The Unforgiven

The red sand whipped around him as he stared at the awesome sight that lay before him. People moaned in agony as he watched them visibly rot. Ravenous wolves chassed weeping men and women, and children walked around with missing limbs and heads. What happened to land him here in this abyss? And a better question... “Where am I?” he whispered. 1

The wailing became louder and the smell of rot and death seemed more intense as the wind and sand continued to swirl around him. Getting up, he starred at his surroundings. Turning in circles, he tried comprehending what he was seeing.2

Someone poked him between the shoulder blades. Startled, he turned fast and confronted the frightening looking woman who had touched him. He assumed she had once been stunning, but now her gray eyes were empty and flat and her skin had the sick pallor of death. Like a corpse. Smiling she revealed rotted, yellowed teeth and her breath was rancid. She looked like a prom queen with her satin yellow dress, but it was ragged and the costume jewelry she wore was tarnished and missing stones. He stood there in shock, not sure whether to try to wake himself up or scream and run. He did neither. He passed out much to his chagrin.3

4

The morning before all this happened, Jack had woken up in a shitty mood because his alarm clock went off at eight instead of seven. Jumping out of bed he tripped over his abandoned shoes and a pile of dirty clothes. Cursing, he tore off his shirt and boxers as he made his way down the hall to the bathroom. He showered and tried to get ready as fast as he could, but when he went looking for some clothes, he couldn’t find any clean ones. Swearing, he pulled on some of the least rank ones he could find and sprayed on body spray. Wrinkling his nose in distaste at his ex-girlfriend’s taste in cologne and wondering why he still had it, he slid on his shoes.5

Finally, ready to leave, he checked his clock on his cell phone, noticing he was going to make it on time if he left now. But, when he went to grab his keys, they weren’t there. He had a bad feeling it was going to take him a while to find them, because it was that kind of day. “Damn it. I’m going to be late,” he said as he flipped open his phone and called his friend and business partner. 6

“Chris?”7

“Hey. What do you need? I’m trying to open the store.”8

“I’m running late. My keys are missing.”9


“Fine. I’ll open up the store and then I’ll see you when you find them.” He hung up and continued his search. Two years ago, he and his friend opened a record store. They sold new and used records, CDs, cassettes, and merchandise and made a good profit doing it. 10

It took him about twenty minutes, but he found them in the living room behind the couch. Not wishing to really know how they ended up there, he ran of his apartment, down the stairs and out of the building. Using the keyless entry to open the car doors, he jogged across the street. Quickly appreciating the sunny summer day, Jack started the car and flipped quickly through his CD’s. Finding something to his liking, he put it in and pulled out into traffic.11

The drive usually took about ten minutes, depending on the lights and traffic, but today he was lucky and it took half the time. He parked behind the store next to his friend’s beat up rust bucket, and got out. Locking the car with the keyless, he entered through the back door. 12

“I see that you found your keys.” Chris said as he tossed him a package. “This arrived today. I didn’t think we ordered anything, but I could be wrong.” The bell on the front door rang and Chris went up front to take care of the customer. 13

Pulling out his keys he punctured the tape and opened it. Inside was a ton of packing peanuts, which was normal for many of their packages. Scooping them out, he put them in a plastic bag to be used for sending out returns and customer orders. At the bottom of the box was a wrapped book. They had a few books to sell, such as Kurt Cobain’s Journals and some biographies, but they hadn’t sold any lately so he was confused on what it could be. Unwrapping it, he was surprised to find a nice leather bound book. With a look of puzzlement on his face, he flipped through the pages. There were a lot of drawings and some text that were swirls and designs, a jumbled mess to Jack. Some of the drawings were excellent, though. Several were a bit grotesque, like severed heads and tortured people, but the artistry was magnificent. 14

He closed the book and looked on the spine for a title. Thinking it was going to be in the same strange language as the text, he was surprised to find it in English, The Book of Hell. Shaking his head, he put it on the desk, and went out into the store. 15

There he found Chris helping a woman find a CD, and from the looks of it, trying to get a date out of it too. Shaking his head in amusement, he went behind the counter and turned on their computer. When it was booted up, he went online and went to Amazon.com. Typing in the name of the book, he found no exact matches. Being a bit frustrated, he did searches on a few other book sites, but he still couldn’t find an exact match. Huffing in puzzlement, he decided to forget about it.16

Moving away from the computer, he noticed Chris seemed to have forgotten to put some music on, for he was too distracted flirting with the girl. It appeared that she was leading him on, Jack observed. Fiddling with the CD’s they had featured for that week, he put in a CD.17


For about twenty minutes, Jack listened to them talk as he continued to surf the internet, checking his email and looking up the new releases for the following week. He looked up at Chris when he heard him comment that he liked a band that Jack knew Chris despised. He laughed out loud at his friend’s lying and got an evil glare from Chris. 18

The two of them continued to talk for about fifteen more minutes before she bought a CD and left without giving out her number to his desperate friend. 19

After the door closed behind her, Jack laughed at him. “Why do you try so hard? For God’s sake, you pretended to like Blonde.” 20

Chris scowled at him and sulked off to the back room. “Poor bastard,” he muttered and chuckled to himself as he got his stuff for the monthly inventory. 21

