The door swung open, and Jonas caught sight of a man. He was average-looking, but his upscale faux hawk, pointy goatee, and the fancy camera around his neck told Jonas that this guy was a photographer.

"Jonas," said the man, "We've been expecting you, come on in, come on in," and the photographer ushered Jonas into a well-lit warehouse that looked made for modeling.

There was a large backdrop, tables for make-up, a light set up, various mannequins wearing designer clothing, and even a table with snacks and drinks. "I know you just got to Hell, but don't worry too much," he said, "My name is Patrick, and I and my colleagues are here to take care of you," he gestured to two others in the room; a guy working on a computer whom Jonas assumed did the editing, and a punk-rock looking girl who Jonas assumed did the dressing. They waved at Jonas, and he waved back.

"Very impressive," said the woman, as she came for a closer look, "He's our type alright; high cheekbones, upturned nose, great jaw," she stretched her fingers out and began poking and prodding Jonas' body, which made him feel numb.

"Okay, okay," said Patrick as he shooed her away, "We don't want to scare him away before we even get some pictures done," and he led Jonas over to an empty chair.

"Nice setup you have," Jonas said.

"Thanks, man," said Patrick, "We take jobs from all over the area, and companies pay us good dollars to find handsome guys like you to model their clothing. We dress you up, take pictures, and then we send those pictures back to the companies, and that's the basics of the business."

"That makes sense," said Jonas as he looked around at the expensive equipment.

"Amber here is our lead beautician and stylist, while Michael does all the editing and final touches to the photos," he pointed to his coworkers. "The pay is pretty good too depending on the company, and if everything goes well today, I'm willing to compensate you one hundred Sin Stones, and there will be much bigger payouts once you sign up with us."

"Are there others that do modeling for you?" Jonas asked.

"Of course," said Patrick, "They don't hang around though, we call them in depending on availability and the nature of the modeling that needs to be done."

"Alright, but one question," began Jonas, "How much is one hundred Sin Stones worth?" He was dying to know because he hadn't been paying attention to the prices of goods at the coffee shop or else he might have an idea how much he was making.

"Of course, you would be unfamiliar," said Patrick, "Currency here in Hell is like the American dollar. You'll find that a carton of eggs costs about two Sin Stones, while a mansion might cost a million."

"I got it," said Jonas, "Why don't we get started?"

"Alright," said Patrick, "Amber, you're up. Today, as a trial run, we'll have you modeling jeans made by a new company called Fiery Fabrics."

Amber took Jonas by the hand and led him over to the dress-up station, "When modeling jeans for a newer company, we're going to need you to be shirtless and shoeless. We want men to see those jeans on your perfect ass and with your abs showing and think 'that's what I'll look like if I wear those jeans,' you understand the idea?" and she began taking measurements of his body with a rope measuring tape.

"Sure, no problem," said Jonas. Amber stood him up and began pulling off his clothing, much to his dismay.

"Let's not see any underwear in the picture," said Patrick while wearing a wicked smile, "Take it off," and Jonas wanted to protest but he felt like he had already come so far. He took off his last layer and stood nude in front of the three strangers.

"Jesus Christ," said Patrick as he stroked his goatee, "You interested in doing porn?" but Jonas didn't have time to reply as Amber took out a pair of dark blue designer jeans and handed them to him.

"Put these on, and don't let them get wrinkled," to which Jonas slid them on. It was uncomfortable wearing tight jeans with no underwear, but he persisted. After getting dressed, Amber began styling his hair, and she applied a bit of make-up on his face for a smoother, glossier look.

After about twenty minutes, Jonas, who was wearing nothing but designer jeans and makeup, was standing up against a green screen as he prepared to have his picture taken by Patrick.

"Okay," said Patrick, "Let's get this show on the road. We're going to take about a hundred pictures and narrow them down to our favorite ten. Then we edit them and send them to the company. After that, you get paid and if we get a suitable response from Fiery Fabrics, we'll call you again, and if not, we can always try modeling you for other companies."

Patrick began giving various directions to Jonas, telling him to take unique positions, and stances, and to make a varying amount of flattering facial expressions. He also tried on various colors of those same tight jeans; black, gray, dark blue, light blue, and even a pair that were bright red like blood.

The camera continued to flash as Patrick clicked it at the speed of sound, and Jonas lost track of how many pictures he took but it felt like at least an hour had gone by since they started, he was getting sweaty from the bright lamps pointed at him, and thirsty because it was boiling in the warehouse.

"Okay, just a few more and we'll wrap it up," said Patrick, "Michael, don't forget to do a fiery background, kind of like he's in Hell."

'I am in Hell,' thought Jonas.

"Okay," said Patrick, "That's a wrap, get yourself cleaned up," and Jonas made a quiet sigh of relief as he took a damp towel and began wiping the makeup off his face.

"These are great," said Michael who had just finished uploading them onto his laptop, "Jonas is photogenic."

"You mean sexy?" asked Amber, who had a smirk on her face.

"I agree," said Patrick, "By the way, help yourself to some fruit and water over there, I'm guessing you haven't eaten yet, right?"

"No, I haven't," said Jonas as he finished putting his scrubs back on.

"You can keep the jeans," said Patrick, "We have no use for them after we take the photos."

"Uh, no thanks, I've gotten pretty accustomed to the scrubs," said Jonas as he began helping himself to the fruit and a plastic bottle of water. He had a sudden idea, and he felt like punching himself for not thinking of it earlier.

"Say," began Jonas, "Do you guys know anything about the Hell Challenge or something about people called Sinners?" to his surprise, the three didn't deny knowledge. Instead, they looked at one another while saying things with their eyes.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Patrick.

