“How’s my ass?” Jonas skidded on the spot and stared stupidly at the old quack, “Is that really how you greet someone you haven’t seen in a while?”

“It’s been a week,” said Old Louie while he stroked his beard, staring curiously at Jonas, “I didn’t think you’d escape so quickly. So did he take your cherry, or what?”

“Fuck!” exclaimed Jonas, “I wasn’t raped!”

“Sure, sure,” said Old Louie but there was a hint of pity in his expression, “Well, this must be fate,” he said, “How about we go get a drink, I know the best place,” and although Jonas wasn’t convinced that any of the two-hundred bars were better than one-another; he wouldn’t say no if Old Louie had asked him to square dance.

“Sure,” said Jonas, “Lead the way, it's my treat,” and with these words, Old Louie nearly teleported to the nearest bar that was only one spiral down. Passing through the bar entrance that was missing a door, Jonas saw just how great of quality the best place was. It was the king of dive bars, and the young man was almost surprised that it even had stools to sit on.

The stone walls and floors were covered in dirty moss, the wooden bar counter was rotted, and the man who was supposed to be the bartender only had one arm, which groped the breast of an ugly woman.

“Janka!” yelled Old Louie, “Get your paw off that tit and grab me a beer!” and Janka nearly ripped the woman’s breast off as he yelled,

“Old Fucker, you owe me money!” and Old Louie screamed back at him,

“Money your mother, I've got the stones to pay my tab!” and he patted Jonas on the shoulder and said, “My good friend John is kindly going to pay off whatever I owe,” and this sentence made Jonas look like he swallowed a fly. He wanted to protest but he recalled that all his hopes and dreams relied on that old quack, so Jonas knew he had to do everything in his power to keep him happy.

“Well,” said Janka, who still hadn’t let go of that woman's tit, “Are you going to pay for it, or what?”

“How much is the tab?” Jonas sighed as he pulled out his hell phone.

“Two hundred Stones.”

“Fuck!” Jonas and Old Louie swore at the same time, “What the hell were you drinking?” Jonas looked indignantly at the old man, “Blood Light?”

“Your mother's milk,” said Old Louie, “Now pay the man so you can buy me a few rounds, as you promised.”

‘This fucking shameless ass geezer!’ Jonas nearly puked blood as he transferred the two-hundred Stones to Janka’s account, and his heart hurt when he saw that the deposit Phillip had given him was quickly becoming much smaller.

“Good,” smiled Janka who had only stopped grabbing that tit so he could accept the transfer, “What can I get for ya?”

“Six Dumpster Fires, four pitchers of Swamp Ale, and two plates of pickled chicken eggs,” Old Louie fired off an entire menu.

“Forty Stones,” said Janka as he eyeballed Jonas, “Upfront. I only do tabs for people I trust.”

“Of course,” said Jonas as he once again pulled out his phone and made the transfer.

“Why don’t you take a seat,” said Old Louie as he patted the barstool next to himself, and his voice was much kinder than it had been before.

‘No matter,’ thought Jonas as his bottom caused the old stool to creak, ‘As long as the old fool is happy, I’ll pay any price to get what I want.’

“So, John,” said Old Louie as he watched Janka one-handedly prepare the order, “What happened to you after the auction?”

“It’s Jonas,” said Jonas, “I got purchased by a big guy by the name of Philip Glatorius, and I ended up staying at his place.”

“Glatorius!” Old Louie sprayed spit everywhere, “That big fatty is still buying slaves?” and he added, “What did he have you doing, security or cleaning?”

“Neither,” said Jonas but seeing as Old Louie looked rather interested he added, “I was tasked with taking care of the missus,” and this caused Old Louie’s eyebrows to shoot up curiously and he whispered,

“Go on…” but before Jonas could tell him anything about his time at the Glatorius mansion, Janka had slammed a round tray down on the counter, and on top were four large glass pitchers filled with what Jonas assumed was diarrhea, six shot glasses that were on fire, and a plate full of pickled eggs that looked like only half of them had come from a chicken. Old Louie’s hand grasped one of the flaming shot glasses and before he drank it, his face dawned with sudden reasoning.

“Cheers,” he said with a crooked smile, and Jonas grabbed one of the flaming glasses and clinked it against Old Louie’s. Jonas nearly died as it felt like a police officer had just pepper-sprayed his esophagus. He coughed and coughed, and his lungs felt like they might as well have been full of smoke the way they burned like they were on fire.