They had a computer that took inventory as they sold items, but he felt he had to go around every month or so to check the accuracy of the program. He found that he actually enjoyed doing this because it was relaxing and gave him a chance to look for a new CD to buy. 22

About an hour and half later, he was about halfway through the inventory, another girl entered. She was quite beautiful, he thought, Blond, thin, and sophisticated. He noticed that she wore nice designer clothes and had the perfect shoes that matched her outfit and purse. “Bloody hell,” he muttered as he remembered all the things his ex-girlfriend somehow drilled into his head. Admiring the girl’s green eyes when she pulled off her sunglasses and put them in her purse, he quickly continued with his work. 23

“Hi,” she said as she started toward the vinyl. Answering her greeting, he kept his eyes down and continued on. A vague thought of her looking familiar flitted through his mind, but he figured with the amount of customers they got, she was probably just a regular. Brushing it off, he continued with his work. 24

A few minutes later, when he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, he ran right into his friend. 25

“What the... What are you doing?” He said, almost outraged. Chris didn’t reply, so looking up at his friend he saw him starring. Following his friend’s gaze he found him looking at the girl. “What?”26

“I know her...,” was the only thing he got from him. Puzzled at his friend’s behavior, he glanced at the girl again. He must have been right with the notion before, he pondered, he did know her from somewhere. The girl must have noticed their scrutiny because she turned and looked at them. 27

“What?” she asked them.28

“What’s your name?” Chris asked. Jack wanted to know too, but he didn’t want to be the one to ask, and look like a fool.29

“Sonia. Why?”30


“Ha! I told you I knew her.” Chris stated toward Jack, “I’m Chris and this is Jack. We all used to hang out way back.” She looked confused for a while, and her face cleared.31

“Yeah! Oh my God! How are you guys?”32

“We’re good,” Jack jumped in, feeling he wouldn’t make an ass of himself. “We opened this record store two years ago. What about you?”33

“I’m quite well. I have a good job, and I’m getting married in a few months to a guy I went to college with. See?” She said as she held out her hand and showed them her engagement ring. 34

“Wow. I’m impressed, how about you Chris?” Chris did look surprised and a bit startled. Confused at his friend’s reaction, Jack continued to catch up with Sonia. He found out she had gone to college for business, and ended up with a degree and a fiancé out of it. And the way it sounded, she was now making good money running a large department store in the mall downtown. She had really changed since they had hung out in high school, he thought. 35

Sonia had been a bit of an outcast by being extremely quiet and dressing casually in jeans and T-shirts back then. He even remembered her declaring never to carry a purse, but now, she was carrying one and wearing heels and a sun dress. All she needed was a big floppy hat and she would be all set for a garden tea party with the Queen of England. Chuckling to himself at his little joke, he made and excuse and moved on to continue the inventory so Chris could talk with her.36

She ended up buying an old classical record after talking with Chris for about an hour. When she bought it, she claimed that she had bought an old record player at a garage sale and made it her goal to listen to more vinyl.37

Only a few seconds after she left, he tried to get his friend’s story on why he had been acting strange. “So why did you act so weird when she came in here?” he bluntly stated.38

“I used to like her and wanted to date her... but I was always too nervous to ask her out. Now it’s too late.” 39

Cursing as he dropped his clipboard, Jack reached down and picked it up. “Go after her and tell her you want to get lunch or something and catch up more. It’s not too late, you know. She’s not married to that guy yet.” He waited for his friend to run after her. “Go, you idiot! I’m not making a suggestion here.” 40

Chris finally got the hint and ran out the door and after her. Shaking his head, for probably the millionth time in the history of dealing with his friend, he finally got back to his work. Deciding that the current music wasn’t working for him anymore, he put in the Beta Band’s The Three E.P.’s, and finally got all his inventory done. 41

About an hour after his friend had chassed after Sonia, he got a call from him. “How did it go?” he asked.42


“Good, but I got to ask a favor Jack.”43

“What?”44

“Is it ok if you close today by yourself?”45

“Yeah..., but why?”46

“I’ll tell you latter, ok?”47

“Um... ok....” 48

“Thanks a lot! I’ll see ya latter. Ok? Bye.” 49

“Bye.” 50

Jack hung up and noticed he had had a few customers wander in while he had been on the phone. He moved around the counter and went to help the new customers. 51

Looking outside some time latter, he noticed it had started raining sometime in the last hour. Opening the door for the last customer, he followed them outside. Hearing the thunder rumble in the distance and lighting light up across the sky, he wondered where the sunshine had went. Going back in, he adjusted some of the merchandise and started his orders for the month.52

For the rest of the day, the people who came to the store were few, but he still made the daily quota, much to his satisfaction. At seven, he closed the store and quickly decided he needed to clean up a bit when he noticed the wet and muddy floors. Working quickly, he swept up between the isles and moped up the water people had tracked in so he could go home. 53

Turning off the lights, he headed to the back of the store and to his car. But right before he left, he grabbed the mysterious book, wrapped it in some plastic to protect it from the rain and went out the back door. Running, to prevent himself from getting too wet, he jumped in the car. Turning the key, the radio blossomed to life, and he backed up and pulled out of the parking lot and into the street. 54

