A flash of white. It was all Hugh needed to know that he was no longer in his car. He couldn’t tell if the white was from the lorry’s lights or if it was from the street lamps he had seen swipe past him, but he knew that he wasn’t where he was. Now, all he could see was white.

​

Around him sat an infinite white abyss. The was no end, no corners, no walls. It was an endless plane of nothing. He had no shadow, there was no sun. Everything was gone. Suddenly, air rushed into his lungs and Hugh began to cough and splutter as he began to breathe again. He collapsed to the floor, knees landing heavily against the ground, causing more pain than he was expecting. Desperately, he clutched his chest, feeling it rise and fall rapidly. His lungs were beginning to ache as he poured more air into them, his body trying to keep him conscious. His throat became sore and his mouth grew drier and drier until he could barely feel his coughs. Then, a faint voice rippled out from the whiteness.

 

“…and here we have a Mr Hugh Johnstone.” The voice grew louder as footsteps appeared in front of him. Hugh didn’t lift his head to greet the stranger. His coughing had ceased but his rapid, laboured breathing had not. “Oh,” the stranger said. “I am so sorry. You're still in your waking stage. I’ll give you a moment.” Gradually, Hugh’s breathing returned to normal and the man could feel his body returning to its usual state. Wiping the saliva from his jaw, Hugh shakily stood and looked at the stranger with animosity.

 

The stranger before his looked, to Hugh’s surprise, normal. He stood tall with broad shoulders and a small smile. In one hand he held a small device. He was bald with brown eyes, eyes that could easily be mistaken for black if not seen in the right light. He wore a black suit and red shirt, the clothing looking as though he had been freshly pressed mere minutes before he had entered the room. Then, the white abyss clicked in Hugh’s mind and he began to spin, trying to find where the stranger had entered from. As he continued to turn, green eyes scanning the area intently, the stranger began to chuckle. Hugh stopped and looked at the stranger, eyes narrowed and panic starting to rise in his chest.

 

“Where am I?” Hugh asked breathlessly. The spinning had worn him out more than he was expecting. The stranger continued to chuckle.

 

“That will be a little hard to explain,” the stranger said, his eyes darting to his device and reading something on it. Hugh’s narrowed his eyes further and continued to take deep breaths. If he had to fight his way out, he would need all the strength he had. The stranger looked back at him and smiled. “For now,” he said. “Let us first talk about you. See, these files are never truly accurate.” He looked back at the device, using a long finger to stroke it. Then, he lifted the device toward Hugh. Reactively, Hugh jumped back and raised his fists. Again, the stranger began to chuckle. “Well,” he muttered. “Your overaggressive nature is certainly correct.” He retracted the device and started tapping it. By now, Hugh patience was running thin and he could feel his boy becoming more and more agitated.

 

“What is this? Who are you? Where am I? And what are you doing?” Hugh’s words came out like a waterfall, cascading down his chin and into the whiteness. Even he had to remember what he had said to understand it. The stranger looked up from the device and sighed.

 

“Yes, sorry,” he said. “I’m still not quite used to this personal stuff. You’d think after centuries on the job I'd get the hang of it. But alas…” The stranger returned to the device. Slowly, the word filtered through Hugh’s mind, resting in his ears. A wave of confusion and fear washed over him, his mouth struggling to form his next question. His anger was now gone, replaced by defeat and hopelessness. Wherever he was, it was a long way from home.

 

“Who…What…?” he tried. The stranger looked up again, this time lowering the device and sighing at him. “Centuries?” The stranger smiled.

 

“That’s always the part you humans pick up on,” the stranger laughed, stepping forward. “I do apologise for these feelings you had. You see, we had a problem back in the 1300s with a bunch of knights and peasants all coming in at once with their armour and weapons, and sometimes animals, please don’t ask how.” As the stranger continued to speak, he continued to get closer, his eyes no longer on Hugh but attached upward in remembrance. “Anyway, with all these new people, they were understandably angry and confused. Which led to a lot of fighting and unnecessary attacks on my demons. So, we asked corporate for some new, fancy-dancy equipment to keep them subdued.” The stranger’s eyes landed back on Hugh and his smile grew slightly. “That’s why your feelings of anger were replaced by sorrow and confusion. It helps us remember uninjured and keeps you in a state of mind to listen, rather than all attack-y.” Hugh found himself nodding.

 

“But…” Hugh spluttered, feeling his body starting to sag and become heavier. “You said…”

 

“Look, my friend,” the stranger sighed, wrapping an arm around Hugh and walking him forward. Instantly, Hugh began to feel lighter. “I know what I said, and I know what you're about to see, so allow me to tell you this.” The stranger stopped walking and turned Hugh to face him. His face was now stern but his eyes still read with kindness. “You are not dead.”

