The Purgatory Saga #1: People of the Fire

by Michelle Dalson

  I stared after her with a wince. I got up and cursed under my breath as I angrily stomped forwards and paced into a run again. Whatever her problem was, I didn’t care.

  But then I raised my eyebrows. Apparently, that SoulBird wasn’t entirely dead. It was still alive! I actually hadn’t killed it.

  I slowed down as the Gehenna River started to bubble. I winced and heard voices. I heard a whiny moan from Uncle E.

  I saw that on the other side of the river, just a distance up ahead of me, Uncle E was kneeling next to the river, holding a handful of three SoulBirds. There were two fire types and an air type. They were all asleep, but were alive with the glow around their bodies—an angelic glow.

  Lucien was standing behind him with a stern look on his face. My heart stopped at the sight of him, and I almost hallucinated. What was it about Lucien that made me so nauseous?

  He looked dangerously angry. Even his own devilish earth type SoulBird perched his shoulder with an evil glare.

  “Throw ‘em in,” growled Lucien, giving Uncle E’s back a nudge with his foot. “I don’t care what they can do to Hell’s creatures. Just get rid of them.”

  Uncle E looked like he was crying. “Oh, it’s a sad sight to see angels lured here just to die off….” And reluctantly, he threw the bodies of the SoulBirds into the Gehenna River.

  I gasped and backed away as the river started to bubble and sizzle with intensity.

  Lucien gave a sideways smile and chuckled slyly.

  Uncle E stood up, wiping his forehead. “That’s the last of them, right?”

  “For now,” replied Lucien. His devilish earth SoulBird cawed and gave an angry flap with its wings. “Yes, yes, we’ve skipped one though,” he laid a hand on his bird’s talons to calm it down. “The SoulBird that your nephew killed….where is it? I entrusted it with you, Ebenezer. You were supposed to bring that one to the river tonight, were you not?”

  I felt my heart race. He was talking about the angelic SoulBird that I had abused.

  Uncle E flinched and immediately turned away with a look of horror. “Oh…you mean the angelic earth type?”

  “Of course,” Lucien crossed his arms and eyed him. “You’ve lost it, didn’t you?”

  Uncle E held his breath and didn’t meet his gaze. “Its rightful owner came and claimed it back….she fought me for it! I mean, I was right here by the Gehenna River and then she came out of nowhere, whacking my head with a tree branch!”

  I stiffened. He was talking about the same girl that I bumped into. So she was its real owner.

  The Higher One looked calm and prim as he stood there, eying Uncle E’s protesting gaze. But I could tell by the look in his red eyes that he was pissed. His eyes were getting brighter and the cracks were deepening.

  Uncle E shivered. “I-I’ll find her if you want. I can tell Zach! He won’t be scared to kill the SoulBird again.”

  “You fool,” Lucien grabbed Uncle E’s skinny neck and gripped him tightly until he choked. “That girl was a Medium from the lands of Primal.”

  Primal? That was the fourth stage in Purgatory.

  “In the stages of Primal and above,” spoke Lucien, “they start learning the ways of the angelic SoulBirds, and even practice medicines that heal those creatures and revive their souls. She’s going to return to her land now, and she’ll have her SoulBird healed in no time.”

  Uncle E gasped and tried to speak. “Uck—she left just a moment ago! I can find her now!” Uncle E stuttered and struggled in Lucien’s grip.

  Lucien chuckled with evil humor. I couldn’t help narrowing my eyes. The Higher One released Uncle E and spoke with a low tone. “Let her be. I was planning on assigning you to something else at this moment.” The Higher One let go of Uncle E. Uncle E stumbled back and coughed.

  Lucien’s devilish SoulBird cawed angrily and looked ready to jab its beak at Uncle E.

  “Now,” Lucien spoke menacingly as Uncle E looked at him with reluctance. “Your pitiful little nephew is responsible for the loss of the golden egg.”

  I flinched and made sure I was hidden within the shadows.

  A smile etched across Lucien’s face. “But I cannot punish him just yet. It is partly your fault for not keeping the boy under control. Now you must pay.”

