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Escher made his way through the rest of the slums and found the dingy bus stations that made the yearly pilgrimage to Hell. Digging around into the pockets of his tight black jeans, he pulled out the cash and handed it to the old stooped over bus driver, who smiled warmly as he took the money.
As Escher took his seat in the back of the bus, he saw some over jittery looking dead boys and girls who were about his death age. Sometimes he wished his had a CD player but it would take him about twenty years of hard heavenly labor to purchase one. His only regret when he killed himself was that he didn't have money in his pockets.
Sighing, he leaned back in the old leather seat and waited for the bus to start.

The old battered tour bus began to start up and Escher smiled. He had made it. He was getting out of Heaven and staying in Hell for as long as he could. Maybe, if he played his cards right, the rest of eternity.

The rickety bus was going a lot faster than one would expected and suddenly, it took a giant nosedive. It went straight through the concrete of the slums, through the clouds, and down to Earth. Escher scrambled to look out the window. He hadn't seen Earth in seven years; it was beautiful and filled with pulsing electricity. They continued to fall straight down and went through the earth at top speed.

The next stop was Purgatory. Escher remembered that place. He had perferred it so much more over Heaven. Purgatory was an in-between sort of place, not quite heaven, not quite hell. The angels had told him the people who loved him on earth had prayed for him so much, that was was "rewarded" with passage to Heaven. Escher had mixed feelings about that; it was nice they hadn't forgotten him but they didn't know how awful Heaven was.

They landed with a thud and Escher looked around. He was now in Hell.

Escher got out of the bus, giving a small wave good-bye to the old bus driver, who merely smiled that warm smile of his. The doors shut behind him and the bus sped away, leaving Escher and the other few angel that came in a cloud of dust and exhaust fumes.

The boy took off at a flying run. He hadn't felt this free in what seemed like ages. No work, just play. As he spun around in the streets, he didn't feel a day over 17. Suddenly, he felt something drip down his face. Reaching up to touch it, he saw that it was blood. He ripped a piece of his black shirt off at the bottom to wipe it away but as he did so, he felt a huge gaping hole where skin used to be. In Heaven, his gunshot wound had been fixed. Now, there was a gaping hole on his forehead where he shot himself that fateful night.

The girl had appeared out of nowhere, scaring the "life" out of him.
She had held up a mirror so Escher could inspect the blood and the gunshot wound, which was a lot deeper than he thought it would be. It went all the way through and he could see some shards of his skulls and some pieces of his brain hanging there. Definitely a grusome sight.

But the girl didn't seem to be shocked or disgusted with it at all. She merely pointed of the rest of the residents of Hell, people who had offed themselve in much more gruesome ways.

"Follow me, if you do not wish to be caught," She said, her voice so filled with misery he wanted to burst into tears right then and there. But she knew he wasn't from around here and he didn't want to ******** around and wait for someone from Heaven to come and take him away. He nodded and followed her where she lead him. Escher noticed that the girl didn't really walk but just floated beside him, somehow propelling herself forward without her feet touching the ground. Something about her made him incredibly uneasy but Escher didn't see any other choice but to follow his mysterious guide.

Adlee with drew her hand from Gerard's once he had fiished sewing. It was amazing, she could move it again.
She was surprised at all the other people who had joined them.
People from around the world, of all races. Mostly kids, but a few adults.
And then Gerard stood up.
She figured he would give a speech.
"Welcome everyone," He started, it stuck Adlee as odd. He wasnt exactly the same Gee as up on Earth. "The only rule here is stay away from Heaven."
He went on to explaiun what happened up in Heaven and how people were worked beyond belief.
He also said that Hell is doing everything possible to take heaven down.

The girl had led Escher to tall, dark building. She politely held the door open for him but he took it from her and quitely murmured "Ladies first." The girl looked at him strangely and then smiled, a sad little smile that was barely there. "You may call me Ophelia," She said. "I'm Escher," He replied. She nodded and floated through the doorway and he followed behind her wordlessly. You hardly needed to speak around her; she seemed to know everything.

They both got into an elevator and waited as the machine shot up to the top floor. As they got out, there was a huge black unmarked door. Ophelia told him to wait outside and he nodded, taking a seat on the cool dark marble floor. He waited for her to return or call him in. Escher's misgivings about Ophelia had eased slightly; she didn't seem to be against him but her mission, it seemed, was not to help him either. He twiddled his thumbs as he waited, mopped the blood off his forehead occassionally and still regretted not having a CD player.

Escher walked into the red room and wondered if it was actually paint or just a lot of blood smeared across the walls. Looking around, he saw it was an office type of room- there was a big dark wood desk in the middle and a rather elegant man was leaning against it, wearing a nicely cut black suit and a tie that matched the wall color. He seemed agitated and Escher wasn't sure on what to say.
"
Hello...?" He said in a small voice which was quite unlike him. The man looked up and smiled, a somewhat warm and playful smile. Escher could see that his bottom lip was somewhat pushed to the side and he wondered what happened to get it there.

"You must be Ophelia's um...gift. I'm Gerard, the Devil. Pleased to meet you," He stuck out his hand and Escher tentatively shook it. For the devil, he seemed awfully friendly.

"I'm Escher," he said, biting his lip a little. He had no clue what to say.

"You're here because you're a runaway. We get your type a lot, especially on Halloween. Craig, the Bus Driver, has been driving that rickety thing for ages," Said Gerard, a fact which made him giggle slightly. "There are good things about that and bad things. We want the residents of Heaven to have a little fun on Halloween but usually they have too much fun and they want to stay. Although we would love for them to, there's no point for me to argue with God's will for he is incredibly stubborn, and I have to send them back." At that, Escher looked at the floor forlornly. He knew it; he knew it had been to good to be true. "But," Said Gerard, interrupting Escher's momentary misery, "Ophelia brought you here and that means there are other plans out there for you."

[Psst. I'm Mary, not Carla. ninja xD]

Mary raised her eyebrows when Adlee announced she was going to explore. She had an itch to go with her, but wanted to talk to the Devil about looking like a prep. She was going to try with all her might to change that. Even if she had to wear rags; they're better than prep clothes.
One by one, the other arrivals followed her. Then there were only few left, those who didn't want to go just yet, or were, like Mary and her friends, part of a suicide group and still waiting for friends.
Mary got up, and all eyes turned on her. She walked up to Gerard, who was looking down at some papers. Papers about what? No clue.
He looked up when she arrived in front of him. She was about to open her mouth to say something, but Gerard beat her to it.
'Let me guess: You want a change of appearance. I don't blame you; while perfectly assembled so that it'd do any prep proud, it is very revealing and hideos.'
Mary nodded. Exactly what she was thinking.
'Well, to that, there is a simple answer.' He paused. 'Yes and no. While not being able to change your clothes, I can give you some scissors to give yourself a haircut, and make the hair look okay. If you cut yourself, don't worry. Won't be the last time down here.'
'But the clothes?'
'Well. You'll have to find out yourself. If you're dedicated enough you'll find an answer.'
Mary nodded again. She would find an answer, she hated these clothes with a passion.
'Well, for now, could I have the scissors, and a mirror? Make sure I do it right.'
Gerard pulled a mirror and scissors out of a drawer. She was surprised he had them so near by. It must have shown on her face, as the Devil spoke.
'Quite a few arrivals come with the same problem as you.'
'Oh…' She responded.
She went off with the mirror and scissors, into a corner, proped the mirror up and started choppign at her hair.