Part 2

“Sorry, Hugh.”

Hugh sat up, gasping for air, sweat dripping down his forehead. It was the same nightmare. Same place, same person.

At first, he had thought nothing of it. Dreams were just that, dreams. They didn’t mean anything. But after a while, and after the dreams became more and more frequent, he started to panic. It was the same situation. He was running from flying beasts and holding someone’s hand as he did. Then they arrived at this weird, blue and green portal. He stepped through but they didn’t. They let go of him.

Sighing, Hugh swung his legs over the edge of his bed, his bare feet resting against the cool, rough carpet. He needed to clean it. He had moved into his new apartment soon after he came out of his coma. He was told by his sister, Jade, that the accident he was involved with was cleared up with he was unconscious. Not that Hugh remembered much to be useful in court anyway. The lorry that hit him was being driven by a drunk driver and the case was pretty much open and shut, with the insurance money able to pay for a new car for Hugh and a down payment on his new apartment that he had been looking at. Despite his sister’s unnatural talent for hating their parents, she really did love her younger brother.

Hugh stood and staggered into his bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. He did not look good. He now had a beard and it was messy. Pieces of it stuck out in random directions, making it look as though it were a pile of sticks. He had deep, pronounced bruises under his eyes and his crow’s feet were becoming more pronounced as well. He blamed it on the coma, but he knew better than anyone that he only started to not take care of himself once he started having that nightmare. The stress of seeing the strange figure nearly every night was getting to him slowly. Soon, he knew that the nightmare would appear every night and he would wake to his empty bedroom, gasping and panting, knowing he couldn’t change a thing.

Trying to not think about the nightmare, Hugh stripped himself of his pyjamas and slipped into his shower. The warm water rushed over him, chasing the sweat off his back. He leaned further into it, resting his head against the wall. The water was yet to touch his face. He couldn’t get the woman’s face out of his mind. Growling at himself and sighing again, Hugh stood upright and faced the streaming water, the liquid now pouring down the rest of his body.

Now clean, he stepped out and dried himself before pulling on his clothes for the day. A pair of blue jeans and a basic, white t-shirt. He wasn’t going anyway, he didn’t need anything fancy. After checking his phone for any messages from Jade, Hugh turned to his laptop, which sat prominently in the centre of the dining table, and sat down in front of it. He opened the laptop and began typing.

A few weeks ago, Hugh had quit his job. Now, he was on the prowl for another one. He didn’t have much to his name, just some basic GCSEs and an A-Level in finance. It was barely enough to get him his old job, but now he was looking for something worthy of him. Something that would make him want to leave the house. Something that would make him forget about the nightmares. Forcing a smile onto his face, he opened his email and his opens were instantly dashed. There was nothing. He had sent out several emails of inquiry to several companies, but none had gotten back to him. Not the best start to the day.

Defeated, Hugh sat back in his chair and exhaled deeply, removing all the oxygen from his lungs. At this point, his stomach reminded him of the cereal on the cupboard and he walked into his kitchen, fetching a bowl and milk before combing the three ingredients to make his breakfast. Then, there came a knock on the door. Before he could call for the person to enter, Jade burst into the apartment, grinning.

“Mornin’!” she shouted. She was dressed in her usual fashion, that being fashionable clothing. Jade, at the young age of 22, had started her own luxury fashion brand, aptly named Jade’s Jewels, and it soon became a massive success. For Hugh, he didn’t see quite like that. Growing up in your older and more successful sister’s shadow wasn’t the most thrilling experience for a 16-year-old boy, especially when Jade decided to model her own clothing.

“Hi,” Hugh stammered through a mouthful of cereal.

“How are you?” Jade continued, oblivious to Hugh shocked and bewildered face.

“Haven’t had much of a day yet,” Hugh said, setting his bowl down. “What are you doing here at…” He whirled around and checked the clock. “8:30 in the morning?” Jade’s irritating grin hadn't faded yet, and he was scared to ask why.

“Well,” Jade started, sitting down at Hugh’s dining room table. “You know how you told me that you were having trouble sleeping?” Hugh nodded slightly. She didn’t need to know why. “Well, I have found this guy who does amazing sleep therapy. You just go to him and lie down, he does the rest.” Once she finished, she looked at Hugh as though he would jump for joy, but the man remained still, eyes narrowed.

“And your point is?” he asked. Jade sighed and rolled her eyes.

“My point is that if you go to him, you might be able to get a good night’s rest.” She glanced up and down her brother. “God knows you need it,” she muttered. Hugh would argue but he knew she was right. Plus he didn’t have the energy.

“Jade,” Hugh sighed. “I appreciate this, I really do, but I don’t need help. I just need to not…” he trailed off. What did he not need to do? This time, Jade sighed.

“Look, Hughie,” she said. “You need to sleep better. You don’t leave this place, you haven’t spoken to mum or dad in weeks. Your mates are now calling me to see if you’re alright because you don’t answer your phone.”

“Because my phone plan ran out,” Hugh muttered. Jade huffed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Then, she stood and walked over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

“Hughie,” she sighed. “You need sleep. You're depressed and jobless and single. But a good night’s sleep can mean all the difference. Just, at least try. Please?” Hugh could do nothing else but shake his head in reluctant agreement, to which Jade jumped for joy. He knew it was pointless to argue with her and he knew if he refused, Jade would only drag the poor man away from his practice and forcing him into Hugh’s apartment at 8:30 in the morning again.

