|
|
|
Respite from hellThis story may contain adult content. |
| Written by Daniel | |
| Wednesday, 27 August 2008 | |
Jack Taylor sped along the darkened highway at twenty miles per hour over the posted speed limit. He always drove fast when he was in one of these moods. He hadn't meant to hit her again, but he could swear that woman pushed his buttons just to test his patience. And he had never been a patient man.
He lit another cigarette and puffed on it furiously. GLancing at the dash, he saw that it was nearly midnight. Damn that woman, he cursed to himself. He didn't ask a lot of her. Just keep the house clean, be faithful to him, and have a hot meal ready for him when he got home. He loved her, he took care of her, and he treated her right, which was more than he could say for her previous husband. Then, she has the gall to lay into him when he gets in a few hours late after having a couple beers with the guys? He didn't think so, not in his house. He wasn't going to be one of those house-trained pets that call their wives every time the wind shifted direction.
Jack continued fuming to himself as his old Ford truck barreled around the sharp curves. Occasionally, he would lose his composure and slam his fist into the top of the cab. It had already been littered with dents before tonight's incident. There was another thing he was gonna have to spend money on to fix because of that woman.
His tirade came to a halt as the sharp glare of two eyes met him as he rounded a bend in the road. The buck stood directly in the center of the lane, fear and confusion having frozen its once powerful reflexes. On any other night, Jack would have taken this opportunity to get in a little off-season hunting. Now, however, he was only concerned with the incredible amount of damage that would be dealt to his truck as a result of the imminent collision.
He jerked the wheel to the left and felt panic set inas his tires lost their already tenuous grip on the asphalt. The heavy truck went airborne, rotating furiously until, with a sickening crunch, it made contact with the roadway again. Jack was thrown about the small cab like a rag doll. After all, seat belts were for sissies. Shards of glass and twisted metal assaulted him with razor sharp edges as he tumbled about the inside of his once proud vehicle.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the truck came to a stop on its side. Jack lay in a crumpled heap, bleeding from head to toe and unable to think clearly. He felt cold. Why was he cold? It was summer time. Why did he hurt so much? Had he been in another fight? He hoped he had won. These were the last thoughts to fill his head before a final blackness took him.
Jack landed with a soft thump on a mound of soft earth. At least, he thought it was earth. The soil tended to move and sway, almost like a living thing. He couldn't see well in the low light, but the ground appeared to be wet and covered in a dark green fur.
He also realized that he didn't hurt anymore, and his his head was remarkably clear. He had been in an accident. He remembered that much. But now, he was as good as new. It must have been a miracle. He had heard about these kind of miraculous recoveries before, but had never put much stock in them. To him, they had just been another scam, trying to get a piece of his hard-earned money. But where was he and how had he got here?
He sat up to look around, and his mind nearly shut down from what he saw. There were no moon or stars, as there should have been on such a clear night. The entire sky consisted of a mass of boiling dark clouds, with veins of red lightening shooting through them. A fierce wind raged all around him, carrying with it the piercing cries of anguish and sorrow. Rock formations in the shape of tortured souls littered an alien landscape that crawled with all manners of unclean beasts.
Jack sat where he was, unable to move or breathe for fear of calling attention to himself. Suddenly, a cold hand grabbed him from behind and hauled him to his feet by his hair. He gasped in pain, until he was spunt about and forced to look into the most evil face that he could ever imagine. The eyes were deep pools of midnight black that threatened to draw him into their malevolant depths. The mans' skin was a sickening hue of green and brown, and he smiled cruelly as he beheld the fear and disgust on Jacks' face. His teeth were made up of rotten snags that protruded from black gums, and his laugh was as cold as granite.
"What's the matter, Jack?" His voice was thick with malice and contempt, yet somehow strangely familiar. "Don't you like what you see?"
"Where the hell am I?" Jack was unable to move or draw his gaze away from those contemptible eyes. Again, the man cackled fiercely, as though amused by the question.
"Come on, Jack. You know where you are. And you know who I am. Don't deny it. Embrace it, and let me feel your sweet despair." Jack tried to shake his head, but found that he was completely paralyzed, either with fear or by some power that his taunting foe possessed.
"You're not real. This is just a dream. I'm gonna wake up, and everything's gonna be back to normal."
"No, Jack. Nothing will ever be normal again. You're never going to sleep in your soft bed again. You're never going to eat your favorite food or drink your favorite beverage. Such things are behind you now. There are many more important things for you to do. Like getting to know your new family. And you have an eternity to become intimately familiar with all of us." Again, Jack tried to squirm away to no avail.
