CODEX Part 3: Between Heaven and Hell

Zoe took a shower and dressed in record time. Ezekiel was ready to follow her out while Charlie only waved happily from the couch.

She arrived at the hospital really fast but once she walked in, she froze. Ezekiel looked at her curiously, understanding when he noticed what was going on in the hallway.

“Oh,” He mumbled.

Every ghost, be it a child or an adult, was staring at her in fear, some even started to whisper to each other.

“They can feel you, can’t they? The darkness inside you,” Ezekiel leaned towards her and whispered.

“They know who I am and what I can do now.” She added.

Ezekiel moved his eyes on the ghosts seeing them spread as she walked towards the information desk. He followed her closely, trying to intimidate the ghosts who were coming too close to them. The key word: trying. He wasn’t doing a good job at it since he didn’t look intimidating at all.

“Can you please tell me in what room is Kim Kyungjae?” She used her most polite tone.

The woman only threw her a swift glance before she returned to her work.

“666,”

Zoe frowned, leaning over the desk trying to take a peek at the screen, just to be sure.

The woman stared at her suspiciously.

“Is there a problem?”

Zoe stared at her. As she was closer to her face, she swore she saw her eyes getting black.

“Um- Zoe?” Ezekiel wasn’t sure what to do. She was acting strange –which was normal in her case- but she was drawing unnecessary attention. He licked his lips and pulled her back by her waist, “Zoe,” He whispered, “People are staring,” He continued.

She turned around and realized that, indeed, everyone in the room was staring at her with curiosity. When she turned back to the nurse, she noticed she looked normal.

Zoe was dumbfound. She could swear she saw something dark at her.

“Can you please tell us the room number again?” Ezekiel asked quickly while keeping her close.

“306,”

Ezekiel nodded and dragged her away.

Zoe furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“Didn’t she say 666 before?”

The human raised an eyebrow before he shook his head.

“Can you think about anything but hell?”

Zoe narrowed her eyes at him and pushed him aside.

“I can walk on my own,” She mumbled before she took the lead.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes and walked after her.

There was another man in the elevator except the two. Zoe wasn’t thinking about anything; really, her mind was completely blank and she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. She had no idea what was going to happen with her activity on web after she left Alec hanging because she had no inspiration.

Zoe rubbed her neck and rotated it to keep the blood circulation smooth. As she was doing that, she noticed some liquid dripping down the stranger’s leg. The girl glanced at him before she checked what Ezekiel was doing; he was in his own little world, with his eyes closed.

Zoe was absolutely sure that something dark was dripping down the stranger's leg. Without looking too suspicious, she got down to tie her shoelaces and reached out to touch the substance on the floor. She felt a chill run down her spine and she heard a loud yell. Zoe smelled smoke and started to feel dizzy.

She retracted her hand and got up. When the stranger moved, she got closer to Ezekiel. Suddenly, the lights started to flicker and the stranger looked at her over his shoulder. He cracked a smirk as his eyes moved in the back of his head. She heard three loud gongs that only frightened her more.

The fact was, she knew what those meant. Zoe knew what the signs were for and knew each of them were a Prince’s: Belphegor had the 666 sign while Mammon had the three gongs. Leviathan was known for envy and Satan for blood. Beelzebub’s was insignificant, probably because she’s been followed around by insects anyway but the one she didn’t know of was Lucifer’s.

The demon in front of her licked his lips with a snake tongue, chuckling as he turned towards the door.

When the bell rung and the doors opened, the stranger didn’t move. Instead, Ezekiel grabbed her hand and walked out. They were already a few feet from the elevator when she glanced at it over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she saw the demon waving at her, a pyramid turned upside down drawn on his palm.

In front of Chen’s room was none other than his mother. She recognized Zoe instantly but she also noticed her and Ezekiel’s entangled hands.

“I thought you won’t come,” Mrs. Kim whispered while she hugged Zoe and pulled her inside the room.

Zoe gulped when she faced the cruel reality.

Chen was on the famous hospital bed, with an IV connected to his right arm and another machine connected to his left. His head was covered with bandages, his face was covered by a breathing mask and he had a tub down his throat.

“He fell from the window. He hit the back of his head and the upper part of the spine. His condition is bad but he is under control.”

Zoe could feel her heart dropping somewhere on the floor. She felt really, really guilty. She did that, she threw him without the smallest regret.

“Will he be fine?” Her voice was no louder than a whisper.

Mrs. Kim sighed heavily and glanced at her son.

“He may not be able to walk ever again.”

In the back of her mind, Zoe could hear someone laugh bemusedly. The demon was still inside her. She was him. It was impossible to control it when it was slowly breaking out.

Zoe walked closer and stared at her friend with soft eyes.

“I did this,” she mumbled, “You, out of everyone, were the one who never gave up on life and the beauty of it,” she touched his hair and trailed her hand down his temple, to his cheek. She caressed it with the back of her hand and leaned in, “Don’t give up on it now. Don’t give up on me,” she knew what to say to make him wake up and get well, “You’re mine, Kim Kyungjae. I'm not leaving you,” Zoe whispered.

