Hellbound: Chronicles

by Brashear, Nicholas

  “So what is the opinion of Asmodeus?”

  “That he should go to bed with the woman.”

  “What’s so bad about that?”

  “Travis is a newly married man. You are going to a reception.”

  And there was the catch. Somehow the first job on my long list is adultery. In my journey to join my wife, I am being punished by Hell. I saw the hour of my death again. I could see him there. I could see Shannon. I could see the actions that caused my breakdown and then ultimately my death. I could feel the blood flowing over my body again. I remembered every thought that raced through my head. I could feel the cold hand of death touching me. It sent a shiver up my spine. Charlie was still talking, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. The images in my head had taken me to the point of being blind, deaf, and dumb to the outside world.

  “Are you listening to me, Jon!?” he demanded.

  “No. Sorry.”

  “I said that you need to convince him that his wife will never find out. Then you leave. Now I will explain again how you are to do this. When you arrive in Adam’s body, you will be blinded for a brief moment. He will be passed out when you enter him, and landing in his mind stirs a lot of dust. When it settles, your eyes will clear, and you will be able to interact with the world through him. All you have to do is think of him doing it, instead of you. He will move accordingly. If you need to know any Adam-specific information, all you have to do is think about it. You will be able to access all of his conscious memories. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah.” I didn’t, really. I just wanted to get this done with. I was tired of hearing Charlie’s voice and was ready to move on. I knew that the faster I did my deeds, the quicker I would be reunited with my wife, and that was all that concerned me. She was my will.

  “Are you ready, Jon?” he asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be, Charlie.”

  “Very well. As this is your first assignment of an ongoing quest, you will be escorted to Earth.”

  “Escorted?”

  “Yes. Asmodeus’ gifts will only grant so much power. You lack the skill to seamlessly transfer from Purgatory to Earth. If you were to attempt it at this point, you would cease to be. In order for the dead to visit the living again, we need to open a door to their existence. Since you do not yet boast my trust, I will send minions to make sure you do not attempt a witless mistake.”

  “What could I possibly do while trapped inside another man’s body?”

  “I seem to remember an instance when you were fleeing for your unlife like a trembling, scared animal. If such a situation would arise once more, it would put me in a very awkward position.”

  “I still don’t think that I need to be escorted like some child. You don’t need to hold my hand.”

  “That may be so, Jon. However, you are not in a position to make those decisions. When you are in such a position, you will be welcome to make your suggestions. For now, I imagine you should do well to do as you are told.” I nodded. “Now then, your companions will be two Hellhounds. I will open the door to Earth, and they will stand guard on that side of the rift. If you attempt to flee from your designated area, they will immediately begin hunting for you.” A sinister smile became his face. “And they won’t be as pleasant as I.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Oh, nothing. Just be on your way, Jon. Remember: you are Adam, he is Travis. You convince him to compromise his marriage. Then you will be one step closer to your prize.”

  “I’m ready.” I wasn’t really ready. I was scared. The thought of those Hellhounds being that close to me again was torture. I had never seen them in action, but just the look of them was enough to paralyze me. They filled me with an unimaginable feeling of dread. After all, I still didn’t really know who or what Charlie was. For all I knew, he could be a demon in disguise.

  I started to think about that. ‘He could be Asmodeus in disguise. I remember Asmodeus being able to take another form than fire, and I’ve never seen Asmodeus and Charlie in the same place at the same time. At least I can’t remember. All the days feel like they are running together, becoming more of a continuous stream of events rather than individual chapters. I miss the sun. I miss it almost as much as I miss Shannon.’ Before I knew it, Charlie was walking away.

  “Are you coming, Jon?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I hesitated, “right behind you.”

  We were walking for some time and Charlie had opted not to speak with me on the walk, so my thoughts raced right back to my life, my death, and of course my wife. ‘I could have just stayed. I am so stupid! It would have been easy. I could’ve just pretended to not see anything and back out of the room. I could’ve left the apartment and went to a bar or something. Then when I got home everything would’ve been different. I would’ve cooled down enough to talk this out with her. Everyone makes mistakes, right? Maybe not. I probably would react the same given another opportunity. I can’t believe that I could do something like that. I still hope this is a dream, just a horrible, horrible dream. Maybe I will wake up soon.’

  “Here we are, Jon,” Charlie said, interrupting my thoughts.

  I looked around. “I don’t see any door.”

