"I said, get your furry, skinny little ass over here, right now, or I'll take a frying pan, burn it, cover it in Lucifer's semen, spit on it, then slap it across your stupid fucking face. Am I speaking clearly, or do you only understand bullshit, since that's the only language that ever seems to spew from your foul little mouth?"

Vaggie ends the call, then mumbles something in Spanish under her breath. It sounds like polla de culo molesto or something.

Charlie's eyes are wide, directed right at Vaggie. I look at her and giggle. "You know, you really didn't have to do that," I say.

"Well, do you have a better plan?" Vaggie snaps.

"That's not what I meant. You don't have to yell at everyone for everything."

"Yes I do, otherwise nobody would listen to me. Fear factor."

"I'm sure Husk would listen to Charlie."

Vaggie shrugs in response.

After some talking, the three of us came up with a plan to get me back to the hotel while avoiding Alastor. The plan was proposed by Charlie. It begins by calling Husk, then getting him to drive over to where we are (which is still a fact that I do not know) pick me up, then proceed to transfer me to the hotel.

To do all of that, Vaggie said that she needs to knock me out. Just so that it seems like a real kidnapping. She'll cover me in a blanket, then cloak herself and put me into the back of Husk's car.

I was very, very hesitant to agree to this plan, but after some careful thought, I realized that it was probably the best idea. I want to avoid Alastor at all costs, even if it means inhaling chemicals and pretending to be kidnapped by Husk. So I agreed to the plan.

Vaggie's phone lit up in her hand. She glanced at it, then quickly said, "He's here." She looked at me, her gaze hard and set. "Are you ready?"

I nod. This time, I've mentally prepared myself to inhale chemicals and be mock-kidnapped.

Vaggie takes a black cloth and the chemical spray and gives the cloth a few spritzes. She has already changed into some dark clothes and is ready to knock me out and carry me to Husk's car. "Follow me," she says before walking out of the pool room and into whatever room lies behind the door.

She leaves the door cracked open behind her. Looking at the slit of black space between the door and the wall makes me internally cringe. My stomach bubbles with anxiety as I walk toward the door. As I'm about to push the door in and follow Vaggie, Charlie speaks up.

"Dani," she says quietly. I turn around to see her standing at the foot of the bright white bed. After finishing her glass of hot chocolate, Charlie had taken both of our mugs and put them aside on the floor near the lip of the pool tile. After that, she had begun to pace, then sat back down and had a light-hearted conversation about Christmas and the office party that she was planning to have for the hotel staff. After that conversation, she came up with the notion that we should continue the kidnapping cover. "I'll come to see you. When you're at work."

Her voice is nice. Smooth. Kind. Pleasant to the ears. Her hair is bright. Her skin is milky. Her eyes are hopeful.

I shrug, then give her a small and hopefully reassuring smile. "Alright, but if anyone asks, it's strictly business, right?"

She grins and nods. It makes me feel warm inside, despite the fact that I'm about to be shoved in the back seat of a bartender's car.

I wave goodbye one last time.

I walk out of the door and find myself in a dark, concrete floored room that reminds me of an unfinished basement. Vaggie is sitting on a counter top with her legs hanging over the edge. There is a small black fridge and a rusty stove on either side of the counter, and a small round lamp hanging from the ceiling that casts warm yellow light over the otherwise gloomy room.

Vaggie gives me a peculiar smile, the downcast lighting placing shadows on her face, making her appear mysterious, yet attractive. She waves me over.

With a slow sigh, Vaggie pulls a dark cotton mask over her face. Now I recognize her as the girl who kidnapped me back at my hotel room. "I guess I'll see you later," she says, then laughs a short laugh, the kind that sounds like half of a breath. My heart beats faster when I see her fingers wrap tightly around the cloth that has been sprayed with chemicals.

She then grabs the nape of my neck to hold my head in place. A cold sweat breaks out over my forehead and my stomach churns faster than before. I tell myself that I shouldn't be nervous - that this is just Vaggie, and what she's doing to me is all part of the plan. I agreed to this.

She then claps the cloth firmly over my mouth and nose, and for the second time today, my mind fades away as I look into Vaggie's eye.

ᯬ

I have no idea where I am.

Until I do. The light in the air is warm and red, and the surface beneath me is sticky. My sleeveless dress becomes a burden when I sit up and the bare skin on my arms feels like it's peeling off after being lifted off of the surface. I look down to see the leather car seats. Oh. That makes sense.

I get myself into a comfortable sitting position before looking into the driver's seat of the car. A lean, masculine figure is sitting there, great red wings folded as tight as they can be against the seat. Husk.

A feeling of security washes over me. I always feel safe around Husk. I don't really know why. Must be something in my unconscious. We've only had a few conversations.

