Chapter Text
Only a soul already condemned so far to the depths that no act may save them shall go unrecognized…
It’s an early morning in Hell when the endless red glow of the inferno bathes the Radio Demon in a soft light. Allie hums to herself in consideration as she prepares for the ritual.
The demon sits alone on the floor of her tower with legs neatly tucked beneath her under a long skirt. In front of her on the wood floor rests a book propped up so that she may read it and a single unlit white candle.
Her ears lightly flick as she concentrates with her long red hair tied up out of her face. Her eyes scan the text of a book that reads more like prose than instructions for a ritual. However, with the lengths she went to acquire it, the demon has faith the spell will work. The woman recites the spell with practiced ease to herself as her voice echoes in the small room.
It would not be the first time Allie had attempted contact with another world. Long ago she had been one of the first to prove it possible after all. But pulling someone living down below was a much more strenuous task than simply speaking with a demon while still human.
There was always a loophole but trickery had its rules. The spell she found upon months of searching required that the person she summoned already be destined for Hell. Humans were creatures always tempted by vices and bad decisions. They smoked, they lied, they beat on their spouses and children after coming home drunk.
But many of them still had a chance to turn it around. There were very few sins that couldn’t be absolved later in life through honest confession and good acts. Because of this even the scum of the Earth weren’t considered completely damned in Heaven’s eyes. Not until those final moments on their deathbed anyways.
There was little use to be found in an elderly person that was at the end of their rope and would be joining the afterlife soon enough without her intervention. She needed a human that could last a few good years for her plan to work. After all, acquiring the soul was only the first step needed in a much larger scheme.
The Radio Demon needed someone still full of vigor that the angels above had decided was already truly beyond saving.
Allie is pulled from her thoughts as the air in the room starts to hum around her. The candle before her to begins glow an eerie light that starts small before enveloping the object completely. Her eyes widen for a second as she watches it spark and twist in its shape. After half a minute the room stills as the light dims.
The demon grins as she takes the candle into her hands and rises from the floor to examine the changes in it. The candle has turned a light blue in color with strange designs etched into it. The demon brings it closer to her face to smell it. She finds the wax has an almost salty ocean scent to it mixed with fresh plastic.
The demon had found her corrupted soul up above. Now all that was left to light the flame and drag her new companion down to meet her.
Baltimore 1951
Fat. Ugly nose. Fat. Jaw too square. Fat. Fat. Fat.
In a room with no furnishings, a group of young women in their early twenties are all lined up against a wall as they read over the scripts they’re holding. Their nails are manicured and lips painted red as some fidget nervously where they stand. One shorter redhead is mouthing the lines of dialogue in an attempt to memorize them.
Through the two way mirror a woman with a few white streaks in her jet black hair watches them with her sharp eyes. Her arms are crossed as a cigarette hangs loftily in her mouth.
One of the girls in the lineup, another redhead with a canary hello sweater, yawns as if she’s bored. The older black haired woman, Victoria, narrows her eyes in response.
Victoria takes the cigarette out of her mouth and turns.
“Ethan.” Victoria calls over.
On left is a shorter man with glasses holding a clipboard. At her voice he quickly steps over to her, almost tripping along the way.
“Yes Ma’am.” Ethan nods to her.
“This is a casting for a love interest?” Victoria questions him as she motions to the girls in the room.
The young women stand completely deaf and unaware to the conversion happening on the other side of the wall.
“Yes, Ms. Whittman. It’s a line reading for Adeline Moore. The girl next door and love interest of Detective-”
Victoria lets off a humorless laugh cutting him off.
“I know what auditions are happening in my own studio, you fucking moron.” Victoria cuts him off. “What am I asking you is why when I told you send out a listing for pretty young girls, I end up with a room full of pigs?”
Ethan’s brow furrow as he stutters and turns to look at the girls through the window.
