The starry sky above you twinkled and calmed your soul, near invisible clouds gracefully glided across the dark blues and purples. The sounds of crickets chirping and grass rustling made the world seem at peace. Blurred vision took away the shock of seeing your horrid stab wounds, your hands pathetically trying to stop them from bleeding. There were too many of them, but at this point you didn't care. Even if an ambulance was on its way, death was going to take you before it could.

It was once a warm summer night, but now it was cold and neglectful. Breathing slowed, you stopped struggling, the beating of your heart quietly disappearing into the background. The clouds above you swirled and spiraled, a soft light appearing to shine down on you. For a moment, you swore you heard quiet angelic singing as the white clouds made their way to envelop you. Closing your eyes, you let your muscles relax, embracing the dim glow. But then, there was nothing. Once you had noticed, confusion fogged your mind. The light had disappeared as did the clouds, the singing had stopped. Something then began to slither around your ankle. It grabbed and tugged it against the ground, more coming to engulf you. Being unable to move, you gave no effort in trying to escape from them, though it's not like you had enough energy to in the first place. That frail body was being pulled down into the dirt, shrill voices began to whisper. Nothing they said could be deciphered, their volume increasing as you continued to be dragged down. Soon, nothing could be seen except the pitch black abyss of death.

.

.

.

.

"Oh my, you're finally here! I was starting to worry that you wouldn't be able to arrive."

Your eyes couldn't quite yet open, the energy in your body not enough to even try and pry them awake. The stranger talking to you was close, the heat radiating off of them making you aware of their presence. Thumps your heart made were completely gone, yet you found yourself able to breathe. "Hm. It seems that you're still terribly weak from those horrid stab wounds...nevertheless, they'll heal in no time!" they exclaimed, the figure drawing near. It grabbed your cold, emotionless face, expressions even being too much for you to manage. Sharp, almost knife-like nails slowly and lightly traced along your cheekbone right down to your chin, forcing you to tilt your limp head up. "Then again...if they don't, I could just lick your wounds for you~..." it teased, their nails slightly digging into your chin. The overzealous being was silent for a minute, the only sound that could be heard was their subtle erratic breathing. Warm, short breaths could be felt on your face, their composure seemed to be waning ever more in your presence. You were glad you couldn't see them; fear of even glancing at it gave you all the more reason to keep your eyes shut.

Suddenly, you felt a hand on your back, the slender fingers walking up only to then entangle themselves in your messy hair. A body could be felt pressing against yours, their scorching hot figure instantly burning your tundra cold one. At this point, you desperately wished you were unconscious, as it was tugging at your hair, almost as if it wanted to tear strands out. "I know you can hear me, you're not fooling anyone here except for yourself. It's like you don't want me to grip your hair like this..!" they growled through their teeth, which at first sounded like frustration, but then turned into something delightfully twisted. Hair was being torn from your head as they yanked it towards them, strangely though, you couldn't feel a slight bit of pain. "Ah ha ha...it's such a shame you can't experience the joy i'm getting from this right now.  Another time, perhaps?" it lamented, whispering hoarsely in your ear, removing it's claws from your hair to scrape them down your silky throat.

"Oh bother...i'm afraid our quality time alone is going to have to be cut short." 

Thank. Christ. 

"But don't you fret, don't you cry my precious Icarus...f̵͓͓͌o̷͍͝r̶̺͚͊͝ ̸̥͌w̷̠̦͌e̴͓̓̾ ̴̺̚͝w̷̧̻͐͗i̸̲͛̕͜l̴͇͋̚l̶̟̦͑̉ ̶̪̋s̸̟̍͝ó̷̲̲͒ỏ̵̖n̷̪̗̆̚ ̴̯̼͗̈́c̵͍̹̓̕r̵̘͐̽ȍ̶̡̙s̵̖͇͐s̵̻͂͘ ̸͙̗̈́p̵̬̌ȁ̵̰̄t̴͕̓h̵̫̹͛̓s̷͓̺͑̔ ̶͈̈́a̶̡͆ǧ̸͓́a̸̠͂͘i̸̢̗̓̋n̷̲͉̕͠.̷̞̓͘"

.

