Board Meetings and Dangerous Greetings

Without another word Mastema leads you back out into Hell and straight across it, towards two huge doors. The title above the doors is larger than usual, the word Baal hangs menacingly above them in fiery red letters and as you both approach it the door swings open, slamming behind you both as you enter. The room you find yourself is pitch black, and it begins lighting itself slowly in parts, leading to a long table with various demons sat at it. These are more formidable than any you have seen before, even moreso than Mastema who besides these monstrosities appears just as human as you. They glare down at you both, as though you're wasting their time simply by existing. A hoarse voice finds you across the table, still in the darkness.

"Come. Sit." it says hoarsely, his voice a garbled mess as if it was never supposed to have spoken any kind of human language before.

The light finally reaches the final demon who sits at the end of the table, not at the head seat which you assume is for Lucifer. The demon who spoke isn't as large as the others, but he seems uniquely different. All the rest are some shade of dark red, whereas his skin is a sickly dark grey white, and his horns and other features are a deep shade of black. As you approach an empty seat, the creature lets out a hoarse laughs.

"No seats for a human"

You feel yourself tumbling backwards towards the door roughly, hitting your back hard against the floor. Mastema doesn't spare you a glance as he takes the seat you had approached. You stand awkwardly, wishing you could leave and go back to your office. The room starts to ignore you as if you're simply an ant on the floor, which is actually how you prefer it.

"Baal, Asmodeus." Mastema says politely, nodding at the two furthest demons down the table, "you all know why I'm here today, and why I've brought my friend."

"Pah, friend, Mastema the friend of humans." the dark demon named Baal says with a laugh pointed in your direction.

"He was human, but he has potential, believe me. He should be a anointed a demon immediately for the battle." Mastema says, growing bolder, "you should see him in action, it's like watching a younger me."

"I have seen this one you call the Fallen Angel, I have seen his mind and I know he is no demon."

"You're wrong" Mastema begins, but is cut off suddenly.

"How is your poor beloved in Heaven, Charlie? Why are you not with her?" Baal says, staring straight at you, **"Elizabeth"**

You stare blankly at the demon. You hadn't heard that name in ten years, hadn't felt the sting of the memories for five. You wanted to leave now but the demon continues.

"A broken hearted man does not a demon make. You should be up there with her, imposter."

You want to leave so badly, when suddenly you feel agony flow through your body, you fall roughly to the ground, gasping in surprise pain. Mastema's eyes flicker from you to Baal angrily.

"Stop this right now Baal, I swear to Satan if you warp his mind~" he's cut off again by a pointed look from Baal.

"We will see this humans demons and see he is not one himself."

You're driving a 1970 black Chevrolet with twin white strips running down the centre of it. You look to your right and see Elizabeth, clutching your child to her chest. She looks up at you and smiles.

"please no.." you whisper to nobody in particular, "look back at the road.."

You can't though. You're transfixed by what you've created, the love you've built with this woman and the being that you made together. You didn't see the crash coming but you saw everything that happened because of it. You saw the love of your life die still holding young Henry tight to her chest. You saw her air bag fail to go off whilst yours saved your life and now you see it again. But instead of passing out almost instantly you lie against the air bag, wedged tightly between your chair and the dashboard as you watch the life drain from your fiancé.

You watch yourself throughout your depression, life passing you by quickly whilst you do nothing with it but mourn.

You're sat with Lucy, it's 2 years after the accident. "It's just not the same." you tell her as she leaves, it hurts her deeply but she understands. "It's not the same but I do love you." you want to say, "I do love you, please don't leave me." but you can't bring yourself to say the words to another woman.

You watch your life flashing before your eyes, all of the women you hurt and the ones you had feelings for but ignored until finally you're watching yourself dying in the gas fire, caused by an ex-girlfriend who tampered with your oven the night you broke up with her.

You probably deserved it.

You're lying, whimpering on the Brimstone floor crying, begging for Baal to stop, the demons look down at you with pity but Mastema's eyes aren't sad or pitiful, instead they're pure rage.

"How dare you Baal, you overstep." he says angrily as the visions suddenly stop. You realise everybody else could see them too.

"I am the one who oversteps when it is you who believe this whimpering fool should be a part of the Millennial war on Heaven?" Baal laughs cruelly.

Heaven. It's your chance to see her again.

"I do belong in it." you say confidently, rising to your feet, "and I'll fight anyone who says I don't."

Mastema grins at you proudly whilst the room falls into silence. You glare at Baal who returns the look, before sighing.

"Well.. it's your eternal damnation."