 

In addition to the confusion given to him up the magical machinery that the stranger had told him about, Hugh could now feel his over confusion lapping on top of it. The strange amalgamation was not one he was overly fond of.

​

“I'm not dead?” Hugh managed to utter. The stranger’s smile returned and he nodded, patting Hugh’s arm comfortingly.

 

“Well, technically, you are,” the stranger squeaked, dropping his arm from Hugh’s shoulder. “Look, it’s complicated and I really hate talking about it. You're the fourth orientation I've had today and I've got, like, another ten to go through. So can you just get over this quickly so I can take you on the tour so you can meet your advisor so I can get back to my card game? Gabriel is winning and I'd had to have him thinking I've bailed because of it.” Hugh’s confusion did not subside.

 

“Get over being dead?” Hugh accused, trying to keep his temper down. If his level of confusion was dictated by his level of anger, then he did not want to get angry again. “How can you just say; ‘get over this quickly’ and expect me to just accept the fact that I've died. I am dead. I have died. Do you not think that I need some time to…?” A wave of confusion and weakness crashed over him again and High fell to the floor. Above him, the stranger sighed.

 

“Yeah, yeah, you're right. I'm sorry.” The stranger crouched beside him and helped Hugh back to his feet, once again patting his shoulder. “It’s just Gabriel being a dick and I would like to beat him once. But, you are right. I shouldn’t just toss you humans aside because I'm a little grumpy. Sorry about that Hugh.” Steadying himself, Hugh allowed his anger to fall away, the confusion being carried off with it.

 

“You're welcome?” he said hesitantly. The stranger nodded at him.

 

“Right. Now I've been put in my place,” the stranger continued, trying to mask his shame with humour. “Let’s start again, shall we?” Slowly, Hugh nodded his head. His smile wide, the stranger nodded back stuck his hand out. Hesitating, Hugh shook it. “I'm Samael.” A new fear flooded Hugh.

 

“Sam…Samael?” he spluttered. “Like…Like the…”

 

“Yes, yes. Like the Devil. Lucifer. Beelzebub. All of them,” the stranger sighed. He had clearly seen this reaction too many times before but Hugh didn’t care. He was speaking to the Devil. “I don’t understand. Have you humans really turned my name that sour? That upon hearing it you all cower and cry?” Hugh gradually began to step back, feeling the ground beneath him become warped and twisted. The white abyss around him seemed more terrifying than ever. There was nowhere for him to run. Seeing the distance between them, Samael sighed and started walking toward him, face irritated but not angry.

 

“Stay…Stay back,” Hugh spluttered. Tripping over his feet, Hugh collapsed to the floor, scurrying across it as he tried to pull himself away. “Please don’t…”

 

“Don’t what?” Samael called, a small smile now appearing on his face. “Hurt you? Hugh, if you were in Hell, don’t you think I would have already started flaying you and pulling your teeth out?” Slowly, Hugh stopped pulling himself away, despite his raging flight response. “You're not even dead yet! Remember?” Hugh stopped, hand pressed hard against the floor and eyes wide and Samael caught up with him. Upon arriving at his side, Samael exhaled deeply and offered the man a hand to stand. Hugh ignored it, pulling himself to his feet and staring at Samael intently.

 

“How can I trust you?” he muttered. “How…How can I believe the Devil word?” Another exasperated sigh came from Samael.

 

“For the last time, I am not the Devil,” he groaned. “The big guy and I had a falling out once. In response, I pulled a little prank with his two new humans, which by the way were not his first attempts, and then you lot took that small, little flame and burned my entire image.” Samael’s snapped to Hugh, startling the man slightly. “I was cool before all that, you know? Humans would arrive and I would just talk to them normally. Back then, they even complimented my name. But now, people are either indifferent to it or fearful of it.” Samael sighed again and turned to Hugh fully, a smile appearing on his face. “Ah well,” he said. “Not much I can do now? Shall we?”

 

Together, with Hugh still a little apprehensive, they walked forward and Hugh became very aware of Samael’s arm around his shoulders. He had never been a believer. Or at least, he didn’t think he was. His parents believed in the divine and forbade him and his sister any kind of action that would invoke the Devil. Hugh’s teenage self would scoff every time he was scorned for smoking weed or swearing. His parents would shout and scream at him whenever they caught him with a girl in his room. Back then, he didn’t think anything of it. Now, he was thinking otherwise.

 

Although, it wasn’t how his parents described it. The way they said it, Hell would be a red and orange mass of pain and suffering. Men and women, murderers and rapists would be caged together. Skin would be peeled off and eyeballs plucked from their sockets and, according to Hugh’s grandfather, 70s disco would play on repeat. Instead of all that, Hugh’s experience of the afterlife was very different. He was placed in a blank room and greeted by a seemingly polite, considerate Devil would didn’t immediately start pulling his fingernails out the second he saw him. But, Hugh still couldn’t shake that thought that the actual Devil had his arm around him.

