CODEX Part 3: Between Heaven and Hell

Zoe opened her eyes a few minutes after she got the heart attack in hospital. She was in a cage that seemed taken from Oz. There was something that looked like a flying monkey, watching everything with red eyes; well, maybe it wasn't really a monkey. Now that she took a better look, it looked like something else, she was sure she had seen a picture of it somewhere before.

Her eyes wandered around the place. It smelled bad but it didn't have anything dead stocked in corners. It was silent and surprisingly clean.

"Where am I?" She asked out loud.

The answer came almost an hour later. Or maybe it was earlier or later than that; in Hell, time was irrelevant. But the person who entered the room was definitely important.

Zoe's eyes widened and she took a step closer to the bars, "You- Wait- does that mean I am-"

Asmodeus waved with a sick smile on his face.

"Welcome to Neverland, Zoe Lestrade!" He exclaimed with too much excitement.

She gulped and touched one bar, which proved to be a bad move. Her palm started to sting and bleed. The bars were made out of fire but it wouldn't glow unless she would touch them.

She retracted her hand quickly and looked at the burn. It was pretty bad, besides, the blood was making the sign glow. Zoe touched the bar again with that hand and waited a few seconds to make it hurt enough for the sign to react.

Asmodeus shook his head and walked in front of her, "This cell has been specially prepared for high leveled demons. It's sealed against any kind of magic and demon power. You are locked in here, Zoe. All alone for how long I want to,"

She bit her lip and held her hand in pain. The demon threw something at her, skin, to wipe the blood off her hand. She threw it away right after she realized what it was.

The demon laughed, "Ah, I've been waiting so long for this moment!" He was enjoying every moment of her suffer, "I'll go now. Oh and by the way, I got you some friends for the time being,"

Right after he closed the door behind him, she turned around slowly and saw red hungry eyes.

On the other side, Ezekiel got in some place that looked a lot like the purgatory.

"Ezekiel Addams,"

He froze when he heard his name.

"You have a distinctive skill of getting close to demons, don't you?" That sounded bad, "You don't have to be scared. I am Michael,"

Ezekiel's eyes widened. He turned quickly and saw an angel of incredible beauty; he looked really calm and safe.

"Did I die?" He was panicking, fear growing in his being, "What about Zoe and Jasper?"

The angel frowned and took one step towards the human, "You have to help us."

Ezekiel frowned and pointed at himself with confusion,"But I have nothing to do with angels. If anything, I'm more comfortable with demons and Zoe-"

"Zoe is dead."

Ezekiel's eyes widened, feeling his heart stop for a moment.

"No." He stated sternly, "She didn't." He looked at his sign but the endless knot wasn't there. The human narrowed his eyes at the angel, "Where is my sign?"

"I don't think you understand me, Ezekiel," The angel walked closer and bent to Ezekiel's level, "You have been chosen by God to kill Zoe."

"I-No! Why would God want her dead? She's been protecting the world from Lucifer!"

"The Zoe from now has to die or else she will kill you all," The angel smiled kindly and patted his back, "Trust me. Trust God," He said before he disappeared.

Ezekiel was still very confused and aggravated.

The light became brighter until he felt himself get engulfed into it. Next thing he knew, he woke up in Mark's apartment; he could recognize the green ceiling from anywhere.

"I'm not going to kill her! You hear me?!" He screamed at the ceiling. Ezekiel sighed and grabbed a hand through his hair, "I am not going to kill Zoe," He repeated.

"You. The reason there’s so much fuss in Hell, is you."

Once the demons came closer, Zoe saw a lot of half skeletons half corpses. They were half eaten and she was sure they wanted her dead.

"It seems we can finally eat a delicacy!"

"You're not going to eat me, you freaks!" She growled but the corps laughed.

That wide smile was showing most inside of his mouth. It didn't have teeth at all and it looked bad. Another one didn't have one eye and he probably starved for a while because it looked like he started to eat his own hip.One of them was completely naked but she was so thin that she could see her bones poking out. Actually, it was hard to decipher the genre because their distinctive parts were either loose or chopped off. The most grotesque of them all was someone that looked very young. He was short and disfigured but the worst part was his chest; it was sewed back up to his collarbone. From then, it was just meat hanging.

Zoe felt goose bumps and puke on her tongue. It was gross; the whole sight.

One of them launched at her, in his dead, rotten way, and grasped her leg. Her eyes widened and shook him off. That took her attention and left free path to the others.

