Awake in Hell by Downing Helen

Author:Downing, Helen [Downing, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beau Coup Publishing LLC
Published: 2014-07-19T22:00:00+00:00

“Fine,” I say, with just a touch of an offended tone, due to the whole ‘poor little Louise stuck in leather’ look. “I will happily take one of the new ones out for a test drive!” I didn’t bother to even ask what happened to Carl, since I figured he wouldn’t tell me anyway and I was terrified of the possible answers. The biggest one being that Carl was fired, which would set precedent that it is possible for a person to actually get fired as a cab driver. And my track record is two for two on the whole getting shit canned thing.

“Good for you!” Tim says, with just a hint of condescension. I’m really not sure whether to like Tim, to pity him, or to punch him in the throat. It’s a strange conflict. He does make me feel just a wee bit anxious and very uncomfortable over his actual presence here. We all believe that there are some basic rules, and those rules help us make sense of the world around us, even if that world is this one. A week ago, I would have said with all the confidence in the universe that there were no innocent children in Hell, but then my new little blonde friend started appearing. And I would have asserted that if you’re slow or mentally challenged, you’re pretty much guaranteed a ticket to a penthouse in the afterlife. But here’s Tim with his gappy smile and his overly concerned looks regarding my wardrobe and now I don’t know what to think. With a shudder, I decide to stop thinking and just go to work already.

“Thanks Tim. Got the keys?”

“Yup,” he says and goes back to his desk. He grabs a set of keys with a large “3” on the keyring and tosses them over to me. “Be careful out there, kiddo,” he says with a hint of sincere concern. I immediately regret considering to hit him. He walks up to me and places one of his giant hands on my shoulder. I look up and into his eyes and again I am overwhelmed by a wave of discomfort. His eyes are so kind. It’s not just hard, it’s damn near impossible to believe that he could have done anything to warrant being damned for eternity.

“I mean it. It gets rough out there. Don’t let it get to you,” he says. Then he pats my shoulder a couple of times and turns his back to me.

I swear, as I’m heading out of his office toward bay three for my cab, I can hear him sniffle as if he’s crying. I wonder for a moment if he’s crying over his own fate or if he’s crying for me.

As soon as I get inside my car I feel at home. In the world of breathers and breeders, I never cared about my car. I had a driver’s license and occasionally I even had a car, but it was usually a piece of shit beater car that I used simply to get from point A to point B.

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