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The next morning, Hugh did as he was told. He stepped into the practice, gave the man at the reception his name and was then told to wait in a room while the doctor prepared. The doctor was Dr Arthur Shipton. Hugh had tried to do a little research on the man before he went but little could be found on him. There were no published papers, no articles written, not even any social media. But Hugh trusted Jade. He was sure his sister hadn't set up a meeting for him to be killed horribly. He hoped at least.

Arthur Shipton’s practise was as clean as Hugh could have suspected. In all honesty, he didn’t exactly know what to expect from a doctor working as a sleep therapist. Half of him was expecting the room to be brown and beige with thick, woollen curtains that blocked out every beam of sunlight. The other half was expecting a crisp, white room with a single chair, an operating table and several terrifying-looking doctor’s tools. Luckily for Hugh, the room was a nice mixture of the two. There was one chair but it was green and mixed horribly with the brown, woollen curtains. The floor was white and each door of the cupboards had a pane of glass, each being an aqua blue. And instead of an operating, a bed sat in the centre of the room. It too was white. All around, the room didn’t quite fit together and Hugh was glad that he was going to have to close his eyes.

Behind him, the doorknob twisting and Dr Arthur Shipton entered, his white coat waving behind him.

“Ah!” he cried as Hugh whirled around to greet him. “You must be Hugh Johnstone.” Hugh smiled at him and nodded. He seemed like a nice enough bloke. “So, Jade tells me you’ve been suffering from a lack of sleep?” Arthur pushed, striding past Hugh and sitting in the green chair. Hugh held back a wince as he was reminded of the awful décor.

“Yeah,” Hugh answered slowly. “Lack of sleep.” Arthur kept looking at him as if expecting Hugh to continue. The awkwardness of the moment was almost tangible.

“Right,” Arthur sighed, realising he wasn’t getting another word out of his new patient. “Well, to start I'd like you to take a seat on that bed over there and we can go through a few things.” Hugh obeyed and sat. Then, Arthur swirled in the green chair and faced him, the action startling Hugh. Arthur didn’t seem to notice. “You’ve been sleeping how many hours a night?” he asked.

“Not many,” Hugh answered honestly. “Maybe two, three a night. Sometimes I'm lucky and I get five.” Arthur nodded.

“And you're going to bed at the same time every night?”

“More or less.”

“At what time?”

“I try to fall asleep around eleven o’clock, but I'm normally away by four in the morning.”

“Have you had any odd or unfamiliar dreams while asleep?” Hugh froze. Arthur noticed. “Have you?” he pushed. Quickly, Hugh cleared his throat and shuffled uncomfortably.

“No, no,” Hugh mumbled. “Nothing out of the ordinary.” With his eyes narrowed, Arthur nodded slowly and turned away, noting something down. Then, he turned back to Hugh with a slip of paper in his hand.

“This is a prescription for sleeping pills,” he said. “Take them before you go to sleep and come back in a week in nothing changes.” Smiling at the man, Hugh nodded and took the paper from Arthur, walking out of the room and to his receptionist. After receiving instructions for how to get his prescription, Hugh went to retrieve it. As soon as he walked into the pharmacy, a beady, small pair of eyes lifted from the old woman sitting at the counter. Her thick, red-rimmed glasses sat on the tip of her nose, forcing her to look down at everyone despite her short stature. Hugh approached her with a smile. She didn’t return it.

“Here for drugs?” she spat. Hugh nodded slowly and handed the woman the paper. She snatched it from his hand and hopped off her small stool and hobbled into the back of the pharmacy. “All you people are,” she muttered, thinking she was out of earshot. Before Hugh could comprehend the woman’s cruelty, she turned with a container of sleeping pills. She tossed them to him and waved him away. Hugh’s mouth flapped open. The woman had already turned her attention off him and back to her newspaper, in which she was filling out the sudoku. Incorrectly, as best he could tell. Unsure of what to say to the old woman, Hugh slowly exited the pharmacy, hundreds of responses running through his head but none made it to his mouth.

He quickly ran home, noting the setting sun on the horizon. Somehow, an entire day had passed. It was autumn so he wasn’t going to have to deal with the short winter or long summer nights. It was the perfect season. Once inside his apartment, Hugh rushed into the bathroom and placed the pills on the counter, staring at them thoughtfully.

“I hope you work,” he muttered to them as he left, switching the lights off. He strolled back into his kitchen and positioned himself in front of his laptop, instantly resuming his search for a job. The search was unsuccessful. Groaning as he closed his laptop, he noted the clock on the wall. It was 10:30. Sighing, he stood and wandered into his bedroom, stripping himself and slipping into comfier clothes. Then, he moved into the bathroom.

With a pill down his throat, Hugh slipped into his bed and wrapped himself inside his covers. He had noticed that, in the morning, he would wake in odd and strange positions so he tried to contain himself as much as possible within his duvet. Wrapped up, he closed his eyes and gently drifted off as he felt the pill take over his mind.

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His eyes opened. The area around him was white. A white abyss. There was nothing. The floor didn’t seem to exist, neither did the ceiling. Hugh felt himself start to panic, his lung expelling air so fast his body couldn’t absorb the oxygen. He blinked and he was suddenly in an office cubicle. Someone was mumbling to him. The words were faint, as if said through a thick wall, and couldn’t make out a single word. He turned to face the person speaking, but they were covered in a grey, blurry mist. Still hyperventilating, Hugh narrowed his eyes and the image became a little clearer. He now could see that it was a woman. Her voice was still muffled and unclear but she looked as though they were locked in an interesting conversation.

“Redheart.” The word sprang from nowhere, startling Hugh enough for him to collapse to the floor, but the woman kept speaking.