The feelings of hunger went through him as he passed a restaurant. Thinking of getting some food, he pulled into a Chinese restaurant down the street and ordered some takeout. After paying, he sat down to wait. While he was waiting, he noticed a basket of fortune cookies. Getting up, he walked up to the counter and snatched one from the basket. As he wandered back to his seat he opened it and read his fortune. A life changing experience is right in front of you. He nibbled on the cookie as he slipped the fortune into his pocket. 55

About fifteen minutes later his food was ready. Getting up he picked it up and left. Pulling his hood of his sweatshirt up, he clutched his food and made for his car. After almost getting side-swiped by an asshole in a Geo, he pulled out and headed home.
56

He was a few blocks from his home when the CD hit it’s last track. He pulled it out and changed to a new sample CD he had received last week. While he started tapping his fingers to the beat, a bolt of lightning hit a huge oak just right of his car. It illuminated and blinded his vision. Feeling himself lose control of his car, he soon heard the noise of metal getting twisted and he felt a brief flash of extreme pain as he was jerked forward. Thinking of nothing but the intense pain that consumed his body, his senses seemed to fade and everything disappeared. He knew no more.57

58


That was all he remembered. The lightning, blindness, extreme pain, then here. This horrifying abyss. The woman was frightening, he thought, but maybe if he was lucky she could talk. 59

“What is this place?” he asked her. She started laughing. It was almost like the caw of a crow, and it sent shivers up his spine. After she was done cackling, she replied to his question.60

“You are in Hell.”61

“What!?”62

“Hell. The place that is reserved for the most deranged, psychopathic people whoever lived, or will live.” He stared at her. It took a while to sink in, but when it did he was outraged.63

“What the . . . What do you mean that I’m in Hell? It’s not possible, I can’t be in Hell . . . I didn’t do anything to belong here. For God’s sake, I own a record store with my best friend! I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong to validate me being here!” He was starting to get hysterical.64

“Hmm . . . ” The corpse seemed to be thinking, or communicating to some higher power. She then reached out and touched him. Shielding from her, she forcibly grabbed his wrist.65

“Like I would have gone psycho and went around killing a bunch of people,” He muttered as he tried to rip his arm from her grip, but she held on with the proverbial grip of death. “Let go,” he firmly stated.66

“No, I have to take you to the Master.”67

“No way in Hell you’re going to do that! Let me go and send me home!” Two seconds latter he noticed the irony of that statement after he had said it.68

“You must meet the Master,” She said right before everything went black. Again. 69


When he awoke, he found himself in a sizeable, dark, old-fashioned chamber, in a leather arm chair. The room he was in seemed like something from the nineteenth century, perhaps something a past lord of England would have had. The room consisted of dark wood paneled walls, a large imposing granite fireplace, a stately mahogany desk, shelves of endless leather bond books, and rich leather furniture. As he observed his surroundings he noticed the man that stood in front of the fireplace. He was dressed quite elegantly in a three-piece black suit with red pin stripes, a black silk shirt, a red neck cloth and he was smoking a cigarette. He had black hair that was shoulder length, glittering eyes that almost seemed to be a deep blood red and he had a pointed goatee. 70

While Jack observed this figure, the man reached into his jacket and pulled out a gold pocket watch encrusted with large rubies. He flipped it open, nodded to himself and returned it to his jacket. Turning, he took a drag from his cigarette. 71

“Would you like one,” he offered as he reached into his jacket again, removed a case similar in design to the watch and opened it. 72

“Yeah.” Jack got up and strode up to the man. He took one from the man’s case and lit it from an offered lighter that also matched the pocket watch and cigarette case. “Thanks. So . . . can you tell me who you are and why I’m here?”73

“I am Lucifer, and you are my guest until it is determined if you should live or not.” 74

“Well, that’s nice, but that still doesn’t explain why I’m here.” he said as calmly as he could, for he still couldn’t quite comprehend the situation. He was angry and scared. But he continued to puff away at his cigarette, while wishing it was something much stronger. Not getting an answer from the man he decided that he was going to be stuck here. “So what do I have to do to get out of here?”75

The man moved closer to the fireplace and picked up a book from the mantle. Going over to the chair, he handed it to Jack. “Just do as the book says. By following the sections.” 76

“Um…Ok.” Jack looked down. It was the book he had received that day. He opened the cover and flipped to the first chapter. 77

Startled, he noticed where the writing had once been in a mysterious foreign language, was now in English. Being able to read it, it horrified him at what it said. To sleep with the tortured souls and the rejects of Heaven, one will then be able to determine one’s fate. “What the hell... This makes no sense, whatsoever”78

“It will in time,” the man said. A few minutes passed, and as Jack finished his cigarette he realized something. If I’m in hell..., he thought, this man is the Master... Holy shit! He’s the Devil. Boy, I’m slow..., he started to panic. Just when he was going to jump from the chair and make a dash for it, the Devil took a deep drag of his cigarette.79


“Well, it’s about time you should get started. So, off you go,” the Devil said as he flicked his cigarette butt into the fireplace and waved his hand in Jacks direction. Everything blacked out, again.80

