#helluva martha

Life on Earth was Hell. Which was ironic for someone like you, who was now literally trapped in Hell. You didn't really know how it happened. Things had been strange for awhile. It started with your parents arguing. They used to only argue after you were in your room at night. Then it was just when you weren't in the room. It didn't seem to take long before they were arguing in front of you. Did it take longer? All of your memories were still hazy.

The arguments they had in front of you always seemed worse than the arguments they used to have at night. The details never made sense to you. Mom always got mad at Dad for staying out too late and drinking. You didn't tell her how much fun it sounded to stay up as late as he did. When you did ask why she was mad once she told you to mind your fucking business. It was a bit of a confusing answer but you knew better than to ask more questions.

Things got better for a bit. Or at least you remembered things getting better. Mom and Dad weren't screaming at each other anymore. They even talked to you about school. The biggest difference was that you'd started going to church. But it wasn't church like your friends went to. It felt strange. Never quite safe. When you first went you only recognized one family. The mom had been on the news after your old teacher Mrs. Mayberry had tried to kill her.

But they stopped showing up eventually. You heard adults whispering about demons coming to take them but that couldn't be true. Ms. Martha was always so nice to you. You knew demons wouldn't take a family as nice as them. Your parents seemed more shaken than you were though. That only confused you more. You knew that they didn't need to worry because they were always going to church.

Church on Sundays turned into church all weekend which turned into church nightly. You didn't mind so much. Mom and Dad got to talk to the adults while you were able to play fun games with the other kids. All themed around what church had taught you that day about Satan. It didn't seem right but the adults had to know what they were talking about. Mom and Dad believed it so you did too.

Things took a bad turn after that. You didn't understand why. Church was supposed to be helping. It was helping. But you noticed a new look whenever your parents looked at you. What they were thinking was hard to say. It felt like ages ago even though you knew it had only been a few weeks. It wasn't quite glee but it looked similar. Excitement maybe. It must've been a surprise for you.

They called you into the backyard that night. Your town was small. Secluded. Trees surrounded every house like their own personal forest. You'd always felt scared in the backyard because the darkness was suffocating. But it wasn't that night. There were so many candles. If you were a bit older you might have worried about fire safety with how many trees were around.

It wasn't just your parents in the backyard. You couldn't tell who else was there, just that they were from church. They stood in a circle like they were about to play a game. Their faces were all obscured by masks that looked like what you'd wear on Halloween but that was still months away. Maybe it was part of their game? You wanted to say hi but something told you they didn't feel like talking. Everyone's eyes bore down at you as you crossed through the glass door into the night.

Your mom approached you. You could tell it was her by the sound of her voice guiding you to stand in the center of the circle. What happened next was the most hazy part of it all. There was something on the floor. A star? You couldn't recall. Everyone from the church started to say a prayer but it didn't sound like the praying you heard from your other friends at school. You hadn't joined in the prayer. Normally your mom told you if you should join but she didn't say anything after you were in the circle.

The next thing you remembered was screaming. Lots of it. Had it really only been yours? Your skin felt like it was on fire. Maybe it was. All you knew was that it hurt. Everything did. You tried screaming for your mom. Your dad. Anyone. It took them too long to stop. By the time they did, you were already losing consciousness. Someone called your name but it didn't sound like your parents. You couldn't tell if they had actually stopped.

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That was the last thing you remembered. The memories of it still swirled and mixed around in your head. It was hard to piece things together. It was only made worse when you woke up in an entirely new place. It didn't look anything like your backyard or even your town. There were people but they weren't people. You ran and hid as quick as you could. It was so much all at once.

Hiding was really all you could think to do at the moment. Everyone you saw looked monstrous. Sharp teeth and claws were everywhere. If you weren't afraid of strangers already, you were now. Hot tears ran down your cheeks and stung your skin. Every little noise made you jump in terror. No one was there to help.

"Mommy… Daddy… Please I need you. Please," you choked out.

You didn't even know if anyone would find you. The hiding spot you chose was just hidden enough that you could see everyone passing by and ignoring the sounds of your sobs. Whenever you heard someone getting closer, it was usually just a few minutes before they were back on their way. The nonstop crying was exhausting but your brain didn't know what else to do. The fear and the pain were getting to you all at once.

A soft hand on your shoulder quickly pulled you out of it. You started to panic before the woman in front of you knelt down to reveal a normal looking person. She looked kind but you still scooted away from her when she tried to move closer. You had to look at terrified as you felt because she stayed where she was and just held out a hand.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Promise."

Clearly you weren't convinced. She took her hand back to instead rummage in her pocket for some bandages. She held them up to try and show you that she really wanted to help you. You looked between the woman and the bandages. This was the first time an adult had really offered to help you ever. It took a few minutes before you reached out your burned arm.

Except it wasn't as burned as you thought it would be. Honestly you hadn't been paying much attention to what was on your arms just that it hurt. Instead of burns were marks in the shape of whatever other symbols your parents and the church had used. Immediately you started crying again. The woman panicked a little and went to move close again.

"It's okay! You're okay. My name is Charlie. I'm here to help you," she gave a gentle smile. "What's your name?"

