Higher Hell
Chapter 4: Fallen Angels Fall Hard
I slept in Gabby’s chair that night.
I wanted to get as much use of it as possible before I had to go back to Hell.
Wish I could take one with me. It’s a hell of a lot better than sitting on a fucking boulder.
Gabby woke me up with her scurrying around in the morning.
“Do you eat?” as she came out of the kitchen stuffing a piece of toast in her mouth.
“Never have,” I said. ”I don’t need to eat or drink, but I suppose I could.”
“Oh. Well, come here. I’ll get you something.”
I climbed out of the recliner, stretched, and followed Gabby into the kitchen. I took a seat on a padded stool by the counter.
Gabby placed a plastic bowl and a spoon in front of me with a colorful box of sugary cereal and a carton of milk.
“There you go.” she said.
Holy shit!
“This stuff’s good! I like eating!” I said as I shovelled it in my mouth.
Gabby swigged down a cup of coffee while I ate my cereal.
“I gotta go to work. You gonna go out today? Try out your new body?” Gabby asked.
“Not ’til after dark. I don’t think the guy I’m after will come around until then.”
“You gonna be all right here by yourself?”
“Sure,” I shrugged. ”Might get a little bored, but I’m used to that.”
I thought a little longingly of my fire back in Hell, burning away without me. I missed it. Who’d have thought when I was booted out of Heaven that I’d actually miss Hell one day?
I followed Gabby back into the living room as she got ready to leave. She picked up the TV remote and switched it on.
“Here,” she handed me the remote. “Maybe you can find something to watch while I’m gone.”
I flipped through a few channels.
“Cool!”
It’s like watching my fire, but a whole lot more interesting.
“I’ll be back about six,” Gabby said as she headed for the door. ”Have fun.”
“Yeah, I think I will.”
I spent the whole fucking day swilling cereal and watching TV. Now I see why Humans do this all the time.
I watched a little of everything. Soap operas, news, sports, music, cartoons, do-it-yourself shows, documentaries, talk shows, infomercials.
The religious channels made me laugh. They didn’t have a fucking clue.
And what’s with all the fucking commercials?!
Don’t get me wrong, I thought they were cool too, but they kept interupting the more interesting stuff.
I saw a commercial for the cereal I was chowing down on. It said they were “magically delicious”.
Fuckin’ right, they are!
But mostly what I saw was a lot of stuff that just proves Humans are stupid.
I mean, people actually waste an hour every day of their lives watching Oprah?
Jesus Christ! I’d rather watch my fire burning any day than turn my brain to goo with that shit again!
And the news was just ridiculous. I couldn’t believe there were so many channels dedicated to talking to no end about all the bad shit happening to Humans all over the World! It really got me when they’d call natural disasters ‘acts of God’. Please! Like the Old Man had anything to do with it. If he randomly did shit like that to Humans, I wouldn’t want to go back to Heaven. It would just be mean.
Not that I’m that worried about going back anyways. I try not to think about that much. Lost cause.
I didn’t even realize how long I’d been sitting there until Gabby walked in.
“Hey, Cas.”
“Hey.”
“You find anything to watch?” she asked.
“Hell yeah. Tons of stuff,” I said. ”You’re out of cereal, by the way. You know it’s ‘magically delicious’?”
“Yeah, I know,” she chuckled. “That’s okay. I don’t usually eat enough of it before it goes stale anyway.”
Gabby busied herself making some dinner. I didn’t want any. I think a whole box of cereal was enough for one day.
After she’d eaten, Gabby planted herself cross-legged on the couch and sat there quiet for a while. She seemed totally lost in thought.
“You’ve been to Heaven, right?” she asked suddenly.
Oh. That.
After last night’s conversation about Hell, I’d been kind of expecting this to come up.
“Yeah, before the Fall that’s where I lived.” I said.
“So, what’s it like?”
I shrugged.
“It’s okay.”
Gabby raised an eyebrow at me.
