Today was my last day in Boring, Oregon. I was going to college in New York. My flight was tomorrow morning at 10 AM. I went over to my friend Angelo's house to hangout before I left. I made sure to get there early so we could have a whole day of debauchery. I rang his doorbell incessantly to make sure his ass would wake up. He opened the door with a tired expression.
“Dante, why the fuck did you decide to show up at eight in the morning?” Angelo asked.
“Actually it’s nine and cuz I’m leaving tomorrow. Didn’t you read any of my texts?” I said as I entered his house.
“You’re lucky my parents like you or else they would’ve kill–”
“Okay, so, what are we gonna do today?” I asked.
“Hold on, dude. Let me take a shower and then we can do something. Just chill in the living room for now. Don’t break anything.” He walked away into the bathroom.
I observed his living room for what felt like the last time. There were family photos of Angelo and his parents framed on the wall. He was an only child. I sat down on the long brown couch that he’s had since freshman year of highschool. It faced a 70 inch flat screen TV. We would hang out in this exact living room playing video games or watching shows almost everyday after school. There were so many insane stories shared here that I won’t ever forget, Like my master plan of making an onlyfans and becoming a millionaire, Angelo’s occult-spiritual-demonic shit, or how Brook masturbated at church one time. We met back in middle school. Angelo wasn’t a morning person back then either. He would be dead the first few classes but once it was PE, he was a whole different person. He took dodgeball way too seriously, especially when Brook was on the other team. Brook was another one of our friends that we met in middle school. The three of us even went to the same high school together. I’m happy to have these memories, I just wish Brook was still here so we could remember them together. Without him, Angelo and I haven’t hung out as much. After his death he was always talking about a project he wanted to finish up. We did our own things over the summer until today.
“Yo, Dante, you got money for breakfast?” Angelo asked, now dressed but with wet hair.
“Not really,” I said. “Where are we eating?”
“IHOP, you know that one. Also, no money? Onlyfans ain’t working out?” He laughed. “Just messing with you. I’ll cover for you since you’re leaving tomorrow.”
“I’ll start my onlyfans career in New York. Watch.”
“Whatever you say man.”
“Don’t you also have some ‘project’ that you’re working on. You’ve been texting me about it this whole summer.”
Angelo turned around, “Let’s go eat.” He walked outside to his car.
I followed.
I was serious about the onlyfans thing. The sex industry is lucrative, albeit unsafe at times. There are always horny people looking for some fap material and I don’t mind being the stimulation for those people. My plan would work best if I had a girlfriend or a ‘business partner’ that was comfortable on camera. I would even put a blindfold on her if she didn’t want to show her face or record just below the neck because that’s what the audience wants to see anyways. Onlyfans interested me so much because getting paid for having sex sounded like the dream. I mean money and sex? Subscription based services tend to make more money plus I could have paywalls for the extra good stuff. I would charge at most $10 for the subscription and the extras would be priced on a case-by-case basis. It could just be $5 or at most $60. I’m quite the business man.
We went to eat breakfast at IHOP, Brook’s favorite spot. This place had a waitress that he would always talk about. He actually managed to get her number, just to find out she was lesbian. Once he got over his crushing disappointment, he would still go to the IHOP and try talking to her, as a friend. Memories of Brook’s death began to flood in when Angelo and I were seated.
“He loved this place a lot, huh?” I asked.
“He loved the waitress.” Angelo corrected.
“Did anyone ever tell her what happened to him?”
“I don’t think so. Pretty sure she moved to California before it happened. Brook was the only one that could contact her.”
Brook was killed by a drunk driver. It was after a high school graduation party at Angelo’s ex’s house. We left early and went back to Angelo’s car which was across the street of the house. Brook went ahead of us. The driver turned around and drove off but not before I saw the license plate. The driver turned out to be another one of our classmates, Max. I’ll never forget his nasty yellow hair, his pasty white skin, or his blue eyes. I’m pretty sure he got arrested after that. I haven’t heard anything about him since.