81

When Jack awoke he didn’t realize he was among a group of corpses. At first the smell hit his nostrils and made him gag. Forcing the bile back down, he looked around him. The area seemed never ending and went on as far as the eye could see, and all he saw was living dead people. Panicking, he forced himself to focus to the ones around him to try to prevent his mind from going insane. Which he was starting to think was going to be a huge feat. He was just surprised that he wasn’t singing the lolly pop song and dancing naked yet. 82

Finally focusing on the situation he noticed the woman he had seen when he had arrived stood in front of him. Looking up in her face he noticed her eyes didn’t seem as lifeless as they had been before and her skin not as sickly. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he was quite sure that looked a bit more alive. It was enough to give him confidence to look around again. 83

To his left sat a little girl. She had to be no more than six. She wore a pretty pink dress with white lace and matching bows in her hair. But she was not a normal little girl, she was missing a foot and she was splattered in blood. Her hair color was undetectable under all the blood that matted her hair, it appeared she had been beaten and victimized. 84

Next to her was a woman. Her shirt was ripped open, she was naked from the waist down and scratches and bruises littered her whole body. Some of her skin also appeared charred and her hair was missing in places, like someone had ripped it out in patches. One eye was missing and blood ran down in a continuous flow down her cheek like morbid tears. 85

A young man sat next to her, a knife in his chest with flowing, oozing blood. His hands were bloody, perhaps he had tried to pull it out or maybe he did it to himself. 86

Another young woman sat next to the man with the knife. She looked familiar, much like an old friend of his who had died in a car crash a year ago. Her forehead was split open and her brains were slowly leaking out into her eyes. Her face was littered with glass and her arms were badly sliced and bleeding profusely. 87

He couldn’t take the sight of these people anymore. Falling to his knees he wrapped his head in his arms and tried to block out the sounds of distress, pain and misery. Screaming, he tugged at his ears and hair. “Get me out of here!” he screamed at the prom dress woman. She cackled, tugged him up by his hair and gave him a gruesome saddened smile. 88


“Look at all the pain,” She demanded. “These people refuse to forgive themselves or others. They wait for eternity for someone to avenge them, or wait for their minds to accept the horror, blame, or the violation done to them. Some also never forgive, forever resenting people who wronged them. Very few get to leave here and go to Heaven. God wont allow them in till their souls have accepted their fate and embrace Him, for many here have cursed him upon their death. For example, the child’s mind was violated and she will perhaps never be able to accept that she was wronged. Her mind continues to think that she isn’t dead.”89

Looking at the poor little girl in the pink dress, he blanched. Making a decision, he got up and went and crouched down in front of her. “What’s your name?” he asked.90

She was hesitant at first, but she gave her name, “Sarah . . . Who are you?”91

“I’m Jack. I’m here to send you home.” When she continued to stare at him, he touched her cheek, “You should go home . . . God misses you and wants you to come home.”92

The little girl seemed to ponder his information for a while. A tear slipped down her cheek and she gave him a weak smile. “Do you think my puppy is there? She died . . . ”93

Not sure on that, he went on trying to convince her he smiled, “Yeah. Your puppy is waiting for you. It misses you and wants to play fetch.” The little girl seemed to light up with an inner glow. Her body shimmered and started to heal itself and the blood disappeared revealing a vibrant red hair. “Thank you . . . ” She said as she wavered and disappeared.94

He turned to the others he had seen. First the rape victim. It took a long time trying to get her to forgive her rapist, but at the end she managed to feel she was avenged when he had been caught and tried. She was re-clothed and healed before she left. 95

The man who was next, had committed suicide. He had found himself in a desperate frame of mind, being Schizophrenic and delusional without treatment and medication. The man managed to forgive himself and apologized to God. He pulled the knife out and healed before he left. The last person, his friend, refused to leave.96

“You didn’t come to say goodbye,” she muttered, “Chris came, but you didn’t…”97

“I’m sorry… ” He didn’t know what to say. He always knew he would regret not going to her funeral. Chris had chastised him for months for that, and he had regretted it. 98

“It’s ok, I guess . . . I’ll just spend eternity here.” Jack starred at her. She seemed almost cheerful about spending eternity in Hell. 99

“Why was it such a big deal? I barely ever saw you. You talked to Chris much more than me,” Jack stated trying to defend himself.100

“I was friends with you before Chris . . . I knew you longer,” She stated quite plainly. “It’s a pity that I’m stuck here because I refuse to forgive your slight. It’s not all that though… I had some issues other than that. It’s mostly your slight, but…” refusing to go on she wiped her brains from her eyes. She got up and walked off and was soon lost in the crowd. He tried to follow her, but the prom dress woman grabbed his arm again. 101

“It’s time to go,” she said as his senses went blank. 102


When he recovered, he was in an arm chair in front of the fireplace with Lucifer again. 103


“Anna will forever be here. I don’t think she will ever forgive your slight,” the Devil stated as he shook his head. “She won’t begin to move until she forgives you. She’s a nice asset though, a decent girl. It’s always nice to have a nice one every once in a while. She will soon become another Handmaiden, like her.” The Devil indicated towards the prom dress woman. 104

