To Hell and Back

(Conor)

Prologue:

Grayson had once brought peace and balance to everything on earth, but about a century after
his triumph the meteor came. The smouldering ball hurtled through the atmosphere so quickly no one
could have seen nor sensed it coming. The explosion radiated out with so much power it’s a wonder the
earth survived. At the time it hit, Grayson was visiting the human nation and luckily happened to be
experimenting with protective shield spells. A shield he was holding at the moment of the meteor’s
collision protected him along with a chunk of land and about only a dozen human children from the
destruction. For the next few millions of years the earth repaired itself, and Grayson made it his purpose
to rebuild what was left of the human population. Devastated from the trauma he lost his ability to control
magic, but as an elf he would live forever, for elves did not die of old age and could only be killed
physically, usually in battle. Grayson endlessly raised small groups of humans as the years went by while
the earth proceeded into its recovery. They lived off the land Grayson had been able to save and while at
times it became more difficult the generations survived one after another. Occasionally Grayson
wondered if he should just end it all for himself and leave the pain and grief life was causing him, but he
never pulled himself to do it. Eventually, once the earth had restored itself and new life began to emerge,
Grayson decided it was time to let the humans start again in their new world. He let them go from his
guidance and no longer did he monitor and control their lives. Slowly at first, but more and more steadily
as time grew on, the human population re-grew to what it once was and more. The day soon came when
they developed the land like no one ever had. Grayson, somewhat impressed by their progressed,
remained in the shadows after he let the humans out of his teachings. He instructed them to forget about
him for the world could now never know the truth of what happened, otherwise Grayson would become
the centre of attention in this new world which would do nothing but bring more utter chaos. Pretty soon
the humans came up with their own stories of how their race began and travelled through the
evolutionary process, but Grayson knew the truth. Life for Grayson became quite meaningless after the
humans rebuilt themselves in the new world. Eventually he retreated to the streets of Detroit where he
found a new purpose in his life.

“I’m going to be late for school Daddy!”

 Danielle’s squeal vibrated through Grayson’s bedroom door so sharp that his ears started to ring
like a church bell. Immediately his body seized up with guilt for he knew his daughter had been waiting
all morning and it was the third time this week he was going to make her late. Like on all the week days,
Grayson’s wife Carole had already left to go to work at the train station few hours earlier that morning, so
Grayson was the only way for Danielle to get to school; neither Grayson nor Carole trusted Danielle to
take the bus. Quickly straightening himself out Grayson shot up and ran over his dresser to shove his
clothes on. As he put on his earmuffs to cover his right elf ear, Danielle pounded on the door and called
him again.

“I’m coming!” Grayson hollered as he finished getting dressed and ran toward the now constant
bashing on the other side. When he opened the door to the hallway his daughter stood with a disapproving
look glaring at him from down below where she stood. Grayson gazed down at her sympathetically and
then suggested, “How about we go to the park after school today and you can choose what we have for
dessert tonight?” Her face began to look slightly less disgruntled at this comment and after a thoughtful
silence she finally perked up, smiled, and replied, “Ok!” Leaving the conversation at that they hurried
downstairs and outside into the car to drive to Danielle’s kindergarten class.

There was nothing Danielle cherished more in her life than getting to go to school and play
games with all her friends. There must have been about twenty in her class total and she was always the
one with the largest smile and eagerly following whatever the teacher instructed. Grayson was making her
late for the third time in a row that month, and he felt broken inside every time he did for his daughter
meant the world to him. She and Carole were all he had to hold dear to him ever since the meteor hit all
those ages ago.

The race of elves was extinct several billion years ago, and Grayson was the sole surviving
half-elf from that time period. In Detroit he found new purpose when he fell in love with a human named
Carole. Even though Grayson new she would only be a minute in his time compared to the entire life she
was giving him, he couldn’t give up the chance being with her. She enchanted him ever since he had first
encountered her. Perhaps it was because she seemed as lost in this world as he did, or maybe he was just
getting bored with life and was looking for a new chapter. Whatever the reason, Grayson knew he loved
Carole and wound up starting a family with her when they had Danielle. Danielle was still at that innocent
stage of life where everything was new and exciting. Grayson and Carole carefully watched her all the
time and almost never let her out of their sight.

When they pulled up to the school and got out of the car, everyone was already inside. As
Danielle and Grayson came into contact with the outside they immediately felt the peculiarity of the
surroundings. The air had a chill about it that felt somewhat unsettling. The courtyard was eerily quiet as
they both stood and looked around. Everything stood still as if frozen in place by the brisk autumn
morning. Not a sound came from anywhere except from their breaths creeping slowly through their
mouth, which created visible clouds of vapour as they exhaled. After a brief moment Grayson broke the
silence and reassured his daughter. “I’ll go in with you,” he said, and together the two of them scurried
along to the door of the kindergarten room where from outside they could here Ms. Goodman’s muffled
voice cutting through saying, “The horses will eat hey, and the children need to play!” It was her little
rhyme she always said when starting the class on their morning activities. Quickly the two hurried
themselves in and the mood immediately changed from what it was outside as they closed the door behind
them. Inside the room was warm and children were beginning to run about to their favourite stations as
they were starting the morning rotation of playtime. Immediately Danielle ran off to try to claim her
favourite station at which there was a mini plastic pasture landscape with toy faeries, unicorns and other
animals for her to play with. Grayson let her run off as the teacher came to greet him.

“My apologies for her being late again Ms. Goodman,” Grayson began, “but I take the entirety of
the blame for it all, if it were in her control she would be here ten minutes early every day.”

“Oh I have no problems believing that,” she replied with a broad warming smile glancing in
Danielle’s direction. Danielle was now happily riding her unicorn along the plastic pasture having a
conversation with a sheep one of her friends controlled.