  Uncle E gasped and looked at his brother with shock. “Your Higher…if I knew where that SoulBird disappeared to, I would fetch it…”

  “Well, the golden SoulBird can be anywhere in the worlds that the Lord created. And there are two other golden SoulBirds that must hatch, in order to fulfill the prophecy of the special Three. Why don’t you take a peek on Earth, hmm? The apocalypse isn’t entirely over yet. There’s still enough life there and the world is still in existence. There could be a chance that the golden SoulBird could have brought itself to the forsaken planet.”

  I raised my eyebrows. He was sending Uncle E to go to Earth right now?

  Uncle E didn’t seem surprised. His gaze faltered. “Oh, do I have to?” He sounded upset now.

  Lucien’s gaze hardened. “Perhaps you can trace its soul while you’re in a world of live mortals. You know what will happen to the worlds if that golden SoulBird reunites with the others to become the Three. They will withhold great power over the worlds. You must find them…and bring them to me.”

  Luckily, I was too scared to fall into an intense trance. I was starting to get a bad feeling about this. Obviously, Lucien had the desire to take over the worlds.

  Uncle E sighed. “Well…..I guess I’ll make my way to that blasted planet…..ugh I hated that world! It’s gonna be even worse to come back.”

  Lucien chuckled. “Ebenezer, no one will see you. As a spirit of the afterlife, you know you’d just be as invisible as a ghost from the World of Mists.” His eyes glinted. “Now let’s go! Follow me.”

  I watched as Lucien made his way up the side up the Gehenna River. Uncle E was reluctantly limping along.

  Before I could make a move, something caught the corner of my eye.

  “You idiot!” Saint Grenada’s spirit flashed in front of me and she was hovering above the river. But immediately, she coughed and gasped until she seemed to melt away. I winced and then started to chuckle deviously. Her angelic spirit must have been weakened by the river.

  But she reappeared behind me again.

  “What are you laughing at, you fool?” She hit the back of my head with her ruler.

  “Ow!” I turned and gave a fierce look. “What the hell do you want?!”

  Grenada looked pissed. “Listen, you! I know what you’re thinking. You better not follow that fool of an uncle of yours down to where Earth is. You listen to me now! Do not think about following him tonight!”

  “Oh? Why not? Are you hiding something from me as well?”

  “I’m protecting you from the evils that surround you, for crying out loud!” Grenada clutched her ruler with both hands. She looked ready to break it. “You mustn’t trust Lucien either. I command you to stay clear from Lucien’s way.”

  “What is Lucien up to?” I asked with narrowed eyes. “Why does he want to obtain the Three? And what is he trying to keep from me?”

  Grenada hissed. “You haven’t found out yet, haven’t you?” She scowled.

  I scowled back. “Found out about what?!”

  But Grenada was shaking her head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, you are so stupid.”

  I rolled my eyes. She was wasting my time. “You know what? You’re no guardian. You’re just a worthless old hag!” I swatted my hand at her, but my hand just ran right through her body. Somehow, she made herself transparent.

  “Listen, child!” Snapped Grenada. Her halo flashed with anger. “Just don’t be following Lucien! And don’t listen to everything your foolish uncle tells you.”

  “Why? Is his story of my past all a lie?”

  “Er…no,” Grenada spoke carefully, and started to look worried. “But he didn’t tell you everything about your past yet. There were actually…many important facts he
left out.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Like what?”

  “Argh! I don’t have time to explain! Just listen to me! It won’t be long until Earth is entirely under the power of Satan. Do not even bother going to Earth.”

  And with that, she disappeared.

  I scoffed and clenched my fists. Not even Grenada wanted to explain to me about my past, or why I was here. That’s three spirits so far! Uncle E, Hannah, and Saint Grenada all supposedly had knowledge of who I am and why I came here. But none of those useless spirits wanted to tell me anything.

  I looked up to see that the little earth type SoulBird was perching on the tree branch above in front of me. It looked strange for its big feet to be perching on those branches.

  “Oh, great,” I turned away and walked on, trying to ignore it.

  But the excited little bird squealed and jumped off the branch, hopping after me. It was shaking something in its beak.

  “What do you want now?!” I turned to glare fiercely at it. But I saw that it was carrying the rosary it its mouth. It had fetched it, and it looked like it wanted to give it back to me.