.

.

.

"ᴴ..."

"ᴴᵉʸ...ᵎ"

"Hey!"

Bright, blinding lights violated your eyes as you fluttered them awake. "Are you dead or just askin' to be?" a shrill, Texan voice angrily asked, a pen poking you on the nose, repeatedly. An incredibly short toad-looking woman with slimy hair was standing on top of your stomach, her frown growing increasingly displeased the more she stared at you. "Ah ha! So you do have functioning ears! Good!" she joyfully said, hopping off of you so you could sit up. "Now, you can get out of my lobby!!" the lady yelled, pointing at the doors leading to a decrepit city sidewalk. "W-Wait, where am I?? Who are you?!" you frantically asked, looking around the room trying to find answers to your questions. "Where do you think? Hell, obviously! Now, get out..!" she demanded, trying to drag you towards the door. "What?!" you shrieked, the color from your face completely drained, leaving it a hollow husk of what it once was. It was such a shock, you instantly stood up. "No, wait...this...this-this is a joke. Y-Yeah! Some sort of sick joke, a hardcore prank!" you exhaled, a wave of relief washing over you. There was no way you could be in Hell! It was simply preposterous. Sure, you weren't no saint, but clearly you weren't as bad as all that!

Although...if this were some sort of prank, it was a damn good one, as the surrounding environment looked surprisingly real and authentic, not just some play set. The more you thought about it, the less it made sense...unless you were dreaming. But the last time you fell asleep wasn't something you could remember, strangely. Nevertheless, it made sense for the time being. "That's it! I-I'll just...pinch myself awake! Yeah! That'll do the trick, it always does!" you exclaimed, eagerly preparing yourself for a spike of pain. Nothing. Still stuck in the same room, you stood there, bewilderment preventing you from moving. It didn't work. How did it not work? This couldn't be happening! 

"Hey!!"

A tug could be felt from your shirt, in fact, your shirt felt as if it were being held down by something heavy, practically choking you. Looking behind you, you saw the toad woman clinging on to you, her facial expression angry yet nervous. "Are you just gonna watch me hang, or are you gonna get me down?!" she screeched, making you quickly lower yourself to the ground. She immediately got off, a bit shaken up from staying up there for so long, at least to her. "I'm s-sorry! I didn't realize you were still...holding my shirt..." 

"I'm fixin' to show you what for if you do something like that ever again!" the woman yelled at you, red in the face. This was too much for you, it was if everything was crashing down. Her unbridled anger made it hard for you to comfort and calm yourself. Tears started welling up in your eyes, making it difficult to see anything. An uncontrollable shake stirred around your whole entire body as you collapsed to the ground, hopelessness instead taking control. Many emotions could be felt at that moment: fear, anger, sadness, pity, resentment, etc... You attempted to stifle a sob, but it was impossible, your cries breaking out piece by piece. The hatred you felt towards yourself made you feel totally weak, the overwhelming urge to scratch and somehow punish yourself assisting that feeling. How could you have done this? "Um...miss? You, uh...you doin' ok there?" that very same lady asked, putting a hand on your shoulder to show you she was there. Not even looking at her, you hummed and wiped your nose on your sleeve, ignoring her concern.

A big huff came from her, as she went over to her desk to grab a box of tissues. She tore one out of the package, separating your hands from your face and wiping the sad gunk off your face. "I usually don't do this for others, so be grateful I'm even payin' attention to you, alright Butterscotch?" she mumbled, ignoring the others in the lobby who were gawking at the two of you. Sniffling, you said thank you, taking the tissue from her hand, cleaning off the rest. Once you were done, she led you over to her towering desk. You curiously watched her climb up her equally lengthy chair, a computer at the top waiting for her arrival. Once she sat down, a grainy voice spooked you, the intercom in front of you making its presence known. "What's your full name, Pumpkin?" it asked, which to then you answered. "(F/M/L)..." you replied, hoping it detected your voice. "Date of birth?" 