Grayson stayed to chat with Ms. Goodman only for a little bit longer and then headed off to go
over to his friend Ike’s house since he promised to stop by before work today. When he stepped back
outside to return to the car the same daunting chill came over him again but he tried his best to ignore it.
He supposed maybe he just wasn’t used to the autumn weather yet. Grayson worked as a janitor at one of
the hotels, which was just a few blocks up from the Ike’s house. Working as a janitor did not pay much
nor was it that interesting a job, but it was one of the only jobs where Grayson was allowed to keep his
ear muffs on to cover his elf ear. His job also helped to keep him in the shadows of society. To get her
him and Carole made enough to pay the bills and upkeep the needs of their apartment, but they certainly
lived nothing luxurious. Grayson preferred it this way; he couldn’t pull too much attention to himself for
fear of discovery. Every hundred years or so he creates fake identity for himself that he inputs to the
archives of the human's government files so no one ever questions him. He parked in front of the hotel in
his usual space and got out to find the chill from before was no longer there. A little disturbed by this he
began to walk down the street, pacing at a moderate speed compared to everyone else shuffling on the
sidewalks as to seem as much like a normal person as any. Further down the street he turned into a quiet
neighbourhood.

(Gabbi)

The walk to Ike’s house wasn’t long. It normally wouldn’t take Grayson any longer than 20
minutes. On a nice day, it was a pleasant walk, but there was now a layer of thick clouds covering the sky.

Grayson passed the run down houses one by one, every house looking more or less like every
other one on the street. All of the houses were single floored. With dead brown grass and chipping paint
slowly flaking away from the paneled exteriors.

The clouds continued to thicken, letting even less light through to illuminate the already dreary
old neighbourhood. As the clouds got thicker, the birds began to retreat to the newly planted trees that
lined the rough, cracked sidewalk. The squirrels quickly followed along, as if expecting a storm.

Which each step Grayson took, the wind picked up. The wind that at first had just rustled the
leaves on the trees was now causing the thin trees to sway and bend, causing panic among the creatures
that chose them as shelter.

Grayson was beginning to become more conscious of the faint footsteps from behind him. At
first, he didn’t worry. It was probably just someone walking home from the grocery store. However, as he
looked around, he noticed how the blinds on every house were shut and nobody was outside with him. He
began to wonder if maybe he had missed something on the news. Meanwhile, the footsteps behind him
became heavier and faster. Eventually, whoever was following Grayson was at a full sprint.

Grayson stopped and quickly spun around to see who was he was being followed by. The man,
not breaking his sprint, slammed in to Grayson full force, taking them both down to the hard sidewalk.

Grayson offered to help the man up, and he quickly accepted. The man was out of breath and his
short blonde hair and his pale face were both covered in a layer of sweat.

“Danielle is in danger!” the man exclaimed in a hurried and panicked voice.

“What? How? Who are you?” Grayson countered, looking completely stunned at the strange man.

“I’m Hunter and that’s not important!” Hunter said, still alarmed. “Your daughter is about to be
taken from her school! You need to go save her now!”
 “What are you talking about? I just dropped her off at school myself. She is in her classroom,
completely safe,” Grayson replied, looking slightly annoyed.

“No she’s not! Lucy is going to take her to hell! You need to save her now!” and with that,
Hunter ran off.

Grayson looked in the direction the man ran off in, confused and exasperated. That man must
have been completely insane. Danielle went to the safest school in the area, there’s no way anyone would
be able to get in that school. Let alone steal a child. On top of that, there is no way a child can be taken to
hell. It’s not possible.

As Grayson continued his walk to Ike’s, he became more on edge. His eyes darted around the
neighbourhood for any sign of that clinically insane man.

“There’s no possible way,” Grayson said to himself. “It’s not possible for someone to be stolen
and taken to hell.”

Even though Grayson didn’t believe it, he was tempted to go back to the school, forgetting about
going to Ike’s. Despite that, he still continued on his way.

He arrived ten minutes later, at Ike’s small house and knocked on the wooden door.

No less than ten seconds later, Ike opened the door. “Let’s go,” he said quickly while walking out
the door and shutting it behind him.
(Johnny)

Many hours went by, the only thing they saw was hundreds of miles of deep blue ocean that
carried a thick smell of salt that stung their nostrils. There was nothing on the horizon, no matter which
way they looked. The boredom had set in for some time now; Grayson and Afamdi had fallen asleep.
David and Rann told each other about themselves and stories that they had, just to keep their mind of the
seemingly endless voyage across the sea. Since leaving America, they didn’t talk too much about their
aimed destination itself; almost as if they didn’t want to think about it. Probably because none of them
knew what they were getting themselves into. A trip into hell wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

The vividly bright yellow sun sank in the sky and turned the once white ocean clouds into a
variety of spectacular colors that filled the sky. The boat’s captain had looked up just ahead and noticed
that he was now able to see birds scattered throughout the sky. The captain had known they were getting
close to land. What kind of land and or how far away it was he did not know; so he decided it would be a
good time to wake up his passengers and let them know that they were most likely near their destination.
He slowly walked over to Grayson and Afamdi who were still fast asleep and shook each of them by the
shoulders.

“Excuse me sirs, but I think that awe are almost there, I thought it would be good to wake you up
now,” said the captain.

“Oh… um,” Grayson cleared his throat, “Thank you Captain.”

The captain turned around and went back to his position.

Both Grayson and Afamdi sat up, stretched, and stood up.

“Well, it looks like this is it. I never thought I would be doing something just like this,” said
Grayson, still tired.

“Nobody in their right mind would think such things in the first place. It’s not your fault, but we
will help you through this, or at least I will.” Afamdi replied.

“Thank you, Friend.”

