“Corey! Corey stay with me,” were the last words I heard from my mother before the heart monitor went flat. I wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened but I was aware that I was not in the hospital anymore. I stood up and felt lighter than I usually was. Suddenly, I fell back down, screaming in pain. Scorching hot heat hit me and I could no longer move or feel. I was aching, everything started hurting. The heat licked my face and brushed against me. I was losing my senses and could feel my whole body tingling. Groaning and shouting as I attempted to sit up, I could feel the burning sensation in my fingertips. I began coughing and my chest burned from the smoky, cloudy pocket of air I must have heaved in. My body felt numb and I was in excruciating pain; my head hurt and my shoulder blades felt like actual blades. Sitting up against a metal pole, I gazed into the eyes of a man who was standing in front of me. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing all black. His inhuman face portrayed a huge grin that stretched over his face and he had big, beady black eyes that reflected my small, helpless self. “Welcome to hell,” he said in a raspy voice. I felt something pick me up and seconds later, I blacked out.
I became conscious again and found myself on a bed in an unfamiliar place. The tall figure was standing beside me again. “Where am I? Who are you,” I asked. I started panicking and tried to run away but I was still weak from before and fell back down. My memory was vague and I was trying to remember what happened before I passed out and how I got here.
“You’re in hell. Welcome, I’m Dean. This is our pandemonium,” answered the man. Hell? Am I dead? “I’m a demon, and so are you now.” But why hell? I have lived a very good life and could not find a reason for me to be here. The man, or demon I suppose, kept talking to me but I seemed to be inattentive. I heard my mother’s faint voice talking to me but it was probably all in my head. Several thoughts rushed through my mind and were distracting me from paying attention. I wanted to ask more questions but I could not find the right words and kept rambling on. Dean just stood there listening to me blather until I asked why I was here if I was not supposed to be.
“Oh Corey,” he chuckled and rested his hand on my head. “You’re not being punished,” he said, “you are the punishment. Follow me, I will introduce you to some other demons.” I followed him outside and saw two more demons waiting who looked around my age. “This is Scooby and Jaiden. They are also punishers and will walk you through what to do. Anyway, I have got to go. Have fun torturing murderers!” Torturing? I did not want to be here in the first place and now I have to torture people? I figured this was all a dream but it felt too real to just be in my imagination.
Scooby and Jaiden explained what I was assigned to do to all those who have sinned. They gave me the first victim and watched me do what I was told: to drown them in the pit of lava. They implored mercy and apologized countless times but I had no choice. I shut my eyes and quickly pushed them in, hearing the screams slowly fade away.
“You did good,” said Scooby as they walked away. I heard my mother’s voice again in the distance but I could not make out what she was saying. I ignored it, thinking it was my mind playing tricks.
Several days passed and I seemed to have gotten better at punishing those who deserved it. Watching them beg for their life was like watching a baby throw a tantrum after you stole their candy. It brought me pleasure and I realized I was not my old self anymore. That evening, I went over to Scooby and Jaiden’s so we could discuss more torturing methods. As soon as I got up to leave, I felt dizzy. My vision started getting blurry and my head started burning. Lying on the floor, I groaned in pain. It was like something possessed me and took control of my body but then I blacked out, again.
I woke up and found myself back in the hospital room that I was in before I died, or so I thought. My mother was sitting on a chair beside the bed and turned her head once she saw I was awake. I was confused. Was I not just dead? “Mom,” I whispered but I seemed to have lost my voice.
“Oh, honey. You have been in a coma for the past week. I was afraid you were not going to make it.” A coma? There is no way that that was not real. This had to be a mistake. Maybe I got sent back to life but as a demon to punish those who are currently sinning. None of this made sense and I wanted to go home.
As I was heading home, my head was slouched against the window and I was looking outside, trying to process everything that happened. In the distance, I saw someone that looked familiar. As we approached him, it looked like an apparition of Dean. He wore the same grin and had the same eyes. I rolled down my window to see more clearly and he turned his head in my direction. “Ah, the punisher,” he mumbled and winked at me before walking off and disappearing into the crowd.
Citations:
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