 

Suddenly, Samael brought them to a stop and he walked a little way in front of Hugh, kneeling against the floor and muttering a few words to himself. They were in a language that Hugh couldn’t even begin to understand. Then, Samael stood and walked back to Hugh. A door rose from the floor and swung open, revealing a sea of office cubicles. The cubicles stretched for miles, eventually fading into a grey fog. The surrounding area was a misty hue of grey and orange and red, each colour swirling around one another until they spun into a black ceiling that looked like a nights sky after all the suns had been burned away. The more the colours descended, the brighter they became until they reached Hugh’s eyeline, where they morphed into whites and blues, matching the bright, multi-coloured outfits of the people wandering around the cubicles.

 

“This is Hell,” Samael said, a sense of pride swelling in his voice. He looked at Hugh and chuckled at his frowning face. “Not what you expected, huh?”

 

“Not at all,” Hugh murmured. Still chuckling, Samael guided Hugh forward into the office cubicles. The two of them stood high above the cubicles, allowing Hugh to see thousands of the boxes as far as his eyes could see until they faded into the grey fog. By this point, Samael had already turned his attention to the cubicles, resting his hands against the grey, metallic balustrade that lined the walkway they stood on. Then, he turned sharply back to Hugh.

 

“Okay,” he said quickly, clapping his hands together and smiling widely. “I'm going to say a lot of information quickly, so I suggest you listen closely and follow me. If you have any questions, don’t interrupt me and ask them to your advisor when you meet them.” Assume his sentence had finished, Hugh nodded. With a sigh, Samael turned him and they began to walk along the walkway, Samael’s arm returning to its usual place on Hugh’s shoulders.

 

“Right. So, to begin I should probably tell you where you are, give you the jist of the area,” Samael began. “You aren’t dead, as you know, but you are also not alive. See, you're in a state that I like to call ‘The First Experience’. Basically, it’s when you’ve suffered some sort of accident or illness that has put you on the brink of death…”

 

“Like limbo?” Hugh asked. They stopped and Hugh could feel Samael’s grip getting tighter on his shoulder.

 

“What did I say about interrupting me?” he muttered. After giving a small nod of apology, they continued to walk. “Yes,” Samael continued. “Like limbo. You haven’t died but you were close, or you’re getting close. Most humans go through this sort of thing, and when they do, we jump at the opportunity to make the most of the situation.” They stopped and Samael turned them so they faced the cubicles. “We have what we like to call ‘Orientation Days’. Essentially, we take you and give you a rundown of how thing work here, tell you what your sentence will most likely be and where you'll be stationed.” Pulling on Hugh’s shoulder, Samael directed them down the walkway again. “You keeping up so far?” His eyes darted to Hugh, who remained silent, tightening his mouth further. “You can answer,” Samael sighed. Hugh released a deep breath and nodded.

 

“Yep, think so,” he said. Nodding back to him, Samael continued.

 

“Now, at this current moment, you are set for data transfer,” Samael carried on. “You'll find out what that is once you meet your advisor. All you need to know now is that it’s not the worst punishment, so be glad about that.” They reached a thin, spindly staircase that led down to the cubicles below. It could only fit them one at a time. Like a gentleman, Samael offered Hugh to go first, an offer Hugh accepted. Once they reached the floor, Samael wrapped his arm around Hugh again and they continued forward. “So, Mr Hugh Johnstone, you are here until your body is ready to accept you back. You could be here an Earthly day or an Earthly year. Who knows? But, for now, you can just relax and try and learn as much about this place as possible before you do go back. Now, you are free to speak.” Hugh chuckled nervously, his false, toothy grin remaining on his face too long after his chuckle had subsided. The longer his grin remained, the more confused Samael’s face seemed to grow.

 

“Wow,” Hugh muttered eventually. “That’s a lot.” Samael nodded in agreement.

 

“Wasn’t that long a few centuries ago,” he said. “Fewer people, less paperwork. Back then I just had to appear and the people would just understand.” Hugh nodded his head in fake understanding.

 

“So, I will remember all this?” Hugh asked. Samael cocked his head as he searched for an answer.