I frown, staring at his figure, which is still and focused on the road. "Husk?" I ask. Just to make sure that it's him, and that my unusual (but pleasant) feeling of safety is accurate.

Husk jumps up from his seat and slams on the breaks. I'm sure he would have crashed if there had been any other cars on the road. Come to think of it, the roads are really empty. What time is it?

"Holy shit Danielle. You're awake?" The car has fully stopped now, and Husk swerves around to face me. I impulsively squish back into the seat. His thick red eyebrows are raised in shock, and his face is twisted into an expression displaying deep concern. "Shit, this isn't supposed to happen. Vaggie said you'd be out for at least two hours." He turns back around, then smacks the heel of his hand on the steering wheel.

I take a deep breath. My chest shakes a little on the exhale. Husk's reaction to my waking up wasn't very comforting. Why isn't this supposed to happen? Did Vaggie not give me the right chemicals?

Could Alastor find me, right here, right now, in Husk's halted car in the middle of the street?

"Husk, what's wrong," I say. It was meant to be a question, but it comes out like a demand, drenched in worry. I don't want to see Alastor. At least not yet. I know he will see me at some point, unless he's dead or something.

But not now. I haven't had time to prepare.

"You weren't supposed to wake up," Husk began to explain. "Because then it won't seem like a real kidnapping. He has a higher chance of knowing what went down now, not that he doesn't already know. That you went to go see them, i mean. He probably already knows. Normally, I wouldn't give a fuck about you and your Alastor business, but now you went and got me involved."

I don't say anything for a moment, but I know what he means. Of course he doesn't want to mix himself in the Alastor drama. Alastor is crazy. Nuts.

Husk sighs loudly, then mumbles something, sounding irritated. Then he's silent for the rest of the car ride. Once we pull up to the hotel, Husk stops the car and unlocks it, but doesn't move. So neither do I.

Husk turns around, frowning thickly. That might be a weird way to describe something, thickly, but that's what his frown reminds me of. Deep set eyes, big fluffy eyebrows, pouty lips. Thick. "What the fuck are you still doing in my car?" he asks gruffly. "Get out."

I slide out of the seat, then open the door on my right and step out of the vehicle without saying thank you. The door is hot to the touch when I close it, and it must be because the car is painted a sleek black. A new Nissan Versa. A typical Husk car.

I turn away as Husk skirts away. Taking a controlled breath, I collect my thoughts and settle the unavoidable nervousness that's been swirling in my gut all day like adrenaline-hyped birds trapped in a cage.

I enter the hotel. It's mostly empty, other than a few people playing poole in a casino-looking corner of the lobby. One of those people is Angel, but his back is facing me, so he won't see if I wave to him. He's holding a poole stick in one hand, a bag of white powder in another, and has the other two propped bitchily on his hips. I want to say hi, so I start to walk over, then remember something and stop mid-step.

Charlie said she would meet me at work, didn't she? Yeah. She did. So maybe I should go to my office and wait for her.

No, I have time to talk to Angel, right?

Yeah, I have time.

So even though Alastor might know, I glance again at the now-snorting-drugs spider demon and decide to join him. Fuck Alastor. He needs me for his "plan to take Charlie's position" so I'm sure that won't kill me.

He might hurt me, though, but at this point, I couldn't care less. I'm dead anyway. I have an eternity to get through whatever shit he could push onto me.

"Hey Angel," I say when I get close enough to the poole table to hear the demon's conversations.

He looks up, his multi-colored eyes look more tired than usual. "Oh, hey! How's it going sweet stuff?" He grins, flashing a set of bright white fangs. Each tooth is sharper than a knife.

I shrug and smile a bit, looking around at all of the other demons. Most of them are having loud side conversations, laughing like maniacs, or are whispering to themselves. The ones that are whispering have bloodshot eyes, wide pupils, and in one case, really twitchy gestures. High off their rockers.

"Are... they all high?"

Angel sighs, making a slightly pouch face. "Uhuh. And guess who isn't? Me." He crosses his arms and shoots a sideways glance at the laughing demon right beside him. "Going clean is harder than I thought," he says, keeping his voice lowered.

So he's going clean. I never assumed he was actually a patient at the hotel, I always just thought he was Charlie's friend. "You'll get through it, I believe in you," I grin, punching his arm lightly. "Why in the... in this hotel though? This place is for quitting drugs, not snorting them. Right?"

"Yeah, they all just assumed that since Charlie and Vaggie are out they can do whatever the fuck they want in here, but I ain't gunna stop them," Angel explains with a one-shouldered shrug.

"Oh. Well, uh, I'm going to go steal a drink. I'll see you around."

I turn around and start heading for the bar. Since Husk still isn't there, I decide it will be fine if I just take the whole bottle of Captain Morgan to my office.

"Byeeeee bitch! Get wasted 'till you black out for me!" Angel calls after me in a too-high singsong voice.