“Allora Redheart?” his voice rang out. His panic rose.

“Yep. That’s my name,” the woman continued before the words faded away again. Frantically, Hugh began searching around himself, trying to find something, anything that made sense to him but everything was shrouded in a misty, grey haze. Still breathing heavily, Hugh looked back at the woman, who was still talking, seemingly, to him. She was much stiller than before, much less animated, and her words seemed to carry less urgency and energy. Then, gradually, the grey mist around her faded and Hugh was greeted with her face. Shocked and terrified, Hugh started to crawl backwards along the floor, but the image didn’t move. With his eyes glued to the woman’s face, her mouth still opening and closing as if talking, Hugh began to crawl faster and faster until his arms gave up and he fell onto the floor, the image now resting in front of him.

Suddenly, the image shifted again and Hugh was now back inside the weird, spiralling blue and green portal. He could feel the portal’s energy lap over him time and time again, consuming his vision. But one hand was outside of the portal, and it was clutched to the woman. Behind her stood another figure, tall and covered in shadow, but two eyes jutted from its inky blackness and Hugh could see the outlines of a stretched grin under them. The figure was holding onto the woman. Slowly, the woman’s head turned to Hugh, eyes wide and tearful.

“Sorry, Hugh.” Then she let go and Hugh fell into the portal.

“Allora!” he screamed as he plunged down into the blue-green depths.

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Hugh awoke and sat up with sweat dripping down his brow and his lungs filling and emptying with air rapidly. He remained still for a moment. Gradually, his breathing slowed and he felt himself stop sweating. Then, the name echoed through his head. Instantly, Hugh’s eyes darted to his phone that sat on his bedside table and he leapt for it. He found Jade’s number and called it, his sister quickly answering.

“Hey bro!” she shouted. She was drinking. “Can’t sleep?” She cackled and Hugh could hear others laughing around her.

“Jade, please,” Hugh sighed, throwing his sheets off and allowing himself to cool down. “I've just woken up.”

“Oh,” she said. She had now moved away from the shouts and whoops of the people around her and moved into a quieter space. “So the pills didn’t work, huh?”

“No, that’s just it,” Hugh said quickly. “They didn’t help me sleep better, they helped me see and remember better.” He could hear her confusion through the screen.

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Jade asked. Hugh sighed and rubbed his forehead, wishing his sister was here in person.

“It’s not just the waking up early,” he started slowly. “On top of that, I've been having this…dream.”

“Dream?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of dream?”

“Um…Well.” He paused, unsure of how to respond. He was never sure why he had never told Jade about his dream. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure whether it was a dream or a nightmare. It kind of encapsulated both. Jade was always the overprotective older sister, the one who always looked out for him. Since their parents weren’t the most attentive people, Jade forced herself to pick up for the slack and decided to raise Hugh herself. This led to an obvious fault of Hugh’s: he didn’t want to disappoint her. And in his eyes, confessing a kiddie nightmare to her was at the top of that list. He didn’t need her to arrive at his door every morning and force him to explain the dream, everything in it and then tell him what it all means, which might end up with her setting him up on an awful date with an awful person, and since he came out to her as bisexual, she was having a field day setting him up with all sorts of people, some of which he was convinced she had just found walking down the street.

Setting his sister’s odd setups aside, Hugh turned his attention back to the phone call, and the dream he was trying to remember.

“Well, Hugh?” Jade pushed, her force sterner like a parent’s. “What about this dream?” He gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed his neck.

“I dunno,” he muttered. “It’s nothing.”

“Nothing?” Jade spat. “You mean to tell me you called me at…” She paused to check her phone for the time. “4:30, wow I should go home.” She cleared her throat and returned to her rant. “At 4:30 and you say that a dream you had was ‘nothing’?”

“Uh-huh.” Jade growled at him and Hugh knew what she was going to say. Silently, he started to whisper prayers.

“I'm coming over, now.” And with that, the call ended and Hugh was left with a cold room and the dreadful thought of his sister stomping her way towards his apartment.

Jade was quick to arrive, rapping on the door loud enough to wake the dead. As quickly as he could, Hugh rushed to the door and pulled it open, revealing his half-drunk, exhausted sister. She was dressed in a short, slim-fitting black dress and clutched a small purse in one hand that didn’t look big enough to hold even her phone. Her once pristine black hair was now messy and tussled, some parts being clumped together, and her makeup was smudged and looked rushed. Hugh assumed it was because of the night she had been having. Before Hugh could invite her inside, she invited herself, barging past him and collapsing onto the floor, gasping. She looked as though she had run from where ever she had been partying.

“You okay?” Hugh asked. Jade waved a hand. Brushing his question aside while she combatted her slowly growing headache. Seeing that talking to the woman wasn’t going to get him anywhere, Hugh moved into the kitchen and brewed himself some coffee, pouring a second mug for Jade and also a glass of water. He then returned to the hallway to see Jade was now gone, evaporating into the air. After a moment of searching, Hugh found her passed out on his bed, drool already dripping from her jaw and a light snore scratching up her throat. She was in no condition to talk, despite her dedication to. Sighing, Hugh exited his bedroom and returned to his laptop, resuming his job search. He wasn’t tired anyway. For the next few hours, that’s all he did. Search. He sent his CV off to a couple people, even got a response from another, but by the time Jade awoke, nothing had really been done.

Slowly and staggering, Jade stepped through Hugh’s bedroom door, clutching her head and wincing. One strap of her dress was off her shoulder and her hair was even messier than before, if Hugh could even believe it. Groaning lightly, Jade slumped at the table and Hugh pushed his laptop away, smiling at her.

