Who was the Masked man?

The doors on the clouds

It felt like I had been sleeping for several days, maybe for countless months. I had so many dreams in which I was being chased by a green, scaly monster that erupted hot flames of fire whenever it took a breath. 

I would dream of a snakepit, where vipers used to stare at me and talk in suspicious hissing sounds amongst themselves. They slithered around the pit and called their king. The twenty-five feet long black python, and I was his feast. 

We often wake up when we have such dreams, but even in my worst nightmares, I never woke up. 

The large yellow eyes of the python made my blood run cold. My only companion in these dreams was my assault rifle. No matter how many bullets I fired, they had no impact on these creatures. 

I also dreamt of a river that called my name. I dived into the river to extract a long-lost diamond as big as a medal. But the diamond used to summon the mermen from the depths of Earth. They choked me with green vines and stabbed me in the chest with their pointed staffs, and that was the first time I'd been afraid of death. 

When my eyes opened for real, I felt I was again hallucinating. Soft cloud was beneath me, bouncy and gentle it was. As far as I could see, my eyes could only find white clouds below and blue sky above. I looked at my clothes, the red stains on my khaki shirt had dried off, leaving behind permanent blood spots. My assault rifle was next to me, as usual. 

" Where am I? " I asked myself, not exactly expecting a response. I had been wondering because I was sure this was just another dream. 

" At the gates of the afterlife, " spoke someone from behind. I turned instantly and saw a man in tattered black clothes. He had bloodstains on his shirt, just like mine. The thing in his attire that triggered me was his mask. The red mask of a devil that hid his face. Only his brown eyes were visible from the parallel holes in the mask, they were just like my eyes. 

" Who are you? And what's with that mask? " 

" I am the guide of the clouds. " He told me in a strong soldier's accent. " Behind me, you shall find two doors, " he said. I craned my neck and saw two wooden doors standing tall behind him, " One of these doors shall lead you to your Afterlife. Come with me, Chris Loreins of the Earth," 

" How do you know my name? " I asked in astonishment. 

" I told you, I am the guide," he turned around and I stood up to follow him, slinging my assault rifle on my shoulder. 

" Which door? " I asked, staring at the two. 

" The one on your left. " He said calmly. 

" Where does it lead to? " 

" Open it, you'll know. " 

I held the cold, silver doorknob and took a short breath. 

What am I doing? 

Should I really open this door? 

Anticipation filled my stomach because I did not want to find more pythons or mermen on the other side. 

I turned the doorknob, pushing aside all the thoughts that restrained me from doing so. 

" I... I can't see anything. " I stammered, " It's totally dark in here. " 

" Oh you'll see when they come for you, " said the guide. 

" What do you mean by- " before I could finish my sentence, two strong hands pushed me in. I lost control of my feet and fell into the never-ending darkness. I felt as if I had been fooled as if I'd been cheated. And I wasn't wrong this time. 

My heart hammered in my chest as I fell into the darkness, I could see a patch of light escaping the doorway high in the air, and instantly, the light vanished. Maybe the guide had closed the door. I fell hard on my shoulder against the solid, rocky ground. I didn't open my eyes, I thought if I stay like this, maybe I'll shift to some other dream, like every other time. 

I bore the pain for long, but reality crept upon me slowly. I was not in a dream, rather all my nightmares were about to come true. I heard a pair of footsteps approaching me, and I quickly hid behind a rock. My eyes darted to the sky that was completely orangish-red now instead of black. 

" There is the scoundrel! " hissed one of them. 

But I was perfectly hidden, out of sight. 

How did they know I was here? 

I held my assault rifle tightly, ready to scare them away or shoot them if needed. But when they stepped before me, my weapon seemed to be a toy before their huge black bodies. Their faces were hidden by silvery masks, revealing only their eyes, nose, and lips. Two pointed ears were carved at the sides of their skulls. They wore a cloth around their waists that had a triangular pattern on it. The border was black, and its interior was a tattered, faded yellow. Though I was around six feet tall, I could only reach their chest.  Nevertheless, I aimed at them and warned them. " Stay where you are! " I growled in my strong army accent. Their deep red eyes and turned-down lips were enough to tell me that they loathed me. One of them grabbed me by the collars and threw me down. I fired ten rounds at him, the rifle vibrated in my hands but the bullets fell without tearing his flesh. They looked at each other as if I'd been a joke. 

" Human nonsense, "  One of them sighed, " Let's take him now. " 

" Take me? Wa - wait! " I staggered behind using my elbows. They caught both my arms and rose in the air, flying high above the ground. 

" Where are you taking me? " I yelled. 

" To the prison, " they replied. 

The words hit me hard. 

Why were they taking me to the prison? 

They flew at an immense speed, and the blood in my arms seemed to freeze by their strong grasp. I looked down, where several human-like figures were working as laborers. They broke stones and carried cemented bricks on their heads. The tall guards, just like the ones who were taking me, stood there with swords and whips to strike them at their slightest mistake.