“Okay? That’s it?” she said like she didn’t believe me.
“Well, okay, it’s more than that, but it’s hard to describe. It’s pretty. How exactly I couldn’t say. It’s full of angels, of course. And Human souls, though I never dealt much with them. Everybody’s happy there, or at least content. The angel’s go about their business and the souls hang out with all their friends and relatives…I don’t know. The best way I could put it is it’s like living forever in total, constant comfort and satisfaction.”
I’d been dreading this conversation a little. Like I said, I try not to think about Heaven if I can help it.
“What about God?” Gabby asked. ”What’s he like?”
“Hmm, the Old Man? He’s kinda like a friendly old grandfather. He’s a nice guy. Really powerful, but not overbearing. You get a warm and…I guess loving sort of feeling from him. But at the same time, he’s sort of cold and distant. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but he’s a hard guy to get your head around, you know.”
Gabby got quiet again. She looked sad, which wasn’t exactly the reaction I’d expected.
I didn’t like to see her look that way.
What’s up with that?
“My Mom’s there. At least, I hope she is.” she said in a small voice.
“She’s dead, huh?”
“Yeah. She was shot. It was about seven years ago.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
That sounded like a stupid thing for me to say, but what the hell are you supposed to say to something like that?
After a few minutes, she looked up at me. Her blue eyes were moist and glistening.
“If I end up in Hell, and my Mom’s in Heaven, that’ll be okay. But what if I go to Heaven and she’s in Hell? How could I be happy there knowing where she is?”
Damn. I’m no good at this shit.
What am I supposed to tell her?
“I don’t know, Gabby. I guess you’d just have to keep hoping she eventually regrets what she did and makes it to Heaven in the end.”
She looked away, still worried about her Mother’s fate. More so than she was about her own. Weird. I didn’t think most Humans would care where anybody else went, as long as they got to Heaven themselves.
“Listen, Gabby. You gotta be a real scumbag to go to Hell. You have to have really hurt people in some way. If she was anything like you, I’m sure she’s not in Hell.”
She flashed a pretty smile.
“Thanks, Cas.”
Hey, I actually made her feel better! Imagine that.
We sat chatting about the stuff I’d seen on TV that day for a while. She didn’t like Oprah either as it turned out. I was just killing time until I could go to La Villa Blue and take another shot at Joe Bianco.
If I’m lucky, I might be able to return to Hell tonight.
You know, I actually felt a little conflicted about that. I was enjoying getting to know Gabby. She’s a cool kid. A cool Human. I may just miss her when I go back. Wonder if the Big Guy would let me come visit her once in a while? Some demons hang out in the World of the Living quite a bit. Even when they don’t have a mission. Guess it depends whether I actually succeed in my mission or not. If I fail, the Big Guy probably won’t let me do shit anymore.
It was almost eleven o’clock, and I was about to tell Gabby I was gonna head out, when there was a light, almost tentative knock at the door.
“You expecting somebody?” I asked.
“No,” she shook her head. I don’t know who would be here this late.”
She got up to answer it, her brow was furrowed trying to think who it could be.
Gabby opened the door just a crack.
“Hello?”
“Hello. I’m looking for a friend of mine. I think you know him. His name is Casmiel.”
Gabby’s head jerked around to look at me so fast I thought she’d snap her neck.
“Um…It’s for you.” she said, shocked.
Not nearly as shocked as I was.
Who the hell would come looking for me? Especially here.
I went to the door and Gabby opened it wider for me to see out.
There was a tall thin guy in jeans and a leather jacket standing in the hall. He had long shiny black hair and gray eyes.
“Casmiel, I need to talk to you.” He gave Gabby a nervous glance. “Alone.”
“Uh, sorry, but who are you?” I asked.
“It’s me, Gamygyn.” he replied.
“Oh! Okay. Just give me a sec. I’l be right out.”
Gabby closed the door lightly as I went back to grab my jacket off the recliner.
