Too Broke For Afterlife

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As soon as Isabella fell onto the couch, she had fallen asleep, completely knocked out by her questionable mixture of anxiolytic and whiskey. And I thought I was the irresponsible one.

After that, Alessandra had asked me to spend the night which I of course said yes to. Though as a self-proclaimed gentleman I will not go into detail on that.

Our kidnappers sadly had noticed our little breakout and were not amused. 

Now sitting on chairs back at the gas station, both of us have to listen to Nox' raging voice.

"Just how stupid can you be? You can't just roam around the city like that, we are on a secret mission! What if one of our enemies had spotted you guys? Did you think about that for a single second? No, of course not because you were too busy drinking! And how can you be so stupid to steal the money? We actually need it! For more important things than Whiskey!"

I look at Isabella who seems a bit absent. She had told me earlier that she can hardly remember anything from last night. Probably another side-effect.

"Why don't you guys explain to Walter that you spent the money on booze instead of the electrical parts he needs for our mission? I'm sure he would love to hear all about it!"

Walter, standing in the corner of the room, seems more intimidated than mad. Nox seems to notice as well and glares at him.

"Y-yeah. That wasn't cool, guys."

I roll my eyes.

"Sorry."

Isabella echoes my half-assed apology.

Walter nods. "It's okay."

"No, it's not! We should kill you for what you did!"

"Then why don't you do it?"

Isa's sassy reply throws Nox. She takes a step closer.

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you kill us? Just shoot a bullet through my head and we're done."

The red headed woman chuckles.

"Are we being emo today? Forget it, missy. We need you guys for the plan. No death for you."

"Oh my god!"

I jump up from my chair and head towards Nox.

I can't f*cking hear it anymore.

"Shut the f*ck up! All you've been doing since kidnapping us is talk about your plan and what we can and can't do but how about you finally tell us what your plan is? Huh? Do you even have one?"

Nox is startled by my outburst and she stays quiet for a few seconds. Then she nods.

"Fair enough. I'll get Clemens."

She leaves the room without another word.

Isabella breathes in deeply. "Finally. I was too scared to ask, so thank you."

"You're welcome."

I'm honestly not sure if I'm happy about finding out the truth in a second. The mystery of the plan gave some security. 'Maybe it won't be too bad' is what I've been telling myself. But once I know, there will be no way back. 

After a minute, Nox comes back, behind her Clemens and Judy. 

"So, let's talk about the next phase. Phase 3."

She opens a folder and pulls out a photograph.

I lean closer and my eyes widen when I realize what I'm looking at.

"But...that's the crystal Walter gave me when he turned up in front of my house!" I look at the guy. "You told me to hide it or else the world would end, remember?"

"Yes, but this is a different one."

I furrow my brows and look closely at the picture.

"The crystal I gave you was yellow, orange and magenta. This one is yellow, red and blue. See?"

I nod. "Yeah. But what exactly are they?"

Before meeting Walter and recognizing his face, I firmly believed that I had been approached by a lunatic but I kept the gem just because there was no reason to throw it away.

It should still be inside the shoebox under my bed.

"These crystals are very holy artefacts. And the one in this picture…" Nox taps against the paper. "Will open the gate to Hell."

Us three mortals stare at her in disbelief. 

Isabella is the first to break the silence. "Right. Hell. That makes perfect sense."

"Keep your snarky remarks to yourself, blondie. If we want to stop Satan and save Earth, we'll have to get the crystal and travel to the underworld."

Isabella huffs. "Yeah, without me. I can't handle high temperatures very well. Anything hotter than Miami will kill me."

For the first time, Clemens speaks up.

"You still choose to not believe us, do you? Humanity is in danger, if not all life on our planet. We need to catch the keeper of the crystal and end this nightmare."

I'm trying to follow all the information but my head is buzzing. If the crystal in the picture opens a gate to Hell...then what does the one under my bed do?

I want to ask but Judy is faster.

"And who is the keeper?"

Nox chuckles. Her eyes sparkle evilly.

She folds her hands.

"Jasper."

"No."

"Yes. He has the crystal. And you guys need to get it."

Jasper? Psycho stalker Jasper? Sold his soul to Satan Jasper? That guy?

"I am not thrilled by this turn of events," Isabella muffles as she crosses her arms. "Where did he get it from?"

"He stole it from me," is Walter's response. "And Satan gave it to me as part of the original mission. So I could transfer information and mechanical parts freely."

Well, there you go. Another reason to be mad at this guy.

"But why do we have to do it? Why not you guys, since you are immortal and shit?"

Nox rolls her eyes. "Because, Parker, Jasper knows that we are working against him. But he has no idea that you are involved. And he would probably still fall for Isabella if she works her charme."

Isa does not seem to appreciate that comment. "Excuse me? Do I look like a toy to you? I'm never talking to that man again!"

"Oh yes, you will."

Nox gets up and walks over to her. Then she grabs Isa's collar and pulls her up.

"This is the plan, bitch. You will throw your stupid birthday party and invite Jasper. He will be wearing the crystal on him to make sure he is safe from your revenge. You will flirt with the man and get him drunk so you can steal the artefact. But if you fail…"

Nox' eyes wander around the room until they land on Judy. 

"I will kill her."

All color fades out of Judy's face and she shakes her head.

"No. No, why would you?"

"Oh, I won't. Because Isabella won't let that happen. Right?"

Isa stares at Judy for a second. Then onto the ground. Her voice is quiet. 

"Of course not."

"Good."

Nox lets go of her shirt and walks back to her seat.

"Invite your friends today. The party will be tomorrow night at a public location. Make it feel as realistic as possible. And don't f*ck it up."

<<<

Strolling through the small forest behind the gas station, both Isabella and Judy still seem shaken to the core. So I try to lift them up.

"Come on, guys. Nox won't hurt anyone. It was just a trick to get you to say yes."

Isa shakes her head.

"I don't know. That woman has no empathy. I'd bet my whole life savings that she is a sociopath." 

"No, she is just intense."

The girls don't believe me. No surprise, I don't believe myself either. Why am I even saying these things?

"Do you already have a plan on how you will get the crystal?" Judy asks, carefully side eyeing her ex.

"It depends on where he is hiding it. This time I won't be able to knock Jasper out."

"What if he has planted it beneath his skin? I think I read that in a manga once."

"Well, in that case…" Isabella shrugs her shoulders. "It was nice knowing you, Judy."

"No, if that's the case, you better cut him open like a turkey! I'm not going to die! I didn't ask to be a part of this!"

Isabella stops in her tracks and stares at her.

"Do you think me or Parker did? For the millionth time, this is not my fault!"

"Woah, woah, ladies. Keep your claws in, we'll find a way to fix this."

I grab Isa's arm and pull her behind me. We keep walking in silence.

Awkward silence. Not a comfortable one. 

After a few minutes, I clear my throat.

"Who are you going to invite? Except for your psycho ex?"

She sighs. "I don't know, I really don't want to celebrate this birthday. Especially not like this."

"How old did you get?"

Isabella throws me a mean glance. 

"39," she mumbles, herj teeth pressed together.

I laugh. "God, you're old."

"And you're dead if you don't shut up right now."

I raise my hands in surrender. "Alright, truce.. Let's go back, we have a party to plan."