"Still not convinced?" the monster asked in mock surprise. "Here, let me show you." With that, he raised one foot and brought it down heavily on the ground. Instantly, a wide gash opened up and the pitiful wails grew into a thunderous howl of pain and despair. Jack was raised by his hair once more and thrust over the deep chasm, which was filled with the screaming souls of the tortured damned. Each one was trying fiercely to claw its way toward the opening, for Jack could see terrible beasts among the condemned. Slowly, the would tear their unfortunate victims apart, only to have them reappear again a moment later, completely whole. They cried for relief. They cried for death. And ultimately, the cried in vain.
"Do you see now, Jack?" Once again the beast pulled Jack in so they were less than an inch away from one another. "Do you know where you are? Let me hear you say it, Jack. Do it for me. Do it for your old pal."
"Who are you?" Jack managed to ask, although he was sure nothing good would come from the question.
"You know me, Jack. I've always been with you. From that time in third grade when you stole the toy truck and blamed it on your brother, to just a few minutes ago when you hit your wife for the final time. I was with you, whispering words of encouragement in your ear. And you were a superb listener." Jack was horrified beyond anything he could ever have thought possible. That was why the voice was familiar. All his life he had heard it, albeit not clearly. But he had followed its instructions regardless.
"That's right, Jack. You did splendidly. Now, here's your reward." With that, Jack was flung into the gorge and fell down among the dead and suffering. A stifling heat engulfed him at the same time that a dozen hands gripped him and tore at his flesh in panic and misery. He glanced up at the opening, and was horrified to see that it was rapidly closing. His personal tormentor could be seen gazing down at his handiwork. Suddenly, one of the vicious creatures caught Jack by his foot and began dragging him down, where a dozen others waited to rend him asunder.
"No," Jack managed to cry out weakly. His own voice sounded strange in his ears, but he could feel some strength return. "No! Let me go, you bastards!"
A white flash suddenly surrounded him and the heat and the cries vanished. He was lying on a soft table, surrounded by doctors and nurses. Each one hurried about an appointed task, trying desperately to save his life.
"Jack, can you hear me?" one of the doctors asked. Jack managed to halfway nod. "You've been in an accident. You're hurt bad. We actually lost you there for a few minutes." Full memory of his experience flooded back into Jack's mind and he gripped the doctors hand tightly.
"Don't let me go again. Please, save me. I don't want to go back. Please, God. Help me!" The doctor jerked away in surprise. A man that was injured that badly shouldn't have been able to muster this much strength, yet his hand was throbbing from where he had been held.
"Calm down, Jack. You have to remain calm. Nurse, get me a sedative. We gotta keep this guy or he's gonna go into defib." It was too late. The heavy throbbing in his ears, that Jack now knew to be his own pulse, ceased suddenly and darkness overtook him again.
This time, he was walking along a dimly lit hallway. There was no open field or hellish gorge. The walls on either side were dark black and oozed a slimy substance that was revolting to touch or look at. Heavy doors opened to his right and left as he passed. Inside, Jack saw men and women in various states of torture. Some were nailed to the wall, others encased in suits or red hot iron. The list went on and on. Each time he passed, the attending torturer would pause to smile at him, and Jack saw that it was the same one who had confronted him on his first visit.
He broke into a frantic run. He had to get away. He had to hide. He heard doors slamming shut behind him and he pushed himself to go faster. He took a left down another hallway. More of the same. Then a right. Still no way out. Just more rooms of death and pain.
Finally, he ran down a particularly long stretch of hallway, and was dismayed to find that it ended in a blank wall. He search desperately for a doorknob, a secret switch, anything. There had to be a way out. He couldn't be taken into one of those rooms. Not him. Not like this.
"Jack," that hideous voice lazily called from behind him. Slowly, Jack turned and saw that the torturer of each room had stepped out and was looking at him, a fierce sneer plastered on each identical face. They spoke as one and beckoned him to their side.
"We missed you, Jack. Welcome back, forever. Here, you can even pick which room you want to start in. We don't care. You'll get around to all of them soon enough. Then, you know what will happen Jack? You'll start all over again. It'll be fun." Jack pressed himself against the wall and shook his head furiously.
"No. They brought me back. They'll do it again. You can't have me. Just let me go."
"They may have brought you back once, Jack. But you're ours now. Only the dead can come here. And even if they pull you back again, they're just delaying the inevitable. No one lives forever, Jack. But we'll always be here, just for you. Doesn't that make you feel special, Jack. A whole legion of creatures, here for you. Splendid, isn't it? But I'm rambling. On with the show!"
