Five o’clock rolls around and Andy stands to stretch. “Hngg… Ready to go?” He looks over to Greg who’s finishing up a document on his computer.

“Yeah, just gimme one sec.”

“Hey, boys! Ready to hit it?” Becky strides over to their cubicles with an ecstatic grin. “Mama’s gotta get her drink on!”

Andy points at her sternly. “Never say that again. Please and thank you.” She laughs and shrugs. “Greg, have ten seconds before we ditch you. Ten. Nine.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll just do it on Monday.” The fly closes his work and joins his waiting coworkers. “Where are we going?”

“Hell Hole?” Andy suggests, given it’s the only bar he knows.

“Nah, it’ll be really crowded on a Friday night.” Becky shuts him down quickly. “How about Eight-Eye Jack’s?”

“Ehhh… I don’t like how Jack looks at me when I’m there….” Greg sounds hesitant and uncomfortable. “There’s always Slice of Hell,” he offers.

“Isn’t that more of a ‘demon bar?’” Becky lifts an eyebrow in a mild concern. “Is it OK if we take Andy there?” Andy looks from one demon to the other as they trade sentences.

“Should be. He works here so I say that practically makes him one of us.” Greg shrugs his four arms nonchalantly. “Plus, if the boss is coming then who’d possibly say no?”

“Fair enough.” Becky sighs. “Well, Andy,” she pats him on the shoulder with a smile, “get ready to see where all the demon’s hang out. Oh, and if anyone gives you shit: just go tell your boyfriend.” She gives him a wink.

“My boyfrie-? Oh… I’m not into guys! Fuck!” Andy slouches with anger. “Whatever, where is this place?” 

“Couple blocks over. It mainly became the demon bar because it’s so close to the office.” Greg calls the elevator and they all step inside. The rest of their trip to the pub is filled with benign banter.

As they reach the Slice of Hell, the outside appears no larger than a coffee shop. Entering the bar, Andy is astounded at the extraordinarily large room. Clearly another use of the wormhole-esque magic that creates their living quarters, the bar room expands back for the length of a football field and half as wide. The place is teeming with demons of a countless variety: bugs, humanoids, humans with varying skin colors and additions of horns and tails, and even a few ephemeral clouds of gas. 

As the trio sidle between the crowded high tops and packed booths, they eventually find themselves an empty table. The moment the three sit down, all of the ambient noise and loud chatter of the bar instantly disappear. Andy whips his head around with eyes as wide as Greg’s. “What the fuck? Did I go deaf?!”

Greg and Becky crack up at his naiveté. “No, sweetie.” Becky taps the table near him to calm his fear. “The tables are enchanted to block out outside sounds so we can talk normally.”

“Think of it this way,” Greg holds out his hand as if offering Andy the idea, “now you can’t hear everyone else talking shit about you.”

“Oh, how convenient…” Andy’s nerves do a somersault at the idea of a roomful of demons speaking about him and he couldn’t hear any of it. He looked over his shoulder at the room and saw several sets of eyes set on him - that did not help his anxiety.

When he turns back with a heavy sigh, Becky waves her hand to get his attention. “Ignore them. You’re with us. If any of them actually try anything, I’ll kick their ass so hard they’ll be out of work for a week.” Andy squints and lets his mouth hang open for a moment as he processes her statement. “What? Don’t believe me?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just… No offense Becky but you’re like a twig.” Andy shrugs in apology. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, I’m just not sure I can imagine it.”

“Oh-hoh! Is that so?” She sits up with confidence and looks at Greg with a wicked grin. “Then how about we arm wrestle? If you win, I’ll buy your drinks for the night. If I win, you pay for me.”

Andy looks to Greg who seems to be completely straight-facing him. “Hmm… Well, first of all, I don’t have any money so I can’t even pay for myself. Secondly, your confidence terrifies me and makes me think that there’s some demon shit going on that I don’t know about and you’re using my ignorance to bait me into something stupid.”

“He’s smart.” Greg nods at how quickly Andy was learning.

Becky cocks her head and purses her lips in thought. With a snap and a renewed light in her eye, she offers Andy a new deal. “How about this, then? I win, you do any one thing of my choosing. If you win, I have to do any three things you want. Bit of a better deal, no?”

Andy clenches his teeth. The deal was certainly sweeter and the amount of work he could get out of by having these favors up his sleeve was tantalizing. “Fine. Deal.” The two shook on their bet and something inside Andy told him he’d already lost.

Becky placed her elbow on the tabletop with a smile. “Alright, strong man, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Greg stands up with a groan. “I’m gonna get the drinks. Don’t break the table… or Andy.” He walks off to Andy’s terrified dismay.

“I’ve made a huge mistake, haven’t I?” He looks into Becky’s eyes with an intense fear and sadness over his guaranteed loss. Becky simply nods as he puts his arm on the table and loosely grips her hand. “Please don’t kill me?” Andy pleads with his eyes.

Becky shows no remorse. “You’re already dead, kiddo. Ready? Go!” Andy tries to use all of his strength right at the start to surprise her but  she doesn’t budge an inch. He struggles and grunts with effort, straining every muscle in his arm. In an instant, she slams his hand down onto the table and puts her arms up in triumph with a loud “Woo!”

Andy hangs his head in defeat as Greg returns with three large mugs of a red frothing liquid. “I take it Becky won.”

“Obviously!” She responded.

“Andy,” he looks up at the disappointed fly, “you realize she’s an Oni, right? They’re beyond ripped.”

Andy grabs a mug from Greg and shakes his head. “I feel like a dumbass.”

“You are.” Becky winks at him and clinks her mug on his “And don’t forget, you’re also my slave now.”

Andy snaps up and points at her in defiance. “Not slave! I owe you one favor. There’s a big difference there.”

“Sure, whatever you say, sweetie.” She takes a long swig and lets out a satisfied sigh.