Gate of Hell - Part IV
Image by kalhh from Pixabay
“Tom! Tom, wake up, already! Come on, dude! You gotta wake up before they come!”
Edmund stooped over
him when he warily opened his eyes.
“What’s… what’s
going on?”
“You passed out,”
said Edmund before letting his eyes shift to the shadows all around them. “Can
you walk? Tom! Can you walk or not?”
“Yeah, I- I think
so.”
When Tom stumbled up
on his feet and looked around, the last thing he expected to see was the
suffocating darkness. Where in the whole world were they?
Then he recalled the
mysterious shipwreck and the ablaze portal.
His eyes grew wide
with terror and he was about to say something aloud when Edmund placed a finger
on his lips and hushed him.
“Scchh! Be
quiet!”
Tom followed the boy’s
darting eyes that settled on the surrounding shadows. That was when he noticed
them, too – those faceless people watching their every step.
Gulping hard, Tom
whispered, “W- what are those things?”
“Don’t look at them!
You never should!”
“W- why?”
Edmund took his
sweet time replying, visibly pondering something before speaking his mind.
“You said you
believed in that nonsense, right?”
“The Gospels?”
“Hmm! The Gospels…”
“Yeah, I do…
somewhat.”
“Then, you must
believe in the hereafter I suppose?”
Tom knitted his
brows. “The hereafter?” He briefly looked away. “Like… Hell?”
Edmund nodded. “Yes,
Hell.”
Tom cast another
look around upon realising what the other meant. But how could this be? How
could two humans still alive and kicking be in Hell? It made no sense!
“Listen, you asked
me about my mum, remember?”
“I- I did…”
Edmund drew a deep
breath before he continued. “The truth is, my mum’s been dead for the last ten
years. She caught a wicked disease and passed away shortly after giving birth
to me.”
“What are you trying
to say? What’s that got to do with—”
“My dad said she’s
in Hell because she abandoned us! He said all womenfolk who die at childbirth
are bound to rot in the bottomless pit and pay for their sins.”
“I… I don’t understand.”
“You said you
believed in the Gospels!”
“I- I do, I just
don’t—”
“It’s written in the
Gospels, Tom! My dad said so!”
“What’s written… exactly?
I’m- I’m sorry, I’m having trouble following.”
“That with the mist,
opens the Gate of Hell!”
“Gate… of Hell?”
“And we’ve found it!
We really—”
“You lied to me!”
Tom backed away as Edmund tried to reach out to him. “Why would you do such a
thing!”
“I… I thought you
wouldn’t come here if I told you the truth.”
“Yeah, you bet
I wouldn’t! Are you out of your mind! Gate of Hell!?”
Edmund dropped his
head. “I’m- I’m sorry. I just… I just didn’t want to come here all alone.” He
looked up. “Honestly, I didn’t even think the Gospels were telling the truth. I
thought it was all some made-up story…”
“What now! What were
you thinking coming here? Do you even know what your mum looks like? And even
if you do…”
Tom couldn’t
continue upon seeing the dejected look on Edmund’s flushed face.
“You’re right,”
Edmund muttered. “I don’t know what I was thinking. We… we gotta find a way out
of this place.”
“Well, the portal’s
gone.”
“There’s gotta be
another way out.”
“And if there
isn’t?”
Edmund took his time replying. “There has to be! Tom, I promise you. I’ll get us back home no matter what, okay? I promise!”
Read part I HERE.
Read part II HERE.
Read part III HERE.