“Mornin’,” he whispered. Jade’s groan grew at him and she allowed her head to gently land against the cool table.

“Don’t,” she muttered. “I have never felt so much pain before in my life.” Hugh chuckled and stood, pushing the glass of water towards her.

“You say that every time you're hungover,” he said. Jade sighing, knowing he was right.

“Doesn’t matter,” she grumbled. “I have this lingering thought that you called me and said something so weird and life-changing that I abandoned my party to see you.” She lifted her hazy, brown eyes to him and squinted. “What was it.” Hugh shrugged and waved the woman away.

“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “You're probably misremembering.”

“Oh no,” Jade said, her voice now filled with her usual sternness and sincerity. “You called me and said something life-changing. Now, what was it Hughie?” Hugh sighed and slumped in the seat beside her, really wishing he hadn't called her.

“I've been having this dream,” he said slowly, making sure each word hit Jade right. “It started as flashes and infrequent, but after a month, they started happening more often until they were constant, clear and every night.” Jade reached for and took his hand comfortingly. “I don’t know who or what it’s about, but I know that it has something to do with the woman.”

“The woman?” Hugh sighed and adjusted himself to look directly at Jade.

“That’s what I called you about,” he said. “After I took the sleeping pill, I could see more clearly. Before, the woman was just a genderless, grey mist that spoke to me. But now, I know it’s a woman and I can see her face and she…” His words faded as he remembered the end of his dream.

“And she what?” Jade whispered.

“I…I don’t know,” Hugh whispered back. “We’re standing next to this bluey-green thing and she’s holding onto me, but then she lets go.” He took a shuddering breath. “And someone was holding onto her.” Jade nodded slowly.

“And this all started after the accident?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Hugh responded, now lost in the memories of the dream.

“Did you tell Arthur about this?”

“No.” Jade huffed and rolled her eyes, the sudden motion reminding her of her headache and she leaned back in her chair, nursing her temples.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” she groaned. “If nothing else, I could have helped you.”

“It's just a dream,” Hugh argued. “Nothing more. I've probably just seen that woman on the street somewhere and given her a random name…”

“What’s her name then?”

“I dunno, Allora Redheart I think.” Jade sat up in her seat, an action she instantly regretted.

“Allora Redheart?” she retorted. Narrowing his eyes, Hugh nodded slowly. Jade dived for his laptop and opened it, instantly tapping in his passcode and began to wildly search for something. Moments later, her eye lit up and she spun the laptop to face him, a worried look on her face. Still frowning, Hugh leaned forward and read the title of the article she had found.

Allora Redheart, owner of Redheart Airways, hospitalised after surgery gone wrong!

“What’s this?” Hugh asked.

“I recognised the name, so I did a little Googling, and here she is!” Jade exclaimed, scrolling further down the article to an image of the woman. It was her from his dream. Hugh’s eyes widened and he looked at Jade.

“What? So I saw her face and placed into a dream? What of it?” he said. Jade sighed and rolled her eyes again, leaning back in her seat.

“Hughie,” she sighed. “What if you didn’t?” Hugh narrowed his eyes further. “What if, after your accident, you went somewhere and was with her?” He started to chuckle.

“So, what you're suggesting is I went to the afterlife, saw and met this Allora and then somehow escaped, leaving her behind? Instead of the more obvious answer, I've got a problem with my head and I've been picturing her in my dreams for some yet to be diagnosed reason.”

“Hughie…”

“No, Jade, no. I know you believe in this afterlife mumbo jumbo, but I don’t.” He started to cackle and stood, walking around the room with a hand on his chin. “There’s no way I did. There’s nothing after death. It's just, bang, and you're gone…Right?” Jade shrugged, clearly not awake or sober enough to deal with the existential issues. Hugh exhaled deeply and sat, his mind whirling through the events of the dream. They had been consistent each time. They had been the same events, occurring in the same order with the same people. He now knew that it was Allora who had been holding onto him as he passed through the blue-green portal thing, but there was also a figure behind her, and he didn’t know what it was.

“What do you think I should do?” Hugh sighed, burying his face in his hands. “I mean…I don’t know anymore.”

“It’s okay,” Jade sighed back, reaching forward and rubbing his back affectionately. “We could…” Her words failed her and she quietened. “I don’t know either,” she finished with a sigh.

“Perhaps I could help?” a voice asked. Together, Jade and Hugh screamed and jumped from their seat, knocking one another into the far wall, both still screaming as they hit the floor. Hugh whirled his eyes around towards the figure that now stood in his kitchen, a heavenly glow around him. The man was dressed head to toe in white and was clean-shaven. His hair was blonde and his eyes were white, terrifying in any instance but for some reason, Hugh felt himself calmed by the look.

“Oh my Heavens,” the man said, stepping forward and reaching towards the pair, who had both stopped screaming, Jade now groaning and hissing in pain. “I am so sorry, my friends. I didn’t mean to startle you. Not quite used to the whole ‘coming down to Earth’ thing yet. Would have thought it would have been as easy as last time, but I guess not.” As the man spoke, Hugh's face had contorted into a confused, worried expression.

“Who the Hell are you!” he demanded. The man tusked at the words but shrugged, a wide, beaming smile appearing on his face.

“I am Gabriel,” he said eloquently. “And I am here to assist.”

“Assist with what?” Hugh shrieked. Jade shushed him and rolled over onto the floor, clutching her head further. Grimacing at his sister’s pain, Hugh stood and left her, walking towards the man.