“You think our viewers aren’t going to switch the channel if they see any of them taking up the screen? And why so many damn redheads?” Victoria asks him with a sneer as she looks again at the lineup.
Good lord did Victoria hate natural red hair, it was a fucking eyesore. It didn’t help that the sight of it always reminded her of that bitch in High School that would make fun of her eyes. Molly Winters should have been more concerned with her ugly carrot hair than anything else-
“I see your point.” Ethan agrees hastily pulling Victoria out of her thoughts.
This time the dark haired woman fully turns to loom over the man. Her heels give her the extra height needed to be able to completely look down on him.
“You see my point? Then why are you wasting my goddamn time with this circus.” Victoria snarls at him.
Ethan stammers and mumbles like a useless idiot.
“Get me a room full of real auditions by the end of tomorrow or you’re fired.” Victoria tells him. “And send these bitches home I don’t want to see them in my studio again.”
The woman is already on her way out of the room as her heels click sharply against the floor.
What a pain in the fucking ass.
It’s only been a few weeks since she’s had to take over the studio due to her husband’s unfortunate death and no one can do anything right. Victoria can’t even trust her assistant to set up a damn casting call without her having to take the reins.
The woman reaches her office soon enough, although the name placard on the door of it still reads “Robert”. Victoria slams the door behind her and goes to collapse into the chair behind her desk.
Once she’s seated, the woman pulls out a small black notebook from her suit pocket and makes an adjustment to her schedule. She’s going to have to miss lunch tomorrow to sit in on the auditions that should have taken place today.
Her personal notebook is filled with a detailed schedule and the occasional doodle of a shark in the corner of the page. She tries to be subtle about her fascination with the creatures as it’s an odd thing for a grown woman to have a fixation on.
After putting her notebook back in her jacket pocket, Victoria massages her aching head as she sits in her desk.
Her eyes fall on a bouquet of flowers resting on her desk with a note of condolences. Someone had gifted her them a week ago in response to Bob’s disappearance. Victoria couldn’t go down the hall without someone offering her sympathy and praying that they would find out what happened to him soon. They all promised her that he was simply missing and would turn up alright in the end.
The floorboards in her basement wouldn’t be starting to stink if that were true.
Victoria is interrupted in her musing by the sound of a large crack as if something had split open on impact.
The woman’s eyes roam the office as she continues to hear what sounds like something breaking but she can’t find a source for it. At least until she looks down to her feet below her.
There is a fracture in the ground below her. Some the carpet itself as split open slightly.
Victoria stands up in a rush but the break in the ground continues to expand and start to open. Her heart race increases as she wonders if it’s some kind of earthquake.
They never had earthquakes in Maryland and shouldn’t the room be shaking if there was? What was happening?
Caught off guard in her panic, Victoria does not move out of the way in time before the crack splits further and begins to become a hole wide enough for someone to enter.
One of Victoria’s legs slips into the hole and she stumbles. Soon enough both of her legs and lower body are falling down into the crack as she scrambles to try and get out. In a last ditch effort Victoria tries to grab onto the floor around her but can feel herself slipping.
“Help! Ethan!” She cries out in desperation.
Her nails dig into the carpet covering her office floor as she finds no purchase to pull herself up. The woman is losing her grip fast as more of her body begins to slide into the hole. Victoria’s fingertips finally can no longer hold onto the surface above her.
Soon enough she’s falling as her stomach tightens at the sensation of it. Victoria feels her body picking up speed as she descends. She squeezes her eyes shut and waits for the impact of hitting the ground to kill her.
Victoria does feel herself land on the ground eventually but there is no shattering of bones or instant loss of consciousness that she expects. There is no pain at all upon the impact.
The woman breathes heavily as she keeps her eyes closed. The air around her feels warmer than it should be.
“Hello darling.”
A woman’s voice is speaking to her.
Victoria slowly opens her eyes but feels her heart stop upon doing so.
