Purgatorium

by J. H. Carnathan

  I continue to yell at it, “This was all my fault!” It picks something dark and round up from the snow. As the Valkyrie floats toward me, I see something in its hands. I look closer. It’s Anna’s snow globe. I see that it’s broken.

  The Valkyrie winds up the bottom as I hear the music starting to play. It brings it over to me and puts the snow globe in my hand. I look down at it, tearing up. I wish I could just take it all back. Looking up, I see the Valkyrie is now gone. I feel my body beginning to oddly cool back down.

  I can’t hold my head up any longer. I let it rest on the ground for a moment and close my eyes. When I open them again, my vision is blurred and hazy. I hear a car driving up from behind. It pulls around my car and stops. I see it hazily but can tell its front end is damaged.

  That’s the car that hit me, I think. I hear a few men and a female laughing inside the car. I hear a door open and someone walking out. I see a pair of men’s shoes and pant legs in front of me. The man steps closer to the car and looks in.

  I close my eyes and after a few seconds, I peek to see what he looks like. He looks just like Barachiel, I think. He steps back and drops something into the snow next to me. I hear the door shut and the car driving away. I tilt my head forward, trying to focus on what the man dropped into the snow.

  Slowly it comes into better focus: a Jack of hearts card. My mind races with questions as I soon discover the only truth. It was them, I think, referring back to the private casino table. I remember not getting the card back and watching the dealer’s hands scoop all my cards up. They found the extra card, I think as I stare at the heart around the card.

  I remove myself from that moment and start to think in the reality of the situation. How did they even find me, anyway? It’s been at least a month since that night. I take a few seconds and realize the one person I forgot. “Lisa! She did take my driver’s license. Stupid! Why did I not think about that? She knows where I live. She could have easily...”

  I suddenly notice something written on the back of the card. I pick it up and read what it says. “Cheaters always cheat and liars always lie.” My face goes white as I let go of the card. It slowly makes its way back down to the snow where it rests.

  Before I can think, I see that stuck on the windshield is Madi’s tag which reads: PETER310. I think to myself, not 310 but 3:10. My vision blurs even more and I feel myself starting to slip into unconsciousness. Everything fades to black. I suddenly hear something faint calling out to me in the darkness. “Daddy?” I think of Anna as I hear an alarm clock ringing.

  SATURDAY

  Gambit

  I wake up. I am in my bed. I lift my body up and look over to find my Handbook back on my nightstand. Next to it lies my snow globe. I take hold of it with only one glimmering thought that passes through my mind. She is alive. Anna, I think. Anna is still alive. Tears run down my cheek with that single thought alone. I wipe them away, remembering that today is the eve to my rapture.

  I sit up and bring my feet to the floor. I stumble at first, dizzy from getting up too fast. The clock is counting up the seconds. I walk over to the window. Everything is as it was at the beginning of my time here. Dead trees and grass, gloomy sky, like an apocalypse. I see my reflection in the mirror looking at me. My hair has grown even longer and my body thinner.

  Still holding onto the snow globe, I bring it up to watch the flakes fall around the snowed-over city. Thinking of Anna, I remember when I gave this to her. Placed it in her tiny hands. Now those hands have probably grown into a woman’s. My little girl is all grown up. She was my beginning and end. She still IS my beginning and end.

  The running of the race today instead of tomorrow starts to once again worry me, leaving me with thoughts of failure and doubt.

  I look over to the handbook sitting by my bed and I remember what Barachiel said last night.

  Let today be your Genesis, tomorrow your Exodus.

  Battling my thoughts on what I should do, tires me to one conclusion.

  At least it’s a good day for a run.

  I put down the snow globe and walk over to my wall with my blueprint of the whole town pinned to it. I look at each Polaroid picture Michael took of where the hourglasses are located and begin strategizing.

  I need to break each hourglass before the five minute mark in each of the areas. I must break each one before the sand runs out.

  I gaze at each mark I must hit and at what time I need to hit them. I get to the subway station on the map and see 42:02 problem written on it.