The two of them made their way over to David and Rann who were standing near the front of the
boat. They all gave each other a glance yet no words were spoken. Probably because nothing needed to be
said, they all knew. The anxiety was building as ever second, foort, and breath went by. Off in the
distance there was a small green that sat just on the horizon, it was what seemed to be a small tropical
island. The island looked as if it was just peacefully floating on the dep blue ocean water. The wind
picked up, it seemed very odd to them, almost unnatural. As they sailed closer to the island they realized
that it was a lot bigger than they thought, they knew that they would have to spend some drastic time
trying to find the gateway itself.

“Here we are…” David said in an oddly calm voice.

Grayson fixed the collar on his shirt and said, “We’ll have our work cut out for ourselves, we
can’t waste any time.”
 “Of course not, we’re running out of daylight too,” said Rann.

“Oh that’s right too, it’ll be dark out. We’ll need torches of some kind.” Grayson said in reply.

“No worries, I already have that covered. I grabbed a few torch sticks before we left,” said
Afamdi proudly.

“Wow, that was some good planning,” said Grayson.

They were now really close to this isolated island that seemed quite out of place. The captain told
them to put their gear and themselves into one of the inflatable rafts that hung off the side of the ship. The
bright orange raft swayed slowly from the ocean currents. The ship cae to a gradual stop just a hundred
feet or so from the islands now moonlit sand, and lowered the raft down into the water below. They were
only given one pair of plastic oars that David and Rann used; it would be a slow process until they
reached the shore.

They finally crashed down on the shore along with the waves that helped them on their way.
Tired and panting, David and Rann were the first two off the slightly deflated orange raft. They both
decided to sit down a little bit further up and catch their breath. Grayson and Afamdi both started to
gather up their gear, they filled their arms and slowly walked their way to where the other two sat. They
both dropped the stuff into a disorganized pile at their feet.

“Again, we have no time to waste. We must be on our way now. Grab what you can,” said
Grayson.

Afamdi pulled a matchbook out of his pocket and struck a match and lit each one of the torches
one by one. Four bright and burning torches lit up the once dark perimeter around them. Grayson looked
over to Afamdi with a slightly confused face, and Afamdi made a gesture towards the left. They were off.
Their pace was slowed by the thick grainy sand that gradually filled their shoes. They decided to walk off
of the beach and onto higher ground. Tall palm trees that towered over them acted as a maze, zig zagging
and weaving. Silence, there were no other sounds about, other than themselves. The smell of the ocean
was still just as strong even as they went further inland.

“Wait… do you guys see that?” whispered Grayson.

“What?” David quietly said back.

“Up ahead. There’s a light or something. Does anyone else see it?” Grayson replied.

“Oh, I see it too.”

“Hold still, if I’m correct we should be here… that is where we must go,” whispered Afamdi
while looking at the group.

They crouched down and held their torches low. Silently they walked through the maze of trees
whose leaves glimmered from the light of the fire. They were slowly approaching an opening in the trees
that had a decent sized fire burning in the middle with a cellar door not too far behind it, yet there was no
one to be seen, neither animals nor people. When they saw the light off in the distance they all thought
someone must have been there. They casually walked up to the fire pit and glanced around. All of a
sudden a wicked yell of fury and an ear-piercing bang came from the trees above. Something whizzed
past Grayson’s head and they all dropped down to the ground. Grayson looked up right away and saw a
man drop from the trees and land on his feet, causing a cloud of dirt to rise around the man. The man
looked like what most people would call a pirate. He wore a dark brown coat with signs of obvious wear,
he had long dark dreaded hair, and a face of pure anger and misery. He had a pistol in hand and a sword
on his hip.

“What’s yer business being here, aye?” demanded the pirate.

“Uh-uhh um…” stuttered Grayson in a state of shock.

“Answer!” the man yelled.

“T-to find my d-daughter…”

“Here? On this island?”

“Well yes, the g-gateway is here,” replied Grayson as he stood up from the dirt.

“It is not fer you.”

“But I must!”

“If you want it you must duel me fer it.”

“Uhhh….”

All of a sudden the pirate pulled the sword from his side and with a mighty swing he aimed for
Grayson’s had. Grayson ducked and dodged the cold steel blade and swung his torch back in retaliation.
Embers and ash left a trail in the cold dark night. David and Rann got up quickly and retreated back to the
trees, and Afamdi made a run for the cellar door. The pirate’s sword came down once more and was
blocked by the torch. Splinters of wood exploded and fell to the firt. The fight continued and with every
block he had to back up further and further. Grayson grew tired and weary, the pirate was relentless with
his swings. Just a foot away from Grayson was now a Cliffside that dropped into shallow water and rocks.
The pirate lunged forward with his blade at full force in an attempt to finish this ordeal, but instead of
blocking his attack Grayson rolled to the side. The pirate fell forward and stumbled off the cliff side down
onto the rocks. Grayson quickly stood up and ran back to the clearing to find his friends. He saw the three
of them all trying to open the cellar door. So he ran in and gave a hand with whatever little energy he had
left.

The door lifted and the dirt rushed down the sides. This was it, the gate into hell itself. All four of
them looked at each other and nodded, all thinking the same thing. It was a long, dark, and deep staircase
that had no visual ending to it. They stepped down and began the descent into hell with smoke and heat
stinging their eyes.

With a shout, Grayson jumped back in shock as the pirate from before appeared in front of them,
looking confused yet… pleased?
“Thank ye for saving me from my curse to guard the blasted island.” The pirate told them “If ye wouldn’t
mind, I would like to follow yer group and help you all however I can.”

“Uhh… ok.” Grayson mumbled, stepping past the pirate “What’s your name?”

“Fineglin Sidstrong.” He replied with a mocking bow “At yer service.”