“With retrieving Allora from Hell, of course,” Gabriel said with a scoff. “Why else would I visit you?” Hugh’s jaw was dropped and his mind was spinning. Moments ago, he was telling his sister about a dream he had been having, now he was seemingly talking to an angel from the Heavens. Not only that, but it was the same angel that had apparently told Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus Christ.

“Wha…Wha…I…” he stammered. Gabriel didn’t react to the man’s babbling, he just stood there smiling like nothing was wrong. Hugh’s stammering continued for quite some time, the exact length Hugh was uncertain of, but it was long enough for Jade to muster up the courage to stand and approach Gabriel.

“What. Do. You. Mean?” she said slowly, still nursing her head. Gabriel frowned and cocked his head.

“Basically,” he started. “After your Lord and Saviour learned of what you did, Hugh, he was curious as to how. Then we learned that Satan, or as he now calls himself, Samael, had found a way to hold human consciouses in Hell when they weren’t dead. That’s why, after Hugh’s accident, he didn’t wake sooner. He was behind held in the underworld by Samael and his demons.” As he spoke, Gabriel’s eyes flickered between the Jade and Hugh, whose eyes had become glazed over. Not seeing a problem, Gabriel continued. “And once Hugh was back on Earth, after having escaped which, by the way, hasn’t happened for centuries, well done on that, the Almighty wanted to know if there were any others being held in Hell. And there is.”

“Allora,” Hugh muttered. Gabriel nodded regretfully.

“It’s a shame, but I'm afraid so,” he said. “And, as an angel, I cannot enter Hell for fear of being eaten alive by the demons that reside there. Plus I don’t want the foul stench of the place getting into the Divine’s fabrics.” Gabriel lovingly stroked his white gown and smiled at it, then returned his gaze to Hugh.

“And you want me because…?” Hugh asked, hoping to distance the angel from himself.

“Because,” Gabriel said with a song in his voice, an almost giddy joy rising through. “You need to go in and get Allora and yourself out. Once you're out, you should be fine. Any issues on Earth and we angels can handle it.” Again, Hugh’s mouth flapped open and closed in confusion and shock. Frowning, Gabriel leaned towards him and peered at his eyes. “My, my,” he said. “It’s taking you a while to wrap your head around this one, eh?”

“You try learning that Heaven and Hell exist in thirty seconds,” Jade whispered to him, still clutching her head but staring at Gabriel wide-eyed. Gabriel shrugged.

“Guess it’s never occurred to me that you humans know so little about your existence,” he said.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Hugh shouted, jumping back and waving his hands in the air. Finally, he had processed all of it. He wasn’t sure how, he wasn’t sure why, but there was a woman in Hell who was apparently stuck there and he, for some reason, was being called upon to help. And he wasn’t sure why. “Why me?” he demanded suddenly, looking directly into Gabriel’s eyes. “Why not a priest or some other believer?” Gabriel cocked his head and looked at the man in bewilderment.

“Because you're in love with her,” he said. “Your connection is so strong that it enabled you to get to the portal and escape. It was only her self-sacrifice that enabled that.” Hugh scoffed at the words.

“I'm in love with her?” he said.

“Yes.” Gabriel seemed confused with his reaction.

“How could I be in love with her? I barely know her? I don’t even know who she is!” Hugh argued, tossing his hands into the air again. Jade had now reclined herself into the corner of the room, still processing the information. Not noticing the woman’s movements, Gabriel stepped towards Hugh.

“The portal you escaped through was originally designed for humans to return to their mortal bodies after a certain period of time in Hell for some brief punishment. But, after a couple hundred years, Samael started to ignore it because people weren’t just becoming unconscious and then waking up, they were falling unconscious and then being murdered or eaten alive. So he stopped using it. The way it works is that it just sends the soul back to the body but it rewrites the memories of the soul. They now no longer remember their time in Hell. We did this to prevent chaos and whatnot. Somehow, when you went through the portal, you retained some form of repressed, hidden memory of your time there, and your time with Allora.” For a moment, Hugh waited for more, but none came. The explanation was a lot simpler than he had been expecting.

“And you think it’s because I'm in love with her?” he asked. Gabriel chuckled and shook his head, placing his hands on his hips.

“I don’t know, maybe not,” he sighed. “It’s probably because the portal hasn’t been used in so long it just didn’t work as well. But I'm an optimist, so I think it’s because your love is so strong.”

“Right…” Hugh mumbled, still unsure of how to speak to a member of divinity. An awkward silence fell. “And…So…What now?” Hugh asked. Gabriel leapt forward and grabbed the man’s arm, smiling broadly.

“Now we go rescue her and reunite you both in beautiful harmony,” he said, teeth showing with every word. Hugh opened his mouth and turned to Jade, who was still slouched in the corner. Gabriel then turned his head to her as well. “Oh,” he said, his mood a little dampened. He turned back to Hugh. “Sorry. One passenger only.” He then turned to Jade again. “Don’t worry Jade, you'll see him again.” Jade’s head snapped to them and her eyes registered the words.

“Wait, what does that mean?” she asked, crawling along the floor towards them.

“Sorry, not a moment to lose!” Gabriel said and before Jade could reach the pair, wings extended from Gabriel’s back and flapped them once, catapulting him and Hugh into the sky, through the roof and into the clouds.

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Throughout the journey, Hugh kept his eyes screwed shut. He heard the air whistle past him and the beating of Gabriel’s wings, but he never peaked a look. It wasn’t before he felt his feet touch the floor that his eyelids released themselves from one another and allowed him to see the new world before him. And it wasn’t one he was excited to see.

