Diary of a journey through Hell

by Trudie Collins

  I started awake when I felt someone shake my arm and was shocked to find that it was almost dark. “How long have I been asleep?” I asked.

  “Not long,” Robert said.

  “So why is it dark?”

  “Look up,” he said. I did as he asked and was surprised to find that the sun was behind dark clouds which filled the entire sky.

  “What the hell?” I said. I didn’t think Hell had such a thing as a weather system.

  “Kris says we are going to have a storm,” Robert said. “He’s gone to see if there is a better place to camp nearby. If not, we will be spending the night here.”

  “Is it going to last that long?”

  “Kris seems to think so.”

  A short while later Kris returned. “This is as good a place as any. We had better get the tents set up before the wind picks up. This is going to be a bad one.”

  “You mean it is going to be one hell of a storm,” Robert said, grinning. The look Kris gave him wiped the smile off his face.

  Kris extracted the tents from his bag once more, but this time something was different. Instead of three individual tents, there was one big one with a number of separate rooms.

  “We are going to be stuck here for a few days, so I thought it best if we were all together,” he said when I asked about the tent.

  “Days!” I exclaimed. “You’re joking, right?”

  Kris shook his head. “We don’t get storms very often in this realm, but when we do they are extreme.”

  Wonderful. Stuck in a tent for a few days with two men. What woman wouldn’t be excited about that?

  I really should stop being so sarcastic when I write.

  The tent consisted of 3 sleeping areas, a dining room complete with table and chairs and an area that would be a lounge or sitting room. As far as tents go it was massive, but it soon started to feel very small.

  The wind arrived before the rain and it became so ferocious I began to wonder if the tent would survive. Had we been on Earth it would have pulled up the pegs and blown the tent away with us inside it. Then the rain began and it was so noisy we had to shout to be heard.

  “This is ridiculous,” Kris yelled out.

  “Can’t you do something?” Robert asked.

  Kris nodded, sat down cross legged and closed his eyes in concentration. After a couple of minutes the entire tent went silent.

  “What did you do?” I asked in wonder.

  “Soundproofing.”

  “Can you do the bedrooms as well? Just in case Robert snores.”

  “Hey,” he protested as I grinned at him.

  “Already done,” Kris said, winking at me. “Great minds think alike.”

  It did not take long for boredom to set in and tempers to become short. No matter how much you like someone, be cooped up with them for any length of time and they will really begin to irritate you.

  “Anyone know how to play poker?” Kris asked, withdrawing a pack of cards from his bag. I could have kissed him.

  “I play a little,” Robert lied. He played a lot, and well. I have played with him a few times and he has the perfect poker face. I can never tell when he is bluffing. I corrected Robert’s statement and asked what version Kris knew. Of course he knew all of them.

  “5 card stud,” I said, “and you’d better give us chips. Unless you want to play strip poker that is.”

  Kris raised his eyebrows. “Think you’re that good, do you?”

  “No,” I said pointing at Robert. “I think he is.”

  “Behave yourself,” Robert said to me as Kris started to remove stacks of chips from his bag.

  We played for quite a few hours and had a lot of fun. It did not take us long to realise that Kris, though a very good tactical player, had no idea how to bluff, so between us Robert and I took him for everything he had.

  “Bet you’re really glad you didn’t agree to play strip poker now,” Robert said as he counted his winnings.

  Kris shrugged. “I would have played differently had there really been something at stake.”

  “Is that a challenge?” I asked.

  “No,” he replied. “It’s late. We should all get some sleep. We might be lucky and have clear weather in the morning.”

  Days 27 and 28

  We weren’t lucky. The storm lasted for nearly 48 hours, eventually clearing up late morning on day 28. Our forced imprisonment hadn’t gone as badly as I had been expecting and we were all still on speaking terms when we were finally allowed to leave the tent. I have never been so pleased to see clear blue sky in my life (even if it was fake).

  While we were in our canvas prison Kris got fed up with losing at poker so we switched games. He had an endless supply which kept us entertained enough that we didn’t really notice how long we were stuck with each other.

  I was badly in need of a bath, as were the boys by the smell of them, but after spending the last two days making no progress, bathing would have to wait till the evening.

  The journey was uneventful, but it was good to be able to stretch our legs again. We walked further apart than normal, each enjoying our own space.

  Spending two days resting did a lot toward recovering my strength and we managed to cover quite a distance before the sun began to set and we had to find a campsite. Kris stopped us next to a river and I announced that I was going to take a dip in the water while the boys put up the tents. It would be good to be back in my own one instead of having to share.

  I was almost ready to get out of the river when the boys turned up, fishing rods in hand. Kris turned his back while Robert held out a towel for me. He wrapped me up and sent me back to the campsite, telling me that the fire had been laid and they would be at least an hour if I wanted to dry off in front of it.

  I took him up on his suggestion and it felt fantastic to be standing naked in front of the flames as their heat dried my body. The boys were not gone as long as they had predicted and I was brushing my slowly drying hair when they walked back into the campsite, proudly displaying the fruits of their labour.