"Fuck,"

She couldn't believe it. Two got her legs and pushed her against the bars. Her back stung and she bit her lip in pain until it started to bleed. Another corps grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. They hovered over her and she couldn't help but shudder; it wasn't the pain as much as it was the way they looked.

One of them had the front teeth and bit her. Her eyes widened and something snapped; she could feel half of her chin break and her eyes stung, her bones started to contract and the muscles tensed. It hurt like Hell; more than getting beat up or bitten. When her soul finally showed its true appearance, the corpses backed off. Zoe grabbed the one who bit her by the forehead and snapped his head until it became dust. She turned to the others with bright yellow eyes and the face of a real monster.

"Let's see who eats whom," Her voice sounded sinister, lower; it was completely the opposite of what Beelzebub's was like when he was mad.

When Asmodeus entered the room, he raised an eyebrow at the surprising sight. Blood was splashed on the walls outside the cell and inside was a mess; body parts and blood everywhere. He blinked quickly and searched for the survivor.

"I guess you didn't like my present," He started nonchalantly, hearing her growl in the dark, "So that's what a real commander is like. Thirsty for blood,"

Out of the darkness came only one hand, the one bitten. The signs were still there and still visible, though her whole arm was covered in blood. Asmodeus walked along the cell until he got to a certain spot. She was there, leaning against the wall, her eyes were staring blankly into space while blood was slipping down her body.

"You are such a big discovery, Zoe,"

But Zoe couldn't believe the position she got into. She pulled her knees close to her chest and looked at her hands; she was truly a monster.

"What?!" Mehrdir couldn't believe it.

He was the only demon Ezekiel accepted to talk to after he locked himself in Mark's room and started to meditate.

"Why would an angel tell you that?!"

"Because it seems that Zoe is a danger to humanity."

Mehrdir sighed and rubbed his forehead, "But what did he mean by ‘the Zoe from now’?"

Ezekiel shrugged and massaged his shoulders, "Maybe we should call her and see. She should've been back already."

Mehrdir agreed.

Unfortunately, Zoe's body was in the hospital. She was stable but from what the doctors said, she was in deep coma and had few chances to wake up. Terrance got a call from Robin and he got there as soon as he heard.

He was outside, talking to her friends and the doctors. One nurse entered and changed the IV, watching pitifully as the young woman was on the brink of dying.

Terrance entered later, all alone. He chose to spend the night there and pray; of course, that was for nothing because Zoe's soul was trapped in Neverland.

But at some point, Zoe's eyes opened. She grabbed Terry's hand and grasped it tightly.

The young man was shocked, "Zoe? Zoe! Doctor!" He got up but she pulled him back.

"You are too loud," Her voice cracked. It was weird and the tone she was using was very different but she just woke up from a coma! Terrance wasn't going to complain.

After the checkups, the doctor couldn't believe that she was in perfect condition. He didn't want to let her leave yet; he had a lot of questions and couldn't accept the idea of a miracle easily.

Terrance was outside, signing some papers and giving some calls. He didn't call her parents but he did call her grandmother who was on her way over. Inside the room, the doctor was still not ready to let her go.

"We should do some tests and check your brain activity," The doctor started.

Zoe blinked before she grabbed his neck. She got off the bed and raised him in the air. He was taller than her yet she could easily pull him as she wanted to. Her eyes became black and she smirked.

"Let's not," The voice sounded masculine. The doctor didn't even know what snapped his neck.

Terrance was shocked when he saw the patient walk out prepared to leave. He was ready to question her but he felt like she shouldn't.

"He said I can leave," She started in a cold tone, "Let's go. I hate hospitals." She looked uncomfortable.

Terrance knew that fact but he couldn't help but feel like something was off; not just about her.

On the way back to the apartment, Terry couldn't help but feel like a bad omen was following him. He glanced at Zoe a few times but she wasn't doing anything special.

Once inside the apartment, he reached towards her but she moved out og the way and seized him up.

"What are you doing?" She questioned him with cold eyes.

He took a step back and looked at her, "You suffocated and had a heart attack. You regained some piece of conscious, enough for the doctor to connect you to machines before you body completely gave up. After 10 hours, you woke up like nothing happened,"

She blinked and stared at the human blankly, "And?"

Terrance scoffed, "You died and came back to life, Zoe. Maybe it's nothing for you but I am worried and confused and I have a lot of questions,"

She tilted her head to the side and clicked her tongue, "Look, I am alive and well. That's all that matters," She smiled sarcastically and went in his room.

