A Demon's Rage

Pandemonium (Damon's POV)

Haytham rowed the small vessel forward, maintaining a steady flow. "How long has it been since you came home?"

I looked around, somewhat awed by the way the ghoulish waters reflected a greenish-blue light on the rocks above. "This was never my home, old friend." I responded.

"All this time, I thought you were some crazy man, following me for decades. Lifetimes. Why me?"

The stream began to run shallow, the sound of the oar beginning to hit the rocks below growing louder. "I've been tasked to bring lost souls to Hell, Damon, so that they may face judgement. And there is no soul more lost than you."

I scoffed at his words, "You think I have a soul."

"You may want to hold onto something." He said. Just before I could ask what he meant, up ahead I saw the river had trickled down to nothing but a small stream of water that run off the edge of something that could arguably be considered a waterfall.

"What are you-" My statement was cut short. Haytham had pushed off the boat from the edge and we plunged down through a dark hole.

Miles would pass before we plunged into a realm of light. Our descent had slowed down, although Haytham continued to row. I was not sure if this was what controlled our descent or if he was simply doing it for leisure.

In the light, I saw small children, babies who eagerly cried for a attention. Several toddlers wandered around, on the verge of tears.

"What is this place?" I asked, at a loss for words.

"Limbo, the first circle of Hell."

For all there boasting of their love of God, many churches did not know of the circles of Hell. They were forgotten and had faded into fables. The first circle of Hell was Purgatory, reserved for those had not been baptized. All these infants here, they died before birth, and the toddlers, gone before they could be blessed.

The row boat continued its journey down, passing though more layers. A raging storm, a frozen wasteland, and a perilous mountain where sinners pushed large boulders up, only to have them fall and crush them. These were the punishments for Lust, Gluttony and Avarice.

When we passed the fifth circle, where those are punished for their Wrath, I requested Haytham stop. I jumped out, landing in a land made of bone and blood, and made my way to the the steel cage in the middle where two men were locked in combat while a crowd of sinners and demon sneered and cheered.

"Marcus!" I yelled, walking into the pit and interrupting the deathmatch. The crowd grew silent, the only sound left being those of the footsteps and the cries of the losers who were imprisoned below the bones. 

My friend looked at me, surprised to see me here. I didn't want to believe he had died in the time I was away. We both shook our heads in denial.

"No. No. NO! You cannot be dead!"He cried.

I called his name, trying to calm him down.

"You have to save her, Damon. He has her. He's going to kill her." He ranted. I had no choice but to punch him square in the jaw to bring him to his senses.

"Who has her?"

"Your brother. He took Karma. That's how I got here." He pushed me off. "You son of a bitch, you cannot be dead." He continued.

I brushed him off. "I'm not. I don't know what I'm doing here."

Haytham tapped his fingers on the oar, the sound echoing throughout the arena. "If you come with me, you'll see."

I looked around, "He's coming with me." I said, bringing Marcus along with me. No demon dared to argue with the son of the Devil.

We climb aboard the rowboat and Haytham pushed us off, muttering under his breath how I annoyed he was that we had fallen behind schedule.