Darkness
is a natural part of human life, we live in the darkness, we hide in the
darkness, some of us are the darkness.
Four
men lay in a circle on ancient looking stone; all four men were unconscious at
the moment. They were all far apart enough to not be able to touch each other.
On each one of them, one of their legs was chained almost directly to the
floor, preventing any one from standing up. Each of them had no socks or shoes
on. One by one they each started to slowly come awake; the only problem was
this room was nothing but darkness. Each one had no recent memory of what had
happened prior to this. Confused and terrified they all didn’t even know the
others were there right along beside them. One eventually said “Hello?” in a
rather whiny voice, calling out into the darkness. “There’s someone else here?”
said another. “Yes” said the first voice, “what’s going on?” “I’m not sure, I’m
stuck to the floor, are you?” said the second voice. Then a third voice came in and said “me too,
I’m here and also stuck”. This voice must’ve been from an older man, his voice
sounding a little raspier. “So there are three of us then?” said the first
voice again. “Seems like it” said the second “Now how the hell do we get out of
here?” he questioned into the darkness at the others. Then interrupting their
conversation, flames came out of nowhere to light up the darkness. Four candles
now came to life between all of them, and the men could now just see each other,
but that was all, any further out was still complete darkness.
Now
that they could see each other, they all rubbed their eyes to adjust to the
sudden change of scenery. They also now noticed there was a fourth man also
chained in the circle, but he did not speak. “Hey how come you didn’t say
anything?” said the man who was supplying the second voice from earlier; he was
an older black man, probably in his late-forties. He had on old jeans, and a
gray sweatshirt, on the shirt in what looked like blood, was written the word
“Atheist”. But the other man tried to
talk, but no words were coming out. He was a dark skinned young man; he looked
to be of a middle-eastern heritage. He had on slacks and a dress shirt, that
again written across in what looked like blood said “Muslim”. “Maybe he’s just
too scared to talk” said the older man. He was indeed a little older than the
rest, in his mid-sixties. He was fairly fit for his age, but had a head full of
white hair; he had on round glasses and looked to be quite knowledgeable. His
shirt read on it “Jew”. Then the man
supplying the first voice chimed in, “Or he can see that he’s in a room full of
the enemy”, assuming the man that couldn’t talk must not be American. This man
was a tad over weight; he had a few wrinkles on his face, but was only in his
late forties. He had a blue T-shirt on that read “Christian”, in the blood
looking letters. “Okay well we can all see we have been clearly labeled” said
the Atheist man referring to his shirt. “What kind of sick shit is going on?”
he continued. “I’d quite like to go by each other’s names over our labels, if
it’s all the same to you guys” said the Jewish man, “My name’s Abraham”. “I’m
Rick” said the Christian man quickly after, acting as if he must go next. “And
my name’s Larry” said the atheist man. “I’m assuming you ain’t gonna tell us
yours?” he said referencing to the Muslim man, who still couldn’t manage to get
out words, no matter how hard he tried, Rick and Abraham shaking their heads in
disappointment at him.
Before
the conversation could go any further, a very subtle yet creepy chill went down
all of their spines simultaneously. They each huddled in closer to themselves,
looking for comfort, but there was none. They all sat individually alone, with
nothing but darkness to their backs and above them, and strangers in front of
them. The candles next to them, swaying
and flickering, that came with the chill, all of their bodies feeling cold as
ice. Then they heard a faint whisper off in the darkness, as if it was talking
to them. “What was that?” said Rick, quickly to respond, and frightened,
obvious from the quiver in his voice. They each picked their heads up and heard
it again, each one looking at the other for comfort.
“I see
you have all finally awoken” said a very surreptitious voice from beyond the
darkness, the voice was so creepy and mysterious; It almost sounded as if it
was layered with two more of the same voices. The voice so powerful in its
essence, each one had to control their pure fear and terror, it was a voice
they had never heard before, and wish they never had, the candles practically
going out when the voice spoke. Nobody dared say anything at first, but the
voice spoke again “No introductions for me?” it questioned. Finally Rick
getting enough courage to say “W-w-who are you?” he asked trembling. “Who am I?