"So cold," He shuddered. The atmosphere became really cold.

At dinner, grandma Lestrade arrived to get her niece; or at least see her. Zoe's eyes darkened when she saw the old woman and took one step back.

"Zoe!" The woman grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Zoe had no choice but to awkwardly pat grandma's back, "Thank God you are alive!"

The young woman rolled her eyes, "God has nothing to do with that," She mumbled after she got rid of the old woman and her hug, "What are you doing here?"

"Terry called me and told me you collapsed!" The old woman exclaimed, "I'm so glad you're alive,"

Zoe narrowed her eyes at Terrance, aware that he called grandma Lestrade to get her off his back, "Well, now that I'm fine you can leave. We have nothing to discuss, grandma." She emphasized the familial title.

The old woman frowned but Zoe didn't seem to care and only wanted to be left alone.

"Fine," The elder couldn't fight her niece. She was strong and had an intense aura.

Later, in the room, Zoe was looking through Terry's things. Her eyes widened when she found his laptop.

"What the heck is this?" She asked out loud.

She pushed a button and the screen turned on. The first thing she saw was the desktop picture of Terry and his girlfriend, at the Lestrade Christmas party. Zoe chuckled when she saw herself in the back, with Mehrdir.

"Of course. I heard about their relationship. A traitor obsessed with the commander. How funny!" She started to chuckle and move around. She kicked the laptop in the process of rolling on the bed and threw it on the ground.

"Zoe, are you alright?" Terrance only opened the door a bit but saw his laptop on the ground while she was messing with his sheets, "What are you doing?" He seriously didn't want to know how she got her hands on his laptop.

"You humans are so funny," She started before she got on her back and pointed at him. Zoe moved her finger and the human got pushed on the bed, next to her, "You can feel something is wrong but you want to ignore it," She said right before she crawled over the human, leaning in and looking into his eyes, "You liked this girl for so long, didn't you? But she chose a demon,"

Terry's eyes widened,"What do you mean? She only sees ghosts."

Zoe chuckled and licked his left cheek. He winced; that was too weird to comprehend.

"That's what she told you?" Zoe moved and got comfortable on his crotch. His eyes widened and tried to get her off but she wouldn't budge, "She can see more than ghosts. She can see everything dark and evil,"

Terry tensed and looked at her lower part. She smirked and chuckled sinister, moving slightly, the friction enough to affect the human.

"Though I am not a lust demon, I might as well enjoy this," She whispered and trapped him completely under her. She started to move in rhythm and Terry couldn't help but react. He grasped her hips and stared at her; Zoe's eyes were entrancing.

"Only look into my eyes." She mumbled.

The friction between their bodies became faster and with every push from her, he would push back. He couldn't help it; he still had some kind of emotion for her, even if it was buried deep in his heart. She could reach and squeeze that fragment and use it in her favor.

"Terry?!" They both heard the front door open and a woman ask for her lover.

"Right on time," She whispered into his ear.

He blinked and regained control over his mind; but not his body. He tried to move but he couldn't. He realized that Zoe was actually rubbing herself on him seductively. She smirked and got her shirt off.

"Terrance!" The voice was coming closer.

Zoe pushed his pants off and pulled her skirt up. She rolled over and pulled him over her; if anything, it looked like they were truly having sex. That wasn't the case, but Terry's girlfriend didn't know that.

When the redhead opened the door, she had the craziest moment of her life. She saw her future husband over a girl she had seen before.

"What-" She was speechless. Besides, it was with the woman Terry said he had nothing to do anymore. It hurt twice because he kept lying to her. The woman started to cry and turned to leave. The front door closed in front of her, "What the-?!"

With an amazing skill of manipulating people, Zoe kissed her former friend and pressed hard in the middle of his spine. Something cracked and Terry's eyes became lifeless.

Zoe rolled him off her and got up, "Kill her." She ordered.

The puppet left the room and went after his girlfriend. Zoe sighed and closed her eyes happily. She smiled when she heard the victim cry in pain before her body fell on the floor, dead. Terrance returned in the room, with the knife in his hand and blood on his clothes and face.

"Good boy. Now, call them." She continued but Terrance tilted his head to the side in confusion, "Call that Ezekiel kid. Tell him little Zoe is in danger." Zoe's eyes became black for a second.

Terry nodded and grabbed his cell phone.

"Ah, I can already hear the sound of death." She chuckled and fell on her back over the pillows.

Lucifer was right. Once Zoe's soul was out of the picture, everything could be done easily.