Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2022 19:30:01 -0600 From: Fang Saito Subject: Welcome to Avernus - Chapter 1 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected under copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproduction is allowed without the author's consent. Conversations and feedback are appreciated to Greyson B. via email at hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com. I love hearing from readers. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/. This story will contain graphic depictions of sex between males of teen and adult ages (M/m, m/m). If this is an issue for you or the laws where you live, you are obviously in the wrong place. So this is a new story I am beginning. I have been in a mood to switch it up, so keep an eye out for the Supernatural with this one. Hopefully it should be a bit of fun. Welcome to Avernus Chapter 1 I've never known someone so fucking obsessed with the Mob. My dad has been joking all his life that he worked for the Mafia. The bastard thought it was hilarious. See, if you lived in the south in the 80s and 90s, you definitely know about a few businesses that were all over. There was the shitty grocery store Food World, the elite, high end grocery store, Bruno's, and the ratty pharmacy called Big B Drugs. All three were seemingly everywhere, especially where we lived in fucking shithole Alabama. See, what most people didn't know but was free information for anyone who did the tiniest bit of research, was that all three of these were owned by the same company, were operated at a loss, and were in existence strictly as a laundering front for the Bruno crime family out of Chicago. True story. You can look it up for yourself. And dear old sperm donor, he was a store manager at a Big B location for more than a decade. So he loved to joke that he "worked for the Mob". Bullshit. He was a shitty manager of a shitty drug store, and the only reason he wasn't fired for being so pathetic is that they were literally run at a loss. So yeah, he's a fucking genius. My parents are so fucking smart that they each thought they won out when the accident that was me happened. My sweet mother thought she had won the lottery when she got knocked up by an honest to God big shot manager, while he thought he was sweet shit for getting to date a stripper. I mean fuck, they were perfect for each other. Dear god, the fights were epic. Daddy had the Devil's own temper, while mom had the vocal chords of a banshee. And both of them had an aim that would have made any professional baseball pitcher proud. In the end, mom had her way and daddy went back to school, finally finishing the degree in business finance he had started before he landed his pathetic drug store management job. Good job, too. Because Big B got bought out by CVS, and they fired his ass. I swear these two are the best role models I could ever have. I mean, now I know exactly what NOT to do with my life. Fuck. So here they are, both in their late 40s, damn near half a century old, and stuck with a 15 year old mistake they both detest. But now, all their dreams are coming true. After what, 30 years of being a fuck up, drifting from shitty job to shitty job, he finally got a real job. And what is he doing, you ask? He's going to be getting paid half again what he should be, to go be a bookkeeper. Yeah, not even a fucking accountant, just a bookkeeper. But why is he thrilled, aside from the money? He is legitimately going to be working for the mob. Like the actual, no shit, Sicilian Mafia. Or what's left of them in the good ol' U S of A. So here we are, finishing up the second of two long ass days in our new car, completing our drive from northern Alabama to northern New York. "Upstate" they call it. It would be bad enough if I could say we are moving to a place like Albany, but apparently we aren't even stopping there, but going even further north, to some empty area north of, get this, "New Russia". This is going to be so fucked. My friend Alen laughed his ass off when I told him where we were moving. He said he just knew I was going to get jumped by a gang, or get mugged, or get run over by a taxicab. When I asked him what the fuck he was talking about, he said that all of that happened all over New York City. When I told him I was moving to the state of New York, and not New York City, he asked me, "What's the difference?" I have a fucking moron for a best friend. Had, fuck. We finally pulled into the parking lot of the Avernus Inn and Suites just after 9 at night. I was surprised to see it was an actual hotel, not some fleabag motel with ratty sheets and water stains in the ceiling. The place wasn't busy. There were maybe thirty cars in the parking lot. I don't think it was even a quarter full. I followed the parents inside to the lobby and was even more surprised to see that there were several people behind the counter even this late, two men and a lady. And they were actually wearing uniforms, in a fairly stylish blue and grey. The older of the