Nasir Al Qattil and The Mysteries of The Dunes

Chapter 8

Nasir had soon arrived at a valley, overlooking the Indus river. He enjoyed the scenery as the sun crept behind the adjacent valley. He took in the tan sands on the shore of the river, and the miscellaneous shrub. He enjoyed every facet of that roaring river. Something about it was mesmerizing, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As day turned into night, his eyelids became unbearably heavy, pleading for rest. Nasir made his way down to the shore, where he planned on resting his head. He laid out his headwrap and hit the hay. His mind began to wander and soon teemed with thoughts of his parents. He saw his mother weeping, near a cauldron; inside was Nasir's father, boiling. Knowing the pain it'd bring him, Nasir stuck his hand in the cauldron, attempting to pull his father out. Alas, no matter how hard Nasir tugged on his father, nothing could free him from his shackles; with the screams of his father sounding like sirens, all Nasir could do was console his mother. His father yelled out to his son, telling him that he was hellbound just as he is. Nasir simply spoke louder to his mother, assuring her his father was fine. His mom, in major distress, began marking herself using a sharpened seashell, in an attempt to divert her attention to physical pain rather than mental. Seeing this, Nasir grew angry and pulled the shell from his mother's grip. He couldn't bear to see his mom bloody once more. This nightmare wouldn't last for long, however. Nasir was awakened by the sensation of being dragged. It so happened that a massive worm had emerged from the river, and was hellbent on drowning Nasir. He did his best to fend off the monster but to no avail. Soon he was unconscious, his body being dragged around in the water. 

Nasir awoke in a room full of mirrors. These mirrors made him seem muscular and taller than he truly was. He peered into the mirrors, admiring himself for hours on end. A sickly young man came by, feeble and weak. Looking at the man, Nasir scoffed, believing himself to be better. This feeling wouldn't last for long as right after he did so, a knife plunged into his back. He began to writhe in pain, as the mirrors soon faded away. He saw his past tormentors enjoying themselves; fine wine, the most beautiful of courtesans, and the most exquisite cuts of meat on their plates. The sight of the people that drove him to tears enjoying themselves in the afterlife was too much to bear for Nasir. He heard two figures whispering into his ears, asking him to lash out at the tormentors, and to weep at the sight of their heavenly afterlife. Nasir, keeping his poise, told the figures off, and attempted to walk away. As Nasir lifted his foot to walk away, it felt as though the other was swept from beneath him. Although he fell, Nasir wasn't discouraged. He couldn't get up, no matter how many times he attempted to. It felt as though a fleet of horses stood atop him. The figures then began kicking Nasir and pelting him with stones. After minutes of this torment, Nasir couldn't handle any more of the pummeling; so he wailed at the top of his lungs and made his best to get up, despite how much effort it took him. Once up, Nasir, still wailing, began to batter the shadowy figures. Jab after jab, he massacred the figures. He then hurried away with a limp, moving as fast as his legs would allow him. 

Before he knew it, Nasir was on the ground again. He looked up to see what happened, and it appeared he ran into something. He got up, and this massive being reared its head to Nasir, and then spoke:

"Come! Indulge yourself with me!" The being said with a mouth full of food, and more on the table in front of him. 

"I do sincerely apologize, I don't believe I want to accept this offer," Nasir said in reply.

The being grew a stern face. Being much larger than Nasir, it grabbed him. Nasir, now in a panic, began beating on the fist of the being. This, however, did nothing to stop the being from what it did next: it put Nasir in its mouth. In a last-ditch effort, Nasir began throwing punches at the inside of the monster's mouth. In a wild turn of events, this hail mary worked. He jumped into the pile of food in front of the being and landed on his back. He then opened his eyes and found himself on a battlefield. An enemy soldier was in the process of jumping on Nasir, bound to plunge his sword into his skull. Nasir parried this attack with his shield, then proceeded to plunge his sword into the enemy. The army Nasir was with turned tail and ran away, and something in his mind told him to do the same, alas, he couldn't. He stood his ground and butchered five more enemy soldiers. On the sixth, he made one wrong move and was beheaded. His head rolled on the ground for a while, before coming to a sudden stop; his head was now reattached to his body. He felt the ground below him, it was squishy, as though it was a massive dog belly. He felt an arm slowly wrap around him, and a being whispered to him, asking him to stay for a while. It told him that it was okay to just waste away for days on end. Nasir was not too fond of this and sprung up to his feet, and ran in a random direction. He jumped off of the beast, and into a pit full of gold coins. Nasir couldn't be more ecstatic and began picking up gold coins and stuffing them down his pockets. His pockets then tore open, and all of the coins fell out. Suddenly, once more, he felt another knife plunge deep into his back.

A wave of tiredness came over him, and he collapsed. The ground beneath him transformed once more, it was now a nice, luscious bed. Beside him was a succubus, begging for attention from Nasir, but he refused. He ran away once more and fled. He ran until he physically couldn't anymore. Nasir, lay on the ground for a while, building the courage to look up. Once he did, he saw two feet in front of him. He grabbed the ankle of one of them, and then spoke:

"Where am I? What have I done to deserve this form of pseudo-hell?"

"Pseudo hell? You're mistaken if you believe this to be pseudo-hell. This is hell, and you will pay for the sins you committed throughout your miserable life." The figure responded.

"No, this cannot be, I cannot have died yet. I still have much life to live. Please, send me back." Nasir responded.

The figure laughed and walked away. Nasir rolled onto his back, where he then saw his family reaching into his grave. They gripped his hands and attempted to pull him out. Nasir pleaded with them and asked them to stop, and told them he wasn't dead. Nasir couldn't take it anymore and ripped his hands away from their grip; he fell back into his grave, and then woke up. He was back in the water, His leg was being tenderly gnawed upon. He began stabbing the head of the worm who'd done this and dragged it out of the water. He then grasped its two square teeth and ripped them out of the worm. He began stomping on the worm until it lay motionless. Nasir then fell to the ground, and then looked at his hands, he embraced himself. He was happy to be alive again. 

It was now morning, and Nasir was tending to his wounds and applying gauze to his ankle. He hears his stomach rumble, asking for food, and so Nasir steps into the river, and begins fishing; he catches three fish with his bare hands. With a fire crackling, he roasted the fish and devoured them, not leaving a spec of meat left on the bones. Once done he buried the bones and the fire and then began planning. He had enough of the Indus river and its valleys. After long thought, he decided upon exploring the Indian sub-continent, then head to Sri Lanka. After Nasir reaches Sri Lanka, he'll begin planning his next adventures. Now, however, he begins his road to not only east India, but redemption as well.