You didn't respond. Even if you could find it in you to speak, this was still a stranger. Charlie didn't seem to mind you staying quiet though. She just held her hand out again.

"I'll make sure to take care of you. Okay?"

You looked at her hand for a while. If she wanted to hurt you she would've done so already right? Your small hand reached out and took hers. Charlie gently squeezed your hand and started to walk with you. Everything around you still felt just as terrifying as when you first arrived. But being with an adult made things feel so much safer.

Everyone stared as you walked by. You moved closer to Charlie every time it seemed like someone was getting too close to you. Eventually she just started talking to you about everything and nothing all at once. You couldn't gather most of what she said besides that you were going to stay at her hotel. It should've scared you but you got the sense that you could trust her.

The hotel you arrived at looked really nice from the outside. The lights were a little too bright for your eyes so you didn't look at it for long. Charlie ushered you inside pretty quickly. The first person you saw looked like a giant cat. Your eyes went wide. The cat must've noticed because he scowled and mumbled something before leaving as quick as possible.

A woman with an x over her eye approached Charlie. You eyed her while they talked. You could hear them talk about "that kid" so you knew it was about you. It felt weird having people talk about you without yelling at each other for once. You shifted between your feet as they talked. Once they were done talking, the second woman sighed. She looked down at you and gave a smile similar to the one Charlie had given you earlier.

"Hey there. I'm Vaggi. What's your name?" She continued when you didn't respond, "We're gonna help you out okay? Can I see your arm?"

Something about her demeanor felt calming enough that you held out your arm for her. She didn't touch it out of respect for you. Her eyes just narrowed as she looked at the patterns across it. When she did reach out, she pulled her hand away before it got too close.

"I think we should ask Lucifer. I've never seen this before," she looked up at Charlie.

That made you burst into tears. You'd heard the name Lucifer before but only when talking about evil itself. The trust you had in her wasn't quite enough to challenge the ideas you were raised with. The people you'd seen on the way over were terrifying, Actual Lucifer had to be much scarier and that thought mad you cry even harder. Charlie immediately knelt down to try to calm you down.

"No no no! It's okay! Uh, he's not as bad as he seems. Really!"

Vaggi looked a little uncomfortable but still tried her best, "He can be nice. Uh, he likes ducks! Kids like ducks right?"

You sniffled a little and nodded. She sighed in relief.

"We'll be right there. Promise," Vaggi gave you another soft smile.

You moved to walk next to Vaggi. Her steps were a little slower than Charlie's which made it easier for you to keep up with her. Neither of them were talking but they kept glancing at you to make sure you were doing okay. The door the stopped in front of was giant, at least in your eyes. It didn't help the unease you were feeling. Charlie knocked on the door a few times.

As the door creaked open you could feel yourself starting to shake in fear. Out of instinct, you went to hide behind Charlie. You didn't know how you pictured Lucifer looking. But the short man in a ducky sweater wasn't even in the scope of possibilities until you saw him. You giggled a little at the numerous ducks stuck to him. He looked at you and then back at Charlie.

"You gonna tell me why there's a kid here? It's not yours is it?" Lucifer motioned at you.

"Not exactly. Dad, meet… Well they have a name but they haven't said anything yet. I found them earlier by themselves and they have these weird marks on their arms. We were hoping you might be able to help?"

Seeing Lucifer now made you feel a little less scared. He didn't seem so much like he was going to kill you when he still had a rubber duck nuzzled in his sweater. You held one of your arms out for him to inspect. He moved close to take a good look but as soon as he saw the marks his eyes went wide.

"Uh, Charlie, dear, can I talk to you for a minute. Privately?"

She went with him inside the room to talk. Before she closed the door, she gave you a quick smile. Once they were in the room, you moved closer to Vaggi and took her hand in yours. She looked surprised but didn't move her hand away.

"(Y/N). That's my name," you mumbled.

"That's a nice name. You know-"

A loud "WHAT?!" cut through the air. Charlie slammed the door open and looked around until she found you. Her eyes immediately began watering.

"You poor baby! How could someone do that to you? I mean you're so cute and, and…" she sobbed.

"What exactly is going on? I mean they don't exactly look like a sinner," Vaggi's hand tightened around yours.

Lucifer sighed, "In nicer terms… they're cursed. They're not dead but they can't go back to Earth anymore either."

You moved to hold onto Vaggi. Your arms still hurt to touch but it didn't really matter to you right then. All you could think about was how you never even got to say goodbye to your parents. What happened in the first place didn't even make sense. It was all so much to take in all at once.

Charlie looked over at Vaggi as she was struggling to comfort you, "What if we take them in? We can't just leave them alone out there."

"I guess we could. Are we ready for that?"

"We've faced worse," Charlie moved to level with you. "How hard can it be?"

Lucifer laughed from behind her before trying to cover it with a cough, "You have no idea. Look, kid, if it helps. Those marks? They won't hurt for much longer. I promise."

Vaggi moved to have you look at her and Charlie, "For now why don't we put some bandages on them. We have plenty of first aid supplies. Right babe?"

"Right! I'll go grab some, uh, gauze maybe?" she shrugged a little.

"Just something to disinfect it should be good."