The Complex
Taking back the world.
I stood in line for three hours today waiting to be processed. The Coordinators put me in a room with a few other girls to look us over. The black scrubs they gave us to wear were itchy, and mine were too big. The shirt hung off my right shoulder, and I was not amused. We had to stand there for another five minutes before they walked in. The Coordinator followed the Chancellor with a little clip board as the Chancellor examined each of us one by one. By the time he got to me, I was tired and annoyed. I lit a cigarette and waited for him to say something. He came up to me and scanned the barcode tattooed on my wrist. It took him a few tries because my scars distorted the varying black lines. After reading my record, he looked at me with a sly smile.
“Step out of the line, please,” he said extending his hand to the side. I stepped out and stood there with my hand on my hip and the cigarette in the other. Without warning the Coordinator turned around to smack me, but I grabbed his hand. He began to shriek once the fire started to manifest itself from my fingertips. The Coordinator chuckled and said “Ah, an ignea. I’m impressed. Do you know of your lineage?”
I released the Coordinators blistering hand and said “I am Alina, daughter of the Fallen One, Princess of Sheol.”
While the Coordinator shrieked in pain, the Chancellor gave another devious smile and said “You will come in handy.”
After this, he turned back to the line of girls and resumed his assessments. I wasn’t sure if I should stand back in line or off to the side. So, I decided to stand to the side and watch the assessments. The room was silent except for the Coordinator’s crying and the beep of the scanner. I thought I was going to be the only one taken this round, until The Chancellor reached the end of the line. He asked the last girl in the line to step out, just like I did. The long waves of her dark red hair bounced as she skipped out of the line. She stood there with her hands behind her back twisting back and forth. She was the exact same height as me with nearly the same body type. While the Chancellor beckoned the Coordinator over, she waved and flashed a smile my way. That’s when I noticed it. Her teeth were slightly less pointed than mind, and her gums glistened with faint blue tint. She was a gelum. I was under the impression that the last of the frost demons died a very long time ago, but there she was.
“Ahh a rare specimen indeed, Coordinator.” The sound of the Chancellor’s voice pulled me out of my contemplations. The girl was holding the Coordinator’s blistered hand, and the wound was hissing as the blisters froze. Soon after the Coordinator’s hand was entirely frozen, the Chancellor called me over.
“So you’re a frosty,” I said to the other girl while dying out my cigarette.
“You betcha,” she said in an annoyed voice. Her green eyes focused on ruins carved into my arms. I knew she wasn’t too excited about being next to a fire demon. After a few moments of standing there awkwardly, the Chancellor motioned us to the door. We followed him to yet another room where we were each given a key and a door number. Then they took us to the elevators. We entered the elevator together and stood there listening to the smooth jazz stylings of some unknown saxophone player.
“I’m Alina,” I said extending my hand to the girl. She cautiously shook my hand, and the contact of her icy fingers against my hot palm hurt a bit.
“Asher,” she said. The elevator had stopped, and she walked out first. I followed keeping my distance. I wasn’t going to make a big deal about this girl’s stand-offish attitude towards me. So, I left her alone and tried to find my door.
The Complex is known for its unique construction. The elevators open up to a large circular room. Each room is lined with doors. The doors all have iron numbers mounted on them. These numbers are the only thing the doors have in common. Each door reflected the personality of the room’s inhabitant. I scanned the large circle of doors to find the number 6667. When the iron numbers made their way into my line of vision, I walked over to a plain white door. It was about fifty feet to the right of the elevator shaft. I fumbled for my key in the deep pockets of the black scrubs. Once I was able to retrieve it, I placed it in the lock and turned it. The wood of the door snapped and creaked. The white paint peeled off, and the door turned a faded black color. Thin cracks in the black paint let little strips of crimson peak through, and the handle became tarnished silver. I stepped back to let the door finish its work. After a few seconds, I looked at the entrance to my new room and decided it was good enough.
Turning the doorknob, I slowly opened the door. To my surprise, it wasn’t just one room. It was a whole house. My little home had separate rooms for the kitchen, bathroom, parlor, walkway, and stairs leading up to my bedroom. It was nothing like the cell I lived in before the assessments. I closed the door behind me and walked up the stairs to my room. After checking out the closet and finding all my old gowns and armor hung up nicely, I threw myself on the bed and am laying here now writing this. I’m a bit sleepy so, goodnight, I guess.
The alarm system installed by the Complex woke me up at 4:00 am today. I threw fire ball after fire ball at the speaker, but the damn thing wouldn’t melt. Eventually I got up and took a shower. After my shower I went to the kitchen for some breakfast and a cigarette. Unfortunately, the Complex forgot to stock my refrigerator with coffee. So, I was dragging my ass all morning.
I got the mail after drinking some tea I found in one of the cupboards. Sitting on the arm chair in the parlor, I sorted through the ads and the magazines to try and find anything of value. I must have incinerated eight new home owner catalogs. I mean how do they already know this shit? No, I don’t want to buy a porcelain cat. Pretty much everything but one letter was junk. I opened up this singular letter and read its contents. It was a set of instructions telling me to meet on the 3rd floor of the Complex room 3256 by 9:00 am. I checked the lovely grandfather clock on the wall and saw that I had to be there in 10 minutes. With a huff, I finished my cigarette, put on my black trench coat, and headed out the door.
