Former Rain-Forsaken Box Set

by Vanessa Miller

  “To the Fun Room.” Truth informed him.

  Yeah right, Isaac thought. There’s about as much fun as a bullet to the head to be had in this place.

  The Fun Room had also been created for those who once enjoyed the pleasures of sin and all its trappings. Isaac held his nose as they walked into the room. A stank bomb must have exploded in this mug, Isaac thought.

  In this room, demons watched as tortured souls tried to recreate the fun they partook in on earth. Crap games were going on. Con artists recited their street hustle over and over again. Former CEOs and executives discussed business ventures.

  They were permitted to do anything they wanted in the Fun Room, anything but leave. And that was the rub, because there were also demons in the Fun Room. These demons taunted and tortured the souls. Every hour on the hour a bell would ring. The inhabitants of the Fun Room would tremble with fear and cry out for someone to save them. Isaac wondered why these people had such a problem with a bell ringing – their bodies didn’t change form or nothing horrifying like that. Then the demons grabbed a few unfortunate souls and brought them to the center of the room.

  Isaac recognized Ray-Ray immediately. Six demons marched around him like he was fresh meat. They hissed and cackled – spit and laughed. Ray-Ray looked real scared.

  Initially, Isaac wanted to cheer on the demons. But then they started poking Ray-Ray with the long spears they carried. They pulled at his flesh. Ray-Ray let out a God-awful scream of agony that tore at Isaac’s heart.

  Isaac turned to Truth. “They’re going to pull him apart.”

  “They often do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Truth pointed to a pile of discarded limbs. “The demons enjoy mutilating these people. They will pick them apart until there is nothing left.”

  Isaac looked back to the center of the room. Ray-Ray was crawling away from the demons. His left leg had been violently pulled from his body, but there was no blood. Isaac watched as the demons brought another group to the center of the room.

  He closed his eyes to avoid the pain. His brother Donavan was in this group. He looked at Truth. “Why are you doing this to me?”

  He didn’t answer.

  One of the demons put his spear in Donavan’s flesh. Isaac heard his little brother scream and beg for mercy.

  Isaac ran to the center screaming, “Noooo! Not my brother!”

  The demon lifted his spear again. Positioning it for Donavan’s chest cavity. Isaac grabbed the spear and tried to yank it out of the demon’s hand, but its grip was much stronger than anything Isaac had ever known. The demon swatted Isaac to the ground. Venomous fluids oozed from his mouth as he hissed. His beady eyes centered on Isaac. With his lip curled and fangs fully exposed, he lunged.

  Isaac was dead. He knew it would only be a matter of seconds. As soon as those fangs cut at his flesh, he was a goner.

  Truth held up his hand. “Halt. You cannot have him.”

  The demon hissed as he looked at Truth, but he obeyed.

  Isaac was forced to witness every painful moment of Donavan’s torture. Two demons grabbed Donavan’s arms and stretched him out crucifixion style “Donavan, run!” Isaac called out to his brother as another demon lifted his spear. The spear pierced Donavan’s left shoulder.

  “Aaarrhhh!”

  “Nooo!” Isaac yelled as the demon pulled the spear from Donavan and lifted it to impel him again. Isaac was no punk, and he wasn’t about to take this mess lying down. He pulled himself off the ground and ran full speed toward the offending demon. He jumped on its back and tried to pull the spear from his hand.

  The demon hissed and cackled as he shook Isaac off his back. He picked Isaac up like he was a Raggedy Andy doll and threw him across the room. Isaac hit the wall –whoosh– his breath exited his body as he slid down the wall and landed on a heap of limbs. Dazed, Isaac shook his head.

  The nine-foot tall demon turned jaundiced eyes in Isaac’s direction and pointed at him. “Stay there.”

  Isaac climbed down from the pile of limbs and ran back to the demon.

  Jaundiced eyes was waiting for him. He put his spear down. Isaac advanced, the demon spat green slime on the ground. He picked Isaac up by the collar and pimp smacked him.

