The Moon in Hell - First Attempt

Chapter 1: The Fall

I've always fantasized about dying young. Everyone does, I imagine. Pure curiosity and lack of knowledge regarding one's future. What if I have no future? What if this is it: what I've lived until this moment?

One thing for sure is that I've never imagined actually dying young.

One moment I was in the woods, hunting as always with my bow, and the next thing I remember is falling. I know there are gaps in the way I died. Did I stumble? Did I fall off something? But the only thing I remember is falling.

The fact that I can think right now about how I died astonishes me. If I can think, does this mean I truly died? I must have a brain to think. Brain means body. Body means alive.

But I know. I died. There's no evidence for that yet. Only my gut.

The first thing I acknowledge is that I am flat on the grass. I feel it around me tickling me. Then, I get the smell. A combination of fresh and city air.

My eyes were closed. I gather the courage to open them, but it feels like two coins sit on them. When I do open them, my vision is so blurred it starts giving me a headache. I see one color everywhere. Red.

The sky is red.

I focus on a cloud to let my eyes adjust. It's not a sunrise or sunset red sky. It's a red sky the same as the blue sky was in the world I left.

How can I remember the blue sky?

How do I remember anything at all?

Isn't this reincarnation?

Apparently not.

I close my palm around some grass and then I snatch it. I bring it in front of my eyes to check my vision. Am I blind?

No. But I am deadly sure I am colorblind. As the grass in my hands is a dark blue.

In fact, turning my head slowly, I see blue trees. All around me.

I establish that I am in a glade, with no trace of humankind. Or living kind.

Clouds in the sky moved and I see the weirdest thing so far. Replacing the sun or the moon (not sure if it's day or night), there's a drawn star in a circle. I stare at it for some seconds, not sure why it's supposed to be familiar; if I should know its name. I know I've learned during high school different geometrical shapes in circles, but never a star.

I try to stand up. Enough of just laying here, waiting for someone or something to catch me so vulnerable. I expect pain (after all, I fell). But there's none.

However, the moment I stand straight, something pulls me down from the end of my vertebral column. I turn around to see the most shocking thing: a tail. A bushy, long, heavy tail. I hope it's some weird costume, but something in me commanded it to move and I know it's for real. The weight of it starts pressuring my back already.

I start touching myself. I immediately scratch myself. Instead of my small and eaten nails, I have long black claws that look as if made of iron. That's definitely no human nail material.

It seems my skin, which seconds ago was a light brown, is now almost white. No, some blueish-gray. It reminds me of corpses.

See! Proof I am dead.

Weirdly enough, I am not naked. I wear the same clothes I had the day I died: my usual hunting gear. Only, it seems, ripped some places, especially where my tail has grown.

My tail! I have a tail!

It's still hard to comprehend.

I carefully, but dreadfully, touch my face. The eyes seem normal, but the second I touch my nose, I know it's not normal. It has a weird shade like an Ionic column capital. I don't have a mirror to look at it but I guessed as much that it's something of a dog's nose.

The second I come to this conclusion, I smell blood like never before. It's not only a metallic smell. It's also salty, and... I lack words to describe it. I guess humans can't describe blood too well.

I search for the source of blood, but one drip from my chin tells me is from my mouth. Somehow, I bit my bottom lip and didn't notice. With my sharp teeth.

When I was young, my dentist told me my canines were unusually pointed, but now it seems all of my teeth are razor-sharp.

All of these discoveries overwhelm me. How am I going to get used to this? A tail? Shark's teeth? All these new scents?

I get down on one knee as I feel I don't get enough air in my lungs. If I have lungs...

I don't like this. This state of vulnerability. It gives way to... panic.

No! Get up!

I don't listen.

Get the fuck up!

My knees are weak. My tail pushes me down. I still gather the strength to stand up once again. But this time, I will keep myself there.

Good. Now, where am I?

Nothing but trees surround me. I don't get why the trees are blue and the sky is red. It's like a child painted this landscape. There's no clue of where I should go.

Suddenly, something moves on my head. I jump and almost shit my pants. I pat my head. If there's a fucking bird on my head, I swear...

But there's not. Instead, I hit myself in my... two fluffy extensions? Soon enough, I gather that these are my new ears. And they picked on something to my right.

A noise. Somehow, I know it's far away. Farther than I should have heard. Then my nose registered a smell from the same direction. An awful smell like trash.

Of course. Where that kind of smell is should be humans as well.

I start walking in that direction, still touching my new-found fluffy bat ears. It seems death gave me animal superpowers.

But, if I have these superpowers, what does the rest of the world have?

I hesitate upon entering the forest. There's only dark in front of me. The glade looks peaceful. Sure, no food or water, no way of knowing if I'm safe, and no shelter, but I've grown weary. I don't even have my bow and arrows! The only things I have as a weapon are my claws and teeth. With no proper knowledge of how to use them.

The unknown grows around me.

But, hey, I am Diana Thorn. I've never been afraid of the unknown. Why should I be now?

A/N: Hi, guys!

I've been working on this fanfic for a while now. I'll try to post every three days, but, because each chapter will have a drawing of its own by me, there might be slight delays. I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless!

There are two more chapters until the Hazbin Hotel x Diana union. So, stay tuned ;)