The new world around him was dark and red. A crimson hue hung in the air, creating a thick for he could barely see through. Peering through, Hugh could just make out the intricate carvings of some kind of door etched into a think, bumpy stone wall. A low, muffled scream echoed. Hugh tensed and stepped towards Gabriel which didn’t do much to comfort him.

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“Here we are,” Gabriel muttered. “The Gates of Hell.” Hugh gulped. Exhaling sharply, Gabriel slapped Hugh’s shoulder and turned to him. “Well, good luck,” he said and before Hugh could turn to question him, Gabriel beat his wings and rocketed into the air and out of view, vanishing into a flash of white. Alone, Hugh set his eyes against the Gates of Hell. It now looked more ominous than ever.

He stepped closer and it became a little clearer. He took another step, and then another until the door was in front of him, an arm stretch away. Gulping again, Hugh lifted a shaking hand and pressed it against the door, pushing it gently. It began to swing open. Holding his breath, he stepped back and watched as the door swung open, revealing a sight he wasn’t expecting. A grey sea of office cubicles. Frowning, he stepped forward, through the door, and began looking around. It wasn’t what he was expecting. When thinking of Hell, he would often picture red rocks and rivers of blood with people having their skin melted off or the rectums ripped apart with pitchforks. This was a very different scene. His frown deepening, Hugh stepped fully into the area, jumping as the door swung closed behind him.

“Hey!” came a shout. Hugh’s eyes shot open and he whirled around to see a hideous, eight-foot-tall, red-skinned demon pointing and walking towards him. “Who are you?” Puzzled, Hugh pointed at himself.

“Me?” he asked.

“Yeah,” the demon growled. With all his might, Hugh tried to hold back a scream and his urge to sprint. “What division are you from? We've already got enough skinners.”

“Skinners?” Hugh squeaked. The demon narrowed its fiery, soulless eyes at him and stepped closer.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Skinners. Got enough of ‘em.” Thinking quickly, Hugh straightened himself and tried to force the look of terror off his face.

“Well, up high thought that one more could hurt,” he said quickly, trying to force a little confidence into his voice. The demon looked at him suspiciously, his eyes inspecting each orifice and crevice on Hugh’s face.

“Fine then,” he grumbled, turning away slightly and manifesting a clipboard from thin air. “It’ll mess with the story, but I guess we can squeeze you in.”

“Story?” The demon narrowed his eyes at Hugh again.

“Yes. The story,” the demon growled. Hugh had to think quick again.

“Sorry,” he stammered, “but I wasn’t told why I was here. Just kinda ordered down.” The demon’s eyes narrowed further but he sighed and whisked the clipboard back into the air it had come from.

“Damnit,” he sighed. “That’s the problem with Our Lord. He never gives anyone the whole picture. Guess that’s why he runs this place.” Hugh tried, once again, to hide his confusion. The demon turned to the man and gestured for Hugh to follow him. Hugh obeyed, following the towering, red-skinned creature as he guided him through the cubicles. “All you need to really know is that Our Lord, Satan himself, is trying out a new torture method. It's in the early stages right now, and it's taking a lot of tinkering and planning on both his and our part.” As the demon spoke, Hugh’s eyes wandered around the sea of cubicles. Around them sat and stood hundreds, if not thousands, of people. At first glance, Hugh assumed them to be human, but the way their eyes moved and blinked and their body swayed and stuck out in unnatural places made him reconsider his thoughts.

“So, we take a recently unconscious person and put them through this little scenario,” the demon continued. “Right now, the scenario is that they are placed as an ‘administrator’ for Hell, basically making sure everybody is where they're meant to. But then, over time, we slow convince them to go insane and have them interact with our skinners and basically make them so insecure that they drive themselves to do things.” The demon stopped and turned to Hugh, his grin massive, like a gorge in a field. “Once, with one of the first experiments, they tried to take their own life by jumping from the balcony.” The demon laughed heartily, clutching his chest as he hollered. Eventually, he calmed himself and continued walking. “Stupid humans,” he muttered as they continued to walk. Quickly realising, Hugh jogged up to him, his mind whirling around the information. After another short walk, the demon stopped and turned to a cubical, pointing into it. “This is yours,” he said.

“Mine?” Hugh piped up. The demon nodded.

“Yep. All yours.” He turned and looked inside it. There wasn’t much to look at except a 2000s-looking computer and a grey, dusty-looking filing cabinet. “You can pretty much do whatever you want,” the demon continued. “Just don’t put anything up that could alert the experiment subject. We don’t want her running again.” Hugh’s ears were pricked by the words.

“Her?” he asked.

“Yeah,” the demon sighed. “We’ve got a woman whose being our little test subject for now. She did have someone else in with her but he escaped.” The demon clicked his tongue, or at least what Hugh thought was a tongue. “Our Lord seemed to underestimate the power humans have over one another.” Hugh frowned.

“What do you mean?” he questioned. The demon turned to him and sighed, a small puff of smoke escaping his mouth.

“Well, Our Lord thought it would be more efficient if we placed more than one human into a situation. Kill two birds with one bullet,” the demon said. “But I don’t think Our Lord thought about the human's interactions. They bonded, and as a result, they figured out about this place and everything else. We only managed to keep the woman here because she let the man go through that weird-portal thing. We had to basically torture her for days to get her to forget everything before we could put her back in. She’s the best subject so far.” Hugh remained silent. A few hours ago, he had woken from a dream that he couldn’t explain. Now he was standing in literal Hell and talking to a demon about the woman he had supposedly fallen in love with while, he too, was in Hell. He was surprised he hadn't had a breakdown yet. Sighing again, and snapping Hugh from his dazed, terrified self, the demon then patted Hugh’s shoulder firmly, almost knocking the man to the floor.

