Chapter 3 – Chap 3

What horror i felt from seeing the haunting smile of the guiding nurse seemed to vanish as i felt the elevator ascend. The upward motion like a wave of ecstasy. I couldnt help but smile as the realization set in. It was over. I could finally return to my life. My home. I began thinking of what led up to my “capture” by the big red beast. 13 years of running. Hiding. Different haircuts, shaves, clothes. Glasses, no glasses, contacts…clear, blue, green. Everyday living a life i knew was a lie. Never truly able to be myself. But maybe now….maybe now….I can have a second chance at life. Something I never gave a second thought about.

I noticed the elevator had gone past the previous floors. Even past the base floor that I started at. Up and up the elevator went. Never showing signs of stopping or slowing down. After 10 minutes i began to get nervous. My breathing became more stifled. Muscles tense. After 20, my anxiety kicked into full overdrive. I began to scream and beg for the elevator to stop. Then over the speakers of the elevator, screams began to ring out in response. Crys for help and mercy. Almost like i was being mocked. In anger I slammed my fist onto the buttons and screamed “JUST FUCKING KILL ME!!!”

Out of breath and out of options, i collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. I awoke what must have been hours later in a hospital bed. Strapped down. As i was coming to, the doctor came into the room.

“Ahh, Mr. Provent. I see you’ve returned to the land of the living.”

“what? Where am i whats going on?” I asked with horror. Not trusting my surroundings.

“You’re at Pinebrook Medical. You were found unconscious in our elevator. While transporting you to a care room, you awoke screaming about demons and devils and floors. All very cryptic, im afraid.”

I wasnt sure how to react. He left, allowing me some privacy to gather myself. He said he would call my family to alert them Ive woken up and return momentarily. I sat up. IV attached to my arm. I rubbed my eyes before a nurse came into my room and offered me a menu for dinner. I kindly declined…still trying to make sense of the whole ordeal. I wondered if i had really taken some bad acid and tripped myself out all the way to the hospital. Collapsing after my brain had given up in differentiating the trip and reality. “That must be it” I thought momentarily…

I ripped off my bed sheet. Pulled off my IVs. and made a mad dash for the door. The doctor wasnt a doctor, He was a surgeon. As a matter of fact he was THE surgeon from before. The nurse was very familiar. I believe her name was Claire. And my family has been long gone since I was 17, so didnt know who the fuck he told before that I had been unconcious. As i threw open the door I was met by an open lakeside. I had already gone through the door. As i turned to see back into the doorway all i could see was the never ending darkness to the otherside. The door slammed shut. And to my dismay, a piece of paper was tapped to the doorway. Feeling defeated..I decided to walk up and read the final set of rules. They read

Congratulations for making it to the final stop on your journey. The final set of rules awaits you:

Here you will confront your most hated fears. Finish them. Be set free from fear.

You are to use only the knife you used to kill the inmate. No hitting. No shooting.

Aim for the heart of your enemies or you will not be rid of them

Do not let more than 3 grab hold of you, or be cursed to drown in the lake of lost souls.

Finally, survive the night. Await the fire of daylight to set you free.

I reached onto my belt loop feeling defeated. Surprisingly, i felt the grip of that same knife i used earlier. I was done. Done with this hell, done with my fear…done with death. The only thing keeping me going was my desire to live. Something so many people take advantage of. Life. I unhooked the knife. The eerie calm of the lake reflecting a bright full moon.

I take a step forward and hear the haunting sound of what my enemies are. “Aaaahhhgggggg….” the things gutted out. The stillness of the water being broken by demonic looking imps with long black hair. Skin looking rotted and beaten. One by one the monsters arose from the lake. Each one charging at me. I steadied. As the came I instinctively ran my blade through them. I first made the mistake of driving the steel through their heads but that only angered them as they shrieked an inhumane sound. I quickly remembered i needed to slice into their hearts. I began doing so. At first it was 2, then 3 and before i knew it i had waves of 4 to 5 rushing me. Each one filled with so much hate for me. Each one falling from the wounds to the heart.

