The Underworld

Stella's eyes widened, the bus seemed to come out of no where, and the driver wasn't paying attention. She didn't have time to get out of the way, and to make matters worse, she had tripped over her shoelace, and was now face first in the middle of the road. She looked up just in time to see the bus inches away, she tried to scream but it was drowned out by the horn....

Stella woke up in a room so white that it burned her eyes. She felt absolutely broken, every inch of her body screamed out in pain. She looked down at the wrap around her ribs and the cast on her right leg, and a wrap on her left knee. There was another cast going from her hand to her shoulder on her left arm and one on her right wrist. She had an intense headache and there was and IV coming out of her arm. She sighed and lay her aching head back down on the pillow, "so it wasn't a dream." She muttered, but it hurt to talk.

"You're awake!" The voice of a boy that she hadn't noticed was there before came from beside her. Stella turned her head to see her cousin, Matt, sitting next to her. He smiled at her, "the doctors didn't think you were ever going to come out of that coma. They didn't think that you were going to live either, but obviously they were wrong."

"How long was I out?" She asked, looking at him, her eyes hurt, too, but she wasn't going to close them until she got answers.

He looked away. And she knew he was thinking of a good way to put it, and then sighed, still not looking at her, he said, "a few weeks."

Stella almost choked on her own saliva, "a few weeks?!" He nodded, looking grim.

"Like I said, the doctors didn't think you were going to ever wake up. They were surprised you were even alive when they got to you the day you were hit. You're a miracle, Stella." He looked at her and grinned, "I knew you were going to make it, though, you're too stubborn to die!"

Stella laughed, but it sounded more like she was choking. A little bit later, Matt left the room, and all was silent until...

"It's not possible that the girl could've survived an impact with that bus!" She heard the voice of a doctor outside her room. He sounded flustered, as if he heard that Stella was alive, but didn't believe one word of it, "there's something going on, I know it."

Avie tugged on the hem of her Candy Stripers uniform, and gripped the sides of the metal trey tighter to her chest, the metal cold against her pale fingertips. She gave a light-hearted smile to the group of doctors standing outside of the door she was currently assigned to, and she cleared her throat politely. "Doctor," She began, shaking her head, and grin plastered on her face. "I don't think it matters how exactly the girl is still alive. What's most important in this situation, is the fact that she is alive."

She respectfully waited for the group of hospital staff to move, before opening the door. Her smile brightened even more so, when she saw that the girl was indeed, alive. She picked up the girl before hers chart, and gave it a quick once-over. "Hello Stella! I'm Avie! I'll be taking care of you. At least, when it comes to trivial things such as water and food or fluffing your pillow. However, it's possible that the food will be gone by the time it gets to you. Is there anything I can help you with now?"

Ryan leaned again a stone wall. He was bobbing his head in time with the music that only he could hear. He was waiting for him, Satan, or Lue as he liked to call him. He felt like bothering that crazy fucker. Ryan had taken a strange liking to his new job, and was excited for another one. He wanted to take another trip down to earth, pick up some new music. Finally he caught sight of Satan in his peripheral. Ryan waltzed up to him and popped a bud out of his ear. "So, uhhh. When do I get to do another job, huh?"

Lucifer turned and glared at the boy. He was annoyed by his constant pestering. "Tomorrow, no stop pestering me." Satan walked off, and Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. Not a bad gig he had here. Eternal life, frequent visits back to earth, and all his needs taken care of, piece of cake.

Ryan walked walked around some more, in search of someone to talk to.

Xadrian swung his scythe around him in a bored fashion, taking note of all the feathers he was surely slicing off of his precious wings.
At that, he made sure to stop, and continue on his way across the large pit, to the beginning of the dirt path that led to the portal, where all the shinigami entered and returned from the human world. It was slightly infuriating, that Lucifer was giving him all the stupid, meaningless missions. Usually, when he came across the place he needed to pick up the fresh soul, they were already dead, and Xadrian rarely got to see any action.

He spotted a fellow shinigami, Ryan, and decided that he could spare a few minutes to chat with him. "Hello, Ryan." Xadrian greeted politely. He could remember if Ryan was one of the few shinigami that didn't mind the patch covering what would have been his right eye, or if Ryan was one of the many shinigami that thought the idea of his missing eye was repulsive.
Either way, Xadrian had already stood in front of Ryan, and had already greeted him. "How are you? Going on a mission today?"

