“So, we protect souls?” I said, trying to change the subject. The serious version of Chael scared me a little.
“Yep, that’s right.” His glib tone quickly returned.
“So, when you die, it’s not how you have lived your life, it's who gets to you first,” I asked, still struggling and trying to understand.
“No, no... it’s not like that. Good humans with faith go straight to Heaven, no questions asked. People who talk to God are easy to find. God knows where they are. The malevolent go straight to Hell, but there is one more category of people, the faithless.”
“The faithless?”
“Do you think it’s fair that people who have led good, decent lives but just don’t happen to believe in any sort of God should be condemned to the harshness of Hell?”
“I know many people who would think it’s fair.” I answered.
“That's Abaddon’s minions talking,”
“Abaddon?”
“The Devil, the destroyer, he gave himself that name,” Chael rolled his eyes and continued. “What can I tell you, the guy is full of his own self-importance.” He took another swig of beer. “Let me give you your first lesson in Soul protecting. Always be careful of the fanatically pious,” he continued. “They are never what they seem.... Do you think that children should go to Hell, babies?"
“I can't say I’ve ever thought about it.”
“You have, you just can’t remember and that worries me...” Chael thought for a moment. “Or maybe it shouldn’t,” he continued. “He is obviously afraid of you. I wonder why... And you don't remember how you came to be here, being a boring accountant in this house?”
“This morning, I remembered my life so clearly, but now I am getting flashes, short, sharp images of a world I didn’t know existed. I still remember my life as I thought it was. I think I remember my parents and my aunt taking me in. I remember my aunt was killed. I remember my job and my life over the past twenty-five years, but now there seems to be something beyond that memory, something bloody and cold and filled with sorrow.”
“Jesus Christ... women! God save me from them,” Chael lifted his hands to the heavens in a mocking gesture. “We’re sitting here having a nice conversation, and you have to get all morose and gloomy on me. Why do all women do that? Why do you insist on sucking the fun out of everything? Tell me why, please tell me why?”
“Maybe it’s because...!”
“No,” he interrupted, lifting up his hand to stop me from speaking. “I don’t want to hear it and I’m really not that interested. And, I especially don’t want you to give me some long speech that you heard on ‘Sex and the City.’”
“I have no intention of....”
“Shhh!” he interrupted this time, wagging his finger at me.
I was furious. I sat there glaring at him. It was all I could do not to strike him, and he seemed to be totally amused by my anger. He sat there grinning at me, while he finished his beer.
“Come on, drink up, we have work to do,” Chael said, determined. He stood and motioned for me to follow him.
“What? I’m not going anywhere with you.” I said, still seething.
“Come on, get over it. This is your fault after all and believe me, it will be a lot more fun than sitting here cursing my name.” His words somehow calmed my anger.
“I can’t,” I began, “even if I wanted to. I don't remember how to retrieve a soul.”
“Don’t worry, it will all come back to you. You just have to do it a couple of times. Now, enough of this idle chit-chat, we have until sun-up tomorrow morning to get that man out of Hell, or he will be lost forever.” His voice was filled with a kind of mocking gravitas.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Outside. You saw him, Abaddon, the man from your dream, jump into the ground outside, didn't you?”
Another memory that had been banished from my mind popped back into my head.
“Yes, I remember now, he jumped through the man into the ground, and I was sure he’d taken something from him.”
“Oh, he did take something from him, he took his soul. Let’s go and get it back, shall we?” Chael threw me a cheeky grin. This all seemed like a joke to him.
I went with him outside, unsure of what I could do to help. The body had been cleared away, but there were still bloodstains on the ground. “Here it is,” Chael said. “When Abaddon took his soul, he punched a hole straight through the earth, a gateway to hell. Celestials can travel through these, you ready?” he asked.
“Ready for what...?” But I didn't get a chance to hear his answer. He took my hand and we both dived into the pavement. The pavement swallowed us up like welcome visitors. It’s hard to describe the experience, as we both were being pulled further and further down. The environment around us felt soft on my skin. It felt as if I dove into a great basket of crushed velvet. The earth welcomed me, no sharpness pricked my skin, as I plummeted down through what my knowledge told me would be rock and lava. As we came close to our destination, the ground around me seemed to heat. I finally realised that I was actually travelling at fierce speed, down into the depths of Hell. What was I doing?
When we arrived, we punched through what seemed like a river bed, and within seconds, we were completely submerged in water. We swam to the surface. When my head was just above water level, I took a deep breath and wiped my hair away from my eyes. I wanted to examine my surroundings. I wanted to see what Hell was like. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I was in the middle of a lake, which was steadily and calmly flowing through a large, empty atrium. The atmosphere didn’t seem scary at all. It seemed quite soothing.
“Where are we?” I asked. Goosebumps began to rise on my arm and I shivered. “I don’t believe it. I am in Hell, and I am cold! Where’s all the fire and brimstone?” Chael smiled before he spoke.