The dark haired woman forgets how to breathe as the crushing weight of what stands before her envelops her from where she rests.
Victoria lays crumpled on the floor as she takes in the giant red creature before her. It looks almost humanoid but with razor sharp teeth. It’s even dressed as a woman like herself with long hair and a neat blouse tucked into a long skirt. Resting on top of the monster’s head are a pair of fluffy red ears.
The monster has to be at least ten feet tall as it stands before her. Victoria can hardly focus on her surroundings outside of the creature but they’re in a small room of sorts.
Victoria wants to scream but her throat feels like it’s being constricted. All she can do is stay there frozen with her mouth gaping in terror.
“Before you get ahead of yourself please allow me to explain-” The monster starts to speak in a feminine voice.
It must be a woman but whatever she is, is not human.
“I am a demon and you’re in Hell. No, you didn’t die. I brought you down here before your time.” The female creature states simply.
Victoria can only stare up at the monster with wide eyes as she speaks to her so very casually. The demon woman speaks with such a charismatic pleasant tone despite her unnerving appearance.
“My name is Allie but I am known as the Radio Demon down here.”
The demon gives a polite bow to Victoria who is still holding her breath on the ground below her.
“I’m sure you’re oh so confused and troubled by this situation but you have nothing to worry about.” Allie tries to assure her but it does little to ease her nerves.
Victoria’s pounding heart is not eased by the woman’s claim that she has nothing to fear. She clutches her chest through her suit jacket with one hand as she pushes herself up slightly off the ground.
“H-Hell is real… I’m in Hell with the devil…” Victoria starts to mutter to herself in a panic quietly.
In response the red demon laughs at her dilemma.
“Oh don’t worry about him, honey. Lucifer is very uninvolved down here. You won’t encounter him once during your stay.” Allie brushes off her concern.
The woman’s thoughts are racing as she focuses on her breathing. A million questions to ask and all of them feel like a trap in some way.
“W-Why?” Victoria “Why bring me here?”
She hopes the question is neutral enough not to enrage the demon into ripping her apart by limb by limb.
“I need a human for a little something I’m planning.” Allie tells her with an ever fixed grin.
Victoria feels her hands shaking next to her even as she tries to still them. Her mind goes to horrible places and she can only imagine what is coming next. The demon was going to eat her alive.
“If you’re going to kill me please make it quick.” Victoria manages to get out despite her terror
Allie looks amused at her statement as she laughs lightly.
“Kill you? I do not desire your death. Rather, the opposite in fact.”
The giant demon bends over so that she can meet Victoria’s eyes.
“I need a living human. Emphasis on the word living, dear. Killing you would serve no point as I would have to find another to take your place and it took quite a bit to get you down here.” Allie smiles at her.
“So you’ll keep me alive until you need me for your sacrifice?” Victoria asks her.
Perhaps it would at least buy her time to think of something. But what could she possibly do if she was truly trapped in Hell?
“There will be no sacrifice.” Allie dismisses her.
“I don’t believe you.” Victoria says as she narrows her eyes
Her hands are still shaking and her pulse is racing but she’s starting to regain some of her confidence. Victoria Whitman was no coward dammit. While her terror has not completely gone away and her heart is still beating a mile a minute, Victoria is trying to take control of herself and the situation.
Her eyes roam over the room around her to see it’s furnished like a living area with a sofa, coffee table, and unlit fireplace. Every surface is decorated in some manner and a bouquet of roses rests on the mantle of the fireplace. It reminds her of her grandmother’s apartment if everything were slightly bigger.
The woman can only assume that this is the demon’s home based on the size of the furniture. Every demon down here must be a giant of some kind.
“It does not matter if you believe me or not. You have nowhere else to go.” Allie shrugs her off as she rises.
Victoria has no rebuttal as she is very well aware that a human stuck in Hell is in way over their head.
“Now then. I’m a very busy woman so I must attend to things. I suggest you don’t leave my apartment as any demon that encounters you on the streets will tear you to pieces.”