 

“Yes and no,” he replied. “When you die, you'll remember all of this, but when you return to the living world, your mind will block all of this, for a lack of a better term. We’re not sure why, but a few of my best demons think it could be the big guy trying to keep the mortal world from knowing everything.” He leaned close to Hugh. “He likes to keep this ambiguous,” he hissed. Hugh half-laughed and pulled back from him. Behind him, footsteps caught Samael’s attention and he whipped around to face the approaching figure. Frowning, Hugh leaned to the side, catching a glimpse of the person, but only just their leg. Samael completely blocked the person from Hugh’s eyeline. After a moment and a few hushed converses, Samael half turned to Hugh and smiled at him, moving to the side and allowing the person to be exposed to him.

 

“Sorry about that Hughie,” Samael said. “Just a little corporate nonsense I needed to discuss with Allora, here.” Then Allora’s presents clicked in his head and Samael starting spluttering. “Oh, sorry again. Stupid me. Hugh Johnstone, meet Allora Redheart. She’s going to be your advisor.” As Samael spoke, Hugh kept his eyes on the woman beside him. Only a few words had entered, and he was sure they were the ones he needed to know. Allora, on the other hand, was listening to each of Samael words and was seemingly unaware of Hugh’s gaze. Once Samael stopped talking, Hugh snapped himself out of his stare and started nodding.

 

“Yep, yep. Advisor,” he mumbled. “Gotcha.” Smiling, Samael turned back to Allora at muttered a few words to her before turning back to Hugh and beginning to walk away from the pair.

 

“Okay then,” he said. “You're in capable hands. Good luck Hugh and it was good meeting you. Hope to see you soon!” His words faded into shouts as he got further away and eventually his disappeared into the cubicles. Now alone with the girl, Hugh slowly turned back to face her, a grin stretched across his face. Their eyes met, forest green against ocean blue, and Hugh mesmerised once again.

 

“Hey,” Allora squeaked, sticking her hand out and snapping Hugh out of his dazed state. “How are you?”

 

“Hey,” he managed to answer, shaking her hand firmly. “I'm good. You?”

 

“Another day in Hell,” she joked, laughing half-heartily. Glancing back to where Samael had disappeared, Allora locked eyes with Hugh and widened her grin. “Got any questions for me?” she asked. “Any that Sam didn’t quite answer?” Hugh frowned at the casual mention of the Devil and nodded.

 

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “What am I required to do, who are you, and how do I get out of here?” Allora laughed at the onslaught of questions while Hugh smiled nervously. She clearly had been asked those questions before.

 

“Nice to know that the questions remain the same,” she muttered as she caught her breath. With her breathing returned to normal, she looked back at Hugh. “Mainly, we’re going to be working in the data transfer area. That’s where we read over the transcripts sent between Hell and Heaven and make sure everything is in order.”

 

“What do you mean: ‘making sure everything is in order’?” Hugh argued, folding his arms. “How am I supposed to know what the right or is for any of this.” Again, Allora laughed.

 

“You’ll know because there will be a list of things that have to be on transcripts we receive,” she explained. “If something is or isn’t on there, you send it back where it came front with a note saying what was wrong.” Hugh stared at her blankly.

 

“So I'm in admin?” Frowning, Allora looked around herself and Hugh could feel a joke brewing. Then, she turned back to him, trying to keep a smile from her face.

 

“You see where you are, right?”

 

“Ha, ha,” he mocked. “I just didn’t think that the afterlife would be so mundane.” Allora laughed again and gestured for Hugh to follow her as they started to walk through the sea of cubicles.

 

“I know what you mean,” she sighed as she guided Hugh. “I didn’t think it either, but once you’ve been here for a minute, you get used to it.” Allora’s voice cracked at the end of her sentence. Narrowing his eyes and a suspicious rose in his mind.

 

“How long have you been here, Allora?” he asked softly. The question startled the woman, forcing her to stop and look at him. She gave a light laugh and folded her arms across her chest retreating into herself.

 

“I have no idea,” she muttered. “Samael has told me it’s a while. There aren’t any clocks around here so I mainly rely on Sam to give me the date. I also don’t remember the year I came down here. Last I remember…” she trailed away, leaving her eyes hanging in the air as she scoured her memory. Gradually, her eye became defeated and lost. She couldn’t remember. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes, allowing her head to drop and hang from her neck. “It was 2018,” she muttered.

 

“That’s not that long,” Hugh said with a little too much enthusiasm. He had been expecting a longer period of time and a lot more emotion. “That’s only three years ago.” Allora’s eyes lit up and a smile grew across her face. Hugh couldn’t help but allow a grin of his own to spread.

 

“Three years?” she asked. “That’s all?” Hugh nodded. “Huh. Thought it had been longer.” She shrugged and continued walking through the cubicles, Hugh at her side. “Time works a little differently, down here,” Allora continued. “Guess it works a lot differently than I thought.” Hugh cocked his head and looked at her.

 

“How do you mean?”