  Isaac wanted to retaliate, but he couldn’t make out which one of the three moving faces was the one that hit him. As soon as he could get the room to stop spinning and make out one head rather than three – he would smack that demon back. Before he could reconcile his vision, he was thrown against another wall.

  Isaac didn’t get up.

  Donavan looked at him. His eyes were full of pain. “Don’t come here,” he told Isaac as another spear penetrated him.

  “Why won’t he run?” Isaac yelled at Truth. “Why don’t you let these people defend themselves?”

  “They made their choice,” Truth told him. His voice was sad, but resigned. “Come.”

  “I can’t leave Donavan.”

  “You can’t do anything for him,” Truth told him. “Come, I have more to show you.”

  “Oh, God, no! Just leave me alone.”

  Truth walked out of the Fun Room and headed toward a dark tunnel. Isaac quickly ran to catch up with Truth. As they walked, Isaac could hear more howling and cackling, and the cries of the lost souls. He came to a dead stop, mouth gaped open, as he pointed at a man crumpled and shaking in a corner. “He can’t be here.”

  “For more than a century now.”

  “But he was a great man. The history books are full of his exploits.”

  “Even great men must serve the Lord.”

  Isaac remembered the story Nina recited years ago, about the rich man in hell. Great men must be no different from rich men, thugs or thieves. We all have to pay the piper, Isaac mournfully thought.

  He looked at Truth. There was fear in his eyes. “Where are you taking me? Please tell me I’m not going to see my mother, am I?”

  Truth turned to Isaac. “Your mother worshiped and served the Lord…”

  “Lot of good that did her.”

  “Your mother lives in peace,” Truth continued. “For eternity, she will only know goodness and joy. We’re here.”

  The tunnel ended and the blackness of the great abyss gave way to pits of fire. Within those pits were souls. “These people once served the Lord, but they turned back to sin like a dog turns to his vomit.”

  “No!” Isaac screamed and turned his head away from the unbearable sight before him.

  “She served me until she was sixteen-years old. But one man after another turned her away,” Truth said.

  Isaac walked up to the pit that held the frame of Valerie. Her shrilling cries of agony penetrated his heart. Years of unshed tears gushed from his eyes as the flames from the fire licked at Valerie’s skeletal form. Decayed flesh hung by shreds from her bones. It burned and fell into the bottom of the pit. She had no hair left. It had long been burned from her skeletal frame. Her face was as a hollow mass with out eyes, just empty, neglected sockets.

  When the flames died down, Isaac could see the worms crawling through the bones of her skeleton. “Why do you torture her like this? Why can’t you just forgive her? She was good people.” Isaac cried.

  “She never asked me to forgive her. She died before she could be restored back to the Lord.”

  The flesh crawled back onto her skeletal frame and the fire started at her feet again. Small flames at first, but they grew, and climbed up her body. Heavy tears flowed down Isaac’s face as he said, “I’m sorry, Valerie. I should have loved you.”

  When the flames subsided and the worms were crawling up her body again, she looked at Isaac. “Even if you had loved me, you still wouldn’t have been worth this.”

  “I know,” Isaac sobbed. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. God, do You hear me? I’m sorry.”

  “Isaac man, wake up.”

  Someone was shaking him.

  “Isaac, man you’re just dreaming. Wake up!”
<
br />   Isaac opened his eyes and stared at his bunkmate. “Where am I?”

  “Same place as the rest of us. Erndale State Prison.”

  Isaac looked around a few times. “I’m not in hell?”

  “Call it whatever you like,” Pete told him. “I’m going to get some grub. You coming?”

  Isaac jumped off his bunk. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m coming.”

  The chicken was over done as usual. The shriveled up potato wasn’t worth baking once let alone twice. Isaac tossed the food around on his plate. It was sickening, but anything was preferable to his cell right about now. “What’s the word?” Isaac asked Pete.

  Pete was eating a piece of cardboard fried chicken. He swallowed then told Isaac, “T-bone’s been telling everybody to start paying tribute to him, cause you won’t live through the night.”

  “Is that so?” Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with that knucklehead.”

  “I don’t know eith…” Pete looked up. “Look, here comes Joe. Maybe he’s got something for us.”

