Don't Scream (Short Horror Stories)

The Pit

Are the fires of Hell a-glowing?

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Loneliness.

Darkness.

Hopelessness.

Those were only a few of the dreadful sensations that Anita Monroe was experiencing. The last thing she remembered was lying in a twin sized bed, staring at the fluorescent lights that shined above her, listening to the voices that said she wouldn't make it.

Her memory was foggy after that, and now she found herself in a dark pit of despair, with nothing to listen to but the sounds of her own desperate breathing.

Each breath was harder to take than the last. She was paralyzed by the overwhelming darkness. She tried to speak, but all that came out of her mouth was a choked cry.

Where was she?

Why did she feel so helpless?

The answer that filled her mind caused warm tears to flow down her face. She had heard about this kind of place from her parents when she was just a small child. They described a place where wicked people went after they perished, a place that was filled with torment and despair.

Sheol.

The Pit.

Hell.

But what could Anita have done to deserve such a horrible fate?

She had never killed anyone or done anything wrong.

She lived a peaceful life with her husband.

Hell was only for evil people.

At least, that's what she alway thought.

The silence that dominated the dark pit was soon broken by the sound of people screaming. Anita pinched her eyes shut and threw her hands over her ears, to no avail. The screams pierced through her like a double edged sword, causing her skin to crawl in a way that made her squirm.

No, that wasn't her skin crawling. There were little worms crawling up and down her arms, ripping their sharp teeth into her flesh. Anita screamed and used her hand to push them off, but more came crawling in their place.

She fell to her knees and vomited.

You should have behaved yourself, Anita.

The voice came from nowhere, yet it was all around her.

An evil voice that took pleasure in tormenting her.

Do you smell it, Anita? The burning flesh that is all around you? That is the flesh of the souls that have been down here for thousands and thousands of years. They cry and beg for mercy, but we show them none.

Anita finally found her voice. "Who are you!? Why am I here!?"

You killed your husband, Anita. Do you not remember the look in his eyes when you jammed the knife into his chest?

Anita did not remember. She shook her head and denied the accusations adamantly. "No! I would never hurt him! You're lying! You're lying!!!"

Be careful how you talk to me, Anita.

She was taken out of the dark pit in a flash, and now she found herself in a room of flames. There were people hanging upside down by hooks that had been hammered into their feet. Their mouths were sewn shut and their eyes had been plucked out. Worms and snakes crawled up their bodies, and their scream of anguish as the flames danced mercilessly on their charred bodies were muffled.

The smell of their flesh burning made Anita vomit again. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and let out another scream. "Stop it! Stop hurting these people! Please!"

These people are evil, just like you.

They are murderers, rapists, kidnappers, and thieves. They spent their whole lives hurting other people, and now it's their turn to suffer. And soon you will be joining them.

"No! I don't deserve this!"

That's what they all say, Anita.

"But I didn't kill my husband! You have to believe me!"

Stop talking, Anita.

"No! Please, listen to me!"

That is enough, Anita. I'm done with you.

Anita tried to speak again, but found that her mouth had been sewn shut like the others. She tried to pry the thread off, but it was too strong. She could no longer plea with the evil force that tormented her. 

All she could do now was cry and scream as the heat of the flames consumed her body.  She fell on the hot ground and convulsed, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the overwhelming pain took over.

"That's enough!"  One of the doctors cried, "This experiment is over!"

The other eight doctors that watched Anita Monroe's body convulse in the bed nodded in agreement.  The wires were immediately pulled off of her head and the convulsions didn't cease for several minutes.

"Her vitals are unstable."  said one doctor.

"She's not going to make it."  said another.  "This was a mistake.  We should have known that no one could endure a simulation of Hell."

"Anita volunteered.  She knew the risk."  said yet another one. 

The rest of them watched her until the life flowed out of her body. 

Anita Monroe, the woman who had been locked in prison for ten years for murdering her husband in cold blood, was dead from the fatal heart attack brought on by the horrifying simulation.

And now the dark pit she was in.....was real.

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AN:  Y'all, I have no idea where this crazy story came from. 😅😅