"(M/D/Y)."

Distant tapping of keys from a keyboard could be barely heard, the intercom turning back on one last time. "My name is Deborah, Debby for short." it stated. "Nice to meet you, Debby..." you replied, your hands twisting the bottom of your shirt, a habit you retreated to when you felt incredibly anxious in public or when talking to someone new. The shake you felt earlier was lingering in your legs, the intense feeling making you back up against the desk to try and stay still. Looking around the room, there were many an oddity, as twisted and fierce creatures surrounded your comparably tiny stature. One had a broken neck, yet somehow was still having a casual conversation with another demon with a potato sack over it's head.  There was a female demon with no arms trying to get someone to spoon-feed her some strange looking substance...they all replied in disgust at the notion. Multiple doors aligned across the walls, some even on the ceiling, demons of all shapes and sizes being dragged in and flung out like a child's plaything. What did they do here? From what you could deduct, it was some sort of registration office, as everyone there was holding a ticket with what you assumed to be their death number. 

Strangely, you did not have one of them, making your conclusion all the more indecisive. Could you have lost it? Or did someone steal it in order to try and cut the waiting time? Weren't you technically doing that right now?? "Pardon me." the intercom began to speak once again. You must have dozed off in your confused observations, jumping from the sudden noise. "I found your file. I am required to ask if ya want to know what your reason for comin' here and how you died. So, do ya?" it asked, waiting for your answer. For a moment, you almost didn't want to know. I mean, you've already been sent to Hell and there's no chance in it to get out, so why learn about it? So you could beat yourself up about it even more? But, then your curiosity overcame that negative response. If you're gonna stay here, you might as well accept the consequences of what you've done. Plus, your mind would nag you for answers. "Sure, I guess..." you replied, twiddling your fingers in nervousness. "It says here that you-...you..." it stated, stuttering out of disbelief at what it was reading. What did you do? It sounded pretty bad, at least, bad enough to get a tough lady like Deborah to trip over her words.

"You...apparently, cursed someone..? The fuck?" 

Wait.

Was that what this was about?

"What? That's what sent me to Hell?! How in the-!!" you shouted, but then quickly shut up after noticing the glares demons were giving you. Biting your lip in an attempt to restrain your vile words, you trudged back over to the desk and bashed your head against it, instead, silently cursing at yourself. "I fucking hate myself, I fucking hate myself, I fucking hate myself!!" you quietly repeated in vain, your voice strained from yelling so loud. "Do ya still wanna find out how you died, or..?" the intercom calmly asked you, though, seemingly freaked out by your sudden outburst. You groaned in response, agreeing to the information being relayed. "Basically, you were murdered." 

...

Oh, well that makes sense.

Just kidding, it doesn't.

Growling at the knowledge you received, you continued to methodically hit your head against the desk. "Serious karma has been dealt my way, hasn't it?" you said, gravely, a forced smile gracing your tired face. Really? Trying to put a curse on someone with some gift shop-looking, tacky book is murder worthy? Hell, you were pretty sure you knew a few people that attempted to do that every Monday, and suddenly when you do it, you're the bad guy? Sure, it worked, but that was purely out of coincidence. Not true malice!! "Who killed me?!" you frantically asked, wondering if they could somehow take your place. "Sorry sweetheart, can't spill that can of beans. Violates the rule book." 

"There's a rule book?? I thought you could do whatever in Hell, it's pure chaos around here!" your voice whispered that last part harshly, as you extended your arm to point at the rest of the room, trying to prove some inane point. The room was still and a singular cough could be distantly heard as it echoed around the giant room. Sensing the hard eye-roll from Deborah, you huffed yet again, pouting at her inability to understand. Did Hell, the place where people were sent to when they were the absolute worst humanity had to offer, really have rules? What could someone do and not do? Of course, these questions would never be answered. That within itself would more than likely be against the rules, ironically. 