Asher met me by the elevator. She was struggling to strap one of her heels while we waited. I extended my hand to help her steady herself, and oddly enough she accepted the assistance. I smiled at her and said “I love those shoes.”
“Well why don’t you get a pair,” she replied.
I couldn’t tell whether or not she was being rude. So, I said “I’d break my ankles in those. I’m way too clumsy to wear heels on a daily basis.”
She chuckled and said “Well practice makes perfect.”
The elevator came shortly after, and we both got on. Once we reached the 3rd floor, we noticed we were going to the same room. We chatted a little while walking across the huge room to find our door. She apologized for being standoffish and I apologized for possibly offending her with the “frosty” comment. By the time we reached the doors, we realized we had a lot in common. It seems like I made a friend.
We got to the door but it wouldn’t open. Asher checked her watch to see if we were late. It was 8:55. We were on time. I jiggled the handle a few more times, but it wouldn’t budge. Asher looked a bit nervous. To be honest, I was nervous too, but I wasn’t going to show that. I mean, I have a reputation to uphold. I’m Satan’s daughter. I can’t be soft. So, like any normal ignea, I tried to set the door on fire. It wouldn’t burn, but I kept trying. Asher leaned against the wall with a huff. Once I stopped shooting fire at the door, she tried freezing it. It wouldn’t shatter like everything else she froze. The two of us sunk down to the floor disappointed. We waited for the door to open, or at least some sort of instructions on how to open it. Nothing came. Nada. Nope. So, we sat there thinking.
“Why the fuck would they call us to a room and then lock us out?” I said.
“It’s the Complex, dude,” she replied “they do stuff like this all the time. I mean just think about it. They have us in prison cells and tattoo barcodes on us, like we’re cattle.”
Just then the door popped open, and the Chancellor walked out.
“I apologize for the delay, ladies. My secretary and I were going over your files,” he said.
Neither of us said anything to him. I just pushed my way into the office, and Asher followed. When I walked in, I got a glimpse of the secretary adjusting her stockings as she walked into her office. Typical humans. I took a seat on one of the chairs across from the Chancellor’s desk. Asher sat in the other, and the Chancellor sat behind his desk. He crossed his hands in front of him and smiled at the both of us.
“Ladies, you two are very special species,” he said. When neither of us said anything he continued. “We need beings like you to help us kept the world a better place.”
“By better place, you mean under your control,” I said.
The Chancellor chuckled a bit and said “Not necessarily number 6667.”
Asher shot a surprised glance at me. The audacity of this monkey, referring to me as a number! I stood up and said “Number? Do you know who you’re talking to buddy?”
He remained seated comfortably in his chair. “Yes I do,” he said “I am speaking to the reject of both heaven and hell.”
With that I went to go burn his face off, but I couldn’t my powers didn’t work. I was looking around confused, when he flipped a switch underneath his desk. A black light switched on and revealed a devil’s trap covering the entire floor. I was powerless, until the seal was broken. I sat back down in my seat, and he continued to talk about our duties. He rattled off order after order while Asher and I sat there quietly. When he finished talking, Asher adjusted her skirt and spoke.
“Well if you’re finished, I’d liked to say a few things,” she said.
“Go on, amuse me,” said the Chancellor.
“You humans, need to learn your place. You just consciously insulted the princess of Hell and a former member of the royal guard. You refer to us as numbers and beings as if you are better than us. You are no more advanced than a primate. You are God’s special needs children. You should be pitied, not in control,” she said plainly.
The Chancellor looked a bit angry. He said “Then how, my dear, are we in control?”
Asher got up from her chair, leaned over on the desk and said “You’re not.” With that she grabbed his neck and snapped it. The Chancellor lay limp in the chair. I thought it was hilarious. So, I high-fived Asher and appointed her my hand maiden. She graciously accepted, while I flipped on the black light. I walked over to the outer edge of the trap and extended one of my claws. With a quick scratch, the seal was broken. We walked into the secretary’s office, and right when I was about to rip out her throat I saw it. She was a succubus. I lowered her down, and let her catch her breath.
She knelt on the ground and said “You’re highness, when I saw the Chancellor with your file, I weakened him for you.” She then coughed up his soul and handed it to me. The white orb of misty light felt so heavy in my hand. I pressed the orb against one of the large circular gems on my belt, and it flickered in. One soul down, 100 more to go. I thanked the girl and asked her what her name was.
“Well Violet, welcome to the team,” I said with a smile.
She stood up and the three of us snuck out of the Chancellor’s room onto the elevator. We took the elevator to my house, and the girls took a seat in the parlor.
After I made us all some tea, I sat on the couch and lit a cigarette. Violet sipped her tea, and unbuttoned her blouse.
“Ugh, I hate being clothed,” she said. I was surprised she last that long. She was a succubus after all. They normally don’t wear clothing for long periods of time. Asher gently stirred her tea. It was quiet for a while until she spoke.
“Excuse me, ladies, but don’t you think someone is going to find the Chancellor soon?” she asked. “Won’t they be looking for us?”
Violet cackled. She had a very distinct laugh. Before Asher could ask what was so funny, she replied “I released glamour on the office. All those dumb worms will see is the Chancellor and I going at it.”
I nodded my head in approval towards Violet, and took a drag. Exhaling I said “I like you’re style kid.”
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