From Hell

by Seth Barder

The sun was already below the horizon but you really couldn't tell with the overcast in the sky. The clouds had come out of nowhere, which made it even darker than it should have been at that hour. Driton and Josh walked through the city passing the tall buildings mingled with the smaller shops. Josh still maneuvered around the few pedestrians, trying not to knock into them.

  Reaching the “nicer” part of the city slowed Josh down a little. The streets looked cleaner, the buildings were fancier, and the people dressed more up-scale. He sneered at everything. He remembered living on the streets watching as they walked by not giving him a single glance. He’d imagine them in their fancy condos oblivious to what’s going on to those less fortunate in their own city. They’d sit at dinner with a table full of food believing the rest of the city must be doing as well. Josh smiled to himself thinking of what their end would be when they’re judged for what they’ve done. They had another thing coming if they thought they were getting into heaven.

  “Josh!” Driton called out.

  Josh stopped. Driton’s voice came from behind him. He turned around to see he’d walked twenty feet before Driton had said anything. Josh had been in such deep thought that he hadn’t seen Driton stop in front of one of those fancy buildings. He stood under a green canopy that stretched from the front door to the edge of the sidewalk near the street. On the side of the canopy Josh read, “The Westgate” written in elegant white lettering. He’d heard of this building. The building itself was built in the early twentieth century but had recently gone through a renovation and now offered many modern condos. The type he could never afford after the divorce.

  “Sorry,” Josh said apologetically, “my mind was elsewhere.”

  “It’s alright,” Driton said smiling, “I half thought to let you go to see how far you’d walk before noticing something missing.” Josh smiled, glad Driton wasn’t angry. “Come on,” Driton said, “I want to show you something.” then motioned him to follow.

  Josh followed Driton up to the revolving glass door framed in its mirror-polished brass. A couple walked out allowing Driton and Josh to follow the movement of the door directly into the lobby. The inside equally matched the outside in elegance: a high ceiling, plush carpet, and a roomy waiting area. Josh had never seen such a nice place, except for on television. The main floor was bustling with people coming in and going out. Bellhops rushed to carry luggage with eager expressions on their faces. The receptionists wore gleaming white smiles ready to greet the next person within eyeshot.

  Driton tapped Josh’s arm, “C’mon.” and led him to the other side of the lobby.

  A man wearing a nice business suit and hat passed by Driton and Josh, reaching the other end before they did. With barely a glance the man tipped his folded newspaper to push the button for the elevator. All three stood there waiting until the “ding” chimed, telling them the stainless steel doors were about to open. Driton and Josh followed the man in and stood behind him waiting for the doors to slide shut. Except for the elevator music there wasn’t much noise. All three stared ahead. The man turned his head slightly, like he’d heard something behind him. Josh thought he’d just saw something to his left and looked to see what it was. The man faced forward again but then turned around a second time, only this time he looked in Josh's direction. His eyes squinted a bit as though trying to focus on something. Josh stared back at the man feeling a little uncomfortable and nervous. The man’s face was expressionless, as though he was trying to figure something out. Josh and the man stood looking at each other. Josh expected the man to say something, to call him out, or to make some kind of gesture that he could see him. The man looked down at the floor where Josh’s feet were, then returned his glance back to Josh’s face. Satisfied he was the only one in the elevator, the man turned to face the doors again. Josh looked at Driton, desperately wanting to ask him if the man knew they were there, was he dead too, and if he wasn’t why he turned around if no one can see them. If Driton knew Josh had questions, he didn't let on. He simply stood there staring at the doors as though he were just another human waiting for his floor. At the twenty-third floor the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and the man got out, not once looking back. The doors closed again and the elevator continued its climb, finally stopping at the thirty-second floor. The doors opened to a man wearing a casual white shirt and blue jeans who boarded the elevator holding the hand of a young boy whom Josh assumed was the man’s son. As they entered Driton got off. Josh quickly followed, just making it out before the doors closed. Josh looked back at the man and his son before the elevator doors closed. They had no idea Driton and Josh were there. It still amazed him.

  The corridor was plain with no furniture and only a few mundane pictures hanging on the white walls. The walls were made brighter by the fluorescent lights beaming from the ceiling, but the tan carpet helped to warm the atmosphere, only a little. It was quiet. Josh thought of hell and how quiet it was there before everything went bad.

  “Who lives here?” Josh wanted to break the silence if only for his own sense of security. He hoped what he asked was a safe question.

