Chapter 1: Match's Story

BANG! Someone slammed the door open, and Andrea wasn't expecting her husband home for hours. Tons of footsteps flooded the small apartment, & she immediately knew what was happening: her husband was involved in /another/ gang & they were searching for him. Great!

There was a loud bang, followed by the sound of a thud. They had killed her husband. Andrea panicked and dropped onto the ground, knocking her head on the hardwood floor. She let out a loud grunt then covered her mouth, hoping whoever was here didn't hear her. She quickly slid under her bed. The footsteps started growing quicker and louder, she knew they had found her. Suddenly, a swarm of bulking men in black trenchcoats broke down her bedroom door.

"Search the place, boys! We can't have any survivors, not after what that asshole John did," someone said with a very gravely voice. Footsteps, footsteps, and more footsteps, until someone yanked up the sheets & discovered her.

"Here's the little slut! Right under the bed!" a man said, yanking her out by her ankles.

"No, let go of me! I don't know what my husband did, but he didn't deserve to be shot!" Andrea pleaded, tears already streaming down her face.

"He blew up our warehouse and fucking ran off with all our drugs. He betrayed us, so now we have to kill him and his family off," the biggest guy said. He looked extremely authoritative, so I assumed he was the leader.

"Boss... what should we do with her?" said the man that pulled her from under the bed. The main guy looked extremely concentrated for a second, and then said "tie her up and burn the fucking place down. Gag her so she doesn't scream, I don't wanna deal with that right now."

Andrea's face went white. "No, no no no!" She started screaming, kicking, /anything/ to get out, but there was no use, the guy holding onto her smacked her head against the bed post, knocking her out.

When she came to, the smell of gasoline filled the air, so horrible she had no choice but to start coughing. Then, everything went bright and hot. Flames filled the air, and so did smoke. Andrea choked on the smoke and screamed through her gag. She screamed and screamed, until her voice finally gave out. Now came the tears, and she cried and cried. She hated this life, she hated her husband, she hated this mob. She hated everyone. She was /seething/ with hate. At that moment, she finally died.

She didn't go fully unconcious as she had hoped though. She opened her eyes and realized she was surrounded by rocks and flames. She couldn't feel the flames though, she felt... numb.

"Ah, welcome Andrea!" boomed a voice from what appeared to be nowhere. All of a sudden, a man dressed in all black apparated in front of her. She jumped back.

"Who... who are you?" Andrea squeaked. Her throat was still sore from screaming so loud. She raised her hand to her throat and coughed.

"Who I am is not important right now. What is important is that you are now here. I've been expecting you." He paused, then started walking away. "Come along, there is no time to waste."

Andrea was so confused. Where was she? Did she die? Did she escape, but get trapped in some sort of... nightmare?

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell me where I am and who you are!" she yelled. She coughed more, making tears well up from the pain.

He turned around, a fuming look on his face. "All will be explained if you just follow me, you little-" he stopped himself, and took a deep breath. "Just... come with me. I'll tell you everything."

Andrea knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with just arguing with this guy. What if he just got pissed and left her here, wherever /here/ is? She complied, and followed him to a small room with two chairs, placed directly across from each other.

"Please, sit," the man demanded. The lighting was much better in this room, and Andrea could now make out the features of the strange man. He had a very prominent and sharp jawline, with a slight stubble lining his cheeks. She noticed he had extremely dark eyes, almost black. He was extremely tall and lean, like a light post. He had pointed ears as well, which struck her as... odd.

Andrea sat and crossed her legs. "Alright mister, now tell me who you are & where we are," she demanded.

"Ah, my dear," he cooed, gently placing his hand on her chin, "my name is Xerbal, one of the highest demons in all of Hell. And, well..." he paused, lifting her chin as he got closer to her face, "welcome to Hell!"

Her face paled. "W-what?"

"You're in Hell, darling, and the big man himself is willing to appoint you to a spot on the nightmare demon regiment!" Xerbal sounded so excited. It's almost like he assumed she understood all of this.

"Why am I in HELL!? I went to church every Sunday! I did my good deeds!" she started to tear up.

"Oh my /God/, do NOT cry. Alright, you were the wife of the goddamn leader of the biggest mob in Chicago. You think you lived your life all good and shit?" Xerbal sat down angrily. "You also died with so much hate in your little heart, that we decided to give you a second chance to roam the Earth."

"I should NOT have to pay for what my husband did in his private life," she yelled, crossing her arms.

"Alright, well it's too late for any kind of fussing now. You either spend eternity in Hell, where we'll take away that "numbness" you were feeling & have you slave over a fucking river of lava, or you spend your time giving people nightmares on Earth. Take your pick."

Andrea gave him a death glare. She thought about it though, and realized the latter would definitely be the better pick.

"Alright, I'll be a part of your demon army or whatever," she sighed.

"Great! For starters, you gotta lose this 20's getup. Yuck!" he snapped his fingers & she transformed into a woman full of curves. She was dressed in black from head to toe, complete with leather top, leather tights, and high-heeled boots.

She gave him the meanest look she could ever give anyone. "If we're gonna play this game, I have to change my clothes to something more comfortable." she snapped & she was wearing a flowing black dress with black flats.

"Ugh, /fine/. This is why the boss should never say 'whatever she wants'..." he pulled out a sheet of paper from his pants pocket and handed it to her.

"...what's-"

"This is your new name and new town where you'll be residing. No one can see you except for other magical creatures, but there's not many where you're headed."

Xerbal snapped his fingers, and everything went dark. Her new life started now, as Match Sammhor.