Part 18
They hadn't gotten far from the hotel before they ran into the crowd. Alex was somewhat nervous as this was his first time going out when he wasn't just there to follow. He and Vaggie had walked Angel to work once, but that was so that Alex could be there to send him off. This? This was extracurricular.
Husker reached up and scratched under his bow tie. "If we get spotted, it'll probably mean much less fun. Unless you don't care, in that case, you are one ahead of me." The lizard quickened his pace, walking beside Husker so they didn't get separated. "I don't know what Alastor is expecting from this. He keeps throwing violence at me." He made a grabbing motion with his free hand and sighed, "But I am ready to get into a good fight. Anything to knock out all the tension. This place makes you feel things."
Husker laughed. "You ain't a hell-born or a native, kid. There are worse things than a boy with Band-Aids on his wrists down here. Especially if you ain't know how to use em'. Which you don't. So don't be so quick to jump into a fight 'cause' there isn't anyone here to break it up." They turned a corner into an alleyway, and Alex turned his hood up to make him more invisible in the crowd.
"Besides, the best place to start for fun is the bar. Usually, you start there, and someone gets stabbed." He stopped outside of a giant neon sign.
The dim purple light painted the interior white, black, and yellow. Everything was sleek and stylized in blacks, greys, and whites. It was all very minimalistic, with sharp lines. Leaning into the window, Alex peered inside. "This looks like a place Vogue spat up." He walked inside, ignoring Husker's laugh behind him as he walked to the bar. The door swung shut, and the night went on.
After some time and several drinks, Alex was leaning over the bar with a hand on his head. Lightweight. "Sho...I sent him the recordingsh of...of the park and then just fuckin...stepped back into traffic. Hit me right in the fuckin' hip like BAM!" He slammed his hand down on the counter, then returned to holding his head up. "An...an-an-an right before I did it, I ate a hotdog. Oh fffffuck, I would love a hotdog... do they have hotdogs here? Angel said they have ice cream, but it shucks. ...ssssucks. God, I love that boy."
"Nah, they only have the kind of dog your dumbass ends up in." He downed the glass next to him, then ordered another drink. The lizard dipped a claw into his drink and licked it off the sharp extremity. "Fuck...never get over this taste...ish like battery acid. Which is weird cause if I keep drinkin' it, I...I kinda start liking it."
Husker lit a cigarette and offered it to Alex, who looked at him. Then, he reached for it with a clawed hand and took it. "I never smoked when I was alive. I ashume some asshole owns the...the...market on these things, yea?" He slipped it between his teeth and leaned into Huskers lighter.
He flicked the metal with a claw, a small flame coming from the tiny lighter. The pair had been smoking and drinking for a little while now, and as Alex puffed out a plume of purple smoke, he watched it crawl up towards the ceiling. He was a natural.
The music seemed louder now, and Alex flagged down the barkeep to get any service since he couldn't hear his voice. "Scuse' me. What do you have that's sharp? Real sharp?" The large panther behind the bar set a bottle of liquid in front of him in a large, thick green bottle. Inside were two different liquids. On top was a red liquid, and on the bottom was an orange one; the two separated in the middle like oil and water. "This should be fun. Husk! Come get cut up with me."
The cat chuckled and grabbed a shot glass from him. "Ok, kid, this isn't for little boys; this is for big boys. The two liquids are separated, so you need to shake the bottle before you pour it. And once you pour it, you must drink it before it separates again. This stuff is going to sting."
The lizard got excited, and his tail swayed behind him, shaking slightly. He took the bottle and shook it, letting the contents froth for a bit as the two began to mix and slowly integrate. He had pretty good mechanical skill for someone who was already drunk as he poured them both a shot. "single, huh?" Husker smiled and poured himself a double shot before holding the small glass between his fingers and thumb. "On three."
"One..."
"two..."
"Wait!" Alex set his drink down and poured more, matching Husker's drink. He wasn't about to bitch out.
"Three!"
As soon as Alex drank, his body instantly felt sick, but his muscles and senses felt better than they had since he woke up in Hell, if not stronger. Everything seemed just a little clearer, as though he could make out more details, but nothing around him had changed; the world seemed sharper. And when it hit, it was smooth and felt pleasant and silky going down. He slammed the shot glass to the table, a deep green foam coating the edges of his mouth from what remained.
He felt his eyes go heavy, and he could hear everything clearly in the room as if the music wasn't playing. He heard a demon texting on her phone, Husker's heartbeat, and another demon swallowing their drink. Everything was right there for him to sense.
Then everything returned to him, and he opened his eyes, blinking a few times, relaxing his neck, and looking forward again. He might have even felt a little more sober. "Holy shit..." Alex managed, leaning back and putting his hands up against his temples. "It's like...someone lifted weights out of my ears. What is that?"
Husker laughed at the lizard. "Ha! Yer drunk! I am as well, but if you can remember that feeling, you'll be sober by the end of the day and the most sober sonova bitch in Hell." He took the bottle, poured two more shots, and handed one to Alex.
They ended up on the rooftop of the building about an hour later, the smoke billowing from the lizard's nostrils as Alex and Husker stared out over the rooftops. They had switched to beers. "Fuck, this place is crazy," said Alex as he removed the bottle cap from his third beer, "you have ice cream, but you don't have hotdogs." He shook his head and took a drink from his bottle.
Husker stared at Alex, watching every sip he took from his drink. His voice dropped a little. "Alex, why the fuck are you here?" Alex looked out over the rooftop and smiled.
"I made a decision one day. Someone important to me needed help, and I made it worse. I couldn't stand that I did that to someone I cared about. So...I did a foolish thing that has me sitting on a rooftop with a demon drinking beer." Sip. "In hell." Sip. "In a hotel run by the daughter of the devil, and I am doing everything I can not to freak out about it. So all I can do is focus on Angel because at least then I'm not thinking of me." He rested the bottle on his chest and felt a lump forming in his throat as he talked about it, trying to push past it.
