I hit the water below with so much force that for a brief moment I thought I had broken my legs. I would return to that dreaded forest and run for an eternity if it meant never having to experience this agony. I could not even see an inch in front of my face. I was dizzy from the rapid spinning of the waves, and I was swallowing what seemed like gallons of water. Only, it didn't taste like water. It was salty and acidic, almost a copper flavor, and it was heavy on my tongue. The ocean seemed to be clawing at my skin and it burned with such a ferocious intent.
I'm the one who has to swallow water? That's what I get for chasing you. Am I the first to bne fooled by your dirty little trick?
The anger of the water eased long enough for me to wipe my eyes and clear my thoughts. I reached down to feel my legs, fully expecting to find torn skin and exposed bone. Much to my relief, i seemed to be physcially intact. The water was boiling now, steam rising, bubbles forming. The pain was unbearable. I opened my mouth to scream but was choked by another wave of wrath. It was not water, after all. It was blood. How had it taken me this long to realize I was drowning in a violent mixture of crimson and rage? My body crashed into something beneath the water, knocking the wind out of me, and I grabbed on for dear life. Strangely, what I was holding on to seemed to be gripping me as well. My attention was drawn to the walls of the cavern and to my horror I discovered that these were no ordinary walls, covered in rocks, dirt, and wildlife. They were the bodies and souls of the damned screaming in pain, begging for solace, for relief, and for the agony to end. Their limbs flailed so wildly that the boiling blood stirred with a vengence.
A bone chilling cry erupts. I've seen those eyes but not that smile. I've seen those eyes but not that sinister smile. I've seen those eyes but not that blank stare. I've seen those eyes but not that stare. The tides of sin are stained with blood.
Before I could react, the immobile body that I had been clinging to for dear life fired me into the wall of souls across the way. The many hands along the impediment clamped onto every inch of my being, forcing my attention forward, the blood still crashing into my face in undearable bursts. My eyes were cursed to see a most foul and hideous beast. His feet were calloused and bruised, his arms thick and covered in puss. He stood at least twenty feet tall and each sound that roared from his saliva soaked face was deafening. I've seen that mouth once before, but where? Ah, yes! The room of foulness just beyond the gates of this hell that I had so hasitly and fatuously entered. The difference now was the very same face had eyes filled with the deepest hatred man can comprehend; and he was staring straight at me. His gaze was destroying me inside. I could no longer breathe and my heart felt as though it would erupt inside my chest. Suddenly, as if on cue, his attention was distracted. I followed his wandering eyes and there she was, swimming through the carnage. She glided with such an elegance that even the wake of this abhorrent massacre she glowed with an artistic grace, seemingly penned by the hands of God himself.
She followed me here. I knew she would. She is only playing games with me, the thrill of the hunt, the power of flirtation. Of course! How had I not recognized this sooner?!
I finally broke free from the grasp of so many tortured souls and began to swim towards her. Spying my desire, the Fiend moved wth inhuman speed and snatched her from my approach. His powerful claw was no match for her gentle poise. He held her over his head, ignoring her for the time being, and glared into my eyes as he proclaimed, "You will be sorry when he spills the blood from your throat!"
He laid her down on the rocks at his feet. The water stopped moving, the afflicted souls ceased to mutter their cries. The silence was terrifying. Without warning the ground started to shake, the walls began to crumble, and the wind attacked with a resentful ire. At the top of his lungs the Fiend bellowed, "You'll be torn limb from limb, tramp! There will be hell to pay!"
With all of the power and fury in his inquitous control, he mauled the limp body of the Temptress to shreds, leaving behind only the battered and bloodied veil. The sheer terror of what I had seen caused me to lose conciousness, and I floated away along the now calm tide of the bluest water you ever did see.
I can't stop the bleeding. Your dying eyes tell a story of poisonous passion. Oh, the violence.