two men behind the counter looked up. "Ah, Mr. Docker and family, I presume. Welcome to Avernus Inn and Suites. We have been expecting you." The dude was definitely weird looking. He was bald, with a long, thin face, and was over six feet tall. I couldn't tell his age. He could have been 30 or 50. Both of my parents were taken aback at being recognized and greeted without so much as asking for ID. Before they could really react, the man snapped his fingers and the younger man hurried from behind the counter, as did the girl with them. Well I say girl, but she was somewhere in her 20s. The girl stopped short of my dad, giving her head a slight bow. "If you could please give your car keys to Robert here," she said, "he will take care of parking your car and bringing in your luggage." My dad looked completely in over his head, but he fished into the pocket of his jeans and surrendered his keys. Satisfied, the girl motioned for us to follow her. The elevator ride was awkward even though we were only going up one floor, mostly because my parents didn't know how to act with such controlling treatment. I found it hilarious, because they were getting a taste of how adults usually treated kids like me. As we made our way down the second floor hallway, the girl finally spoke again. "My name is Mina, by the way. We have already been contacted by your company, and the bill for your stay is already taken care of. We were instructed to let you know that you should enjoy your stay. If you need anything at all, just pick up the phone in your room. Zero will get you the front desk. One will connect you to Room Service. Nine will connect you to an outside line." The second floor hallway was the same garishly fake paint scheme and décor that every mid range hotel has. Not that I have had the luxury to stay in many, but TV does exist. Four doors down from the elevator, Mina stopped at room 210. She opened the door with a key card, holding it open and gesturing for us to all enter. I groaned inwardly when we walked in. It was a nice room. Much better than the shithole motel we stayed in the night before. Much cleaner, bigger room. It had a nice king sized bed, a sweet 40 inch or something TV, and even a table with two chairs. But there was no options here for me to sleep. Last night, it had been either the floor or the car. The car hadn't been bad. But that was like 10 hours south, and a lot warmer. It was only 9 o'clock and already around 40 outside. The car was going to be fucking freezing tonight. I was debating my options when Mina started talking again. "I do apologize, but the dining room closed at 8. However, you are free to take advantage of the minibar here in the room, and the kitchen is open for room service orders placed by 10:30. Any charges for either are charged to the room, and taken care of, so please avail yourselves." She stepped in and laid a pair of electronic key cards on the corner of the dresser below the TV. "Robert should be up in perhaps ten minutes with your luggage," Mina added. "Also, I must apologize. We tried to arrange a suite for you, but they are currently all booked. Therefore, Jason, if you will please follow me? Since we were unable to arrange a suite with separate bedrooms, we have you booked in the room next door, in 212." My father scoffed, "That's a waste. A new room's a waste for this punk." "I understand your concern," said Mina with a small smile. "This was an arrangement by your company, and not an expense you need to worry about, Mr. Docker." She paused, then added, "However, I do understand your concern. If you would prefer, we can bring up a foldaway cot for your son? We just thought you two adults might prefer some privacy after two days on the road together. Gosh! All the way from Alabama?" She paused, waiting to see how my dad was going to handle this. Seriously, if he thought I was going to sleep on a goddamned hide-a-bed when I could have an actual room, he was fucking insane. But I knew it wasn't going to happen anyway. She'd hooked him with the idea of having me out of their hair, and for free at that. "Fine," he said finally. "Take him." Then turning to me, he added, "Jason, if you embarrass me, we will have words." I didn't even bother answering him. He was basically just showing off. Marking his territory. Pissing all over the walls and floor. Mina was cool as fuck about it, though. She just nodded and said, "Please enjoy your stay. And no need to worry, any alcohol has been removed from the minibar in 212." Then she smiled and put her hand on my shoulder to motion me out of the room ahead of her. She took me next door, like literally next door. Like there was probably six inches of wall between our doors. "Relax, Jason, I know what I'm doing," she said with a laugh. I think she felt my shoulders drop slightly at how close to their room I still was. "This way you are sharing a wall with your TVs back to back, instead of your beds." "Ew," I chuckled. "No way do I want to think about that. I hear it enough as it is." Mina opened the door to