Highway To Hell

~Narrator's POV~

It's a cold day in November 2018... One... Damn... Whole year since my older sister died of anti-depressant medication overdose. One whole year and I still can't believe Ellie took her life like that. I guess I share half the blame, since I texted her and told her that I would be babysitting that evening. I had no idea Ellie was feeling so lonely that day, let alone that she was waiting for me at the Mall for three whole hours. I wish I could have changed the course of time and correct my mistake, but I can't and my sister is gone forever.

I spent my day sitting in my bedroom in silence, petting my fluffy, black cat, Lune, and looking out the window of the outdoor scenery. Until I heard screaming and shouting coming from outside. I looked out my window and saw a man with dark hair attacking a ginger-haired woman. Lune looked at the scene and growled.

I hopped out of bed and exit my home to try and solve this problem. I walked down the dark, winter street and put my hand over the man's shoulder, "Is there a problem, sir?"

The man looked at me. He shouted in a slurred motion of words, his breath reeking of alcohol and tobacco, "You're damn right there is a problem, 'Officer'! This woman is not giving me what I want and now she says that she's never met me in her life!"

The woman shook her head, "I'm telling the truth! I've never met you in my life. I think you might have me mistaken for someone else."

The man turned to the woman, grabbed her by the coat and shook her violently, "Don't play games with me, Heather! You promised me Layla will be in my custody! Now, where is she!?"

"Sir, you're drunk." I told the man, "Why don't we take you home and get you some rest, before you hurt someone? No harm done."

The man turned to me again and aimed a pistol at me, "DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, YOU BITCH!" He turned back to the woman, "Where is Layla?! Tell me, or I'll blow your brains out all over the floor!"

The woman fell to her knees and started sobbing with tears running down her face, "Please... I don't have your Layla. I don't know who you are!"

Acting on instinct, while the man was distracted, I grabbed the man's wrist, trying to get the gun away from him. The man gasped, turned his attention back to me and fought back. After five seconds of fighting, the pistol went off with a loud bang. The man, the woman and I flinched from the loud sound and took a step back.

The last thing I remember was an overwhelming feeling of numbness, as I noticed there was a hole where my heart is and blood spread from the hole to all over my shirt. The woman screamed and the man dropped the gun and ran down the street. I couldn't feel my legs, as I fell to my knees and fell limp on the ground.

Then... Blackout...

Once I regained my strength to open my eyes and move my body, I opened my eyes to find myself in a burgundy-red and black room, with an old fashioned bed, chest of drawers, and a wardrobe. Someone around here sure likes the color red, huh?

I sat up from the bed and looked around. One thought came to me; I don't think I'm home, or in Canada, anymore.

I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Nothing changed. I looked at my hands and gasped in shock. My hands now have three fingers and a thumb on them, and I had four hands. My body was covered in a pale pink fur and my teeth were sharp. My legs were digitigrade and my feet was like spider paws. This is really weird, I don't remember looking like this when I blacked out. I'm a human with blonde hair and blue eyes. Not some anthropomorphic spider-like creature.

I closed my eyes, repeating a mantra in my head, until I heard a knock on the door. I got out of the bed, grabbed a long robe, put the robe on and made my way to the door. Uncertain of what might happen, I reached for the doorknob and flinched as I opened the door.

There was no explosion, but there was a tall man standing in the doorway. A man in red, black and burgundy. His skin was grey, with bright red eyes and darker red sclera. His hair was red with black tips and two tuffs at the sides of his crown, resembling deer ears, and two black antlers. He wore a red dress shirt under a burgundy-red striped tail-coat. Dark burgundy pants and black shoes. He also wore a pair of black gloves with red nails.

In short, he looked like a 1930s radio host with deer-like features.

"Hel-" He started, until I slammed the door shut in his face. I blinked for a second, then opened the door again, "Lo-" I slammed the door shut again.

I rubbed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. Okay, Sam. Think. That last thing you remember is getting shot. Chances are that you're either dreaming or in a drug-induced coma. Either way, this stuff can't be real and I need to wake up! Wake up, goddammit!

I closed my eyes, pinched myself in the upper arm and slapped my face. I opened my eyes and everything was still in a shade of burgundy-red and there was still knocking on the door.

I opened the door and the man was still standing in the doorway. "May I speak now?" He asked.

"Um... Yes?" I answered with an uncertain expression on my face.

He extended his hand to me, "Alastor. A pleasure meeting you, Sweetheart. Quite a pleasure." He shook my hand and entered the room, "Sorry for my sudden visit, but I had to see how you were feeling the moment you woke up."

"Well..." I started, "I'm feeling alright, if that's what you were wondering."

The man, Alastor, nodded his head, "That's good to know."

"But..." I spoke up, raising my hand, "I don't know where I am, what I am, or how I got here. Can you answer those questions for me?"

Alastor nodded again, "Yes I can. Let's start with where you are." Then he smiled, his yellow sharp teeth showing, and cheered, "Rejoice, my dear. You're in my home, in Hell."

"Hell? As in the afterlife dimension?" I asked with wide eyes.

"The very same." He nodded with his signature smile, "As for your second question; You are a spider demon. And for your third question; I found you in the streets of Pentagram City and thought you could use a place to stay, guessing that this your first day in Hell." Then he face-palmed himself with a small laugh, "Forgive me, my dear. I never got your name."

"Oh. Well then..." I extended my hand to Alastor with an uneasy smile, "I'm Samantha. But you can call me Sam or Sammy."

Alastor tilted his head slightly, "Samantha... What a beautiful name." Then he asked me, "Tell me, Samantha. How would you feel if you worked for me?"

My eyes widen again. Me? Work for a man I just met? Is he crazy or something? What if he's a serial killer? A cannibal? A madman escaped from the nearest asylum? How do I know if I can trust him? But, then again, he is the first to offer me a job. And if I'm going to survive in this place, I need a place to stay and a job to pay for necessities.

I looked at Alastor, who was waiting for my reply, still smiling, and took a breath, "Well... Since I need to find a way to survive this place, I guess I agree to your terms. I'll work for you, Alastor."

Alastor's smile tightened and he cheered, "Wonderful." Then he told me, "For now, get yourself comfortable, Samantha. I'm pretty sure you don't want to spend all day in that robe. Clothes are in the drawers. When you're done, come meet me in the dining room, downstairs. I have some co-workers I'd like you to meet. We'll begin your work tomorrow."

I smiled with a nod and Alastor left the room, closing the door behind him. I took a breath and dug into the chest of drawers. I grabbed a light blue 1930s - 1940s styled dress. I looked over and saw a pair of black boots resting on the foot of the bed. I got dressed and exit the bedroom to met up with Alastor in the dining room, as he requested.

He wasn't alone either. Sitting with him were a child-sized, cute cyclops wearing a pink scarf, a white shirt and a pink skirt. And an anthropomorphic cat with large wings and a bow-tie around his neck. Alastor invited me to take a seat and introduced me to the other characters. It turned out the cyclops' name was Niffty and she usually served as a cleaner. And the cat was named Husk. They welcomed me and Niffty was more than happy to show me the ropes of working for Alastor.

Maybe things won't be so bad in Hell after all...