I Have Friends In Both Places
Six

Atlas stared around the room in amazement. It seemed like the entirety of Hell would be beautiful, people and all. “Is this what all the rooms look like,” Atlas questioned as he stood in the middle, spinning around a bit to take it all in.

Lele laughed a bit at that and nodded. “Yes. Most of the rooms are like this. If you think this is good, though, you should see Alijah’s. His is insane.”

“I don’t think I could handle it. This is already too pretty. Are you sure this is my room?” Atlas pressed his hands on the bed before jumping on; it immediately launched him up a few inches from how springy it was. The bed was bigger than a king-size, and Atlas had never seen a bed that big. “And why would I need a bed this big?”

“This is your room, and I’m not sure. Maybe to have crazy sex.”

Atlas gasped at that comment and sat up in the bed, looking at Lele with wide eyes. “What are you talking about?”

Lele paused and looked at Atlas perplexed. “What? Never had sex?”

“No!” Atlas’s voice rose a few pitches, screeching the words out. “That doesn’t happen in Heaven! And we don’t have rooms like this either! Everything there is so bland and plain. I was kind of sick of it. I used to always go down to Earth because everything so simple up there made me want to punch something which is not nice.” Atlas laid back down on the bed and turned his head to see Lele trying to stifle his laughs. “What’s so funny?

“You look like a child on that bed.” Lele’s voice was light-hearted and happy, and it made Atlas smile a bit.

Atlas rolled over onto his side and propped his head upon his arm. “Hell is really different, but it’s kind of a good different, and I hate saying that because I’m going against everything I’ve grown to know.”

Lele shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the wall nearest him. “I’ve never really seen Heaven, so I guess I have a biased opinion, but from what you’ve said, it sounds like it sucks balls.” Atlas huffed and fell back onto the bed, laying like a starfish only to groan at the position as a shot of pain ran through his wings. “And the nurses should be here soon.”

Atlas nodded and sat back up, groaning slightly as he questioned why he couldn’t sit still for two seconds. He blamed his nerves and the small amount of anxiety he had for the room around him. It was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. “Hey, Lele?”

Lele hummed in questioning and turned his head toward the boy. “Yeah?”

“Why don’t you have horns like the others?” Atlas was hesitant to ask the question, afraid that he might upset the boy.

Lele laughed at the question and grinned. “Because I’m not just demon. My mother was a demon while my father was an incubus who had a one-night stand that led to me. They’re both pretty cool, to be honest.”

Atlas nodded at the new information. “What do the different sizes of horns mean, then.”

“The bigger the horns, the higher the rank. That’s why Nolan’s were so big. He’s the head guard, and so, he has bigger ones. Alijah has the largest, obviously. It’s just how it works. When you go up a rank, they grow, and it’s a painful process, but you have to do it if you want to be better. You have to suffer for success, y’know.” Lele nodded to himself and thought for a second before continuing. “When Alijah fell, horns grew after a few days, and no one really knows why they did or why we get them, but they do distinguish us from the angels. If you’re down in Hell long enough and you establish a rank for yourself, you’ll grow them as well. It’s crazy.”

Atlas took in the new information easily and grinned happily. “Well, that sounds painful but cool. It’s kind of like with angels. The bigger your wings are, the more powerful you are, but the head angels hide theirs because they say their titles say all, and they shouldn’t have to flaunt them. People say their wings are so big that they’ll cover the entire room. If they’re shown.”

“That’s pretty big,” Lele responded.

Atlas nodded and perked up a bit as a knock sounded on the door. Lele opened it quickly and let the people inside, three boys and a girl. The girl stepped in confidently, and Atlas’s eyes were immediately drawn to her medium-length gray horns. The boys behind her had smaller ones. They were all dressed in pure white clothing, and Atlas thought about how they were the only ones wearing white that he had seen around.

The girl spoke first, pushing blonde hair out of her slim face. “Hello. I’m doctor Jeni, and I’ll be assisting you today. These are my nurses: Caleb, Gregory, and Brett.” She pointed to each boy as she said their name before placing a large medical bag down on the bed. “We’re going to be assessing and patching up your injuries, so just relax and ignore us.”

And that’s what Atlas did. For about two hours, Atlas moved to various positions on the bed as they instructed him to while grumbling lightly as they poked and prodded at his injuries. They placed a cast around his wings, bandaged his burns and bruises, and cleaned him bit by bit. By the end of the two hours, Atlas was exhausted, sore, and ready to just fall asleep.

Doctor Jeni smiled at him when she was done and patted his shoulder with a reassuring grin. “You’re gonna be okay, Atlas. You’ll have a cast for only a week or two depending on how fast you heal. It’s there to make sure the bone fixes properly. Make sure to eat and drink properly, and I won’t have to see you again for a little bit.”

Atlas grinned and thanked her and the nurses before sitting up. “Can I go to sleep now, Lele.”

Lele nodded and smiled a bit. “Yeah, Axel. You can sleep.”

With that, Lele left the room, and Atlas spent his first night in Hell, sleeping better than he had in a long time.

Atlas was awoken the next day by a loud knock on the door. The boy crawled out of the gigantic bed he was settled in and stumbled his way to the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He opened the door slowly and smiled a bit when he saw Alijah Hood outside of his door.

“Good morning, Atlas. Will you be joining us for breakfast this morning?”

The question surprised Atlas, to say the least. Why would the king of hell stand in front of his door and ask Atlas to join him? He might have expected Lele, but Alijah? Alijah was a complete surprise.

Atlas nodded quickly, not wanting to keep him waiting. “Yes, just give me a moment to get ready.”

Alijah nodded at the response and hummed a bit. “I’ll send Lele to lead you to the dining room, then, considering you’ve most likely forgotten.”

Atlas thanked him quietly before shutting the door, his mind immediately running with the thought that Alijah had smiled at him, a bright toothy grin, as Atlas shut the door. Atlas’s heart was pumping hard, and he thought it might just fall out of his chest if it kept at that rate.

After taking a second to calm down, Atlas flew from the door to his closet which was filled with clothing they figured would fit the boy. After looking through the various items, Atlas decided that he would not be able to put on a shirt due to his wings’ condition. Normally he would be able to fold them up by his back and pull a shirt over them or cut parts of his shirts so they could go through them, but he didn’t want to ruin the clothes he had just gotten, and the doctor said not to touch them.

So, Atlas pulled on a pair of black slacks with a belt to keep them up, shiny black shoes, and made sure the bandages on his stomach were sitting the correct way. He ran his fingers through his hair wildly to style it and let out a sigh as he was finished.

Lele knocked on the door right on time, and Atlas was quickly led out with a questioning glance as to where his shirt was. After a short explanation, Lele nodded and pulled him along to the dining room from before where he was about to have one of the most important conversations of his life.

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