The group continued down the dark hall, shivering as a gust of wind blew their torches away.
Pushing open two heavy doors, they saw what could only be described as a torture chamber.

(Kim)

Walking into the torture chamber, the group was overcome with horror as the terrorized; agony-
filled screams of hells many prisoners reached their ears. Rusty metal chains hung from the ceiling,
ragged, sharp objects littering the floor. Cages of all sizes were scattered around the ice-cold, dimly lit
area; almost every single cage empty. Except for one that held a young woman no older than twenty-five
that stared up at them with emotionless silver eyes. Grayson froze in shock when her gaze caught his,
flickers of old memories pouring into his mind like a dream. Slowly, warily, the lone prisoner stood up on
shaky legs. Long dark hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Old, worn robes clung to her stained
with dried blood and chains inscribed with magical looking runes bound her hands together.

“What are you doing here Gray?” She laughed, “I figured they’d send you to heaven, considering
how much of goody-two shoes you were. What’d you do?” David glanced between the two of them, only
a little bit confused.

“So… friend of yours?” the British man asked, flicking his blonde hair out of his face. Eyeing the
woman carefully, Grayson slowly nodded.

“She’s a friend.” The half-elf confirmed, feeling a bit uneasy “We need to get her out of there.”
He decided while looking around for something they could use to pry the cage open. Afamdi agreed,
instantly joining the man on his search.

The woman ignored him, scanning the rest of the group with interest “What the hell are all of you
wearing?” She asked “I’m Sabrina by the way, since Grayson’s being too much of a hero to introduce us
before he’s broken me out.”

Rann crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at Sabrina “Excuse me? We’re wearing normal
clothes. Are you some sort of dead cosplayer or something?”

Tilting her head to the side, the caged woman matched Rann’s expression “Excuse me?” Sabrina
paused, moving her gaze to Grayson and whispering loudly, “What’s a cosplayer?”

Investigating the appalling room to find a way to open the cage, Grayson replied to his friend; not
even stopping to look up at her “It’s not important.”

“Ooh,” Sabrina jeered “So mysterious.”

 Fineglin snickered, “I like her.” He stated, joining Grayson on his search. As they did that, David
and Rann continued to stand in front of the cage; chatting with Sabrina.

“So… How do you know Grayson?” David questioned, curious.

Disinterested, Sabrina replied “We used to run around killing ogres and other such things. The
ogres were the most fun though; they were a lot harder to freeze though.”

“Ogres?” David said, astonished, “You fought ogres?!”

“Yeah he doesn’t look the sort does he?” Sabrina laughed, “To be fair, I had to save his half-elven
ass a lot.”

“I didn’t know you used to be into LARPing, Grayson.” Rann voiced in a mocking tone, Grayson
rubbing his temples.

“She’s not a LARPer, or a cosplayer.” Grayson muttered “She’s a mage from hundreds of years
ago.”

Rann snorted in disbelief “I didn’t know you also had problems with drugs.”

Shocked, Sabrina gripped the bars of the cage. “Wait, you’re not dead? You’re all alive?” the
mage asked, curiosity and excitement dancing in her silver eyes.

Nodding, Afamdi turned to eye the mage. “Minus the pirate, we are all of the living.” The monk
told her calmly, obviously more open minded than some of the members of their group “What kind of
magic can you perform?”

Giddy like a little kid, David joined in “Yeah, what kind of magic?”

“I can’t believe you’re feeding her insanity.” Rann sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.
Grayson glared up at the businessman, picking up a bloody crowbar from the ground and heading back to
the cage.

“We’ve met a cursed pirate and journeyed into hell, yet you can’t believe that we have a mage
and a half-elf in our midst?” Afamdi asked, not even bothering to glance at the non-believer.

Sabrina shrugged at the suited man, “When he puts it like that it’s hard not to believe it.” She
stated, directing her attention to Grayson “Ok Gray, you’d better tell me what the future’s like. How’re
the relations between the half-elves and the rest of the world now?”

A wave of uneasiness passed through the group as Grayson forced the cage door open. Obviously
the world had changed a lot, if there was no such thing as magic. It was difficult to determine how the
woman would react. “We’ll talk about it later.” He told the mage, expressionless. Gesturing towards the
bindings on her hands, Sabrina raised her arms silently as the half-elf whacked them off with the crowbar.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Sabrina raised a hand and giggled when frost seeped from her fingers at will.
The action manufactured flabbergasted gasps from all but Grayson and Fineglin. Closing her eyes,
pleased, Sabrina smiled. She hadn’t felt this good, this free, in a very long time.
 “Are you all right?” Grayson asked her, placing a comforting hand on his old friend’s shoulder. It
was just like old times, the two of them thought to themselves, if they ignored the four other people
around them.

“Much better now, thanks.” Sabrina replied, full of cheer “So, now that I’m free… Details!”

“Perhaps it would be best if we walked and talked.” Afamdi suggested, raising a hand in the
direction of the exit.

“I agree.” Grayson nodded, walking ahead of the group. Sabrina matched his pace, mind already
filled with things she wanted to say.

“Have jokes gotten any better over the years? Do you know any more that I could add to my
repertoire? How’s life treating you? Why are you in hell? How’d you meet all these guys?”

“She talks a lot.” David noted, Rann and Fineglin nodding their agreement.

Afamdi chuckled “She’s spent many years trapped in a cage. I think we can forgive her
talkativeness.”

“The jokes are relatively the same,” Grayson replied to his friend, answering her questions as
quickly as he could, “Yes I know a few. Life is treating me fairly. I’m in hell because, Danielle, my
daughter-“

“Hold up! You have a daughter? What’s she like?”

Grayson went silent, and Sabrina flinched.

“Sorry, sensitive topic?”