We didn’t talk much about Brook when we ate; we’ve already told each other everything we felt so we reminisced in our minds. As we left I made sure to snatch some of the free mints at the front desk. We went back to Angelo's car.
“You wanna visit Brook?” He asked.
“Sure, the cemetery is close by,” I answered.
“Nah, I meant literally.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“What? That ‘project’ I was working on? It was this. I found a way to get to the afterlife.”
“Dude, what are you talking about?”
“Bro, I worked so hard to learn about this before you left so we could see Brook. Please, trust me.”
I was a bit skeptical but I thought that if it worked I would get to see Brook and if it didn’t I would get to roast Angelo. Win win.
“Okay, fine,” I said. “But, if this doesn’t work I’ll never let you hear the end of it.”
Angelo nodded, “Fine by me. It’ll work” He began driving.
He was always interested in spirits, demons, and paranormal events. He was the kind of guy whose eyes light up when watching horror movies. There were many times he would bring out his Ouija board when Brook and I were over at his house, but we never actually used it. Angelo would try to investigate abandoned buildings or places where there was a rumored ghost. I remember Brook and I joined him for one of his investigations. We kept hearing weird noises which started to creep me and Angelo out. Brook was as calm as a butterfly though, must’ve been that cross necklace he always wore. I hoped that this time, his strange affinity to the occult paid off and I would get to see Brook; I missed the guy.
Brook was a devout Christian and the complete opposite of Angelo. He would go to church every Sunday, save stray cats and dogs, and even volunteer at countless food drives. Not saying that Angelo was a terrible person, he just would never choose to do these things if it weren’t for Brook. We tagged along for some of these but we were never as into it as Brook was. He had all his values and morals in check whereas I was somewhere in between.
I went to church every now and then but I didn’t pray as often as Brook; I just went through the motions. I never tithed either, something always bothered me about giving away my money for no reason other than faith. I wasn’t like Angelo either. I would entertain Angelo when he would talk to me about the occult but I never wanted to participate in any of his seances. I was indifferent to both of their hobbies. Compared to both of them, I was a lot more interested in what life had to offer instead of thinking about the afterlife or dead spirits. I liked going to clubs and meeting new people. I have a fake ID just for that purpose. Neither Brook or Angelo were down to go through all that.
We arrived at Angelo’s house and got out of the car.
“Yo, what gives?” I asked. “How are we gonna get to the afterlife from your house?”
“Just come inside and I’ll show you,” He said without even looking back and entered his house.
I followed, now I was even more skeptical. Would this actually work? He led me to the living room and told me to wait on the couch. He went back into his room and came back with white tape, candles, and a lighter.
“How is this–”
“Just watch for a second,” Angelo ordered.
I watched as he used the white tape to make separate stars. Then, he placed candles on each point and lit them.
“I better not get possessed by some demon for doing this.” I said.
“You won’t,” Angelo stated. “This is the project I was working on. I’ve done this multiple times and I’m still here living and breathing.”
I shrugged, “You’re the boss, I guess.”
“Pick a pentagram to sit down in.”
I sat down in the one on my left and Angelo sat in the other. We had to sit criss-cross in order to fit in the star.
“Okay,” Angelo said. “We’re going to close our eyes and say this phrase: Let me, the living, transition into the realm of the eternal. We wait a few seconds then a voice will tell us to open our eyes.”
“What happens then?” I asked.
“The voice will tell us.”
“This shit sounds wack.”
“It’ll work. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“Fine, fine. Let’s do this.”
In unison we closed our eyes and said the phrase, “Let me, the living, transition into the realm of the eternal.”
All I saw was the back of my eyelid. I thought Angelo had finally gone off the deep end with this spiritual stuff. At least he wasn’t the kind to have a bunch of rocks that ‘warded off evil vibes’ or whatever.
“Open your eyes!” A deep voice commanded.
