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Chapter 4: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger. I guess.
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      YOU KNOW WHAT I'm grateful for? Not being 100% human. Seriously, here's a flying kiss to my omniscient creator and my father's demonic existence because if that had been the case, that fall would've been my final one.

Like a sack of random potatoes thrown off a skyscraper, I fell from the dark cerise sky and hit the concrete ground butt first.

To say my tailbone was on fire is an understatement and an absolute insult to my spine. I was in so much searing pain that I almost crapped myself and cried a waterfall simultaneously. It took a good chunk of my strength to roll over to my side. So, when I tried to get up and failed so many times, I wasn't surprised — but damn did I hate my fading adrenaline.

Cursing the air with all my might and soul, I got on my wobbly, bruised legs on the sixth attempt. As I brushed myself off, little sparks of pain gnawed at various parts of my body. Yet what grated my nerves was how my leather skirt had a nasty tear on the side, and the not-so-white tank top I spent a good chunk of my time bleaching was beyond salvageable.

Grumbling profanities like a grown man who looked like he had lost a wrestling match with swine, I kicked the black parcel a few feet away from me, then picked it up and gave it a quick shake to further damage whatever its contents were for almost killing me. It was only after that surge of petty rage passed that I realized I had no idea where I was.

The airspace was a bloody red with a tinted grey storm cloud that one would have guessed resulted from some heavy nuclear pollution. On my far left, I noticed a row of what I believe were tollgates, but instead of the usual toll bars for cars, these were small enough for only a person to pass through.

With my right side completely clear of life of any kind, I found it a better decision to make my way to one of the gates. As I approached one, I spotted a humanoid figure with black ram-like horns on either side of his head and pale blueish skin working within it. Whatever it was, it wasn't human because if so, that was some hell of an awesome costume.

"Hello, my name is Jaspin. He and him pronouns, please. Now, how can I help you?" said the tollgate guy, not sparing me a second look and focusing on the monitor before him.

"Um," I start before pointing up, "so I just fell from the sky?"

Fixed on a screen and typing with the aggression and speed of a seasoned receptionist, Jaspin barely reacted to my statement as he dryly said, "Yeah, and what's the problem exactly?"

Was he serious?

"I don't know." My eyes narrowed, feeling an itch of irritation. "I could've died."

Sighing, he furiously typed some more before adding, "That's just the form of transport you could afford. Well, your courier service, that is."

I was taken aback. "Wait. How did you know I'm a delivery girl?"

He broke away from his laptop and stared at me straight in the eye like I was the dumbest thing he had ever laid his red vampirish eyes on. "You have a special delivery packaging on that thing." He gestured to the pitch-black box. "Do you know anything about UPS?"

No. Hence, why I asked...

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but what's that?"

He rolled his lifeless grey eyes. "The Underworld Packaging Services. Are you trying to get yourself fired? Know the basics at least."

"Wait... I'm in the ..." My mind froze for a moment. I couldn't believe what I had heard. "C-could you repeat that?"

He smiled. "Are you trying to get fired? Because if you are, I'll happily send a beautifully detailed complaint to your boss."

"N-no. The part before that!" Waving one hand, the other banged the table out of too much excitement, denting it a little. "Where did you say I am?"

It took him a second to reply. However, once he did, I almost screamed and did a backflip out of pure delight.

"The Underworld." Jaspin inched closer to what looked like a red panic button.

Without a second thought, I retracted my hands to my sides and bubbled out a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that..." He didn't look convinced, but I just played it off. "So, you're telling me when those doors opened, I fell into the Underworld and almost broke my ass? Talk about an entrance, am I right? Haha...ha..."

His nodding mirrored my awkwardness. "Um, yes?" He was questioning my intentions as he backed off the button, and I thanked the Heavens for delaying my deportation.

That was when it dawned on me. "Ah! So, by any chance, do you mind clarifying why there is blood gushing from my ankle?"

His eye roll was as forceful as an Olympic gymnast's cartwheel as he snorted, "Firstly, don't be dramatic. It's not gushing, and, secondly, it's just a blood draw for newcomers like yourself. It's for data collection to ensure you're in the system."

