the ripper || irwin

[ 17 ] pandemonium

"Hello Alice."

-

"A-Ashton?" She asked, but she was well aware that his consciousness and soul were elsewhere.

"No. Its me--The Ripper." He grinned.

She turned around to leave, but the door bolted shut behind her. When she searched her pockets for the keys, she found they were gone. Suddenly, she was knocked down by a sharp gust of wind and everything around her went black.

.

.

.

.

When she woke up next, she was in a place with blood red walls and coal black decorations. She also found it hard to breathe. The air was dry and it burned her lungs each time she sucked in a breath. It was like the place was on fire, but she couldn't see any flames. 

She walked to the closed door and opened touched the black door knob, only to pull away quickly.

The metal was burning hot and the sensation was worse than any type of burn she had ever experienced.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to endure the burning pain and pushed open the door. She winced as she took a look at her hand, it was badly burnt.

She walked the hallways of the unknown place, hoping to find someone or something she could recognize. 

As she passed them, she saw labels on various doors.

I. Limbo 

II. Lust 

III. Gluttony

IV. Greed

V. Anger

VI. Heresy

VII. Violence

VIII. Fraud

IX. Treachery

She recognized them as the nine circles of hell.

Each was hotter than the one before it as she made her way down the dark hallway. She couldn't imagine how greatly someone was suffering beyond each door. If only touching one of the door knobs had burnt her hand, she knew it would be worse to be in one of those rooms.

Her feet carried her down the end of the long hallway until she stood before a grand hall.

This one was not hot at all, and Alice found herself being able to get a breath of fresh air. 

Above the double doors, she saw a sign that read:

The battle is near, only great warriors allowed here. Welcome to Valhalla.

Alice pushed open the double doors to reveal a long wooden table, each with different people sitting at the feast. They all dressed in heavy armor and held silver wine cups in their hands. She took it all in with amazement. There were crystal chandelier's on the ceiling and big metal shields hung from the walls. It was a striking contrast between the hall she had to walk down to get there.

None of them seemed to notice her enter the room.

But there was one who did. 

It was a boy who sat at the end of the table, closest to her. His hazel eyes full of excitement, as well as confusion, when he saw her.

He quickly pushed his chair back, getting on his feet, and rushed to her side, pulling her into his tight embrace. She let him cling to her, she could feel his fear. She was afraid as well. When he pulled away, he asked her, "What are you doing here?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

His eyes caught a glimpse of her damaged hand and he brought it up to examine it. "What happened to your hand?"

"I touched one of the door knobs." She admitted.

Slowly, he brought her hand to his lips and he kissed it, sending butterflies that fluttered around in her stomach.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him curiously.

"This is Valhalla." Ashton replied, gesturing to the large room. "These past few times, after I interfered when he was going to hurt you, he sends my soul here for a while, mostly at night when I fall asleep. He says this is where I'll live after I die. All the other guys here were brought by valkyries and they will stay here to fight for Satan when the time comes. He wants us to help him destroy God at a battle called Ragnarok."

"What about the other rooms? The ones out there?" 

"Those are the nine circles. Us Valhalla guys won't go there. But those rooms aren't as bad as the city beyond this dining hall. Pandemonium." He told her.

Pandemonium, she remembered learning about it at school once, a very long time ago.

It was the main city in hell.

Grabbing a hold of her hand, he pulled her to the end of the large room, stopping at the closed double doors. He pushed the doors open to reveal a large black castle in what looked like a barren wasteland. The skies were blood red, the clouds a toxic looking black and in the distance, she could see chained people, working outside the castle.

"That's where the worst people go." He nodded towards the castle. "Its where Satan lives."

"But why does he want your soul?" She asked.

"He said he needs strong warriors for battle." Ashton explained.

"I need to get you out of this place." She said.

He shook his head. "I've been marked, remember? There's nothing you can do for me now. But my brothers...they're next. We need to help them."

"There has to be some way to help you too." 

Suddenly, the front doors of the dining hall swung open, a gust of wind rushing into the room. She closed her eyes tightly in fear. 

And when she opened them again, she was back in Ashton's room, laying on his bed.

He laid next to her.

"It was just a dream." She breathed.

But as her eyes scanned over her hand for any damage, she was painfully surprised.

-

ANOTHER SHORT CHAPTER.

SORRY GUYS.

I JUST WANT YOU GUYS TO GET A FEEL AS TO WHAT VALHALLA IS AND WHY SATAN WANTS ASHTON'S SOUL AND WHATNOT.

OMG. 

THERE WAS A MURDER RIGHT NEAR MY SCHOOL'S OTHER CAMPUS AND THEY WERE ON LOCKDOWN FOR HOURS. AND LIKE, THEY CANCELLED THE SHUTTLE SERVICES. AND I FUCKING TAKE THE SHUTTLE BACK TO THE OTHER CAMPUS CAUSE I LIVE CLOSE TO IT.

SO BASICALLY, I AM FUCKING TRAPPED UP HERE IN THE MOTHERFUCKING MOUNTAINS. 

AND ITS SO FRUSTRATING.

LIKE SERIOUSLY. I WANT TO GET HOME. CLASSES GOT CANCELLED FOR THE REST OF THE DAY SO I'M JUST SITTING HERE IN THE THIRD FLOOR LOUNGE, TYPING UP SOME FANFICTION CAUSE I HAVE NO MORE TO DO.

MY LIFE SUCKS.

ANYWAY, PLEASE READ, COMMENT, VOTE, AND ADD TO YOUR LISTS.

SORRY IF I FREAKED YOU OUT WITH THIS CHAPTER. I GOT CHILLS WHILST WRITING IT TOO, SO I FEEL YA BABES.

-CLARY xx