Kandyce scrambled into her apartment, groaning after a long day of work. Her cats, Oreo and Bandit, meowed at her as she plopped onto the couch. "Hey you two. Was your day better than mine at least?" She knew it was silly to talk to her cats, but they meowed back in response anyway. It was only 2 pm, but she wanted to go to sleep right then and there. Despite her inner protests, she got up anyway. Kandyce changes out of her dull coffee shop uniform, and changed into a short green dress with jeans underneath. All her no tippers and angry customers would all be worth it in a matter of minutes. Soon she would find out from her publisher if her Sci Fi novel, Journey of the Unfortunate would be selected to be published. She waved to her cats as she sped out the door to the office, which was luckily in walking distance. A few quick minutes later she arrived. "Hi Mr. Lenard. Well, about my book?" She said hastily, straightened out her hair in attempts to look as professional as her disheveled appearance could allow.

The man at the desk brought his head up with a dull look on the face. "Oh.. It's you Miss Dennel. About your book... it's been declined. There is a book just like it. The Game's Journey or something, made in 1993." He sighed, and turned around to continue doing something with a bunch of papers.

Kandyce's smile slowly melted, then turned into anger. "I've never heard of that book in my life! This isn't fair! I came up with this all on my own." She slammed her hands on the desk in a huff, filled with anger after a years worth of work being called stolen.

Mr. Lenard wrinkled his eyebrows as some crazy 20-something ditz was screaming at him. "Even if you didn't copy, there are still copyright issues. I'm afraid this is out of my hands."

Anger and sadness filled Kandyce's body. "...Fine." She squeaked, as she did a 180 and left. The walk home felt a lot longer, and her thoughts boggled through her head. She climbed up into her 2nd story apartment, and relaxed onto her kitchen counter. She peeled the skin off of a banana, and turned back to her cats. "Ok, now I know you had a better than me."

Stella laughed at Avie, it hurt, but she was too stubborn to let that keep her from laughing. "Yeah, can you let me get out of here?" She asked, smiling at the nurse, "I have to get ready for college." She sighed, it would be her freshman year in college, so she didn't exactly want to spend the first month of it laying in a hospital bed.
"Also, do you think you could paint the rooms a darker color like blue or something, the white is blinding my eyes." She laughed again, and tried to sit up. And she did, haha, take that gravity!
Her face turned more serious, "when do you think I can leave this place? I mean, all I have is what? A few broken ribs, a broken leg, a hmm.... dislocated knee, a broken arm, a broken wrist, a sore throat, and a headache, not that bad, right? Plus, Matthew said that I was out for a few weeks, so that gave me plenty of time to heal, so I'm doing pretty good, yeah? I'll be good as new in no time, so... when can I check out?" She laughed nervously, not that bad? It took forever just to list what was broken!
Stella sighed and slid back down in the bed, "Who am I kidding? I'm a mess!" She chuckled, and reached up with her hand with the broken wrist, and rubbed her aching head, "I need a nap."

Samantha paused on the street side watching the young boy stand at the edge of the street playing with his basketball. Trying to be cool like the big kids. She tilted her head and raised a hand to tip the edge of her hat lower to shade her eyes. The sun was bearing down on her and not only that but she was supposed to make this kill as easy as possible for humans to understand. This isn't going to be easy, humans are dumber than donkeys on crack. Nope I correct myself, a mouse on crack. Their brain isn't that big. Oops. I think i'll just push him into the street. She smiled feeling her fingers twitch. The memory of her own death was faint after so long but when she did remember some details it made her madder than a hornet. Her hand closed over her Wakizashi. Scythe's were so old fashioned and far too heavy for her. This weapon worked exactly like a scythe and was much faster and easier for her to handle. Lucifer would have approved. Surely. She shrugged and focused on the boy's hands as the ball kept it's steady rhythm. She spotted the car rushing down the street and she hurried forward, her own hand extended.

Blood splattered the cement and she eyed one of her nails. Damn! I almost chipped one. Great. Just great. Stupid kid thought he had skills. You won't use any b-ball skills where your going for almost breaking my nail buddy! Her lips pressed together in visible anger before she pulled a mask over her expression. Cheerful, and bright. Let the judges see how cute you are. She laughed. Showbiz is a cruel world. Samantha turned and headed back to hell. After all, it was where she belonged now and she loved it.

