Chapter 18 #2
Lucy’s shoulders sagged. ‘Indeed, I had a difficult time figuring out how to test gluttony in a post-scarcity afterlife back when I first designed the floor. But it’s not entirely my fault!
The floors are supposed to change and warp to suit each individual being tested.
So many people have refused to leave Floor Gluttony that the place has taken on a fixed form.
It’s being influenced by the will of so many people at once.
As a result, no one is facing a trial suited to their own behaviour in life.
It’s turned into a giant party instead.’ She exhaled gustily.
‘This is another floor I will need to reform once we reach the engine room.’
Howard offered his arm. ‘To do that, we need to pass the test. Shall we take it seriously this time?’
Heather said, ‘Delilah and I will go with you – to keep an eye on you.’
By now, Heather had figured out that Lucy and Howard were enablers for each other. She walked next to Lucy, while Delilah took Howard. They were careful this time – they only stepped inside the floor briefly. Then Heather grabbed Lucy, Delilah grabbed Howard, and they marched out.
In the waiting room, Lucy wiped sweat off her forehead. ‘Phew, what a difficult test. I can see why it has the highest failure rate. I was a bit too diabolical on that one. Next time, I’ll centre it around tempting people to steal their co-workers’ lunches from the office fridge.’
Heather joked, ‘You should drop anyone who fails straight into Hell.’
A noise came from the ladder. Damien waved at them. ‘How did Floor Gluttony go?’
Delilah put her hands on her hips and grinned. ‘We all passed. It was too easy! At this rate, it won’t take us long to reach the engine room.’
Heather winced, because she knew that Delilah had just jinxed them.
Laughter rose up from the shaft, the musical notes slowly turning into a demented scream.
Barbara melted out of the darkness, her white teeth first like the Cheshire cat, then the tips of her hair curling, then her high heels clacking down on the waiting-room floor.
‘Lucy! Did you finally notice that your beloved hotel has gone wrong? It’s about time.
The guests tell me that the water fountain hasn’t worked in years.
I’m not surprised. You’ve always been slapdash about your designs. ’
‘Slapdash?’ Lucy’s face paled, then turned crimson.
Barbara continued, ‘You poured centuries of work into this hotel, and it still turned out as a barely functional wreck. It completely broke down for no reason! Well, there could have been one reason: the natural aura of failure that you exude.’
Lucy made choking sounds.
Howard put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder. ‘She’s trying to provoke you. Don’t let her succeed. Your hotel is lovely. I adored the gingerbread castle so much I nearly wanted to stay!’
Barbara’s smirk widened. ‘I see you two have found each other. How charming. I do love a good soap opera. This one has dragged out for rather a long time, hasn’t it?
The secrets should have been revealed by now – especially since they’re not very good secrets, quite obvious to any outsider looking in.
Dear Lucy, you should know better than to get so close to a mortal. It could become your weakness.’
‘Don’t you dare,’ Lucy snarled, the faint hint of smoke rising from her mouth. Her hair stood on end. Shadows behind her twisted like a million worms knotted together.
‘Someone should at least make sure the poor mortal is fully aware of the situation and the dangers it brings him,’ Barbara said in a cloyingly sweet tone. ‘Spoiler time! Howard, did you know that Lucy lo—’
Blindingly bright light flashed through the air, leaving behind a burning scent. Lucy tackled Barbara, knocking them both into the shaft. For a brief moment, Lucy seemed too large for this hotel, a creature of scales, feathers and searing heat.
The tips of this creature brushed against Heather. It might have been a shadow of a claw. It was barely substantial enough to knock her into the shaft, but it did.
Yawning darkness opened up like a throat about to swallow her whole. Heather screamed, her arms pinwheeling. The clash of a battle rose up from the pit, too blazing for the human eye to see.
Fingers brushed against Heather’s arm. She grabbed on with both hands and clung on tight. Delilah’s face flashed above. She’d been saved!
Wait, no, Delilah was falling too. They’d both been knocked into the shaft.
‘Grab on!’ Damien shouted, extending his hand.
Damien barely caught Delilah’s ankle as she fell. Delilah held on tight to Heather and Heather hung on to Delilah as she smacked against the shaft wall.
From the waiting room, Jaime screamed, a piercing wail covering everyone else’s murmurs of concern.
Heather’s entire world had narrowed to one point: survival. She grabbed on to the ladder, locking herself to it with one arm, then setting her feet down. Her heart hammered like a drum festival.
‘Do you have enough of a grip to let go?’ Damien called.
‘Y-yes.’ Heather slowly released Delilah’s hand, then clung on to the ladder with both hands. She did not want to even think about looking down. Her sanity wouldn’t survive.
Delilah dangled upside down from Damien’s grip. Only the strength of the dead had allowed him to even briefly hold both women on his own. ‘Th-thank you,’ she said, wild-eyed.
‘We’re not out of danger yet,’ Damien said. ‘Can you climb up my body? I’ll help you turn round.’ He had an elbow firmly locked round a ladder rung.
With a great deal of grunting, Damien dragged Delilah up enough for her to latch on to his waist. He carried her up the ladder to the alcove.
Heather followed them, climbing as rapidly as she dared. When she reached the waiting room, she collapsed and, without shame, she kissed the ground.
Jaime ran over and hugged Heather. ‘I thought . . . I thought . . .’
Heather hugged her back. ‘I’m okay now, kid.’
‘I thought I’d be all alone again,’ Jaime mumbled. She adjusted her braids. ‘I was concerned about your wellbeing, of course.’
‘Of course.’ Heather patted her head. ‘Couldn’t you have drowned your sorrows in biscuits?’
‘Not funny.’ Jaime held on harder.
John hung his head. ‘I’m sorry. I was useless in the moment. Completely froze up.’
A shadow fluttered up the shaft, then hid behind Howard.
Howard cleared his throat. ‘Lucy’s very sorry about what she did. She never meant to knock you off.’
Lucy solidified into human form, her hair messy and a cut on her lip. ‘Howard, you don’t need to apologise for me . . . because I’ll do it.’ She lowered her gaze. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Apology accepted.’ Delilah shrugged. ‘I suppose we couldn’t have died.’
Lucy said, ‘Indeed, and if your bodies had been destroyed, I would have given you new ones. Even better ones!’
Heather decided she didn’t want to know what that meant.
‘All is well that ends well.’ Damien shook out his hands. ‘Odd, I feel fine. I never knew I was that strong. Was it adrenalin?’
‘Of course not – adrenalin no longer exists for you. You’re dead!’ Lucy laughed. ‘In Purgatory, the only restrictions on your body are the ones you impose on yourself. You can be as strong as you want, but because you remember your human strength it continues to limit you.’
‘Huh.’ Damien tried punching the wall. ‘Ouch, it didn’t work. I guess I’m not good at believing in myself.’
Lucy straightened her hair. ‘I feel ashamed to have fallen into Barbara’s trap. She likely wanted to provoke me to cause collateral damage. At least I’ve chased her off temporarily, but she’ll be back. We should hasten to the next floor and complete these tests as fast as possible.’
‘Which floor next?’ Delilah asked.
‘Floor Anger, I think.’ Lucy smiled. ‘Usually anger is a deadly sin of mine, but I’ve used up all my rage. Now would be the easiest time for me to pass.’
Goosebumps ran down Heather’s arms. Her legs stiffened. A lump filled in her throat.
Somehow, Heather had failed to realise the obvious – if they had to pass every floor, then she would need to face her own sin again.