"ONE WHO FEARS NOTHING IS CAPABLE OF EVERYTHING, EVEN DAMNATION"
VELMORA
"ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE."
I read aloud, staring in stupefaction at the monstrous blackened stone structure towering before me. My breath caught in my throat. The air was thick with sulfur, burning as I swallowed.
Just where the hell was I? I wondered desperately.
"Welcome to hell, cupcake," I heard a voice say behind me. I turned to see a tall man standing close to where I sat in the dried, cracked wasteland. I had already surveyed my surroundings and concluded that this place—wherever it was—could never produce life.
The man who spoke had short black hair and dark, smooth skin that reminded me of chocolate. With the heat emanating from the mysterious gate ahead, I began to wonder if he would melt if we stayed here long enough.
Focus, girl! I reminded myself.
I looked around one more time. This had to be some kind of prank. I was almost sure that somewhere behind the few lifeless, burnt-looking trees, hidden cameras were secretly filming me.
That, or I had been kidnapped and dumped in some mysterious, lifeless forest in the middle of nowhere. The word lifeless repeated in my head, because that was the only feeling I got sitting on the hard ground—like if I stayed here any longer, I would run out of oxygen.
Suddenly, memories came flooding in. I remember celebrating Halloween night with my friends. We had gone partying. I had stayed out quite late, way past my curfew. I remembered trying to sneak back into the house, only to freeze at the sight of the front door—ajar, the wood splintered, signs of forced entry everywhere.
I remembered stepping into an upside-down home and spotting my parents kneeling at the foot of the stairs, armed men surrounding them. I remembered calling out my father's name—right before one of the men pulled the trigger on him after shooting my mother.
I remembered the fear in my father's eyes when he saw me and screamed, "Run!"
And then the bullet went through his head.
I had rushed toward the man who pulled the trigger, but I don't remember much after that. I had been blinded by sorrow and rage. Everything had turned black. And the next thing I knew, I woke up here.
I turned to the tall man behind me. Surely, I didn't remember seeing him among the bastards who raided my home. But it didn't matter. I knew I had been kidnapped. And the fact that this man called it Hell meant he was going to do horrible things to me in this lonely place.
Over my sexy teenage body. I'll kill him before he lays a finger on me.
"Where the fuck is this, asshole? Did you kidnap me? What did you do with my parents' bodies?" I snapped at him, my hands secretly searching for the customized pocket knife I always carried. It was a gift from my father after I had passed self-defense classes effortlessly.
The man's laughter rang out, echoing through the space.
"Spicy, aren't you?" he said, looking down at me with amusement. "Who knew the first time I'd find someone funny would be after I died?"
I couldn't find my knife. Of course, these motherfuckers must have emptied my pockets and taken my dagger. No wonder they left me untied. They saw me as harmless.
Terrible mistake on their part. I might have blindly attacked one of them before, out of rage, but this time, every move would be calculated.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean after you died?" I asked—not out of genuine curiosity, but because I needed to strike up a conversation and gather information.
If death was what he wanted, I was more than happy to grant his wish. Once I got the opportunity, that is.
He walked toward me and offered a hand. I hesitated before taking it and getting to my feet.
"I don't know how you died or who you think I am, but I can assure you—I'm not them," he said, seriousness written all over his face.
Did he just say I died?
No.
There's no way I'm dead. I can't be dead. No.
I looked around again, and realization hit me. There was a reason this forest echoed lifelessness. It was the land of the dead.
I turned back to the blackened stone. Towering and ancient, its jagged archway pulsed with an eerie, crimson glow, as if the very stones were alive and breathing. Infernal runes slithered across its surface, shifting like shadows cast by an unseen flame.
There was no way a place like this existed on Earth.
What was I thinking, convincing myself that I had just been kidnapped and brought somewhere remote?
I was killed. My parents' murderers killed me.
And now, I was in Hell.
My blood boiled with anger. I was dead because of those people. I was sentenced to Hell because of them. Yet they were probably still alive and breathing. My fists clenched in raw fury.
I was so bloodthirsty that I desperately wanted to return to Earth and drag them all here with me. But then the words I had read earlier echoed in my mind.
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
Beyond these gates, there was no hope of return. I had been sentenced to eternal damnation.
I turned to the man standing beside me. If I was in Hell, then so was he. But why did he wear a slight smile on his face?
"You don't seem troubled that you're here," I said. "Are you some kind of demon?"
I glanced around again. We were the only ones before the gate. Earth loses more than a hundred thousand people every day. Surely, a high percentage of them should be walking through this gate.
"And why am I the only one here? Shouldn't this place be swarming with souls?"
"A demon? Oh, I wish!" he laughed. "I'm a soul just like you. In fact, on Earth, I was a full-time nerd. Sat behind screens all day. As for your other question, the Gate of Hell is a personal experience for everyone. There are hundreds of people entering right now—we just can't see them, because it's a private encounter.
"I'm actually surprised I'm seeing someone in mine. Even married couples get separated before the gate. But don't worry—you won't be alone in there. You'll see others." He was still smiling.
What was a computer nerd doing here? What was he being punished for? Killing viruses? Watching porn?
"How come you're here? Isn't Hell supposed to be for sinners or whatever?" I asked.
"Well, I did commit a lot of cyber fraud. Never got caught. Law enforcement had nothing on me," he replied, this time seriously.
"How did you die, then?" I asked. "Seems like you would've made a lot of money."
His expression hardened—then softened almost immediately.
"Cancer. I was too busy gathering wealth for generations, I paid no attention to my health." I could almost read the regret on his face. "By the time I found out, it was already too late. I had a few months to live. So I spent my last days researching where souls like mine go after death. Y'know, to properly prepare myself for this place."
So that's why he seemed so knowledgeable for someone who just got here.
I was about to ask another question when a deep, eerie voice interrupted me.
"You two have to come with us."
I turned to see two—beings. That was the only word for them because no other noun fit.
They had ashy, humanoid bodies—but no genitals. Their heads were nothing but charred, burnt skulls.
A thick black smoke oozed from their flesh, and they reeked of scorched meat.
Demons.
I could tell they were surprised to see the tall man and me together, but they said nothing.
"Our escorts have arrived," the man beside me said and began following them toward the gate.