  Big Joe sat down next to Isaac. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Isaac and Pete answered back.

  “Heard T-bone is sharpening up his shank – getting it ready for your neck,” Big Joe told Isaac.

  Isaac took a bite of his potato. “Is that so?”

  “This otta even up the odds.” Big Joe pulled a stick out of his pocket. It had a sharp piece of metal taped to the top of it.

  Isaac looked at the shank and the blood drained from his face.

  “What’s wrong, Isaac?”

  “N-nothing.” Isaac took the weapon. "Thanks man.”

  “Yeah,” Big Joe smirked. “That fool gon’ bust hell wide open when you get through with him.”

  Isaac’s eyes bucked, his mouth hung open. A look of pure terror swept across his face. He shook his head back and forth. “No, no.” He put the shank on the table.

  Pete picked it up. “Isaac, what’s wrong with you? You better put this in your pocket.”

  Isaac shook his head. “I can’t send T-bone to hell.”

  “The way I see it. It’s either him or you.” Pete told him.

  Isaac weighed his options. After what he had witnessed in hell, there was no way he would volunteer for a seat down there. Naw, that wasn’t happening. He took the shank out of Pete’s hand and stood up. “I need to make a phone call.”

  Isaac walked away from Pete and Big Joe mumbling something about finding a way to keep T-bone out of hell.

  “What’s up with ya’ boy?” Big Joe asked Pete. “You think he’s scared of T-bone?”

  Pete waved his hand. “Big Joe please, I ain’t seen nothing that could scare Isaac.”

  “You saw his face didn’t you?”

  “Yeah. I saw it.”

  “He’s scared of something.”

  37

  “Boy, you better get back on that toilet. I’m not playing with you.”

  Donavan looked at his Mama. He shook his head. “No, I’m too tired.”

  Nina pointed at the toilet. “Yes. Now.”

  Donavan shook his head in opposition again.

  “Donavan Jerome Walker, you are almost four-years old. I’m tired of you peeing in the bed.” She picked him up and sat him on the toilet. “Don’t get up until you pee.”

  Donavan cried. The phone rang. Nina wanted to pull her hair out. Instead, she picked up the cordless and listened as an operator informed her that she had a collect call from Isaac. Isaac respected Nina’s money situation. He had been in prison over a year and Nina could count on one hand the number of times he’d called collect. “Yes, I’ll accept the charge.”

  “Hey, what’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing much. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Why something always gotta be wrong?”

  “I can hear it in your voice. Now what’s bothering you?”

  Silence swallowed the air. Nina could hear Isaac breathing, so she waited. Finally. “There’s this cat here name T-bone.”

  “Who would name their child T-bone?”

  “Anyway. He wanted to go round with me, which means, one of us ain’t gonna be living when we finish.”

  Nina gasped. “Isaac, no. You can’t do this. Will you please think about Donavan? He needs you.”

  “Hold on Nina. I don’t plan on dying. But I’ve got a problem with killing T-bone – that’s what I need to talk to you about.”

  Nina pulled the receiver from her ear and stared at it. Was this man actually calling her to get advice about killing someone? “Isaac, I cannot condone…”

  “Girl, ain’t nobody asking you to condone nothing. It’s either him or me, it’s that simple. I’m not interested in going to hell, so it definitely ain’t gonna be me.” He paused. “I need to know how to keep T-bone out of hell though. I couldn’t bare to send someone else there.”

  “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me you are going to kill this T-bone guy, but you don’t want to send him to hell.”

  Isaac yelled, “Exactly!” As if to say, finally, someone gets me.

  Nina was stunned. “Excuse me?”

  “I don’t think T-bone could handle those demons. Shoot, I couldn’t even handle them.”

  “Isaac, what are you talking about?”

  Isaac exhaled loudly, “I’m talking about the fact that I’ve lost one fight in my life, and that was in hell. I can’t send anybody else there to be tormented by those demons.”

  “Demons?” Nina scratched her head. “Isaac, what are you talking about?”

  “I was there, Nina, in hell.”