Laughing at Jack’s extreme expression of horror, Lucifer lit another cigarette and went over to a table just right of the fireplace and poured himself some liquor from a decanter. Swirling it in the glass, he walked over to the chair adjacent to Jack’s, and sat down. “So how was your first Experience?” He said cheerfully right before he took a swig.105

“You make it sound like a happy outing,” Jack spat, “It was awful. I don’t think I’ll ever be myself again,” Jack got up and plucked another decanter from the table. Downing the contents, he felt it burn all the way down. 106

“Waste of good brandy,” the Devil muttered, “what’s the next chapter?”107

“I refuse to open that bloody book again,” Jack said as he threw it in the fireplace. It seemed to smolder for a second before it was thrown back at him. It burned his fingers before he jumped up, knocking the book to the floor.108

“The sooner you get through, the faster you can leave. So what is the next section?”109

Scowling, Jack bent and picked it up. Opening it, he paged through to the next chapter. A black rose was on one page and the start of the second section on the other. To confront the hounds of Hell, one will be considered the bravest of souls, unless one is eaten.110

Jack laughed at this. “Well, let’s get it over with,” he said. Feeling cocky from the adrenaline, he stole the cigarette from the Devil and took a drag. Lucifer rolled his eyes and pulled out another and lit it. Waving his hand, he gave Jack an intimidating smile. It was the last thing Jack saw, and it scared him. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this.111

He was right. He didn’t like it. He woke to the smell of extremely old fetid meat. A primal fear went through his body and he thought for a second he would lose control of his bowels. The sound of growling filled his head as he forced himself to open his eyes. Above him stood three of the scariest mutts he had ever seen. Their size alone was enough to frighten him, for they were larger than any horse, and their teeth dripped with blood and undeterminable meat. He had a good feeling on what the meat was, but he didn’t want to think about it. 112

Rolling slowly onto his stomach, he brought his knees under himself, and slowly worked his way into a crouch. The animals allowed him in this position, so he maneuvered himself onto his feet. Pushing his hair out of his eyes, he faced his foes head-on. 113

He then attempted to move around one of them and they allowed it. When he was past them, he broke out into a run. The mutts’ low bark rang out as he heard them start to chase him. Freaking out, he ran faster, but they just continued on a loping pace after him. 114


His fear increased as he continued to run past wiggling corpses with rotting limbs and a group of headless children. Tripping over a few of them, he fell to his knees onto some rocks, gashing open the skin on his knees and his palms. The pain consumed him as he tried to run, but he managed only a few more feet before he fell for the final time. 115

As he lay on his back, he observed the sky for the first time. It was an unrealistic pinkish tint, and after a few seconds of watching it, it turned dark. Blood red clouds quickly boiled from the horizon and overcame his view. They darkened even more to a purplish black and ice blue lightning ripped through the sky as rain started to fall. But this was no natural rain, it was blood. It fell upon him and soaked into his clothes and hair, turning everything it touched black. 116

While all this was happening, the Hounds of Hell slowly circled their prey, him, at a distance. They finally inched their way to him and sniffed his open wounds. Whimpering in pain and terror, Jack instinctively tried to move away. But they persisted and started to lick the blood. A flash of extreme agony ripped through him as they bit into his limbs. A scream of torture ripped from his lips as he passed into the world of nothingness. 117


Jack awoke to Lucifer standing over him. Staring up at him, he vaguely wondered what the Devil’s true form was. Was it the red man with the forked tail, cloven hooves, horns, and the proverbial pitch fork? Like the drawings? Or perhaps he really was a fallen angel, like the bible said, and his true image was this mortal form with wings. Perhaps he could retract them. Hmm... Or perhaps they were taken from him when he betrayed God.118

Jack decided he was feeling a bit too humble to ask, so he just closed his eyes and tried to succumb to unconsciousness again. Lucifer must have decided that he would have none of that, because he started kicking him in the side. 119

“Would you mind? I was just used as your pets’ chew toy. I think I deserve a little rest before I continue on my little quest, if you please.”120

The devil just laughed at that and gave him a final hard kick before he reached down and yanked Jack up by his arms and plopped him in the wingback chair.121

“You have no damage, because I restored you. So count yourself lucky,” Lucifer laughed as Jack looked at himself and patted everything down just to make sure. 122

“And don’t worry, you will get your chance to rest. So, how did you like my darlings? They weren’t always like that, you know?”123

“What were they before?” Jack asked before he could stop himself, he was really kind of curious.124


Settling into the other chair, the Devil responded to Jack’s question. “They were the most beautiful women, who were also the most vain…,” he paused for a few seconds, before he continued. “They all were selfish and petty women in their lives, so much so, that they started to believe that they were immortal. When they came here, I had to humble them. 125

So, till they prove to me they are worthy of their looks, forever they will be the most despicable of creatures, forced into feeding and chasing people for sport.” Laughing, the Devil got up and went over to the table and poured himself another glass liquor. Tipping back his head he tossed it all down. 126

On the table between the two chairs, Jack found the cigarette case, opening it, he lit one. Blowing out a puff of smoke, he stretched. “So... can I get some sleep before the next task? Because I’m exhausted, being a mere mortal and all...” 127

