"Next elevator up and we're clear," I said to Blake, once I had made sure Kell was out of sight. "We might as well walk to Pride though at this point. It's probably just ten minutes up from here."

"There's a chance something ridiculous could happen during that period of time that would drive us off our path."

"Sure, but Pride's pretty cool."

"Are you planning something? Can you save it until I'm gone? Really, if you have business to attend to, go ahead, just give me instructions and send me on my way."

"You need me to get through security."

"Yeah, like you so expertly managed to do back there," Blake said, "Sorry, that was rude. I know you're trying."

"Fine. We'll be lazy about this. Have to pass through Pride either ways."

Lust was actually more annexed off of the main hall than some of the other floors, contained behind a single uninteresting door farther down the hall. This close to the city the inter-level passage was delightfully complete, with working, non-florescent lights and a decisively square shape. Every two hundred feet or so, however, was still an ugly grey maintenance hatch.

A few tiring loops up from the security checkpoint was the next stop on the elevator line, which we got onto.

"What is Pride anyway? I've heard it mentioned a lot."

"Where everyone lives and most people work. It's a huge city."

"So that leaves..." Blake was counting on his fingers. "Sloth above that, right?"

"No, there isn't a Sloth."

"Sort of design flaw then, isn't it? Having a theme and not sticking to it?"

"There used to be."

"You know, I do love having things explained to me. It's really one of my favorite things, especially when I'm hearing about all these things."

"You're leaving by the end of today anyway, so do you really need to know?"

He shrugged. "It's sort of fun."

"Pride's a giant city with a fake sky, so try not to stand out by gaping at it. We need to walk around the outer perimeter, and from there... I don't usually have trouble getting to Earth. Hell's security is pretty lax, and there's usually no one guarding it."

"How long will it be?"

"Oh, let's just savor the minutes."

We proceeded to do so by standing in utter silence for the remainder of the ride. For what ended up being a slightly messier journey than I had anticipated, Blake and I hadn't really bonded, had we? He was nice enough to me, but there was clearly a resentful and embarrassed-by-me edge to him beneath his stutter and quick smile.

Rude kid. Wouldn't miss him.

The atrium that the elevator arrived at was wholly a breath of fresh air from the mess of architecture that was lower Hell. It reminded me a lot of a train station, all green steel and windows, with many small shops along the edges and middle. Cafe tables were strewn in one section to the side, providing a good view of the entrance to the lower levels as well as the city outside.

From here you couldn't see much of the city, just a few off white buildings. Of course, when it came to Pride, once you'd see one building you'd seen them all. Barring the central square, of course.

"Jesus," Blake said the moment we entered the city proper.

"Don't gawk," I mumbled. People were in no way going to notice him, but I kept up the insistence that maybe they might, just to make sure he felt like he needed me. He didn't really, but what was I bringing him to Earth for anyway? My own self satisfaction?

He was just one part of a dick move, purposely messing with Hell's systems to see what happened. The actual guaranteed outcome of all this- that, at the end of the cycle in a few days, he'd reset with the rest of the humans- didn't bother me.

"This is some serious sci-fi stuff. Odd considering how far behind everything else has looked."

"We've been stuck on the same technology as Earth since the cycles started, but before them, we actually had 'modern' tech. Stuff that was normal on Earth until the cycles started and threw the world back into the past. Not much of it has survived, but you'll still see a few thin laptops or touchscreen phones. The sky though- that's been here the whole time."

"Feels like some sort of dystopia."

The sky was a perfect dome and a perfect collection of high definition screens. You could only see the thin cracks that separated one gigantic panel from another when standing on the top of one of the city's skyscrapers- otherwise, they were seamless. The video feed was usually simple, a gradient blue grey, but there would still be days where white clouds would float by, varied and realistic.

And sometimes it'd rain, too, only in small moderated amounts, but the mere fact that it could rain was refreshing in some sense, combatting the innate claustrophobia that came with living in an dirty cave.

Small pores between the cracks in that screens could create harsh winds or thick fog as well. I'd once even seen it snow, just a light shower to celebrate the season. They'd since seemed to have retired it, but it had been magical that one day to step into the city, with its off white skyscrapers and dirty grey streets, and feel something pure and familiar on my skin.

"There's a lot of flaws to it, yes," I said, but I think I really did have some affection for the place. That tends to come with the years, I think, sick adoration for places that never deserved it.

"I kind of want to explore, just to know," Blake said, "I mean, part of me is pretty sad for things to end this quick. This is probably my only chance to explore a magical land that is actually real and... I just want to leave."

"We can stay a bit longer. I'm flat broke, so we'd have to go back to my dorm, but... if you wanted to spend more time here, I can do that."

"I can always come back, right? This isn't one of those things involving a one way inter-dimensional barrier? I always hated those in books. Never really understood by the main character wasn't allowed to have the best of both worlds."

"Getting back is as simple as walking in."

"In that case, expect to see me again!" He smiled.

I was used to people telling me that, promising unlikely things, but it still bothered me.

I led the way around the outer perimeter of the city and into the small lobby off on the western side. The tile here was incredibly blue, reminiscent of a emptied swimming pool. The elevators here connected to the part of Wrath where human souls were deposited after collection by a hellhound, and off to the side were a few rooms used for introductory classes. One was going on right now, and I could half hear a calm woman explaining the concept of cycles.

At the very end were the two most important elevator lines, dire enough that there weren't even stairs. Most of Hell lacked stairs, in fact, a design flaw nearly impossible to fix considering the hard and unstable rock that cradled the city.

The elevator that went to the present Earth was ancient, rickety, and terrifying. I was glad not to be taking it today.