“Alright then,” the demon growled. “Get settled. At some point, you'll hear a little rumble. Don’t worry, it's just portal warming itself. After that guy escaped, it’s been expecting some more. We've managed to time its rumbles, so just know, it's all okay and safe.” He gave Hugh a thumbs up and then walked away, leaving Hugh alone with his cubicle and a few wordless people.

Assuming he was not under any suspicion, Hugh started to scan the area around him. The demon had mentioned the portal, so it had to be somewhere nearby. It didn’t take long for Hugh to find it. The portal was sitting a long way in the distance, shrouded in a thick grey fog and seemingly covered with a thin cloth which seemed to be a vain attempt to hide it. Its blue-green aura filtered through the cloth, sending streams of the colour into the air, if anything drawing more attention to it. The platform around it seemed to be the same as what Hugh could recall from his dream and even seemed a little worse for wear but it was difficult to tell from this distance. And he was scared to go any closer. But he had to find Allora.

Checking around himself, Hugh stepped out from his cubicle and walked towards the portal, using it as his anchor point for searching. Once he was close enough to see the portal clearly, he turned his attention to weaving through the cubicles, acting as casually as possible. He wasn’t sure how many cubicles he walked past but he knew that Allora wasn’t in a single one. With a lap around the portal concluded, or at least when he thought he had done a lap, Hugh started spinning again, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman. Although, when he thought about it, he didn’t know much about the person he was sent to rescue. He knew her name was Allora Redheart and she was blonde and beautiful, but that was about it. He might have been able to distinguish her voice from others but he couldn’t quite remember exactly how she sounded. He was completely going by sight alone. Then, a low voice stuck out from across the cubicles.

“You'll be doing administration, taking files and sending them to where they need to go. You know, that kinda thing.”

“Oh. Alright.” Hugh tilted his head and looked towards the voices. And there she was. She looked exactly as he remembered her, even down to the clothes she was wearing, a detail he did find a little odd but not enough to question it. Beside her stood a man. He was tall, a little taller than himself, and had thick, slicked black hair. From this distance, Hugh could even see the man’s eyes were hollow, a burned-out, black void where life should be held. But Allora didn’t seem to mind or notice it. The two were walking through the cubicles slowly, the man gesturing and talking to her as they went. The man’s smile seemed familiar. Trying not to raise any suspicions, Hugh stopped staring and began walking back towards where he thought his cubicle sat. He hadn't exactly kept track of his whereabouts.

Keeping the two within earshot, Hugh began to circle them, keeping his head on the ground and looking as though he belonged where he was. It seemed to work. No one raised their head to question him and nothing got in his way. He could never pick up on whatever the man was saying to Allora, but he assumed it wasn’t devilishly evil. Soon enough, they came to a stop outside one cubicle, practically identical to Hugh’s, and they began talking again. This time, Hugh got a little closer.

“You just sit here, run through your administrations and just have fun,” the man said. “There is a coffee table somewhere, you might have to wander for that, and if you get lost, just ask another administrator and I'm sure they will happily help.” Allora nodded and smiled at him.

“Well, thank you Samael,” she said and Hugh’s blood froze. Samael. The Devil. He was listening to the Devil speak. He sounded so normal, so calm. So human. Hugh then noticed where he was standing, a mere few feet from the pair. Quickly, and acting as casually as possible, he turned sharply and began walking away, keeping his back to them. He didn’t know how The Devil would react to seeing him. He would probably immediately skin him. Although he did die, so maybe he would be fine. But Hugh wasn’t going to risk it. He walked far enough away so he didn’t bring any attention to himself and then he turned back and faced them. Samael was already gone, walking down the rows of cubicles and disappearing into the fog. The coast was clear. With no time to waste, and his panic starting to rise, Hugh rushed forward, throwing caution to the wind, and arrived at Allora’s cubicle, panting slightly. She turned and their eyes met. Something in her eyes flickered.

“Do I know you?” she asked quickly.

“No time,” Hugh breathed, looking over at the portal that sat a few hundred feet away, in the same direction Samael had walked. That didn’t matter maybe he wouldn’t notice. “Just come with me.” Hugh reached a hand out.

“Do I know you?” Allora asked again. Hugh sighed in frustration and reach for her but Allora backed away. Their eyes were still locked with one another.

“You did, slash, don’t,” Hugh said quickly. “It’s very difficult to explain, Allora. Just please, come with me. Any longer or any louder and we’ll both…” he trailed off. He still wasn’t sure what would happen, but he knew that at least he would be in Hell, and Earth was certainly much better.

“Both what?” Allora demanded.

“I, we, don’t have time,” Hugh pushed. “Short version is, this is Hell, I'm here to get you out. Now let’s go.”

“You're here to get me out of Hell?” she asked. “But this is administration.” Hugh sighed again, his eyes glancing over at the portal and where Samael had vanished.

“It isn’t, okay,” Hugh insisted. “Please trust me.”

“But I don’t,” she said. “I feel like I know who you are, there’s something in the back of my mind that says yes, but I don’t trust it. Plus, if you say this is Hell, then how don’t I know what you're telling the truth?”

“Because…Allora, please just…”

“Prove your trust.”

“I can't.”