  My only shot would be to enter the tree again, though I don’t know where it will spit me back out when it’s all over. One time it was the meat locker, then next was Stephanie’s apartment. It seems to be random but it is a risk I will just have to take. Better than the reapers getting hold of me.

  I follow the blueprint to the rooftop and see the words ‘Finish Line’ written over it. But really the finish line would be in my bedroom with the last hourglass. Once the hourglasses have all been broken, then all that is left is to head for the elevator and give it my token, which if I am correct, is my name. It should then somehow lead me back home.

  I stop for a minute and think about the word ‘home’ and how good that sounded in my head. If I make one mistake today, then that is it. The reapers would erase my memories and I will wake one last day just to die by the end of it. My new home will be my hell.

  The music from the piano starts to play. I look over at the clock as it reads 3:10. I suddenly remember Madi’s car’s license plate: PETER310.

  I hurriedly walk to the bedside table and pick up the Handbook. I quickly flip through it and find Madi’s favorite verse, then head over to the bathroom mirror to read it out loud. “Peter 3:10, ‘Do you want to love life and see good days? Then keep your tongues from speaking evil. Turn away from evil and do good. Look for peace, and go after it.’”

  I look up at the bathroom mirror and see my beard is no more, my hair is clean-cut, and my body looks to be back in perfect shape. I can do this, I think to myself. I hear the music still playing on the piano and decide it’s time to change this depressing tune. I walk back to the blueprints and pull off the mix tape. I stick it into my stereo and press play. I turn the volume to its highest, hoping the reapers can somewhere hear my fight song. ‘The Carol of Bells’ blasts out through the speakers.

  I go to my closet, pick out my same suit, and begin putting it on. First the dress shirt, then the pants. Looking in the mirror, I begin tying my tie, making every swoop and pulling it tight around my neck. I then take my vest and button it up, leaving the jacket on the hook, knowing it will only add on more weight. I grab my cleats and put them on my feet, tying each one in a knot.

  I pause as I gaze at the Jack of hearts mask, lying in the drawer. I take it out and look at it, thinking back to my dream—the card.The accident was no mere accident, I conclude. They are the ones responsible for me being here, I think as a rage overcomes me. I put the mask over my face and my Jack of hearts card in my upper vest pocket, adjusting it so it is popping out. I grab Michael’s poncho and wrap it around my neck like a scarf.

  I head into the kitchen, swing out the drawers, and look inside to find my artillery. I take each knife I grab and duct tape them around a good surface of my body. I wrap one around each of my legs, another set to my shoulders, and across my chest and back. I draw the poncho over them, concealing the weapons from enemy sight.

  Walking out into the living room, I open the glass case and take the hatchet out. I look at the perfect condition of the sharp edge of the blade and the hammer head on the other side of it. I grip the handle to the hatchet hard in my right hand. I take the leftover duct tape and wrap it around my right hand, sealing the weapon in tight. I do a couple swings in the air to make sure the tape will hold.

  I look at my wooden table next to me, raise my right hand high, and strike down hard with the hatchet. On i
mpact, the wood splits and splinters. The tape stays tight around my right hand. I gaze back at the wooden table’s imperfections and think of my father.

  I walk back into the bathroom. Seeing that the hourglass is about to run out, I quickly grab my straight razor from the side of the sink.

  I fold the blade in and tape it around my ankle. I look up, raise my right hand, and place it on the mirror, bowing my head. Making a fist, I think, For me and my family.

  I look back up, pull my right arm back, and slingshot my fist into the mirror, smashing it, along with the hourglass inside of it. At that moment, I could hear the bass chorus coming from the music getting louder.

  “Hark how the bells, (Hark how the bells), Sweet silver bells, All seem to say, (All seem to say), Throw cares away (Throw cares away).”

  I hear reapers shrieking from a distance away as I walk into the living room. I look out the window and see the snow now falling, letting me know they are almost here. I walk to my front door and pull it open.

