You’d think spending a week in Hell would be torture, pain, and beyond scary. Yet it’s been the best week I never got to have alive. And they say I have to leave tomorrow, but I have to think of a way for them to let me stay.

Because I was Heaven bound, the effects of Hell don’t work on me. They could lash me with a spiked whip, and I would feel absolutely nothing. My body wouldn’t even have a mark on it. I wanted them to try it out on me the second day I was here, but they said no.

I think everyone has the wrong idea about Hell. The demons here enjoy harming the souls sent here, because the souls sent are evil. The souls never die and are moved often to different parts of Hell. And since I’m apparently not evil, they don’t really know what to do with me. They don’t have a desire to harm me.

The demon I stay with is called Samael, but I call him Sammy. He hates it. His pain and pleasure is gluttony.

He reminds me of a man straight out of the mafia. He wears a gold chain and a track suit all the time, has an accent, loves to whistle, and is incredibly good looking. He enjoys every person that comes to his pit.

Sammy has a castle I like to call the fun house. One floor is a giant casino filled with every game you can think of. Another floor is a bar with robot bartenders that have any and all alcoholic beverages. And a third floor is food after food after food. The chefs make all my favorites and then some.

There are other floors, but you have to climb all the stairs. It’s too many for me. Sammy was surprised when I was able to walk away from the slot machines, only ate enough food to be full, and drank a single glass of wine. I know how to have a good time, but I do have my limits.

“Bricker will come get you tomorrow morning.” Lucifer startles me. I was just going out for a walk with some of the demon hounds.

Bricker is apparently some magical dude that belongs to neither Heaven or Hell. He just brings the souls. Well, he wasn’t in my boat when I came here. Mine was empty. He must have been tired or something.

“I would like to stay here please.” I tell the tall mysterious man who looks like a more normal guy than Sammy. He’s also more handsome but in a cleaned-up, suit-wearing kind of way.

“Why would a Heaven-bound girl like you want to stay in a place that tortures souls for eternity when you could go be pampered instead?” His smirk is sassy but his voice is sincere in his curiosity.

“When I was alive, I didn’t get to truly live. And there is more to this place than I’ve seen. I need more time.”

Lucifer rubs his temples like he has a headache. “Do you know the cost of stealing a soul?”

I shrug. I can’t explain to him the pull that I feel. Or how alive I am now that I’m dead.

He looks at me for a moment more, sizing me up maybe. “I’ll keep you here as long as you work for me.”

I don’t know what the job is. I don’t know why he’d offer it. I don’t even know if someone like me has ever been here before. And I don’t care. I just know I have to do whatever it takes to stay.

I shake his hand with a smile. “Deal.”