Samantha entered the area of hell that they resided. She didn't have much clue about it but her feet generally led her to where she needed to be. Must have been some kind of magic trick around here. She glanced over to Xadrian and Ryan who seemed to be chatting and gossiping like old hens. She smiled politely and waved. Just kill me. Dorks. No one around here is any fun. At least they could have showed some amusing talents. Lame. God! She paused, eyes widening before she continued her stride. Oh wait, God wasn't quick enough to claim me, wonder why?. Guess I won't be seeing any miracles anytime soon. "Hey guys!" She greeted them from across the way before she took her leave and hurried to Lucifer's office. She preferred it in there even though he had only allowed her in there because sinning was her favorite hobby and not only that, gasp, she knew how to be silent like a good girl. So many years of being ordered around and told to pose a certain way helped that. Samantha opened the door to see the boss sitting in his high chair. She nodded her head towards him before taking a chair to the corner and leaning back in it with a long sigh. Lucifer eyed her and she shrugged. "Stupid kid almost broke my nail. If I knew how to practice necromancy I would have plucked all his nails off before sending him back to the dead." Lucifer raised a brow then shook his head and returned to grumbling over his papers. Decrepit old man. She frowned. Samantha didn't bother hiding her expression. Why bother when he probably knew your deepest, darkest secrets. She let her gaze travel over his features before making another face. Good lord. Being out of showbiz must be turning me into a normal girl. They act like baboons with extra red butts just begging to have it touched. Sicks things they are. They should die. Samantha clenched her fists. I should still be alive. Still modeling and still being cool. That stupid motherloving stalker would be next on my list. Even after death though, I'm still too busy keeping all my fans happy.Yeah, so happy that they start growing wings!

Samantha's laugh echoed in the room and Lucifer looked up with a scary scowl. She hadn't seen worse but the fact that she had seen something close made some of the nervous edge fade. "Geez. Can't a girl enjoy herself round here? Calm down, prick." The solid huff of disdain, just a warning, made her relax and go back to thinking about what was to come.

Nevaeh liked to just hang around places after she was finished with her jobs. Thankfully, she had found that she rarely had to kill anyone herself, since she wasn't exactly the most cold blooded, or the most skilled, shinigami. She messed with the sleeves of her yellow dress, leaning back on the bench near the hospital. She'd collected the soul of a small boy who'd drowned in the pond, she hoped his death would prompt the local authorities to put something in place to make it less of a danger to others, because it really was a deathtrap if she was honest. She ran her finger along the curve of metal that would cover her knuckles when she wielded her rapier, holding her cross and praying that she would never need to use the blade at her hip. While she was at it, she slipped in a prayer for forgiveness for her cowardice in not accepting what fate she would have had. She knew that God wasn't listening to her any more, thus why she would only do this where no other shinigami could see. Speaking of seeing, Nevaeh was glad none of the normal humans could see her, since a girl in an old-fashioned yellow dress would stand out fine on her own, never mind with an added rapier at her hip. She watched the people who came out to see what all the blue flashing lights were for, sitting on the bench, which faced away from the actual incident.

Xadrian approached Ryan, giving a fairly cheerful gretting. "Hey." Short and sweet, same way every introduction should be. "Naw, I don't get to go down until tomorrow, fucking retarded. This place is boring as hell." Ryan stopped talking, muted by his own pun. Then he began laughing, "God this place sucks."

Xadrian was one of the few resident Shinigami Ryan actually got along with. Samantha was too stuck up and busy tooting her own proverbial horn to be any fun. It was pathetic. As if anyone cared. Neveah was too drab and quiet, about as entertaining as a muddy puddle. Rio was a fucking meathead. Lance was a decent enough guy, fun to talk to, he just had his moments were Ryan didn't feel comfortable around him. He was definitely one of the stronger Shinigami though. Vincent was ok, did seem to say much. Something about him just bothered Ryan. Guess every family had their bad eggs and good ones.

His attention turned back to Xadrian, hopefully that inner monologue hadn't taken as long as it felt, must of been a side affect of his "Cause of Death". "So I was wondering..." Ryan was cut off by Samantha yelling a greeting from across the hall. Ryan waved then turned back to Xadrian, "If you got a mission today, you think I could maybe tag along, possibly even help?"

Lance eyed his Victim, a wealthy Man, who seemed to enjoy causing as much pain and suffering among his colleagues as he could. He slapped Women across the face for disobeying the simplest orders, yelled at his underlings for giving him thee wrong Tea. He was violent and stupid. Lance felt no remorse for him. The Man was yelling at his Wife over the Phone for no apparent reason, other than the fact that she had started to cry because her Sister's Son had been killed a few Months ago, and she'd only just gotten the news. Lance felt a pang of Guilt at her suffering, but there was nothing he cold do. Well, not for her at least. Or could he? He could overhear the Man shouting about getting a Divorce, and how he shouldn't have promised to give her everything he had in the case of his Death. A bit too late for that now, bro. Lance decided it was time to end the Mans pathetic Life, I mean, it's not like he was contributing to Society or anything. As far as Lance was concerned, he didn't deserve to live.

