Friends in need ...

Seth keeps picking into his right pocket. Every dip of his hand comes back full with nuts. He keeps breaking them in his mouth spiting pieces left and right as we walk.

Seth?

[Seth] Yes.

My memory's a bit flacky. Is this the right way to The Byblos?

[Seth] We can get there from here. We are to make a stop on the way. You are to acquire some help.

Help. I do not recall asking for help.

A loud cracking sound makes Seth stop in front of me. Head to the ground. Takes a deep breath and spits on the floor. I look down and I can see more than just pieces of peanuts. The empty shells are covered in what seems to be a blend of mucus, saliva and glowing peaces of enamel from his teeth.

[Seth] What you recall and what you might think you need are something we will not get into right now. You WILL need help and you WILL keep your mouth shut during our journey.

He turns around and stares at me. He is in my face and under different circumstances I would have punched him in the teeth.

Understood. Do I get a last wish?

[Seth] Speak.

He is still in my face, which is now covered in his spit.

What's a guy like you, the third son of Adam and Eve, the one person who got into the Garden , doing in a place like this, under the ranks of Lucifer?

He pulls away. Turns his back to me and takes out another hand full of nuts.

[Seth] I am acting out of my own free will. That is all you need to know. And all that you will infer.

Cracks open another nut and spits.

Free will! People did tell me that you were a bit slow, but not like this. Free will, oh you almost made me laugh.

[Seth] You got your question. Shut it.

He might be working with Lucifer, which in itself is strange. Or there have been changes since I've been gone. Bloody changes.

We keep walking until we reach the end of the park. It's pitch dark. We climb over the park fence and into the street. Over into an alley and down through a basement. The door opens and I start feeling dizzy.

[Seth] Deep breaths Cimeries and do not worry. It's just a vortex.

Vortex, think of a door that leads to the "other side". There is no bright light, or pink ponies with flowers and all that. It's just a door. A door that only some can see and even fewer can enter.

We are greeted by two men. One looks like a university professor from the 70s. A light brown jacket with elbow patches, a yellow shirt and of course sandals. The second one, who is a bit taller, has a raincoat on. An old raincoat that seems to have seen more bad weather than what it was intended to. He also wears a pair of sunglasses and a hat. I guess he is the dramatic one. The "professor" speaks up first.

Welcome.

That is usually followed by an introduction.

[Seth] Surprised you did not recognize them. This is Hugh and ... what was your name again?

Hugh, the "professor", starts laughing. So does Seth. Raincoat man stands still for a moment. Extends his arm for a handshake and a rather weak voice states

You can call me Munin.

Come again? Hugh and Munin? You must be crazy to pick up those names.

[Munin] We did not pick them.

[Hugh] Pardon my brother. He got up on the wrong side of his bed this morning. It is us Cimeries.

Seth? This is the help?

[Seth] Yes. I am done here.

Who is taking me to The Byblos then?

Another nut cracks and the spit lads on my shoe.

[Seth] They will.

I think that will not be wise, Seth old boy. If some unfortunate accident should find me, Lucifer will be after your head.

[Seth] There are no accidents. My arrangement with Lucifer ends here.

[Hugh] Come on, we've got some talking to do on the way to the Byblos.

Seth walks away, eating those damn nuts.

[Hugh] So Cimeries, how have you been?

At the moment I am not sure if I am alive, dead or undead. You?

[Munin] Manny was a prick. I'm almost glad he's gone.

[Hugh] We'll get to see him again brother. At the waiting line. I am sure at this point in time expressing your feelings to him will bring out the most enjoyment for you.

Enough with the smalltalk. What the fuck is going on?

[Hugh] That would be a question for my brother.

[Munin] Fuck you Hugh.

You girls can have your foreplay later. Talk.

[Munin] After you defeat and the trail Hell took on a new face. Lucifer was, more than ever, stronger and more ruthless. In fact nobody made a sound after your verdict was announced. Everyone was expecting a little kiss between you and Death. But that did not happen. People even started guessing excuses to back up Lucifer's decision. The truth was, and still is, everyone else got it right up the arse while you got Earth.

Can we skip to the part that I do not know about. And by the way, Vlad seems to be a counterexample of what you just told me.

Hugh pulls up a little box from inside his jacket. Nothing special about the box. Old, wooden and banged up like as if some kids used it as a football.

[Hugh] Saddly, you are wrong Cimeries.

I pick the box and open it up. There is an old knife, rusty on the edges and a handkerchief. The same ones that Vlad had back in his pub.

[Munin] Look under the hanky.

Vlad's ear and Dierdre's heart.

I feel hungry. Can we grab something to eat?

[Munin] Nope, no time.

[Hugh] It's the human flesh Cimeries. Manny's blood is still with you.

[Munin] So for those under Lucifer's direct rank, they all went to back to hell, as raw material for new tricks for human souls. For the people under Dantes, Lucifer left it up to him. This of course left hell with two rulers. Lucifer and Dantes. Everyone else was below them. Dantes was very keen on the idea of ruling half of Hell so he got down to business. Lucifer on the other hand took a more passive stand. He slowly left everything to his subordinates. Dantes took notice of this fact and started to talk and handle business with each of Lucifer's pawns.

And slowly took them on his side due to his charming and delightful character.

[Munin] Yes. Dante is now, or more correctly, again looking for even more power.

[Hugh] It is however interesting that Seth has been involved in all this.

He was just a taxi driver.

[Hugh] Yes, the facts do point towards that direction. Why would he though?

[Munin] Cimeries? Any ideas?

