Hell Fire

Prologue

Running, crashing through ink black woods. But that thing, it was darker, living shadows that glowed with an angry red. They were nightmares that I couldn't run away from, I wasn't quick enough. My arm was continuously tugged, ragged breath from the person, the woman, in front of me. She kept calling my name, telling me to hurry, that it was right behind them. A man was behind them, firing at the thing with a bow and arrow, but the shaft burst into flames, leaving nothing but smoldering arrowheads on the ground.

I felt tears streaking down my face, but I couldn't tell that I was crying. I could hear broken sobs of the woman dragging me through the woods, clumsy, but I didn't fall to the ground. She wouldn't let me. I would trip, and it was a quick drag through the air until I found my feet again.

I could hear it, I could hear the things wails and moans of a hunting animal, that's all it was. I caught glimpses of it. This humanoid monster. But it was an animal, that's all it was.

More shouting, the man's voice. Angry, frantic, overall panic for the situation, "Keep going!" That's all I remembered him saying. Urging us to keep going to keep running and keep alive. I was shaking, but it was so, so warm. The creatures heat radiated over the entire area. Plants close to it withered and burned. It was like this thing was using these innocent organisms to fuel itself. Taking the smoke as a form of steroid, pumping it with power, gaining on us slowly, but gaining speed every passing moment.

The heat made me light headed, made me sick. Sweat beaded around my done up hair, the dress I was in made breathing hard. I gasped out in pain as it shot through the stitch in my side.

"C'mon, just a little farther," The woman, she towered over me. A grown, strong woman standing over a small child. "Come on, Alyx." She pulled again, harsher this time. I fell to my knees, the material and skin ripping over the rocks. She stopped, the woman, she stopped and knelt down, grabbing my arms gently and pulling me up, carrying me. My mother, as afraid as she was, smiled at me and brushed a loose hair from my face before running again. That stop hurt us, the demon was gaining on us, quickening its pace as it sensed the weakness of its prey. A loud shout filled with pain echoed through the silent woods. I turned my head to see this beast hunched over the man that was my father, hand resting over his heart and it burned a hole through his skin. It hissed, the steam from blood and fire connecting. I don't know why he wasn't struggling, even when the wound wasn't terribly deep. He should have been struggling, crying out in an agonizing way. But he just laid there, eyes wide and shifting. One shout when the thing caught him and that was it.

I clutched the material of my mother's dress, burying my eyes into her shoulder, but the image stayed with me. She ran with me for a long time until she set me down, clasping my face to get a good look in my eyes, "Lovey," She cooed, brushing my cheek, "see that cave," she pointed over my shoulder and my head turned to follow, a small outcrop, a small opening, just large enough for me, "hide in it, alright." I shook my head furiously, struck mute by terror, terror that grew as the beast howled again.

"Alyx, listen to me, you must." Again I shook my head. My mother sighed angrily before reaching around her neck. Her hands came back with a necklace in them. Dangling on the end of the chain was a purple crystal, spiderwebbed with white. "Look, take this," She clasped it around my neck, "the only things I love more than this are you and your father. That means I will come back for it, alright, lovey? I will come back for it, I just have to go... go do something. I need to get your father, bring him to safety." Her voice shook so violently, it was like she was going to fall apart. "Now, go into that cave, don't come out until I come and get you, or until daylight breaks. Once daylight breaks, that demon will be gone, it will be safe. You'll be safe. Keep going down the mountain until you reach a cottage. You will know it when you see it." Tears began to fill her eyes, but she blinked them away, brushing another piece of hair out of my face. I reached to do the same to her sand colored hair. She laughed brokenly.

"My girl," She cooed and turned me towards the cave, giving me a nudge, "I'll see you in a moment." Leaves crunched as she stood and started running back the way we had come. I stumbled towards the small, wet, dark cave, my heart crawling into my throat. I sat in the middle of the stone floor, listening to soft crackling of flames, howles of the monster. It sounded like it had multiplied. There was more than one, I was sure of it. I shook, crying, feeling sick and so, so frightened.

Time passed, but not enough for anything to change. Heat around the cave grew, the air seemed to boil. Shuffling sounded out of the slim entrance. One dark hand slipped through the cave mouth, darker than death itself, and another. Faster than light, and head shot into view. Terrible looking, a twisted grin, the hellish red light shining through the gaps, no eyes to speak of, just holes of the same light. There were breaks in it's skin with the glow seeping through.

My mouth hung open in a silent scream, waiting for it to do something. But it just stood there, staring almost as if it couldn't see me. I stared at it, it stared at the cave wall. It's head tilted ever so slightly, as if it was sensing for something. I slid back and the creature screamed and began to beat at the stone, but the heat had no effect towards it. I stilled, and so did the demon, after a while. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, whimpering, but the beast made no noise. I didn't even know it had left until I opened my eyes and sun peeked through the entrance.

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Heaven. What an interesting topic to think about. Angels watching over us and a great powerful Being controlling and protecting us. When hell is on earth, why can't there be a heaven as well? But what if there isn't a heaven? Or, what if we had to take control? Turn hell into heaven. You just need to get rid of the demons and douse the fire. Except, people seem to like hell. They romanticize the heat, the pain, they think of it in a different light to keep from realizing that's where they are. They think the demons are angels, the devil is God himself.

A demon, however, is not just a monster, it's not always the fiery thing that killed the people who you cared for, sometimes it can be a person. In this case, you don't see through the disguise until it is too late.