I panted, catching my breath. “Dewey!”
The snake instantly jerked its head forward to bite at Dewey, but the bird dodged and gave the snake rapid pecks until it bled with agony.
The snake let out a rasping hiss and slithered quickly away, passing all the moving debris. It disappeared into the distant shadows.
Chapter Seven-
“Come on, Zach,” Dewey gazed up at me with a raised expression. “You know you shouldn’t be playing with any live creatures here.”
“I wasn’t playing with the snake,” I retorted snappishly. “The snake was playing with me.”
“Well, you should be careful! I could read that snake’s soul clear as the sky. That snake was a creature from Hell. And it obviously doesn’t like that rosary around your neck.”
I huffed. “Well, I’m stupid. I thought this rosary would protect me?”
“Hmph! It will protect you, alright. But that doesn’t mean it won’t catch the attention of hell spirits,” the SoulBird gazed around the empty land. He eyed the fragments of debris that were dragged toward the sucking fire pool. “I knew it! We are in the old city of Jerusalem. The Hellfire Pool is sucking in the entire city until there’s absolutely no trace of it left.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked around. Up ahead, there were still broken buildings that looked ready to collapse. I caught the snake disappearing into the shadows between the buildings.
“Come on!” Dewey started to hop forwards. “I can get a hint of where Uncle E and Aracto can be.”
“You better know what you’re doing,” I grumbled. “Are you sure that’s my uncle’s soul you can sense and not a dried up stinky trash bag in the air?”
Dewey laughed. “Whatever I’m sensing, it’s very much alive! Shh! Look over there!” Dewey stopped and poked his tiny head into a hole in a pile of debris.
I rolled my eyes and peered over the large pile. Nothing was there except for the tumbleweed that passed by. “What? I don’t see anything!”
But then I heard a strange rattling noise. I heard the sound of a distant boom, and then I heard murmuring and chanting.
I gasped, feeling goosebumps crawl over me. “What the heck is that?”
“The spirits,” muttered Dewey, narrowing his tiny eyes. “This is the land of Jerusalem, and the spirits are cleaning up the place—or destroying it, actually. They’re making sure everything is in pieces, so that the Hellfire Pool can easily suck it all in.”
I eyed the devastated place around us. “This place is going be sucked down into Hell, right? Ugh….that really helps me feel better about my birthplace.”
The voices were murmuring a low hymn. I wondered if there were any invisible spirits here. I was just going to ask Dewey about it, but then I gasped with wonder. Up ahead of us was a magnificent building. It was standing in the middle of nowhere, firm and sturdy, as if nothing from the apocalypse had ever struck it. Beside it was a magnificent Ark that was twice the length of the Temple, and of equal height. Neither building was affected by the poisonous, fiery atmosphere of the apocalypse. A sense of déjà vu hit me, and I recognized both the buildings. “The Temple…and the Ark...” I muttered. I climbed over the pile of debris.
“Hey, where you going? Wait!” Cried Dewey. He stumbled up the pile after me.
I jumped down and landed behind a stream of hot bloody water. A skull flowed by and seemed to cackle in my face before it sunk out of sight.
I winced with disgust. This place reminded me of Purgatory. I didn’t know if I should be glad that I didn’t live here anymore.
I could feel the heat of fiery flames flickering to the side of me. I turned around and stared at an exotic palace that stood sturdy and tall, just a few meters to my left. It was on fire, but the building did not seem to be decaying. The fire flickered through the interiors and exteriors of the building, but not one single part of the building was destroyed. It was totally invincible to the fire.
I was drawn to the palace. I instantly forgot about the Temple and started making my way toward the fiery building. As soon as I was standing three yards from the fire, I started to feel nauseous. I could feel the heat of the flames melting my face. It was almost putting me to sleep, but immediately, I felt another sense of déjà vu. I was having a vision.