  Stephanie opens her door and looks at me with confident eyes. She walks out and hands me my butterfly knife. I nod to her and look to the right of the hallway at the elevators.

  “(Bringing good cheer, oh) Oh how they pound, (Oh how they pound), Raising the sound, O’er hill and dale, Telling their tale (Telling their tale).”

  Ice creeps toward us to the right on the hallway floor, slowly freezing over the elevator. I grip the hatchet in my right hand. There is a loud shriek from the left end of the hallway.

  “Gaily they ring, While people sing, Songs of good cheer, Christmas is here.”

  I flip my butterfly knife around in my left hand, turning my head towards the noise. Stephanie walks back in her room and nods to me.

  I walk down the hallway and four reapers come around the corner flying toward me. I quickly flip the knife in and out to reassure myself. I loosen my grip slightly on the hatchet and exhale the cold air out from my mouth.

  My heart is pounding erratically with every step I take towards the reapers. The coldness brushes up against my skin, forcing my body to shake. I hold my ground, puffing my chest out, not giving them the satisfaction of getting the best of me so soon.

  I hear the music fading away as my hand grips the hatchet tightly. I walk faster toward the reapers. Everything around me seems to have slowed down, almost to a standstill. Frost creeps over the entire hallway around me, freezing over the doors and windows as well.

  I feel something new come over me. A rush of energy flows throughout my body. My mind is instantly clear of any fear or doubt and replaced with new hidden knowledge. My eyes are now focused on the view of my surroundings. They show me the outstretched, thin, and narrow hallway with an exit window towards the end.

  Immediately, my soul feels like it’s engulfed in flames, unlocking an undiscovered strength within me. My legs burn with the intent of not wanting to walk any longer. I lift my right leg up and kick off with my left. My stride is long and my calves are tight. I sprint full speed ahead, step up on the wall to my right, push off of it, and lung midair towards a reaper.

  I quickly pull its hood back with the edge of my hatchet and jab my knife into its skull. I rip off the other reaper’s hood and bring my hatchet down through its skull. Two more reapers come toward me. I jump up, turning 180 degrees, and backhand stab the skull of one, then, still spinning, swing the hatchet into the face of the other.

  Another reaper comes around the corner, shrieking violently. I step up on the left wall, spin, and whip the hatchet through its neck. Its head goes spinning across the icy floor.

  Behind me, I see four more reapers coming out of the iced-over elevator. I turn away and sprint toward one of the iced-over hallway windows, jump up and, slamming my hatchet through the ice and glass, burst through it into the outside air.

  5 Minutes

  I smash through the window of my apartment building and can see the snow flurries getting heavier in the atmosphere. Reapers flying up to the window shriek and turn their heads as I fall towards them. I reach out and grab hold of a reaper’s hood. Surreally, a huge, frozen slide flows out of the bottom of the reaper’s cloak. I let go of the hood and touch my feet down on the icy slide.

  I start slipping towards the frigid tail end of its frozen horizontal grid. The spikes from my shoes catch the climate change quickly. I push down, digging my cleats in to slow myself down. The reaper turns and flies down toward the street, trying to get away from me. I hold on for dear life behind it on the frozen slide emanating from the bottom of its cloak. The reaper looks behind and sees me tagging along for the ride.

  I feel the reaper is slowing down. The frozen grid begins to break off and starts plummeting to the bottom. I push off of it, jumping toward the reaper below. I flip out my knife. The reaper extends its hand back toward me. I swing my arm, slicing the reaper’s arm off.

  Now in free fall, I kick my foot into the reaper’s skull, propelling myself toward another descending reaper, and land on the ice slide forming from its cloak. The reaper, seeing me, flies up and then down again, making two icy loops. It stops at the bottom of the second loop and waits.

  Seeing what the reaper has now done, I sprint down the first loop, then up and down, then through the second 360 degree loop. My mask goes flying off in midair. I pick up speed as I run directly for the reaper.

  Nearly at the reaper now, I jump up, meeting it head on. I pull the reaper’s hood down and stab it in its skull. The butterfly knife goes midway through its skull and gets lodged in. I leap off as the reaper flies away with the knife still jammed in its skull.