  “Tiffany.” Josh searched his memory trying to recall if he knew a Tiffany. Driton waved his hand, “It’s no one you know,” he smiled as he stopped at the door to one of the rooms, “It’s not important who’s in the room. What’s important is what’s in this room will help you understand better what goes on in this world.” Josh wondered what that might be. “Okay,” Driton turned his gaze from the dark brown door to Josh, “first question we're usually asked is, 'Can anyone alive see you?'” Josh thought it ironic that was the question he was going to ask Driton back in the elevator. It made Josh smile a bit. “The answer is no. They can neither see nor hear you. That being said, don't go trying to speak to anyone because, obviously, they can't hear you. There was this one guy who thought he could. He stood in front of people on the streets, or wherever we went, and tried to talk to them. They were totally unaware of his existence. The longer he spent here the more outlandish he became, thinking maybe if he got louder or acted silly they’d hear him. Soon he resorted to flapping his arms and yelling loudly only two inches from their face.”

  “Wow, what happened? Did you send him to hell or something?” Josh wanted to know for his own benefit, just in case.

  Driton shrugged, “We really have no say so in the matter. None of us do. It’s solely up to God. Ultimately he went to hell. We allowed him a little more time but he’d already sealed his own fate.” Driton looked at the floor, shrugged again, and then looked back at Josh. “Some people just don’t listen.”

  “How many?” Josh could tell Driton wanted to go into the room but he had to ask. “I mean, how many people have been sent to hell?”

  “I've been doing this for a long time,” Driton thought back reflecting on what he said, “…a very long time. During which I’ve seen countless people doing the same things over and over again thinking they're doing something that hasn't been thought of. I stopped counting some time ago. It got to be so many, after a while it seemed pointless.”

  Josh tightened his lips a little more. He was afraid he’d say something that would get him sent back to hell. He was willing to do anything to stay out of there. So Josh just nodded his response.

  “Okay, let's go,” Driton said.

  Josh gave another small nod, nervous something bad would happen if he did otherwise. Driton reached his hand behind Josh, placing it gently between his shoulder blades, and urged him forward. Josh moved towards the door stiffly, not sure what he was supposed to do. Driton still urged him until his nose almost touched the door. Purely by reflex Josh closed his eyes thinking he was going to hit the hard surface, but it didn’t happen. Josh opened his eyes and saw he and Driton were moved through to the other side, standing in what looked like a small living room.

  Josh rubbed his chest making sure everything had been transported in one piece, “Whoa.” He said a little nervously, still unsure what just happened.

 
The apartment was nice and clean. The walls and ceiling were painted white, which worked well with the cream colored carpet. To their left were two lamps on either side of a tan couch, on top of which curled a cat on the middle cushion snoozing away. The light from the lamps shone softly making a comfortable environment for a nap.

  Driton started towards the far side of the apartment with Josh following close behind. To their right was the kitchen. It was small but big enough for one or two people. A single plate, some silverware, and a clear glass stood in the stainless steel sink. In front of the kitchen, on the other side of a wall, was the dining room, only slightly larger than the kitchen. A dark brown table sat in the middle of the room with a chair on each side. Whoever lived here really kept the place spotless. As Driton and Josh walked further into the apartment they reached the small hallway that separated the living room and bedroom. Josh began to hear what sounded like a shower running. He immediately imagined someone taking a shower and both of them barging in. It felt illegal somehow, even if no one could see them it still had to be violating someone’s privacy in some way. Josh knew Driton was bound to God's rules though, and if God deemed it inappropriate, they wouldn't be allowed to do it. For some odd reason Josh began to think about all the times he’d been in the shower. How did he know an angel wasn’t standing there watching him? He’d never know. Just like this person would never know they were there.

  Brushing those thoughts aside he continued to follow Driton into the bedroom at the other end of the apartment. The sound of the shower was growing louder now. Josh swallowed deeply, nervous he was near the edge of some Godly boundary that if he said or did anything he’d be immediately sent back to hell. To their right against the wall nearest to them was the full-size bed with its covers folded down part way, prepared for the occupant to snuggle under. Beyond the bed and a little to the left was the door to the bathroom opened only a few inches allowing the steam to roll out. Josh was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. To their left against the wall was the dresser. On the top of it were some cosmetics and a purse.

  “Uh...Driton, I feel like I'm violating someone's privacy.” He said in almost a whisper.

  Driton turned to Josh, “This is how the world really works, Josh. No one has any real privacy. Watch.”

  Driton motioned in front of them with a nod to the cream colored armchair in the corner, on the other side of the dresser, near the window. A demon appeared out of nowhere behind it. It was a frightening and familiar looking creature. Its skin was black as coal without a single hair covering its body. It was slightly hunched over, keeping its red eyes intently fixed on the bathroom door. It placed its bony fingers on the back of the chair and smirked showing its sharp teeth, as if anticipating seeing the woman come out of the bathroom naked or even half naked. Josh began to shake from fear. He had hoped he was over being terrorized by these beasts but the memories came back swiftly and vividly. He didn’t want to be taken back. He wasn’t sure if the demon had the power to.

