We’re getting Halloween in June! This is sick!” Adele says way too happily for someone who is about to go into a circus full of toothless, grabby cannibals.

She runs in front of me and I chase after her, telling her to “slow down” and “wait for me”, because it really isn’t wise for her to go in there by herself. I don’t even know why I bother, it’s like this built in feature in me to look out for my sister’s safety, even if she should be thrown in the line of fire. I guess I never got out of that whole “protective older sister” thing, because I can still feel it lodged in me within all of my burning hatred that drove me to murder her.

Maybe Adele is right about one thing. Maybe I should be more hopeful. We haven’t gotten in the Cannibal Circus yet. Maybe we’ll be okay.

I hope we’ll be okay, because I don’t want to lose my teeth. That would royally suck.