  “I have to create it. Not many doors between the planes exist naturally. There are a select few, but they have mostly been forgotten or abandoned. I know of one such door that opens into the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. I suggest you steer clear of said door. No more speaking.”

  I didn’t acknowledge his words, but he began anyway. He raised his arms to the sky and lowered his head. He clinched his fists and a soft blue light began to emerge from his hood. I assumed it was one of the Elohim marks powering up. I was no longer fazed by the sight of demonic powers. I began to understand that they would be common place and I tried to think of them as normal. He started muttering under his breath. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it didn’t sound like anything I could recognize. He waved his hands in the air and brought them to the ground in the blink of an eye. As his fingertips brushed the ground, a door emerged from the darkness with a sudden “FCCHHWOOP”. Then he closed his eyes and raised his hands towards the sky. He snapped them and two hellhounds appeared on either side of the door. They immediately were barking. The initial bark was inaudible, but the echo was a forceful and terrifying bark.

  “You know what you have to do, Jon?” Charlie asked.

  “Hmm,” I responded.

  “That wasn’t a statement, mortal.”

  “Yes! I am ready.”

  “Very well then. Proceed through the door and you will enter Adam’s mind.”

  I was nervous and apprehensive, but even with the feelings of dread wracking my body, I was excited. Even though I was completely alone and at the will of another, I would return to Earth. I couldn’t even see my wife, but it was enough to know that eventually after all the work I did I would be able to see her again. I would be able to live again. And I was about to live. I would be living through Adam for now, but eventually I would just be me. I would just be Jon.

  “Do you need a push?” Charlie mocked.

  I scowled at him and as I did his eyes turned red. I quickly averted my gaze and stepped toward the door. It was huge and completely black, like a shadow of a door, at least 16 feet high and five feet wide; nothing more than a shadow. I took a deep breath and stepped through.

  It was cold and dusty. I couldn’t see anything, but the dust began to settle. It appeared like a cave with two openings; two giant openings. I realized that I had stepped through and into Adam’s mind. ‘Okay,’ I told myself, ‘just focus and you should be able to take control.’ I sat down and closed my eyes. As I did, there was a sudden rush like a wind upon my face. I opened my eyes and it was as if I was seeing through Adam’s eyes.

  “You all right, man?” a man asked. I looked over at him. “Adam, are you okay?”

  It was working. He thought I was Adam. “Yeah, I’m all right. I just need to get some air.” I
stood up and looked around. The house was small. Only about 10 or 12 people were at the party. I spotted Travis at the other end of the room. Only, when I stood up I walked towards the front door. Closer and closer I got. I could feel my freedom only a few steps away. ‘I could run,’ I told myself. ‘I was able to keep away from him for a while the last time. Could Charlie really see me right now? He wouldn’t possibly know if I skipped out. And by the time he did find out, I would be long gone.’ I stepped closer and closer. With every step I could feel my freedom getting closer and closer to a realization. I knew that I couldn’t actually interact with people or anything for that matter but an eternity in the dead space of reality would be heaven in comparison to five minutes in Hell. A menagerie of thoughts raced through my mind as I stepped closer and closer still. I lost track of what I was doing and before I knew what was going on, I was there. The door was standing right in front of me. A two inch barrier was all that stood between me and freedom from the constraints of Hell and those who dwell there. I reached for the door knob. At the moment my fingers braced the rusted, cold, metal handle, I heard the echoing bark of the hellhounds, and I released.

  Being eaten alive in my dream was enough. The fear was inside me now. I could feel it, and it was holding me back. I knew that I could run, but I didn’t know if I would make it or not. I stuck to my bargain with Charlie. I drug my feet as I solemnly stepped back inside the room with everyone else.

  ‘I think that it‘s time I get this over with,’ I thought. “Travis!” I yelled.

  He looked over at me and smiled. “I’ll be there in a minute, Adam!”

  He was talking to a woman. I assumed she was the girl. ‘She is going to ruin Travis’ life,’ I thought. ‘No, she won’t do it. I will. What I am about to tell this man is going to ruin everything he has and knows, but then again, it will be his decision, ultimately.’ I had to believe that. It was the only thing that would allow me to do what I needed to do. I had to convince myself that it was his decision and my actions would not affect him in anyway.

  I sat down and looked around the world that I had once left behind. I smiled. I was so happy to be relieved of the constant burden of Hell. I was happy to be able to listen to music, to talk to people, to be alive. It was an amazing feeling that I never knew I would appreciate so much. It was even good to feel cold or hot. They were all the things I had always had in life and they were the things I missed so much in death.

