I close the front door after coming home from work, another boring day packing boxes full of soaps and shampoos to be sent out and sold. I head into my kitchen to get a nice cold cola when I spot something that makes me sigh.

"Dammit, Mel! You left the fridge open again!" I yell at my sister as I look at the now spoiled and curdled produce in said fridge.

"Oh shit! Sorry, Damien. I didn't mean to!" she tells me as she pokes her head around the kitchen door.

I sigh again and empty the spoiled contents but a few things were still fine. "Don't worry about it, I'll just get some more from the store," I reply and tie up the bin bag.

"Here, at least let me pay for some of it," she says and pulls out her purse before handing me a twenty dollar bill.

"Thanks, while I'm down there do you need anything?" I ask her as I take the bill and pocket it.

"Na, I got enough cigarettes to last me the week," she replies with a shake of her head.

I frown and shake my head back at her. "You need to quit those, they'll kill ya one day," I tease her and she huffs at me.

"HA! I got more chance of being shot before that," she retorts and walks off back to the living room to look after our mother.

I walk into the living room as well and smile at my mother who smiles back. "So mom, do you need or want anything from the store? I need to restock the fridge thanks to Mel here," I ask her and playfully glare at my sister who sticks her tongue out at me.

"Oh just some polo mints will be fine," she replies as she adjusts herself in her chair. Her back is getting worse and I just don't earn enough for the operation she needs, so I try to make her as comfortable as possible.

"Alright, I'll be back in a while. Mel, don't touch my stuff alright?" I reply and warn my sister.

"Yeah, yeah. Now get going before the store closes," she replies and I chuckle as I grab my keys and phone.

I plug my headphones in and select shuffle on my playlist. After a long ten minute walk I reach the local market and grab a shopping basket, I then head down the aisles getting cheese, milk, mince beef, and some other things and decide to look at the magazine rack as I pass it by.

I hear the door open with it's usual bing bong sound and look up to see a guy wearing a motorcycle helmet with a mirror like visor on it so I can't see his face, in his hand is a handgun that he's pointing at the clerk who raises his hands up.

"Oh shit..." I mumble making the guy point his gun at me.

"Get on the floor mother fucker and don't move!" he yells at me, but before I could comply the clerk pulls out his own pistol and takes a shot at the thug.

The shot hits him in the shoulder making him fire his own gun, I feel pain flood my chest as I look down and see a red patch that's growing bigger by the second. My grip weakens and I drop my basket as I cough which sprays a bit of blood onto the floor. I fall to my knees and grip my chest as it's getting harder and harder to breathe.

More shots go off and the thug manages to get out the door and runs off. I start choking on my own blood as I fall onto my back shivering in pain and panic.

"Oh crap oh crap, hold on man. Help's on the way..." the clerk tells me in his own panicked state as my vision starts to blur.

'Is this how I die? Not an old man passing in his sleep or from some badass brawl? I get fucking shot! Mel was right... the chances of getting shot to death is higher than those cigarettes of hers killing her,' I think with a pained chuckle which just ends up choking me more.

The clerk puts pressure on my wound making the pain flare up more but I don't think it matters... there's no coming back from this...

"I'm so sorry man, this is all my fault," the clerk says sadly, I think he's shaking his head as I can't tell anymore.

I then hear the doors open and people rushing inside, but my body feels numb and cold as finally the pain stops, my eyes close and I let out my last gurgled breath.

---

I open my eyes and the first thing I feel is weightlessness. I look down to see I'm naked and my skin is a transparent grey colour. "The fuck?" I mutter in an echoed tone. I then look around and see nothing but a pitch black void. "Where the hell am I?" I ask myself.

"Good question, this could be considered a form of hell, or more commonly known as the space between worlds," a deep two toned male voice replies to my question from behind me.

I try to turn around but I can't seem to do it. "Who's there!?" I call out in slight fear.

"A dying soul, one who has an offer for you," he replies and I see what can only be described as a dark purple transparent demon move a few metres in front of me. He's slightly taller than me and has two horns on his head, large fang like teeth, pointed ears, slitted eyes, bat like wings and a long tail with a spear like tip on the end. "I have been wounded beyond aid, betrayed by my own kin, and I would be damned if I allow it to go unpunished," he tells me.