my room and pushed me inside, still steering me with her hand on my shoulder. As we walked into my room, she took things a step further by reaching around me and slipping my key card into the front pocket of my jeans. I have to admit, I blushed at her touch like that. I mean, I'm 15. Teenage guys like me plump up at a stiff breeze. And that pixie cut hair she had was a look I go for in a lot of my female friends. "Your parents seem like a real piece of work," she said silently. "Robert should be up any minute with all of your bags. Want me to hang out for a minutes to make sure you get your own bags in here okay?" "Naw, I'll be good," I said. Her idea was sound. Grab my bags before I had to deal with going into the next room. If I had my way, I wasn't going to see my parents again for the next 24 hours. Even still, I didn't really want this woman to see my ratty bags. My parents went out with their signing bonus and grabbed two shiny new suitcases for themselves, along with some shiny new clothing to wear the next few days while they met all the new people. I had to deal with using my school backpack and an old duffle bag from soccer. "Well if you need something to do, the TV has a full cable package," Mina said as she made her way back toward the door. "Watch out though. It does have Pay Per View that will get paid for by your dad's new company." She winked at me, then whispered, "but they will probably tell him if you order porn." Fuck, just let the floor swallow me whole. I blushed like a motherfucker at the idea of her knowing I watched porn. Next, she was going to tell me to keep it down while I jerked it tonight. "Thanks for the advice," I managed to mutter. Thank God we heard someone out in the hall. Sure enough, it was Robert with the luggage. I slipped past Mina real quick, muttered an inaudible "thanks" to the dude as I grabbed my two bags, and slipped back into my room. She fucking grinned at me as I did so, touching my cheek with her hand as I tried to grab at the door. Looking conspiratorially behind her to make sure no one could hear her, Robert organizing the suitcases on his cart, Mina said softly, "You know, you're pretty cute. You are going to be popular here." If I thought I was blushing before, it was nothing to now. But now there was a touch of what, pride? hope? in my thoughts at her compliment this time. But just as I was retreating back into my room and getting the door shut, I heard the other guy out in the hall, Robert, muttering something to Mina. "Damn. August is a sick fuck. He put them in 210? I thought we were being nice to these guys?" I was curious what that was about, as I shut my door and tossed my bags on the bed. If I was lucky, he would be talking about 210 being a regular target for a serial killer. But I am never that lucky. I slowly walked around the room, running my fingers over the different surfaces surrounding me, just kind of losing myself in the moment. It was a mirror image of my parents' room, including a king size bed of my very own. I noticed on the table that there was a folder with the hotel's name in a bunch of weird designs. Curious, I opened it up. There were several pages inside, including a channel guide, what looked like a list of some local restaurants, and then the holy grail, a room service menu. I felt an almost naughty sense of excitement as I looked through the items on order. I'd been someplace with room service before. It felt exotic. Thrilling. Forbidden, even. Like I was breaking some unspoken rule by treating myself. My hands were practically shaking as I picked up the phone. Fuck, what number did Mina say to dial? Duh, it was right there on the front of the menu. "Room service. What can we get for you this evening?" said a pleasant male voice on the other end of the line. "Um, do I just tell you what I want to get?" I asked. Fuck, why did I sound so nervous. "Absolutely," he said. "Can I get your room number, please?" "Oh, uh, 212." "Ah, Master Jason, I believe? What can I get for you?" Master Jason? Must be a New York thing, I guess. "Um, can I get a hamburger?" "Absolutely, sir. Standard it comes with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and ketchup. Do you want everything? And would you like to add cheese?" "Um, sure. I guess load it up. And it says it comes with fries? Sorry, I don't really know how this works." He laughed, but it didn't sound like in a bad way. "Don't worry, I'll hook you up. Are you sure a burger and fries are all you want? I mean, we have many different offerings. We have steaks, seafood, and plenty of other options on offer." "Wow, um no. A burger should be good. Thanks, dude." "I'm glad to hear I am worthy of being a 'dude'," he chuckled goodnaturedly. "Well sit back and I hope you enjoy your evening. Your food should be up in approximately 20 minutes. And if you think of something else you would like, please just call us back, or dial '0' for the front desk." And with that, the line went dead. I cut the TV on and started flipping channels. Adult Swim was just