“We’re looking for her now.” Afamdi cut in “She was captured by-“

“Lucy.” Sabrina stopped in her steps, crossing her arms “Yeah. I think… I think I saw her. They
passed through my chamber.” A soft smile brushed across her face “She seemed very nice. I can’t believe
I didn’t recognize those eyes…”

“Is she all right?” Grayson asked, gripping Sabrina’s arms like a vice.

“When I saw her, she was fine.” Sabrina told the half-elf seriously, “But if you’re going after
Lucy, we’re going to need a plan. She’s the devil’s kid.” At her words, Grayson released her and sighed.

“How well do you know the layout here?” Rann asked the mage, who crossed her arms and
looked up in thought.

“Not very well, honestly. I spent… I don’t even know how long in that cage… But I know that
Lucy has a room, blocked by big doors. I passed it once, when I first came to hell. It’ll be hard to get to,
but now that I have my magic again…” Sabrina paused, “Really, we should be ready for anything.”

“What do you know about Lucy?” Grayson questioned, Sabrina shrugging her shoulders.
 “Not much. I’ve seen her bring children into hell, but you obviously know about that already. But
I also know that because she’s Satan’s daughter she can’t be killed.”

Afamdi pursed his lips “There has to be a way to keep her from leaving again to steal other
children.”

Sabrina nodded “Simple. Seal the entrance. If she doesn’t have a way out of hell, then she can’t
take more kids. The only problem is keeping her from following you when you leave.”

“So I guess the best plan we have is to get my daughter, run, and seal the exit.” Grayson stated,
uncertain “It’s not the best plan.”

“It’s barely a plan!” David exclaimed, shaking his head.

“We’re going to get ourselves killed.” Rann hissed, Sabrina glaring at the two men.

“It’s better than nothing. Now… Let’s go.” Sabrina grumbled, keeping pace with Grayson.

At the exit of the torture chamber, a wooden staff leaned against the wall. Thinking for a moment,
Sabrina grasped it in her hands and nodded at the men. With a weapon now in her hands, as simple as it
was, she felt much more comfortable than before. Walking cautiously out of the chamber, the group was
hit by the flames of hell; Sabrina carefully using some of her ice magic to protect them. Stone pillars
stood tall on either side of the bridge they were now on, rivers of fire burning behind them. At the end of
the bridge the group could see another set of heavy doors that led to another room. Demons flew above
them, not yet noticing the group as they walked.

“We need to be careful.” Grayson muttered, “Why haven’t they spotted us yet?”

“Most people are running around down here like they’re lives depend on it.” Sabrina replied
easily “We’re moving slowly, so they aren’t taking notice of us.”

Reaching the other side of the bridge, the group pushed the heavy doors open and stepped into a
new room; this one a small hallway with numerous doors. Bookshelves lined the walls, stacked with
various pieces of literature. It almost looked like some sort of library, or an office.

Staring at each other for a moment, David and Rann moved away from the rest of the group.

“I think it’s about time we started looking out for ourselves.” Rann mumbled, eyeing the others
darkly as they discussed where to go from there. David agreed, not missing a beat.

“These doors lead to places all over hell,” Sabrina explained, “The problem is picking the right
one.”

Fineglin rubbed his chin “Should we go through every door?”

Afamdi shook his head “That would be a waste of time. There has to be a way to determine which
door leads where.”
 David and Rann returned to the group, expressions straight “If we want to find Lucy and
Danielle, it would be faster to split up and search through each door.” David stated, Rann obviously on
his side. Unsure, Grayson slowly nodded.

“That does seem to be the best plan.”

Sabrina’s jaw dropped “That’s too dangerous-“

“David and I will stay together,” Rann cut the mage off “We will meet back here if we find
anything.”

Not staying a moment longer the two of them walked away and entered a door at random and
closing it behind them. Sabrina face palmed, Afamdi sighing, and Fineglin shaking his head.

“I think the rest of us should stick together so as to actually be able to find each other later.”
Sabrina grumbled, shooting Grayson a glare. The half-elf looked away awkwardly.

“Two teams is manageable.” He argued weakly, Afamdi placing a hand on his shoulder and
staring down at him wisely.

“It is safer if a group sticks together, rather than apart.”

“Should we go after them?” Fineglin asked, already approaching the door that the two men went
through. The remaining members of the group agreed, Fineglin turning the knob only to be greeted by a
wall of stone.

Shocked, Sabrina, Fineglin, Grayson, and Afamdi’s jaws dropped. The silence grew heavy,
Sabrina being the one to break it.

“So, I guess the rest of us should stick together huh?”

Elsewhere, David and Rann walked together carefully. The area they were in now looked to be
like some sort of playground, surrounded by flame. A lone girl sat on a swing, smiling at the men as they
approached.

“Hello,” she greeted pleasantly, Rann and David glancing at each other.

“You’re Lucy, aren’t you?” David replied awkwardly “Where’s Danielle?”

Lucy frowned, “She’s fine. But you two seem to be separated from your friends. How’s about we
make a deal?”

Suspicious, Rann crossed his arms “What do you mean?”

“My father is Satan. I can get him to do much. What is it that you want?”

David spoke up almost instantly “Money.”

Taking some thought, Rann responded carefully “I want to become more powerful in the business
world back on Earth. Business deals, monopolies… But what is it that you want?”
 Smiling once more, Lucy replied “Information, for a start. And your agreement to help me
whenever I need it.”

“Deal.” Rann instantly replied, uncaring for the others that they had left. David, however, was
more uncertain in his response.

“Deal.”

Back with the main group, Afamdi focused on each of the doors, deep in thought. Sabrina,
Fineglin, and Grayson talking with each other while Afamdi attempted to figure out the doors. Finally,
frustrated, Sabrina stormed towards a door and pulled it open; closing it hurriedly.