I was sneaking out of this exotic palace. Apparently, I lived in this building. I was escaping the screaming voice of an angry lady, who was threatening to burn me in the fires of Hell. My face was scorched with a recent burn, for the lady had nearly pushed me into the fireplace. She was kicking me with sharp heels and was whipping me with a sharp-clawed arm of a nanobot. I was bleeding and bruised all over, and the left half of my face was burnt.
The worst part was that this lady was my mother. Memories flooded back and her identity was revealed as she continued to yowl at me with fury. She was screaming curses as I escaped the palace and disappeared behind a crowd of computobots.
Angeline saw me leaving and she hurried out of the palace to catch up with me.
“Zachy! Zachy! Wait up!” She quickly caught up to my side and ran with me. The both of us had approached the Temple, but there was no Ark just yet. We only used the Temple as a place to hide. We could not go inside, for there were priests that guarded the area. But we stuck around the place and hid in the shadows of the great building.
I snapped out of my trance for a moment. I could hear the beating of my heart as I vaguely recalled the terrible moment. My own mother had abused me. She tried to throw me into the fireplace. I envisioned the moment again. She gave me a strong shove and I landed on my side, just inches away from the large, dancing flames of our magnificent fireplace.
Now I thought about the story Uncle E had told me.
“Sarah was a stern, hard-talking young lady. She wasn’t just feisty—she was cruel, demanding, and hotheaded.”
She was more than that. She was nothing but pure evil. I could feel it through the vision. I could feel her wicked eyes stab my spirit as I recalled that dreadful moment.
Dewey was watching me carefully. As a SoulBird, he was able to read my thoughts and emotions. He was gazing at me sorrowfully, and thankfully, he kept silent.
Suddenly, there was a crash from the inside of the building. I flinched as the top roof of the palace collapse at the left. On the opposite side, a shadow was floating out of the window of the palace’s wall. The shadow reached the ground, and then transformed into the figure of a tall, lean man. As soon as the shadow was standing, the flames were brightening and the building was starting to crumble apart. But the shadow was avoiding the light of the surrounding flames, and I was unable to make out the identity of the figure. As soon as another part of the palace collapsed, the shadow zoomed away before the expanding flames enlightened his body.
I stared at the brightening flames and suddenly felt my heart race. My stomach twisted into a knot, and I instantly felt like I was going to throw up. I looked away from the bright flames and found myself running away toward the shadow’s direction. I didn’t look back to watch as the palace collapsed behind me. My old home had been destroyed by fire—heavenly fire. It had been invincible to hellfire, but not to the heavenly fire. Had the shadow started that fire?
Dewey kept up by my side and the both of us stopped in our tracks as the shadow disappeared through the curtains of a great Ark. I realized we were standing in front of the Temple and the Ark—now the only two invincible buildings to the hellfire.
I stared at the great buildings with awe. Another memory flashed back to me. I was running away again. I was covered with the same bruises and wounds, but this time, I was covered with intense burns all over my body.
I had escaped a ring of fire. Something dreadful had happened to me, but I couldn’t recall what it was.
I found my way to the Temple, where I had hidden with my sister before. This time, a great Ark had descended from a tunnel of light from the sky. It was a magnificent sight. I had been captured by the scene. I approached the Ark, as soon
as it had landed beside the Temple.
Taking a step forward, I reached forward to push pass the fine linen curtain that hung in front of the entrance to the inside of the Ark. I never got to see inside. As soon as I pulled the curtains aside, a strong beam of light shone through the opening, and hit me in the face. That abrupt moment scared me out of my memory, and the vision disappeared.
And now, here I was, standing in front of the Temple and Ark again, as a spirit of the afterlife. I was stiff as a statue.
“Zach?” Dewey spoke carefully. “I don’t think you should be here. This place is the most sacred part of the city…and I think it’s dangerous for a spirit like you.”
I was still gazing around with awe. “I remember this place…”
Dewey gazed up at me and blinked. “Of course you do.” His tone was casual. “You died here. This was the place you perished, during the apocalypse.”