“Maybe you’re only saying that to keep me prisoner.” Victoria challenges her.
The woman feels her fear return and wonders if she said the wrong thing when the demon’s eyes narrow at her.
“You behave so petulantly.” Allie says as she looks less amused with Victoria’s increasing defiance.
Knowing that she is playing a dangerous game, Victoria decides to double down anyways. She would rather die with her pride than a pathetic sniveling mess.
“I won’t play your game, demon. Let me go or kill me.” Victoria spits out at the other.
The dark haired woman tries her best to muster all the courage she can. If she was going be tortured then so be it but she wasn’t going to cower.
Allie’s brow twitches in response to her defiance though her smile stays fixed.
“If you insist on being a rude little thing without manners you can go to bed without supper. A shame because I was going to be making beignets for desert.” The demon muses.
Victoria can do nothing as Allie lifts her by the shirt collar and carries her as if she were a ragdoll.
She’s carried across the apartment until Allie opens the door to a small bedroom. The demon practically throws Victoria into the air so that flies across the room and lands in a disheveled clump on the mattress.
Victoria rolls over into her back to see the cozy bedroom, decorated in a red theme like the room she had just been in. Allie stands in the doorway and gives her a little wave.
“Goodnight, Victoria.” Allie tells her before she slams the door shut.
Victoria breathes heavily from where she rests on the bed. She waits a few seconds before sitting up and adjusting herself. Everything had happened so quickly and there was very little time to process it all.
The bed with a red patterned quilt cover that she rests on massively outsizes her along with everything else in the room. It’s as if she’s a little girl again the way everything around her is so large and intimidating.
The longer she sits the more her fear is quickly being replaced by irritation at this new woman. Who did this bitch think she was bringing Victoria into the afterlife before her time?
She was almost fifty years old like hell was she going to let some lady treat her like this demon or not.
Victoria had no time to waste. She needed to asses her situation and find a way back ‘upstairs’ as soon as possible. The woman doesn’t sleep that night as she takes in her surroundings and studies the room in detail.
The four poster wooden bed may be a single size for a demon but it absolutely dwarfs her. The whole room has a vintage feel and stands in contrast to her own gorgeous modern home back on earth. Her own place is minimalist and sharp with clean vacant surfaces. The cluttered coziness of the bedroom reminds Victoria of her humble youth when her family lived in that small apartment.
There is a single window with red curtains but the glass is foggy blocking the view and she’s unable to open it. Victoria needed to drag a chair over to climb on to be able to even reach the window sill. An effort that took an hour considering she wanted to avoid making any loud sounds that would alert Allie.
Her prison cell is not a damp basement but a comfortable bedroom and she’s not sure what to make of that. The possibility that the demon could luring her into a false sense of security crosses her mind.
In the early hours of the morning Victoria debated whether she should chance trying to see if Allie had locked the bedroom door but she worries it could be a trap. Perhaps the demon is waiting to see if she tries to leave the room. She decides it be better to play it safe on the first night of captivity.
Victoria spends ten hours searching the room before there is nothing left to investigate. The woman then sits on the bed and contemplates her unfortunate situation. The room itself had no pictures or books to give her any insight into the Hell she is currently trapped in. The closest thing to any type of photo are a view paintings of trees and flowers hung on the wallpaper… which was also red.
There was too much damn red in this place. Didn’t that demon bitch know other color schemes were available?
The woman tries to imagine how the demon even managed to drag her ass down into this pit. Didn’t she mention something about a ritual? Everything had happened in such a blur that some information may have gone over Victoria’a head. Allie claimed she didn’t intend to hurt or kill Victoria but the dark haired woman wasn’t about to take the demon’s word for it.
While Victoria has no clue what time it actually is at the moment, she guesses it must be close to morning back upstairs. The light coming in through the foggy window glass is getting brighter and she swears that she can almost hear a bit of nose from outside
Victoria startles on the bed as the door to the room opens. She turns to see Allie’s intimating figure standing in the doorway as she grins at her.
