Pia's Ultimate Sacrifice

She dropped down to her knees, her eyes swollen red; she did not want to accept the news. The person she loved and depended on the most had passed, right in front of her, what was she going to do now that she was gone?

She stood there, unable to move, all she could do was watch, watch her mother being taken away by an ambulance. She felt astonished, one thing she knew they were just having a harmless argument, and next thing she knows she's lying on the floor, helplessly, waiting for Pia to do something, something to help her live, but shew was too late, once the ambulance arrived, it was too late. She was a flat-beater.

When she thought her problems couldn't get any worse, her phone rang, she ignored it at first but the ringing wouldn't stop.

"What?" She screamed into her phone, frustrated.

"I think you should go watch the news," her friend says in a sad tone.

"My mom just died right in front of me, how can I just watch the news?" She explains, her voice breaking.

"Oh, I'm very sorry for your loss Pia," she says. "I don't know if this is a coincidence but your brother got in a car crash..."

"Don't joke with me, Hope!"

"I'm not! Check your phone, I even sent a link," Hope says calmly.

Pia hung up and took the phone away from her ear, her hand shaking. She pressed the link Hope sent her which took her to a news channel.

January 27, 2020 - Another Car Crash

Just a couple hours ago, another car crash occurred, the car was T-boned and the victim is announced to be in a very critical condition. However, he wasn't just any victim, he was the famous actor who starred in movies like, The Marathon, and a melodramatic drama, Just Love Him Instead. You guessed it, Mr. Jesse Reyes. The suspect who had T-Boned him flee the scene in hoping to get away but was caught just in time, he was found to be drunk. Mr. Jesse Reyes, had the most impact as his side was the one who was hit. We are currently hoping and sending our prayers to the Reyes family...

Pia couldn't read anymore, she ran out the door, with her car keys gripped in her hand tightly. She was lucky to find out her mother who had been already sent to the hospital and her brother who just suffered a car crash was admitted to the same hospital. Pia turned on her ignition and dashed to the hospital. Slowly, her speed increased until it could no longer go faster, then she realized she could no longer control her speed, she reached for the breaks but nothing was working. She was out in the open, only road ahead of her. Pia saw it, a dog, or some kind of animal crossing the empty, endless road.

"Shoot," she cursed, she turned her steering wheel immediately, dodging the animal and drove off the road, her car fell off the cliff and rolled multiple times before it landed, upside down.

Pia couldn't move, her body felt numb; her eyes could only move. She looked around and saw blood, there was blood everywhere but she could not feel pain, all she could think about is her brother; if she couldn't save her mother, she should be there for her brother, until her phone buzzed, interrupting her thoughts.

She forced herself, for her arm to move but it was in too much pain. "Ah!" She screamed painfully, but she forced herself. "I can do this, for Jesse."

She took her phone, it was a message from her step-mom. It read, 'hello? is this Pia? I'm sorry for disturbing you but your father is in great danger.'

Pia was confused, but called her step-mom, "what are you talking about Sophie?"

"We just found out your father has terminal cancer, we haven't noticed the symptoms until he fell to the ground. We took him to the hospital and the doctor had just informed your step-brother and I about what happened. Pia, please come t the hospital right now, your father is dying," she pleads, afraid.

"I'll get there soon, I promise," she said before the call was cut off. Her phone was dead, there was possibly no one that can save her now. What the point even? Her mother just died, her brother is so close to touching death and her dad has potentially hugged the angel to exchange his life, so what was the point of living if everyone in her life is dying? More importantly, what caused everyone she loved to be so close to death? It can't just be a coincidence now and add the fact that she too, almost died but somehow she was still alive.

"This must mean something," she tells herself. "I need to find help right now, but how? I can barely move and I just fell off a ten feet cliff and survived." But Pia was determined. She pushed her seatbelt out and fell to the roof-top of the car. She took the backpack that was on her passenger seat and crawled out the broken window. She hissed but she held in the agonizing pain and thought of her family.

She leaned against the nearest tree and observed her dislocated ankle and her bleeding arm. Pia looked up where she fell, she couldn't possibly climb that with her condition. Pia rummaged through her backpack. There was a half-empty water bottle, some protein bars and chocolate, a small first aid kit, and a couple of bandanas. "Thank you," she says to no one. Pia started with the rubbing alcohol and rubbed it gently against her wound.

-

Pia crawled, there were only stars to guide her until she realizes, the car was nowhere to be seen, she didn't know where she was. "I'm really going to die now," she tells herself.

-

It was hard for Pia to adjust to her situation throughout the night. She'd helplessly cry for help, hoping someone would come but, there was nothing, there was no one. The sun slowly rose and hit Pia's eyes through the trees, she opened them slowly, shading her eyes, Pia groaned and immediately took off her bandana from her dislocated ankle and observed, it was even more swollen than the night before, and it was green. Her leg was infected. "Watch me have to amputate this when I'm saved," she says, once again, to no one. Then, she unwraps the bandana from her hand, it seemed to be under control.