The wall that Jack was pressend against suddenly grew tremendous arms and clutched him tightly, squeezing the breath out of his laboring lungs. The hallway expanded and contorted, until he found himself in one of the torture rooms he had so desperately avoide. The grotesque arms released him and folded back in on themselves, leaving him naked on the wet floor.
He immediately scrambled to one of the corners and clutched his knees to his chest. Oh please God, he prayed squeezing his eyes shut. Let them bring me back. Give me another chance. No more pain. Please, no more.
"But we haven't even started yet, Jack." Jack opened his eyes and beheld the despicable creature creature leering over him. "There are no secrets between us. There is no refuge you can turn to, even in your mind. And you can forget about them taking you away from here. If they were going to do it, they would have done so by now. So, lets' begin, shall we?" He gestured to the wooden table in the center of the room, and Jack was flung through the air by an invisible force and pinned there, completely unable to move.
"I know you're new at this, Jack. But don't worry. You'll get the hang of it in time. Your succulent pain will nourish me for eternity. The air will be filled with the sweet symphony of your screams. And just when you think you can't bear it any longer, guess what? You will, Jack. You'll bear it over and over again." He reached into the shadows and withdrew a long rod. It was covered in hooked barbs and seemed to squirm in anticipation of being used.
"Beautiful, isn't it Jack?" Jack's eyes grew wide in terror as he looked at the evil instrument. This wasn't happening. He wasn't here. He was in bed. He was asleep. He had to wake up. "You can't wake up from this, Jack. You aren't asleep. This is your home now. No one's coming to rescue you. You belong to me." As if to prove his point, the evil thing reached back and struck the bottom of Jack's bare feet with the cruel implement. Pain exploded through him and spread up his legs with vivid clarity. Jack couldn't help it. He screamed in agony and despair. His tormentor paused for a moment, as if savoring the sound.
"That's it, Jack. And you know what the best thing is?" He brought his face close to Jacks', who now had tears streaming down his face. "This will never end. Not for you, and not for me. There are no breaks, no holidays. Just constant playtime for you and me. We are forever." Again he reached back and Jack tried to brace himself for what was coming.
Once more, a bright flash dissolved his surroundings and Jack found himself back on the hospital bed. Various tubes protruded from his body, and he found that he no longer felt any pain. He was uncomfortable, but the searing agony was gone. The doctors and nurses no longer hovered over him. All he heard was the steady beeping of the heart monitor by his bed.
He closed his eyes in blessed relief, as he felt life once again flowing in his veins. Gradually, he became aware of voices talking just outside the doorway. One belonged to the doctor, who had apparently pulled him back from the brink of perpetual torment. Jack would have to remember to send him a Christmas Card. The other voice was his wife, Janice. Sweet Janice. Even after what had happened earlier, she had come. She was going to be there for him. He vowed then and there never to raise a hand against her, no matter how hard she pushed his buttoms. His joy subsided, however, as he noticed the grave tone that both voices held.
"Mrs. Taylor, your husband has suffered massive internal injuries," the doctor said. "He's completely paralyzed and his brain is bleeding heavily. His heart stopped twice while on the operating table. We managed to bring him around again, but we had to abort the surgery. He's on heavy pain killers now, but he should be aware enough that you can say goodbye to him."
"How long does he have?" Janice's voice was heavy with tears.
"Not long. I'm sorry. We did everything we could. He's just inside there."
Janice came through the doorway, and stopped as she saw Jack looking at her with terror stricken eyes. Her right eye was blue and swelling slightly from where he had struck her earlier. Slowly, she approached the bed and sat down beside the equipment that was supplying her husband with life.
"Jack, I want you to know that I'm sorry. I should never have jumped on you for being late. It's all my fault." She broke down into sobs again as she clutched Jack's hand. Jack was sobbing too, but for a different reason. He knew what was about to happen. He knew where he was going. And there was absolutely nothing he could to about it. After a few minutes, Janice recovered herself.
"I just wanted to say that I love you. And I know what you want. You wouldn't want to live, hooked up to these machines for the rest of your life. You're better than that. I'll give you peace. I love you, Honey." Jack did his best to stop her. He really did. In his mind he begged, pleaded and demanded for her to stop. Every second of life was precious to him. It was one more second that he was free of the pain and anguish that he would be forced to endure for eternity.
But ultimately, he knew it was no use. For behind his wife, the grinning face of his own personal demon whispered in her ear, as he guided her hand towards the plug of the machine that stood between him and eternity. Copyright 2008 Daniel |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
via Email