"What offer?" I ask cautiously as I look around again but see nothing else.

"I offer you my power and a chance to be reborn, but in exchange, you must kill my brother," he tells me as I notice his legs are starting to dissolve upwards.

"And what if I don't want it?" I ask him which makes him chuckle.

"Then you remain here for all eternity," he replies with a cruel grin.

"What!?" I shout out wide eyed. "But why me!?" I ask him.

"I was banished to your world and you were the only soul nearby I could pull at the time of your passing, I need a freshly deceased soul to take my power, and you were the only one I saw at the time... I don't have much longer left, and the longer you wait the less chance you got of getting out of here," he tells me with another laugh.

"So you're saying I don't have a choice?" I ask with frown.

He stops laughing and smirks at me. "Correct, you either take my power and kill my brother, or stay here for all eternity as insanity takes you," he replies as his legs are gone from his knees.

I look down in thought. 'So I'm dead and some demon thing has brought me here with no real choice in the matter. I either accept his offer or suffer an eternity of silence and solitude...' I look back up and he's now up to his mid thighs.

"Let's say I take this offer and go through with it, but afterwards I'm free to go do what I wish correct?" I ask him.

"Once you kill my brother you're free to do whatever you damn want, go on a killing spree or try to have a normal life again, makes no difference to me, but you'll be stuck in Tartarus until you complete your end of the deal," he tells me and holds out his hand. "But here's some advice, when you do face him, do not let him stab you in the heart with his sword. It is a cursed blade that destroys the soul of the one it slays," he warns as his waist starts to vanish.

I growl in frustration and reluctantly grasp his hand. "Fine," I relent and he grins widely.

"Very good, with this pact I, demonlord Val'ketoph pass my power on to you, you will be bound to Tartarus until my brother, demonlord Val'hades has been slain," he says and his dark purple colour flows down his arm and into me, turning me dark purple while he turns dark grey. My body then becomes solid with my pale white skin again and I'm now wearing a pair of black trousers, a white shirt and a black Leather trench coat. "The pact has been set, good luck, you'll need it," he tells me as he then throws me away from him before some kind of portal to a fiery wasteland opens in front of me.

"OH SHIT!" I yelp as I can hear his cackling laughter before the portal closes and I fall to the scorched earth below. "Oooff!" I hit the ground and the wind is knocked out of me. I groan as I slowly get up and twist my neck getting some clicks making me sigh in relief. "This is Tartarus?" I mutter to myself as I look around, I’m in an ash covered wasteland.

"Yup!" a cheerful feminine voice behind me says making me jump with a yelp and turn around.

What I can only describe as a bipedal horse with hooves for feet, horse like legs, slender and curvy hips, a long thin tail with a heart shaped tip, a thin waist, generous sized chest and a bright smile with two fangs showing is staring at me. Her fur is scarlet red and her hair is a dark blue which covers her left eye, it's long and flowing down to her mid back which has a pair of small bat like wings. She also has a pair of six inch long horns on her head between her ears which are curved backwards.

Though her face is much more different than a horse’s with bigger wider eyes with deep red irises more on the front of her head and not the sides like a horse, she has a shorter muzzle, bigger ears, and shows much more expression than a horse ever could.

"Wow, never seen you here before. Who are you?" she asks as I only now notice she's wearing a black thong shaped like a heart and a bikini that is also heart shaped which just barely covers her nipples.

"Errr..." I just stare dumbly at her.

"Errr? That's a silly name for a hot looking demon like you," she says with a seductive smirk on her face.

I chuckle nervously and back away from her. "My name's Damien... Who and what are you?" I ask her.

"Oh, my name is Dark Desire and I'm a succupony," she replies happily before lunging forward, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me right on the lips with a lustful moan.

I panic and grab her shoulders and push her back just before she could rape my mouth with her forked tongue. "Bloody hell! You're fucking crazy!" I yell and start running.

"Ohhh I like it when they play hard to get!" she says and then giggles as she chases after me.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Welcome to Tartarus! Part 1 Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 56 Minutes