“Hah!” shouted Old Louie who had downed his Dumpster Fire like it was water, “Janka, get this pussy a sippy cup!” which caused Jonas to force back his coughing fit, and his eyes watered slightly as he hated being called a pussy.

Grabbing one of the pitchers of the diarrhea-looking beer, he poured it into a dusty beer mug and swallowed it down without tasting it but was surprised that it wasn’t as bad as he initially thought it would be. Of course, it was still the worst beer he had ever tasted, but at least it was beer.

“This Swamp Ale stuff isn’t so bad,” said Jonas, “It doesn’t compare to Blood Light though,” which caused Old Louie to spit out a mouthful of brown ale.

“How the fuck did you get your greasy paws on Blood Light?” he shouted angrily, pointing one of his overgrown fingernails at Jonas’ nose.

“At the Glatorius mansion,” said Jonas, “I used to have a few glasses a day, why?” and poor Old Louie had to close his eyes in sadness.

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“Most expensive brew you’ll find on the entire first floor, and it was wasted on a pansy like you,” he sighed depressingly as he slowly sipped his ale, it tasted much more bitter than it had been before.

“Oh,” said Jonas, “Yeah, it was pretty good,” he rubbed salt in Old Louie’s wounds. The old quack grabbed two Dumpster Fires and downed them both back, one after another, and said to Jonas,

“The other two are yours, pussy,” Jonas nearly slapped him, but instead he reached over and grabbed the two flaming shot glasses. His eyes flashed with concentration, and he felt a surge of pride flow through his veins as he downed the flaming drinks in two gulps.

His eyes watered, his entire torso felt like it had holes in it, but he didn’t cough or splutter and instead slammed the two glasses back onto the bar and looked coolly at the old quack.

“Thata’ boy!” said Old Louie, and the trio of him, Janka, and the ugly woman gave Jonas looks of approval, “So what did you say you were doing for that fatty?” Jonas felt a bit light-headed as he began explaining how his entire week of being a slave had gone.

“You stupid fuck!” Old Louie screamed at the end of the story.

“What?” Jonas asked indignantly, as he began downing another mug of Swamp Ale.

“What do you mean, ‘what’, you dumb fuck, you stupid millennial twat!” Old Louie looked like he was about to have a heart attack, “You got to live in a mansion surrounded by security guards, eat the finest gourmet food and liquor money could buy, and you got to fuck a red-headed succubus anytime you want, and you’re telling me that you actually fucking asked to leave?” poor Old Louie looked like his entire soul was hurting, and he couldn’t believe just how unfair life was. If it had been him in Jonas’ place, well he would have never left, and he wasn’t the only one.

“I had to,” said Jonas, “You told me to find you.”

“Fuck what I told you!” shouted Old Louie, “You actually gave up a hot woman just to sit and drink shitty beers with an old man in a sewer?” and even Janka and the woman were looking judgingly at him.

“I had a good reason!” shouted Jonas who was now getting fired up, “I have to find my brother.”

“Fuck your mother-fucking brother!” Old Louie slammed his mug down on the bar counter, “Do you think any self-respecting big brother would ever ask their younger brother to give up a life of wealth and privilege just so they could maybe break them out of prison?” he answered his question venomously, “No!” Jonas had to admit, Old Louie was probably right, but instead he began chugging back another ale, and he even felt brave enough to try one of the smaller pickled eggs which didn’t taste so bad once he got past the strange crunch.

“I need answers,” said Jonas, “The internet here in Hell is too regulated and I can’t find what I need.”

“Like?” Old Louie asked, and Jonas wanted to lead with a question about Sinners but he hesitated. Jonas’ instincts were telling him to wait for a bit, so instead, he asked the first random question that came to his mind.

“Those crocs, where did they come from?”

“The crocs?” Old Louie smirked, “Someone put them there, duh. You came down here to ask me questions about zoology?”

“I just mean,” Jonas was trying to find the words to say, “Are all animals that big? I haven’t seen even a single bird since I got here.”

“There are animals in Hell,” Old Louie nodded, “They’re all around us. They’re wild, untamed, cruel, vicious, and love to feast on ignorant little boys like you.”

