A Note From the Author:

From the day we are born we are bombarded by narratives and expectations. We are subject to the tyranny of rules not our own, and guidelines set long before we existed. Some of these rules and teachings are prudent and wise. Some teachings are dated at best, and some still are utterly wrong. We are trained to trust in figures of authority and are fed the narrative that if you obey the path that’s set before you, then everything will be fine. This can be blind to the reality that this is not realistic, or even desirable to everyone. In high-school I had a lot of friends in advanced courses, and especially the International Baccalaureate program who were being pressured into being overworked, lacking sleep, who became devoid of a standard social life all on the premise that it will be worth it for a suit-and-tie job, and a white picket fence. I watched as many of these honor students struggled to get the careers of their choice, or find out there were many more complications to life than what they were told. I also had friends that were shunned and villainized by other students, but mostly faculty because of their life choices: getting bad grades, skipping classes, smoking tobacco and marijuana. Because  they were branded like sinners. This brand was such that it would alleviate the need for empathy and compassion in their minds. Cast off to the proverbial 9th Layer of Hell, to be chewed up by the cold and unforgiving delinquency programs and punishments set by the masters of their institutions.

9th Layer is a story about things I witnessed and experienced in my youth. I hope to show generations to come the importance of thinking for yourself and doing whatever your heart desires. To remind them that the gluttonous are gregarious, the lustful are loved, the slothful are smart, the wrathful wield power, the prideful are prestigious, the greedy have grandeur, the envious empirical, perhaps sometimes even egalitarian. In a world where people are constantly questioned and even shamed for their personal choices and private activities, I want to remind everyone that it’s okay to break the ‘rules’ from time-to-time.

Eve is an eighteen-year-old high school student who has lived her whole life inside the lines. Listening to her father and Pastor, her teachers, and her best friend, and always trusting those around her. Everything changes for her one day when she’s rejected by all her colleges of choice. Suddenly a life lived inside the lines seems a lot less appealing now that things aren’t going her way.

Steven a former mobster known for sleeping during watch, is well renowned for his laziness. His poor performance resulted in his demotion to the 9th Layer of hell. To make matters worse, his boss Mr. Murphy’s insists on pitting him against Gabriel the Archangel; he’s a hair’s breadth away from losing his status as a demon completely. Despite this demotion, Satan is giving him one final chance to make a sale or lose his horns.

Daniel is ordained by God to marry Eve, or so they’ve been told. Daniel is obsessed with the Bible and spends every waking second pouring over it in furious study sessions. Though, upon further inspection some wonder if he is more interested in depictions of Christ. This has been a frustration for Gabriel who encourages him to fight these urges, and Eve who is always pushing him to be more romantic with her. He struggles with telling her he doesn’t have any romantic feelings for her. Daniel never had a father, and Eve’s family always felt more like a family than his own. Now he wonders if breaking up with her would jeopardize all of that.

Gabriel is the epitome of divine perfection. Gabriel closes more deals and earns more souls than any other angel, or demon for that matter. Because of this Gabriel has become something of a celestial celebrity.

Lilith is known as the Succubus Queen of Lust. She is well renowned for her beauty and ability to win over anyone she chooses with her charisma and guile. She is second to no demon, and only to Gabriel in terms of how many souls she, earns. Lilith is still obsessed over her long lost lover Adam. She is convinced that Eve, the woman who was responsible for her downfall, has been reincarnated on earth many times, in different iterations. It has become an obsession of hers.

Mr. Murphy is the worst manager anyone could ask for. He’s openly sadistic and uses his underlings as guinea pigs for his own twisted desires. Only recently has Satan decided to put limits on Mr. Murphy’s punishments, deeming them too cruel even for hell.

Father Matthews is Eve’s biological father, but also the Pastor at the local church. He struggles with keeping to the wording of the bible, and the teachings of his father, while also trying to be fair and considerate to a younger generation.

The Prince of Darkness, and the C.E.O. of Hell. He rules over his kingdom with a velvet fist. He’d barely rule at all if God didn’t make him. His existence in hell is just as much a punishment for him as it is for everyone else.

The Son, and the hardest working of the trinity. Jesus is always at work behind his desk signing papers, approving prayer applications. Everything an angel does is processed through him. This leaves him constantly tired and agitated. It also means nothing has changed in heaven in thousands of years.

An overbearing teacher that runs the advanced placement program at Eve’s High School. He puts grades, and academic success over almost everything else, and is willing to push his kids to any length to see them do well in school.

Emily died in the early 1990’s. She overdosed on diet pills in a quest to become a Hollywood celebrity. She’s the newest employee in hell.

A WWII veteran. He opened a bar when he got back from the war, drinking and smoking himself to death. He now owns a bar in hell.

An oil baron from the 19th century. He squeezed out every penny he could, until an angry union leader put an end to his monopoly with a bullet. He now does accounting in Hell.