I am not playing this game. You are here to help. That does not mean that you are not here to lso confuse and misdirect. Hugh, you are thought and I will listen to what you have to say. Munin you are memory and you can give me information of what happened. But never, and under no circumstances are you to assume that I take your word as law or even God send. I'll use and even abuse your information any way I see fit. We are not friends. We are not enemies. Each of us provides information to the other and even provokes thought.

I take a pause and I stop walking. They both move a couple of steps in front of me and turn to face me.

So let me say this again. We are not friends. We are not enemies. We simply landed on this story next to each other.

Hugh looks calm and at the same time I can see that he is uncomfortable. Munin is totally blank. He simply stares at me without giving me any sing of agreement or even disagreement. I take out a cigarette and start walking.

Munin, where has Lucifer been traveling the past year. A summary would suffice.

[Munin] He has been spending a lot of time around Hell. Alone. Walking up and down without paying attention to what was really going on around him

[Hugh] Tell him about your gap.

[Munin] Hugh, beyond the fact that you are an arrogant little prick, you also have the manners of a brainless whore.

I did ask for a summary and it was to your discretion to decide on the pieces of information that the summary would include. On the other hand since your brother is so eager to get on my good side, what is this gap of yours?

[Munin] The only side that my brother nows about is the one you wipe off after a good morning visit to the john. Ass kissing brain monkey. Next time try giving him a blow job that way you will be sure he likes you.

Munin....

[Munin] Sometime ago, right about 2 full moons in your calendar, I was on my way to see Odin. I was passing from Effrul and the for no logical reason I decided to take the long tour through the Tombs. There I saw Lucifer standing on the hanged tree and again for no reason at all I went up there to great him in person. He did not reply back. It was not Lucifer.

What do you mean?

[Munin] That was not him. I do not know how. It was a sense of his presence. But he was not there. No communication, no sense of his surroundings. Nothing.

I see.

[Hugh] I thought ..

[Munin] Really, you did think did you. Well that is a start.

[Hugh] That is what makes you look petty and I might even say stupid, brother. You cannot see a situation for what it is and take charge of the situation so as to gain a strategic position in the argument and effectively win.

[Munin] Yes, transform myself, mold me to everything that I should be so that I can crawl out of a situation like the snake that I am.

[Hugh] The role of the suffering hero usually goes hand in hand with idiocy.

[Munin] You little ...

SHUT IT. In the name of fuck. Do I need to get you a babysitter? Lucifer can be in more than one place at at time. Especially when the places he is at are in Hell. But to appear with no communication and senses? Wherever else he was at the time, that must have sucked a lot of energy from him to bring him to that state. And Seth. That still does not fit. Seth, of all people.

[Munin] Fuck you. You little piece of shit. Monkey spank mixed in with spit and blessed by the holy loser of them all.

[Hugh] I rest my case. You are an airhead, a jog full of adrenaline and nerve endings that lead to bones and not a brain.

Munin jumps over me and gives Hugh a taste of his knuckles. Hugh falls on the floor and immediately bounces back up with a kick to the groin. As soon as Munin folds in half, my nose acts as the air bag in the collision of my face and Hugh's punch. Munin kicks my feet of the ground and I find myself staring up at Munin while I can see Hugh's leg landing on my chest. My blood paints Hug's toe nails red.

[Munin] Red toes suit you. Now you even look like a little whore.

Hugh starts laughing and relaxes his leg. I grap his foot and twist it off me. I take out the old knife from the wooden box and cut off his Achilles tendon. Munin stares at me at first and then jumps in for more. He manages to grab my hand and twists my wrist so that I let go of the knife. He restless me to the floor and gets on top of me. The first punch makes me swallow a tooth, the second breaks my jaw, the third obliterates my nose and I can taste mucus down my throat. The fourth blow goes to my left eye and the final blow to my right eye. They both swell up and I can see nothing. I hear a voice that is not Hugh's or Munin's.

Is he dead?

[Munin] Yes.

I think I can move. I try to move my right arm and I feel Hugh's leg stepping on it.

[Hugh] He managed to die before he got turned by Manny.

The voice speaks again

He goes with you Hugh, to Hell.

[Hugh] He will, he will. My brother needs to go verify something first and for that, he'll need the human shell.

[Munin] I am here for my visit.

[Hugh] I am here for company, is that ok ?

Only Munin goes in. I'll get Kabniel to help you out with the body.

[Munin] That would be of great help. Thank you Abel. How's are the human souls these days.

[Abel] They never change.

They start to move me. I can feel a cool breeze on my face which is comforting. The screams that I can only guess come from below me are a bit disturbing. The line to the gates of heaven is close to the line of your city's famous nightclub. Maybe a bit more dramatic but the idea is the same. Able is just the door man.

[Munin] There's Manny.
[Abel] Yes I've been informed.
[Munin] MANNY, KEEP YOURSELF FROM HARM!
[Able] Munin, keep it to yourself.
[Munin] I could not resist.

Munin puts his hand on my face and using his small finger's nail tears my eyelid open and I can see. He then pushes gently and tilts my head towards the gate below. I can see Manny, I an also see Vlad and Dierdre. Although they've both been here before, Vlad seems to be scared and protective of Deirdre. I tried to close my eye but I couldn't. Munin is on to some of his stories to Abel. Abel voices the occasional "aha" or "yes" just to show him that he is listening. Munin does a good job keeping his mind on his queue. Munin starts laughing and moves his hand only to point my head to a different direction. A direction that helps me see another familiar face. Anna's here. She is on the queue waiting for her fate.

[Able] Welcome to Heaven.
[Munin] We've been doing this for so long Abel. It's just not funny, or smart anymore.
[Abel] I guess certain things from your work become your nature.

I think I know what Abel means. That makes this the second time I agree with an angel. That cannot be a good sign.