Hell is Real

Chapter 15

The winter kept people in. Kept them indoors, whether it was school or home or work. Did anyone work? Percy was never sure.

They stuck around in the cafeteria after school was over, fearful of the outdoors. They knew they had to leave before sundown, but nobody was gung-ho about going. After being this cold, you'd never be warm again. The winter took its victims every day.

They walked home together. They finally noticed each other. They passed the mills, they all heard the machinery. Leo almost went in, but they held him back. They saved him from becoming one of the missing.

The church on the corner has been closed for fourteen years. Every Sunday at noon they hear church bells. No one seems surprised. As they walk past it, they feel eyes bearing into their souls. Had God forsaken them, or were they somewhere He couldn't reach?

They walked past the path leading up north, leading to the mines. They kept an eye on Nico, but he kept walking. "The spirits are angry today," he murmured. "They've been angry all winter."

They didn't question him. They kept walking. If they stopped, winter would eat them alive.

The cemetery came next. Nobody had ever seen it but Nico looked at home, walked in its gates and promised it was a shortcut. There's a statue in the cemetery. It's old, so old, and nobody can quite tell what it used to be. No moss or ivy grows on the stone. They watch it in the corner of their eyes, they don't want it to catch them off guard.

Fear begins with knowing something exists. What sparked this fear deep in their hearts?

They emerged by the lake. They all stopped. They all looked at Percy. Leo was the first to speak. "They've said you've tried walking across it. Is that true?"

Percy shrugged his shoulders. "Only like ten steps. They were following me."

"What if we all go together?" Leo asked. "I see them, too."

The wind stopped. Nothing stirred. Two people, two people speaking of the unspeakable, two people questioning the system together. There was no turning back.

They heard knocking from under the ice. Percy smiles, and he does not know why. "Altogether, we can try. Maybe the gray people can help us."

The knocking came again, Percy stepped foot on the ice. One by one, they followed him. The cold had gotten worse, but Leo still smelt of ash and smoke. Nico's boots almost broke through the ice, Hazel looked around for any soil. Before they knew it, they couldn't see anything on either side.

"Told you," Nico whispered. "The spirits are angry today."