  “Hot, huh?” It was Travis. He was gesturing at the woman he was just talking to. She had fiery red hair and crystal blue eyes. She was wearing a tight outfit: blue jeans and a v cut shirt. When she noticed us looking at her, she blew a kiss to my supposed pal. “Did you hear me, Adam?”

  “Yeah,” I responded. “Man she is smoking hot.”

  “I’m thinking about trying to get with that. What do you think?”

  ‘He’s married. I can’t knowingly lead him on like this. Charlie found the wrong man for this mission! All right, Jon. You can do this. You just need to pull yourself together and forget this adulterous bastard. He will live and die by his decisions alone.’ “I don’t know, Travis. Aren’t you married, man?”

  “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. Cassie would be pissed if she found out.”

  “You don’t want to deal with all that for a little booty, do you?” I asked him.

  “No, you’re probably right. That’s why I love you so much, Adam. You always got my back.”

  Just then I noticed a flash of white out of the corner of my eye. It ran past the window on the outside. Just as it passed, Charlie ran in the room from the room opposite the window. I panicked. I jumped to my feet sure that he was here to punish me for failing his quest. ‘The light had to be him,’ I thought. ‘He must’ve been watching me and then when he saw what I did, he came in as quick as he could to call me out. I don’t want to die yet!’

  “On your feet, Jon!” Charlie ordered. I noticed he wasn’t smiling. The evil grin had been replaced by a look of fear and dread. “We have to go, NOW!” I jumped to my feet. I looked around the room and I didn’t know what to do. I was still in the real world and I was sure that no one could see Charlie. I didn’t know how to get out of there so I just ran behind Charlie. He led me to the bathroom. “Okay, this is what you do and you listen carefully. We only have time for one shot at this.” I stood waiting for his instructions so I could quickly obey. He sounded urgent and I was hoping that since he hadn’t addressed my failure yet, that that wasn’t why he was there to begin with. “Sit down on the toilet and close your eyes.” I did promptly. “Now you have to think about going back through the portal. You have to really concentrate, Jon. NOW!” I went weightless again. I was out of Adam’s body and standing before the black gate that Charlie had created for me. “Now step through, Jon. I will be right behind you.” I stepped through and went cold. I was in Purgatory again.

  “Where the hell am I?” I asked, panting for breath.

  “You know where you are, Jon,” Charlie responded. His voice was more normal now. I figured that since he hadn’t sent me to an eternal lake of fire, I was off the hook for what I did. Either that, or he was about to end me.

  “What happened?”

  “Your quest was compromised,” he responded, coldly.

  “How do you mean?” I asked, confused.

  “There was an Elohim present that was not one of our own. I didn’t expect them to be there or I wouldn’t have sent you,” Charlie explained.

  “So, you saved me?” ‘That doesn’t sound like Charlie,’ I thought.

  His grin reappeared. “Don’t think for an instant that your pathetic soul means anything to me. I saved you to save myself.” I just stared at him like a confused puppy. “If I hadn’t saved you, Asmodeus would come for me. For all the power I possess, I am no match for his awesome might.” I nodded to signal understanding. “Come along, Jon.” He started walking and I immediately stood to follow him. I didn’t want to take any more of his floating my body around. It was painful and always left a cold feeling running through me. I thought that I would just suck up my pride and try to get through this whole ordeal as soon as possible.

  We walked to the gate to Hell and it slowly opened up. This time the hellhounds were nowhere to be found. ‘I wonder if they didn’t make it through the portal in time,’ I thought. ‘Maybe that angel that was there gave them a well-deserved lesson. What do I care? They were just another evil thing that isn’t currently trying to kill me.’ We walked through and Charlie stopped as soon as the doors closed. He whipped his head around and stared straight into my eyes.

  “Did you finish the job, Jon?” he asked with a slight smirk.

  I began to panic. I didn’t want him to find out the truth, yet he was asking me now and I hadn’t even tried to think of an answer until this very moment. I was fearful of what Charlie would do to me if he were to find out that I lied or what he would do if I just told him the truth. “I did it, well,” I finally blurted out.

  “Congratulations,” he responded coolly.

  “For what, Charlie?”

  “For completing your first task. You are one step closer to my end of the bargain.”

