“Tour time!” Jack’s voice boomed over the endless office. He was standing in the doorway, dressed in a different red suit than the one he was wearing in the morning, and he looked different. There was a reddish glow in his dark brown eyes and a mischievous smile on his face that he couldn’t get rid of. Yes, the meeting with Andrea went good, he thought to himself. She got what she deserved. And she’ll continue to do so for eternity.
Alfie popped up from behind one of the many filing cabinets. He had a black eye and seemed sadder than he was when he first came in. His shoulders were hunched forward and he looked like he was in pain.
“What happened to you?” Jack asked, amused.
“A filing cabinet fell on me.” the elf answered simply, stapling two papers together. He didn’t complain, which annoyed Jack. He fed off people's negative feelings and complaints. He loved to hear them bitch and moan about their jobs in Hell and gossip about the other souls trapped in there. It was fun, and it gave him the power he needed to get through the day.
“Let’s give you a tour of the place,” Jack said, looking not-so-enthusiastic now.
The elf let out a small ‘okay’, put the paper down and followed the devil into the hallway.
“Here, you’ll need this.” the devil said handing Alfie a notepad.
“What for?”
“You need to take notes. Have you forgotten already? Sometimes you’ll have to give tours to newbies, when I’m busy. So better pay attention now!” Jack warned him, handing the elf a pen and warning him with the index finger.
Jack started walking down the hall, Alfie barely keeping up with him.
“So the deal is: everybody gets a bedroom, where they can sleep after their work for the day is done. Workdays are from 9 am to 8 pm, with a one hour break at 1 pm for lunch. You are not to leave your job outside the lunch break, no matter what happens. There are no weekends, so you work 7 days a week. Are you writing this down?” he asked, stopping and turning towards the elf.
“Yes. Does this apply to everyone, regardless of their job?”
“Obviously,” the devil frowned, starting to walk again. “You fulfill your duties, you get your daily share of torture, and not even for a single second dare to think that you can get away with slacking!” he warned the man. “I have eyes everywhere in this place, and faithful devils who are watching you even when you think you’re completely alone in a room! What you do outside the working hours is completely up to you, provided you do not try to use your spare time to cross me or out-maneuver me!” he continued, stopping in front of a door which said ‘IT’.
“IT? As in...the clown?” Alfie asked, starting to tremble.
“Ha, no!” Jack let out a laugh that made the walls shake. “This is our IT department” he said between laughs, opening the door.
Alfie peeked in the empty room. The walls were a bland, grey color, and the only furniture in the department was a desk and a chair, with a man sitting on it. He was tapping furiously on the keyboard of a computer, not taking notice of the guests.
“Who is that?” Alfie whispered.
“Oh, that’s the guy that made the dark web a thing.” Jack whispered back. “His duty is to fix our internet conexion.”
“I didn’t know you had internet in Hell.” Alfie replied, impressed.
“Oh, we don’t,” the devil turned his head to Alfie, a wicked smile on his face. “That’s the whole point!” he giggled. “Anyway, let’s move on!”
As they were leaving the IT department, Alfie turned to see the computer man stare back at them, a tortured and frustrated look on his face, angry tears streaming down his cheeks.
“I can’t find the problem!” he yelled, as Jack slammed the door shut. The man’s sobs could be heard from the hallway, and Alfie had a hard time peeling his eyes off the closed door and following Jack. The devil seemed pleased with the IT man’s reaction, as he continued his journey down the hall,...