  “Driton,” Josh said in a whisper, “That’s the demon that attacked me in hell.” Thoughts of that time and what the demon did flashed in his mind. He shook his head trying not to relive those moments.

  “It’s not.” Driton assured, “He is a demon yes, but I can guarantee you that’s not the same one.”

  “I don’t care…I just…I wanna leave. You don’t have to show me anymore. I believe you, whatever you say. I just don’t wanna be here…”

  “Josh,” Driton held Josh’s arm to comfort him, “You’re not trusting.” Josh swallowed hard. He could barely look up; hoping somehow his looking at the floor would shield him from the demon taking notice. “He’s not the same demon who…,” Driton stopped himself, knowing this was a delicate issue, “…you saw in hell. Many of them look very similar. They just have the same nature that’s why you think it’s the same one.” Josh was still unsure. Driton turned Josh so he looked at him and pleaded. “Josh. You have to believe me.”

  Something about what Driton said made Josh think about the man who hadn’t listened to him when he tried to give the man advice. Reluctantly Josh nodded and turned back to watch what would unfold.

  The demon moved from out of the corner and towards the bathroom. The light from a silver standing lamp shone over his baldhead and pointed ears as he walked passed it. Now Josh could see the demon was shorter than he was, standing about five feet if Josh had to guess. The demon stopped several feet from the bathroom door and stood still once again. It took no notice of Josh or Driton. It was as though the demon had one thought on its mind.

  “Should we do something?” Josh was concerned

  “Yes. Not interfere.”

  Driton moved Josh back out of the doorway to the bedroom and closer to the bed. The demon walked slowly, as if stalking a prey, towards the bathroom door. Only halfway there and the door swung open allowing all the hot steam to pour out. A woman with straight shoulder-length hair wrapped only in a cream-colored towel, emerged. She walked out tucking the towel in front of her to hold it up. She looked up then stopped just outside the bathroom. Josh thought she had seen the demon, but he disappeared. She held her towel a little tighter as though she had seen something and glanced around the room. Everything looked in order. She seemed unsure. Josh and Driton stood quietly near the door to the room, waiting to see what would happen next. Josh thought he could hear the woman’s heartbeat. The apartment was deathly quiet. Josh was waiting for her to sense they were there, but she never did. Her body relaxed as she moved some damp strands of hair from in front of her face. She walked past the end of the bed to the dresser, opened a drawer and poked around for something to put on. Something darted from the living room to the dining room. She whipped her head towards the open bedroom door gripping her towel with both hands. The demon reappeared to her left, standing so close he could have easily bit her ear off.

  “What was that?” he whispered in her ear.

  The woman breathed heavily. She thought she’d seen something, but wasn’t sure. It could be her mind playing tricks on her, but what if it wasn’t? What was it she’d seen? Everyone in the room could tell she was nervous. This delighted the demon even more. His plan was working.

  “Did something just move out there?” the demon whispered again, “It looked too big to be the cat.”

  Josh looked at Driton who put his hand on Josh's shoulder to try and comfort him. The woman reached back in dresser drawer, never taking her eyes off of the front door at the far end of the condo. Shakily but quietly she searched the drawer for something until she finally found it. In her hand she firmly gripped a can of mace. She took a second to make sure the nozzle was pointing in the right direction; if there was something she was sure to hit it dead on. In her moist bare feet she walked slowly and quietly passed Driton and Josh into the little hallway. She did her best to hold the can of mace steady but she was nervous. She’d never had to deal with an intruder before. Josh felt Driton’s hand on his arm leading him to follow her. When she made it to the edge of the hallway she leaned against the wall to her left, since whatever she saw went that way. It also provided her with a better angle into the living room. She saw nothing but her cat sleeping away on the couch.

  She sighed softly, “I should've gotten a dog,”

  She turned her attention to the dining room and kitchen, listening for any sounds. It was still quiet. Holding her breath she peered around the corner to the dining room, psyching herself up to be ready for anything. Around the corner she saw, nothing. Everything was in the same place she’d left it before going to take a shower. For a moment she felt relieved and let out a soft sigh, but the demon wasn't far behind her.

  Again he whispered in her ear, “Maybe I saw it wrong and they went in the kitchen.”

  Her eyes shifted to the kitchen in response to the coaxing, her heart began to beat faster again. She could see the majority of the kitchen over the counter, but the only way in or out was through the doorway near the front door. Whatever she thoug
ht she saw could be kneeling down in front of the sink. She eased her way towards the doorway to the kitchen, crouching a little as she did, hoping it wouldn’t see her coming. Driton and Josh stepped into the living room behind the coffee table. Even from this angle Josh couldn’t see if there was anything in the kitchen but he too began to think there could be something in there waiting to attack. The woman paused at the edge of the doorway and took another deep breath. She hoped to God there was nothing there. Slowly she peeked around the corner getting the mace ready and found, nothing. She let out a deep sigh and about fell to the floor in exhaustion. She groaned holding her forehead.