Well I go by many names, each one of you has a different name for me”, answered
the voice in riddles. The men looking at each other confused, the Muslim man
especially looking terrified, his eyes as wide as they could go looking around.
“I am the one, the true supreme spirit of evil, or at least that’s what you
humans call me” the voice continued.
Pale
colors came across all of their faces now, “You mean you’re
him…you're…you're…. Lucifer?” said Rick making a cross over his heart and
saying a small prayer under his breath. The voice laughed a low horrendous
laugh, “your prayers don’t work here…Christian. And to you yes that is me.
Lucifer, Satan, ruler of hell, the devil himself, you are all in the presence
of the worst demon to ever exist, and walk the earth”. The men looking at each
other mortified. “Does this mean…we are…in hell?” said Abraham, taking a giant
gulp. “No, you would be lucky if this were hell” answered the voice. “Now wait
just a second, how do we know this isn’t some horse and pony trick?” said
Larry, bravely questioning the devil himself “What do you look like? Show
yourself”. “I come in many forms above” the voice replied. Then appearing
before them out of the darkness appeared an average looking white man in a
suit. “I live in each and every sin you commit” said the white man, then he
transformed into a black woman. “I live through each and every one of you” said
the black woman, she then transformed into a notable politician. “I am all
around you every day, tempting you, as you feed me your hate”, the politician
then turned into a small Chinese boy, “I thrive off of the darkness in this
world, the darkness you created”. Then the boy turned into a famous actor, then
a famous rapper, then a Native American woman, then a small white girl. “I am
everywhere”. The voice was silent for a moment, and then in front of Larry, he
saw the scariest face one could possibly imagine. It screamed in his face, it
was massive, with long horns, and razor sharp teeth. The eyes reflecting
stairways into hell itself, a massive black beard lay on its chin, the scream
was so deafening, Larry grabbed his ears in pain and tears started to form on
his face. The sheer terror was unparalleled. “Do you believe now?” said the
voice, as the face disappeared. Larry was now covering his face with his hands,
and nodding yes. “All of your pathetic life you have denied me, and look at you
now. Bow before me human” said the devil. As Larry still shaking, got down on his
knees and bowed. “Does this mean…we are
all dead?” said Abraham, also scared. “Not yet, you were all in a plane crash,
and only two of you are going to survive and walk out of here” the evil entity
replied. “But wait does that mean… Christians were always right? Is this the
evidence one seeks, and why am I here?” said Rick having to know all of the
answers. “I am not here to answer all of your spiritual needs, however all of
you are more than deserving of being here. No one religion has ever been right,
I am a combination of what many believe and so is the other side. I was however
not meant for this, I saw the true beauty of earth. Then…you disgusting insects
called humans came along. I knew you would destroy this beautiful planet and
all that inhabited it. You disgust me with your governments, countries and
dividing each other with your ridiculous criticisms over nothing more than skin
color. You send your own children to fight hollow wars, and slaughter each
other by the masses over meaningless paper and worthless gods. You each believe
parts of the world belong to you, like you have some kind of right to it. You
have a right to nothing!” bellowed the voice, making himself angry. “It was all
mine, and now I am forged to lead hell, where I pick the scabs like you four
off of the planet. And yet I am the condemned one, I am looked at as the one
who should never be seen” the voice finished, the four men never being more
terrified in their lives. “Trust me you all deserve to be here, regardless of
what your clothes say, you claim to be men of religion, men of honor, men who
have served their fellow humans rightfully. Let’s learn a little about each
other shall we? One thing you should know is it was no accident you four are
here together, you are all connected. Let’s see if actions really do speak
louder than words” said the devil.
Then
a few minutes went by and they heard nothing more. The four men just sat in
silence, questioning their existence, questioning the choices they made in
life. “Well if we are connected and we were in a plane crash, I think it’s not
hard to figure out why he’s here with us” said Rick, the Christian man,
breaking the silence and pointing at the Muslim man, the other two looking over
at him, the Muslim man shaking his hands and head in a no fashion. “What?
