Hell (Part Four of the Purgatory Series)

Chapter Fifteen

The burning wasn't the worst. He had experienced lots of pain during his lifetime. But the isolation, the loneliness, made all the suffering unbearable. When Jelani had chosen to go to hell, he thought he knew what he was getting into. But the feeling of total abandonment and emptiness was indescribable and tore through his psyche, shredding his sanity to ribbons.

Thea. He had to hold on to his sanity in order to find his way back to her.

There were others suffering here alongside him, but each time he tried to communicate with them, it was as if they couldn't hear or acknowledge him. Each soul was locked in it's own perpetual torture, unable to be comforted or provide comfort to anyone else.

The screaming was a constant distraction, on top of the unending pain. Jelani had to remind himself of his mission every few seconds or else he felt he would lose himself forever. And he didn't have that option. He had to get back.

He had noticed that occasionally people would disappear, never to show up again. It was exactly how Lucifer had described it to him when he explained how he used souls to do his bidding on earth. Unfortunately, it was entirely random. He had no idea how or when anyone would be chosen to return to earth. Though he had noticed more and more souls disappearing. Maybe if he latched onto one, then he could just hang on and wait for it to be called and hitch a ride? It was the best idea he had.

Heaving himself through the fire, Jelani managed to hook his arm around another unfortunate soul. The pain of it lanced through him like shards of glass. Both of them screamed for what felt like eternity.

Until finally - relief. He knew the second he had been returned to earth. It was a jolt of beautiful recognition that caused him to sob unceasingly.

"Oh, get up, pathetic worm," he heard a woman say.

He ignored her. If she tried to send him back he would wait and latch onto some other soul, and if she killed him he would only return to heaven. So her threats were meaningless to him.

Instead he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the night sky. He refused to take it for granted again. He had been human, a vampire, and a ghost. He had lived on earth, been to purgatory, heaven, limbo, and hell. He knew now what was important. How to best live his life. And not a single person on this earth would tell him otherwise.

The woman kicked his foot. "I said get up!" She snapped at him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Or what?"

Her red hair was frizzed wildly on either side of her head, as if she had been pulling at it in frustration. The dark bags under her bloodshot eyes made her look ages older than she was.

"Or I'll send you back!" She replied, crossing her arms.

He could tell she was trying to look intimidating but honestly, he was no longer afraid. Of anything really. It was a liberating feeling.

"Then I'll just wait until another soul is pulled from hell and piggyback onto them," he snarled, refusing to tolerate her attitude. "We both know this war isn't going so well for your side, so you'll keep pulling souls from hell to use as cannon fodder. You don't have any other choice."

The woman glared down at him. "How do you know all that? Who are you?"

He laughed. "I used to be you - gathering up souls for Lucifer. He and I go way back. Look where that got me. You'll end up the same if you don't change."

She huffed and marched away, snatching the collar of the other poor soul she pulled from hell. "If any of that's true, which I doubt, I have no need of you. More than likely you'd end up failing again and just causing trouble that I don't need."

She disappeared before he could reply. Jelani laughed again and shook his head. "Oh, you're going to regret that," he muttered, still staring up at the sky as it began to lighten into morning. "But you're right. I'm going to cause all kinds of trouble."

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A/N: Struggled badly with this tiny chapter. Rewrote it three times and I still hate it. I decided to just force something out onto the page and hopefully after irs posted I can move forward and forget it for a while. Thanks for being patient with me while I sort it out.