“You’re up early.” Allie notes in surprise as she enters the room.
The demon walks over to wear Victoria sits on the edge of the bed and her red eyes look over the tucked sheets and orderly pillows.
Victoria almost gasps when Allie bends over and takes her chin in her hand to get a closer look at her. Her head is turned upwards to look into the sharp red eyes of the deer woman.
“Did you sleep at all?” Allie asks her as she looks at the dark circles under Victoria’s eyes.
Victoria tries to pull away but Allie’s hold is firm even if her hands feel delicate on the dark haired woman’s skin.
“Does it matter?” Victoria sniffs dismissively.
Allie releases her face from her gentle grip but doesn’t look pleased at her answer.
“I believe I told you it was time for you to sleep when I put you in here last night.” Allie states.
There is a dangerous edge to her tone that Victoria catches onto. The woman adjusts herself on the bed as she sits on straighter meeting Allie’s gaze.
“We will discuss it later. For now, I went ahead and got you some clothes.” Allie says as she snaps her fingers.
The drawers in the wardrobe in the corner of the room glow for a second before fading. Allie walks over and opens them to show Victoria.
The dark haired woman walks over about to ask how Allie has the ability to transport objects magically when the clothes in the wardrobe catch her eye. Victoria stills as she gazes over them, folded neatly in the dresser.
Sweaters with animals on them, plaid overall dresses, and white button shirts with puffed sleeves and round collars. All a very big difference from the sharp fitted dark navy suit and skirt combo she is wearing.
“These are clothes for children.” Victoria says in an irritated tone.
“Profound observation, darling.” Allie mocks her. “Clothes designed for regular sinners simply don’t come in your size.”
The way this demon somehow seems to annoy her more than anyone else she has met before is insane considering she has known the other for less than twenty-four hours.
“I won’t wear them.” Victoria states simply but firmly.
The woman can feel her nails digging into her clenched fists as she stands there staring at the folded sweaters.
“You can hardly wear that same outfit forever. It’s already torn and singed.” Allie points out as she tuts at her.
The demon isn’t wrong as Victoria’s own clothing is heavily damaged and in poor condition. But it will be a cold day in Hell before she dresses like a six year old for this creature’s amusement.
“Get me some real clothes or I’m staying in this.” Victoria demands as she crosses her arms and glares at the other.
There is a stiffness in the air as a static sound erupts sound Allie. It causes Victoria to flinch for a second as the other looms over her with that wicked grin.
“Not even a ‘please’? Your manners are atrocious and I will not tolerate them in my home. You will wear what I tell you to.” Allie says through her smile.
“You’re trying to humiliate me!” Victoria says as tears sting at the corner of her eyes.
She knows how pathetic she looks getting teary eyed over clothing but it’s what tips her over the edge. She’s been kidnapped by a demon and sent to fucking Hell for Christ’s sake.
“Listen to me, sweetheart. I know very well what kind of woman you are and what sort of life you’ve lived. If you’re looking for pity you are barking up the wrong tree.” Allie looks down at her.
Victoria is practically shaking with rage as she glares at the other.
“I don’t think you deserve to be treated with the respect I would give another lady because you act like a spoiled little girl.” Allie practically sings at her.
“Well I’m not showing you any respect either. And I won’t let you decide my fucking clothes because you aren’t my mother, you freak!” Victoria spits at the demon.
Allie’s eyes glow dangerously at that as he grins in amusement.
“Since you brought it up. From now on why don’t you address me as ‘Mama’ or ‘Mommy’ if you prefer? I will be taking care of you after all down here.”
“Listen here bitch-”
Victoria realizes it’s the wrong thing to say because the demon is starting to deform and something is coming out of her back. The woman doesn’t even have time to scream before a slender black tentacle is gripping her around the waist lifting her up.