As we approached the bay, I signaled for Blake to wait while I crept forward. It was extremely rare, but there actually seemed to be a guard on duty, meaning only one thing:

"So that plan's fucked," I announced to Blake, "Guard's at the post."

"We're you just chatting about how you could talk your way past any guard?"

"Sure." I ran a hand through my hair. Hopefully that wasn't a clear sign how much I had been lying. I was notoriously good at slipping through the cracks when I needed to be, but that particular skill didn't usually involve... other people. "I can try."

"What's the harm?" Blake said, and I returned to the guard post, walking into view so he would notice me.

"Hello," I said, hoping that was enough.

"Cleared personnel only," The guard said. He looked friendly enough, like he was expecting me to reach into my pockets and pull out my ID badge so he could let me through. It was rare people had that high of expectations for me.

"I'm good," I said in a dry voice, giving a small wave.

He frowned at this. "I'm sorry, but I need to see your ID to let you through. Are you a hellhound? Who's your supervisor?"

"Ahm, Kell?"

Considering Kell was head of finances, and God, everyone knew that, the guard closed his eyes. I tensed up. "You on a special mission from him?"

Holy shit, had I accidentally said some secret code word? Kell did seem the type to partake in shifty business, but this was a serious mark of luck for me. Maybe the guard was new, and hadn't yet learned the faces of all of Kell's Earth-approved workers. "Yes. My associate, too."

"You may pass."

It was really hard to hide the elation on my face, despite years of practice. I hurried over to Blake and dragged him into the elevator before the guard could change his mind, or perhaps actually give Kell a call.

"Wasn't really expecting that," I said to Blake, suddenly hyper and resentful of how little space I had to pace in here. "There'll be no more problems from here on out. We get out right near the pit, jump down, and then climb out of the Hellmouth on Earth. Easy."

Blake grinned. "I'm still a bit nervous about all this, but awesome. Always best to get things over with by doing them, you know? Waiting only builds the anxiety."

"We're getting out of Hell in record time. Only a day! What do you say to that?" I was feeling really good.

"Thanks!" Blake shrugged with enthusiasm. "You didn't have to do this, but... you did. That's some serious altruism there, especially from a demon. Even if Hell wasn't really too bad, I'm glad to be getting out of there before phase two of the story- you know, how everything always looks candy bright until the real horror starts seeping in? I think everything is for the best when you just leave things early."

"Maybe not everything."

"Oh, you know, metaphors are always too vague for their own good. You know what I'm saying. I'm just excited to be alive."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Tell my family that I'm not dead? We'll see how that goes over. And find out where I am, of course. And... where they are. And reapply for college... I guess. And then think of something to tell my next employer when explaining this weird gap on my resume. God. How long have I been in here anyway?"

"Sydney took your file, so we don't know. Couldn't be longer than nineteen years."

"Yeah, and last I checked I'm not thirty-eight. So hopefully not too long." Blake was quiet for a long time. "This is going to be really hard."

"If you need somewhere to stay, I... have a place in Hornbrook. The town above here."

"Why do you have a home on Earth?"

"It's not really mine. Just. Where I stay, okay? I can help you learn what you need to."

Blake looked down. "Thank you. That means a lot more than just saving me, you know. Going all the way. It's like taking a beggar in instead of just giving them a hundred bucks for Christmas."

"I feel bad for you."

"That's something." Blake held his breath for a few seconds, and then fell back into his happy routine. "You should visit my family sometime! I have two little sisters, Bianca and Nadia. They're pests. but good ones. I'm sure there's something I can do, eventually, to repay you."

"You don't have to." He wasn't going to be able to. That was the real kicker. The cycles would reset him, and I probably should warn him about it. But on the other hand, not telling was a whole lot easier. He'd be gone soon. I was used to that. I was fine with that.

"I have to amount to something first, though." He swallowed. "That might be a lot harder than it used to be. And I sucked at it last time."

Existential dread could basically be seen in Blake's eyes. "Hey. This kind of thing usually makes people stronger in the movies, right? They come back in act three with vengeance."

"I don't really think of myself as a main character." Blake's voice got quieter with every word.

There wasn't an easy response to that, so I didn't bother to reply, and we waited the rest of ride in silence.

At the end, there was a couple clinks and clunks typically associated with aging machinery, and then the doors slowly parted. A man with small white horns and the cyan uniform of a soldier was waiting on the other side, phone in hand like he had been using it to impatiently track the time.

When I tried to walk past, the soldier put an arm out and blocked my path. "You're under arrest."

"Uh," I said, as it was the first thing to cross my mind. "Why?"

He didn't grace me with an answer immediately, first taking the time to give me a voice that clearly indicated he knew that I knew. "This is a restricted area. Did you really think you were going to slip through that easily?"

"So are we going to jail...? What's our sentence?" Blake asked, fishing for information. The soldier made us take a U-turn right back into the elevator.

"Might be death," I said. "Hell likes to keep its population culled, so we may be sent out as bait on the warfront. They get their criminals all dressed up in fancy uniforms so the angels will attack them. Call it the 'Death Corp'."

"You're very calm," The soldier remarked. Then he noticed Blake, who was biting his nails. "You didn't get very far or see anything notable, so it'll probably just be work detail."

"On the other hand, could be treason and trespassing. The pit's pretty important, and we lied to someone in uniform in an attempt to get there. And invoked the name of one of The Few!" I continued, in the sweetest voice I could handle.

The soldier didn't think I was being very funny. "Depends on who's running the court. Listen, you'll spend a few minutes being checked into jail when we get back, and then since you're nonviolent we'll give you a tracking bracelet and set you loose until the night. Trial should be tomorrow. Quick and clean."

"Pretty dirty if you're honestly saying death is a possible outcome for..." Blake's voice was wavering with every syllable.

I yawned.

Death wasn't a major concern of mine.