Hell Above, Heaven Below: Chapter 1 – Climbing Downward

“Humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate.”

- St John Climacus

Chapter 1 – Climbing Downward

Many people look to the sky and think about their dreams. Cupido looks to the sky to see the dreams of others come true while the red sky is blocked by skyscrapers made of platinum and silver. He then looks to the bottom to remember where he came from. Memories of working and living in less than comfortable conditions pushed him away from his idealistic parents who didn’t want to conform to the system. Because of this, they were forced to live in the lower poor class who aren’t treated as well as the upper poor class who receive basic living conditions and pay for their conformity to the ideals of the angels. These angels fly in the sky with everyone else in the upper classes with their wings made of gold. One of these angels flies up to Cupido and sits with him on his balcony.

The angel asks, “What troubles you, Cupido?”

“What always troubles me.”

“I see that by looking into your eyes, but you aren’t doing anything about it.”

“I’m working as hard as I can and nothing is changing. Even the people I’ve been working with have been getting little promotions to get ahead of me.”

“That’s because you have to be bold to get ahead. You got here by being bold, didn’t you?”

“I ratted out my parents to you.”

“And that was a bold move.”

“It feels cowardly.”

“No, them resisting arrest was cowardly. They would rather jump off a building and into a sinkhole than pay for their crimes of conspiracy and rebellion.”

“Did you ever find the bodies?”

“They were washed away in the sewers where they belong. Don’t worry about them. Worry about your own goals. I’m sure that’s what they would want you to do even in their rebellious minds.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s your plan anyway?” The angel says as he is looking in the direction Cupido is looking. “Ah, I see. There’s a party at that building you are looking at. They’re going to be exchanging contacts, business advice, and other pleasantries. As far as I know, you aren’t invited.”

“That doesn’t mean that I can’t get in.”

“What are you thinking then?”

“I sneak in, add my name to the list, and join the party to see if they’ll do business with me. What do you think?”

“I think it’s a good idea assuming you can get to the floor that you need to. You are upper middle class not upper nobility like them, so they won’t accept your ID to even get to where you need to be.”

“Who says that I need to get to the floor by conventional means? How much do you want for the flight over there?”

“Nothing at all, my boy. Hearing you come up with the plan and wanting to go through with it is enough for me,” the angel says with a grin.

Cupido is then flown to the building where the party is taking place with a suit. The angel wishes him well as he drops him off before heading off back to his own business. Since Cupido needs to be on the list, he prioritizes fixing it first. Getting to a nearby console, he hacks it with his pocket hacking device that has the appearance of a phone and accesses the home network. He then finds the list and adds his name to it by replacing someone else. To make his appearance at the party look more official, he sneaks back to the entrance without people noticing, and the person who checks off the guests lets him through.

Even though Cupido isn’t as well dressed like everyone else in the room, he doesn’t let their judgmental stares stop him from confidentially approaching a group of people. These people appear to not have judgmental eyes though they do seem to want to test him.

One of them says, “What’s an upper middle class boy like you doing here?”

“I’m doing what everyone is trying to do. Just get ahead in life while enjoying myself.”

“Oh, and you think you deserve to be here with people who are a higher class than you?”

“No, I think I deserve better. Before you know it, I’ll be at the top above the red sky.”

“I like you, kid. What’s your name?”

“Cupido.”

“We’ll be in touch later.”

The group of people walks away from Cupido who is sure he left the right impression on.

A man in a silver suit then approaches Cupido and says, “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help overhear your conversation with those three people.”

“I don’t mind. Eavesdropping never hurt anyone.”

“Unless exposing that information from the eavesdrop lead to some unfortunate circumstances for the people spied on. I recognize your name and face. You’re the Cupido that sold his revolutionary parents out to the angels. You did the right thing doing it and I hear that you exposed their secret rebel plans by hacking through their computers?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Fine work. Would it be farfetched for me to assume that you used those same skills to get into this party meant for people above you?”

“What does it matter if I did?”

“Very fine work. A man does have to pull at the strings of the industry and politics to get ahead in life. I’ll be talking to you later.”

With two opportunities under his belt, Cupido decides to get some food and drink to relax and pick out more opportunities. While getting food, he overhears a conversation that he can’t help but listen to.

“You’re going to have to offer more than that. I’m still waiting for those workers from the underground that you promised me,” one woman says.

“My retrieval teams have yet to find them but rest assured that you will get them. For now, how about you accept the children under my care?” the man asks.

“Are you sure? The last batch didn’t fare too well especially with their more under the table duties. It’s a shame about that accident that happened to them,” the woman responds.

“I’ll offer you my own children in addition to the ones I’m sending then. They need the experience under their belt.”

“Now this is a deal. It’s always a pleasure doing business to you,” the woman says as she shakes the man’s hand.

“Upper nobility class trash always selling their children and workers to get ahead,” Cupido mutters under his voice.

It is now that Cupido remembers how his parents were offered a promotion and raise in exchange for Cupido to work in an upper class factory and how they refused. This makes Cupido sneak away to get back into the building’s network with his pocket hacking device to find the transaction of workers that he heard about. Using this network, he sends off the children to work for a company owned by the lower nobility and contracts the man to work for the woman instead along with other upper nobility.

“It may not be common for the upper nobility to sell themselves to each other, but it has happened sometimes because of me,” Cupido whispers to himself, “At least there aren’t as many scummy people in the lower nobility.”

As Cupido exits his hiding place, a group of guards with angel wings arrives at the party. Sensing that he’s been found out for his hacking, he tries to stay as far away as he can until he eventually gets caught.

“Is there something the matter, officer?” Cupido says as innocently as possible.

“Upper middle class people like you should know your place,” the officer says before smacking Cupido in the face, “The person whose name you replaced with your own is here. You will be punished for your crimes.”

Cupido is carried by his neck to the balcony where he is thrown down. The angel that was talking to Cupido passes by him as he falls.

“Hey! I need help!” Cupido calls out.

The angel stops to look down at Cupido to smile and laugh before continuing on his way. Seeing this makes Cupido lose all hope for his survival.

“What was I imagining?” he thinks to himself, “I was never going to make it in this world. My parents had the right idea and now, I’m going to suffer the same fate as them. If only I could say sorry to them.”

Cupido then falls into a sinkhole and into the sewers of the city as his body is carried away. Meanwhile, a girl from the underground sees this and wonders if this is who she’s been waiting for. She chases after him and manages to swim and put him on solid ground. Cupido is barely alive so she drags him off to get him help.