Allie carries her over to the bed where she sits down then puts Victoria over her legs. The demon’s hands hold the woman in place as she struggles.
“Let me go! Let me go you ugly cunt!” Victoria practically snarls in an unattractive manner.
Victoria writhes uselessly as she tries to get away from Allie and out of her grip.
“I hate to punish you so harshly but it appears that words aren’t enough.” Allie chides.
Before Victoria can respond there is a massive pain on her backside as one of the tentacles strikes her. She cries out at the smack hard enough to leave a mark.
“W-Wait!” Victoria yells.
The tentacle strikes her again on her bruised backside and the tears welling up in her eyes spill out down her face.
And again.
“Stop! Please stop!” Victoria finally begs when the same bruised area is smacked so hard she fears it will leave a permanent mark.
But the tentacle is merciless as it continues to strike her across the rear. She’s pretty sure she’s going to have welts from it.
Victoria can’t help but burst into tears from the pain as she cries out. It hurts so bad and her entire ass is raw and stinging. The impact of the tentacles have torn through her skirt and underwear to the bare skin below that is bright red from the abuse.
”P-Please…” Victoria whimpers through her cries.
The tentacles don’t strike this time.
“Are you going to behave?” Allie asks her
”Yes.” Victoria sobs.
“Yes, what?” The demon asks her again.
It takes a moment of heavy breathing before Victoria swallows her pride.
“Yes… M-Mama.” Victoria mumbles.
She flinches as she feels Allie’s claws on her head but the demon is petting her hair.
“Good girl.”
Victoria’s ass is still stinging while she changes her outfit. She stands there is a stupid white sweater with a butterfly and a plaid skirt that almost reaches her ankles. A pair of white tights and black maryjane’s complete the ridiculous look.
She’s not sure if the tears streaming down her face are from pain or humiliation
“Come take a seat, darling.” Allie tells her as she motions to the bed.
Victoria takes a seat in front of the demon as Allie takes a brush and starts working on her hair. The woman sits there as the other takes a light blue ribbon to tie it back. Once she’s finished with work, she brushes the strands out of Victoria’s face.
“There we go, was that so difficult?” Allie teases her.
Victoria says nothing as she sits on the edge of the bed. She wants to be furious but anger is dangerous. The woman is impulsive with a short fuse and doesn’t trust herself not to lash out at the demon if she lets her irritation grow.
“Now then. Since you didn’t sleep last night I suppose you’ll need a nap.” Allie tells her.
Victoria isn’t sure how in the world the demon expects to her fall asleep in her situation but she does feel exhausted. Her dreams will most likely be filled with nightmares that wake her up every few minutes.
She’s given no time to think as she’s being lifted from the floor and carried in Allie’s arms. It’s a bizarre sensation that doesn’t last long before Allie is pulling back the covers of the bed and tucking her in.
The back of Victoria’a head sinks into the pillows as the demon adjusts the covers and quilt of the bed around her.
“One moment.” Allie tells her leaving the room.
Victoria is left there blinking slowly before the demon returns with something in her arms.
It’s a stuffed shark. A grey great white with little black beady eyes and a big smile.
“Your little notebook had all those fish drawings. Quite adorable really.”
Victoria doesn’t have the energy to feel embarrassed in that moment as Allie presses the shark into her arms.
“You hate me don’t you?” Allie teases her.
Victoria says nothing as she clutches the shark from under the covers. She meets Allie’s eyes but refuses to rise her words.
“Too bad there is nothing you can do about it.” The demon smiles at her. “Don’t get out of bed now.”
The demon ruffles her hair and leaves her in the room, closing the door behind her. Victoria is gripping the stuffed shark so hard she’s surprised her nails aren’t puncturing the fabric.
She stares up at the ceiling above her as the exhaustion finally catches up and overwhelms her.
Victoria falls asleep as she breathes in and out slowly.