starting Bob's Burger, so I stopped there and dug into my backpack to find my phone charger. As I started checking my phone for messages and such, a weird shudder went up my spine. You know that feeling when someone is hate-staring at you from across the cafeteria? Yeah, that's what it felt like. I let it go and went back to my phone. The curtains were closed and I was on the second floor. There was nobody watching me, but it sure felt weird. I relaxed and in no time there was a knock on my door. I went and opened it and was met by an amazing looking guy. Early 20s probably, dark tanned skin, black eyes flanking a hawk-like nose, and shiny black hair riding down on both shoulders. He was wearing a uniform similar to Mina and the others from the lobby, except he was wearing a long white chef's coat over it. He was also standing behind a rolling server's cart. "Good evening. My name is Devon. We spoke on the phone. May I come in, please?" I mumbled something incoherent as I stepped back to let him past me. He immediately made his way to the table, and with a level of efficiency that absolutely intimidated me, set a spread with white linen and everything. "I apologize, but we neglected to discuss drinks, so I brought you a variety of pop. I've got Coca Cola, Sprite, and Dr. Pepper." As he spoke, he set two cans of each on the table. "Any you don't want, just toss them in your minifridge for later. If you would rather something else, I would be happy to fetch it for you. Tea, milk, coffee? Unfortunately it would have to be non-alcoholic, I'm afraid." "Darn," I laughed. "There goes my plans for the evening." I was surprised when I saw everything he was laying out though. It was not exactly "just a hamburger", for sure. "Um, dude? I don't think I ordered all this." I was starting to laugh a bit more by this point. He had a plate with a really nice looking burger sitting on a plate, the top and cold toppings set on a separate side. Two different slices of cheese were melting on top of a burger that I swear was an inch thick. He had set two smaller plates beside the main one, each covered with a white cloth square. He pulled each back to show me one was a plate absolutely loaded with crispy crinkle fries, and the other a healthy portion of giant onion rings. But from his tray he also set out smaller bowls of cottage cheese and another of what looked like peaches, but they were more white. Maybe pears? Then he set out a final plate with a giant slice of lemon cake with some kind of drizzle all over it. Then he grinned and popped open a lidded box. From inside he pulled out an honest to God banana split in a clear plastic container, that he walked over and put in the freezer portion of the minifridge. Putting his finger to his lips in a "shushing" motion, Devon said, "I told you I was going to hook you up. Oh, and don't feel bad if you can't finish it all. Hope you enjoy." As he made his way to the door with the cart, he stopped abruptly. "Oh, I almost forgot." then he dipped into the underside of the cart and pulled out a white plastic bag. "For later," he said, handing it to me. I looked inside, and there were like, a half dozen bags of single serving chips in a couple of types, along with a couple of Payday bars, some Skittles, and a few small bags of sour gummie worms. A thousand thoughts went through my mind, but before I could put words to any of them, the door was closing and I was on my own. The food was amazing. Near orgasmic. And fuck, there was enough to feed three of me. I was lucky to eat half the burger, a third of the fries, and totally stuffed myself with like four of the giant, amaze-balls onion rings. But by the time I had stuffed myself, I was restless. I dumped out the contents of my sports bag to grab the item laid across the bottom. Checking that my room key was still in my pocket, and blushing again as I remembered how it had gotten there, I grabbed my phone and my skateboard and quietly made my way out into the hallway, making sure my door didn't slam shut. I made my way downstairs nervously, knowing how most "civilized" people reacted to seeing a skateboard. As I exited the elevator, I saw that only Robert was at the front desk. As I prepared to cross the lobby, he looked up, noticing me, and gave a small nod. He didn't seem to be giving me that shit look most people did. As I made it about half way to the front doors, he said just loud enough for me to hear, "The outer doors lock at midnight, but after that your key card will open the front doors. And I'll be right here all night. Just tap on the door if you can't get in, or call this number." He held out a business card and motioned for me to come over to him. As I grabbed the card from his hand, he said, "Turn left out of the parking lot, and go down the road about 600 yards or so. The lot behind us has some culverts and tunnels that should give you what you need." "Thanks, dude," I said, nodding at him surprised. Who knew I could find someone cool around here. It gave me hope. True to his word, the area out