  I touch down on the streets below. Turning my head, I am happy to see my car parked across the street. I sprint towards my BMW i8 as I look up to find more reapers making their way towards me.

  I open the door and get in, accelerating as fast as the engine allows. Reapers appear behind the car. Their legs hit the asphalt and it freezes over. Cars all around me lose their grip, sliding and smashing into each other.

  I jerk the wheel right and then left, barely missing them. I board the on-ramp and speed onto the interstate, reapers now catching up with me. The reapers freeze over the truck carrying the glass windows. The truck loses control and pulls the emergency brake. The truck-shaped ice build-up breaks loose from the truck, sending it sliding sideways toward my car.

  From behind, a reaper’s hand touches my car, slowly freezing it over. Ice fills in the driver’s seat. The car starts spinning out of control. My hands start to freeze over. I pull them back from the steering wheel. My left arm is almost completely frozen solid. Looking out from my spinning car, I see the icy build-up from the truck sliding across toward me. Behind the ice, I can see the truck whose glass reflects the hourglass.

  10 Minutes

  A second later, the ice slams into my car and explodes into thousands of tiny pieces. My frozen left arm shatters as I am thrown from my car, through the front windshield, and over the side of the bridge. The car flips and smashes into the truck holding the second hourglass, shattering it into pieces.

  While shooting through the air, I see myself flying past the coffee shop. I fall and land on the park bench. I spot a melting block of ice falling down towards me. I push myself back up and quickly move out of the way. As it collides with the bench, it spills water over the ground below. I look down and see my left arm is gone. I will it back, and it reforms within seconds.

  I hear shrieking. Reapers are coming down off the interstate and flying straight towards me, having seen where I landed. I look behind to see the third hourglass reflecting in the coffee shop window. I sigh, knowing that in order to keep moving forward, I must go back and smash it. I take out one of my knives that is strapped to my hip. I sprint, feeling the cold winds brush up against my face, then get close enough to the coffee shop and stop.

  I look inside and am shocked to see a body frozen over in a booth. Having no time to
think, I bring my arm back, step forward, and throw the knife with lightning velocity at the window. The third hourglass breaks on impact into a million shards.

  I look across the park and although it’s at least two hundred yards away, I see the fourth hourglass. The reapers suddenly block my vision as they make their way to me. I run toward the oncoming reapers, smashing one in the skull with my hatchet. With the other, I make a powerful strike through its skull. The blade becomes stuck. I look over to see more reapers gliding towards me.

  I panic, taking my knife out and using it to cut through the tape around my right hand. With every layer I cut, the reapers gain a yard. I tear through the last layer. Kicking up my feet, I start to run away just as the reapers arrive. I move my legs at a faster rate, sprinting past the Ferris wheel. As I approach the statue’s glass box, I see the fourth hourglass. I throw my hatchet at it, shattering it. The hatchet sticks into the frosted lawn just a few feet beyond the statue.

  I sprint to it, pick it up, and slam it into another reaper’s skull. I turn and run toward my office, swinging my hatchet into reapers that get in my way. Snow flurries get into my eye as I break through the office building windows. I look over at the time at the front desk.

  It reads 11:45.

  Now in the lobby, I press buttons for both the first and second elevators. The first elevator opens and Stephanie comes out wearing a virtuous dress. I see her face and hair have been all made it up.

  “I need you to stop looking at me and get your butt in the elevator’s ceiling vent now!” she yells. I walk in, hearing sounds coming from the elevator floor. It sounds like the carpet is saturated, I think. “Other reapers are coming in through the back doors! Get up there now!”

  I make my way to the top of the elevator, look through the vent, and see her walking out. Seconds later, there is talking coming from the outside. I hear Uriel’s muffled voice and panic, thinking she has set a trap for me. I turn my head and find a flintlock pistol attached to a Queen of hearts mask mounted beside me. How did this get here? I think. I grab the pistol, looking at the lamb on the side of it.