You’re saying he’s a terrorist?” asked Abraham. “I’m just putting the pieces
that make sense together, what doesn’t make sense is why I am here. I have worshiped my lord and savior all my life. What have I done to deserve this?”
said Rick back looking to the darkness above. “Well he said we are all
connected right?” said Larry chiming in, “So maybe we need to learn a little
bit about each other, starting with you, why do you look so damn familiar?”
said Larry referring to Abraham. “What’s your story man?” “Well, as you know
I’m a Jewish man, I live strongly by my religion, I am a retired cop, have been
for about 20 years. I am…” before he could go on Larry interrupted “Wait a
second, a retired cop? And your name’s Abraham?” he stopped talking for a
second and grabbed his head in anger, and slid his hands down his face, knowing
there was nothing he could do to take his rage out. “You son of a bitch!” said
Larry passionately towards Abraham, “You’re Abraham Becker, I knew you looked
familiar from the moment I saw you. You shot my brother you piece of shit!”
said Larry screaming practically foaming at the mouth. Abraham was taken aback
for a second and turned away from Larry, not saying anything for a minute.
“What was his name?” he finally said. “His name was Tom, Tom Spencer. And you fucking
shot him, for no reason man! There was a damn video of him with his hands up,
saying don’t shoot, I didn’t do anything. But there you were, gun pointed and
aimed” Larry said with tears almost in his eyes. “He was walking down the
street at night, what was the crime there!?” said Larry gradually increasing to
a yell, facing his brother's killer. “Well I…” Abraham was about to say
something but Larry interrupted again “Well what!? You didn’t retire, you got
off scot free man, and nothing was done about it, you left because they asked
you to. When you should’ve been in jail! Tell me something, did you kill him
because you genuinely thought he was a criminal or was it because he was
black?” said Larry very upset now. Abraham looked at the face of the man he had
wrongly done, “Look when you’re a cop sometimes you have to make split second
decisions, you’re brother looked very suspicious. We thought he had a weapon in
his pocket…But..” “But what!? It was his
fucking cell phone wasn’t it!?” yelled Larry. “Yes” said Abraham almost feeling
guilt. “It’s not a surprise why you’re here, you deserve to be in hell” said
Larry trying to face away from him. “But I’m not racist, I really..” “Fuck you
man” said Larry and spit at Abraham, landing on his Jewish letters across his
chest, Abraham making a face of disgust. “You’re wrong, it was an accident
nothing more, and I don’t deserve this. I was doing my job!” answered Abraham
angrily. Larry’s eyes getting huge, he yanked and pulled on the chain as hard
as he could, “I will fucking kill you!” he tried to move but couldn’t, the
chain not budging.
“Okay
guys, calm down, I realize this is a…horrible situation. But we are still
trapped down here, and there’s a big question unanswered …why am I here?” said
Rick “it’s obvious why you are down here” he said looking at Abraham. Abraham
getting furious that these men actually believed he did something wrong enough
to deserve Hell. “Well…maybe you should tell us about yourself then” said
Abraham through gritted teeth, referring to Rick. “Fine I will. I am a devoted
Christian man. I own an auto parts store in North Carolina. I graduated from
Cornell University about 25 years ago. I have 3 kids, one of them was taken
from me about ten years ago, he was only 4” Rick said putting his head down
with the last part, Larry looking up at him, but quickly turning away when they
almost made eye contact. “Cornell University huh?” said Abraham, “My wife
graduated from there about 25 years ago too”. “Oh really? What’s her name?”
asked Rick casually. “Karen” said Abraham, acting as if he was back with her
right now, “I’d do anything to see her right now”. Then Abraham’s demeanor
changed fast, his eyes got small, as his eyebrows came together to form a very
angry appearance. “What?” said Rick sort of scared of his face, but secretly
knowing what this might be about now. “You’re Rick from Cornell and you
graduated around the time my wife did, and we are all connected” said Abraham
frustratingly, “My wife was raped by a man named Rick right around that time.