Husker kept watching him. "It's weird to see humanity down here, kid. You keep that shit in check. It ain't gonna' be very helpful." Alex didn't say anything. He just took a drink. Then, a short chuckle came from the lizard's lips.
"My parents didn't know I was gay. I wasn't planning on telling them. Mom would have had a fit and probably warned me that I was going to go to Hell." He chuckled a few times. "Surprise!"
There was quiet between them as Husker had nothing to say. Finally, he sighed and set his beer down, hopping off the roof's edge. "Come on, kid. Let's go home, and you can pretend we got into a fight tonight. I'll punch you so he doesn't know."
They made their way back down into the bar, the air thick with the smell of alcohol and glass and smoke. Husker gave him a nudge, "I'm gonna' take a piss, and I'll be right back. Don't get into any trouble. Got it?" The boy nodded. "Sure thing." The cat headed down a hallway where Alex could see him duck into a room and close the door behind him.
Once alone, the lizard wandered along, following the room's outer edges and passing by demons talking, drinking, smoking, and even gambling. Alex kept his eyes on the floor for most of it until a song came on that made him realize he was swaying a little to it. Husker wasn't back yet, so Alex stepped further into the room and onto the dance floor, swaying to the beat and trying not to step on anyone.
Closing his eyes, he let the alcohol in his system guide him as he started to dance a little with himself until his hip made contact with someone else and Alex looked up only to look down at the demon he bumped into. He was cute. Short, makeup a little smudged, but Alex didn't care; he was buzzed and a little bored.
He was short, with tan fur, dark purple hair, beautiful yellow eyes, thin lips that drew up into a coy smile, and a light sway when he walked. His build was slender, and his clothes were all revealing. Alex was about to apologize when the demon grabbed the hem of Alex's pants and pulled him against him, wrapping his arms around the lizard's waist. Alex swallowed and blushed, stumbling over his words.
"So...hi. Sorry."
"Hmmm. Hmm-mmm, so strong. You didn't scare me at all."
"Oh. Good. I uh..."
Tonight had been a night of many firsts. It was the first night in Hell, and he wasn't inside the hotel. He had his first cigarette, then his second cigarette, and then his first pack of cigarettes. He had his first serious drink.
"Fuck it." He wrapped his arms around the demon and started to dance with them, his arms resting on the tiny demon's shoulders. They smiled and began to dance closer to each other, the small body of the demon sliding up and down the lizard as the pair continued to sway. The demon was rubbing his chest along the boy's crotch while reaching a hand up, teasing his hair before running his fingers along Alex's jawline and looking up at him.
"You're cute. Haven't seen you here before." The demon's voice was like silk. He had done this before. Alex smiled a little. "I'm new here."
The demon stopped dancing, his slender arms still wrapped around Alex, pushing their bodies closer together. He was just a little shorter and was gazing up at him, a slight smirk spreading along his thin face. "Is that so? Why don't we step outside so I can welcome you properly?"
There wasn't an opportunity for Alex to deny or accept the offer because before he could respond, the cute little demon took his hand and began to pull him through the crowd towards the side exit. At this point, his actions were guided by instinct, maybe because he had been so relaxed tonight. Alex had not seen so much in the afterlife, and his nerves and anxiety were quiet.
They headed towards the side of the building, the soft sounds of the night filling the sky around them as the demon held the door open for Alex. He smiled a little at the demon and stepped backward into the alley, curling a finger at the little creature. Then, he closed the door on Alex and locked him out of the bar. "Just...forgot something."
It took the boy's brain a few seconds to register what happened. In his drunkenness, he didn't register what the demon was doing, but it wasn't the fact the demon had left him outside by himself that was the issue. Alex would have been better off if he had been locked out alone, but two more were waiting in the alley. It had been a trap.
He was tapped on the shoulder and turned to look at the person who did it. Again, he had to look down; the creature was much shorter. She was small, with little black horns curling from the top of her head and curling around her ears like they were her black hair. She was alluring and looked dangerous—a lot more dangerous than the boy.
Her pink lipstick was shiny and extenuated her sharp white teeth. "Oh no...this one's cute..." Alex didn't feel the pain as he was punched in the diaphragm, but his knees buckled. It was almost enough for the lizard to vomit.
Her fist connected with Alex's face, and he fell backward onto the ground, arms curled around his stomach, unable to breathe yet after the first punch. He remembered getting punched in the stomach when he was eleven once and not being able to breathe for a few seconds. But that had been by a friend and was a 'prank.' This was worse.
She jumped onto Alex, climbing him like a tree until she straddled him with both hands curled in his jacket, pulling at him to keep him looking her in the eye. "Don't you fuckin' close your eyes, boy!" Alex didn't know why he wasn't fighting back. She was so much smaller than him. And after all that abuse he had taken from Alastor and Vaggie, was he going to take it?
Forcing himself to one knee, he got his arms between her and himself and was able to push her off of him, although she tried to hold on before she fell to the ground. He thought that would have been enough to catch his breath, but she was back up and looking at the arm where she had been scraped. "Ow!" she started to pout and then pointed at Alex but looked behind her. "Brutuuuuuus! He hit meee!"
She threw a temper tantrum at the largest demon in the darkness, almost like a guardian watching the others. Alex reeled and felt his stomach drop to his knees when he saw the massive alligator begin to approach, easily three feet taller than Alex. "Oh fuck..." Alex stumbled backward and fell onto his butt, backing up. "Oh fuck!"
As Brutus began his march, he spoke with gravel that only existed in his voice. It was too much for the boy.
"That was your second mistake of the evening."