After a long pause the Lucifer replied, “Fine, follow her to your chambers.” When Jack was looking confused the Devil indicated towards the prom dress woman who suddenly appeared out of a dark corner. 128

Jack got up and grabbed a decanter off the table. Smiling a cocky grin at the Devil he followed her. 129

The hallway she led him down was long and narrow. Every ten feet or so there was a wood six panel door. And in between each door it was alternated between a wooden table with some antique on it or vivid paintings of death, destruction, and torture.130

After passing several of these frightening paintings and strange tables, they stopped at one of the many doors. Throwing open the door, it revealed a bedroom. The room consisted of an antique four poster bed which matched a tall armoire, desk and chair. A Persian rug graced the floor under the bed right up to another enormous fireplace with a roaring fire.131

Noticing a large window covered with heavy drapes and he strode across the room and drew them aside. The view was a desolate wasteland. Red sand, screaming flitting souls, black crows and other massive birds whipped past. 132

“What a wonderful view,” Jack stated in a sarcastic cheery voice, “the taxes on this place must cost you a fortune.” He whipped the curtains back, hiding the hideous sight again, and took a swig out of the decanter.133

The woman didn’t get his humor, for she curtsied and shut the door behind her retreating form. Shaking his head, he considered taking off some of his clothes. Considering the amount of blood on himself, he stripped off all his outer clothes and crawled into the massive bed. He piled the pillows behind him and started finishing the bottle. 134

After he had downed the last of the contents, he felt drunk enough to rest his mind enough to sleep. After lying down, he tossed and turned, got comfortable and fell asleep. 135


He awoke a while latter, not sure on how he had been woken. Not moving, he listened with his eyes closed. He heard a rustling of fabric and the mattress shifted. He rolled over and sat up. 136

Looking at the figure on the bed he observed her for a second. It was Anna, and she was as he had remembered her before she had died. Pretty auburn hair, plain antique profile and slim figure, but now she wore an old fashioned silk gown of deep burgundy and an antique set of diamonds in her ears and around her neck and wrist. She looked like royalty. 137

“Hey” he started, but couldn’t finish. He didn’t know what to say. 138

“Hi. Have a nice nap?”139

“Yeah, but what are you doing here? I thought you were among the corpses, um losing your mind,” he was at loss for better words because he had thought she had lost her mind.140

“Well, I’m a Handmaiden now. And I’m here to look after you. He thought that being around a familiar face would make you more comfortable.”141

“So that’s why your whole and looking like a duchess from the nineteenth century?”142

“Ah ha.”143

“So do you get to keep your personality? It seems like you do or is this just for my benefit and you will soon change to a mindless zombie slave, like that other woman, when I leave?”144

“Nope, I get to say the same,” she stated cheerfully as she got off the bed and walked to the window. “Mona was like that before she died. She’s not happy with her current situation.” Throwing open the shades, red light filtered through the glass and onto the bed. 145

“He said to come get you. He wishes to send you on your next task.”146

He nodded. Getting out of bed he watched her move from the window and go to the armoire. Opening it she pulled out some clothes. Thinking they would match the century of the Devil’s and Anna’s he was surprised to get handed an exact copy of the clothes he had been wearing. 147

“Oh! I missed something,” Johanna said as she turned back and rummaged through the cabinet again. Coming back out she handed him a pair of socks and boxers. “Here you go. When you’re done I’ll take you see Him. Ok?”148

“Yeah, but where is the bathroom?”149

Pointing she indicated a door on the other side of the bed that he hadn’t seen before.150

“Thanks.”
151

“No problem. See you in a bit,” she said as she left the chambers.152

He walked around the bed and up to the door. Twisting the gold handle, he found a bathroom identical to his own. “This is my bathroom,” he muttered. A little weirded out, he started the shower and stripped. He crawled in and quickly showered. Getting out he toweled off and wrapped it around his waist. He went through his daily routine and opened the medicine cabinet. He found everything the same, nothing was missing or different. Laughing nervously, he brushed his teeth. As he brushed, he looked at his reflection. He found everything the same. Patting his face to make sure, he shook his head and bent down and spit. Straightening, he came face to face with the devil. Not literally, but Lucifer stood behind him. Jumping he turned and confronted the Devil. 153

“What the hell!” Jack yelled, “I thought that I could get dressed in some peace.”154

“I’m growing impatient. You’re taking too long.”155

“Well, if you left, I’ll be right out. Ok?”156

The devil must have agreed because he chose that moment to vanish. Cursing him under his breath, he quickly pulled on his clothes. Exiting the bathroom, he sat on the bed and slipped on his shoes. He walked to the door and swung it open revealing the room he had first been in instead of the hallway. But this time there was an absence of fire in the hearth and the curtains were open revealing the horrors outside.157

“Here I am,” Jack stated plainly. “Let’s get this over with.”158

“Good. Just to inform you this is your last task,” Lucifer said as he handed the book to him as Jack sat in his chair. “After this task is completed you are to be judged and sent home to Earth or back here to experience my special treatments.” Smiling evilly with a pointed tooth grin, the Devil lit a cigarette as he sat down. 159