Nathan Daniels slammed the Phone down onto the desk, shortly after hanging it up. He was angry at his Wife for crying, there was no reason to Cry, and it certainly wouldn't get Him anything he wanted. Only he was able to do that. He picked up the Phone again and dialed the Number for his Assistant, David. "Hello, Daniel's Liquor and Pleasantries, how may I help you today?" Nathan fumed at David, his cheery voice and his passive attitude. "DAVID, JESUS, STOP BEING SO DAMN NICE TO EVERYONE, I MEAN, COME ON!!! THE DEVIL WOULD BE BETTER AT THIS OB THAN YOU! Now, anyway, I expect a Grande Cappuccino up here in Two Minutes Flat. Marshmallows and Cream with extra Sugar. GET IT NOW!!!" Nathan slammed the Phone back down and fumed again. He hated Life, and everything else he had. Especially his Wife. He would talk to her latter. Suddenly, a voice from behind him declared that his Cappuccino had arrived. Nathan sun around furiously, determined to berate the foolish Employee that had tried to trick Him. He was just about to yell at the top of his Lungs, but as he caught sight of who was standing there, the words stuck in his Throat. "Be careful Nathan, you could choke on your Words".

An Hour later, Lance had returned to Hell, and was placidly walking along when he spotted Xadrian and Ryan talking. He changed his course and decided to join them. Sure, he got along with Ryan, but they weren't best Friends or anything. Lance didn't mind Xadrian either, but they didn't talk much. When Lance had reached them he decided that a simple 'Hey' was the best way to go.

"Hey".

The nurses ran around the hospital, checking rooms and storage closets trying to find him. "He knows he is not supposed to leave the grounds, find him fast!" The doctor yelled, panicking over the missing person. This was the third time this month he had escaped the hospital, but it was the first time he had tried doing it during the day. Most people don't handle isolation well. Even when you see others everyday, its usually from a window or just whatever nurse is on shift coming in to check up on you. Being deaf and blind to the real world was starting to wear thin on TJ. By now, he just wanted freedom from everything he was ever told he could not do.

TJ looked in the window of the internet cafe, practically staring at those inside. He had never seen one in person before and, just like everything else, he wanted to take it all in. Every inch of that place must be committed to memory, he thought. Backing away from the window, he gave a smile to those inside and continued on his way. As soon as he started contemplating returning to the hospital, a sharp pain rose in his chest. The pain forced him down on his knees, breathing heavily and cringing every other exhale. People passing by stopped to see if he was alright, a woman taking out her cellphone and calling an ambulance. "Is it time?" TJ muttered under his own breath, no one able to hear it. He fell to the ground at that moment, still breathing heavily, but the breaths getting fainter and weaker each time.

Avie smiled at Stella, enjoying her sense of humor, and the way she was handling her current situation. Rather well, in Avie's opinion.
"I agree with the wall painting business. Believe me. I mean, if I was designing a hospital building, white would be the last color I picked. It looks to clean and smells to much like sterilization for my taste."

Avie picked up the tray she momentarily discarded onto the counter, and balanced it in one hand while she held Stella's charts in the other hand. Walking over to the white cot, Avie placed the metal tray onto the plastic bedside table and picked up a cup with a yellow, bendy straw and held it up to Stella's mouth, ignoring her comment about wanting a nap. "You need to drink something! I can't imaging that your mouth isn't dry!"
While waiting for Stella to drink, she looked over her chart. "I can't imagine breaking everything you did. I would be down for the count, no doubt."
Avie momentarily looked back on when she broke her pinky, and nearly went into cardiac arrest.
"It says here that you'll have to stay for a few more days, if not another week. And college? That's exciting. I'm only in high school. What's your major?"

Avie smiled at Stella, enjoying her sense of humor, and the way she was handling her current situation. Rather well, in Avie's opinion.
"I agree with the wall painting business. Believe me. I mean, if I was designing a hospital building, white would be the last color I picked. It looks to clean and smells to much like sterilization for my taste."

Avie picked up the tray she momentarily discarded onto the counter, and balanced it in one hand while she held Stella's charts in the other hand. Walking over to the white cot, Avie placed the metal tray onto the plastic bedside table and picked up a cup with a yellow, bendy straw and held it up to Stella's mouth, ignoring her comment about wanting a nap. "You need to drink something! I can't imaging that your mouth isn't dry!"
While waiting for Stella to drink, she looked over her chart. "I can't imagine breaking everything you did. I would be down for the count, no doubt."
Avie momentarily looked back on when she broke her pinky, and nearly went into cardiac arrest.
"It says here that you'll have to stay for a few more days, if not another week. And college? That's exciting. I'm only in high school. What's your major?"

