She'd been stuck in a cage her whole life.
Barb surveyed the vast expanse in front of her as she stood in the doorway, a hand up in front of her head to block the heavy sun, unsure what to do. The landscape was so… empty. There was a gas station down the road up ahead, but beyond that, nothing. Nothing but red dirt, red skies, and red rocks.
She never quite knew what to make of Wrath. Growing up, her family's circus had spent little time in the ring. She'd always wondered if there was some other, secretive reason behind it, but the harsh truth was the hardworking citizens would've held no interest to her father- he wouldn't invest the time if there was no guarantee of a solid profit, and Wrath wasn't known for wealthy occupants. The towns were small and the farms were often far enough apart that advertising wasn't worth the effort for the crowds it drew. The stands never filled the way they did elsewhere.
That was why she'd come here. There were no memories, nothing to haunt her while she figured out her next move.
Barb slumped against the wall of the store she'd just come out of, taking in what little shade she could get as the hot sun baked down on the arid desert. At least things here were generally affordable. She was flat broke, leaving her with little options.
Pride was out of the question. Her brother operated out of there, and even if she managed to set herself up away from Imp City, it was too fucking close. Every time she encountered the asshole, it further cemented her decision to stay as far from him as possible. Especially after the bullshit he'd pulled barely over a week ago.
She hadn't bothered going back to work after that.
Even if by some miracle she'd been able to keep the job, it was ruined now. He ruined fucking everything and now she was uprooting the small scrap of a life she'd managed to salvage in hopes he wouldn't be able to track her down again. This time she'd leave no trail, take no chances. She'd gone to the apartment she'd been on the verge of losing anyway, grabbed the few items she had of value to her, and fled.
She'd gotten by well enough the past several days, couch surfing when she could, but never staying in any one place too long. Mostly she'd stayed with friends she'd met in rehab and through various jobs she'd never been able to hold long, more acquaintances than anything. She even had a few circus contacts she could fall back on if needed, but she tried to keep those to a minimum. Too many of them looked at her with pity.
The people she stayed with had all gotten their lives together, had families or a general sense of contentment that she found she couldn't stand to be around long. Nothing in her life had ever been stable- well, barring one major exception and that comfort was long gone once again thanks to her idiot twin- and she didn't want to be reminded of what she couldn't have.
Hence her arrival in Wrath. There wasn't much for her here, but at least she could think.
Pride was out, and so was Greed. She'd spent too much of her childhood in both places. Unless she felt like getting mugged or constantly fighting battles just to stay alive, Greed was the worst place to be on her own. She had no desire to team up with anyone who would more than likely screw her over first chance she got, either.
Nor was she going back to Sloth, if she could help it. Sloth and rehab were too closely intertwined. Which also made her reconsider Lust, because she'd likely run across Verosika Mayday there, and nothing about that was appealing. Her relationship with Verosika was complicated at best. Neither of them could stand her brother, and for a while it had been nice to have someone to vent to- except Verosika's hatred for Blitzø had bordered on obsession. Ruminating together had been fun, to a point. Barb just wanted to put Blitzo in the past far behind her. Verosika was the opposite, willing to let her anger consume her. It made it hard to forget when the other girl constantly brought him up. Not that it had mattered, not when Verosika had seized the first opportunity she'd had to throw her popstar status around to get out, leaving Barb without a second thought. Their "friendship" was over before it'd even gotten off the ground.
With those options out of the way, that left her with Gluttony or Envy. Or here, she supposed, though Barb had a hard time picturing herself in Wrath for any real length of time. What would she even do? There was nothing for anybody here. Her skills were acrobatics, which she'd vowed never to do again, and peddling drugs. No one was going to hire her off the streets- technically well worn dust roads- to be a farmhand. Her chest felt tight again. What did she want?
Freedom. The word seemed to dance on the wind, always a fingertip's length out of reach. Barb shoved it away. She always had been, and always would be an animal like the ones they'd kept locked up in the circus. Allowing herself to think she might someday be able to escape her chains was just setting herself up for disappointment.