“Who is that?” she whispered so Gamygyn wouldn’t hear her outside.
“Gamygyn. A buddy of mine. He’s a demon too. I’ve never seen him in his Human form before.”
“That’s a demon?!” she said, surprised. “He’s hot!”
Heh heh heh. A Human think’s he’s hot? That would probably embarrass the hell out of Gamygyn. I’ll have to remember to mention it.
“I’ll be back later.” I assured her as I left.
Gamygyn and I walked out of the building and went to a dark corner outside.
“So what’s up?” I asked.
“Are you sure you should be associating so closely with a Human, Casmiel?” Gamygyn said. ”It’s against the rules, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about it. She’s a good kid. And she’s not bothered that I’m a demon, so it works out all right.”
He frowned and gave me a look.
“If you insist, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Of course you don’t. That’s not the only reason you’re here is it?”
“No. I came to tell you Joseph Bianco is at La Villa Blue right now. I’ve been following him for you.”
“Thanks, buddy,” I said. ”I was just gonna head over there to look for him anyway.”
“He was in no hurry to get there. The police were there investigating the disturbance you caused last night, and Bianco wanted nothing to do with them,” Gamygyn explained. “Are you going to be all right this time?”
“Sure. I look like a Human now, so all I gotta do is watch and wait until I can get him alone.”
“Hmm…” Gamygyn hmmed, eyeing me in an odd way.
“What?” I asked.
“You look like her. The Human girl.”
“Yeah, I sort of used Gabby as a template,” I said. ”She helped me out a lot.”
Gamygyn looked shocked.
“She saw you before you changed?”
“Yeah. She sort of modeled for me so I could do it right. So?”
“She wasn’t afraid of you?”
“No. She’s weird that way. She said I looked cool.”
Gamygyn grinned and shook his head in amused disbelief.
“Trust you to find the one Human in this city who’s not afraid of demons, Casmiel.”
“Heh heh. Speaking of which, Gabby likes your Human form. She says you’re “hot”.”
Gamygyn’s normally pale face blushed red. He didn’t know what to say.
“Oh. Well, um…Okay.”
Heh heh heh! I knew that would get him.
“Just don’t get too close to her or reveal too much about our World, Casmiel,” he warned me. ”You’ll have to return to Hell when your mission is complete, after all. Which you should do tonight.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks for the help, buddy.”
Gamygyn gave me a nod.
“Good luck.” he said, then he vanished.
Okay. Let’s do this.
La Villa Blue.
I’d been sitting there for almost two hours watching Joe Bianco.
He swaggered around like he owned the place, because he did. He’d been busying himself with his employees and others so I hadn’t been able to get him alone.
I had turned a stack of napkins into cash and bought myself a drink.
I bought a few drinks.
And I was drunk.
Hey, I was trying to blend in!
I sat in a dark corner and kept an eye on Bianco, waiting for him to enter his private room at the back.
Bianco was one smarmy motherfucker.
He wore a tailored suit, and a couple of gold rings glinted on his fingers. He was well tanned with wavy black hair greying at the temples and he wore a constant ‘I’m better than everybody in here’ look on his smug face.
At one point, a pretty, young woman and a young guy were working on putting away clean glasses behind the bar. The girl dropped one with a loud smash. In his haste to try to stop the glass falling, the young guy knocked one over himself and it broke as well. Bianco saw it happen and he took the opportunity to flirt playfully with the girl, even putting his arm around her and discreetly touching her ass. The male employee was another story. I couldn’t hear what was said over the music, but he very obviously chewed out the young man and had him kicked out of the club, leaving Bianco to hit on this girl who must’ve been half his age.
Enjoy it while you can, Joe. You’ll get yours later.
Actually, that was wishful thinking.
I didn’t know how I was going to pull this off drunk. If I fuck it up again…
Just then, I noticed one of my wings sticking out behind me.
Shit!
Concentrate, concentrate!
I can’t lose control in here.
My wing disappeared.