  Nina thought she was going to have to call the Warden’s office. Maybe the cooks are putting something in Isaac’s food. Or maybe it’s the confinement. Being locked up is finally getting to him. He might need to talk to someone.

  “It was hideous, Nina. I saw Leonard, Ray-Ray, Valerie; and oh, God I even saw my brother, Donavan.” Isaac lowered his voice to a whisper. “They were all being tortured, Nina. You can’t imagine the type of torture I was forced to witness. They don’t have pitch forks like the movies show, Nina. They’ve got spears – and those demons plunge their spears into the flesh of…”

  “Isaac, stop it!”

  “Oh. Nina I’m sorry. Look, just tell me how T-bone can avoid going to hell when he dies."

  Nina wanted to tell Isaac, don’t kill him. That will certainly keep him out of hell. But she knew that was a waste of her breath. She let out a sigh and told him, “The Bible tells us that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ.”

  “I’m not talking about getting to heaven. I just want to know how to avoid hell.”

  No use telling him that it’s either one or the other. “The 10th chapter of Romans says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus…”

  “What do you mean, ‘confess with your mouth?’”

  Nina smiled. Lord, is this You? Are You at work here? “You have to say that you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

  “Oh. So you’ve got to believe in God in order to get out of going to hell?”

  “Well of course.” Nina rolled her eyes. “May I continue?”

  “Yeah, yeah. What else?”

  “Then once you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you’ll be saved.”

  Isaac made a disgusted sound. “I’m not interested in salvation, Nina. I just want to know how not to go to hell.”

  “Well, you’ve got to be saved from sin in order to be saved from hell.”

  “Hmmm.” Isaac said, clearly thinking things over. Nina could almost see him rubbing at his chin.

  “If it’s that simple, why are there so many people in hell?”

  How did he know how many people were in hell? Nina wondered. “Isaac, this is not an easy thing. You can’t just say that you believe Jesus is the Son of God and that He died and rose again and expect poof, pow, now I’m saved! You have to believe it with your heart, and that’s very different from lip service.”<
br />
  “I see what you’re saying.”

  He was rubbing that chin again; Nina just knew it.

  “So how do I make sure that T-bone doesn’t just say the words, but means them with his heart?”

  Donavan walked over to Nina. “Mama, I pee-peed.”

  Nina bent down and kissed Donavan. “Good job!”

  Donavan beamed up at Nina, then turned and ran back to his bedroom to continue playtime.

  Nina smiled, then told Isaac, “Your son better stop peeing in the bed.”

  “I miss him, Nina – didn’t know I could miss someone so much.”

  “I know you do. I’ll try to bring him out there next week.”

  “If the Feds hadn’t confiscated everything I owned, we wouldn’t be so tight for money.”

  Nina wanted to tell Isaac that if he hadn’t been selling drugs and had a real nine-to-five, he wouldn’t be in jail and would be able to provide for his child. She let that one go. “If you really want to make sure that T-bone means what he says, you can take him through the Roman Road to Salvation.”

  “The Roman what?”

  “There are several verses in the book of Romans that we share with people before discussing the passage in Romans 10.”

  “How many other verses?”

  “Four or five if you count the salvation verse in Romans 10.”

  “That’s going to take too long.”

  Nina was fed up. I mean really. First Isaac calls her house and tells her he’s going to kill someone. Then he has the audacity to say he didn’t want the guy to go to hell. And now he tells her he’s not interested in the information she gave him because it will take too long. “Do you want the guy free from hell or not?” Nina demanded to know.

  Isaac rubbed his chin. “Okay, okay. Just give me the scriptures – I’ll read over them, and then I’ll discuss it with T-bone.”

  Nina smiled. “Great. Now I want you to read these scriptures in the order I give them to you, okay?”

  “Alright.”

  “You got a pen?”

  “I’m ready.”

  “Romans 3:23, 3:10, 6:23, 5:8, and then you have him read Romans 10:9-11 and allow him to confess Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior.”

  “Thanks, Nina. Give Donavan a hug for me,” he told her then hung up.