Love Embers

Chapter 1- It's Hot

It's hot, it's always been hot, but more dark then anything. The floor is covered with hot coals and ragged rocks. Everytime you take a step you feel your skin burning off, or you feel a rock digging into your foot. Ashes fall on you from above, boiling water drips from the ceiling, hot steam hisses from the walls. They give you the ability to heal yourself, but why heal your self if you just end up back in hell. The answers simple, they'll just force you back in here anyways, so why wouldn't you be healed. You get used to the burns, your skin pealing off, bruises, but you'll never get over the screams coming from below, thats when you know your the fortunate one. Your glad to do the work for lucifer, you'd rather do that then burn in the fire below. I'd protect that man just so I wouldnt burn for eterninty down there, and i do work for that man so I dont burn for eternity down there.
Lucifer lives on the top level of hell, just before heaven. He lives in a cave with stars engraved into the walls, and theres a huge gate at the entrance of this cave. I guard the entrance with another Raven, (and the only Raven besides myself) Victor. Where as high as you can get in hell, the classes go (from bottom to highest) Ashes, Slaves, Demons, and us the Ravens. But on this particular day, I got a little curious. I oppened the huge gate just a little bit and looked inside. Victor looked over to me and said something beyond the lines of " Josh if you go in there your going to be sent to become one of the Ashes." So I looked over to him, and with no hesitation I went into the Devils cave.
I knew Victor wouldnt follow me, he would never disobey Lucifers order to stay and guard. But while I walked further, and further down into the cave, the heat seemed to fade away, it wasn't hot anymore, infact I began to feel cold. I walked a little longer until there was a door, covered with latin that I couldnt read. Sitting on the front of it was a star. I was starting to have second thoughts, but then the door slowly opened blowing a gust of wind my way nearly sweeping me off my feet. There he stood, his pale face, red eyes, and his long black hair. He stared at me with no emotion, a blank face. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I started shaking, the fear of becoming ash, screaming for all eternity. He motioned me over, I walked slowly twards him. I stood right infront of him, I cant escape him. Then he asked me a question, "Do you want to know why your in hell?" I was confused, still having trouble with moving. He grabbed my hand pulling me into this unknown place. When I walked in all I could see was shelves seeming to be filled with files, they were atleast twenty feet tall. He guided me to one aisle. I finally asked the question "what is this place?" He looked over to me and answered "This is were we store everyones past life from hell, it gives us facts like the sin that made you come here, and it gives the information about your height, weight, and last occupation before you died." He started looking for my file, it seemed like hours before he found it. "Here you are" he handed me the file. When I oppened it, it read "Josh Beacon, 6'1ft, 217lbs, Last occupation was as a Catholic Priest, worst sin was accidently stepping on an ant." I closed it, looked up to Lucifer and asked " You sure this is the right one." He nodded, I was confused, and slightly angry. "Why am I in hell if the worst thing I did in my past life is step on an ant and my last occupation was being a Catholic Priest?" Lucifer looked up at me, and smiled "Maybe there was a mistake in the system. But its nearly impossible to go to heaven now, especially because your a Raven, what a sad story. To be honest though im pretty sure we wouldnt mess up." Right after saying that he winked at me and had a sadistic grin on his face. what does that mean? "Am I not supposed to be in hell?" He looked me "Seems like thats the case, but sadly your already in hell, its pretty hard to switch to another afterlife. Go back to guarding the gate now, ok." I nodded, but on my way back I started thinking, why did he let me in like that, was he just messing with my head. He is the Devil after all, but if he wasnt joking then im not supposed to be in hell, weird.