“There’s nothing like that here, we are in the middle of the River Acheron. Hundreds of years ago, this room was filled with the Unbaptised Virtuous. Then we, the Celestials, invaded and freed them. Abaddon was so outraged that he petitioned God, and said that if a soul lasted one night in Hell, then it should remain there forever. God had no choice but to agree. We had defied the divinity that governs us all, by freeing people from Hell. This used to be the place that you were sent to if you were a good person, but just did not have any faith. There was no torture here, no pain, but it is still Hell. This hall was filled with the Unbaptised Virtuous. It was quiet and secluded, and people were able to talk to each other. It wasn’t a bad afterlife, but we thought these people still deserved the eternal peace of heaven, especially when one of the tasks of being a devil is encouraging the faithful to become faithless...” He paused briefly and looked over at me. “Always be suspicious of people who ask that if God existed, how could he let such tragic events happen?” Nearly every word that Chael had uttered since I met him seemed to be infused with some sort of mocking tone, as if he took nothing seriously. He was talking about the universe and divinity, saving the world, saving souls, and his tone made all of this sound completely trivial. All I could do was nod in response. I had no idea how to read him.
“So,” he continued, “we stormed the gates of Hell. We were the last hope that these people had. Abaddon was so angry that he stopped using this place for purposes other than holding the souls for one night, before they are condemned with the rest to the tortures of Hell. In reaction to this, God gave us the power to protect souls, and spirit them to Heaven as fast we could.”
“I still can’t remember this,” I stated.
“You will. Now, we have to find that man from this morning.”
We walked for what seemed like hours, and the atrium and river constantly stretched out before us. There seemed to be no end to it.
“We are not going to find him before morning.” I stated.
“Hush! Do you hear that?” Chael said, I listened, but heard nothing.
“I can’t hear anything,” I replied.
�
��Be quiet.... He’s just around that corner.” I looked forward and in this long, monolithic atrium, there before my eyes appeared a corner.
“I see it,” I whispered. We ran, and there he was, the man from this morning, sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth, praying for a miracle.
“Oh, of course, now you pray,” Chael said sarcastically. “Come on!”
Chael grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. I knew Imogen’s father’s body was not really there, but yet his spirit had the semblance and appearance of a body. You could touch him, but I instinctively understood that it was some sort of realistic illusion that was offered to souls, before they found their way.
The father looked over into Chael’s eyes and was comforted. He appreciated that we were here to help him. We ran back to the edge of the lake, and we were all about to jump in, when we heard a rumble in the distance. It seemed to grow louder and louder. I kept looking toward it; I wanted to see what was making such a cacophony. I had not felt this sort of heat since we climbed out of the river. The warmth was growing and in seconds, I knew it would sear my skin. It was radiating from the other end of the corridor. Despite the heat and the danger, I was transfixed. I had to see what was coming toward me.
“Hurry up,” Chael called up to me. He was already in the lake, with the lost soul.
“I will follow,” I answered.
“We have five minutes before we get trapped here,” Chael warned. “But that’s up to you,” he shrugged.
“Go then, I’ll follow.” For the first time since yesterday morning, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I turned my back on Chael, who had already dived downward with the lost soul, making their escape. I looked up again toward the searing heat, and I saw him. There he was, the Destroyer in all his pyrotechnic glory. He was walking toward me, flames following him. As he got closer, I could see that it was not a normal fire enshrouding him. Each flame had a face. The faces were screaming and writhing in agony. These were the tormented souls of Hell that accompanied him, and they were burning for all eternity.
“I warned you not to believe!” Abaddon bellowed.
“And, I told you, I will believe what I want to believe,” I answered. As I stood facing him, I could feel my skin burning. I lifted out my arm and watched as my skin started to blister, crack, and then fall away. I was on fire, flames engulfed me, and yet I was not frightened, nor was I in pain.
He threw out his arm, and it struck me with such force that I went flying through the air and crashed into the wall behind me. I knew that if I had been human, this blow would have killed me. I flew back toward him and struck him. It was his turn to hurtle back toward the wall. When he landed, instead of getting up and attacking me, he just rubbed his bruised lip and smiled. “I was right about you. I knew you were more powerful than all the others.” He sat there grinning at me, and then he began to speak. “You’re running out of time.” A clock appeared on the wall opposite me, each tick of the clock drawing me closer to my eternal fate. I had only sixty seconds to get back to earth. I jumped into the River Acheron, and the flames that had engulfed my body were snuffed out. I was about to dive beneath the surface, but before I had a chance to swim to the bottom of the river, he stopped me.
“Wait!” he shouted. “Come here,” he asked. I was compelled to swim over toward him. When I was within his reach, he kneeled down and pressed his hand against my forehead. “You won’t survive on earth in the state you’re in.” As his flesh touched mine, I knew he had healed me of my burns. My skin started to repair instantly. I was whole again. I looked up at him. I was completely under his control. If he had asked me to stay at that moment, I would have, but he didn’t. He smiled at me and with swift and incredible force, he pushed me back down deep into the river. I swam to the bottom and ripped my way through ferociously. I climbed back up to the earth’s surface, and I emerged at the very spot where it all began.
“I thought you were lost,” Chael said upon seeing me.
“I nearly was. He let me go,” I answered.
