Club Inferno

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

You recognize the inscription above the door to Club Inferno. They're really leaning into the aesthetic, too. Depictions of devils, serpents, and the Fall of Adam and Eve coat the walls.

"This dance floor is called Limbo," V says. "It's for pagans."

It's an odd thing to say. Did V mean, like, in tonight's theme? Pagan symbols adorn the walls in flashes form hidden laser strobes.

Regardless, you strut in like royalty, like it really is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven. Oh, but you are serving, too, aren't you?

The DJ starts off his set by spinning Fugue Eb by Johann Sebastian Bach, then transitions into a darkwave beat.

You give your body to it: the pulsating beats, the tide and flow of bodies. A woman dressed like a green witch wearing a wreath around her head dances up to you. In your ear, she says something that's difficult to hear over the music, but you could barely catch the word "damned." She sachets away without another word.

"Do you wanna see the other dance floors?" V shouts in your ear. "I could take you down a few levels."

"Sure," you say.

You want to ask how many floors this club could possibly have, but the volume of the music makes conversation more trouble than its worth.

V takes you to a freight elevator flanked by two burly bouncers in demonic cosplay getups: horns, red body paint, and black contact lenses. Commit to the bit, right?

"This next floor is a really popular one," V says as the elevator descends. "It's called Lust."

The door opens to a BDSM scene. There's black leather everywhere. Chains and meat hooks hang from the ceiling in a way that screams Hellraiser. Men strapped in X-shaped crosses line the walls, and every one of them is gagged and blindfolded. A dominatrix wearing nothing but platform boots and a harness walks by. She has a paddle in one hand and she drags a woman by a leash with the other. You raise a hand to wave hello, and she snaps her teeth at you. Her mouth is full of sharpened teeth like a shark.

You flinch, pulling your hand away and holding it close. "How long did you wanna stay?" you ask your friend.

"Let me show you the lowest level first." V pulls the door of the elevator shut and pushes the button for B9.

"Was this an underground parking structure or something? It didn't seem that big from outside."

V smirks. "This place goes on for forever."

"So, every flood has a theme to it?"

V nods.

"What's the one we're going to?"

V's eyes sparkle in the dim light. "It has a few names: Cocytus, Frozen Lake. Personally, I like to call it Treachery."

The door opens, and your jaw drops. Before you is a hellish ice-skating rink. Dance floor lights somehow flare up from below the ice, and muted music thumps up through your feet.

"Good luck," V says, shoving you out the elevator and slamming the door shut behind them.

"V!" you shout, banging your hands on the elevator door. Then you notice that there's no button for summoning the elevator back.

You turn and slowly venture out onto the ice.

The mechanics of having such a structure nine floors below the ground boggles your little mind, doesn't it?

Oh, honey. You have no idea.

You step carefully and bend down to get a closer look at those shapes in the ice. Brushing the surface of the ice with your hand reveals a face, screaming up at you from beneath the ice.

Hands burst through the ice, grasping your arms and legs, fingers like ice picks. They drag you down through the ice, screaming and bleeding, until you reach the frozen center.

"So nice of you to join me. Look at you. You're a snack."