Nevaeh heard the commotion away from the pond, sounding like someone else might have been on his way out. Not a good day for this park, was it? She thought that until she realised it was actually on the street near the park. She reached a hand into a pocket on her dress, and drew out a scribbled list of names. She always made sure to get a list of all her charges for that day, mainly because she liked to stay on Earth as long as she could, and often didn't come back to Hell without being prompted. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the next, and final, name on the list. TJ Royce. She'd seen him around the hospital when she had charges there, and he seemed like such a nice boy. As she marched toward the disturbance, looking through the trees to see that, yes, it was him, she couldn't help but think about her own experience with the afterlife. TJ was such a nice boy, he didn't deserve to die so young, which her mind countered with the question "Does anyone?". She soon was standing with the people whom had come to see what was wrong with the boy, and just managed to hear him ask if it was time. She had reached for her rapier, to finish it and put him out of his misery, but her hand stilled. This boy had made people in critical states laugh, he'd been so nice to others. The world could do with a few more like him, and certainly wouldn't suffer from one hanging around a touch longer. She removed her hand from her rapier.
"No, it isn't." She stated, thankful that the people around couldn't hear her. She wasn't entirely sure if TJ himself could hear her, she realised as she walked away. She... She'd just have to check up on him, to see if he had or hadn't. No other reason. Of course.

Xadrian rolled his eyes at Ryan, but nodded, nonetheless. Ryan seemed to like his job, and was always eager to get another assignment.
Xadrian on the other hand, would rather not go on missions and spent his day sleeping.
But he supposed working was better than getting tortured for all eternity.
And besides...there were some cases in which he was rather interested in killing.

By the time Xadrian snapped out of his tiny, self-induced trance, Lance, a fellow shinigami had come up to Ryan and himself, and gave them a casual greeting.
"Hello Lance." Xadrian said politely. "You just returned from a mission, correct? Ryan and I are about to head off now. No difficulties though, right?"

Stella reached up with the hand with the broken wrist and took the cup from Avie, "don't worry, I'm not totally crippled." She said, taking a long sip of water. Then, she looked at the cup as if it just talked to her, "hmph, your right, how did you know my dog died two months ago?"
She blinked a few times and put the cup down, rubbing her head, "either you've drugged me or I've hit my head really badly." She laughed nervously, and sank into her sheets.
That's when Stella's mind finally registered what Avie had just said. "Wait, a week, I don't wanna stay in here for a week. Can you pull some strings or something and get me out of here quicker? I bet my bones are all healed up! I've been in here long enough, don't you think?"
She tried to calm her mind by answering Avie's question, "my major.....um...I don't remember. Heh heh." Slowly sinking into her bed to hide her embarrassment, Stella realized that answering questions about herself wouldn't be a very therapeutic thing to do, considering she couldn't remember anything, and what she did remember made her want to bang her head against the wall even more than the fact that she would be in this white room of doom until she healed.

Lance turned his head slightly towards Xadrian, and replied. "Yeah, I sure made the bastard pay for his Deeds. He even tried to pay me off to let him live. Ah well, I mean, I took the Money anyway, and gave it to an Orphanage. I'm such a Nice person"
Lance looked back at Xadrian, realizing the he'd started to wander around in random Circles. That was a little odd habit of his, pacing and walking in circles whilst he was thinking or talking, or even both at the same time. When Xadrian mentioned going on another Mission, with Ryan, Lance put on a fake 'Oh my you just hurt my feelings' Face. It's not like he really cared that much, he actually felt kinda tired, which was odd. He almost never slept. He quickly changed back to his normal face and grinned. "Yeah, no difficulties bro. I'll just go annoy Satan for a while or something. You guys know how fun that is, right?"

Avie's eyes widened and she gave a nervous laugh, looking around to see if Stella was talking to her or someone else entirely.
Avie shook her head and tucked the blanket up to Stella's chin. "I'm sorry about your dog, I really am. But there's nothing I can do to get you out quicker. You should take a nap though. I'll be here in 2 hours to check up on you, and if you escaped, I will hunt you down myself!"

Avie took the tray from the table next to Stella, said goodbye, and hurried out of the room just in time to hear her stomach growl throughout the empty, echoing hallway. Avie decided that it would be benifitial for her to take a quick lunch break, and the see to her other patients.
Discarding the tray onto a passing cart, Avie made her way down to the cafeteria, and looked over the vending-machine options.

"Hunny-buns are always delicious."