ARMAGEDDON

5: Sheol

Most people refer to Hell as being in detention after school, or the emotional pain of a breakup. But now, I was actually in Hell. Knee deep in it, down in the trenches. The air itself seemed to burn here. And I had to find an exit portal back to Daniel, with nothing but rations and a dagger.

Fuck. Was I thinking when I agreed to all of this? Apparently not. I'm in a seperate dimension where it smells like sulfur and brimstone, and it looks like a goddamn heavy metal album cover here. I drew my dagger and started to walk down a jagged stone path, until I reached an overlook. I saw a huge Spire in the distance, red lighting arcing off of the very tip of the Spire, with a thunderous explosion of the red energy every time.

Daniel mentioned to me once that wars are like the Saturday morning cartoons here, and that there are always different demon tribes that were at constant war with each other. If I'm not careful, I might run into a Fallen Angel, and they're apparently bad news.

I heard a loud hiss, and I scrambled into a rocky crevice, where I tried to hide. I saw a horrifying creature essentially made of muscle. This demon had to have been six feet tall, and was known as a Brute. Lesser demons, like Imps aren't very strong, and could easily be killed by someone like me. A Brute, however, would rip me in half.

I watched as the Brute quickly stomped off, and faded from the distance. I took a sip of water out of my canteen. I decided it was a good idea to put on my respirator, so I did just that. I had enough oxygen for about 3 hours. After that, I'd have to pray my blood doesn't oxidate before I can get out.

I continued down the trail, towards that giant Spire. I stopped in my tracks when I saw an imp crouched on a rocky outcrop. They were only five and a half feet tall, but were still dangerous in packs. By themselves, they weren't much. The Imp leapt down, a pale creature with burn scars, and fiery red eyes. It hissed at me, and then lunged for me. I was tackled to the ground, and the Imp raked my chest with sharp claws.

It hurt, so I yelled out a war cry as I buried my dagger deep in the jugular vein of the Imp. I pulled the dagger out as the Imp began choking and gargling on black, oily blood. The Imp looked at me in fear, and it felt great. A creature meant to horrify mortals like me, expressing fear. I punched the Imp straight in the jaw, then broke the thing's neck with a stomp of my boot. I suddenly felt a surge of power.

Daniel told me this would happen. Since I am a Hell Walker, I gain temporary strength from a demonic kill. However, until I gain the full power of the Hell Walkers, I must survive Hell. I ran with newfound speed and strength, enjoying every minute of it. When I become a full fledged Hell Walker, every kill will give me more strength, more power. The possibility of that was more addicting than any drug, more addicting than any cigarette or bottle of whiskey. All my life I've been powerless. But now, I have a chance to be stronger, to be better than what I am now.

I will not be stopped. About two hours in, I had almost reached the Spire. I was about to reach the road to the entrance, when a Reaper Demon appeared out of nowhere. Reapers are what killed my grandfather, my family, and are also what I witnessed Daniel kill. I was outmatched. The Reaper stood to its full height of 8 feet, and howled at me, the sound reminiscent of the screams of thousands of people dying at once. It was about to swipe it's blood caked claws at me when I saw a spike of crackling red energy, and the Reaper suddenly slumped over like a sack of potatoes.

When it fell, I saw a woman. But not just any kind of woman. The woman had short black hair, she wasn't wearing a shirt, but she was wearing trousers and the bottom half of a black robe. Her chest however, was grotesque. What should have been flesh, was black magma and burnt skin, bits of lava slowly leaking out from patches of her strange skin. In fact, her entire upper body was made of magma and burnt flesh. She held an energy sword, made out of the same energy that the Spire seemed to be harvesting. Her most noticeable features however, were a pair of transparent black wings.

She was a Fallen Angel. Fuck my life.

The woman extinguished the energy sword, the red energy blade seemingly collapsing back into the metallic hilt.

She said "Greetings, love. My name is Malice, and you are knee deep in Sheol. Or as you Christians like to call it, you're in Hell. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

I stammered, both strangely attracted and repulsed by this woman. I mean, she looked like a 25 year old, but she's also capable of thinking me out of existence.

The woman smiled a cruel smile.

"What's wrong, Imp got your tongue? I mean, I'd be shocked too. It's not every day that a Fallen Angel is a Demon Priest, and also lord of their own domain."

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked nervously.

"Normally, you'd make a fine addition to my Wall of Torment, but no. You're a Hell Walker in training. In fact I need you, and you need me." said Malice.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, the big L lost his seat of power since he just upped and left. There's a power play going on. I mean, there's always a power play going on in here, but this is a massive chance." said Malice.

"The big L? Don't you mean-"

"Yes, yes, I'm talking about Mr. "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named". I need a favor from a Hell Walker. I need you to open a set of hydraulic gates, so I can leave with my armies into the other eight circles of Sheol. But only a Hell Walker can open it. Do this for me, and I'll find you a way home, and then you'll have your full powers."

I thought about it. "Well, what if I refu-"

The energy sword came to life, with Malice saying "Oh, see, you can't really refuse me. You may have free will, but I can deny you that, along with your soul."

Fuck. "Fine, I'll open the gates."

Daniel told me about the gates. Sometimes, Hell Walkers have to work with certain Demon clans against others in order to make sure there isn't a demonic incursion into Earth. If this prevented that, then I would do just that. But it made me wonder if Malice wasn't sealed away for a reason.

I had a feeling this was going to be a lot harder than Malice made it sound.