First Sight

Chapter One: The New Emissary

Baylin

Heaven and Hell. I want to laugh every time someone around me brings either one up in a conversation. Most of the time they simply do it as a way to account for their actions, the whole “well if I don’t do this I won’t go to Heaven,” or “I’m going to go to Hell anyway so I might as well enjoy what I do” mind sets.

Some wonder if they’re real, if they truly do exist and they do, just not in the way that everyone thinks most of the time. God isn’t this all omniscient being that holds immense power. Sure, he created the world and the people in it and everything but now he won’t do anything else. Everything comes down to the choices people make and that determines what is to happen to them.

And Hell isn’t all fire and brimstone like people want to say all the time. I should know; I visit Hell quite frequently. This is something that if I ever said it out loud, people would have me incarcerated, well, unless they were one of my kind.

See, when you die on Earth it isn’t the end of your life and you do go to Heaven or Hell based on how you lived your life. Though, there are a few exceptions. I haven’t died yet but I am definitely from Hell, even if it is only partially. My dad is from Hell and my mom is still living her first life on Earth. I’m the lucky by-product of their interactions, which means that I have some of the skills of someone who has died and gone to Hell already though I am still on my first life.

And since those that live in Hell have already lived once it would have been strange to have me around all the time, especially when the only schools in Hell are continuing education. Therefore, I spend my days with my mom on Earth, going to school and pretending to be normal when I am anything but. Let’s just say that all of my classes have been extremely easy, even if I don’t pay attention to what is going on. I usually spend my class periods working on learning all the politics of Hell.

Whenever the teacher calls on me, it only takes a moment of prying to find out what they were talking about and what answer the teacher would like. I give it to her/him and then she/he leaves me alone. But school is over now so I’m done with that…for now. Okay, so I probably shouldn’t use my abilities for stuff such as that but I really don’t care. Besides, it really doesn’t matter what I do with my life on Earth because I’ll be going to Hell when I die anyway. It wouldn’t be possible for someone of my heritage to go to Heaven.

Not that I would want to anyway because from what I have heard Heaven isn’t as great as they make it out to be. They’re really strict and you don’t really get to do a lot of fun extracurricular activities. That doesn’t sound like my idea of a fun time. Instead I’d like to go out and do what I feel like doing when I feel like doing it.

Of course, duty calls as well. After school I return home for a brief few minutes to drop off my books before going down to Hell to spend time with my dad. My parents are still together, if it would be possible to use that term. They spend as many nights together as they can though they have to be careful. The one thing I have to say against the way Hell is operated is that power could shift in a matter of minutes, in the time it took to overthrow whoever was in charge. My dad is The Lord of Hell, which means he’s in charge of everyone in it.

Basically that means that I have to be even more careful about where I go, who I’m with, and when I go out to do anything. Sure, Heaven and Hell have had a truce for the past twenty years but that doesn’t mean that everything is completely peaceful between the two. In fact, tensions are mounting. That much I know as I’ve seen the way the citizens in Hell act, especially when Heaven is mentioned in a conversation. Of course, the few emissaries from Heaven that are in Hell at any one time don’t really appreciate the way Hell talks about Heaven.

“Baylin!”

I sigh and put down the novel that I hadn’t really been paying attention to so that I can run down and see what my mom wants. “Yeah Ma?” I ask as I head down the stairs. Her grey eyes are wide with worry and I raise an eyebrow at that. What is going on now?

“Your dad has requested your presence,” she says slowly, as if she didn’t want me to go down there.

“Okay,” I answer. “So, what’s going on? I mean, he usually doesn’t call for me on a Sunday.”

She turns away from me and I feel my insides start to twist into a knot. Something isn’t right here; that much I can see. My mom has never acted like this before, especially when it comes to something that concerns my dad and I. “I’m sure your dad will explain it all to you when you arrive.”

“Mom?” I question, slightly concerned. I walk over and turn her around to find tears welling up in her eyes. “What is going on?”

She bursts into tears and pulls me close to her, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing as if she isn’t going to see me for awhile. That’s when it all begins to hit me. They must have had the random drawing for who will be traveling to Heaven to live there for the next three years. With a sigh I wrap my arms around my mom and hold her tight, knowing how much this will affect her.

Every three years The Lord or The Lady of Hell will meet with someone from Heaven and there will be a random drawing to see which three citizens of Heaven and three citizens of Hell will be living with the other side for three years to help promote the peace and see how the other side lives. It was all written down as part of the truce that was established twenty years ago.

I must have been chosen as one of the three emissaries for Hell. Oh, now this is just going to be fun. Three years in Heaven with minimal contact with my friends and family. Then again, I’ll have to be extremely careful as Heaven doesn’t know of my nature. I was given my mom’s last name when I was born so as to keep those of Heaven and Hell from knowing of my status and power. There are only a few in Hell who know of my heritage. It isn’t something any of us want to be broadcasted about the realms as it could put my entire family in danger.

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” I say softly. “It’s only for three years and then I’ll be back.”

She pulls away and looks at me. “Be careful Baylin.”

I smirk and nod. I’ve been fine so far and I can only hope that nothing really happens in Heaven. After these three years pass they’re going to wish that my name had never been drawn. I can imagine it now: the daughter of The Lord of Hell spending time in Heaven and learning about how they operate and learning their weaknesses. If they start anything then I’ll know how to beat them. This emissary thing was probably the worst idea Heaven has ever had.