 "Look, I'm sure the person you "cursed" was awful. But, really? Why didn't you just kill them?" the intercom came back on, questioning your actions. "Do you think I'd honestly kill someone in cold blood?! I'm not a murderer! And I never intended for such things to transpire, in fact, the curse I "put" on them couldn't kill them." you retorted, crossing your arms and pouting like a child, thinking that you won that argument. "But it could cripple them..." it said, blankly, making you huff in frustration. "Look, I believe there is some sort of mistake here. I couldn't have put a curse on someone, as that sort of thing does not exist, nor work. That was pure coincidence, and nobody can tell me other wise." you stated, putting your foot down and standing by your words.

Deborah sighed, knowing very well what you were going through. Of course you were going to revolt against the fact you were in Hell, everyone does. Even when she came down there, she was in utter disbelief. "I am sorry, but you can't argue with the facts in the database, there's nothing I can do!" Debby shouted from the latter, making her way down to you. Your mind's workspace was completely on fire, the whole system breaking down as you fully realized that you were trapped here. You started to break down as well, hyperventilating and sweating from stress. Before you could collapse to the ground, Deborah snapped her fingers in front of your face, still on the latter. "Hey! Don't you think about makin' a scene again." she warned, continuing to climb down. "Listen to me, things ain't all that bad here, darlin'..." she said, softly, cautiously stepping over to your visibly shaken figure.

 You sat down, your breath erratic. Her hand rubbed your back in an attempt to calm you down, her tired eyes staring at the huddled mess of nerves before her. "Honestly, I don't know why you're here. Sure, ya crippled someone for life, but I believe you truly didn't know how serious the book was. Plus, your record from what I've seen is that of an Angel's. Surely that should've persuaded them..." she thought aloud, continuing to pat your hunched back. Those honest comments made you feel a bit better about yourself, though, not about your situation. Deborah stood there beside you, tapping her foot, but not out of frustration. It seemed like she was thinking about something, more than anything. Suddenly, a gasp of realization came from the small toad as she took another look at your face, an idea popping into her mind like a jackrabbit. Gentle pats soon came to a stop, as she rushed over to a bulletin board nearby. 

Looking up to see what she was fussing about, you saw a bunch of flyers flying about the room, scattering around onto the ground. "No no, not there...hmm..." a mumble came from her, a tinge of frustration in her voice. Another demon walked by to throw away a crumpled up piece of paper, grumbling about how ridiculous of an idea it was. This piqued Deborah's interest, her head whipped over to see what it was they threw into the bin. Grabbing the scrapped note, she lit up. "Ahah! Here we are!" she exclaimed, straightening the poor flyer out. Each word her eyes scanned made her more and more confident in what she was about to do. Trotting on over to you, she practically threw herself onto you, the paper crinkling from the impact. Cautiously taking the paper from her tiny hands, you slowly began to read what it was she wanted to show you so badly. "The Hazbin Hotel...we've got free refreshments..." you read aloud, simultaneously confused and bored. "Ugh, no dummy. Redirect your lazy eyes here!" she grunted impatiently, grabbing and forcing you to get on her level, pointing at a set of sentences previously unseen. 

"The Hazbin Hotel, a place where sinners can become rehabilitated and...and live life anew as a saint among the heavens..?!" your voice cracked, the words coming out of your mouth practically clouding your senses. Really? Could this hotel truly bring justice to your unfair fate? It sounded almost too good to be true! In fact, you did believe it was too good to be true! But that wasn't going to stop you from holding onto that last shred of hope. The hope that you just might get out of Hell and into the place where you belonged. "This...this is...!" you tried to speak, but your unbridled happiness and welling tears stopped you from speaking any coherent sentence. "God, is this how it's always gonna be with you, Baby Blue?" a crude voice pulled you out of your little moment. Deborah was staring at you with an unamused look on her face, tired of the sea of tears you'd often spout. Quickly wiping away any potential waterfalls, a smile replaced it instead, joy beaming from your previously weak form. "It's exactly what I needed! Thank you..!" you rang, dropping to your knees to hug her admittedly wide frame. 

