[i]Beep. Beep. Beep.[/i]

I've been hearing that same noise echo in my mind for hours, if not days; ever since I've been here. I can hear someone crying quietly too from the other side of this unknown room, but I know I'm in the hospital when the irritating beeping noises start to slow along with my heart beat.

I can feel a burning sort of sensation in my lungs from where air isn't getting to them properly, and my head now feels like it's throbbing as my pulse's speed continues to decrease.

[i]Beep... Beep... Beep...[/i]

The next sound my ears take in is the horrible squeaking of what sounds like metal chair legs on a varnished floor, followed by rushed steps in my direction as the person's cries become louder but harder to make out.

I can hear a feminine voice shouting at me, but my mind can't focus on the almost silent words being thrown at me.

I take in one last breath that I know won't last, then prepare for the worst when everything falls silent after the final beeps of the Cardiac Monitor beside me.

[i]Beep... Beep... Beeeeeeep.[/i]

--

The throbbing disappears in my head as fast as a click of two fingers, as well as the pain in my lungs. I can't feel any kind of beating within my chest from where my heart used to show my only sign of life, but somehow I feel alive.

Instead of a woman's crying I can hear a low humming noise echo from around wherever I am, and soft dripping noises as if I were in a cave of some sort has replaced the beeping.

I can feel pressure on my legs as if I were standing up, which just adds to my confusion right now.

The only way I know I'll be able to figure out where I am is to open my eyes, but to be truthful... I'm feeling awfully scared at this point in time.

[i]I thought I just died?[/i]

One second I was in a hospital bed listening to my own life slip away, and now I'm underground somewhere without a heart beat? What the heck is going on here?

I sigh softly after deciding that it would be best to open my eyes. I count down from three, and I force my eyes open after the thought of the number one enters my mind.

I gasp at what's around me; I'm definitely in an underground cavern of some sort, but instead of the normal dull colour of rock, I'm met with a crimson coloured cave with red liquid dripping down from the many stalactites and straws from the roof of the cave.

I know now that I'm standing in the middle of a long passage that declines in height, and as I look down at what is to come I gulp, scared of what might happen if I choose to follow this path.

Before I make a move to follow the path though, I walk over to a small puddle of the red liquid that is dripping from the rocks and crouch down next to it, dipping a careful finger into it before lifting it to my face.

The liquid isn't as runny as water, but it isn't as thick as a watery type of mud either. I take a close look at it for a minute or two, but give up when I can't think of what it could be. I move my hand and face closer together to smell the mysterious substance instead, but I regret it immediately and flinch my hand away from my face as I hold my other hand over my nose, trying to block out the disturbing smell of aged blood.

I rubbed as much as I could off of my finger and onto the bottom of my hospital gown as I stood up, deciding that I should hurry and find my way out of here.

--

It must have been ten minutes since I've started walking down this same passage, and the only thing that has seemed to change is the sudden increase of temperature and tall posts with large flames flickering on top of each and every one of them, lighting up the path that is seeming to darken as the path grows longer and deeper.

Eventually, though, I managed to reach the end of the declining slope, and I'm now stood in front of two humungous wooden doors that looked as if they had been there for centuries.

Spider webs can easily be spotted in the cracks on the wood, and before I can stop myself, I push the doors open as hard as I can and run inside the next section of the cave; mentally freaking out at the thought of a spider landing on me, or even laying my eyes on one.

As soon as I had passed the doors I immediately started to slow down at the scene in front of me, but before I could turn back and flee, the doors had slammed shut and a small waterfall made of what looks like lava had started to pour in front of them.

"Frank Anthony Iero Jr." A low voice echoes around the large section of the cavern, their voice sounding extremely hoarse and dark when it reaches my ears. I tremble slightly in fear of what it could be. "I've been expecting you."

I hesitantly turn back to face whatever had just talked to me, but only begin to tremble more when my eyes meet two large pitch black ones; hosted by an extremely large dragon-like demon of some sort.

