"SO WHAT HAPPENS WHILE WE wait for these memories to come back?" Melanie asked as she hugged her arms around herself. The Devil stood watching her, his eyes locked on her face. She was a beautiful girl, but so damn cocky. It intrigued him, but he had ignored any sort of romance a long, long time ago.

"We wait. That's just it," he said, sliding down against the wall to sit beside her. "If you think this is boring - the waiting - then think of what I have to go through. I've had to deal with thousands of souls like you, who get stuck here."

"Poor you, Satan," Melanie huffed, kicking a stone with her shoe. He smiled at her, amused that she had called him by one of his real names. It had been a long tine since someone had spoken to Louis  the way that Melanie was.

"I said to call me Louis," he said. "Or is that too normal for you?"

"Since I still don't believe you're The Devil and that you possess all these evil powers and shit, I'll call you whatever I want," Melanie said, keeping her gaze low. She knew there was something wrong with the guy, but The Devil? She didn't believe him for a second.

Louis smiled and rubbed his hands together. Melanie looked over curiously and gasped as flames started licking out around his fingers. She jumped back and looked up at him in disbelief.

"Maybe you're Jesus playing tricks on my mind?" Melanie said. Louis cringed at the holy name.

"Jesus my ass," he spat, a look of pure hatred on his face. "If I were him, you'd be in Heaven already, eating from a silver platter."

"You really don't like religion, do you?" she asked, sitting back where she had originally been. The flames began to die down as Louis stopped rubbing his hands together so roughly.

"No."

"Makes sense, since you're 'The Devil'." Sarcasm was something Melanie had been born with - her mother always told her it had been passed on from her father but Melanie had only laughed off the ridiculous theory.

"I am." Louis was serious. He was becoming agitated with her disbelief, and he only hoped she wouldn't continue with her cocky attitude.

"Then where are your horns? Aren't you supposed to have red skin and an ugly face?"

"So, I have an attractive face?" Louis teased. Melanie glared at him before she stood up and dusted her trousers off. She looked around at the foggy town and let out a sigh.

"Is this what the future might look like?" she wondered aloud.

"If you see the future being taken over by me, then yes," said Louis standing beside her. "Though, I have heard that the sun will swell to twice its size and burn the earth to a crisp."

Melanie huffed. "Is that what you think will happen?"

"Possibly. I can't tell the future. I wish I could, but I can't." Louis looked over his shoulder at Melanie's home. It was a small house, just large enough to shelter a family of six. It looked like a cozy home and he let out a sigh.

"If you could see the future ... what would you want to see?" Melanie asked, catching Louis off guard.

"What I'd want and what will most likely happen is a big jump. I want to see myself as a powerful ruler, but I know for a fact that I'll still be here."

"Aren't you the ruler of Hell?" Melanie asked, glancing over at him.

"Yes, but many more favour Heaven over Hell," Louis said before he started walking down the street. He turned to the human girl and beckoned her to follow him. "Come."

Melanie hesitated for a second before jogging up to him. If he wanted to harm her, he would have done it already and that was reassurance enough for her. As they walked through the misty landscape, the chill within Melanie deepened and she winced as the pain increased in her body. What was wrong with her?

"Louis?" she asked. He looked down at her. "Do people usually arrive here experiencing some pain?"

He nodded. "Yes. Almost always. Wherever they feel pain, is what caused them to die."

"Great," she mumbled, rubbing her head gently. "I'm looking forward to remembering how I died."

"You're so cocky," Louis commented, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"So are you. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"God."

Melanie gaped at him. He wasn't serious, was he? She brushed his comment aside and walked beside him in silence. The further they walked, the closer they approached the town square and Melanie could see her high school to the left.

"I was just about finished my final year in high school," she said. Louis listened carefully to her words. "I just got accepted into college too."

"Congratulations," Louis said. "I'm sure your parents were thrilled."

"A congratulations isn't very useful at the moment, is it?" she snapped. She still couldn't understand how she was dead. She never put herself in harm's way, so how had she ended up in The Beyond? Part of her knew that Louis wasn't lying - she just didn't want to believe him. It was too impossible.

They reached the town square and Melanie glanced over at the block of flats near the town hall. Her best friend, Rachel lived there. They had been friends since nursery, and nothing could separate them.

"What are you thinking about?" Louis asked her all of a sudden. He had stopped walking, and was standing just behind her.

"My best friend," she said quietly. "Rachel."

"Tell me about her," Louis said and Melanie smiled as she recounted all the fun times they had had together, since they were children all the way to their young adult years.

"She's the best person ever, really funny and she's always been there for me," Melanie began. "But she's so self-centred at times. She's kind of stuck up but aren't most people in their own ways?" Melanie glanced over at Louis who raised a brow.

"Why are you looking at me?" he questioned.

"No reason," Melanie said, shrugging. "But Rachel; she's got a great boyfriend called Kaleb who's really nice too, and he likes making money - he's a little bit of a gambler."

"Healthy life choice, right there," Louis said sarcastically. "Go on."

Melanie frowned as an image came to mind. She saw balloons and bright lights along with several dancing bodies. Then she remembered. "I was at her party..."

"Before you died?"

"Yes... Are my memories coming back?" she asked Louis, wide-eyed.

He shook his head. "You'll be remembering the time just before you died. How you lost your life is the part you need to remember."

