By the time Delilah had awoke, she was disoriented. Recalling the events from the previous night, panic suddenly rushed through her system as she scrambled to her feet. All around her was nothing by sand- dry and unforgiving. As the wind whipped around her she could feel the grains harshly crashing against her legs.
A voice behind her chuckled, and she whirled around to find Jack lounging against a huge metal entrance. Ironically, the top of the board read "Abandon Hope all Ye Who Enter" and I snorted. I was totally the unwitting participant in a crappy Youtube prank cam. Who the hell uses quotes from Dante's Inferno?
"What, you don't admire the irony?" Jack was comfortably situate not at all bothered by the rushing wind. All he needed was a fedora and a toothpick to complete the mafia brother look. Delilah narrowed her eyes, storming forward in an attempt to close the gap between them. She was broiling inside from anger, what kind of sick man was he?
"First off, why the hell did you kidnap me? Second of all, why are we here? Is this some pathetic attempt at a recreation of Dante's Inferno?" The slew of questions flowed from her mouth in one breath. She was visibly shaking from both anger and fear. This was a very different place from the bustling city where she worked. For all she knew, she had been knocked out for days and was in the middle of the Sahara.
"You are in the lake of fire, Gehenna, Hades domain... Hell if you haven't picked up on it." He scoffed, giving her a look like he was a disappointed father. Delilah was ready to fly into another rage, but Jack cut her off before she was able to speak. "I don't know why you're here, but my job is to collect the worst of the worst souls. You've gotta be pretty special to be in my care." There was a smirk on his face as he spoke. Jack got to his feet, and brushed the sand off of his pants. "Basically, the boss just sent me to pick your pretty little face up and drag you to hell."
To make emphasis of his words, Jack grabbed Delilah roughly by the arm and urged her to move forward. They were headed into the wrought iron gate, that as far as she could see, led to nothing but more heat and sand. Right before she was drug over the Threshold, Jack muttered something and as soon as they stepped through, they were thrown into what seemed like an entrance to a cave. Instead of sand, the duo stood on smooth slate rock. Markings and symbols of all kinds marked the wall, but it was all Greek to her.
"Welcome to Hell, the eternal Winter. For fun sometimes we call the boss Elsa. Pisses him off but oh my sweet God it's hilarious." Delilah looked at him like he was insane. Was he really trying to make a joke right now? She was too in shock to care that she was in Hell, she was still stuck on the fact that they had fucking teleported. Though the reality that they were in Hell was going to become evident within the next couple seconds of walking.
They suddenly broke through a particularly dark part of the cave, before an expansive, endless cavern appeared before them. Haunting echoes and wails filled the air. Other forms of sound was mixed in- some sounded like dragging chains, some like rushing water, and some like high winds. It was sensory overload. Delilah attempted to step backwards, but Jack held her in place.
"Welcome dear Delilah, you'll find yourself at home here. Well, with whatever sector you've been assigned too. That's always the fun part. Boss doles out the punishment and I get the gratitude of throwing you into it." He released her for a moment to rub his hands together like an evil mastermind, and stormed forward Delilah having no choice but to cling to him for life. She had no way out of here, and he was her only escape at the moment.
"No wait! Where am I?" Looking up, she noticed that all around them roamed starved, pale bodies. Some were women, and some were men. They were stark naked, with no clothes. Some cried out and grabbed out to Delilah and Jack, but some force field propelled them away. Even children were here... like who puts children in hell?
"Did you not hear me the first time? Hell, as in H-E double hockey sticks. Right now were frolicking among those who are in limbo eternally. I guess some could call it Purgatory, but its permanent." He paused, giving Delilah a sideways glance before continuing. The smirk on his face spoke of more goading and insults. "But you, my dear, get a nice and cozy spot closer to the boss. Don't worry! There are still people down there to. I mean, maybe you'll end up with Hitler in the realm of murder." He cackled. Delilah turned a deathly white as all the color drained from her body. Did he seriously just compare her to Hitler? The guy that killed millions?
"Elsa- I mean boss man is this way. Please, for the love of God make an attempt to move." He grumbled. He wrapped his arm around her waist now and was practically pushing her along. She was in too much shock to speak. Quietly she reached over, and pinched her arm. It was hard enough to turn the area red, and cause her to squeak. Jack didn't pause, and instead, let another cackle leak from his mouth like poison.
"You aren't asleep little deceiver." He murmured quietly. The pair were moving towards a rushing river, that moved as far down as the I can see. As they got to the edge, Jack stopped and grinned.
"Welcome to the highway to Hell!" And with one push, Delilah was sent flying into the water. Thankfully she was able to inhale before she hit the water, but the current was keeping her under as she was washed away. Of all the ways she thought she was going to die, drowning was no where near close to the top of her list. As a child, she swam all the time!
Unable to keep her breath held any longer, Delilah's body forced her to inhale water. As soon as it started to fill her lungs, her body was thrown to a rocky shore which outline the lake the river ran off into. Her body contorted violently as she tried to release the water from her lungs. Cough after cough she managed to get a few drops of water out of her lungs, until she finally finished. Her throat was raw, and her eyes were still closed. She hoped maybe blocking out the world would make her disappear from the literal hell.
The sound of approaching footsteps pulled her out of her trance, but she remained as still as possible. Maybe the thing would leave her alone. If this was truly hell, it could be a number of things. Each story about this place was different, from names to creatures, she didn't sure what to expect. Too bad her high school didn't have "How to Survive Hell 101" because that would've come into use right now.
"Get up. You aren't dead, and you aren't going to leave." The voice was low, rough, but not completely unpleasant. It held an air of command, one that she thought was better not to ignore. To this voice, Jack sounded like a squeaky pre-teen girl.
Carefully she opened her eyes, not exactly expecting what she saw.
YOU ARE READING
Delilah
Paranormal"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And w...