As I kept forcing my blade through each one i grew tired. Arms feeling weak. With no indication on when i would be done, I felt hopeless. The thought of falling to my knees and giving up crossed my mind more than once. I caught a break in the middle of the action as more of the creatures came up from deeper within the lake. Each one more wretched than the last. I caught a glimpse of a shine in the distance.

A human shape. Unmoved by the events unfolding in front of them. I recognized it….as Claire. The nurse from the base floor…and the room! I had little time ponder over as the next wave was just coming towards the shore. That’s when i decided to run around the lake. Sprinting to her with confusion and fear in my heart. As I approached her…I noticed she was no longer the lovely nurse from before, but a disheveled person with malice in her heart. “FUCK YOU! YOU CAN GO TO HELL WITH THESE..THESE MONSTERS!” She screamed. Tears streaming down her face. I looked around us. What was once 6 or 7 monsters had morphed into 80. All looking at me. I felt my grip on the knife loosen. Defeat coming across my mind. All the imps howling a sick shriek as they drool over their meal. Claire looks at my eyes…through my soul. It was as if she said “FINALLY” without saying anything at all.

A look that spoke louder than any words could. Before she could utter another word..I hurled the knife at her. Hitting her dead center in her heart. “AGH” she wheezed as she fell to the floor. “Aim for the heart of your enemies.” I repeated. Claire..or whatever her name was, was looking to end my life to free her soul. She was the other player. No sooner than she stopped breathing, the creatures howled loud into the night in agony. All diving back into the lake. They acted as a spark as the lake erupted into an enormous hellstorm. The fire was so bright and hot i could do nothing but bow to its infinite magnitude. Almost as soon as erupted, it ended. When i was able to open my eyes, I was sat at a desk. Back in the interrogation room. Face to face with that creature again.

 “Was it everything you hoped for?”

 “I…I dont..”

“You’re movements. You’re quickness. Smarts. Uncanny ability to kill. Yes Michael. You are more beastly than you let on.”

He plopped down the folder again.

“When i asked you if you knew what this was, you never answered me. I told you this was your guilt. Not the guilt on paper. Not the guilt full of lies and side stories. Your true internal guilt, The guilt that knows who you are. What you are. Michael there is only one reality left for you. What i needed to know is whether or not youd be able to complete the tasks at hand. Clearly you build up quite a persona to shield the people in you past life from who you truly are. But i am not PEOPLE Michael. I am Him. The one. The father of all that is evil. You can not hide your true form from me.”

As these words rang out to me, I realized what he was saying but there was so much confusion. I only asked why?

“I need something to bring me fresh souls Michael. Someone without fear. Without moral highground. Who will listen and obey me. For the only fear you will have is to fear the fiery lake of hell Ill pull you down to if you defy me. In return, keep your form. Keep living amongst those who do not understand you. But make no mistake, you are not selling your soul to me Michael. I already own it. You are merely making a choice of how you would enjoy your servitude!”

I let that last line breathe. The tears in my body, gone. The emotion of fear, gone. Hell was now my base floor. I was now the reaper of souls for the Demented One.

So when i tell you we all make mistakes, I mean it. We all do. Like the cookie jar…you may be a busty little whore named Claire, who cant stop robbing married men. Abusing drugs and neglecting her young son and daughter at home. Or physically harming your sibling…like a piece of shit named Adalin Derzki. Or better known as inmate 833920, who beat his younger brother to death over a couple hundred bucks.

Or me…who dumps the remains of his victims into the lake. The remains that i dont find appetizing at least. The other portions I prefer to pepper with smokey spices and serve with sides. I find the more horrified the victim…the more delicious they are in the end. But unlike them, I separated myself. And now I walk among you people. Caressing you with my charm. Only to ultimately feed you to my new lake. A lake…of fire.