I open my eyes to a growling stomach and a dark room. There’s faint light coming in from the door. I get up and walk over, but I have to crouch down to peer outside through a narrow slot in the door. It’s a prison, I can tell that much. It stinks in here. It smells like something’s rotting.

I peek into her memories. Her name is, no was Ava Leviathan. She’s only twelve. She was captured and eventually died because of a coup against her father. He was the fifth king of… hell? Yeah, I definitely want out!

I try to open the door any way I can think of. I even check the hinges, but there’s nothing. And the slot is barely high enough to stick my arm through. There’s no way to get out through there. Eventually I run out of ways to escape and slump against the wall. I’m going to starve to death in a filthy cell because I can’t pick a lock. I lean my head against the wall and wait.

It’s around half an hour later when I hear a sound outside. I peek out the bars to see Mr. Unidentified Redhead. Now, what to do? But then again, it doesn’t seem like I can actually die so I’m not sure if anything’s actually a ‘risk’ at this point, except for a lot of pain.

“Hey!” I call. He looks over at me. “Can you help me out here Red?” I let out a tiny snicker at my cheesy joke. He doesn’t seem amused. “My name is Derek” he says with a scowl.

“Okay, so can you help me out here Red-Derek?”

“You think you’re oh so clever, don’t you?”

“‘Course I do!” I flash him a broad grin. “Now get me out of here, it’s boring!”

“Fine, just stop yelling.” The lock clicks and the door swings open. I rush out as quick as I can. That cell creeps me out.

“Thanks Redderek.”

“Don’t call me that.” He glares before turning to walk down the corridor. I peer into a few cells we pass, but quickly stop. I know what the rotting smell is. Each cell has a prisoner. I don’t think any survived.

“Where are we going?” I ask Derek. I need to distract myself.

“There’s another one like you close by. We should encounter them soon.”

“Oh that reminds me, why exactly are you here? Are you part of this too?”

He scoffs. “No, I am the god of death in my world, and Titus is the god of life. That room you saw was his personal domain. I was trying to convince him to stop his plans, but I got locked out of my world by him. It was either come here with you or wait in that room until he let me out. I don’t have much confidence in his leniency, so I came here.”

“That’s… incredibly stupid. How did you manage to do something so stupid?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re incredibly annoying?” he snaps.

“Several people actually, but I consider it one of my many charms.” He scoffs at me, but stays silent.

After several more minutes of walking in silence we bump into a guy. I look him over. He’s black, but he has red hair like Derek, except a few shades darker. What’s up with all the red hair? As I keep looking I notice the faint glow around him, highlighting his frame without leaving any indication of light on his skin.

He looks down at me in surprise, before his face breaks out into a wide smile. “Hello, I’m Phoenix. What’s your name?”

“Alex Gray. Nice to meetcha,” I say with a cheeky grin, trying to ignore how attractive his smile is.

"Nice to meet you as well." He looks questioningly at Derek, who's frowning grumpily.

"Derek," he grunts.

"Ah, right. Anyway, we should get going. It isn't safe here."

We head off down the hall, our footsteps echoing while Phoenix stays alert.

“You know, you never told me how you were able to find me.” I say to Derek.

“It’s simple. I’m in charge of death and you’re dead, but not completely and it makes you stand out. You’re actually pretty easy to track.”

“And that’s totally not creepy. Or stalkery. At all.”

Derek glares at me and I can hear the other guy chuckle ahead of me. I sidle over to him as we resume walking with Derek trailing behind us.

“So, what's with the glowing?”

"It's a sign of a god's magic, from what I’ve heard. It doesn’t show up for anyone who wasn’t affected by it though.”

“Huh, that’s cool. I guess.” I’m not exactly a fan of being a low-key light bulb but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything I can do about it.

He frowns contemplatively. “What life are you on?”

“Two.”

He nods. “Yeah, I suppose it can be difficult getting used to. This is life eighty-five for me.”

I whistle appreciatively, and just moments after that we reach the exit.