Hell Followed With Us

Hell Followed With Us is a young adult gothic-horror fantasy novel written by Andrew Joseph White and originally published in 2022. White is an outspoken trans man who writes fantasy and horror featuring protagonists of a diverse variety, aiming to dampen stigma against LGBTQ+ people and people on the autism spectrum. Hell Followed With Us is a New York Times Bestseller, a William C. Morris Award Finalist, and a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year for 2022. The story sees protagonist Benji Finding Home and Finding Family within the LGBTQ+ community in a dystopian world. By Staying True to One’s Identity, Benji discovers What Makes a Monster and How One’s View of Death Affects One’s Life.

This guide refers to the 2023 Peachtree Teen First Paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain descriptions of gore, violence, anti-trans bias, gender dysphoria, religious trauma, escape from a cult, and death.

Plot Summary

Protagonist Benjamin (Benji), who has been raised in a religious doomsday cult known as the Angels since he was 11 years old, has escaped from the cult and runs through a dystopian world infected by the Flood (a virus made by the cult to cull the world of “sinners”). Benji’s father, who was going to escape with him, was shot and killed as Benji watched. Benji was taught not to grieve loss and flees New Nazareth (where the cult lives) in search of something better. All around him are the bodies of those the cult killed, as well as creatures called Graces, which are made up of the remains of humans who are not quite dead. Benji himself is infected with a special version of the Flood virus, volunteered by his own mother to become Seraph, a being that is thought to be Earth’s final savior. His body is slowly rotting from the inside and transforming into something new.

Benji is captured by a death squad, Angels who are responsible for killing anyone who does not join their cult. Moments later, the death squad is shot, and Benji meets Nicholas (Nick), a teenage boy like himself who works for a group called the Watch and lives in an LGBTQ+ youth shelter called Acheson LGBTQ+ Center (ALC) with several other teenagers. Benji is taken back to the ALC and meets Nick’s friends, Erin, Salvador, Faith, and Aisha. Benji is taken with Nick and a few others to meet the Vanguard, a group of families that provides supplies in exchange for the Watch keeping the city safe. Along with everyone else, Benji attends a funeral for a boy named Trevor, who was killed by a Grace. He tries to comfort the boy’s partner, but they reject Benji’s attempts, and the two end up in a physical fight where Benji almost kills them. Ashamed of his behavior, Benji leaves to find a Grace and attempts to tame it, hoping to prove that he can one day tame himself. Nick follows him and watches Benji command the Grace to act, and he then invites him to join the Watch.

Unbeknownst to Benji, Nick sees Benji as a monster and refers to him as an “it.” He hopes to use Benji to defeat the Angels, and if that fails, he will sacrifice Benji as an offering to the Vanguard. A meeting is held to discuss Nick’s plan to attack a group of Angels who will be at a church nearby. The night before the attack, Benji and Nick sit together, and Nick tells Benji that it’s all right to be scared. Benji enjoys being at the ALC because nobody questions his transness there and he can just be himself. He starts to develop feelings for Nick and will do anything to win his approval.

The following morning, Benji goes with the Watch to the church, where a massive nest made of dying humans and the Flood virus lives. Several Angels are initiating new boys to the death squad inside. During the attack, Benji has a vision of his future self as Seraph, with six wings, a tail, and a hollow body. When he comes back to reality, he sees Theodore (Theo), who fakes an apology and tries to win Benji’s love back. Theo and Benji were engaged to be married and in love before Theo attacked Benji for not welcoming Seraph into his body. Benji still loves Theo and kisses him, hoping things can go back to how they were before. The Watch successfully takes down several Angels, including two children, which leads to a moral argument between Erin and Nick. Benji decides that he cannot outrun Seraph and must instead face what he is becoming. Large canine teeth start to grow into his gums, and his flesh continues to fall off.

Benji takes some food and supplies to Theo at the church, and Theo begs Benji to forgive him, enticing him with a sexual favor. Benji doesn’t know how to feel and leaves the church, feeling guilty for stealing from the ALC. Later, Benji hears about Nick calling him an “it” and confronts him, which leads Nick to self-reflect. Benji falls back into Theo’s arms, but Theo acts possessive and violent, and Benji becomes certain that he wants nothing to do with him anymore. Theo tells the Angels where the ALC is located and has it burned down, which leads Benji and the Watch to plan a swift revenge.

Nick apologizes to Benji and takes care of his wounds as his body transforms. He explains that he was trying to protect his own feelings. Benji returns to the church to kill as many Angels as he can, as well as Theo, and Nick follows, acting as backup support. That night, Nick gives Benji a lizard made of beads that has the trans flag colors on it. Before the Watch makes their final attack on the church, Nick and Benji share an intimate moment together, solidifying their bond as friends.

On Nick’s instruction, Benji goes back to the church, pretending to be exhausted and wanting to return. Theo finds him and takes him to New Nazareth, where Benji sees his mother and the other Angels. Benji’s mother refers to him by his former name, Esther, and doesn’t seem to mind that he is in so much pain. She forces him to attend church with her, where the reverend announces the return of Seraph and his belief that Seraph will lead the Angels to Heaven. Benji is then taken to the river and cut in the same ways as Jesus, which is one of the cult’s ways of “cleansing” people who tried to abandon them. Benji’s strength diminishes as he enters the final stages of his transformation, and he cannot attack the Angels as originally planned. His wings grow in, and he is kept in a chamber and tested for his abilities.

One night, the person who invented the Flood virus, Sister Kipling, admits to her wrongdoings and tries to help Benji. Benji later asks for her help in sending a Grace out to Nick, signaling him to come in for the attack. Benji wakes up the following day to a surprise wedding; it is expected that he now marry Theo—as Esther, not Benji. Benji refuses, and the Watch then appears, shooting down every Angel in sight. Theo inserts a failed Seraph virus into himself and transforms into a similar being, and he and Benji fight until Nick manages to shoot Theo and kill him. With the fight now over, the Watch takes what supplies they can and heads back to the ALC. Nick and Benji share another moment together, and Benji feels like he has finally found a home.