 

“See, when I first got here, Sam said that time work a little differently so I took that to mean that it was slower, much slower. Plus, with the day-to-day activities and the muffled screaming you can hear around eleven, the days have kind of blended together. But, good to hear I haven’t been down here for thirty years, which was the rough estimate I had come to.” Allora shook her head, like shaking the number from her mind, and turned to Hugh, stopping them both. “Now, to your left, you will see a great big portal.” Frowning, Hugh tilted his head and his mouth dropped open.

 

Across the vast array of cubicles sat a blue and green coloured, twisting whirlpool. Spindles of the whirlpool lashed against the ground, sending water-like splashed across the floor that soon disappeared. The portal stood upright and dwarfed anyone nearby, its scale similar to that of a skyscraper in New York. Around the base of the portal ran a thin, study walkway, similar to the one that Hugh had been walking on earlier. A grey balustrade ran around the edges, preventing people from falling in or falling off. But, on the side, the side closest to Hugh, there was a gap that had been chained up. The gap looked intentionally made but not used for a while. Even from this distance, Hugh could see the small remnants of dust and whatever demons and angels left behind. Gently, the chain between the two posts, sucked towards the portal and then blown away again, like it was breathing.

 

“That,” Allora said, pulling Hugh away from it. “Is the ‘Homeward Portal’. Takes ya back to Earth.” Hugh spun to her, eyes wide.

 

“Back to Earth?” he asked. Allora frowned at him. “As in, I could go back now?” Allora laughed and slapped his arm.

 

“Nice thought.” She sighed deeply, allowing her laughter to fade. “But no chance.” This time Hugh frowned. She let out a deep breath and continued to guide Hugh through the cubicles, pulling him away from the portal. “That portal is way off-limits.” She scorned him like a child, dragging him away from his temptation. “No one has ever gone through there. Ever.”

 

“Really?”

​

“Well, since I've been here at least,” she muttered. She stopped them and spun to face him, her blue eyes burning with sincerity. “Hugh,” she murmured. “Do not think about the portal. Don’t try and go through it. Don’t even bring it up with Sam. He really doesn’t like humans talking about it.” Hugh chuckled and raised his hands in defence, nodding slowly.

 

“Okay, okay,” he said, his defensive stance dropping as Allora’s gaze softened. “I won't bring it up again.” Allora gave him a firm nod and returned to guiding him through the cubicles. Soon, she stopped them again and grinned at him, gesturing to a cubicle beside her.

​

“Here’s why you work,” she said gleefully. “I'm just next to you…” she trailed off as she looked behind herself, patting the wall of a cubicle. “So if you have any problems, you can just shout them.” She turned away but snapped back to him before Hugh could think to move. “Actually, don’t. People around here like to keep the noise level down so they're not too happy. Some of them are dead and working here as a punishment, sucks to be them, and some others are like us, dead but not dead.” With the final burst of information, Allora flashed Hugh a smile and turned away, sitting herself in her cubicle. A pile of paper materialised beside her and she instantly began working, a smile faulting with each page turned. With nothing to say, Hugh turned himself around and slipped into the chair of his cubicle. Only now he saw how disgusting it was.

 

The walls were only five feet in height and were a hideous lime green mixed with dark grey, the colours swarming together like vomit on tarmac. There were only three walls in total, with the missing one leaving a gap for Hugh to get in and out. Against one wall was a desk. It was simple and white with a single, 2005-looking computer and a keyboard and mouse that looked very, very used. Some keys were missing their markings and others were completely different colours. The floor was carpeted, unlike the floor of the rest of the area, and was a pale grey. It looks as though once upon a time, a very long time ago, it was white, but years of usage and spills had turned it into its disgusting colour.

 

Then, on the desk, a stack of paper appeared. The stack was small, much smaller than Allora’s, but was still high enough to startle him. Begrudgingly, he reached and pulled the stack forward, slipping the first piece off and reading the words aloud.

 

“We request that The Guy Upon High leaves us some more peeps down here…” Hugh’s words trailed off into a deep, throaty groan as the paper slipped from his fingers and onto the desk while behind him, Allora began tapping her keyboard.

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

“Hey!” Allora shouted, startling Hugh from his newest pile. The man growled and turned to her, narrowing his eyes at her playfully. Allora giggled and latched herself to the top of the cubicle wall that separated them.

 

“Why did you do that?” Hugh scorned, rearranging his pile. “Have you learned nothing from two weeks ago?” Allora rolled her eyes and hopped off the wall, walking around and joined Hugh in his cubicle.

 

“That was your fault,” she said poignantly. “You weren’t looking where you were going.” Hugh froze and looked up at her. He knew she was winding him up from the small glint in her eyes as their pupils locked, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

 

“Doesn’t matter,” he said, suppressing a smile. “Just stop startling me or I’ll get Sam down here.” Allora laughed.