No more for me, thanks! I’m hunting a guys soul.
A few minutes later, Bianco finally entered his private room. Alone. He left two new thugs standing guard outside.
Now’s my chance.
I stood up, closed my eyes, concentrated, then opened them.
I staggered and almost fell over, but I was standing in the room with Bianco.
Whoa! My head was spinning.
Don’t drink and rematerialize!
“Who the fuck are you? How’d you get in here?” Bianco demanded.
“Just a second.” I told him.
I held my head for a moment until it quit spinning and my eyes focused again.
I reached behind me and locked the door.
“What do you think you’re doing?! You can’t barge in here and lock my fucking door!”
He was pissed.
He didn’t like the idea of somebody so obviously beneath him entering his personal space.
Too bad for him.
My wings sprouted out behind me and my body and face morphed back to their normal skeletal, demony shape.
“Holy shit!” Joe gasped.
He recoiled like he’d been pushed back, though nothing had touched him.
“I’m here for your soul, dude. Let’s not make this any harder than it has to be.” I said.
I reached out for him, but I swayed, unsteady in my inebriated state, and fell against the shiny topped table. Bianco pulled a silver pistol from inside his jacket and pointed it at me with trembling hands.
“Sorry, Joe, your boys already tried to shoot me last night. It ain’t gonna work on me.”
He was scared shitless. Sweat was breaking out across his tanned forehead.
“L- last night?! That was you?!”
My head was starting to spin again. I needed to get this over with, quick.
“What the fuck are you?!” he cried.
“I’m from Hell. The Big Guy wants your soul, Joe.”
“No! No! No!” His head shook back and forth, unable to accept it.
He took off through the back door into the alley.
Not again.
I rushed after him into the alley and staggered into the wall.
He was climbing into a big shiny car again. I could hear him yell as he jumped into the backseat ”Drive! Drive! Drive!”.
The car tore away, tires squealing on the asphalt.
“Not this time, asshole!”
I spread my big crow-like wings and sped upwards.
Oh shit!
Don’t drink and fly, either!
I was having a hell of a time staying level and flying straight, but I caught sight of the car just before it joined the rest of the traffic.
I concentrated as hard as I could on the car and on staying airborne as I followed from high up in the sky. Bianco’s car twisted and turned through the traffic and streets, but somehow I managed to keep up with him.
I felt like I was gonna hurl. Everything was a blur except for the roof of the car.
Finally, it stopped in front of a big building. It looked like ritzy apartments.
Okay, here I go.
As Bianco got out of the vehicle and hurried towards the lobby doors, I rocketed down to cut him off.
“Whoa, fuck!”
I started to wobble first. Before I knew it, I was spinning out of control towards the ground. Fast.
A second after Bianco ran into the brightly lit lobby- I landed.
Hard.
And not on my feet.
Awwww, fuck! That hurt.
I might be damn near invincible in my demonic form, but I can still hurt myself.
I groaned and sat up, seeing stars.
The driver of Bianco’s car saw me, screamed, then hit the gas and screamed out of there.
I stood up, aching all over.
Joe Bianco was gone. He’d already scurried into an elevator and was on who knows what floor.
Damn it! I just know Gamygyn is somewhere shaking his head in wonder at how stupid I look right now.
Well, at least I know where Bianco lives now. I can come back when I’m sober and try again.
But for now…
I closed my eyes, concentrated as hard as I could, and opened them.
I was standing just inside the door of Gabby’s apartment. I stumbled again and fell to my knees.
“What the fuck happened to you?!” Gabby cried as she jumped up off the couch and helped me to my feet. The feathers of my wings were sticking up the wrong way, and a few even fell out, floating slowly to the floor as she guided me to the recliner. “Are you all right? You look like you had the shit kicked out of you!”
My head was spinning again and my stomach was riding a rollercoaster around inside me.
“Ugh! That’s the last time I go out drinking!” I groaned.
That’s what they all say after a hard night of booze running around like demons