I hear a snap of fingers and suddenly I'm in an black room. This room seems to have no walls, all there is is endless dark. Then with a loud snap a spotlight is shone on me to reveal that there is in fact no floor either. I'm just floating in black.

Then two more spotlights are flashed on with in front of me. Seconds later beautiful Helena lights up my view, then a creature ugly as sin follows.

"Hello Gerard." the creature purrs. "I'm Satan, and I'll be your tour guide for today. I hope you enjoy the scenery." he gestures to the black nothing, "I thought it added dramatic affect."

Wonderful.

I manage to take my eyes off Satan long enough to see Helena. I gape at her, and she looks down at my shoes. She seems even more broken than normal. She's finally been beaten for good. Cold guilt floods me from head to toe.

Satan clears his throat. "Excuse me, it's been taken to my attention that you deeply, deeply, regret, and feel responsible for Helena's death?" he asks formally. My eyes flash to him and I can't help but nod quickly.

"Has.... Has Helena been in..... hell?" I finally break the long silence.

"Oh yeah." Satan nods casually. Anger ignites me.

"Why? What has she done?" My voice raises.

"I think you know, Gerard." he says solemnly. Helena whimpers a bit and my eyes flicker to her. She's still wearing the lacey white dress she ended it all in.

"I-...." I mumble. "But why? Why should she be punished for it? Why should she-"

"I don't make the rules, pretty boy." Satan interrupts. "You gotta take God up on that one." he shudders as he speaks the word God. "So yeah, Helena here killed herself, and now she's been sent to hell for all eternity." he says like this is all a big doll house.

"And look buddy, you don't want her here, I don't want her here. She shouldn't be here. Every once in a while I gotta prove that I'm more merciful than God, and is there a better way? So I've got a deal for you kid. You give me the souls of one thousand evil men, and I'll give you back your Helena." I don't know how to react.

"Like.... kill them?" I stutter.

"Oh good! You're finally catching on!" Satan says in a mockingly cheerful tone as he claps his hands together. "There's a catch though.... at the end of it all you can only have her if you stay pure."

"Pure?"

"Yes.... Pure." He purrs. "You see," he says as he starts walking slow circles around me, his spotlight following him all the while. "I'm still not sure if even you can do it. Helena here has been jaded by years of depression, but you, you're still... unclouded. You're determined, you're hardworking, you're empathetic, intelligent, romantic, and creative. How I'd love to use you as a trophy in hell! There are so many idiots down here! You wouldn't believe it!"

Somehow I can. He continues to moan to himself about me being his little trinket down in hell.

"A trophy?" I ask.

"It's all just an arms race between me and God, remember." Satan informs me.

"How reassuring, that the fate of humanity is all just an arms race between Heaven and Hell." I mutter.

"And you've got a sense of humor!" Satan chuckles.

"Alright so," my eyes flicker to Helena, who has had her head down the entire time. "I have to kill a thousand men-"

"Ah, ah, aaah," Satan interrupts, "One thousand evil men, that I will assign. You have to give me the ones I want, or it won't count." I nod.

"And if I stay... pure, you'll give me back Helena.... And she'll be alive and all that?" I ask, remembering all those movies I've seen where the guy makes a wish and it's totally obscured by the wish granter.

"Yes, she'll be alive and all that." Satan nods. I glance at Helena, though she doesn't look up at me. I don't think about killing right now, I don't think about stealing life, I can't. I don't have a choice tonight.

"It's a deal." I say suddenly. I look to Satan, I try to gauge him, then I realize I'm trying to judge some supreme being, and that that shouldn't really be possible.

"Well alright!" he says clapping his hands together.

And so he gave me a list of a thousand evil men. Each picked for different reasons, some being the evilest of men, and some he picked simply because he likes the way they walk. No matter the reason, I have to kill each and everyone of them.

I wake up with a jolt. I shock that makes me once again realize Helena's still burning in hell, and that I have yet to kill a man. A strong blow that reminds me that I have to kill 1000 people.

Notes

So I actually started this a long time ago, and just got around to finishing the first chapter up.... Hopefully it'll get me out of a writing slump so I can pick up on some other stories....
But thank you for reading this one! Feedback please!