“Your stench will drive them away,” Jonas smirked, “I don’t need to worry.”

“On a more serious note,” Old Louie chuckled,” Wild animals keep their distance from the cities, the rest you’ll find in zoos, farms, and factories. Some people with money will choose to keep pets, but most prefer those pets to be human.

“I noticed,” Jonas took another swig of beer before recalling his recent experience as someone's pet, “That doesn’t explain the size of those crocodiles though.”

“Probably left here by whoever created Little Wrath City,” Janka chimed in, he had gotten bored with groping his only other customer and decided to join the conversation.

“Right you are, Janka,” Old Louie gave a toothy smile, “Would you care for a little history lesson?” Jonas nodded his head, “Sun City was founded by a pair of brothers, two Chinese merchants from a few hundred years ago, Sun Li, and Sun Ce. Anyways, these two merchants fancied themselves kings, and they acted as such, lording over the rest of the peasants, and they ruled in unity for many years, until one day Sun Li and Sun Ce came into conflict over a beautiful slave they had procured.”

“There’s always a beautiful woman in these stories,” said the woman seated next to Jonas.

“The downfall of man,” Old Louie chuckled, “Long story short, these two brothers have a contest for the beautiful slave girl which eventually turns into a full-fledged battle for the supremacy of Sun City. Big brother Sun Li won both the battle and the girl, while little brother Sun Ce was banished from the city. With his tail between his legs, Sun Ce eventually came across a vast underground cave that he and his most loyal followers had turned into a small city, the Little Wrath City you occupy today.”

“So Little Wrath City wasn’t always a sewer?” Jonas asked.

“Nope,” said Old Louie, “The sewage was added on centuries later. It was pretty much used as a black market and where Sun Ce built his secret empire, an empire that acted more like a gang. Anyways,” continued Old Louie, “Eventually both brothers were murdered, and their respective kingdoms were subjected to many changes over the years until they became what you know today as Little Wrath City, and Sun City.”

“And the crocs?”

“Imports,” said Old Louie, “From Sin City.”

“Thank you,” Jonas began laying it on thick, “You must be the most knowledgeable man in all of Little Wrath City.”

“Also the smelliest,” added Janka, and the four of them laughed.

“Say,” began Jonas, “Tell me about Sinners,” and Old Louie went quiet, his face was somber when he finally spoke.

“There’s no point,” he said, “Knowing won’t do you any good.”

“You said you’d tell me!” Jonas was fired up, “I didn’t know Old Louie was a big fat liar!”

“Liar!” Old Louie nearly shat himself, “I might be a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one of them. Fine,” he added, “You want to know about Sinners so badly, I’ll tell you,” and he glared with great concentration into Jonas’ eyes. A few moments went by, but Old Louie failed to say anything.

“Are you going to tell me, or not?” asked Jonas.

“I am,” said Old Louie, “Once you buy another round that is,” which caused Jonas to almost lose his composure and throw the old scumbag to the crocs.

“One more round,” Jonas said as he fumbled with his phone to make the money transfer, and Old Louie refused to speak about Sinners until the next round arrived. When Janka slammed another tray of drinks onto the counter, they both poured themselves a glass of Swamp Ale and took large gulps. Finally, Old Louie was ready to tell all.

“What do you think a Sinner is?” he asked.

“Goddammit, you old fuck!” shouted Jonas, “If I had any clue what the fuck a Sinner was do you think I’d be here with you right now?”

“Calm down, you little punk,” said Old Louie as he shook his head disapprovingly, “I just mean, what is your impression of what it is?” and Jonas thought for a moment.

“It’s some kind of superpower,” which made Old Louie chuckle.

“Sin isn’t a superpower, boy, it’s a curse. A double-edged sword that lets you wield tremendous power at the cost of your sanity.”

“You’re a Sinner aren’t you?” prodded Jonas, “It couldn’t be all that bad.”

“I’m…” began Old Louie, “Different,” he said, but Jonas felt like those were not the original words he intended to say.

“Stop playing games,” Jonas said with an aggravated tone, “Can Sinners leave the first floor?” he added, “Can you leave the first floor?”

“Sinners are the only ones who can move around in Hell,” said Old Louie, “And I could if I wanted to, which I don’t.”

“Just start from the beginning please,” said Jonas, “What is Sin?”