Gate of Hell - Part II

Photo by he zhu on Unsplash 

“Hey! Yes, you! Hurry!”

Edmund waved the blond boy over from where he hid behind the blueberry bushes across the churchyard. He had seen the kid working the field across Nanny Ruth’s farmhouse down the single-lane road before, but other than that, he hardly knew the boy.

Ever since the strange mist took over their settlement and took his friends with it to god-knows-where, he didn’t once consider that another kid survived The Purge – especially, not this scrawny thing made of bones.

“What do you want?” Tom said.

“The shipwreck! Let’s go see it!”

“What? No! Didn’t you hear what the—”

“Oh, come on! You really believe in all that drivel? Gospels? Hah! More like a made-up fairytale!”

Tom, acutely aware of how close they were to the communion members, hushed him before blurting out the following through gritted teeth.

“Are you out of your mind! What if they hear you!”

“Are coming with me or not?”

Tom sighed. “Do you even know my name, Edmund Keyes?”

Edmund’s eyes grew wide and sparkled.

“Wow! You knew my name all along and still ignored me during the sermon?”

“I wasn’t trying to avoid you…”

“Then what were you doing, then?” Edmund pointed at Tom so suddenly that the poor thing flinched. “You! You were clearly trying to avoid me back there!”

“It’s just… I’m not used to… talking to people, that’s all! Besides, when the other kids were around, you never paid me any attention – not that the others did, either…”

“Really?” Edmund paused for a second to jog his memory. “Now that you say that, I don’t remember ever talking to you…”

“That’s because all you ever did was play with Jordan and- and—”

“But why didn’t you join us then? It’s not like we’d tell you off or something…”

Tom’s mouth gaped wide. “Seriously? I tried, remember!?”

“Oh, you did?”

“You don’t remember, do you?”

Edmund cracked a smile. “I must’ve been harsh on you I guess?”

“Harsh? Harsh! You said I was a loser and told me to scram it!”

Edmund scratched the back of his head. “Hey, I’m sorry, all right? Let’s forget about the past and focus on the present, yeah?”

“After spilling spoilt milk on me, telling me to, quote, ‘go and die’, and then pushing me into the mud in front of your stupid friends?”

Edmund opened his mouth to defend himself, but when Tom continued, he realised that there was no point in defending the things he had done. Since when had he been such a jerk?

“Well, can we at least be acquaintances and explore whatever’s going on at the shore?”

“Only if you promise not to call me a faggot again—wait a sec! You don’t remember calling me that either, do you?”

Edmund, smiling wide, ran for the hills as his new friend ran after him to give him a beating. It wasn’t that he feared getting hurt, for Tom’s hands were literally made of sticks, but because he hadn’t had this much fun teasing someone ever since the fog rolled in.  

When they finally slowed down in front of the forest trail that led to the shore, Edmund glanced at the darkening sky full of twinkling stars. How long had it been since he last saw the stars and the moon?

“Hey, Edmund…”

“Hmm?” he said without looking at the boy.

“Maybe this isn’t such a great idea after all.”

He faced Tom this time. “Don’t tell me you really believe in the Gospels?”

“There’s no reason for me not to.”

“It’s just a fairytale, you know? To scare people.”

“How do you know?”

“My dad told me. He’s an atheist.”

“Ath—what’s that?”

“Someone who doesn’t believe in fairytales,” he said, adding. “Dad said my mum helped him open his eyes and see the truth for what it is when they first met.”

“Ah, I see. But where’s your mum? I don’t remember ever seeing her…”

Edmund hesitated. “It’s a long story.” He then took the lead through the thick woods and picked up the pace. “Hurry now! We shouldn’t be late!”

“Late?” repeated Tom as he tried to catch up to Edmund. “Late for what? Edmund! Hey! What do you mean?”

But Edmund didn’t reply.

His darting eyes focused on the narrowing path ahead swallowed by the depths of the dense woods. In the shadows, he could almost hear their soundless breathing and feel their icy touch on his bare skin.

The Gate of Hell finally unlocked.

Read part III HERE.