I smiled at her. She smiled back and batted her eyes. She was pretty. I couldn't deny that. But she wasn't very bright. Couldn't she see the way I looked at her? No, they never did.

I met her when I was out on a walk. I had been heading home when I saw her, a girl with a lost look on her face. I asked her if she needed any help and when she nodded I asked if she was lost. She nodded again and then I asked if she'd like to come to my place while we sorted things out. She nodded again. It was strange that she refused to reply verbally. Perhaps she was mute? I asked if she could talk. She nodded, but didn't talk. Shrugging it off, I offered her my arm and she took it. She gave me an adorable smile as it happened. Then, as we walked to my home, I sang a little ditty into her ear. I had come up with it myself a few years back.

"Trust me, trust me, darling dear. I'm so sincere, there's no need to tear. Trust me, trust me, darling do. Just like I trust you," my voice was soft and I could tell that it tickled her ear because she giggled. Then at last, she graced me with the honor of hearing her voice.

"I trust you," she said. Her voice was lovely.

Once we reached my little home in the far side of town, I sat her down on my couch and asked her who she was. She told me that her name was Tamara Lounds and that she didn't know where she was, or why or how. As a matter of fact, she couldn't remember anything before waking up lost, just lying beside the river where I found her when I had been headed home from the market. I nodded sympathetically. I got that a lot. Lots people came to my town, not knowing why they were here or how. Maybe it would be different if they did.

When I ran out of questions for Tamara, she turned the tables and began to interview me.

"Sooo," she began shyly. "What's your name?"

"My name?" I asked. It was a stupid question but I was never one for long or dramatic back-stories. But Tamara insisted so I decided to give her the very, very abbreviated version of it all in one line. "My name is Scorpion and although I'm not sure how I got here either, I just know that I've been in this town for quite awhile now and I actually really like it."

"Oh," she replied. I could hear the disappointment in her voice. Clearly she had hoped that hearing my story would help her find her own. No such luck. I took pity on her and touched her arm gently.

"Maybe you can just stay here. Hopefully you'll remember who you are soon but, if not, you can always live here!" I offered.

"That sweet of you, but I couldn't possibly!" Tamara blushed. "Besides, I already know who I am."

"No you don't," I replied, but I said it so quietly that she didn't hear.

Suddenly, my door creaked open and in came a hooded figure. The figure removed its hood. Underneath was a woman with skin as cold and pale as porcelain. She had heterochromia eyes that seemed to never blink and her hair was so blond it was white. In addition, a big, black, web-like scar covered the right half of her eerily pale face. She was the most gorgeous and amazing woman I ever met.

"Who are you?" Tamara squeaked fearfully as she walked in. The intruder raised a skeptic eyebrow, as though she couldn't believe that Tamara didn't know who she was. Then she gave Tamara a sneer only I saw before sidling up to me to convey a message. She didn't speak, so her message was all pantomime, but I understood every word.

Once the message was finished, she ambled haughtily. I groaned inwardly as the door shut again. I had hit a dilemma. My friend's message was that my boss wanted us all at the center of town in 10 minutes. But I didn't want to go. Town meetings sucked. Especially where I lived. All it was, was a smokescreen. We pretended to exchange ideas but, in the end, only one opinion mattered and that was the boss'. Why go to a town meeting where my voice had no levity? My boss could screw himself for all I cared. I wanted to stay back here with Tamara and have some fun, you know? But at the same time, disobeying the boss could yield horrible punishment.

At last, I decided to compromise. I would stay here with Tamara for a bit longer but I would go to the meeting. If I was late, oh well. It wouldn't be the first time and it wouldn't be the last either. So I turned back to Tamara who still looked surprised at the sudden intrusion.

"That was mighty unexpected," she muttered, finally looking away from the door. I laughed and gazed warmly at her. We spent the next 10 minutes chatting idly before I finally decided that it was time for me to head out.

"Hey, Tamara?" I asked. "Will you come with me for a moment? I have something I must do," I stood up as I spoke. Then I offered Tamara my arm again, puffing out my chest in a courtly manner. She giggled at this and took my army with a regal expression. I laughed at her princess-ey mannerism. Just for a moment, I felt a twinge of pity in my heart. Out of all the people I had ever met, Tamara really wasn't that bad. It was such a shame I couldn't keep her. She could be quite funny and charming. But she and I just weren't meant to be, so…

Together, we headed to my room. It was small, dark, and dingy and held an ominous air. I loved the feeling. My favorite part about my room, though, was the knife wheel resting against the back wall.

