Chapter 1

A chorus of sharp screams exploded from the neighborhood speakers. A crackle filled the air before a chipper voice spoke.

“Attention, all. It appears that flowers have been popping up everywhere. All residents must report any findings. Failure to do so will result in a hundred years of torture.” The voice let out a low chuckle. ”That is all.”

As the announcement faded away, two demons stood in a faceoff in their humble home, which they had worked extremely hard for, in an upper-middle-class neighborhood. One fox demon, Ezreal, with blond hair and amber eyes, stood by the living room coffee table in a set of fuzzy pajamas with hands behind his back and having the biggest pleading puppy dog eyes known to the universe. The other demon stood, frozen, across from him by the front door.

The other demon was a deer demon with black hair and blue eyes. He wore a pristine, crisp dark blue business suit without a single speck of dust on it. His brand-new brown leather briefcase lay forgotten on its dropped side on the carpet.

The deer demon in front of Ezreal sighed and put a hand over his mouth as if to stifle a scream. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath that required all of his energy. A handful of beats passed before he opened his weary eyes and finally spoke.

“Ez,” he began. “Why is that here?” He gestured to the coffee table between them. The exaggeration of his movement caused a slight ripple in the air.

On top of the coffee table sat a red plastic cup that had been shoddily sawed in half. In the middle of its jagged jaws was the aforementioned flower. A small, radiant snow colored weed that had the power to induce a hundred years of torture.

Ezreal shifted his weight between his soft slippers against the floor. He let out a nervous laugh before answering. “I just wanted to keep it?”

“And why do you want to keep it?”

“I want to study it. Think about it.” Ezreal’s voice picked up an upbeat tone as if there were no dire consequences at stake. “Hell is where things go to die, and these buds of life have been somehow sprouting. I want to figure out what’s going on.” His excitement barely contained itself in his eyes. He looked like a child who was ready to bolt once given permission. “It’ll be fun, Mont.”

“Why can’t you be normal? Why can’t you torture some souls, snort angel dust, or bring a succubus home?” Dark flames flickered between Monte’s antlers. “You are such a pain. I’m pretty sure that walking on small toy bricks every morning would be less painful.”

A pause.

“So, can I keep it?” Ezreal asked. The hope in his eyes rivaled the golden center of the forbidden flower.

Monte sighed as the flames around his horns simmered back to their regular orange hue before subsiding, unlike his headache. “Keep it in your room and well hidden away. Also, I can tell you don’t feel that bad because of your ears.”

Ezreal laughed sheepishly and stroked his fox ears, which remained upright and showed no signs of tilting in shame. “Thanks, Mont, I really appreciate it.” He shot his housemate a wide, extra-big smile that was sure to bring destruction to them all. “By the way, your insults are getting better. Maybe you should switch from being an accountant to a comedian.”

Wordlessly, Monte stood up and retreated to his room. The door closed behind him in a silent defeat.

✦✦✦

Log 1

It’s quite challenging to experiment on the flower when I only have one and don’t want to accidentally kill it.

I’ve noted down the conditions I found it in and how that potentially relates to its growth and/or survival:

Sunlight

The sun is unbearably hot. It’s Hell after all. It’s safe to say that this flower either withstands or requires sunlight. It’s unclear if it can survive without sunlight.

Dirt

I found it in the dirt. It’s unclear if it can grow in materials of different densities and airflow, such as sand.

Lack of water

Water doesn’t naturally exist in Hell. Therefore, it doesn't need water to survive.

For now, I’ll place the flower in a sunlit area in my room. I’ll see if I can acquire another one for testing. I have already checked the backyard where I found the first specimen. No more flowers cropped up there.

Satisfied with his entry, Ezreal saved the document and closed his laptop.

Monte’s door creaked open as he emerged with an empty mug in hand. He placed it in the dishwasher, got a new cup from the cupboard, and made a beeline for the coffee machine that had just finished brewing. He poured the steaming dark liquid into the cup in his hand and immediately took a sip. He let out a happy sigh.

“You’re up early,” Monte commented. “And you brewed the coffee already.”

“I used the bag that arrived yesterday. Death Wish.”

“What is that?” Monte's attention moved to what was in front of Ezreal, and he raised an eyebrow. “It looks like a bomb.”

“That’s because it is. Sort of.” Ezreal took a sip from his own mug. “I got it yesterday. I wanted something safe to keep my research in. Entering an incorrect password ten times will cause it to explode.” He patted the laptop several times while Monte winced with each pat.

“You also could've used magic to lock it.” Monte frowned.

“I admit that I wanted to be dramatic.”

“If it explodes here, you’re giving me your penthouse.”

Ezreal laughed, stood up, and gave a mock salute. “Scout’s honor.” He headed towards the front door and pulled up his hood. “I’ll be back before you leave for work.” The door swung shut with a soft click behind him.

Outside, a thick, heavy fog settled into the neighborhood. The kind of fog that would cause humans to hallucinate voices from their deepest nightmares and give in to the temptations of death. But to Ezreal, it felt like a fresh crisp morning.

He started with a light jog. His eyes scanned the ground around him for any specs of white. After a quick jog around his immediate neighborhood, he had discovered nothing. That was expected. He suspected that most, if not all, of his neighbors turned in any sprouts that dared to poke out of the ground.

He then jogged to a place most of his neighbors avoided: an ancient water fountain. It was rumored to previously housed holy water for public dunking punishments long ago. Today, only its cracked basin remained.

He slowed to a stroll once he reached the fountain. It was tucked away in what was now a rarely visited side street. He surveyed around its perimeter.

There. Poking out of the cobblestone was a golden orb with white leaves surrounding it.

Ezreal fetched a pair of tweezers and a vial from his pockets. He bent down, adjusted the tweezers to grab the flower by its stem, and extracted it. He dropped the flower into the vial and pocketed the equipment before heading home.

He bounced into the kitchen just as Monte emerged from his room, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase.

“Do I want to know?”

“No,” Ezreal smiled.