She still had the Asmodean Crystal… Barb dismissed the thought before it could cling too tightly. Her chances of building a life were worse in the Living World than they were here. No one would know her or her past there, it would be a new start and humans were easy enough to manipulate, but the restlessness that burned inside her would eventually cause her to move on, like she always did. She couldn't really have anything there. The Living World was nothing but a temporary reprieve from the crap she knew awaited her in Hell.
She'd go to Gluttony, she decided quickly, not giving herself a moment to change her mind. There she could lose herself in the endless parties and relentless hedonism that came with them. Lose herself, never come back, and never have to deal with any of the shit that plagued her day after day.
She could live with that.
She started walking in the direction of the nearest train station, roughly a mile away, ignoring the question echoing over and over around her head.
But for how long?
The drugs had been great- until they hadn't. They no longer held the same sway, not when she'd realized they'd trapped her like everything else in her life. It was part of the reason she'd allowed herself to be sent to rehab, not that she'd had much choice in the matter. She'd still done like Verosika and taken the first chance she got to get herself out, but she'd tried, at least a little. The shit she was willing to mess with now was nothing compared to what she'd been doing before.
She still needed the escape; that hadn't changed in the slightest. The problem was the escape didn't hit quite the way it used to.
She knew her father and brother suspected her drug use had started around the time of the fire that ruined everything, but that wasn't close to the truth. She'd been doing everything she could get her hands on since she was fifteen, the perks of living in a circus where no one gave a fuck. Sure, most didn't want to be the ones to sell to their boss's daughter, but it never took much convincing. Barb was a master at getting what she wanted. She doubted Cash would've cared much if he knew anyway. Fizzarolli was his prized possession. The older she got, the more she reveled in not being the favorite. As long as she put on a halfway decent show, he'd leave her alone. She'd learned quickly how to balance her highs with her performances, thanks to a few older girls who'd stuck around for a few seasons and taught her some tricks. The drugs gave her the separation she so desperately craved- her goal had been to get the fuck out of circus life as soon as possible, but the opportunity never quite arose- until the night of the fire Blitzø liked to claim was an "accident."
Bullshit.
She'd made no secret of how much she'd hated circus life, but that hadn't been the out she was expecting. She'd stuck around as long as she had for her mom's sake. Her mom had known how Barb struggled against the chafe of living in a tent and spending night after night existing to entertain others.
But once her mom was gone, the leash holding her had snapped.
Barb pulled herself out of her thoughts before they could go any deeper, a frown tugging at the corner of her lips. The train station couldn't be too much farther.
She felt the change in the air before she saw it.
There was nothing here but a few leafless trees- it was quiet. Somehow, that quiet had intensified.
Barb paused, taking a moment to look over her surroundings, ensuring she was still alone. The back her neck prickled.
Deciding it was all in her head, she shrugged, and continued forward. Then she saw it, approaching in the direction she was headed.
Flaming twister.
She'd heard of them, and the wreckage they caused, but she'd never quite expected to find herself in the path of one. She guessed this one to be about half a mile ahead of her.
Barb ran.
She tore down the road back toward the store she'd come from, feeling the heat increasing at her back, emanating from the swirling vortex. She'd thought the weather was near unbearable before.
The store couldn't be far. With any luck there would be a basement, and she could hide out there until the nightmare passed.
She saw the gas station, but nothing else. Barb squinted. The drab building easily could've blended with the landscape, but this seemed extreme. Distress was causing her to overlook the obvious.
The truth barreled into her a second later. She wasn't overlooking the store. The store was… gone. A pile of rubble lay where it had been, splintered wood sticking up threateningly. Her heart caught in her throat. She saw no sign of the other imps.
Barb slammed to a halt. How? She'd been in the store ten minutes ago. What had happened?
She got her answer a second later as a rush of heat flared from her left, drawing her attention.
There were two.
The second twister was further down the road now, away from her but too close for comfort. It twisted, whirling suddenly before changing direction, shoved by an unseen hand.
