TITLE: Penance
AUTHOR: Regina
E-MAIL:
Penance
It wasn?t so much that the scenery had changed; it was just that I was seeing for the first time the residents of hell. The hopeless, the forsaken. The damned. They stretched for miles, an endless sea of desperation. People of all ages, races, sexes, everyone was there. There were CHILDREN. Directly to my right was a girl who couldn?t be more than 12 huddled over a bowl of what looked like rotting soup growling at anyone who got near. To my left an ancient looking woman with leathery skin whose hands and clothes were soaked with blood. She was trying frantically to get it off of her, but no matter how she tried, it just kept flowing. I had to turn away when she began to lick at her soiled hands. This was where the people who deserve a harsh hell went? No wonder Michael had kept it from me.
Desperate to remove myself from the scene, I hurried through the narrow path that wound through the residents of hell. That was when I began to feel them grabbing for me, hundreds of bony hands on my legs as I struggled to move through the mass of bodies. Strong insistent hands that slowly began to drag me down. I fell only when a large hand grabbed my ankle and I began to feel the sharp sting of teeth on my calf.
?ENOUGH!? With a scream, I lifted myself from their masses, using my magic to push away the rotting souls that grabbed at me. I had to keep in mind that I could do that. With a sigh of relief, I kept myself hovering about a foot out of reach, which was all I could do while trying to rid myself of the vestiges of their attack. I had bits of mottled cloth stuck to my clothes and, horrified as I was to find it, a chunk of flesh attached to the knee of my jeans. Disgusted, I tried to focus straight ahead, but something flickered toward the edge of my vision.
Looking over, I saw a small girl, this one rather clean, and surrounded by a shining light. She looked small, and lost. Remembering Michaels warning, I was hesitant to go any closer. But when she called out for my help, I couldn?t resist.
?Help me, please lady??
?What happened?? I still floated above her, reluctant to get any closer to the ground.
?I fell. Off the clouds. I just want to go back to my mommy. Please? Are you one of the angels? You fly like one. Can you take me back??
It was then that I realized that oddly enough the people weren?t grabbing for her. She was standing directly in their midst, yet not one touched her, they still reached upward trying to grab a hold of me. Taking a chance, I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered. ?Goddess Hecate, work they will, lift the veil, break the seal.?
I opened my eyes and no longer saw the little girl, but the horrible thing that had taken her form. Similar to the shape Michael first took on, this one was smaller, and covered with a slimy film. Disgusted, I turned to leave, which was when the creatures hand extended quickly and grabbed my arm as a bright flash of light filled my vision and the most intense feeling of pain I had ever experienced ripped through me as every molecule in my body seemed to be rippert apart.