  ‘Did he really just congratulate me?’ I asked myself. ‘I wonder if that angel didn’t get to him before we left. He seems somewhat, nice.’ I was very confused.

  “Now, to business,” he started. “You have completed the task I asked you to do, so now you qualify for a job that will actually propel you to your wife.”

  “Don’t speak of my wife,” I growled. I don’t know why I let it bother me, but I did.

  “I will speak of whomever I want, Jon!” he spat out. “Do not forget the chain of command!”

  “I don’t have to remember any chain of command. You are not my superior. You are just a man; no, not even a man. You are a slave and nothing else! They send you to do the little things that they see as tedious. Do you really think that they would trust the most important things to some mere mortal!?”


  “Mortal? Me? How do you think that I am a mortal?” he asked while laughing.

  “You can’t be one of them. Why would you have all of those marking on you if you were one of them?”

  “Maybe you are more than I thought. Asmodeus has been known to pick them well. However, I suggest that you lower your tone.”

  “I won’t lower anything for you!”

  “I think that it would be best for you, Jon.”

  “I won’t lower it for you or for any of your demon bosses!” I screamed.

  Charlie’s face turned into that familiar pearly grin and he started to take a few steps backwards. The entirety of Hell grew quiet. Nothing at all, not even the occasional moan of agony as someone was tortured. Absolutely nothing, but the peace only lasted a few seconds. Then it was quickly replaced by the sound of a thousand feet stomping and a thousand wings flapping. They were all getting louder and closer, quickly. Charlie was still standing there looking straight at me with that smile. They grew closer and closer and still he stood against me. I wouldn’t budge, my pride wouldn’t let me. I was so angry with him that I was paralyzed. I couldn’t move, the rage was dulling my sense of danger. Closer and closer they got, I could now see a silhouette in the distance of a massive mob of Elohim losing distance quickly. Closer and closer and I finally realized what they were. I looked back at Charlie. He was still smiling. That cursed smile. I wouldn’t let it be the last thing that I saw. The evil that was standing in front of me would not be the same evil to witness my death. I wouldn’t let it happen. So I closed my eyes, I concentrated, and then I snapped my fingers.

  I was standing before Asmodeus’ massive triangle. He wasn’t there, or at least I couldn’t see him if he was. I sat on the ground in front of the structure and I started to think. ‘Could they really have all heard that? I wonder if they know who I am or who said it. Ha. Maybe they’ll think it was Charlie. That would be funny. No, that isn’t fair. Well, maybe a little fair. I imagine Charlie has witnessed, participated, and committed many great, evil acts. I bet he would deserve everything. Wait, what is happening to me? Why am I thinking like that? I know that Charlie may be evil, and that he would just as soon kill me as send me back to Earth. I hope this is not all for nothing. I hope that he really does possess the ability to send me back to my wife. I hope it’s not a lie. I miss her so much. I wonder if she even thinks about me anymore. I wonder if she’s gotten over me yet. Wait, I don’t even know how long I’ve been down here. I might’ve died three years ago. I wouldn’t even know if I had. I wish I could’ve seen her. I wish that just as luck would have it she would’ve been at the party. Sure she would of only seen me as Adam, but that wouldn’t matter to me. Just to be able to see her again. I want to be able to smell her hair, or “accidentally” bump into her and feel her soft skin. I want to be able to just see her standing there, looking back at me. I don’t even need a kiss or even a hug. All I want is to see my beautiful Shannon again, but no, I’m not allowed to be with her. I have to stay here in Hell with all these wretched people that I don’t even know. Well I suppose I do know my father and Stu, if either of them are still alive. I don’t know if you could say I know Asmodeus or not, but I guess I’ll put him on the list, too. The more the merrier. Heh. This is mostly his fault though. I wouldn’t be in this predicament if he hadn’t given me his “gifts”. Although the one did come in handy, didn’t it? And he did recommend me for Charlie to give a job to. And the reward for that job is to be with my Shannon again. Maybe he really isn’t that bad of a soul, all things considered. Maybe he was just led astray and he is actually trying to help me. Maybe these “gifts” are a blessing more than a curse. Hey wait a minute. I saw my father through this thing before and he was walking down a path with grass around it. Then when I asked him about it he said that he was working. Could it be that he was working for Charlie at the moment I was allowed to use this giant hunk of geometry. If so, then would it be possible to see anyone? Could I use it to see the most important soul? Could I finally be able to see my Shannon again?’ I stood up.