And then I remembered it. I was standing in front of the Ark, with the strong beam of light shining from the curtains. It was burning me to death. I didn’t even scream or flee. I stood in front of the open curtains, staring straight into the shining beam of light. Within seconds, the light burned my entire body, and I no longer saw the light. Everything had gone black.
The vision ended, and I looked at Dewey with disbelief. “You’re right….I died here.” I widened my eyes. “But Angeline didn’t. Angeline’s still alive. I can feel it. My sister is still here, and she’s probably the last soul in Jerusalem to be alive.”
Dewey clicked his long beak several times. “Hmph. Not even the slightest rodent or bug is alive in these ruins of Jerusalem. All the living souls here perished and traces of their bodies are all sucked down into the whirlpool. Even the skeletons were dragged in.”
“But Angeline….” I looked directly toward the Ark. “She must still be here.”
I stared at the curtains of the Ark. They were hanging down, blocking the entrance inside. I longed to approach them again and get a peek inside, since I was already dead. But suddenly, the curtains were pulled to the side. Dewey and I watched with awe. Someone was coming out. A lithe figure stepped out from the opening. It was a pale skinned girl with a torn brown dress. Her hair was fair and short, about an inch longer than mine and hanging slightly above the shoulders. I would have noticed how pretty she looked if I had any feelings to admire anyone.
The girl looked terribly sad. Her eyes were blue and solemn, and she looked like she had been mourning for a long time. She was probably around my age. She was tall and very thin.
She stepped out with her arms in front of her clasped together in prayer. She dropped to her knees, looking ready to collapse. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the tips of her fingers. Tears were streaming down her pale cheeks.
I felt sorry, and I almost wanted to reveal myself and speak to her. I knew she was not a spirit. She wasn’t transparent enough, so she must still be alive.
Dewey was shaking his head. “That’s not Angeline.” The little bird turned to me. “We should get going. It’s not safe here.”
No, this was not my sister, for I felt no sense of déjà vu at her sight. So who was she, and what was she doing here? Why was she still alive in this city while all the inhabitants had perished?
Suddenly, I noticed a slithering shadow crawling up to her left. It was the snake.
Dewey gasped. “Oh no!”
The snake raised its head, shaking its tongue and vibrating the flaps on its neck.
“Child, what are you crying about?” Spoke the snake with a coaxing tone.
The girl gasped and immediately opened her eyes, looking up at the snake right in front of her. She froze, but the snake just chortled softly.
“Ssstill alive in this city?” The snake raised its gleaming expression. “What power mussst this Ark have?”
Dewey and I exchanged glances. Apparently, the Temple and the Ark were the only two places in Jerusalem that offered a safe refuge from the apocalypse. This girl must have safely hidden inside that Ark while all the other living beings perished in the apocalypse.
“Tell me, ssssweetie. Are there any otherssss inside there?”
The girl suddenly narrowed her eyes. “No. No one but me.” Her voice was soft and nervous.
The snake suddenly went from a smirking gaze to a glare. “You liar. Sssssomeone’s in there, and you’re hiding her from me.”
The girl stepped back. She reached for something in her pocket and threw it toward the snake.
The snake screed and flinched back before the item hit it. I saw that it was a pocket-sized cross, just like the one on my necklace, but bigger.
The snake’s body sizzled at the presence of the cross, but it immediately spat out venom and destroyed the item to ashes.
The girl gasped and looked utterly helpless now.
The snake narrowed its cunning eyes at her, chuckling. “You sssee? Everything here is dying. Not even the holy vesssstments of the Ark will be enough to ssstop usss.”
And the snake struck the girl and bit her on the right hand.
The girl let out a short scream and flinched. Her hand started to ooze blood like crazy.
I flinched. “Attack it! Attack it!” I shouted.
Dewey charged at the snake.
I took the small cross hanging from my rosary, and aimed it toward the snake. A small beam of light immediately shone brightly on the snake’s eyes.
“Haasssssss!” The snake retaliated and whipped its tail at Dewey’s face. The snake coiled up and turned to face me. “Hssss! You again!”