From the door, Ezekiel saw Zoe grasp Chen’s hand and noticed her eyes changing slightly. It only happened for a second, but he witnessed it. He witnessed Zoe marking a human with no relationship whatsoever to hell. That was something forbidden, a sin but she was going to end down there anyway; at least, under her spell, their souls were safe.

After she imprinted her mark on Chen’s wrist, she heard the gongs again while Ezekiel heard tapping noises. He walked out and sat on a chair, grabbing his head in pain and closing his eyes.

He didn’t have the chance to see Zoe’s eyes going blank and her short figure running out.

When he realized she left, Ezekiel knew something dangerous was about to happen. He first took a peek inside Chen's room and his eyes widened when he saw his best friend on his bottom, watching his mother with confusion all over his face. The human noticed Ezekiel at the door and told him to come over but Ezekiel shook his head and made him a sign to rest.

The puppy human ran out of the hospital, having a really bad gut feeling and met a sight he wasn't pleased to see.

Zoe was in the middle of the road, literally. She looked to the side as the wind picked up and fear crawled up her entire being. There was only one man who could scare her so much and he was the one torturing her.

She didn't expect him to walk to such lengths as to coming to the Upworld. Mist moved towards a spot on her right, grabbing her attention. He was standing in the middle of the mist, attracting it all around and making it burn. The fire was making his eyes seem darker than they were; he was beautiful but in an evil way. He was the perfect demon, the perfect example of what hell was and what a sin meant. He was the devil of all.

She licked her lips and felt hands wrap around her neck, like they were invisible tentacles coming from their master. Zoe's heart was beating really fast and her pulse was probably twice over normal. Her hands and legs were trembling in fear as the grasp around her neck tightened.

"Zoe!"

She was engulfed in Lucifer's spell and she couldn't hear or see anything but his smirk and those deep hellish eyes.

Ezekiel knew something was wrong. Cars were going past her yet somehow, none hit her or passed remotely close to her, but her luck was fading. A big truck was coming with high speed towards her and no one could stop it in time.

Ezekiel's eyes widened and called her name once more.

"Zoe!"

She didn't even blink. Ezekiel glanced between the truck and his friend and he knew he had to save her. He took a deep breath in and let it out softly, preparing to interfere.

Zoe's eyes were stuck on those dark orbs, feeling him closer than before, closer than he was in her dreams. His smirk widened when he saw her blue eyes glowing and vanished in the fire. That was the moment Zoe became aware of the place she was in and noticed the light of the truck. She was blinded by it and only had time to blink.

The collision didn't happen, though. She got thrown aside, hitting her back when she fell on the pavement. Zoe looked over her shoulder only to see Iaosur keeping Ezekiel in place.

"You saved me," She mumbled, turning to her saviour.

Gakhas glared at her before he leaned in and whispered.

"You better keep this a secret,"

The woman blinked a few times as she registered his awful threat but the outcome was the same: she couldn't take it seriously even if it was serious.

As she was getting up, she stumbled and grabbed Gakhas's arm for help. He flinched and threw her off quickly causing her to fall again.

"What the heck?" She moaned, annoyed with the sloth demon.

Gakhas narrowed his eyes at her and turned his back, checking his arm in case something changed but the 666 sign was still there, thankfully.

Zoe rolled her eyes and wiped her pants off dust, searching for other scratches created during the fall. It seemed her right forearm was bruised as she tried to protect her hand.

When Ezekiel got to her, he didn't waste any time and hit her side, not too hard but not light either.

"Do you really want to die?!" He screamed as she narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head innocently, "Then why did you run in the middle of the road?!"He continued to scream and scold her, like a brother.

"He was here,"

Ezekiel tilted his head in curiosity while Gakhas and Iaosur glanced at each other before they turned to her.

"Why?" Iaosur's tone sounded like back when they first met.

She stared at him before her eyes moved to Ezekiel. Maybe she should have told them the truth but she didn't want to risk his or Chen's lives.

"I don't know."

Chen's wounds healed mysteriously fast after she visited him and his parents were in awe and started to see her as some kind of divine sign.

That night, they decided to get someone sleep with her.

Zoe was still feeling guilty and they were sure she wasn't going to throw him out the window again so they let Chen sleep with her. Besides, he made it obvious he wanted to stay that night with her and talk to her.

But Chen fell asleep as soon as he put his head on the pillow. Zoe chuckled and caressed his face softly.

"I'm sorry, Chen," She whispered.

He grunted and rolled on his side, making her chuckle since he was acting like a kid.

Sincerely, Zoe was worried. She assured them that she had enough self restraint but she doubted herself. She was in the hospital when Lucifer lured her out, vanity demons were messing around with her head and hurting the people she loved so who could say that she wasn't going to break again? She had enough regrets to attract them.

Zoe froze when she caught glimpse of a shadow crawling on the wall. Tension raised between her and that shadow and she swore she heard breathing that wasn't hers or Chen'ss soon as it came, it disappeared.