  I frowned. I didn’t want the bird or the rosary. I hurried forward, following the Gehenna River. The earth type SoulBird managed to keep up with me.

  It wasn’t long until we reached the southernmost end of the land. Up ahead, I could see that the land had emptied out into a dark, desolate field. The Gehenna Volcano was straight ahead, and all kinds of fiery rivers were flowing out of the volcano. The Gehenna River was the only river that flowed into it.

  The earth type SoulBird hopped around my feet. It didn’t seem to be scared of the surroundings.

  I slowly moved forward, making sure the open land didn’t suddenly swallow me up. I had a terrible feeling about this place, especially since this was the very end of Purgatory. One jump into the Gehenna Volcano, and a spirit would find its way to Hell.

  Uncle E and Lucien were all the way at the front of the volcano.

  “You need to get a SoulBird,” Lucien said to the janitor. “It would make traveling much faster.”

  Uncle E huffed. “You know how they always hate me! I can never understand why, but they always either peck at my eyes or poop in my hair. My hair wasn’t this crazy back in my mortal life!”

  Lucien chuckled. His SoulBird gave a savage expression to Uncle E.

  Uncle E gave it a savage look back, and the angry bird flinched, jumping back to Lucien’s side, but still kept its angry gaze at him. The devilish red horns on its head shone brightly.

  Lucien laid a hand on his SoulBird’s back.

  “Next time I won’t be so nice,” muttered Lucien. His left eye sparked brightly and Uncle E gasped, dropping to his knees and coughing violently until he threw up a disgusting glob of blood.

  The earth type SoulBird flinched and huddled closer to my ankle.

  Lucien looked sharply down at Uncle E and banged his trident. “You know the route to Earth? Don’t fall directly down. You’ll find yourself in Hell if you keep going until you reach the end. As soon as the green fires start to appear, make sure you merge to the left and find the western tunnel.” He looked at his SoulBird. “You’re going to need a SoulBird to travel anywhere, though.” He glanced at his devilish SoulBird beside him. “Aracto?” His SoulBird gazed up at its master. “You take good care of Ebenezer now.”

  Uncle E gasped and met his SoulBird’s hateful glare. “No, no! Not Aracto!”

  But Lucien aimed his spear toward the top of the volcano. Thick, dark smoke surrounded the peak, and Lucien was levitating off the ground. He zapped Uncle E, and then he and the janitor were floating up to the top. Aracto hurried up the slope, running with its long, quick legs.

  As soon as they disappeared in the smokes above, I huffed and hurried after them.

  The earth type angel SoulBird followed me along.

  As soon as we got to the top, I didn’t have time to hesitate or look around to find Uncle E. The smoke was extremely thick and hot, and I felt like I was going to faint. But the force of the volcano was pulling me into the rim.

  I yowled and felt the angel SoulBird clutch its sharp long talons on my shoulder as I was dragged closer and closer. The both of us fell down the large hole at the top of the volcano.

  And then everything went black.

  I was dizzily blinking my eyes open to an unfamiliar place. Fragments of sharp particles were flickering through the hot gust of air, and were blowing against my face.

  “Ow…” I slowly got up to my knees. I looked around. I was on an empty, blood-stained road that ran through a devastated city. It looked just as the pictures I saw of Earth. There was devastation everywhere. Buildings were shattered and scattered all around the region. It looked like a bomb had hit this place.

  Behind me was a huge volcano, surrounded by thick black smoke at the rim. I narrowed my eyes and wondered if that was where I had come from. Apparently, the Gehenna Volcano was a wormhole that led to Earth and Hell. I shuddered at the thought of my spirit bursting from the top of that huge volcano and landing right here.

  I felt a strange sickening feeling as I looked around this place. There was red smoke filling the entire atmosphere, and the air was filled with toxic fumes. It smelled like chemicals and blood. If I were a mortal, I would have instantly died from breathing here.

  The sky was a mix of thick darkness and red smoke. The sun looked a lot bigger here than it did in Purgatory, but this sun was blackened and crumbling apart. The moon was red and bloody.

  So this was what the apocalypse looks like.

