J Morris - Selfish Beings

‘Now you go to their Realm and prove Lucifer wasn’t nutty sending three young people on such an important assignment.’

‘What, from here?’ Kaarl asked. He glanced to his left as one of the Damned vomited on the red carpet.

‘What were you expecting, boy? Some sort of summoning stone? A sacred ritual sacrifice on a mountain with goats and virgins?’

‘A goodbye kiss would be nice,’ said Vetis.

‘Just not from a lecherous old scumbag like you,’ added her sister.

‘They say the children are our future,’ sighed the Treasurer. ‘Off with you, then!’

The last thing Kaarl saw was Asteroth raise his flabby arms and then his vision went blank.

Before his eyesight had even begun to clear, the first thing Kaarl noticed was the smell. Damp concrete and trash were new to the demon’s senses, yet underlying that was something else entirely. It was neither pleasant nor stomach-churning, but the Mortal realm had its own distinct odour. The noises of a human city surrounded him, cars mainly, and, thanks to the Internet, that much was at least semi-familiar. Two blurry shapes walked towards him.

‘Up you get,’ said Vetis, grabbing Kaarl by one arm, her sister by the other.

‘It feels like I’m surrounded by tar,’ he told the twins. Kaarl’s voice sounded distant in his head and he found standing to be quite difficult, even with the twins’ help.

‘You get used to it,’ Verin promised as she steadied him. ‘Things move a lot more slowly here than back home.’

Kaarl’s most immediate feeling was one of loss. He had not tried to fly, he hadn’t even thought about it, but somehow he knew he couldn’t. Strength had never been his greatest asset but he could feel that was significantly diminished as well. After a few minutes his eyesight was almost fully restored and he could see the twins in detail. They had the same striking green eyes, facial structure and slim figures but with flawlessly tanned skin, blonde hair and their breasts had grown quite considerably.

‘I hate wearing clothes,’ said Vetis as she tugged at her revealing little black dress. It was more like a piece of material just wrapped around her. It hugged every curve and left very little to the imagination.

‘Those outfits barely qualify,’ said Kaarl, still drowsy from the transfer.

He looked at his own clothes. On instinct he had shifted into something very similar to his father’s favourite black suit and shirt combination. Kaarl had studied images of male models, actors and body sculptors and taken their most striking features and physiques to craft himself a form for his work on Earth. He had given himself deep blue eyes, black hair and a face and body that would render any female numb with desire. Attracting the opposite sex was not the vessel’s purpose, though; it was just a fact that everything was a little easier on Earth for the remarkably attractive.

‘These dresses are just for now,’ said Verin, tugging at hers. ‘We can go shopping for other clothes later; I love shopping.’

‘What’s the point?’ asked Kaarl. ‘We can shift into whatever outfit we want and you hate wearing clothes. Why bother with shopping?’

‘Because we can’t do it in Perdition,’ replied Vetis. ‘Everything is free down there and that’s so boring. Up here money separates the haves from the have nots and fashion is a religion. Women know when you’re wearing a pair of shoes that cost more than their car and you can see the jealousy on their faces. It’s shallow and elitist and I absolutely love it.’

‘We also have to wear clothes up here,’ said Verin. ‘You go to prison if you don’t. Seeing as that’s the case, our outfits need to be as fabulous as what they’re covering up.’

‘Or what they’re almost covering up,’ said Kaarl.

He decided not to press the matter further; the sisters had always had their quirks. Their skills would more than make up for them and he did owe them for getting him online in Perdition. A trip to Earth, even though it was a working holiday, was the least he could have done for them and it was nice to have his friends with him. He turned his attention to their newly enhanced assets; the dresses made it hard not to.

‘Why have you done that to your chests?’ asked Kaarl. ‘Those things look heavy.’

‘This,’ said Vetis with a grin and a quick shake, ‘is how we get our walking around money.’

‘How? Will you be selling milk?’

‘You’ll see,’ chimed the twins.

Kaarl took in his surroundings once he was over the disorientation caused by the realm change. The trio were in a dark alley between two buildings. Metal stairs and ladders ran up the buildings either side of them and nothing but random litter, a worse for wear cat and a dumpster inhabited the immediate area. He and the twins began to walk towards the light at the mouth of the alley. People streamed past the gap and their chatter grew louder as the trio approached. When they stepped out of the gloom on to the street the sights and sounds of the Mortal city took Kaarl’s breath.

‘Welcome to Los Angeles,’ the girls said.

The decision had not been an easy one for the Demon; London, Beijing, Moscow or New York would also have been ideal starting locations. All of Kaarl’s research, however, had led him to believe their greatest chance of success lay, ironically, in the City of Angels. It was 11 p.m. Friday night in Downtown L.A. and the bars were just starting to fill up as the budget-conscious patrons began drifting in from their pre drinks at home. Kaarl stood watching the night time revellers stream past, alternating between them and the myriad of bars, restaurants and other buildings. Even though he considered himself something of an expert on Earth he had no idea as to the purpose of many of them.

‘Don’t do that,’ said Verin, grabbing his arm. ‘You look like some hillbilly that’s never seen a city before.’

‘Or like you’re tripping on acid,’ her sister added.

‘I haven’t seen a Mortal city before,’ replied Kaarl. ‘I mean of course I’ve seen Mortals before and their cities on the Net but this is different. They’re in their natural environment now and I’m here too. It’s…amazing.’

‘We’re supposed to be taking them to the Gates of Perdition,’ Verin told him, ‘not making a wildlife documentary.’

The twins led Kaarl through the throngs on the streets of L.A. and he soon began to differentiate certain smells. The realm didn’t really have its own one; it was the amalgamation of previously unknown ones that caused the effect. An untold number of them mingled in the streets and on occasion he had to stop. Although Kaarl had discovered they were separate he had a hard time working out exactly where each one was coming from.

‘We’d better keep moving,’ said Verin. ‘The first thing you need to know about a Mortal existence is that it sucks without money.’

I’m actually here Kaarl repeated to himself as he followed the twins. What had started as a pipe dream and evolved into a dubious proposition was finally a reality. He tried to catalogue each individual experience but was soon swept away in sensory overload. Stars instead of the burning sky, the crisp night air instead of Perdition’s constant humidity and there were Mortals bustling in every direction. The Damned generally just drank themselves into a stupor and stumbled around aimlessly. It was better than Kaarl could have imagined. He knew his view of the realm from his computer had been limited. Having all five senses engaged at once instead of merely seeing and hearing hammered the point home. He wasn’t in Perdition any more.

Perfume and deodorant, stale sweat and halitosis; the new aromas kept on coming and Kaarl took them all in, even the ones that made him gag a little. A few of the mortals had the music on their phones blaring so loud they seemed to be sharing it with everyone they passed. Judging by the looks they received and some of the comments, their generosity was not always appreciated.