Its skin was as red as I could have ever imagined, and the horns that rested uncomfortably on its head seem almost as long as its body; curling slightly inwards at the ends. The creature looked as though it could easily be taller than one hundred feet tall, even though half of its body is in its large hole in the ground that looked as though it was full of nothing but fire. Its claws were fully extracted as it stared down at me with a devious smirk; obviously thinking of ways to torture me or something along those lines.

"So," It started, leaning down quite a bit so its face could be level with my own. "As you've probably guessed, you're in Hell. And before you even ask who I am, I'm going to answer your question. I'm known [i]up above[/i] as Lucifer, or 'The Devil', if you prefer." Lucifer smirked to show his countless crooked and pointed teeth, and I cowered away from him as far as I could without stepping on the lava that was now flowing past my bare feet and down into the hole where the Devil was standing or even sitting.

"W-Why am I here?" I stuttered, struggling to remember anything bad that I had done in the past to get me here in the first place. "I-I'm a good person!" I accidentally let the last part of my sentence leave my mouth in a scared squeak, making Lucifer laugh darkly.

"I'll let you think about that yourself, for I would be breaking the rules of Heaven and Hell if I told you the reasons why a person would end up in one place or another." He simply stated, spitting out the word 'Heaven' as if he had just drank a full bottle of poison.

I narrowed my eyes at the beast, slowly becoming a little calmer when I realised he was giving me some sort of time. "What do you mean, 'you'll let me think about it'?" I asked, "What are you going to do with me?"

Lucifer growled lowly under his breath as he exhaled through his pointed nose, glaring down at me. "You aren't fully worthy of staying down here in Hell, but rules state that if a human has set foot in either Heaven or Hell, they cannot enter the other. So, you cannot be accepted into Heaven either."

I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to process all of this new information that I'd have to think over again soon. "So... If I can't stay here in Hell, and I can't even set foot in Heaven now... What will happen to me?" I asked, making the Devil growl louder in frustration as he slammed his claws down into the ground, making the cave shudder and myself fall to the floor from the impact.

"Why must you ask so many questions?!" He roared as fire rose up around him, burning my feet and legs slightly at the blinding heat. He seemed to calm down relatively quickly though, and he let out a long sigh before answering me. "I'm going to send you back. You're too..." He paused to look me over before continuing, scrunching up his face in disgust when the next few words left his mouth. "...Nice, to be in a place like Hell. And before you ask yet [i]another[/i] question, yes, it is possible for someone to be sent back to their once dead body. There is a price, though..." He trailed off, leaning his face close to mine again, making me tremble like before and frown at the horrible smell that was radiating from him.

"And that price is...?" I asked him to continue, and he held out his large hand, making a bright fire ball appear just above his palm.
"You must sacrifice half of your normal human appearance to become a Demon; just to mark yourself as 'Hell's property'." Lucifer smirked again, holding out the fire ball closer to me.

I thought about what could possibly happen if I accepted the offer, but I couldn't help but ask one more question.

"And what would happen if I disagreed?" I ask, standing up from my uncomfortable sitting position on the rough ground. Lucifer just laughed, making me frown more.

"If you don't accept, then you give me permission to destroy you right here and now." He hissed, "If you're dead [i]up there[/i] and you aren't allowed to go to Heaven or stay here in Hell, what else can I do with you? You're just a waste of space. You should feel privileged that I'm offering you this; only one other human has ever been offered great powers like these, only they are more... Advanced than yours right now." He explained, holding what I guessed where the powers out closer to me. "All you have to do is touch this energy, and everything will sort itself out for you..."

I thought again for a little while; starting to feel uncomfortable under his piercing gaze. "And what about instructions or something? How will I know what to do or what I can do?" I bit my lip, and the Devil just smirked even more than before.

"I'll make sure that everything you need will be in your room for when you get back." He spoke in an attempted calm voice, "Does this mean you accept?" He asked, and I took a shaky breath before murmuring under my breath.

"Well... If this means spending more time with my mother, then yes... I know she needs me there with her; ever since dad has left she's counted on me for company... I don't know how she'll live on without me..." I sighed softly, then nodded as I closed my eyes and held out my hand.

What's the worst that could happen?