“Then I don’t.” Hugh stopped. It was pointless. She didn’t know him and it would take hours to explain it. And even after all of that, she still may not trust him. It was a fruitless effort. Sighing a final time, Hugh stood straight and dropped his hand, not breaking his eye contact with her.

“That,” he said, lifting his arm towards the cloth-covered portal. “Is a portal back to Earth. It will take you back to your body and back to your life. Go through it. Please. I know you don’t trust me, and might never trust me, but you need to. You are still alive, Allora. You just need to come home.”

“Hugh,” she whispered. He stayed silent.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Hugh Johnstone.” Shaking his head, Hugh turned and faced the portal. He didn’t know how much time he had left but he didn’t want to witness it run out. “Please go through,” he whispered to Allora before he started walking towards the portal. Guilt crashed through him, forcing his bones to become heavier and his soul to drag across the floor. He didn’t want to just leave her, but he had no choice. She wouldn’t have come even if he had explained every little detail to her, and telling her that an angel told him that they had fallen in love wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to drop on someone who, from their perspective, what meeting you for the first time.

As he approached the portal, he could hear its low hum and feel the ground around it shake. The cloth that covered it flapped gently in the breeze it created by Hugh could feel no breeze against his skin. He chalked it up to devilish magic. Before he stepped onto the metal walkway around it, he looked around himself again. As soon as he started walking towards the portal, he knew that demons around him would spring, throwing themselves at him to make sure he didn’t escape. He would have to be quick. Then, a shout caught his ear.

“Hugh!” He slowly turned to see Allora sprinting towards him, eyes wide. Before Hugh could open his mouth to question the woman’s movements, he saw several people stand from inside their cubicles, their eyes locked on Allora, then onto him. A deafening hiss echoed through the air as the world plunged back into the deep red hue Hugh had seen outside of the Gates of Hell. As Allora caught up to him, she pulled herself still and rested. Without another word, Hugh took her hand and jumped up the stairs towards the portal. Behind him, a shout roared.

“For fuck’s sake!” Briefly, Hugh looked back to see Samael standing inches from them, grin wide and cruel, his black, soulless eyes boring down on him. But as he reached for them, Hugh tightened his grip on Allora and jumped forward, dodging Samael’s swipe, and falling into the portal, it's blue and green consuming them as they fell. “You motherfu…!” Samael’s words were cut off as Allora and Hugh slipped into the portal and out of harm's way. Breathing heavily, Hugh twisted Allora to face him, looking into her eyes.

“You won't remember this,” he said.

“What?”

“You won't remember being in Hell. You won't remember Samael and the demons. You won't even remember me,” Hugh continued in rapid-fire, listing everything he could before they returned.

“How do you…?” Allora asked quietly.

“An angel told me,” he answered. “He told me a lot in things in fact. How the portal wipes memories, what Samael was planning, our lives and love within Hell, all of it.” Allora pulled away slightly and Hugh realised his mistake.

“Our lives and what?” she asked. Hugh opened his mouth to clarify but his explanation was cut short by a white light blinding him, consuming Allora and the blue and green swirls around him.

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Gently, Hugh opened his eyes to find himself staring at the ceiling of his apartment. The world was hazy but he knew it would get better soon, something seemed familiar about it. Slowly he sat up and rubbed his head gently. He couldn’t quite remember why he was on the floor, or what exactly had happened for him to get on the floor, but something was bound to make sense soon. But his dreams of knowing anything were dashed as Jade ran into the room, instantly jumping to the floor and hugging him tightly. His headache wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“Oh my God!” Jade cried, pulling away from Hugh and looking into his eyes. “You alright? Gabriel flew away and you just kind of collapsed on the floor! I didn’t know whether I should have called the police or something! Should I have? I don’t know if angel kidnapping is a punishable crime. Then again, doubt there would be enough evidence to even convict one. God’s bound to have some decent lawyers. Ah! Anyway, so glad you're alright.” Now on top of his headache, Hugh was now battling with immense confusion.

“What?” he managed to mutter. Jade paused and leaned back.

“You know? Gabriel?” she said, pointing at the ceiling. “The angel that whisked you away to Hell, apparently. To go after that woman?” Hugh sat up.

“That woman?”

“Yeah, you know. Alana Red-chest or something. I dunno, your weird dream that was apparently a repressed memory. Not my place.” She stood and walked away, now over that miracle that was her brother’s safe return. Hugh rubbed his face violently, knocking his vision back into focus. With shaky legs, he stood.

“Jade, what are you on about?” he demanded. Jade’s smile dropped and concern washed over her.

“You really don’t remember?” she asked. He shook his head. Unexpectedly, Jade sincerely walked towards Hugh and sat him down, placing a glass of water next to him. Slowly, she began to explain what she knew about everything. She explained his dreams, which Hugh remembered, and explained Gabriel’s arrival and his explanations of everything else. All in all, it was a lot of explaining. Once she was finished, Hugh sat in silence, quietly comprehending the words and the world he had just been exposed to. Had he really been to Hell? Twice? He had thought it was a one-way trip, but apparently not. Over the course of the rest of the day, which wasn’t long, Jade cooked them dinner and they ate in silence. According to Jade, he had now learned about the afterlife three different times, and each time he had forgotten it. If his mind wasn’t already messed up, now it almost certainly was. After dinner, Hugh silently made his way into his bedroom, stripped and got into bed but didn’t sleep. He kept his eyes open, not even calling out a farewell and Jade left to go home. But eventually, after hours of staring at the ceiling, he drifted off into slumber.

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