“Can I have one?” Jack asked as he opened the book and started paging to the last section. He was handed one without comment and he took a long drag. Blowing out he read out loud, “Tis the final task that is the hardest, which is experience Experience what? I can’t read it, it’s ripped out.” Sighing he flipped the cover closed and tossed it on the floor. “So, let’s just get this over with and send me on my way. Ok?”160

“Yes, on your waybut you are taking Anna with you. She is to help guide you.” Waving his hand, Jack blacked out.161

When he returned to a normal conscious state, Jack found himself in front of a huge oak tree. Looking at it he noticed it was scorched, smoking, and steaming from the rain that poured down from the heavens. Feeling a poke in his side he noticed Anna standing next to him. 162


“Look,” she said as she pointed to the opposite side of the road. Peering through the rain he recognized his car. In shock he noticed it was run into another large oak tree and the front end was smashed. Walking across the street, he approached his car and circled around to the driver’s side. What he saw shocked him. It was himself laying on the airbag with blood pouring out of gashes on his forehead. His bloody self whispered something, and not being able to hear himself, Jack leaned forward. 163

“Is she alright?”164

“Who?” Jack asked as he leaned closer.165

“Girl walkinghit her” Shocked Jack walked to the front of the car. Lying on the pavement was a young woman. She was as still as death and she had blood pooling from the back of her head mixing with the rain. Her purse lay a few feet away, its contents scattered across the sidewalk for several feet, getting soaked and washed away. He approached her slowly and kneeled in front of her.166

“Miss? Can you hear me?”167

“I don’t think she can,” Anna said as she came over and knelt next to him. “She’s still alive, but barely.”168

“What can I do? I got to do something to help her”He looked to Anna for an answer. She shook her head, got up and walked a distance away. As he turned back to the woman he noticed her eyes were open and she seemed to be looking at him.169

“Can you see me?” he desperately implored.170

“YesHelp me” She faintly replied as her eyes glazed over with extreme pain. 171

Jack picked up her hand and started rubbing it. “Don’t worry, help will be here soon.” Thunder seemed to echo he comment, almost mocking his words. But sirens soon rent through the air as people started braving the torrid downpour and coming out into the street. 172

Paramedics ran over to them and started working on her and bloody Jack. Being walked through didn’t feel quite right, so he moved off a distance. He watched the mayhem next to the crowd and Johanna. “So did this really happen?” he asked the Handmaiden.173

“Yes, it did. You died for a few seconds and that’s how you ended up by us. For hitting her, you automatically ended up in Hell. The tests were to prove your worth and if you deserved to receive a chance at life again. The woman and you will both be fine. Be good and remember you may end up here if you don’t.” Smiling she seemed to shimmer and fade.174

At that moment he felt strange, like he was being pulled in a million directions. Everything whooshed past him at warp speed as he was pulled towards a single direction. Everything went bright.175


“Whaa” 176

“Young man? Can you hear me?” A deep voice asked him as a shadow leaned in front of this bright light.177

“YeahWhat happened?” he managed to get out.178

“You were in an accident. And we lost you for a second,” the paramedic informed him. “We’re going to give you something to ease some of the pain, ok?”179

“Eh...,” he lost consciousness.180

When he woke up he found himself in a hospital bed with a nurse leaning over him. Right before he was going to say something, a man in a white lab coat approached him. 181

“So you’re awake? How do you feel?” the doctor asked.182

“I feel like I got hit in the head with a hammer and steamed rolled,” Jack replied hoarsely, “other than that, pretty good.”183

“Well, we are going to keep you here for a few more hours to wait for some tests to come back to make sure you’re ok, then you can go home.”184

“Sounds good,” Jack said, thinking about the hospital bills an overnight stay would cost him.185

True to his word the doctor sent him home when the tests came back negative. But before leaving he asked after the woman he had hit.186

“Oh, she’s stable and she should be ok in a few days,” the doctor said. “The worst she had was a concussion and a broken wrist and arm.”187

Feeling guilt ridden, Jack left the hospital. Getting in a cab, he gave the driver his address and sat back. As he watched the scenery pass by, he noticed the glitter of the pavement and the rain under all the street lights. It was almost magical the way things reflected and shimmered like some mystic land. Pulling up in front of his apartment building, he paid the driver and walked up to his building. Feeling in his pocket for his keys, he noticed they weren’t there. Swearing, he buzzed the apartment manager.188

“What?” the speaker graveled.189

“It’s Jack, I don’t have my keys can you let me into my apartment?”190

“Fine, but you better find them,” the manager threatened as he buzzed him in.