​

“And who do you think he’ll listen to?” she scoffed, stepping further into Hugh’s cubicle and leaning over him. Hugh kept his eyes up. “Me? Someone who’s been working here for three years? Or you? Who’s been working here for six months?” Hugh narrowed his eyes further but remained silent. A smile rose on Allora’s face and she moved away from him, winking as she did before returning to her cubicle just as another pile appeared. She gave a light sigh and began work.

 

With Allora gone, Hugh allowed his grin to form and he turned back to his pile of paperwork. Overall, his experience in the admin of Hell wasn’t bad. He had quickly learned that basic, normal human activities weren’t necessary, like sleeping or eating, so most of his time was spent ordering paperwork, submitting requests for other pieces of paper and sending other requests back. It wasn’t the most entertaining job he had ever had. But, Allora had made it all the easier. However, he felt that others disapproved.

 

During his second month, Hugh had overheard a few other admin workers discussing their relationship, talking about how normally an advisor would oversee the orientation of a new employee for the first two weeks and then leave them to their own accord, but Allora had seemingly abandoned that premise. The pair had become the talk of the area, at least as far as Hugh could see. Occasionally, they would take a break from their work and go for long walks around the cubicles. Together, they would discuss the weird and wonderful world that they were both in, talk about their lives on Earth and want they would do once they got back.

 

“I think the first thing I would do is find my daughter and give her the biggest hug ever,” Allora had said with her eyes gazing wistfully at the black ceiling. Hugh’s head snapped to her and she realised what she had said. “Sorry,” she spluttered. “Didn’t mean to blurt that.”

 

“No,” Hugh said quickly, trying to ease the woman’s discomfort. “It’s fine.” He allowed the moment to settle before his question appeared in his mind. “You have a daughter?” he asked. He hadn't imagined Allora having a family. She hadn't mentioned a boyfriend or husband so he had assumed that she didn’t have one. But his assumptions were wrong.

 

“Yeah. Ellie,” Allora sighed. She was yet to clock onto Hugh’s stare, her own eyes still occupied with the sky. “I had her young. When I was nineteen.” She gave a light chuckle. “Kicked out of university and then found myself pregnant with her. Her father wanted nothing to do with her and he ran off with his lecturer.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah,” Allora scoffed. “Really wasn’t expecting that.” She gave another hollow laugh and sighed. A tear brewed in her eye. Reacting without hesitation, Hugh tapped her arm gently and she swivelled to him. Before he could open his arms any further, Allora leaned forward and pressed herself against him, wrapping her arms around his back. With a smile gently forming on his face, Hugh held her tightly, feeling her relax in their embrace. Once their hug was over, she mumbled some excuse to return to her desk and she walked away, leaving Hugh to stand there alone, arms floating as if she was still there.

 

Allora’s new revelation had triggered something inside of him, a reflection of his life on Earth, or rather his lack of life. He hadn't done much with his existence, he only lived in a city, paid his bills, went to work and bought groceries. He had no girlfriend to take out or few friends to buy beers for or a dog to walk. The only benefit of his life was his work.

 

He wasn’t too sure how he came to work at Grantall Academy, but now the school had consumed most of his life. And he didn’t mind. After having worked there for two years, Hugh had grown to love each and every one of his students, helping some of them through some of the hardest points of their lives. But despite that, despite his work and his love of teaching, he didn’t really have a life at all. Whenever other teachers in his department would go out on Friday nights, they either wouldn’t invite him or he would decline their invitation. He didn’t have to be home for anyone, it was just something he chose to do. And each choice he regretted. If he ever made it back home, he would try more. He would do more.

 

Suddenly, another pile of paper appeared on Hugh desk, snapping the man out of his thoughts. His eyes darted to the new pile and a long groan rippled through his throat. It was bigger than the last one. Behind him, Allora laughed as she tapped at her keyboard’s keys. Trying his best to suppress his smile, he stood and was about to spin and confront her when his eyes landed on the portal, its spinning mass of blue and green still thrashing in the distance. Slowly, and with a new thought in his head, he turned to Allora, latching himself on the wall between them as she had done earlier.

 

“Hey, the portal,” he said quickly, barely giving the woman a moment to acknowledge his arrival. “You said it takes you back to Earth?” Instantly, Allora froze, lifting her hands away from her keyboard and looking around them. A few heads had already turned towards them. She locked eyes with him and smiled nervously.

 

“Yeah,” she muttered. “Takes you back.” She widened her eyes and gestured to the few that looked at them. They too had stopped working and were now focused on the pair. Hugh didn’t care, tossing Allora’s fears aside.

 

“So, it takes you back to your body and there are no consequences?” he pushed. Laughing awkwardly, Allora stood and moved herself closer to him.