“What are you doing?” Afamdi asked her, calm and collected.

“Wasting time.” She replied, “Look, have you figured out how the doors work?”

“What did you see when you opened the door?” the monk asked the mage simply, Sabrina
rubbing her arm and looking away.

“The torture chamber.” She told him, Afamdi moving to the same door and opening it. Now,
instead of the torture chamber, the exit to hell could be seen.

“The doors lead us where we are supposed to go. It is quite possible that David and Rann saw the
exit too and left. You are already dead, and you belonged in the torture chamber, so that is what you
saw.”

“So than, wouldn’t all the doors you and Grayson open lead to the exit?”

Afamdi shook his head “Not necessarily, Grayson, try opening a door.”

Walking towards them, Grayson turned the knob and opened the door to be greeted by an empty
hall; another set of huge doors at the end of it “It’s different.”

“It’s where we need to go.” Afamdi stated, wise “Because he needs to save his daughter, the door
he opens leads to his daughter.”

“Ok, that’s kind of amazing.” Sabrina muttered, stepping through the doorway first. Fineglin
followed after her, and finally Afamdi and Grayson entered the hall.

“How did you know?” Grayson asked, Afamdi chuckling.

“A monk never reveals his secrets.”

Walking towards the huge set of doors, the group was filled with apprehension and excitement.
Hopefully, this would lead them to Danielle and Lucy; and hopefully, they would be able to save
Grayson’s daughter.

(Gabbi)
The huge doors opened in front of the group to reveal what looked like a little girl's room. Seemed
strange, considering they were in hell.

“Damn why didn't I get a room this nice,” Sabrina joked, trying to lighten to mood.

A quiet humming pierced the awkward silence that followed Sabrina's comment. It sounded like a
little girl. Grayson stepped forward carefully, peering around the door. Danielle sat in a chair, a rope tied
around her arms. A little girl was brushing her hair while humming to her. Grayson continued forward a
little more, footfalls full of caution.

“...Lucy?” He ventured.

The little girl turned to face him, still clutching some of Danielle's hair.

“You're not meant to be in here,” She said simply, and returned to brushing Danielle's hair.

“I've come for my daughter,” He spoke carefully, “It's time for her to go home now.”

Lucy sighed and shook her head. “You're not supposed to be here.” She repeated, her voice very
matter of fact.

The group held their ground. After several seconds Lucy placed the brush on her vanity and
turned to the group. “You need to leave now.”

Sabrina knelt down, patting her on the head, “Sabrina...” Afamdi warned, but was cut short with a
wave of the mage's hand

“Sure we'll leave,” Sabrina cooed, “But we need to take Danielle with us.”

Lucy balled her fists up, anger spreading across her face.

“LEAVE,” She screamed, voice so high and shrill it could break glass.

“Little girl-” Afamdi started, but was cut off when Lucy threw him aside with a wave of her arm.
His body hit the wall with a loud thud, falling to the floor in a heap.

“Afamdi!” Grayson cried, attempting to run to his mentor's aid.

“NO!” Lucy shrieked, “Danielle is here to play with me! We are best friends, do not take her
away from me!”

Lucy held a hand up in front of her, beckoning the hellfire into her tiny palm. She wound up, and
hurled a fireball straight at Grayson stomach, knocking him over and lighting his shirt on fire. Fineglin
drew his sword, dropping instantly his vow to never hurt a child. He supposed this was sort of an
exception. He swung the sword at Lucy, only to have the metal melted in half by a wave of heat Lucy cast
out from her hand. Promptly after that Fineglin was lifted into the air, and left suspended there to endure
Lucy's torture or fire and heat.

“Okay Satan spawn,” Sabrina stepped towards her, grasping her staff and slamming the end of it
into the floor, “It's time to be extinguished.”

I thin sheet of ice spread out in all directions from the staff, momentarily stunning Lucy. She
hadn't expected any of them to have magic. But the pause was short-lived, and before Sabrina could even
turn and look at her disheveled and fallen friends. Lucy spun around, and fire rained down from the
ceiling like snow, melting the ice.

Sabrina quickly retaliated, encasing her friends in force fields of some kind, then resuming the
fight with Lucy. The mage kept Lucy busy enough in battle that she didn't notice Fineglin gesturing at
Grayson from his suspension. He pulled out a small dagger that had been hidden under his cloak and
tossed it to Grayson.

It took him several seconds to pull himself into the present, then, shaking himself into combat
mode, he nodded to the pirate and took the dagger from him. Quietly, he crept around until he was behind
Lucy. Sabrina gave him a small nod to communicate that she would continue to keep Lucy occupied.

Grayson stepped closer towards Lucifer's daughter, raising an arm and preparing himself to stab a
little girl. He took a quiet, deep breathe, and readied himself. The next thing Grayson was aware of was
his body hitting the wall for a second time.

“Why are you trying to take away my friend!?” Lucy screamed and turned to face Danielle. “I'm
sorry Dani, but your father's being a big meanie, so I have to teach him a lesson.”

Lucy raised her hands while her eyes glazed over. After several long seconds she gestured them
forward, shooting a wave of fire at Danielle, knocking her off her feet. The smoke cleared to reveal her
body in a slump on the floor.

Time stopped for Grayson, and all sounds around him ceased to exist. He was stunned, slumped
down against the wall in much the same way his daughter was. After what seemed like hours, he finally
heard something; a quiet movement beside him. He turned his head in the direction of the noise,
everything happening in slow motion.

He'd landed right next to Afamdi, who was pulling himself towards the half-elf. Grayson felt
something on his shoulder.
 “Grayson,” Afamdi's voice was hoarse, “You need to defeat Lucy.”