Climbing the stairs, because his building had no working elevator, he trudged to the second floor. Seeing his Super, he inwardly cringed. The man had never been high on the hygiene scale, but even at the distance of ten feet or so, he could smell him. His clothes were stretched to the limit over the man’s bulk, accenting it in the worst possible way. 191

Approaching the Super, the man nodded in greeting, being a man of few words. When Jack returned the nod and approached him, he unlocked the door for him.192

“Do you need another set of keys? If you do it’s going to cost you to replace them,” the man drawled.193

“Um... I think so. They were on my car keys, and my car was totaled today and I’m not sure on how soon I can get them back.” Thanking the man, he went in his apartment and shut the door. 194

Sighing with exhaustion, he kicked off his shoes and began dropping his clothes as he walked. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, he drank most of it down as he made his way to the bedroom. Collapsing on the bed, he curled into the fetal position and pulled the covers over himself and succumbed to exhaustion.195

When Jack woke in the morning, he at first didn’t know what had woke him. Laying there he listened and heard the insistent ring of his cell phone. Groaning, he rolled out of bed and trudged down the hallway to find his jeans. Picking them up he dug through the pockets and took out his phone.196

“Hello?” he rasped.197

“Jack? Where are you, man? It’s eleven o’clock and you’re not here,” Nate accused.198

“Sorry, I was in a car accident yesterday and totaled my car. I got home, crawled in bed, and didn’t set my alarm. I’ll get dressed and head over, but I’m going to have to walk. See you in an about an hour? Is that ok?”199

“Yeah. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to come in. Why didn’t you call and tell me last night that you got in an accident?”200

“I couldn’t think last night, buddy, I’m sorry. I’ll be in though. Just give me an hour. Ok?”201

“Yeah, that’s fine. See ya latter.”202

“Bye.” Jack hung up and rotated his head, stretching his neck. A thought seemed to flit through his mind, something about yesterday, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. The thought continued to haunt him as he showered and dressed. Still not grasping it, he pulled on a sweatshirt, grabbed a can of soda, and started on his walk to the store.203


The breeze that day was a bit cold, but refreshing and the scent of food haunted the air. Feeling his stomach contract in hunger, he took a swig of his soda, and walked on. Feeling himself being watched he turned and searched for the source. Finding a young woman watching him, he studied her. She was wearing a long sleeved red dress and heels. Her hair was let lose, but it didn’t shift with the wind. Confused, he crossed the street and approached her. 204

“Hi,” he said not quite knowing what to say.205

“Hi, Jack. Do you mind if I continue walking with you?”206

“Um...no.”207

“Do you remember anything?” She asked him as she took his arm and they continued down the street.208

Feeling like she was talking about his fleeting memories, “No, I can’t remember it.”209

“Hmm...” They strolled for two more blocks before coming up upon his store. Turning and bringing herself in front of him, she reached up and touched him fleetingly on the cheek. 210

The memory of the Devil, of his experiences and Anna rushed through the barrier that had prevented him from remembering. Mentally shaking himself he looked at Anna. Smiling at him she hugged him and walked back the way they had come. Turning to see where she had gone, he noticed that she had disappeared. Unsure whether she had truly been there or not, he stood there pondering his situation for a few minutes. Chris must have noticed him, because he was soon jolted out of his thoughts when his friend grabbed his arm. 211

“Jack? Are you ok?”212

“No. I’m thinking I had an experience with the Devil and saw Anna. She refused to forgive me for not going to her funeral so she was stuck in Hell. Plus I just saw her...” Turning he pointed down the street, “But she disappeared...”213

“When was the last time you ate?” Chris said as he helped Jack across the street. He was starting to think his friend was insane, but it was most likely the stress from the accident yesterday. 214

Getting his friend in the store, he sat him down and went in back and got him some snacks they had in the backroom. Handing his friend the candy bars, he sat on the counter next to him. 215

“Thanks,” Jack said as he unwrapped one and took a bite. Munching it, he thought about his memories of Hell. “I’ve just decided that I really didn’t care about people as much as I should have. Maybe that’s why Lisa left me....” He did remember Lisa saying that he didn’t care enough, listen enough, etc. But she had been a crazy girlfriend. Obsessed about herself, which may have had something to do with their breakup, but he was pretty sure he had been a large part of it. Sighing, he fingered the remaining candy bar. 216


“So, you finally feel bad about Anna?” Chris asked him as he shifted his position grabbing the CD selection and started leafing through them.217

“Yeah, she was my friend as much as yours. I should have been at her funeral,” sounding chastised, he rubbed his eyes.218

“Well... it’s too late now. You could go and put flowers on her grave though...” Chris suggested as he put in a CD and walked to the back room. He came back and gave Jack a piece of paper with directions. “Here. Go and get some roses and go visit her. You can use my car,” Chris said as he handed him his keys.219

Jack went down the street to the florist, got a bouquet of pink and red roses and took his friend’s car to the cemetery Anna was buried in. Finding her plot after searching for fifteen minutes, he sat down next to her headstone.220

“Hey,” he started, “here’s some flowers.” He put them in the vase next to the stone. “I’m sorry for not coming to visit you sooner... I’ve been lax and I owe you an apology. You see, I’m going to try to be a better person and I guess it starts with you.” Sighing he plucked the long grasses from around her headstone. 221

Reading the inscription, he sighed. For it said, ‘ Anna Rose Shaw, Beloved daughter, granddaughter, and friend. The world will not be the same without her.’ A few roses decorated the stone and scrolled around the outside framing the words in the middle. She would have been the same age as him, if she had been living. She had been a good person, never asking for much and helping out people whenever she could.222

Swearing to be more like her, he patted the headstone. “Thank you Anna...” He turned and walked away to start a new life.
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