"Hey, w-what are you doin'?!" Deborah protested, an embarrassed blush stretching across her cheeks, squirming to get out of the hug she was trapped in. It was pointless to struggle though, as the hug just got tighter. Eventually, she gave into the embrace and reluctantly hugged back. "F-Fine...I appreciate ya too, Baby Blue...heh..." the older toad woman chuckled, quiet as to not make it seem like she cared that much. After the session was done and over with, she stepped away and awkwardly coughed, still somewhat embarrassed by what had just happened. Standing back up, you took a look at the flyer once more, curious as to where this miracle hotel was located. The more you searched through the paper, the more you realized the problem. Where in Hell was this place? "Um, ma'am, I uhh...I think this is missing something." you nervously said, pointing to the ripped part of the paper. Deborah glanced at the spot and dismissed it. "Bah, you don't need some street name to get there. Besides, we don't even name our streets! I'll tell ya how to get there, myself!" she boasted. "First, you take a left down the street, keep goin' until ya see a big pile of wrecked cars. Then, take a right, and once you..."

Directions on how to get to that sacred hotel were needlessly complex and baffling, leaving you sitting there, nodding along to what she instructed, pretending to comprehend a word she was saying. Your mind dreamt of what Heaven would look and feel like, how soft the clouds must be, and what secluded pleasantries awaited you. Could it be more modern? Or is it by the books? Based on what Hell was like so far, you were guessing it was the former. "Did you get all that?" Debby brought you back to reality, your daydreams disappearing. Scratching the nape of your neck, you simply said "I blacked out halfway through the lecture, sorry..." Of course, she wasn't please with this new knowledge, her patience put to the ultimate test. Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose, a heavy sigh of annoyance escaping her. "Just give me the flyer and I'll write it down for you, you clueless child..." she requested, the paper then yanked away from your grip, making you jump back in surprise and shock. 

Grabbing the pen that was keeping her hair in a bun, she quickly wrote down a condensed version of the directions she attempted to give you earlier. Her writing slowed down a bit, her expression that of unsurety and hesitance. Concerned, you softly asked her if everything was alright. She shook her head, the previous indecisive nature now gone, as she reassured that it was just her mind drawing a blank. The directions now finished, you took the still crumpled paper into your hands, a smile appearing as you did. This was it; your ticket to salvation was in your very hands. All you had to do was make your way there. "Thank you so much! This is honestly the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me...and that's..kind of sad, actually. Being that we're in Hell and all, heh!" your voice relieved and grateful. Your life back on Earth wasn't exactly what you'd call fun. It felt like the world was against you, bullying and constant fear of your own kind made it difficult to live. Now was your chance to live a life, albeit while being dead, of happier times. 

That comment made the sad smile on Deborah's face that much more upset, though you had no idea why she was glum in the first place. "Well, if somehow that magical hotel can't get ya up there, you can always live down here! Who cares if ya get some fancy halo and two minuscule chicken wings? Happiness doesn't depend on where you are, Butterscotch..." she added, trying to brighten the mood. It didn't faze you though, as your mind was preoccupied with imaginings of the heavenly variety. Knowing she couldn't make your opinion budge, she sighed and let her tense shoulders fall back into rest. Heading towards the door, you thanked her one last time, truly grateful for her help. You were doubtful anyone else in Hell would help some newbie, so stumbling across her was a sign in your eyes. Just before you could head out, Deborah stopped you.

"Wait!" she called, not moving from her spot. Worry was fogging her eyes, her brows furrowed in a distressed manner. Yet again, hesitance prevented her from saying what she wanted to say. The way she was standing was constrained and unnatural, your mind curious as to why she was acting so strangely. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts, biting her tongue in frustration. "I...please. Be careful. There are a lot of sickos and maniacs out there." Deborah finally said in a defeated tone. Nodding your head, you waved goodbye, the golden bells on the crimson door jingling as you left. 

"The Hazbin Hotel, here I come..!"