"Oh." Melanie was disappointed. "I was at her eighteenth birthday party before I ... died. We all got drunk, I remember that part - how could I not remember that?" she laughed. "Then ... I can't remember anything after the party."

"You did say you were drunk," Louis stated. "Are you even old enough to drink?"

"Yes, I'm eighteen," she said, rolling her eyes. "It was my birthday last month."

"Happy late birthday."

"Cheers," Melanie said, frowning to herself. What had happened after the party? Maybe Rachel had given her a ride home and she'd slipped and hit her head on the way up to her door? Maybe she'd tried to get something to eat and fallen on a knife? "You keep telling me that I'm dead..."

"I know. Because you are," he said.

Melanie looked at him slowly. "Do you know how I died?"

Louis remained silent before nodding slowly, his bright eyes making her shudder. "I do."

"You bastard!" she shrieked. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because that's not how it works." Louis let out a sigh before continuing. "You have to remember on your own, or it could tip the balance."

"That's shit," she yelled. "Just tell me how I died."

"I can't." His face was serious, and Melanie knew she'd have to push a lot harder if she wanted to get an answer.

"I have a right to know!" she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I have a right to know how the hell I died."

"You already know, Melanie. It's in the deepest part of your mind, and you'll find out soon."

"But I want to know now," she whispered. "The sooner I remember, the sooner I can leave here."

"You'll remember in time," he said, turning his back to her. "In time ... you all remember."

"Stop all the riddle talk," demanded Melanie. "I want to remember what happened to me. If you have the power to give me my memories, why won't you?

"I've already told you!" he bellowed, his eyes wide with anger. "Do not think you can order anything from me, Melanie Cooper! If I gave you back your memories, it would cause - excuse the pun - hell! It would hurt you too, so let them resurface naturally!"

Melanie stood silently. He was scary when he was angry and she swore on her mother's life that she could see his eyes turning red.

"Naturally?" she whispered. "You think any of this is natural?!"

"For me, yes!" he spat. "Just shut up and be patient for once in your life. Oh, wait - you lost your life!"

Melanie was crying. The spite in his voice was enough to make her angry, but it was the mere fact that he didn't care about her that brought tears to her eyes. She turned and ran towards Rachel's home, leaving him behind in the street. Louis watched her, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Once inside the building, Melanie locked the door and ran up the stairs to her best friend's room. It was just like before: the small antique table next to the double bed, posters on the walls, make-up and hair accessories strewn messily across the shelves and any other clear surface. Melanie smiled at the familiarity of the room. Maybe that was as close to being alive that she would ever be again?

Melanie turned and looked at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall - she looked completely normal. Her long blonde hair lay in waves down her back and her blue eyes were wide and clear. She didn't feel dead but there was still something horribly wrong. Louis's words rang through her mind and she thought hard.

What happened to me? Why am I dead? She thought over many different possibilities that could have caused her death, but nothing rang any bells. All that she could remember was the party and the time - just after midnight.

Melanie let her eyes wander around the room. She saw the small box (that was actually pink when not in The Beyond) that her and Rachel used to keep their Barbie dolls safe as kids. They had played for hours with their hair and clothes.

Those memories made her upset. She knew that as long as she was dead, her and her friends couldn't spend time together anymore. Unless she decided to haunt them, of course.

Slowly waltzing around the room, Melanie sat down on the bed with a ragged sigh. She wiped her tears away and listened carefully. All she could hear was her own breathing. The silence was eerie, even though there was another person - if you could even call Louis a person - not too far away from her. She wondered what he was doing.

A smile came to her face when she noticed a small jar full of money on top of one of the shelves. Melanie's family were extremely well off, and she had been spoiled throughout her life. But she was never one to flaunt off her wealth. She liked doing useful things with her money. One, was helping her friends out when they were struggling.

Many times, Rachel had been upset about her family's lower income - worried that they would become poor and thrown out of their home into the streets. Melanie had gladly handed some money over to help. The great part about being friends with Rachel, was that she looked past the money, and saw Melanie for the real person she was.

Melanie's breath caught in her throat when the door slowly creaked open. How had he managed to get in? She looked over at Louis through the ajar door and let out an agitated sigh. "I don't want to see you."

"No one does, I'm used to rejection."

Melanie glared at him. Louis cleared his throat and walked into the room. He looked around and nodded to himself. "What do you want?"

"Nice room, this," he said slowly. "Not quite my style, but nice enough."

"Louis." Melanie was sick of him already. "What do you want?"

"I came to apologize for not giving you your memories back," he said. "I wish I could, because you're quite annoying and I'd be glad to get rid of you, but it doesn't work that way. If I were to restore your memories before time took its course, The Beyond could shatter and cease to exist."

"So? There's Hell and Heaven, isn't there?" Melanie asked.

Louis nodded. "But then where would the souls with unfinished business go? They can't pass on without completing their task. They'd be left floating forever, not able to rest."

"There's another place?" questioned Melanie.

"If The Beyond were to be destroyed, then there would be," Louis said, taking a seat next to her. "I'm not trying to be mean - I don't need to try to accomplish that - I just want you to realize that it wouldn't be fair to leave hundreds of people like that. Would you like to be floating around in a darkness so great that it eats away at your sanity ... forever?"

Melanie shuddered at the thought and shook her head. "I guess not."

"There's your answer." Louis stood up and held out his hand for her. "C'mon, Cooper. Let's walk."

Melanie considered his offer carefully before taking his hand and letting him pull her up.