 

“Keep your fucking voice down,” she hissed. A few heads turned away, seemingly satisfied with her reaction. “Samael doesn’t like people talking about the portal and you should definitely not be talking about going through it! If you’re caught, you go straight to Hell!” Hugh’s confidence faded and his smile dropped.

 

“Thought this was just orientation?” he murmured, obeying her and lowering his voice. “That we’re just here to practise what we’ll do once we actually die.” Allora sighed.

 

“We are here to learn about this,” she said. “But when we’re back on Earth, we won't remember any of it, regardless of how long we’re here. That means you could go back tomorrow and then kill someone and then go to Hell and what you learned here would be irrelevant!” Allora had become angrier as she continued. People were now avoiding glancing at her, in case they got the same delivery. She was now standing and breathing heavily, eyes wide and furious. “Do not tell me, Hugh, that you want to go through that portal.” Hugh’s mouth flapped open and closed, unsure of how to answer.

 

“I…” he tried. He had no words. He had been thinking of going through, and he had been hoping she would come with him, but that seemed unlikely. But he had to try. “Allora,” he sighed, stepping a little closer and resting a hand on her arm gently. “Okay, now I know the risks, but I still want to go.” Allora’s body sank back slightly. It wasn’t the answer she had been expecting. “And I want you to come with me.” Now, a few heads had popped up. Some people had been pretending to work while listening to the two speak and were now listening in on their plan. Ignoring them, Hugh slowly took Allora’s hand, squeezing it gently.

 

“But…um,” Allora muttered, her eyes glued to their hands, a light blush running across her cheeks. “But if we go through, we’ll forget each other.” Hugh sighed and dropped his head. Several more heads had risen, their eyes staring outwards as they tried to pretend they weren’t listening.

 

“That’s a risk I'm willing to take,” Hugh said. “Look, I…” he paused, clearing his throat and adjusting his head so the words could fall easily. “I like you, Allora. A lot. And I don’t want to wait and see if I’ll go back. Plus, what if I do go back and I do forget you but you're stuck down here for a hundred years? I hate the thought of you being down here alone.”

 

“I wouldn’t be down here alone,” Allora chuckled. “I've got all these…” Her voice fell away as her eyes surveyed the cubicles around them. Each one, in a circle around them, had a head poking out of it. The familiar sound of keyboards type was gone, replaced with the sinister hum of Hell. Allora’s face dropped and she turned pale. She looked back at Hugh, fear starting to rise in her eyes. “Hugh,” she whispered.

 

“We’ve got a decision to make,” Hugh muttered to her. “And it seems that the people around us know that.”

“I don’t think they're people,” she muttered back. In unison, all the people stood. Allora and Hugh jumped back in shock. Hugh turned to Allora, squeezing her hand once again in reassurance. She turned to him in response.

 

“C’mon Allora,” he said. “We’ve got to go, now.” Allora nodded and the two calmly walked out of the cubicles and pointed themselves at the portal, their hands still locked. Standing still and eyes glued to their destination, they started to walk forward.

 

“Hey, guys!” Samael’s voice washed through the air like a tsunami, knocking all of the confidence the pair had built up. “Where you goin’?”

 

“Oh, nowhere,” Allora called back. They both kept themselves facing away from him, their fear freezing them in place.

 

“Really?” Samael continued. “Doesn’t look like nowhere. Looks like you’re going to the portal” Even though he couldn’t see his face, Hugh could hear the Devil’s smile fall as his words ended.

 

“Nope!” Hugh tried to call back. “Just going for a walk. Together.” Shakily, Hugh brought his foot forward, his step landing softly.

 

“I don’t think you are going anywhere.” Suddenly behind them, a screech roared through the sky. Without hesitation, and hands still clasped around one another, Allora and Hugh began to run. “Get them!” Samael screamed, his voice morphing and twisting into a Devilish roar, one that Hugh had been expecting from the being of pure evil. He didn’t let his thoughts distract him. Breathing heavily and making sure Allora was beside him at all times, Hugh sprinted through the cubicles, not once deviating from the straight path they had chosen.

 

The world around them began to fade and corrode. The cubicles started to rot and fall away, their lime green melting into blood red. The grey fog had darkened, mixing with the red of the cubicles to form a crimson wall that enveloped them. In the black ceiling above them, dots of orange began to appear in pairs, staring at them like eyes. The portal, however, remained the same, its green and blue a hopeful beacon in the black and red.