“He let you go?” Chael grinned. “He sometimes has an odd sense of fair play. He can’t kill us, you know, we can’t kill him. It’s all just a game.”
Chael and I were distracted by the dawn, which was about to break. A bright light shot down from Heaven, and the likeness of the lost soul’s body now shattered into a thousand pieces of light.
“Quick,” Chael said, and he lifted up my hand and rapidly pushed it into the light. As my finger tips touched the glow, I felt something unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was pure, unadulterated bliss, but it was only to last for a fraction of a second, for whatever this was, it knew we shouldn’t be touching it. And, it almost instantly repelled us. Chael and I were thrust back and upward, away from the light. We came down with a bang on the other side of the street. “I love that,” he said enthusiastically. “That’s the best rush you’ll ever get.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“That’s heaven, baby, that’s heaven” he responded. “That’s as close as we get.” He jumped to his feet, and adrenalin was still pumping through his veins. He stretched out his hand to help me up. “It has a kick to it, doesn’t it?” he continued.
“I have never felt anything like that before.”
“You have, believe me, you have,” I looked over to where Imogen’s father had been. There was no sign of him, no sign of any light. It was over for Imogen’s father. He was where he deserved to be.
“Well, our work here is done. I will see you again, I hope,” Chael said, while clapping his hands together.
“Before you go... River Acheron... Unbaptised Virtuous?” I asked.
“You spotted that, huh! One night, a few centuries ago, Dante got me drunk and I said a little too much. Let that be a warning to you. Beware of Italians plying you with drink to get information.”
“And the Iron Maiden tee shirt? It isn't very celestial.” I continued quizzing him.
“I’m incognito, plus they're a great band.” His eyes sparkled with an impish rascality, and for the first time since I had met him, he actually made me smile. He turned to walk away, but something stopped him, and he spun back around to talk to me.
“Oh, one more thing...” Chael began. “Remember what I said- treat it as a game. If you take it seriously and think too much about it, you’ll likely miss something....”
I nodded pensively.
“Cheer up,” Chael stated. “You were an atheist this morning, now you know there is an afterlife, and you’re going to live forever....”
He smiled, waved, and walked away.
That night, at three o'clock, I awoke. I went into the next room, and there he was on my television screen again. This time he was facing me.
“I am going to give you a little of your memory back,” he began. “I want to face you again someday without any tricks. I think you might be interesting to fight.” With this, he jumped from the television and kissed my forehead. He pulled away, looked at me, and then leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I will see you again soon,” and just like that, he was gone.
When he left, my mind was filled with fragmented memories. I saw a battle, I saw myself leading the charge, and storming Hell. I saw soul after soul that I had protected, and for the first time in a long time, my life had purpose.
My name is Gabriella Smith. I am a Soul Protector, a Celestial Miscegenation, and I am ready to save the world... one soul at a time.
Dream Fear
by Warren Farr
He’s running now.
Faster and faster and faster. The trees of the woods are becoming blurs. They are not nicely placed in neat rows, making him weave. He can tell this. But, he’s going too fast to see it.
And, he knows that he has to somehow go faster still.
All he can hear is his breathing – huh, huh, huh – rasping through his chest. He can only feel his heart hammering, though this is more with fear.
Over his torturous breaths, he strains to hea
r that other sound, despite it being the last sound he wants to hear. He’d rather hear his heart burst.
And there it is, faintly at first, then building. He knows somehow, deep within himself, that the sound has come, because he was waiting for it, almost yearning for it in a masochistic way that he cannot understand.
The trees are now just a continuous stream of brown and green, as the door appears ahead of him. It’s just an ordinary looking, solid, wooden door – oak, possibly. Oh, dear Christ! This can’t be happening again!
The pursuing noise of laughing children instantly gets louder and louder, yet he tries to stop as the door approaches. He cannot. Even the simple task of slowing down is impossible. He feels himself accelerate even more, as the door rushes to fill his vision....
Brian’s voice faltered, his breath making a guttural croak in his throat.
“Okay,” said Dr Amdre, “let’s stop there for a moment. You look hot. I’ll open a window while you help yourself to water.”
Brian shuffled over to the water cooler. Going over his recurring dream with Dr Amdre always tired him out, as if there were a tap on him draining his energy. And, they still had to get through that door....
Brian took his time, enjoying the brief respite and the cool water in his dry throat. He could sense Dr Amdre waiting impatiently. Screw him – I’m paying for this, and if I want a breather, I’ll take one.
Dr Amdre cleared his throat. “If we could continue now, Brian?”
Brian fought the impulse to throw his water into the doctor’s smug face, and instead, shambled back to his seat. However, he did put his plastic cup on the doctor’s desk, as he knew Dr Amdre hated clutter.
“So, any further thoughts since last week’s session?” As he spoke, Dr Amdre took the plastic cup off his desk and placed it neatly in the bin by his chair. Brian was irked that the doctor did this without any inflection in his voice or look of disapproval, even though it must have annoyed him.
Brian’s tongue darted out, dampening his already dry lips. “I’ve been thinking about going back to work.”
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