  Kris coated the fish in herbs and roasted them over the fire. They tasted delicious. The white wine he provided was the perfect complement and he even managed to chill it.

  All in all it was a very pleasant evening and we all went to bed feeling relaxed and happy.

  Day 29

  The campsite was empty when I awoke, but I could hear the sounds of Robert bathing (did I ever mention that he sings in the shower?), so I made my way to the river to see if Kris was also there. I walked downstream, away from Robert, and it did not take long for me to find him.

  He was sitting on the river bank, scratching in the dirt with a stick. From where I was it looked like some kind of crude map. He stopped and stared ahead of him, lost in thought. Thinking he had not seen me, I moved a little closer to get a better look.

  “I know you are there,” he said as he crossed out his drawing, completely erasing all of the markings.

  “What’s up?” I asked as I sat down beside him.

  “I’m trying to decide on our route. The quickest way is to cross the river and go through the fields on the other side, but I don’t want to take you that way.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “I’ll tell you later,” he said. “Rob should hear this as well and I don’t want to have to repeat myself.”

  While waiting for Robert to finish bathing, Kris built a fire. As soon as Robert was dried and dressed, Kris sat us both down and told us the bad news.

  “Across the river is the quickest way to go,” he said. “But I really do not want to go that way. On the opposite bank are the ghost fields.”

  “The what?” I asked in surprise.

  “Did you just say ghost?” Robert asked at the same time. “As in a spirit, soul, life force, whatever you want to call it, of a dead person?”

  Kris nodded. “Some people, though they don’t believe they should go to Hell, do not let Death help them make the transition from living to
dead. Their souls end up trapped in a state of flux, neither living nor dead. They become ghost like and inhabit the area just across the water from us.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad. After all, what harm can they do us?” Robert said.

  “Have you ever met a ghost?” Kris asked. Robert shook his head. “Then please refrain from making comments on things you know nothing about.”

  “What’s the alternative?” I asked.

  “There isn’t one. Death told me to take you this way, so I don’t really have a choice.”

  “Then why even bring it up?” Robert said as his anger boiled to the surface.

  “Two reasons,” Kris replied. “Firstly, I thought you both deserved to be warned. Secondly, I was hoping one of you could come up with a reason for me to defy my uncle.”

  “I suppose that saying we forced you to take a different route won’t work,” I said.

  “And how exactly are you planning on forcing me?” Kris asked, his lips twitching in a slight smile. At least I had managed to lighten his mood a little.

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Just how bad is crossing the field likely to be?” Did I really want to know? I guess so or I wouldn’t have asked the question.

  “The souls of the dead will know that you are alive. They will be extremely jealous and will try to attack you. They have no substance, so they cannot cause you any physical harm, but the sight and feel of them passing through you will be unpleasant to say the least.”

  I was right – I didn’t want to know.

  “Is that all?” Robert said. “Doesn’t sound too bad to me.”

  “We will see,” is all Kris would say.

  As it seemed we didn’t have much choice, we followed the river downstream until we reached a bridge, then crossed over. The other bank was no different to the one we had just left and had Kris not warned us what was ahead, the meadow we were in would have seemed the same as any other we had walked through.

  I looked around me nervously, expecting ghosts to suddenly start appearing.

  “What are you waiting for?” Kris asked, looking back at me and Robert. He had continued walking, expecting us to keep up with him and was confused as to why we had stopped.

  “The ghosts,” I said, somewhat pathetically. As soon as the words left my mouth I realised how stupid they sounded. Kris gave me a withering look, shook his head, turned around and continued walking.

  I looked at Robert, who shrugged his shoulders and started after Kris.

  “Where are they?” Robert asked when he reached him.

  “They tend to congregate around the lake for some reason,” Kris said. “Maybe it’s the only beautiful thing they have left. We will start to see some soon though.”

  As soon as he finished his sentence I spotted a young woman ahead of us. She had long, wavy brown hair which streamed out behind her as she ran toward us. I wanted to ask Kris who she was, but something felt wrong. She looked like a normal human being, but I had a strange feeling that she wasn’t.

  She ran straight past Kris and Robert, the latter turning to speak to her, and continued on toward me. She had a look of unbridled delight as she came closer to me. Then she ran straight through me.

  Kris saying the feeling would be unpleasant is a gross understatement. I have read in various fiction books that it feels icy cold. I wish that had been the case. I felt no temperature change at all. Instead it felt as if something solid was forcing itself through me, but not slicing, like a knife. Instead of having my molecules ripped savagely apart, they moved out of the way of the young woman and my flesh, bones and organs moulded themselves around her. Kind of how I imagine jelly must feel if you stick your finger in it.

  The young woman ran at me so fast that it must have been over in under a second, but it felt like a lot longer. Time seemed to go slow as I felt her ease her way through me. As soon as she was out the other side I fell to my knees and vomited.

  “Jesus Christ,” Robert exclaimed. “I thought she was a real person. Aren’t ghosts supposed to be see through?”