"General curiosity," said Jonas while he munched on some fruit he assumed to be watermelon, "I couldn't find anything about it online."

"That wouldn't work," said Patrick as he stroked his goatee, "The government regulates the internet in Hell, and they don't want information about either of those topics online for anyone to find."

"Why though," asked Jonas once more, "What are they?"

"Listen," said Amber, "I don't know too much about either of them, but I know that people who take the Hell Challenge and pass it, well, they're no longer Commoners like us, and instead they're treated like royalty."

"About the Hell Challenge, the only thing I know is that the best way to find it is to be told about it by someone who had already taken the challenge and succeeded," Patrick said, "And if you find the Hell Challenge and pass it, you become a Sinner, and you get these strange powers and privileges that you couldn't get as Commoners like us," and this caused Jonas to frown.

"So, if someone wanted to become a Sinner, they would need to find another Sinner to tell them where it is, right?" Jonas asked, the lack of concrete solutions was making him feel ill.

"Well," said Patrick, "That's what I've heard. It's sort of one of those things that get passed down from Sinner to Sinner, and of course, the government wouldn't want everyone to find out about it, wouldn't everyone try to become one?"

"That's true," Jonas nodded, "I wonder where you find a Sinner to ask though?"

"I can't help you with that one," Patrick made an apologetic smile, "Everything I know is hearsay that I've heard from other Commoners like us," he added, "Take it all with a huge grain of salt."

"It's dangerous to seek one out though," added Amber, "The one thing I've realized since I got to Hell, is that nothing comes without paying a price."

"You can say that again," Michael added, his fingers going to work, adding various touches to Jonas' photos.

"My best advice," Patrick said, "Forget about Sinners, and forget about the Hell Challenge," he added, "Hell is already dangerous enough as it is, you don't want to make things worse for yourself by getting involved with freaks."

"Noted," Jonas said as he took a swig of his water. It seemed like the three business partners only offered low-calorie snacks to their employees. "Are there any safe places to sleep nearby?"

"There are tons of motels around the Slum area," said Patrick, "They often deal with people like you who have just arrived."

"How about apartments?" asked Jonas, "Are they expensive?"

"There's no rent regulation in Hell," said Patrick, "The free-market reigns supreme though, and you'll be able to find cheap places for about one hundred Sin Stones per month."

"That's what you're paying me," Jonas said, "I'm also curious about another thing if you don't mind?" and Patrick gave him a warm smile.

"Ask away, my friend. I'm not an expert on Hell, but I'll try my best."

"I notice none of your electronics have any wires or plugs," Jonas pulled his hell phone from his pocket, "Even my phone doesn't seem to need a charge. Why is that?" This question had just popped itself into Jonas' head as he noticed a lack of wires running from any of the technology.

"Everything in Hell runs off sin. No electricity at all," Patrick added, "Even the light switches are wireless. Cars don't need oil or gasoline either. All technology is self-sufficient and independent."

"So, is Sin some sort of energy?" Jonas asked, "Sort of like, electrons?"

"I think so," Patrick nodded, "I mean, you don't even technically need food or water. Just being able to breathe the sin that's in the air is enough to keep you alive. Although, you'll feel like shit if you go a few days without it, and I wouldn't be surprised if you end up looking like a corpse if you've been starved for a few months. You probably won't have the energy to even walk around."

"Fascinating," Jonas wasn't exaggerating, "What about hospitals?"

"Maybe a small one in each city," Patrick shrugged, "People in Hell heal extremely quickly on their own. They never get sick, and if they are injured to the point they need medical attention, well, they're probably not going to make it long enough to reach a hospital," Patrick gave him a contemplating look, "You understand the concept of the free market, right?"

Jonas nodded his head, "You mean like, a market that regulates itself?"

"Exactly," said Patrick, "Here in Hell, there's a business for almost any goods or services you might need. If your house is on fire, call a company to come put it out. If you need protection, hire private security. The government truly does not care about you, or what you do, as long as you don't push past their bottom line," and Jonas nodded his head. This information aligned with everything Mr. Duran had told him.

"Have you had any models become big hits?" Jonas steered the questioning back to his original purpose of meeting with his new employers. He wanted to get an idea of how long it might take him to reach his goal of celebrity status.

"Not too big, but we've had a few guys do fashion shows," and Jonas tried to smile but his facial muscles didn't seem to listen to him, and instead he looked constipated.

"You okay?" Patrick asked, seeing Jonas' heavy expression.

"Mm," Jonas said, "I'm just anxious, not being able to find information about sinners is frustrating."

"That's just Hell," added Amber, "Nothing ever goes your way," and Jonas was feeling a bit more than ill, he felt downright terrible. He began swaying on the spot, his eyes fogged over, and his brain felt sluggish.

'What's going on with me?' he wondered as he tried to keep his balance. "I don't feel so good," he mumbled, as he looked to his three employers for advice. He lost feeling in his legs, and while falling over, he stretched out his arm and it prevented him from hitting his head on the solid ground.

"Of course, you wouldn't feel good," said Patrick, "We put enough tranq in that fruit to take down a lion."

"Surprised it took this long, to be honest," added Amber, who squatted next to Jonas and began poking his face, "I thought he would never shut up."

Jonas tried to open his mouth, and his brain felt like it was going a million miles per hour, but his body was going at the pace of a slug. He couldn't blink his eyes, let alone move his limbs. He cursed in his heart at how stupid he had been. 'Looking for Male Models, send shirtless selfies,' that would have been sketchy on Earth, let alone in Hell.

'Fuck me,' thought Jonas as his eyes shut and he knew no more.

"Alright, chain him up, and let's get ready to drop him off. He's going to fetch a pretty price."