Shobek leaned back against the bedroom door. He hadn't left to find more soup. And frankly, he wasn't going to. Not since he was half-naked. He listened closely to what was happening inside the room and waited patiently for things to fall shockingly quiet. He slowly peeked his head inside and noticed Kasey curled up on the bed, her breathing soft and steady. He watched her for a moment longer before slipping into the room and closing the door. His steps were quiet as he walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a plain shirt. His eyes watched Kasey carefully as he slipped on the white, long-sleeved shirt. Afterward, he quickly left the room.       Next time, I'll try to hold back a bit more on the drinks... Shobek thought as he walked down the hall looking for the best cure for his head.        Four hours passed before Shobek started to make his way back to the room. His steps were lighter

     Kasey blankly stared at Shobek as he slowly stood and walked to the hall door, his hand resting on the knob as he sighed.     "When...I felt it, It took me six years to escape hell, and I searched everywhere. I could feel myself drawing closer to the key of freedom, and that's when I saw you. As soon as I met your eyes, it clicked. But in my frantic search, I didn't realize the king sent his dogs after me. I only got a glimpse of you before being dragged back down into the depths of hell. The king... was not happy. And I felt his wrath each day he came down into his dungeons to torment me. He let me go after three years. He said that since I led him to you, he had cut my six-year sentence in half. If I had known I was being followed, I never would have sought you out. But from my carelessness, you were targeted. And for that, I am truly sorry..."      Kasey stared at Shobek in alarm, confusion racing through her

The two flew in silence for a while before Shobek decided to get her mind on something else, "The place we are going to is going to look much nicer than what you have seen so far. Each person there isn't evil, but not all of them are entirely good. They are constantly replaying their lives over and over. Though they don't know that. This is why talking to them is strictly forbidden. They won't take notice of you unless you make contact first. So no matter what, don't touch anyone or talk to anyone." Kasey frowned, "they are reliving their lives?" Shobek hesitated, "more like they are repeating scenarios of their lives. They repeat the same scenario until they finally do something different, then they move to the next scene. Depending on how they handle the scenarios, they can move on to heaven or move into their next phase of hell. the scenarios they repeat are ones they had wished they handled differently. Although very rarely do the people ever move on. Most are there fo

Ananta laid patiently beside Kasey. But after no movement, she looked at the young girl, whined, then nudged her. After no response, Ananta stepped over Kasey's still form and faced her. Slowly the human girl looked into the pale arctic blue eyes surrounded by black fur. After a moment, Kasey finally lifted her hand and started petting the dog. Ananta's tail wagged as she laid down, nuzzling up to Kasey's chest. Kasey's silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she lost the energy to pet the warm husky in front of her. But Ananta only whined until slowly, Kasey again started to run a hand down its soft coat. Ananta licked a tear on Kasey's cheek before laying its head back down, closing its eyes. A sob shook Kasey's body again as she hugged the dog tightly, letting the tears get lost in Ananta's black and white coat. Ananta didn't struggle and simply folded her ears back, letting the girl weep in peace. Shobek looked at the stairs for the fiftieth time and Belasco heavily sig

Kasey picked out a more comfortable outfit amongst the clothes Shobek ordered for her online through Belasco's account. Taking the outfit to the bathroom, Kasey quickly got in and washed from the day's grueling work. Her mind drifted to the time she let herself fall into her pit of depression, her body slowly growing limp as she stood under the water. No, not again... Kasey shook her head and continued to wash the shampoo out of her hair. After she was done she got out, dried off, and slipped into her underwear and the black sweatpants and lavender shirt she picked out. Quickly tying her hair back into a sloppy bun she headed back downstairs, patting Ananta on the head as she headed back outside. The two had stopped arguing by this time but a tense silence remained between the two. "How's the food coming?" Kasey slowly asked, hoping to NOT cause another fight. "Almost done," Shobek responded. Belasco mockingly mouthed what Shobek said. "I saw that," Shobe