Once my shaking hand had collided with the warmth of the circular ember flames emitting from the palm of the Devil's palm, time had seemed to fast forward itself, leaving the following events almost a blur in my mind.

I had somehow managed to disappear from the caverns of Hell and have the weight of my real body back as my life came crashing back towards me.

My eyes flew open as the Cardiac Monitor had just beeped once, and my body had managed to overtake my mind when it sprung forward; making me sit upright in the white hospital bed as my breath came out in short and desperate gasps.

As soon as I had managed to calm my breathing and heart rate, I lifted my head that had been staring down at the white bed covers over the lower half of my body; meeting my mom's and nurses' simple shocked expressions. After a few seconds I was already feeling uncomfortable, and I decided that I should try and snap them out of the trance that both women were under.

"M-Mom...?" I stuttered, and she seemed to blink a few times before her swollen eyes began to spill tears again; making me crack a small smile when she finally registered what had just happened.

"Oh, Frank...! My baby's alive!!" She squealed, quickly embracing me tightly as she cried out many 'Thank you's' to no one in particular. I shot an embarrassed glance to the nurse who was still staring in awe over my mom's shoulder, earning a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips before scribbling something down on a clipboard she had in her small hands.

"I'll leave you too alone for a minute or two, and then I'll come back with Dr. Martin to check you over, Mr. Iero." The nurse then said; standing up and straightening her extremely light blue dress before clutching the clipboard to her chest. She looked quite young to be honest; maybe in her mid twenties?

I nodded anyway as an 'okay', and my mother released her tight grip on me to turn and smile at the young woman.
"Okay, thank you." She replied happily, and the nurse returned the kind smile before turning and walking out of the room, shutting the door carefully behind her. Once the door had completely shut my mom quickly spun around to face me again, sitting next to me on the white bed before wiping her tears away and grinning widely. I shot her a confused glance before attempting to speak again.

"A-Aren't you mad, mommy?" I asked a little innocently; although my scratchy voice kind of ruined the moment. It was then her turn to look confused as she shook her head slowly.
"Frank, honey... Why would I be mad at you?" She replied with another question, and I moved my gaze from her concerned eyes to my twiddling fingers on my lap.
"W-Well..." I started, trying to think of ways to word what I was trying to say. "I-I... Almost died, mom. You would have been alone then, since dad has already left..." I ended up mumbling the last part of my sentence; feeling tears prick my eyes at the memory of him leaving us. I sniffed and quickly wiped away a couple of tears before they fell, keeping my head down low still when I heard a sigh from my mom. I then felt gentle arms wrap around my slim figure and rest on one of my shoulders, and I leaned into the welcome gesture.

"Sweetie... I would [i]never[/i] be mad at you for something like that." She spoke softly to me, but firmly at the same time to get her point across. I nodded slightly and wrapped my own arms around her waist lightly, wincing slightly when I felt a slight ache from where a needle was taped to the back of my right hand; closest to the many machines to the side of my bed. She noticed this and moved back slightly to say something, but as soon as she had opened her mouth the door swung open and revealed the same nurse that had been a couple of minutes ago, but this time there was an aged man stood beside her with a thoughtful expression. He walked into the room without saying a word, and my mom stood up when he came up to me in the bed. He then smiled brightly, as if he were a mad scientist of some sort that had just created life.

"So," He started, "[i]You're[/i] the young man who's been out cold for two and a half weeks?" He asked, and for a second I swore my heart had stopped again for a split second or two.
"T-Two... Two weeks?" I squeaked out, making my mom look down to her feet in what seemed like shame.
"Yes... You've been out for some time, Frank." Dr. Martin then stated as the smile on his face faded to a more serious expression. "I'm afraid we're going to have to keep you here for another week or so; so we can keep a close eye on your progress."

I sighed softly and sunk back against my pillow and into my bed as I nodded, closing my eyes and reliving the moment that had got me here in the first place. My eyes then suddenly snapped open again at a certain thought, and my eyes darted from Dr. Martin to my mother, and then back to the doctor again.
"W-Where's Benno?" I asked, now looking at my mom again. "Did he come to visit at all?"
Benno is my best friend. His real name is actually Ben, but he swears to punch anyone who dares to call him names other than Benno or Benji. How he came up with Benno, I'll never know...

"Well..." My mom started nervously, looking down at her now entwined hands. "Frank, honey... The police seem to think that Benno is the one that caused all of this... I'm sorry, sweetie; he's been interviewed by the police, and will have to appear in court in a few weeks." She looked up at me when she finished, and I could feel my eyes prepare for more tears as I just thought over what she had just said.
"No..." I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief as I then let out a weak laugh and smile. "He'd [i]never[/i] do that to me. We've been best friends since I was 5, mom. Benno would never do [i]this[/i] to me." I then bluntly stated, gesturing to my body that was half-hidden under the thin white bed sheet. She just shook her head in reply, covering her mouth with one of her hands as she left the room; quiet sobs fighting their way back out of her body before she could even have time to attempt to stop them.

"I'm sorry, Frank..." The doctor then sighed as I moved my gaze up to his own. "But I'm afraid that she's telling the truth. It's all over the news around here; no one else could have possibly done this." He then placed a hand on my shoulder when I lowered my head, letting the longest part of my faux hawk fall in front of my face. "I'll leave you alone for a little while to think. If you need anything, just press this button right here, and help will be over right away." I didn't bother lifting my head to look at where the button was or what it looked like, and I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost didn't notice the doctor leave and close the door with a click behind him.

[i]Why would Benno do this to me?[/i] I thought to myself as I raised a hand and chewed on an already blunt fingernail. [i]Or most importantly, how did he do it?[/i]

--

The week that I had spent in the hospital seemed to pass by quite quickly, which was very hard to believe; even when I was now getting changed into my own clothes.

"Frank, honey?" My mom called from the other side of the door, knocking a couple of times. "Are you ready to go? The school is expecting you for half 10, and it's already ten past."
I quickly slid my relatively old black converses on and brushed off my black skinny jeans, grabbing my bag from beside the hospital bed and taking a last look around for anything I may have forgotten before walking over to the door and opening it; revealing my mom's now smiling face.

Oh, did I not mention anything about school? Yeah, I'm being transferred to a new one that's about an hour or so away from my house... It's a bit of a long journey, but it'll be better than going to the same school as Benno and his other friends.

The car ride to the school was silent as both my mom and I struggled to think of anything to say. We had already talked about everything to talk about when she came to visit at least three times each and every day. But at least my mind was focused on [i]something[/i].

What was really going to be in my room for when I got back? Would it be a messenger from Hell to deliver a message, or just a simple note? And what did Lucifer mean when he said that [i]'everything would be there for when I got back'[/i]? I guess I'll find out soon enough...