Part 2, Chapter 11

Part 2, Chapter 11

Lily

During Amber’s strange call, she’d told me she would come over with Katie in tow and we could discuss going to Hell.

While waiting for Amber and Katie to arrive, I was mulling over the idea of going to Hell. The idea of escaping, of getting away from the people that wanted to hurt Katie and I was obvious, but as far as Hell was concerned, I had some reservations.

Despite those reservations, based on Amber’s phrasing, and my own understanding of the situation, there was one thing I needed to take care of if I was going to be in Hell and leave her behind. And if we never made it to Hell, a likely outcome in my mind, my preparations could still be useful.

Sophia left to go make herself a sandwich, and I got to work at my desk.

I finished just before Amber unlocked our front door and entered. I left my room with an envelope, hiding it behind my back and waving with my free hand.

Katie sat on the armchair and dropped a backpack on the floor, while my two girlfriends and I used the couch. The two of them weren’t quite cuddling into my body from either side, but they were still loosely connected to me by lingering hands resting on me. I placed the envelope in front of me on the floor, out of the way until the unlikely event that it would be needed.

Sophia started the conversation, “Hello, Katie. I’m Sophia, your sister’s girlfriend’s girlfriend,” she smiled, suppressing a giggle at her own strange introduction.

Katie adopted a bemused expression and some of the tension escaped her, “Nice to meet you... Sorry we won’t get much time to talk, apparently my sister is sending me off to eternal damnation?”

Amber rolled her eyes, “Hell isn’t like that... Maybe...” she shook her head, “It’s almost certainly not like that for demons, I think.”

I interjected, “So why are we going to Hell? How are we going to Hell?”

“I think it would be the safest place for you to hide while I find a permanent resolution to my mother’s meddling. It would also help buy me some time to play the good daughter, since with you in Hell, it would be really easy to pretend you were dead.”

She sighed, eyes glancing between Katie and I, “As for how... That’s up to you demons to figure out...”

“So you’re just sending me and Katie off to hide while you take care of everything yourself?” I frowned, not bothering to hide my distaste for the idea.

“It’s not like that, this is just the best way to stall while we think of a more permanent solution, without worrying about an assassin coming for either of you,” Amber pleaded.

Sophia stepped in, placing a reassuring hand on my arm, “And she won’t be alone, we can work together on this,” her eyes met Amber’s, her face wearing an exaggerated smile, “Right, bestie?”

The look shared between them wasn’t friendly, nor was it loving, both things that I hoped to see. Instead, it was a shared determination that brought about the temporary truce.

Despite the apparent truce, the prospect of leaving the two alone, potentially without any communication between us, left phantom itches across my skin and a stone in my stomach.

I shook my head, regathering my scattered thoughts. “And how will Katie disappearing help your ruse, wouldn’t that make your mom more suspicious, or at least hurt any chance of Katie staying stealth?”

Amber raised a finger, “That would be the case, if she was just disappearing, but as her teacher I have the power to take her out of school and send her on magical errands, so it’s trivial to provide cover for her.”

A silence settled over us as I turned over my thoughts in my head.

The three of them stared at me, waiting for my input. “When did it become my decision?” I whined.

Amber shrugged. “I’m proposing sending my baby sister to a foreign country, I’m not happy doing that without you there to look after her...” She looked down sadly.

Ugh, she doesn’t like this any more than I do, does she...

“So... If we go, how are we supposed to get there?”

Sophia relaxed behind me, caressing her hand up and down my back.

Katie stood, glancing at Amber and quickly shifting gears. “So... how and when are we supposed to come back?”

Amber answered, “The portal should work both ways, although you might pop back out somewhere else on earth...” she shrugged, “As long as you don’t travel too far in Hell, you should be fine. Although maybe try picturing our dorm when you make the portal to come back.”

I nodded absentmindedly, still reeling from the fact that I was going to Hell.

Sophia nodded as well, chiming in, “Ohh, like Minecraft rules, that makes sense!”

The three of us stared at her, varied expressions of confusion on our faces. Minecraft is a video game... right? What does that have to do with portals to Hell?

She coughed, cheeks reddening, “Never mind... Uh, so next Tuesday is a good return date?”

A round of nods and shrugs followed; it seemed a good time as any, minimizing the time Katie and I would miss class, given Monday was a holiday.

Katie spoke, sounding way too enthused about our trip, “Sounds good! Are you ready, Lily?’

My brain scrambled around, already having come to terms with the how I was going to get there as well as the why, but not how I felt about it, or whether it was practical for me.

I was already behind in my studies after missing a week of class, and although it was still the beginning of the semester, I was not the kind of student that could miss any class, regardless of how difficult the lecture was. Spending time in Hell would certainly exacerbate that issue, and unless I was planning on transferring to Hell University and studying demonology – or whatever the hell demons studied – my life would become aimless if I was forced to drop out.

Not to mention the fact that I was already struggling on the monetary front. While I was sure my girlfriends – and Chris too – would help me out before I starved or went homeless, I didn’t want to have it come to that because I was being a dumbass and paid for classes that I didn’t even try to pass.

On the other hand, it wasn’t like I had any idea what I would do with my degree when I got it, and maybe going to Hell would provide me with more information on how demons lived and made a living.

I was also worried about Amber and Sophia, and leaving them behind, even if it made strategic sense to me, still left me feeling deeply uncomfortable.

Still, the fact that I needed to protect Katie and the fact that me being away would help keep Amber and Sophia safe too by placating Amber’s mother easily made up for my discomfort and spurred me on.

I stood and turned around, facing Amber. “Promise me you won’t do anything dangerous or impulsive,” I gave her my best doe eyes.

“I promise.”

I turned to my other girlfriend, “Promise me you’ll talk some sense into her if she gets a terrible idea in her head?”

She smiled and nodded.

I pulled them both off the couch and into one big hug, kissing them each on the lips softly. “I love you both, please stay safe.” This is going to be awkward if the portal doesn’t work...

“You two stay safe as well. You can try to find shelter in demon society... but Katie and I brought a hiking pack, just in case you can’t find it, or it doesn’t work out,” Amber said.

Katie picked up her backpack and showed it off for a moment before slinging it across her back. It was black, thin, and had those crisscrossing elastic straps going down the font that I had no idea what they were for.

I turned my focus inwards before I could get distracted or my embarrassment at my heartfelt farewell could materialize – although there was a chance that it never would, given how comfortable I’d been feeling expressing my love for my girlfriends. Magic swirled in me feeling like a warm blanket or a cup of tea that was always the perfect temperature.

One moment I was basking in the feeling of warmth, slowly piecing together in my mind what the portal was supposed to look like, and the next my eyes were open, the orange oval in front of me about six feet tall and three feet wide. The edges were solid orange, while the middle had an opaque rippling effect, waves of darker shades forming and dissipating constantly.

I blinked, hardly believing it had worked. There’s a portal to Hell in my living room. My life...

I bent over, picking up the envelope I’d prepared earlier, and handing it to Amber without a word, trusting her to figure it out.

I grabbed Katie’s hand and pulled her closer to the swirling mass, not wanting to waste energy keeping it open any longer. With one last wave at my partners, Katie and I stepped through the portal and were sent to Hell.