  I looked around with awe, and started to walk forward. I wondered if this was Jerusalem. There was only one way to find out. I did remember people talking about a Temple that remained in its place, unaffected by the apocalypse. I walked on, wondering how I would ever find it.

  “Zach?”

  I stiffened. Someone called my name. I turned around and saw no sign of any living being.

  “Zach, down here!”

  I turned and looked down. The angelic earth type SoulBird was standing on the street, gazing at me with flashing, determined eyes.

  I frowned and rolled my eyes. “Great. I’m stuck here with you.”

  “Hey! I’m the one who guided you down here!” The SoulBird narrowed its eyes. Apparently, it spoke like a male. “If it weren’t for me, you would’ve gone straight to Hell after you jumped into that volcano!”

  I scoffed and glared at the bird. “Who are you anyway?”

  The earth type SoulBird smiled proudly and then bowed its head. “The name’s Dewelance. I am a noble spirit of Heaven, and I’ve arrived in the form of an angelic SoulBird. Like Hannah said, I am here to guide you.”

  I winced. “Um…okay. I think I’ll just call you Dewey.”

  The SoulBird tilted its head. “What?!”

  I turned around and continued to walk. I didn’t want to waste time arguing with a stupid bird.

  “Hey!” Dewey hurried up to me. “Zach, what are you doing? You don’t know where you’re going! You remember nothing about this place!”

  “Oh, and I suppose you would know how to get around?”

  “Hehe, of course I do,” Dewey winked and then jumped in front of my way. “You wanna find your uncle, right? Come on!”

  Dewey hurried forwards. The little one-foot tall creature was pecking at all the piles of charcoal and the dirty trash bags that tumbled across the ground.

  I stared at all the buildings with wonder. Everything was in ruins. It was as if an earthquake, wildfire, tornado, and tsunami happened all at once.

  I reluctantly followed the stupid SoulBird. We walked along the middle of the dirty, crumbled road. I felt abandoned. It felt like I was the only soul on this planet.

  I started to hear a strange murmur in the air. A deep rumble sounded through the city, and in the distance, I saw a flock of birds catch on fire before they crashed into a tall building. The building immediately burst into flames and burned down.

&n
bsp; The dust particles flew passed me and burned my face. I sputtered and sneezed, and then angrily turned to my left and ran. I didn’t care if I lost Dewey. I cursed and spat as the dust particles started to chase me. Insects came out of nowhere, and they bit at my heels. I hated this place.

  When the bugs finally left me alone, I stopped in the middle of another devastated road. I wondered how I was going to get back. Maybe I shouldn’t have left Dewey back there. He claimed to know his way around here, and that dumb old creature was probably the only one to help me escape this place.

  Turning around to head back, I took one step forward, but then immediately froze. There was a boiling pool of fire behind me. The pool was a small and circular, but the boiling fire was swirling like a whirlpool. Debris was dragged toward the pool, disappearing into the fire swirl. The pool was like a vacuum, sucking all the matter that surrounded it.

  I stepped back, ready to get out of here. I bet it was swallowing all that debris down to Hell. As soon as I stepped back, something suddenly shot up my back with a loud hiss. I tipped over and fell on my side. I grunted and glanced back with a look of horror. I had stepped over a snake. The creature was coiled beside me, hissing with its mouth wide open and its tongue lashing out.

  I was lost in the scary creepy eyes of the snake, stiffened with fear. I didn’t realize it was slowly moving its head toward me as I laid there, frozen stiff. It was aiming its fangs toward my neck, where something was shining.

  Apparently, I was wearing the rosary. Dewey must have slipped it on me while I was passed out. Light was flickering from the cross.

  As the snake opened its mouth to bite it, light flashed from the cross and struck the snake’s open mouth.

  The snake screamed and threw its head back with pain. It immediately spat venom and coiled its brown body around me, and tightened its grip so that I immediately lost my breath.

  But a loud tweet sounded from the distance. Dewey came out of nowhere. The little SoulBird crashed into the snake and jabbed its beak at its body, making it loosen its grip. The snake let go and rolled to the side and stopped by the edge of the whirling fire pool. The little bird was shining brightly and glaring at the snake with tiny angry eyes.