"Right now?" Beowulf asked.
"Yeah, got somewhere else you gotta be?" the red-skinned creature asked.
Beowulf's stomach began to growl loudly. "Oh, I forgot, the whole starving for decades thing. Hold on."
The red-skinned creature searched through one of his cabinets and brought out a plastic bag. Beowulf could smell the food in the bag. He grabbed the bag from the red-skinned creature and quickly opened it.
He found a large burger and a large can of soda. When Beowulf was on Earth, this type of food was a no-go area for him. He was on a strict diet, but now, after not eating anything for so long, Beowulf couldn't care less. He grabbed the burger with both hands and devoured it.
He drank the can of soda until it was empty. Not a single drop remained. "Ah." Beowulf rested on the chair. He was surprisingly full. He thought after decades of starving, he wouldn't be satisfied, but that burger and soda really hit the spot.
"You full?" the red-skinned creature asked.
"Oh, yeah," Beowulf said.
"Good. Let's get going," the creature said as he got up.
"Hold on," Beowulf said.
"What?" the red-skinned creature asked.
"What's your name?" Beowulf asked. "In my head, I've been calling you 'the red-skinned creature,' but something tells me that isn't your real name. So what is it? Something tells me you and I are going to see a lot of each other, and I want to know the name of the bastard that got me into hell."
The creature sat back down. "You want to know my name? Very well," the red-skinned creature said. "My name is so terrifying that uttering it will cause a chill in your bones. Do you still wish to learn it?"
Beowulf felt a little uneasy after hearing this. "Sure?" Beowulf answered, reluctantly.
"Fine, come closer," the creature ordered.
Beowulf did as the creature said. He leaned in closer and was now face-to-face with the creature.
"My name is…" the creature whispered.
Beowulf began to sweat lightly, waiting for the creature to reveal his name.
"Lenny."
Beowulf's facial expression turned blank. He was clearly disappointed.
"What did you say?" Beowulf asked.
"My name is Lenny," Lenny whispered once more.
Lenny acted like saying his name was a big deal when it clearly wasn't. Beowulf didn't know if Lenny truly believed his name was terrifying or if he was just messing with him. If it was the former, then Beowulf was talking to a very delusional demon.
"Now that you've learned my truly, truly terrifying name, as the teens say, 'Let's bounce.'"
Lenny walked out of the wrestling fanboy office, and Beowulf reluctantly followed him. They passed through the furnished hallway, and back into the elevator.
Lenny pressed the elevator button and selected another random floor. This time, the elevator took them down. The doors opened, and Lenny walked out, but Beowulf didn't.
He had no idea what he'd be walking into. He was in hell, after all. Sure, starving for decades was pretty terrible, but he could be walking into a worse form of torture. The person leading him was a demon—a delusional, tricking demon responsible for damning him.
"Hey. You coming or what!?" Lenny yelled.
Beowulf took a deep breath and walked out of the elevator, not knowing what he would find. After walking out, Beowulf found a city.
"Welcome to the Pride ring," Lenny said.
The city was filled with creatures that didn't look human at all, so Beowulf assumed they were demons. He also saw people like him—humans, but they looked… lifeless.
Beowulf approached one of them, a man with a mustache who looked to be in his forties. Beowulf was right in front of him, but the man didn't react at all. Beowulf snapped his fingers and waved his hands, but no reaction came from the man. He remained inactive.
"That isn't going to do anything," Lenny said.
"What's wrong with these people?" Beowulf asked.
"A lot. They're in hell, after all. So, I'm sure they weren't very good people, and this is the Pride ring, reserved for the worst of humanity. Narcissists. Douchebags. Karens. You name it," Lenny answered.
"But… I'm here," Beowulf said.
"Yeah, you are," Lenny said.
If this place was really reserved for the worst of humanity, Beowulf thought maybe it was time for some self-reflection, but he would have to do that later.
"Why are these people frozen?" Beowulf asked.
"Oh, that. These poor fellas are unclaimed souls," Lenny answered.
"Unclaimed souls? What's that?" Beowulf asked.
"I really wasn't planning on giving you a lecture, but screw it," Lenny said. "Unclaimed souls are sinners who ended up in hell without a form of contract, like you did. Right now, this sorry lot is experiencing their own personal hell. They can't move or do anything. But that can change if someone finds a use for them. Then they'd have to form a contract like you did. Until then, they just stand and suffer for all eternity."
"You know how you starved for those five decades? Trust me when I say you had it easy. I've taken a look at some of the things that go on in their minds, and trust me—it isn't good."
Beowulf looked at the unclaimed soul in front of him. He could hear the man groaning in agony. Beowulf felt sorry for him, then he noticed something about his environment. The atmosphere—it looked… purple?
Beowulf looked up and found a downward pentagram. Its lines gave off a purple glow, which brightened the entire city.
"What is that?" Beowulf asked.
"An indication," Lenny said. "It's purple, which means we're in the Pride ring. Its color will change when you enter different rings. Remember that."
Lenny walked away, and Beowulf once again followed him. They arrived at a wall in an alley. Lenny placed his hands on the wall. Beowulf expected elevator doors to slide open, just like the previous times.
That didn't happen. Symbols appeared on the wall and began to glow brightly.
"What's happening?" Beowulf asked.
"Just shut up, will ya?" Lenny replied. "You're about to experience something awesome."
The symbols on the alley wall began to glow brighter in the color of flames. The light engulfed both Beowulf and Lenny. Beowulf shielded his eyes. When he opened them, he noticed the atmosphere had hints of grey. He looked up and saw the downward pentagram glowing grey.
"It's now glowing grey. What does that mean?" Beowulf asked.
"It means we're now in the Sloth ring," Lenny answered. "The first and lowest ring of hell. Let's not stay outside for too long—you might start to feel a bit lazy."
"What are you…" Beowulf wanted to finish his sentence, but it felt like something was stopping him. He wanted to move but didn't have the energy. No, he did have the energy—he just couldn't be bothered to use it.
In fact, why was he even standing? It would be better just to lie down. But he was standing on hard ground. If he were to lie down here, it would be quite uncomfortable. Maybe he could find a bench to lie on. Nah, that would be too much of a bother.
He would just have to do with the hard floor. Beowulf was in the process of lying on the floor when—
"Hey!" Lenny said as he slapped Beowulf in the face. He grabbed Beowulf's face close to his.
"Snap out of it! We need to get inside now!"
"Inside?" Beowulf asked as he yawned. "Inside where?"
Lenny turned his head to the side, and Beowulf did the same. Beowulf saw the front of a large arena with the words "D.W.E." on top of it.
"D.W.E.? What does that mean?" Beowulf asked.
"Damnation Wrestling Entertainment," Lenny answered.
"This is where you'll be having your first match