"Why are we here?" asked Tamara nervously. I could see her eyeing the knife wheel.

"I, uhh, am part of a circus act and, as you can see, I'm the guy that throws the knives. That lady you met earlier was one of my coworkers. She was telling me that my boss wants me on another show soon but I don't have a wheel gal!" I was lying through my teeth but she ate it up.

"What happened?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," I replied. "You're prettier anyhow. Do you think you would want to help me out?"

"Really?" she asked, almost in disbelief. I nodded. "Ok then!" she agreed. "Where do I start?"

"Right here," I answered, I pressed her against the wheel and strapped her in. As I did this, I sung my little tune again.

"Trust me, trust me, darling dear. I'm so sincere, there's no need to tear. Trust me, trust me, darling do. Just like I trust you!" I finished tying the last cord as the song finished. Tamara giggled like a schoolgirl at me. Then, she actually sang back.

"I trust you, trust you, darling dear. Oh yes, I'm sincere, there's no need to fear. I trust you, trust you, yes I do. And you trust me too!" Wow! Her voice was even better when she was singing! And her song, though somewhat uncreative, wasn't that bad. I kind of liked it, actually. But still…

I threw a few knives into the wheel as practice, making sure to avoid hitting Tamara. But after a few knives, I guess I started to look different. Maybe it was something in my eyes that gave it away but Tamara became visibly afraid.

"Ummm, Scorpion?" she asked.

"Yes, my darling dear?" I asked her in a sweet and innocent voice. I tried to keep my insanity and lust in check as I held my last knife.

"Are we almost through?" she asked. I could sense her fear in her eyes, voice, scent, and pulse. (Yes I could hear her pulse).

"Trust me," I replied simply. She had only just begun to smile when, as quick as the scorpion after which I was named, I threw my last knife, ssshhhlaaackkkk! right into her heart! Bull's eye!

It took about 8 seconds for Tamara to finally stop convulsing and just die. That was a bit longer than normal, but I hadn't thrown the knife as hard as I could have. This weaker throw meant a shallower injury which meant Tamara took a few extra seconds to die. Once she had expired, however, I walked over to her to reclaim my knives. As I cleaned the bloody one, I gazed up at her motionless body. That innocent, trusting smile was still on her pink lips.

I smiled at her. She smiled back and batted her eyes. She was pretty. I couldn't deny that. But she wasn't very bright. Couldn't she see the way I looked at her? No, they never did. At least not until it was too late. But it was true what they said. Love hurts! At least, for her.

"You trust me, trust me, darling dear? But I'm not sincere, there is need to fear. Why trust me, trust me, little fool? Just 'cause I trust you?"

As soon as I was finished cleaning my knives, I sped off to the center of town. Checking my watch, I managed to make it only 10 minutes late. For a guy like me, that was good. Usually I was at least 15 minutes late if I bothered coming at all. Once the meeting ended, though, as I made my way back home, I saw someone. It was a girl with a lost look on her pretty face. It was Tamara, reborn if you will. I smiled slyly as she looked around herself in total confusion. She was no different now than she had been the last few times we played this game and that made her just the same as all the other girls who had fallen into my vicious circle.

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, we're all in Hell. I live in Hell. My house is in one of the quieter parts away from Lucifer's center castle. Tamara is a sinner, trapped for the crime of lust. The only reason the girl had ever seen this place as anything other than the fire-and-brimstone pit that it was, was because we were intentionally deceiving her. We were blinding her to how Hellish Hell was because she wasn't here to be scared or tortured by the scenery. She was here to be punished and to be tormented by her own flaws. What better, scarier way to do that than to lose the fire and brimstone and replace it with the world in which she had made these fatal mistakes?

I watched this version of Tamara wander around the river of fire for a few more minutes before I walked over to her. With a charming smile, I reached out to her and asked her if she was lost and needed any help. When I got a nod in return, I offered my arm and sang her a song.

"Trust me, trust me, darling dear. I'm so sincere, there's no need to tear. Trust me, trust me, darling do. Just like I trust you!"

AN: I wrote this for a school assignment years ago which is why it's kind of lame and is pretty much a recap of the story between Tamara and Scorpion. The only reason I kept the reveal about it being Hell a "secret" was because, since it was for a school assignment, I wanted it to be a surprise for the teacher because I knew for a fact he had no idea what this was. I would like to say, too, that as strange as this story is, I got a 100% on it so clearly there was something there that the teacher liked.