I huffed and looked up at the Ark. There were thick red clouds surrounding the top. I heard a deep rumbling in the sky.
“Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” Taunted the snake. “Or should I sssend you there myself?”
“Oh no you don’t!” Dewey crashed over my shoulder, jabbing the snake right at the center of its neck.
I flinched as orange, sizzling blood leaked from the tip of Dewey’s beak. The snake was screaming and thrashing violently.
I turned over to the girl, who was bending over as she clasped her bleeding hand. I aimed my cross toward her and let the light shine on the wound. The wound on her hand immediately started to shine and suddenly healed. She gasped and looked up to meet my eyes. I stared at her with a narrowed gaze.
The wind was swirling and I could see bones and broken chunks of buildings spinning into a twister. Up in the sky, I could see a V-shaped line of reddish devilish angels. They carried fiery harpoons and wore red spiky headbands on top their heads.
On land, I could see a pack of four-legged creatures rushing our way.
“Oh, no…hell-hounds,” gasped the girl, facing behind us.
Eerie howling pierced through the city and the ugliest doglike creatures rose from the fiery flames that shot out from the cracks of the street. Ugly blood-marked skulls covered their muzzles and their dark black bodies were covered with blood.
“Your rosary! Use the rosary!” The girl was screaming.
But before I could do anything, the snake had struck the back of my ankle, and I fell down to my knees.
“Zach!” Cried Dewey.
The snake chuckled. “Outta luck, boy. Satan’s hellhounds are faster than you think.”
The snake raised its tail and whipped my back and I yowled with agony. Arrows of fire shot over my head. They hit the ground in front of me and flames burst in their places. Pretty soon, fire surrounded us and blocked our paths. I tried to get up, but my ankle was rapidly bleeding.
“Dewey?!” I yelled, looking up at the sky.
I spotted flying bulldog-humans circling the sky above us. They were chasing after a small glow. I realized it was Dewey. The little SoulBird was distracting them. They were shooting their arrows all over the sky, stirring up fiery twisters in the wind.
The hellhounds dashed through the flames and surrounded me with drooling bloodied faces.
I crouched, and faced them all. I felt like prey tr
apped in a ring of wolverines.
But then a shine of light broke through the flames to my left and the girl’s hand reached grabbed my arm. She yanked me out of the flames before a hellhound could snap its jaws at my ankles. I fell forwards onto the girl’s left shoulder. She held me tightly and met my gaze. Her blue eyes were blazing.
“You’re Zachariah Ezekreth?” She gasped.
I felt a quick pang of surprise at how she had already known my name. I briefly nodded.
“I’m Lexie,” she introduced herself as a loud shot of fire flew through the air above our heads. The snake’s piercing cry was echoing through all the chaos and the devilish bulldog angels were swatting at Dewey like he was a fly.
“Let’s get outta here!” I yelled, straightening up. I started to run forwards. “Where’s the Ark?!” I didn’t know where I was going through all this terrible confusion.
Lexie caught up to me. “We won’t be safe in the Ark! At least you won’t!”
I widened my eyes and pushed her aside. “Look out!” A flock of flying creatures nearly crashed into her from behind.
She gasped and looked up at the creatures. “Those are un-baptized babies,” she pointed to the devilish angels. “They’re here because of you!”
“Me?!” I yowled. “What did I do?”
“Because of that rosary, they sensed your presence,” she huffed and took my hand. “You’ll see why they want you. But first let’s get out of here!” She ran forwards and led me away into the shadows. “We’ll have to find a safer place.”
A fiery harpoon shot over our heads and a loud boom exploded from behind. I flinched and narrowed my eyes.
In front of us, the ground split and more of those ugly un-baptized babies flew out of the huge crack that had formed in the Earth. Chupacobras and gory monsters escaped, and last of all, the largest, ugliest serpent rose from the ground. Its head rose to almost forty feet high. I lost my breath with horror.
The Purgatory Saga #1: People of the Fire Page 7