As I stood there, -In awe at the shock of the giant gates, I heard footsteps closing in behind me. "Hello, Mr. Allgood. My name is Hades. And I shall be your guide to this place... And to your after-life." As soon as he finished his sentence, he smiled a smile that was that of a shark that had enclosed upon his bleeding, terrified prey. I knew, right then, that If I wasn't dead now, I would be soon.
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I was never a good person. I was always the one getting into trouble. Fighting. Every day. I hated everyone. Caring for no one but myself. I was greedy, You could not have any of my possessions. Especially money. I lusted for glory, fame and riches. I was always envious of the things I did not have. I experienced wrath every day. I was a glutton; You could not share in any of my possessions. You could not eat my food, drink my drinks. Sloth, being lazy, arrogant, never doing my part of things. Never holding up my end of a bargain. I had pride. Pride in all of this. I was happy the way I was. No one could change me. As I decided this, I was transported Into a stream of black water.
I'm not quite sure how I got here, this place. It was about as odd as any... The folks who had been there longest called it the “River of Woe”. I felt uneasy. I was surrounded by black water. It was cold, wet, and smelt of death, despair, and sorrowfulness. It was terrible, almost drowning, the disgusting black water filling your lungs at every chance it could. Every once in a while, we lost a few people. But what's this? Lo, there's a man! A man on a ferry! He shall take us to safety! Praise the Gods!
That's what I thought then. I was wrong. I have never been so wrong; He was the Messenger of Death.
At the time, he loaded us onto his Ferry boat, only forbidding the ones who did not have coin enough for the cost. He was an older man. Decrepit. He looked to be well over 100. Many of us wondered how he was still even alive. Still, we did not speak, we dared not even look him in the eyes. For if we did, we felt our souls being sucked out of our very body.
When we arrived, we hit the cold, rocky surface and entered two giant gates. On the sides of the gates, stood two Gargoyles as if to stop anyone from breaking out. On the other side of the gate, there was a huge, three-headed dog. It was black as night, red eyes glowing with a fiery rage that could come only from the Hound of Hell. Cerebus. He barked and snarled, frightening us. He lunged. Not once. Not twice, but three times. We were all thankful that he was chained to a wall. The bolts that held the chain in place looked rusty and feeble. It looked as if they could break off at any given moment. We were swift to move away from that area. We passed through a door that looked like it had been stained with blood; A pungent, fowl smell filled the air.
As we entered, there were three people sitting at a rather large rectangular table. One was fairly young, looking to be only about twenty-five. The next, a middle aged man, easily in his early fifties.
Following him was an old man. His age was to only be rivaled with that of the Ferryman who had brought us here. They did not bother telling us their names as we would not be in their court for long. There were several people in front of me, about Thirteen. All older than I. The people behind the desk...They were the judges. They would decide out final fate. We did not know what would become of us. When they spoke to each of my fellow travelers, they all said but one of two words. Bonum Or Mali. It was some kind of old Latin. I assumed that “Bonum” meant “good” and that “Mali” sounding rather like “Malice” meant “Evil”
I stood there for what felt like hours on end. Hearing those two words. Given to everyone before me. When the Judges said “Mali” They were escorted to a door that was spattered with blood. Behind them, was the sound of screaming. True agony, unrivaled to anything else. However, when the Judges said, “Bonum” They were escorted to a door that was a bright white.. Surely it signaled “Purity, Love, and Caring.”
At last, it was my time. I was the last one. You know not the horror I felt as I stood there. Waiting, with my head on a chopping block. They stopped. Puzzled, -But only for a moment. They found the place where I would go. There words, all the same, fell on deaf ears. I did not hear the word, but I read their lips. Mali. I Begged... Pleaded with them, “No. No. No! Please, no. GOD NO. I don't want to die. I DON'T WANT TO DIE!” They responded with an answer. A shocking, devastating answer, “It is not your choice. As of now, it is our choice. It is simply ….. our choice.” Suddenly, I was picked up by the neck by a man, who looked rather like an ox. He surely had the strength of one-thousand men.
I was shoved through the door. And I fell. I fell through Fifty meters of hell, anguish, despair, sorrowfulness. Scary images, being burned into my mind. I could not break free from it. I was there to stay. Forever. I was dead. I was dead. It finally clicked, I had died. I had died that night. I was happy about all of my sins that I bore. Happy. It was nothing to be happy about. It made me sick. I realized that this is the fate who awaited anyone who carried those Seven Deadly Sins. They were aptly named. They were deadly.
As soon as I realized this, I was transported back to my home. I had fallen asleep. It was all just a dream. I put my hand on my head, - Feeling feverish. I went into the bathroom to get some aspirin. I swallowed down the pills, grateful that I had them. However, when I looked into my reflection, The ox's hand prints... Were around my neck. At that moment, I heard three voices. Voices very similar to those of the Three Judges. They echoed, “You have had but a taste of of the agony that awaits you in the Underworld. We have had pity on you. You must change your life to avoid this Eternal Suffering. Should you reject this act of pity, you will feel the full wrath of Hades...” The voices died off. I sat there. Quiet. I decided, right then, that I needed to change. I must not go down that dark path. Never again.
Never Again.
