Fallen

Chapter Sixty Five

Jackson was conjuring up the deepest parts of Hell. Being so close made my bones feel heavy and my head sore. I reached out to lean against the gate in front of me when I heard an unnerving snapping sound. Suddenly, the gate was on fire. Flames cascaded over the metal and set it alight. Smoke billowed up towards the moonlit sky above. I scrambled back and racked my brain for ideas to pass the Gate of Pain as I wiped the sweat running down my face. Clouds of heat engulfed me, bringing up a violent cough and a fiery sensation in my lungs. I felt I was burning from the inside.

My legs gave way and I fell to the ground, coughing and coughing down to the grass as my airways closed up. Searing pain ripped at my lungs. I looked up at the flames and even though I couldn't see through them, I knew the person I loved and swore to protect was on the other side.

"You need to feel pain," my dad said, "a lot of pain. You need to prove that you're willing to do anything to pass it." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Think about why you're there, why you ended up in that situation, and push through the pain."

With every ounce of strength left in me, I rose to my feet and stared up at the flaming gate. The pain would only get worse, but once I reached the other side, it would be worth it all. To see Anna's smile and feel her skin again.

So I braced myself and rushed towards the flames. The heat engulfed me and the fire burnt at my skin. I let out a spine-tingling cry as my body collided with the burning metal. Seconds felt like hours as I was consumed by the flames, until I heard the faint click of the gate unlocking. The Gate of Pain flew open and before I knew it, I was sprawled out on the grass, slowly recovering from the burning that had singed my body. The cold ground was a small relief to my hot and sore skin.

With a soft groan, I lifted my head up to see Jackson step back from the entrance to Hell. There was still time to get to her. Only one gate stood between us now. As I crawled towards it, Anna slowly shifted.

"Anna!"

She blinked slowly and rolled her head to face me.

"Blaine?"

My name had fallen through her lips in barely a mutter. She looked tired and weak, but she still smiled despite everything that was going on. All I wanted was her back in my arms, knowing she was safe with me and I with her.

"Baby," I croaked. "I'm here. It's going to be okay."

Behind her, Jackson rose to his full height and admired what he had made.

"Here it is, Anna," he said. "Our new home."

I dragged myself up from the ground, clutching at the bars of the final gate. "I'm going to kill you."

Jackson laughed and dragged Anna up to her feet. "You won't make it, boy."

That was all I needed to hear to make sure he fell back into Hell alone. As he pulled her away, I tried to break down the last gate when I started to feel dizzy. It was as if someone had a hold of my skull and was squeezing tighter and tighter. The ache built until I couldn't hear my own thoughts. I cried out and clutched at my head, the pain numbing the strength in my body until I had no energy left. Memories of my past bombarded my mind. I felt like a puppet on a string, forced to watch all my worst memories loop inside my head. My mum falling down the stairs of the basement, the Demon devouring my dad, Kieran being enticed by the beautiful creature, finding Maria's body in our living room, seeing my closest friends die. They took over my thoughts without any control of my own.

"That's what the Gate of Fear does," my dad explained. "It gets into your head, figures out your strongest fear and uses it against you."