They were both heading right toward her now, as though they were somehow sentient and could sense her presence. Barb wasted no time. If the store had gone down, she wasn't about to risk her life hoping the gas station would be able to hold up against the onslaught. Safety was an illusion. If there were other survivors, she didn't have time to try to save them, not with her own life on the line. She ran deeper into the desert, her heels sinking deep into the sands as she raced toward the mountains in the distance.
She didn't let herself feel the exhaustion as it wore her down, only putting one foot in front of the other. Too slowly, the mountain range ahead grew larger. She risked a peek behind her.
For better or worse, the twisters had slowed, farther back than she was expecting. She wasn't sure that was a good thing, not when they'd collided. Now there was only one massive twister spitting fire, still heading in her direction. It ripped through the lone, dried-out tree she'd passed minutes ago.
She reached the mountain. Climbing was the best option she had.
No- that was a cave further down! Deciding to risk it, she abandoned the handhold she'd found, returning her feet to solid ground. Climbing was a sure thing, if she could do it without breaking her neck. There was a chance the cave would be too small- the opening didn't reveal much- but it was a chance she was willing to take.
Barb jumped inside, the twister too close for comfort. The cave was deep, like she'd hoped. Darkness surrounded her the deeper she went. She stopped when she could no longer see the twister, and the coolness of the cave replaced the burning heat.
She breathed a sigh of relief, about to collapse onto the cavern floor, when she heard the hiss.
She wasn't alone.
Instinctively, she took a step back. There was no way in hell she was going back out there with the flaming twister so close, but she wasn't so sure she hadn't trapped herself with something equally dangerous.
She held her ground, staring down into the darkness at the threat she couldn't see. Whatever it was, she could take it.
Barb pulled her phone from her bag, shining the flashlight further down the cave.
The thing hissed again.
The light filled the space, and Barb nearly toppled over laughing, leaning against the cave wall to keep herself upright.
It was just another imp. She'd be fine. If it came down to a brawl, she had plenty of anger to see her through the fight. This cave was hers.
"Turn that fucking thing off, will you?"
He was lying down, but he sat up now. His clothes and hat instantly gave him away as a local of the ring. There was something distinctly reptilian about him. His eyes glowed yellow, and she noted several rings within them.
Barb sneered. "I think not, cowboy."
The knife whizzed by her ear before she knew it had been thrown, embedding itself in a narrow crack between two rocks. She blinked and swallowed hard. It was then she noticed what she hadn't before.
He was injured. His pale red skin was covered in what looked like recent burn marks, easily visible through his torn clothing. The sight made her sick, bringing back memories of another fire.
She struggled to hold her ground, not wanting to give an inch but wondering if it would be better to take her chances outside. Injured animals were the deadliest. The knife was a clear indicator this stranger had no qualms about killing her.
Barb walked over to the wall and yanked out the knife. She wasn't about to be unarmed. There was a way to survive this and the twisters if she played her cards right.
Injury aside, the imp on lying on the cave floor was not someone to be messed with, if this was how he behaved at his worst. There were really only two options: play the doe-eyed damsel in distress and hope he possessed some shred of chivalry, or prove to him she could hold her own and wasn't afraid of him.
Okay, there was one option. Using her body to her advantage worked well on drug runs, but she wasn't sure it would be much help here. He didn't seem like the helpful type.
Barb threw the knife at him, making sure it flew inches over his hairline, deciding the show of skill was worth giving up the weapon to make him think twice. She smiled faintly. Cash hadn't had this in mind when he'd insisted his daughter learn from the knife-throwers.
The stranger reached up snatched the knife out of mid-air. Her smile faltered.
He slowly got to his feet, wincing. Those burns must've hurt bad if he was letting her see weakness. She'd known throwing the knife was a risk when she was certain he wouldn't let her get her hands on it a second time, but her temper was flaring, and she'd wanted to show she wasn't to be fucked with. She was tired of being underestimated.
He growled. "I told you, get out-"
There was a groaning sound from above, something shifting, then the sound of multiple objects falling through the air before colliding with the ground at speed.
Barb's eyes widened.
Rocks tumbled to the ground, crashing and piling up upon one another, filling up the entrance, until all Barb knew was darkness.