  “Only according to those who have never actually seen one,” Kris said.

  I was still heaving as Kris walked up to me and handed me a bottle of water. “I did warn you,” he said, but not without sympathy.

  “Like hell you did,” I rasped at him. “You described it as ‘unpleasant’ if memory serves me right. You could have said it is the worst sensation I will ever have the mispleasure of experiencing.”

  I grabbed the bottle from his outstretched hand, undid the top and drank deeply. Big mistake. As soon as the liquid hit my stomach I vomited it straight back up.

  “Sip it,” Kris said.

  “Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

  I did as instructed and managed to keep the water down this time. For a while I just sat on the ground with my head in my hands. I really didn’t feel well.

  “We need to keep moving,” Kris said. “They know we are here and will come in force soon.”

  Robert took my arm and helped me to stand. “Are you alright?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “Someone just walked through me. I am far from alright.”

  “I mean are you OK to walk or do you need me to carry you?”

  He wasn’t trying to be funny; he was serious. “I’m fine, but thanks for the offer.” I smiled at him, slipped my hand into his and gripped it tightly. “Let’s go.”

  We spotted a few more ‘ghosts’ in the distance as we walked, but none approached us. After a short while we crested a small hill and the sight before us made me freeze. We had reached the lake that Kris had mentioned.

  In front of us was a crowd of people, thousands all packed together like they were at a football game or an outdoor concert.

  “We are never going to make it through all of them,” Robert said in a stunned voice.

  “They will avoid me,” Kris said. “Just stay close.”

  Robert then took me by surprise by positioning me between him and Kris, ensuring that I was protected front and back. In single file we made our way down the hill to confront the multitude of dead souls that would soon be surrounding us.

  Thankfully Kris was telling us the truth. As he approached, the ghosts seemed to melt out of his way. They sensed that there was something different about Robert and me and soon a murmuring filled the crowd. If I listened hard I could just about make out the words. “They’re alive.”

  The apparitions started to move in closer to us until they were just out of reach. A large man with tattoos down his arms walked over to Robert and screamed at him. “Why are you here? Why are you allowed to keep your life when we have all lost ours? You deserve to die.” His voice was filled with hate, but he made no attempt to attack.

  Then an elderly lady grabbed at my arm, missing it by millimetres. I pulled my arms in closer to me to make myself a smaller target and moved nearer to Kris as I felt Robert close the gap between me and him. It felt odd being penned in by the two men, but also very comforting.

  Robert suddenly cried out and I turned my head to see an old man walk out of him. I felt my stomach begin to churn and I had to look away quickly before I vomited again.

  A woman reached to pull my hair, but her hand passed straight through it. I shuddered, but did not stop walking. Then a child threw himself at Robert’s feet and despite the fact that he had no substance, Robert reacted instinctively and tripped forward, causing us both to hit the ground.

  The ghosts were on us instantly, passing their limbs through us as they tried to grab hold of any part of us they could. I heard screaming and thought it was me for a moment, but then I realised that it was Robert. He had positioned himself on top of me so only the barest minimum of my body was exposed to the attacking hoard, but he had no protection. I dare not think about what he went through.

  Kris came to our rescue almost immediately, but to Robert I am sure it felt like hours. The ghosts recoiled away from Kris and he dragged Robert to his feet
before helping me stand up.

  As soon as I was back on my feet, the spirits of the dead began to close in again. I braced myself for another attack, but it was waylaid by a familiar voice shouting, “Keep away from my daughter.”

  “Dad?” I asked in a small voice.

  “Kris, get them out of here. We will protect them from behind,” an equally familiar woman’s voice said. What were my parents doing here?

  I felt Kris take my hand and vaguely heard him tell me to grab hold of Robert, who was still screaming. I was too stunned to react until Kris shouted the instruction to me. I obeyed and felt Robert flinch.

  “It’s alright Robert, it’s me.” He looked down at me and finally went silent. Without another word Kris pulled on my arm and led us away from the lake.

  It took a while, but eventually the crowd began to thin until there were no more ghosts ahead of us. When it was safe to do so, Kris let go of my hand and we stopped walking.

  “My parents are dead,” I said to him in confusion. “They can’t be here. They can’t be real.”

  “They are real,” he said. “Real as in you are not imagining them. But they are ghosts, just like the rest. Go and speak with them.” He was giving advice, not an order, but I did as I was told without arguing.

  I turned to them and tried to speak, but the words would not come out. Tears trickled down my face and my mother moved her arm, intending to wipe them away, but stopped just before she touched me. “I miss you both so much,” I sobbed. I longed to reach out and hug them, but I knew they had no substance.

  “We know sweetheart. We miss you too.”

  Robert finally came out of the trance-like state that had overtaken him during his attack and realised who I was talking to. He tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it.

  “Why are you here?” he asked. “Why did you not pass on?”

  The question was posed to both of my parents, but predictably it was my mother who answered. My father would not even look at Robert.