 

Hugh’s eyes were torn from the portal by the appearance of flying beasts. The beasts weren’t human but some deformed, human-animal hybrid. Each other was a different animal but each could fly. All of them were red and bloodied, with mouths that opened and closed, each delivering a hideous, terrifying screech that rocked the ground. They began to dive towards the pair, splattering against the floor and sending their limbs flying through the air. Hugh began to duck and weave between the kamikazeing demons, their limbs littering the ground and blood scattering the floor. Then they stopped, resuming to just flying overhead, screeching at them and flapping their wings angrily at them. Together still and hand in hand, Hugh and Allora continued to run.

 

They reached the portal soon after, Hugh squeezing Allora’s hand tighter as they climbed up to the walkway. With a swift movement, Hugh removed the chains and stepped forward, barely wasting another moment. He felt the portal envelope him. Its energy wrapped around him and for the first time since he had arrived in Hell, he felt safe. But then he stopped and felt himself being tugged away. Frowning and confused, he turned back and his eyes widened in horror. Behind them, still standing on the walkway, was Allora. In one hand, she held his, clutching onto him for dear life. Her other hand was gripped by Samael, who stood behind her with a smug, cruel grin

 

“Are you really going to leave without her?” he mocked, pulling her away from the portal further. Allora screamed and Hugh’s grip slipped. Mustering all the strength he could, he pulled his other hand out of the portal and wrapped it around Allora’s securing his grip. Allora’s face flashed a smile but it was quickly replaced by fear once again. Behind her, Samael rolled his eyes and tugged at her again, Hugh’s grip loosening further. Around him, he felt the portal pulling him in further. His torso had now been consumed and he could feel it creeping up his neck and latching onto his hair. He wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer

 

“Hugh,” Allora whispered. “Please.”

 

“I'm not leaving,” Hugh grunted, trying to pull himself free of the portal grasp. “It’s okay. I'm not leaving without you.” He tried to smile and Allora smiled back, tears streaming down her face. Then, she turned to Samael.

 

“Please let me go,” she sobbed. Samael narrowed his eyes at the woman and a malicious chuckle bubbled up in his throat.

 

“Try to make a deal with the Devil, are we?” he laughed. Hugh could now feel the portal licking his cheeks, soon he wouldn’t be able to see her. “Sorry love, but you're not getting out here that easily. Plus it’s a bunch of unnecessary paperwork.” Allora dropped her head in defeat and Samael turned his attention to Hugh.

 

“You gonna stay in there all day?” he asked as his face fell into a furious stare. “Or do I have you come in and get you?” The portal had now reached Hugh’s eyes, its blue and green colours leaking into his emerald orbs, slowly restricting his view. Luckily, he could still hear them.

 

“No,” Allora whispered. She lifted her head to him and pressed a warm smile against her face. “Sorry, Hugh.”

 

“What?” Hugh managed to say but the words weren’t enough. Suddenly, Allora pulled her hand from his grip and Hugh was sucked into the portal, vanishing from her view. “Allora!” Hugh screamed as he began to tumble and fall. The inside of the portal was much like its exterior. The swirling colours of blue and green. Hugh’s limbs began to become numb as they flailed in their air but he didn’t try and control them, his mind was busy remembering Allora’s face as she let go. “Allora,” Hugh whispered as he continued to fall, tears streaming from his eyes. Then, he was twisted forcefully in the air, turned to face the bottom of the portal’s swirl.

 

There lay him, strapped up in a hospital bed, one arm bandaged and heavy bruising along his head and other arm. Then, slowly, Hugh felt his eyelids become heavy and they slowly closed.

 

 

* * * * *

 

​

Gently, Hugh’s eyes fluttered open and his green eyes were greeted with the soothing white light of a hospital ward. Slowly, he rolled his head to one side to see his bandaged arm. A frown flashed across his face and he tilted his head to see the other one. Bruised but okay. Carefully, he began to wiggle and move each of his limbs, making sure nothing left on his was broken or injured.

 

“Ah, Mr Johnstone,” a voice suddenly said. Hugh’s head snapped to the approaching voice. Its source was an elderly nurse who wore a bright, wide smile on her face. One that Hugh couldn’t help but mimic. “It’s good to see you awake. We were quite worried there for a moment. How are you feeling?” Hugh opened his mouth to answer but found himself halting. His frown flashed again and he looked away from the nurse, confusion and worry suddenly overcoming him. The nurse’s smile dropped slightly and she leaned closer to him, resting a hand on his unbroken shoulder reassuringly.

 

“Mr Johnstone?” she asked again. “Are you alright?” All of a sudden, the feelings vanished and Hugh smiled, looking back at the nurse.

 

“Yeah, sorry,” he said, feeling his throat being drier than expecting. “I'm all good, thank you.” The nurse sighed with relief and nodded at him. Hugh pointed to his head with his uninjured hand. “Nothing going on up here,” he finished with a chuckle, the nurse chuckling along with him.