Often demons who were once humans were allowed a second chance and allowed back to earth. It was God's tool to test Hell, the devil and the demons.
Chardin walked straight to his bedroom in the great two hundred room hotel. None of the beds were made, the room was an absolute mess. He went to the window and looked down from the fifth story window to the cobblestone carpark. It was half full. It was very far down. From this height he thought he might be on the tenth storey.
He slept a few hours and woke to movement in the corridor.
He stretched his arms and ran his hands along the skin.
Who was he supposed to be? After centuries of living in a reality of sin. Death and torture were not the everyday occurence of hell, it was low awareness suffering much more long term. The kind of pain an adulterer or drug addict feels and not the direct slaying and whipping of wretched souls. His job was solely to feed the hungry whims of the masses, identifying their destructive need and supplying it. What was God trying to prove by sending back to earth into human form?
He took his gear to disorganized open shelf reception area in a narrow corridor.
The twenty year old woman with short black hair asked to see his stay permit.
Chardin rummaged through his things, but couldn't find any document.
"You can't stay here, you'll need to move on I'm afraid." Her smile made him realize, she was enjoying it. Was she also put here in some absurd divine test. Looked like she was keen to get back to hell.
He packed his things back into his bag and headed out into the bright but cloudy day.
Any memory he had of earth was vague and despite what they say of hell, it is thousands of times bigger than earth. With it's own classes, births, deaths and hierarchy. A slow reality that imitates human living making more of the opiates addictions and distractions available. For hour long thrills to pay for day long suffering. rinse and repeat. Where the longer living upperclass the prospecting demons, would indirectly make the lower classes lives hell. Only sharing in the misery when the low souls organized themselves into revolution. in which case, the roles would reverse. None of the underlying mechanics of their suffering would be questioned or be reformed.
Chardin got to the crossroads at Pont saint esprit. A hunched over Begger was sitting with his back supported on the signpost.
"Sir where may I find refuge?" Chardin asked.
"You are better to follow the forest path to the next village. These roads only go to the big cities."
"Oh thank you." Gratefulness was foreign and strange to his lips.
The begger stood up with his own satchel of things and said "I'm going that way myself."
He stood even taller than Chardin, ostrich like thin legs, distended stomach, self satisfied grin across his elderly face.
He walked quickly toward the mouth of the arid open forest path and disappeared into the low lying scrub.
Chardin was still catching his breath.
None of the grace and energy he had accumulated as an aspiring demon knight in hell. Supernatural powers that in hell granted him the kind of power he had longed for since he was a simple catholic priest on earth. In human form again he was completely lame and frail. Every movement was an effort.
He ambled down the forest track dried twigs and branches cracked and split under fit, like bones of old carcasses.
Something approaching a land version of a crawling trilobite made it's way after Chardin.
At first Chardin tried to avoid it.
Speeding up his pace. Then Turning, Chardin saw the thing had kept up, two awkward dark eyes staring into him. The rest of the absurd body made no sense, except camoflage.
Chardin ushered it forward. The trilobite transformed into a man with leopard characteristics.
"Flauros, come to taunt me have you?"
"Not at all, I am here simply to remind you of your legacy waiting back in Kasyrgan."
A gale of wind blew the trees and bushes in the area down. The land darkened and in the sky Flauros painted the city of Kasyrgan. A post grew out of the soil shooting above them. At the top of the post was a silver clock.
Flauros pointed his feline claw like finger and turned the hands forward until they were spinning.
"Flauros what are you doing."
Flauros just laughed and laughed as the hands kept spinning.
An Image of Chardin appeared on the streets of the city Lauros painted. He could see himself in fine robes walking down The old city street with his own minions some of whom were even higher in rank than him.
"Chardin, imagine all this power will be yours. All you need to do here is allow me to accompany you back to hell." His confident grin matched by shining furious eyes.
"What if you renege on this promise?"
Flauros tapped the lampost a small steel panel opened out and a contract fell into Flauros hand.
"It's all here, just sign."
"You know when I asked you for a promotion in Hell you ignored me."
"You want to know if you are a pawn." Flauros said.
"Oh with optics like these I know i'm a pawn. God's wants to see if the original priest is still here."
Flauros started to laugh again, deeper than before.
"You are looking for a better offer."
Chardin thick sickly feeling of de ja vu overwhelmed him.
"I never understood why I fit into your group of Demons to begin with. You can wow me with your powers. But i'll be cast down again, by someone over your head. and your contract will be null and void."
"How do you know his for certain?"
"Because it was conceived several times before I even entered this forest. God keeps throwing me back, and the big sharks come in to rack up a few points."
Flauros wiped the image from the sky, the day brightened.
the clock post disappeared into the earth.
"Chardin you are cursed, God will never let you into the after realms."
"Well it's better than being demoted each time I sign away my life."
Chardin pulled a short knife he had stolen from the hotel and cut Flauros deeply across the chest and jumped back as Flauros flailed.
"It does give me some relief to be able to destroy something again. How does that blood your bleeding taste?"
"I'll see you back in Hell, there will be consequences." Flauros moaned. Flauros pulled dental floss out of his coat pocket. Used it once between his front teeth, transporting him back to hell.
The carcass of the trilobite was left on the path. Chardin kicked it into some brambles.
Silently celebrating Flauro's foiled attempt. His position would be questionable at best at such a fail.
He continued walking till he came to the next town. Maybe God would save him. Or was just observing his little experiment play out.
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