Pia felt a bit better and got up to start limping out of the forest, she didn't think about the pain from her leg, she thought about her family's situation. The more Pia thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. Was there an assassin hired to kill each of her family members? But how? Her mom died in front of her and the drunk driver who had caused Jesse's accident was caught right away, and her dad happens to be unlucky. "Ah, I'm having a headache thinking about this!" She tells herself. Pia walked more, unconsciously until there was no ground left for Pia's leg to be supported. She came tumbling down, her world was spinning around vigorously and then it all stops and everything went dark.

Pia's eyes slowly open, she was in a place somewhere different from the forest, everything was dark and hot, and if she was right, she must have died and is now in hell, but it did not make sense to her. She was taught to believe God had destroyed all sorts of darkness. Maybe she was just in her room where the lights were turned off and the heater blasted with warmth, maybe everything she experienced was just a bad dream, a nightmare.

"Is anyone here?" She called out.

"You're finally here, my baby," someone says. Pia turned around to the source of the voice, but there was no one.

"Who are you? Where are you?" She calls out, her voice shaking from fear.

"Pia Abigail Reyes, welcome, you're probably wondering why your family is suddenly dying, let me explain," a voice, deeper than the ocean, calls out.

"Who the hell are you!" She yells. "What did you do to my family?"

"Oh no, Pia, that is not an acceptable tone to give to your biological father," he says.

"You are not my father," she spat.

"Your mother broke the deal and so you, in turn, had to suffer, baby, this is hell, a spiritual realm of evil and suffering; a place of eternal fire underneath the Earth where I claim all the criminals and toy with them for the rest of their dead lives. A place where everyone sells their souls for the wish of fame and fortune. A place where you can wish for anything I can make happen in exchange for something, or someone. My name? Oh, you've guessed it, Pia Abigail Reyes, or should I say Pandora Luciferous?" He smirks.

"Stop trying to deceive me! There is no such thing as Hell or the Devil. You, you aren't real!"

"Ouch, that hurts, Pandora," he fakes a cry, then he snapped. Everything turned upside down, there were people in cages, people in the fire, people everywhere, crying for help, crying for God to forgive them for their sins. "Now, do you understand?"

"You can't be-"

"I loved your mother very much, I never made her suffer, I only fluttered her, I even changed for her but she only saw me as the Prince of Darkness who only makes people suffer. When you were born, I've never been so happy. I promised your mother everything to the point where she could leave the underworld, carrying you, she promised me she would never leave, but after that, I never heard of her ever again, until a few years ago. I took her back, but she pleads for mercy, she had begged me for forgiveness and exchanged her life to give you a normal one, and I was still in love with her and gave her what she wanted, but I never took back her life. I watched over you instead, she became ignorant of your presence as you grew older; you were exposed to many, many things that hurt you, which in return, hurt me. I slowly became impatient and lost everything when I saw you two arguing, and I killed her, which brought me pleasure and so I purposely got your brother in an accident and I had brought upon sickness to your step-father, then I realized how good it felt torturing other people and I thought to myself, 'why did I stop what I loved most to be with someone whom I thought I loved?'" He chuckled menacingly.

Pia looked at him, he wasn't the Lucifer that was portrayed in the movies, he was beautiful and could pass as a human. Tall, broad shoulder, tanned skin, green eyes, and dark black hair, he looked to be around twenty-nine if he was a human, except he had wings, that were huge, black feather's on top of each other.

"I want my family to be safe, I'll do anything you ask, I promise," she says sternly.

"Promise, your family must love that word. Pandora, now that's where I know you're wrong. Your mother, your stupid mother promised but look where we are. Pandora, this is what's sad, you got your mother's best trait. Lying. But, I still love you, nevertheless, why because you are my daughter. You will one day become the Queen of Darkness, and if you are willing to keep your promise by doing anything asked-"

"Just tell me, and leave my family alone and ensure their safety," she glared.

"Of course, now, I'm only going to ask for one thing," he says. "Your loyalty to me. Although you are my daughter, I can' let this go for free, and as you've learned living on Earth, nothing ever comes for free-"

"You want me to sell my soul to you?"

"Oh no, you have no soul. All I ask for is your loyalty. By promising that you will stay here for Eternity and lead my little Devils of Army to destroy the Heavens who kicked me out as you will be stronger than me. If you break this promise, no mercy will be served. Not only your family suffers but the whole world. I will make sure everything comes to an end, the world, the universe, everything and once it was reborn, my name will be erased from history, nut just that, but replaced, with yours. Everyone will know you as one of the worst creatures who brought an end to what was beautiful," he smiles. "Now Pandora, you don't have to accept this offer, I can let you go, erasing your memories but at the end, no matter what you do, the ones whom you love most die, or, you can stay here with me to grow a powerful army and restore back to what was mine. Either way, it is a win-win for me."

Pia sighed, she had her answer made up a long time ago.

"I, Pandora, hereby promises Lucifer to stay by his side and grow an army so powerful and restore what was his, and along the way have fun."

But in her mind, she was determined to know everything about him and become more powerful than him to kill him and restore her normal life.