"Uh-huh. Sketchy system. Okay. Got it..."I said between each unsure nod, before asking, "And that atrocious stomach pain that felt like I was giving birth to an elephant as those black doors appeared from freaking nowhere?"

"Oh, that is just a fault in our telepathy system. We have someone coming in and looking at that later this week," he specified, returning to the monitor. "Now, if you don't have any further queries, do you mind telling me your designated address? And to save my sanity and not waste my time, it's on the underside of your package."

His tone now screamed, "Please leave me the hell alone." Irrespective of his evident hostility, I observed where he indicated and found minuscule silver handwriting. It was hardly legible, so I read aloud what I could.

"312, Prima Road, Ashlin City, Desidia."

He took a few minutes to type. So, I used the extra time to rub the dried crisps of blood off my ankle and inspect the state of my beloved plump rear. I heard movement behind me and, following the shuffling and grumbling, found myself staring at a long line of other deliverers.

Some had the same horns as Jaspin, and others had ones that resembled those of a bull. A few didn't have anything at all, but I highly doubted they were human -- or anything close to it.

Refocusing my attention on Jaspin, he handed me a card as grey as his personality and said, "Okay, here's a card to show you have access to Desidia and can return to the Human World. Try not to lose it."

"And if I do?" I asked out of curiosity.

"You'll be stuck there. Forever." The tone of his statement was indifferent. "Or until the Supreme Court agrees for you to return to the Human World, and — take my word for it — you don't want it to get to that point."

"Uh, there's a supreme court in the Underworld?" I started to sound stupid in my own head. Of course, they had a justice system. They weren't animals – well, normal ones anyway.

Regardless, Jaspin responded with a distasteful "Yeah, and they're complete assholes if you ask me. Trust me, if you know what's good for you, just don't lose the damn thing."

I gulped down some of my enthusiasm and complied. The man also handed me a pair of white-rimmed specs, which led me to inquire, "What are these for?"

"Those" – he motioned to the glasses with his long claw – "are specialized specs that help show you where you need to go. I have already programmed them to your destination, so try not to lose them. They cost a limb."

Amused, I chuckled. "Ah. I see now. You're a man of dark humor..." However, meeting the stern expression on his face, I ceased straightaway. "Holy shit, are you serious?"

"Dead. The 'Illegal' organ-harvesting business in the Human World is legal here. So, if you value your life, don't misplace or break them because my boss doesn't give a shit, you'll pay with your soul. Now, please go away before my migraine decides to upgrade into a stroke — next!"

Some hostile dwarfed gremlin shoved me to the side. Luckily, I caught myself from falling and growled at the ugly creature that just spat acid near my feet to scare me off.

And oh, it worked, alright. I jerked so far back that I banged my head on a massive pole.

He and some other assholes in the line laughed as I rubbed my head to tame the increasing throb. Red in the cheeks on my face (and probably under my skirt), I stormed off with fists at my side. Flicking all of them off, I passed through the gate and made my way to the other side, where a new world came alive.

In massive glass tunnels over my head, the rush of vehicles of all shapes and sizes zoomed past me at lightning speed. On the ground, creatures of all sizes and forms casually walked by to their destinations. Most wore suits or some form of uniform, while some waltzed around in robes, African attire, kimonos — and other traditional wear from Earth.

It was a cyberpunk paradise where buildings extended so far into the sky that you would think they were endless. The cold air smelt of cologne from a neighboring fancy, high-class perfume shop and crisp pork – or something like it – from a nearby hovering food stall serving a massive line of eager creatures on hoverboards, mainly wearing school uniforms.

There was so much life, and I couldn't help but gawk in awe. The Underworld was nothing like the books in the Human World had mentioned. It was far more advanced and, dare I say it, maybe even more tech-savvy than anything I had seen in the Human World.

Exhilarated by the ordeal and remembering I had a job to finish, I put on my specs. A digitized, pixelated neon yellow line began to form a path that disappeared down an adjacent pathway.

Everything was so surreal. I couldn't believe I had finally made it. It was my first delivery in the Underworld.

My heart swelled as I whispered, "Now, this is the start of something great."

However, little did I know this was just the beginning of the mess of an adventure I would never wish on my greatest enemy. Seriously, everything was about to go to hell.

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