behind the hotel was amazing. It was decently lit so that I could see what I was doing, had some awesome surfaces, and was far enough away that I knew guests in the hotel weren't going to be annoyed with any noise I was making. I had been grinding for maybe half an hour when I started getting that shiver again. Whatever sixth sense I have was trying to tell me I was being watched. I stopped at the lip of the culvert I was on, popping my board up into my hand, and looking around. I couldn't see anything at first, but as I looked past the lighted area, I could see movement. Not people. Probably the breeze playing with the grasses. After all, I had seen on the way in that the other side was field. Suddenly I felt uncomfortable, exposed, vulnerable. Some undefinable feeling, almost a force, washed over me. I looked around, trying to identify what it was I might be feeling. Whether there really was someone out here with me. I looked back to the hotel, seeing that random windows were lit up all along the second floor. As I looked over the building, I first noticed that the portions of the first floor that I could see did not seem to have any illuminated windows. Random, but whatever. But I also saw that the central third of the hotel had a third floor. I was going to double check when I went back in, but I was pretty sure the elevator had not had any indication of anything more than two floors. Then I noticed a group of lights subtly flashing on the roof of that tallest section. But I realized they weren't flashing. There were people walking back and forth in front of them. I was insanely curious, but at the same time, kind of afraid to know. I started walking back to the hotel, ready to get back into the safety of my room. Too many weird things were going on. Master Jason, really? And I may not be familiar with room service, but no business, nowhere, deliberately loads you up with triple the food you paid for, even if you aren't the one paying for it. And then first Mina, and then Richard, go out of their way to try and be cool to teenage skater trash in ratty clothes. They would suck up to my dad, sure. The new guy coming to work for the people they just have to know are Mafia. That all makes sense. But you don't bother with his kid. But there were other things that were standing out as I walked back. Devon hooks me up with a bag of snacks, including candy bars, and somehow know that I don't like chocolate? Yes, asshole, I noticed that the banana split had caramel sauce subbed out for the traditional chocolate. And how did they know I actually like cottage cheese? What was going on? Who were these people? I made my way around the corner back to the front of the hotel, and found a small group of men standing outside under the drive-up awning. Four men, all in FBI looking suits were standing around, as if waiting on something or someone. But in their midst stood one more man, shorter than the others, probably only an inch or so taller than my 5'6 height. I would have killed for his fashion sense. He was standing right under the lights, so he stood out. Black skin-tight three piece suit, with a black dress shirt that shined like silk. And over that, he was wearing what looked like a wide, loose fitting silk trench coat. Take Neo, give him black hair running past his shoulders, and put him in all silk, and that's how badass this guy looked. As I approached, I was able to see that the dude's trench coat even had a massive hood on the back. As I got closer, I noticed a few last details that made me wish like hell I didn't have to walk past them to get inside. Two of the FBI suits were clearly carrying under their suit jackets. But the other two were making my blood go cold, when I saw that they had fucking machine guns on slings under their jackets. The last jokes that I had about this place really being part of the Mafia drained out with the load of piss I almost released. The Neo-looking dude openly stared at me as I approached. It was really creepy. He wasn't smirking like someone trying to intimidate me. He had a look on his face more like disbelief. Like he knew me, and was surprised to find I was standing in front of him. Who the fuck was this guy. He was seriously freaking me out. I actually slowed my walk and pulled out my phone. Seriously, I was two seconds away from backing away and calling Robert at the desk. I definitely decided that cowardice was the best policy here, and I started backing away. Then he gave the smallest of smiles, before opening his mouth and running his tongue just slightly across the edges of his lips. I had thought his eyes were black, but he must have had some funky contacts in, because he shifted just slightly, and there was an almost metallic orange flash to them. I don't know what the fuck happened then, because next thing I knew, I was waking up groggily. I was in the king size bed up in my hotel room. There was sunlight cutting in around the curtains, and my pants and shoes had been removed, leaving me in my tshirt, boxers, and socks. What the fuck?