Please tell me that wasn’t you”. Rick looked away guilty as could be. “Look I
was young and stupid” he answered without looking the man in his eyes. “Oh my
fucking god, I can’t believe after all this time, I am meeting you here” said
Abraham still angry as anyone would be. “They didn’t even get you in trouble
for that. Rich white guy, who had a scholarship, had a big future” said
Abraham. “It wasn’t like that, she was passed out drunk at a party” Rick
started to say but could see this was the wrong way to go about it. He stopped
and took a deep breath, “I was slightly drunk myself, and before I know it, I
am being brought up on charges for this insanity” he continued. “Insanity!?”
said Abraham beyond angrily. “You raped an unconscious woman!”. “I hate the
word rape, makes me sound like such a criminal. Besides she was asking for it,
getting drunk at a party, with all these college guys. I had a future ahead of
me. Do you know what prison would’ve done to me?” said Rick now defending
himself. “Well do you know what it did to her!? She went into a depression
after that. She ended up throwing a future away, a bright future. She never
fully bounced back after that. I met her a few years later, and I did the best
I could to bring her out of that. But she always had depression and anxiety,
because of you!” said Abraham at Rick. Rick looking away, but showing no signs
he really cared, giving no apologies. “You are the worst excuse for a Christian.
It doesn’t surprise me you are down here” said Abraham. Rick was about to get
furious, that someone would question his faith. But Larry interrupted, “How does
that helpless feeling feel Abraham?” he said playing on Abraham’s emotions. “You
stay out of this!” he replied in fury, the men starting to reveal their truest
colors now, holding nothing back.
The Muslim man was just patiently waiting,
and listening to everything around him. But that’s when the devil decided to
come back, “That was a fun time huh?” the voice from beyond said. “Remember I said two of you would walk out of
here alive, well here’s your chance”. “Wait what about him? How is he
connected?” said Rick looking at the Muslim man. “In due time, first we need
our first elimination” said the devil, sounding as if he was happy as one could
be. Then a gun appeared in the center of them all, it was a revolver. Just out
of reach for all of them. “Whoever gets it first, will make the first elimination”
said the devil with that low atrocious laugh. The four men looked at each other
in terror, and then all reached and stretched their bodies to get to the gun first,
each one of them trying to stretch their arms as far they could go, then Rick
took off his shirt and draped it over the gun and reeled it in to himself,
almost laughing, as he was the winner. The other three immediately terrified
this could be their demise. “You have one shot, eliminate one of them” said the
devil from the darkness. He put back on his shirt, Rick slowly aiming the gun
at each one, not knowing who to take, or if he even could do it. “Do it, do it
now!” the voice egged on. With sweat dripping off his face, he didn’t know who
to choose, he kept switching between the three, until he fixed it on the Muslim
man. The Man getting terrified, and waving his arms no. “He probably works for Isis or something. Not
saying anything, I bet he took down that plane and brought us here!” said Rick
slowly pulling back the trigger a little bit. The other two not stopping him,
or it could be them. Then a huge bang rang out in the darkness, as Rick fired
at him, the bullet going straight through his skull, the Muslim man falling
over, and blood pouring from his head. Blood splattering onto Rick’s shirt
where it still read “Christian”. Rick killing a man in cold blood he knew
nothing about.
