Rose hears the slamming of an iron door, which jolts her awake. Her white wings extend to her confused and startled state. The matted red hair sticks close to her head as she tries to fix the ripped white dress she wore. Her lightly tanned skin and red hair are the only colors in the white room. Well, there’s a silver chain. She turns around to see the white gravestone she’s been chained to; there’s a cross on top that also had chains on it, strategically wrapped around. Tears stream down her cheeks. How did I even get here? She thinks, praying for someone to notice her absence soon. “Well, look what I’ve caught! I’m Dustin, your captor and this is Hell in a Box. So, do they give you angel’s names up top?” Rose looks up to the male voice where the demon stood. Rose was shocked, but soon ashamed; she never should’ve allowed herself to be caught by a demon so easily. Rose looked up higher, to see his face. He was dark skinned, green hair, black clothes and shoes, with black wings. There were dark green horns coming out of his head as well as black wings coming out of the demons back. “Demon to Angel; you got a name or what?” she nodded slowly. “R-Rose… my name is Rose Quarts.” Her head dropped back to the ground; it was forbidden for an angel to associate with a demon any further than names if they weren’t going to fight or be interrogated. “Look at me.” Rose shook her head. “Too bad-” he roughly grabbed her hair, forcing the trapped angel to look at him. “Sorry to tell you this Red, but you’re a part of a favorite demon game of ours.” Rose blinked, tilting her head in confusion. “If you can untangle the knot around the tombstone, the chains will get longer. Get it long enough and you can leave through that door.” he pointed to the door above them. It was white with black flowers engraved in it; Rose’s eyes glimmered with hope of her escape. She quickly elbowed the demon in the face, sending him to the ground. She bolted to the sky, but was yanked down, a sensation like fire around her ankle that traveled to her wings. She landed on the ground with a hard thud. Dustin clicked his tongue, wiping his bleeding nose. “The rose has thorns huh.” He grabbed the angel’s hair once more; Rose glared at him. “This will happen only if you accept the deal. If it’s not long enough, the chain will paralyze your wings and yank you back down. If you get your entire body out the door, you're free. Do we have a deal?” Rose hesitated, but nodded. What else did she have to lose at this point?

Dustin, a demon, had kidnapped Rose for a sort of sick angel killing game; each name was on the gravestone she had been chained to. Having given up, she would just lay in a white heap on the cold, broken stone floor. How long has it been since then? A year or two or ten? Maybe more, maybe less? Rose thought, playing with the chain around her ankle. Did I ever bother counting? Does Dustin even know? She glanced around, not seeing her usual visitor. “Well, I gotta do something.” Rose unsteadily walked towards the chain wrapped around the gravestone, tracing the outlines of the engraved names. With every flap of her wings, she counted each and every knot. Just remember, you can leave if you win. I’ll avenge every angel that was trapped here.

“Go under here… over that way, and cross this here-” Rose was flying in and out of hoops, all the while muttering to herself. I… I might just do it! She thought, a warm feeling welling up inside her. Suddenly, she heard a chuckle. “Just an fyi Red, you have my bet to get out of here.” A male voice said; Rose stopped flying, almost being hit by a chain. There was a demon floating next to her; it was Dustin. He flashed Rose a teasing smirk, like he would toss a fire cracker in her hair. “But as long as you have that chain around your leg, you might as well have a sign that says ‘Game Piece’.” Rose shot a hateful glare at her captor. Dustin grabbed his chest. “Owww, I think you hurt my feelings Red!” she huffed. “Leave me alone Dustin. Besides, you lost all feelings when you fell.” Dustin huffed, sitting atop the tombstone. “Ok, I’ll stay quiet.” Rose took a deep breath and continued her work.

In what felt like four hours, there weren’t any more knots, or tangles to work out. For the first time in a while, Rose felt… hopeful. She grinned widely at the demon that had a satisfied look on his face. “Never undid one that hard before! Tell the other demons that it was fun while it lasted!” Rose mocked, finally satisfied with herself; Dustin only shrugged. “Whatever sets your halo straight Red.” She rose off the ground, slowly at first, but gained speed. Dustin followed her, flying at her pace. White feathers fell from Rose’s wings as she rose higher and higher into the sky. She grabbed onto the black handles, finally there. “Careful now Red.” Dustin warned, but Rose didn’t listen; she was so close to the freedom she had been longing for. “I’m free!” yanking the doors open, she let the cool breeze she missed swallow her whole. She shot through the doors, but was taken down with a burning in her wings. Rose fell like a stone to the floor. Dustin caught her right before she hit; he set the despair filled angel to the ground and heard muttering. “So close… I was so close…” she began to cry once more as the doors shut; even though Rose couldn’t leave, she was sure the rest of her hope had.