The Man That Changed My Life

Chapter 5 Better Dead Than Alone

I gasped as my hand went to cover my mouth. My wings. My black wings, the symbolism of my death and my trip to hell. And I mean this literally, my trip to hell. The memories started flooding back as I sunk down to the ground in tears.

It was a couple months after my mother died. My father was still in pretty bad shape, acting like it just happened. He was drinking heavily, as always, and I was thinking about having friends over.

He was sitting in the den, watching static on the tv. I wanted to ask him now, but just then, he threw a half-full beer bottle at the tv, turning around to face me. There was a loud ringing in my ears so I didn't know what he was saying. His grew red and he grabbed the broken bottle, running after me with. The ringing became unbearable, so I stopped running and clutched my ears, screaming in pain.

All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in my back and my shirt sticking to my back. It was suddenly cold, and the ringing stopped immediately. I heard dad start chuckling, and I reached around to my back, feeling blood and a giant gash along running the entire length of my spine. I fell forward, tears streaming down my face. I heard screaming coming from behind me, I immediately recognized it. It was my aunt and uncle. I heard my aunt talking on the phone with someone, and I felt pressure along my back. My uncle kept yelling at me to hold on with every once in my fragile little body, but I couldn't handle the stress and the harshness of my father anymore. I started smiling and I let go of everything that kept me here, in this hell they call home.

~~~~~~

I woke up in a red room, feeling an excessive amount heat coming from everywhere. I looked around the room, getting up and feeling my back open up. I walked out of the room, seeing flames amongst flames and caves everywhere.

I started walking around when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see the Devil himself. I started to wiggle out of his grip when he said, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I-I don't know," I replied. "I just woke up and I wanted to know where I am."

"Well, welcome to hell." He said, happily. Hell? Why would I be in hell? I dint do anything wrong, did I? "Follow me. I want to show you around before you go back to the surface." I followed him to one of the caves I saw earlier, only to find my mother. I ran up to her and hugging her tight.

"Hi, Danielle," she said calmly. "It's nice to see you. Is dad still beating you?"

"Hi, mom," I answered. "Its nice to see you, too. Yes he is, but why am I here? I didn't do anything wrong that I know of."

"Well, knowing the way your father is," Mother started. "He's gonna want to be with me again, but with the way that he's treating you, he's not gonna get his wish, so I got sent down here. I was watching what happened today, so Mr. Satan asked if I wanted him to bring you down here, I said yes, so here you are." It makes sense now. It all makes sense. I was wondering why I just saw black and felt cold. "........She needs some sort of life though."

"I get that, but she's dead up at the surface, and has been for a couple hours. But I can't fix that. Not anymore."

"But why not?" My mother pleaded. "She's just a child. She can't spend her little life down here."

"Well," Satan said. "I could send her back up, but only if she wants to. And the second she wants to come back down, I'm taking her back."

"Ok, it's a deal," My mother said excitedly. She turned to me and said, "Danielle, you're going to go back to the surface and spend some more time with your father, ok?"

"No, I don't want to," I exclaimed. "I want to be here with you. I don't want to be with him alone. I'm not going if you aren't."

"I can't go," mom replied. "I've already been buried. I can't go back, but you can. That's why I can't come with you, but just know, that no matter what happens, you can always come back here if things get to much for you. I love you, Danielle."

I started crying as I said "I love you, too, mom. I'm gonna miss you so much."

"Ok, Danielle," Satan interrupted. "It's time for you to go back home. Let me just fix your back then your free to go."

And just like that, he put my back together and gave me black wings as a reminder to always fight for everything in my life, even if it gets to difficult to handle.