  She combed her hand through her still damp hair, “I've probably been working too much,” she said out loud then checked the front door to be sure it was still properly locked, just in case. Satisfied everything was secure Tiffany walked back to the bedroom to finish dressing.

  “Come on,” Driton motioned to Josh, “let's go. We don't need to see the rest.”

  Driton stopped where the cat lay looking up at him peacefully. He petted the cat, which responded by getting up and stretching.

  “Um, Driton?” Josh wasn’t sure exactly what to say next. This whole ordeal was filled with one emotion after another. What just happened may have answered his initial question but it also added to it other questions.

  “Hmm?” Driton said paying a little more attention to scratching under the cat’s chin than what Josh was saying.

  “There's just...I don't know. There's just so much I wanna ask. Like...,” Josh looked at the cat purring away as though it were in heaven, “…well, like the cat for instance.”

  “What, you don't like cats?”

  “No, it's not that. It's just, how can the cat see you...er...us and no one else can? For that matter how can the cat feel you petting it when you don’t have a body? And…” Josh felt his anxiety rise, “…what happened in there?” he looked back towards the bedroom, sticking out his thumb over his shoulder, “What is it you wanted to show me with all this? And…” Josh wanted to go on but couldn’t. The first round of questions that spilled out felt like enough.

  “Well,” Driton began unaffected by Josh’s erratic emotions, “the cat can see us because animals are different than humans, obviously. I know it's become kind of a cliché that animals can see the 'undead', but there's some real truth to that.” Driton continued to pet the cat, “I’m not going to get into all the physiological reasons it would just take too long. The quickest reason I can give is it’s how they’re wired. They can sense things better than humans. As for what happened in there and what it was I wanted to show you can both be answered at once. I wanted to give you an idea of how things work. It's not like you see in the movies, Josh. The devil doesn't make people do bad things, he doesn't have to. People do it pretty well on their own. The demon you saw? His job is to influence people. More precisely he was there to influence that woman.”

  “One demon? I thought I saw another one cross over from the living room to the kitchen.”

  “No, no, it was the same demon. You’re in the spirit world now Josh, time and movement run differently here. It only takes one demon to try and coax that woman to sin. Some humans are a little more stubborn to fall into sin so more demons, or a more powerful demon, is required for them.”

  “So, the demon,” Josh tried to think of the best word, “ran into the living room to run by the open bedroom door so she would think she saw something.” Driton nodded, “Then he came back into the room to whisper in her ear making her think she was really asking herself the question.” Driton nodded again. “Why would it do that?”

  Driton looked as though he couldn’t believe Josh didn’t know, “To groom her, of course.”

  “I thought people couldn't see us.”

  “You they can't. Angels and demons can freely move in and out of this…reality, or ‘shadow reality’ as some have called it, when they want. Demons don't make it as obvious because...well, imagine what that woman would do if she saw him.” Josh did. “It would be a lot harder for that demon to persuade her to do what her ‘conscious’ wanted her if she knew it was really him telling her those things. They know it’s best to wait allowing the human mind to conjure up some kind of story. Little by little she’ll let go until he has her doing whatever he wants.”

  “Why don't angels show themselves then? Y'know, to prove to people you guys’re real.”

  “God won’t allow it unless He sees a need. No angel would dare go against His will.” Josh was about to ask another question but Driton started before he could. “Why doesn’t God allow it then?” Driton already knew what Josh was going to ask. “It’s about their faith. You can’t have faith in something you can see. Faith is believing in something you don’t see. So, if they saw, they would no longer trust Him because of the things He said, instead people would rely on the things He gives them. You ever have someone love you because of the things you gave them?” Josh thought of plenty of people. “Besides, people would start worshiping angels instead of God.” Driton sighed, “Humans don’t change, even after six thousand years. That was the point of the Bible, to give examples of how God loves humans. But people have to see things to believe them. Demons know this and use it to manipulate them. They’ve been around for a long time working together for the same purpose. And once they get into people’s minds, it’s hard to bring them back to the right path, and even then it can be tricky. Demons will twist what the Bible says to urge people to keep sinning when they think they’re not. People are being manipulated to believe some crazy things and it doesn't take much because so few read and understand the Bible.”

  Driton got up from petting the cat who searched his hand for more. From the bedroom Josh could see sunlight beginning to stream in from the East. He was amazed the night went by so quickly.

  Chapter 6