Then there was silence after, the
devil said nothing, the men said nothing. They were in astonishment at what just
happened, the gun disappearing from Rick’s hand. “Well I guess we know how we are all connected
then” said Rick looking at them both, acting as if he made the right choice. “Actually
we don’t…” said Larry looking at Rick. “I think I know how you and I are
connected…about ten years ago, I had a major drinking problem, never quite reeling
from my brother’s death”, he looked down in utter shame. Rick getting squinty
eyes, wondering what this was about. “I left a bar, I was so drunk, and I could
barely walk. I got in my car and tried to go home. But on my way there was this
boy…” he could barely get the words out, he was choking up. Rick now connecting
the pieces “it was you” he said very quietly. “I didn’t mean to hit him” said
Larry looking at Rick for any sort of forgiveness. “He was just so close to the
road, I wasn’t in my right mind, I knew they’d put me away forever if I was
caught” he wiped his face with his hands, looking weary after this insane last
twenty minutes or so of his life. “You killed my son!....you killed him” said
Rick angrily but then in awe, he didn’t know what to feel. “We always said
whoever did this would rot in hell…and here you are”. Larry looking down,
almost agreeing that he did belong there. The three men full of sin were out of
words for each other. “Still happy about whom you chose to kill?” said the
voice coming back now, Rick looking away from the Muslim man’s body. “Now it is
time for number two to go”. The men once
again getting on edge, another was about to meet his maker. This time a
spinning board appeared in front of them all, the board was just barely within
arm’s reach for them. The revolver once again was on one panel, the rest were
empty, it started to spin around, whomever it landed on, would get the gun,
each man staring at it like a dog looking at a steak. It finally stopped, and it
was right in front of Larry. He grabbed it quickly as if someone would take it
from him. And immediately pointed it at Abraham, “I got you now you son of a
bitch” he said. “Wait just a second, you don’t want to do this” said Abraham
scared but putting his hands up. “Oh I have wanted to do this for a long, long
time” Larry responded looking crazy. “Do it!” Yelled Rick, “Shoot him! so we
can get out of here”. But before there was any more time to think, Larry
pointed it straight at Rick and fired. The bullet going straight through his
chest, he fell backwards holding his chest, blood pouring out of him like a fountain.
Abraham was in shock “but why?” he asked. “He was going to kill me as soon as
he had the chance, at least this way, I don’t have to watch my back…as much” Larry
said to Abraham.
“Well,
well, well, looks like we have our final two, congratulations you two are the
survivors” said the devil. The chains then released from their ankles, and they
both stood up and stretched. “Now there’s your final test, make your way out of
the darkness” said the devil. But before Abraham had time to think, Larry tackled
him to the floor. He grabbed his throat and started choking him, “How does it
feel to be lied to!?” Larry said as he tried to choke the life out of the older
Abraham. Abraham struggling to get words out, but managed to say “You just
murdered the father of the child you murdered before” playing on Larry’s
emotions. Larry let up on his neck for a second, thinking about that. “Do you
really want a third person’s blood on your hands before you go back to your old
life?” asked Abraham able to breathe more now. Larry slowly released his grip
on Abraham’s neck, looking like he just had some reality knocked in to him. “You’re
right…not that you don’t deserve it…but I’ve killed enough for a lifetime”
Larry said. They both got to their feet and wearily made their way into the
pitch black room, bitter enemies but now had to seek comfort in each other, “I think I see something ahead” yelled Larry,
and the two made their way to a giant stone door. “Okay we made it. Let us go
home” said Abraham calling out to the devil. “No, no, you have to figure out
the key” said the devil. “The key?” asked Larry. “Yes there is a combination to
open the door, you have 30 seconds”. “WHAT!?” Yelled Larry, “You lied!” “Time
is ticking” said the devil. The door had a number of old stones that could be
pushed in, the two men trying their hardest to figure out the right
combination. Until suddenly their time was up, and the door disappeared, for a moment,
it was only darkness, and then suddenly a fiery door way appeared. The souls of
past perished people rang out of it. The heat so hot, the two couldn’t take it.
“You see I took the Muslim man’s voice from the start, I told him the
combination in secret. He knew the way out, he was in the U.S. army you fools!”
the devil yelled loudly over the screams and laughed. “I knew one of you would
let your prejudice ways cloud your thinking, right now he’s waking back up in
his old life” “But you said WE would be free!” yelled Abraham. “I lied,”
laughed the devil and two giant dark red monstrous hands with long black finger
nails came behind them out of the darkness, and slowly pushed them into the
door. They both screamed and tried to resist but went straight through to the
other side, burning in hell, the devil laughing from beyond the darkness.
All
Christians aren’t bad, all Jewish people aren’t bad, all black and white men aren’t
bad, all Muslims aren’t bad, all cops aren’t bad, but actions really do speak
louder than words. Stop hating, stop hurting, stop judging, stop killing. Start
practicing what you preach or your demons might lead you to the darkness, where
the devil himself lives.
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