“But Danielle...” Grayson's voice was barely a whisper.

“I know son. But think of all the other children she'll take if she's allowed to continue.”

“But how do I even....”

“Focus. Focus your anger and your grief inside yourself. And once you've done that, get rid of it.
Destroy the negativity that you are feeling. And then focus on everything that's left; the happiness, the
enjoyment, and most importantly, the peace. Focus on the peace inside of yourself. Let it consume you.
And once you've done that, your battle will be easily won.”

Grayson shook his head, looking back again at the lifeless body of his daughter.

“I can't...”

Afamdi gripped his shoulders tighter, “You must.”

Grayson continued to protest weakly, but Afamdi did not let up. Grayson let out a sigh, and sat
up, closing his eyes, willing himself to expel all the negativity inside of him. He felt a fireball hit his
chest, and in the distance he could hear Lucy screaming at him. Focusing harder he felt himself getting
lighter, almost as if he were rising up into the air. Blinking his eyes open he discovered that to be true.

His whole body was tingling when suddenly he felt something radiating out of his body. The
entire room went white, blinding everyone. A high-pitched ringing filled the ears of everyone in the room,
and underneath it a slightly lower screaming coming from Lucy.

Minutes later it stopped, and it took several more minutes for everyone to readjust to the normal
light in the room. In the middle of it Lucy lay in a heap much like Danielle. She was finally defeated.

Grayson shot up, nearly tripping over his own feet and raced over to Danielle. Holding his breath
he rolled her onto his back and searched for any signs of life.

“She has a pulse!” He shouted to no one in particular.

The other raced to join him by Danielle's side.

“We have to get her to a hospital,” Sabrina noted.

 Grayson nodded seriously, scooping his daughter up into her arms and walking quickly towards
the door, everyone else following closely behind him.

(Jaskirat)

Now that they finally got Grayson's daughter, all of them started finding out the way to get out
from the hell. Whichever way they decided to go looked the same, which created confusion for them.
Their faces were getting pale and the atmosphere was getting suffocating for them. But still they had the
satisfaction in their minds that they had found Grayson’s daughter. They were running and the only thing
that was in sight was the doors which looked the same, afamdi opened the door and just a blank wall
faced them. Finally the last door they opened which lead them to a narrow escape which they entered and
started walking. The kept walking and walking. After a while they realized that someone was behind
them. Turned around and saw a girl dressed in red and a teddy in hand. Ignoring her, they started walking
again. Gradually they realized that girl was chasing them. Suddenly they started running even more faster
which caused restlessness to them. Hurriedly, all of them stepped on to a stair, which led them out of the
hell. As soon as they came out they were feeling relieved and safe. Next, all of them met Rann and
David . For few minutes David mind got stuck, deeply thinking about what he should do further, to break
the deal with lucy and save everyone or not. He himself kind of started arguing, "what i am doing ?" "I
should save everyone." These kinds of thought made him think twice. Short scrimmage ended in his mind
and he finally decided to break the deal with lucy and will try to help everyone.

(Jared)

They ran. Sprinting, though out of breath, while the hounds of hell pursued them through the
realm of the dead, the rag-tag party crawled like hunted animals through the maze of tunnels. The
bleached white bones, littering the ground in all directions, crunched under the desperate footsteps of the
fleeing band of misfits. Mere seconds later, the bones turned to dust under the combined weight of the
unholy horde’s onslaught. The beasts’ eyes, blood red with unmerciful hunger, tracked the unwelcome
living beings, who had committed a crime against their master in their land, and prepared to carry out the
draconian sentence as judge, jury and executioner. Their large, hand-like claws scrapped against the rocks
as they bolted forward, climbing over the various tools employed by the other sadistic creatures under
their master’s control, whose sole purposes were to punish those that sinned during their time on earth.
The yellow, jagged razorblades lining the snarling mouths prepped to act in swift vengeance as the
children of the lord of the flies closed in for the kill. The fastest of the pack surpassed his litter mates, the
reddish black fur signifying his superiority, increasing the distance between his brethren and quickly
narrowing the gap between the escaping mortals. A twisted smile formed on his disfigured snout, drool
poured in anticipation as he already tasted his kill. He charged with a single minded obsession for the
taste of blood upon his forked tongue and scanned over the potential trophies, and locked onto the target
of his choice.

Sabrina glanced back in horror as the beast chose her to pursue. In the midst of her fear, she
stumbled down the wrong tunnel, separating herself from Grayson’s party as the hell beast corralled her
further from her only chance of salvation. She tripped over the shin of a long rotted corpse, and fell hard
to the ground, unable to get up. Frozen in fear, her eyes remained on her assailant, who slowed his pace
down to savor every sweet second of the trepidation in the air so thick he could taste it, trading his growl
for a quiet bout of laughter but alas he grew impatient of the tempting smell and wanted substance. His
hind legs left the ground as his foremost limbs lead, claws ready to steal her life. The thunderous roar of
Finnegan’s flintlock pistol interrupted his flight; its long dormant ammunition killed the beast in a single
shot, and propelled it across the cavern, depositing it with the skeletons of many of its victims. Finnegan
extended his hand, lifting her back onto her feet, and carried her until her shock wore off. At that point
they ran in the direction of the remainder of the party, the whereabouts of Rann and David still unknown
but the worst was presumed.

