Vein of Uncertainty

Chapter 5 - Accidie

(Pic: Anders Shile)

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Anders lifted his head, blinking the drowsy high away. He yawned, stretching. His back cracked as he leaned over the back of the chair. He rubbed his eyes, clearing his throat. Anders looked down at the desk. Right, he was writing a letter. He sighed, pushing his hair back behind his horns. He wiped his mouth; damn it. He drooled all over the letter. He pushed the letter across the desk, laying his head back down. Wait, wasn't he supposed... to write... that.. letter...?

Anders lifted his head yet again. He rubbed his eyes, yawning and stretching. "Shit..." He stood up, wiping his mouth yet again. Anders moved to his kitchen, starting the coffee brewer. He looked out the window of his wood cabin. The forest wandered up a mountain. He was thrown out of his thought train by the beeping of the coffee pot.

He poured himself a cup of coffee, sipping the hot brew. He moved back to the desk. He wrote,

Dear Mr. Lucifer and Charges of Hell,

I would like to apply for the position of Sloth Charge. I am a born demon of Sloth blood, and I reside in Sloth territory. 

He thought for a moment. What should he say beyond that? He just winged it, droning on and on about Sloth. He signed,

Thank for your consideration. Sincerely, Anders Shile of Sloth Court.

Anders shuffled into his bedroom, pulling on some sweatpants and a t-shirt. He slipped on a hoodie. Anders stretched, walking out of his cabin and locking it. He headed to the summit hall, finding a portal station and stepping through. He pushed the letter into the mail slot. Once the letter was out of sight, he teleported home.

He sat on his couch, stretching. He smiled, pulling a bag of cat treats from the couch cushions. He shook it, grinning wider when he heard a thud. 

A calico cat ran up, meowing loudly. Matches, the cat, meowed again and again on his lap. The gluttonous cat impatiently waited for the treats. Anders gave Matches the treats. He started to pet Matches, smiling to himself. He loved his cat; he absolutely adored Matches. Matches had finished the treats, and started kneading Anders' thighs, purring.

His doorbell went off. 

Anders held Matches in his arms, moving to open the door. Who would be here?

A Hellhound sniffed his legs, then sat. The hellhound offered a letter. Anders dropped Matches, letting her run off to hide. He took it, opening it. He read it,

Dear Anders Shile of Sloth Court,

Upon reading your application, I believe there is a high possibility of you taking the position of Sloth Court Charge. At the moment, there is no written application for this position, however. If you'd like to obtain this position, please return to the summit hall. For directions and passage into the inner hall, where summits are held, you will have to be accompanied by the hell hound sent to you to deliver this letter. We can discuss qualifications and further actions to take to obtain the position there.

Hope to talk soon, Lucifer.

Anders inhaled. He didn't really want to go through an exhausting deal to get a position. He still wanted to meet Lucifer though. He looked down to the hellhound, "Bring me to Lucifer." The hellhound obeyed, leading Anders to a private portal. Anders followed the hellhound into a room. He froze, then bowed to Lucifer. 

Lucifer gestured for Anders to sit. So Anders did. "Its nice to meet you, Mr. Anders."

"You as well, Sir," Anders wasn't sure where to look.

Lucifer opened a file, reading. Anders caught a look of the title. It was his citizenship file. Lucifer looked up, "You seem to fit the job. You're passionate, you're Sloth, and you're certainly strong enough to protect your title. However, I'd like a look into your loyalty, resource management, and reporting skills," Lucifer closed the file, "Would you do a mission to prove yourself?"

Anders thought, "It.. really depends. How long will it be?"

Lucifer paused, then laughed, "Man, you're really a Sloth, aren't you? I don't know, hopefully only a few weeks, but a month or two at most."

Anders looked down, thinking hard. "Yea. I'll do it."

Lucifer handed him a new file, "I'll keep in contact." He stood, leaving without another word or time for Anders to question.

Anders opened the file, scratching his head. Lucifer wanted him to find out where all those Lust people went. Anders inhaled. Had he made a mistake? How would he even start? Where would he start?

Anders started looking through the file. He became sick. What the hell was going on in Lust? Why wasn't anyone helping them?

Picture after picture of young woman and men - often little kids, teenagers, and early-twenties young adults - sexualized and obviously sexually abused. He damn near threw up. Anders had to look away. He had an idea where they were going, but he hated the thought. He hated the thought so damn much. 

Those kids were missing because they might be in an underground sex ring.