Upon spotting Finnegan, with Sabrina in tow, Afamdi motioned for the band to follow him
through a narrow corridor of rock, its entrance adorned with skulls. As they shimmied further into it, the
horde ran right by, not even glimpsing down the fissure in the stone wall. Danielle clung onto her father,
coming back to consciousness with a yawn. Afamdi looked back and shushed her with a gentle finger
pressed onto her lips. Within a minute, they reached the end of the crevice and crawled out into a
passageway. Afamdi silently relinquished command back to Grayson, who immediately took off in the
direction of the faint smell of sea water, and beckoned for everyone to quicken their pace. After finding
their way back to the torture chamber, breathing heavily, with drops of pure fear running down their
faces, as they took sanctuary in this room of suffering; the epitome of purgatory. The stench of death and
pain bit at the noses of those who had not witnessed atrocities similar to the ones this room provided
retribution for. The wind ran through the schisms in the wall and cried with agony, echoing the tortured
screams of this room’s past occupants. Sabrina, being the most accustomed to this place and the only one
who experienced its horrors first hand and triumphed, spoke first, breaking the veil of silence.

“That’s more than enough exercise for me today” she whispered jokingly, just loud enough so the
others could hear. Her attempt to raise moral falling on deaf ears, as the pirate fumbled with his pistol,
pouring gunpowder back in, then cocked and primed it, then finally replaced the flint on the gun’s
hammer. He struck a match and lit just the tip of the flint to warm it for the next time he called upon it,
while he recited prayers of sea farers from a long gone era. Grayson consulted with Afamdi, and asked his
mentor about his new found powers, a gift which all but abandoned his kind.

“I don’t understand why now of all times when there has been many other times I have had dire
need for it, in some instances I was a breath away from taking deaths hand to this very place”

Afamdi closed his eyes and exhaled a large breath with a smile of content and purpose forming,
as if he had spent his life waiting to pass on this piece of knowledge.

“A man, who sees his impending fate, resigns himself to that doom which he believes is chosen
for him. To die an honourable death has been the key stone of many an ancient civilization, just as
important as the creation of life itself. This cycle of life and death is as ancient as the heavens above us
and the realm below our feet. The man, trades his will to live for an instance of strength to be
immortalized among his people as a martyr, just as humans do, just as the many past empires, and just as
your ancestors did, sacrificing themselves to pass their legacy onto you to safeguard. When one glimpses
their destiny, they cower from it, hiding waiting for it to pass like a bad dream. When they embrace their
destiny, however, they understand that it is both a burden and gift, just like life itself. The reason you
have survived the ordeals is that there is much more for you, far beyond escaping the supposed land of no
return. You will have a decision to make, though the choices will not be so clear”.

Before Grayson could truly heed his words of wisdom, the torches that lit the torture chamber
extinguished all at once, a thick red glow replaced it. An immediate regrouping of the party resulted, and
they formed a protective circle around Danielle, petrified of this unknown world of misery. Three figures
emerged from the now open door, quickly identified as Rann and Waters, who both had hand guns drawn
and sheepishly approached the party. Accompanying them was the third daughter of Lucifer; her red eyes
gleamed with hate as they scanned over those stealing her play thing and killing her hell spawn siblings.

As David read the faces of his former comrades, he answered before they could muster up the
strength to ask the inevitable question.

“It’s for something much bigger than all of us; our simple lives are just pawns in the grandiose
war of attrition between Heaven and Hell. We chose our sides while we live; our greed or our generosity
deciding our fate, but is there any difference, the dead do not sin, the dead do not steal, kill or maim, but
we have all already died, we just have not let go of life yet”. He shuffled uneasily as the petrified band
stared in horror, Afamdi’s betrayed eyes full of sadness as he called upon all his willpower to forgive
these two, tempted by the allures of mortality, for their transgression. Finnegan, all too familiar with
betrayal, happened to be the one to respond before anyone else could.

“You are doing nothing more than selling souls for blood money, but I guess that’s the nature of
the beast in your world” he spat angrily; the hate drooled from his jaws as he could not contain his rage.
“Sure I’ve killed men in my time and was bound to do so by my curse, but it was never to fulfill contracts
with demons”. Rann interjected, his face glowed with the vision of untold riches.

“I’m touched by this story of the little pirate who could, may I just remind you of one small detail
you forgot to add, you are the guardian of hell, your death is the passage way to this realm. The only
occupation as evil as that is filled by the fallen angel himself” he laughed. David started to feel
disconnected from reality as a blinding white light engulfed his mind. He remembered the crucifix he
wore around his neck and thumbed it, feeling the warm gold, forgetting that he didn’t even own a
crucifix. His epiphany become vocal, silencing Rann’s jesting as all attention diverted to him.

“Judas cried for he had brought about the death of Christ, and yet he still forgave him, yet if the
betrayal never happened, sin would have taken the purest of hearts by now”. Demons and mortals alike
stared upon him, awaiting the next unpredictable action. “O lord, forgive me for the sins I have
committed, and for those which I am about too”. He raised his Magnum with the barrel pointed at Rann,
who was now possessed by his greed, and shot, which left Rann doubling over in pain, then ultimately led
to his crash on the hard ground. David then proceeded to rip off his crucifix necklace and tossed it at
Lucy, whose true demonic form now showed. She screamed in agony and fled the room. In the midst of
the chaos, Grayson led the party up the sinkhole back to Earth, though he grabbed David’s shoulder on
the way up, which signified the forgiveness David sought for in the last minute of battle between Holy
and demonic. After everyone had climbed out, including the now free Sabrina and Finnegan, Grayson
realized the wisdom in Afamdi’s words; he now had to sacrifice his powers, his birthright, to seal the
portal to hell. His eyes shimmered with intense light; his veins now flowed with the power of his people,
as he focused all his power on sealing the gates of hell forever. The hounds of Hell attempted to climb
into the mortal world but Finnegan kept them at bay with his sabre, now drenched in blood. In one
successful force of will, Grayson destroyed the portal, and left only the rocky cavern like it had been
untouched. Without any words spoken, the companions headed for the boat to conclude the quest, which
had brought them into the depths of hell and back out of the supposed land of no return.