I thought Angelo was playing a trick on me at first, but still I opened my eyes to see the source of the sound. I saw a 60 foot tall creature with three eyes. The third eye was on his forward and seemed like it was sideways compared to the others. Its eyes were yellow with black irises. Large black horns grew out of the side of its forehead. It had razor sharp teeth with pointy claws. The claws were about as long as spears. Wings grew out of its shoulders but they seemed worn down, as if they had caught on fire before. It had red skin and a lean body. It sat upon a throne-like seat made of stone with not many ornate designs on it, just a few spirals.
“You wish to enter Hell?” The voice called out to me.
I had trouble finding the words to say.
“Answer me!” The creature was getting impatient.
“Uh–Yes! Well, no, actually, I’m looking for someone named Brook–wait where’s Angelo?”
“You’re with Angelo!” The voice got louder and deeper. “Hahaha, that boy travels here like it’s a summer resort.”
“Uhhh, yeeaahh, haha–So where is he?”
“Over here, Dante!” Angelo called out from the foot of the throne. “This is Satan. He’s gonna put us through some trials to see if we can get to Heaven.”
“Precisely, Angelo!” Satan shouted. “Now let me see if you’re eligible to go to Heaven.” He clapped his hands and a book appeared in front of him.
“Eligible?” I asked.
“Well, of course!” Satan answered. “Not just anyone makes it into Heaven. You are Dante De La Luz, correct? Ah, yes, it says right here all about your beliefs. Just enough faith in God to let you go to Heaven. Now for the trials: you will have to go through three circles of Hell. This will test you to see if you can control your flesh and resist sin. If you succeed, I’ll send you to Heaven. You will only have one chance. Do you still want to try?”
“To see Brook, I’ll do anything.” I replied.
Satan smiled, “Very well.” He snapped his fingers and these smaller creatures swarmed me and Angelo. They were like smaller Satans except their skin was a dull red compared to Satan. They only had two eyes and a tail. These demons were only about six feet tall. They captured us and took us away. I think they put us to sleep somehow because I don’t remember the journey to the first location at all.
I woke up and saw people! Well, dead people I guess, but here they were moving around like normal. I looked around to see if by chance I knew someone. It was useless because this place was huge and there were tons of people. In this place, the room seemed to be circular with red walls. I couldn’t tell what the walls were made of. The more I looked at them the more I thought that we were in the stomach of a monster, which almost made me throw up. It smelled like a garbage truck in here too. The floor was just as disgusting which didn’t help my nausea. I looked down to see that the ground was a darker red, almost like blood or red wine. Every step sounded wet and squishy which made me think it really was blood and that we were in the belly of a beast. There were also fires in seemingly random locations. I wanted to get out of here and see Brook as quickly as possible.
“This is the circle of Lust!” Angelo announced, unphased by our surroundings. “Here you can find a bunch of horny ass people who let their crotches do the thinking. You could probably find a few pornstars around here but it's not worth looking for them. I’ve tried. Also, all the people you see here committed like hella sins, so don’t be scared that you’ll end up here if you die.”
“How do you know where we are?” I asked.
“You heard Satan, I came here a lot before this. He let me explore each circle to find Brook. I actually found… nevermind. Brook ain’t here so he must be in Heaven.”
As he said that I heard strong winds. I looked to my left to see a tornado sprout out of nowhere, it was far enough that we didn’t get stuck in it but I almost lost my balance from the wind. Then just as quickly as it came, it left, and I saw some unfortunate people who got caught in it be launched in every direction. One person landed right in front of us! I talked to her.
“Hey! Are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah I’m fine– wait! You two are alive!?” She got up quickly and stared at us. “Well, damn, I never expected a living person to be able to come here. I’m Marilyn.” She extended her hand out. I shook it.
“Uh, hey, I’m Dante,” I said sheepishly. I didn’t realize who she was until she said Marilyn. It was Marilyn Monroe right in front of me. I hoped she didn’t notice my boner.
“Oh! That’s our eternal punishment. It’s a pain in the ass. Those tornados just sprout out of nowhere and blow us away often. I think it’s supposed to represent our lustful nature pulling us in every and any direction or something like that. I’ve gotten used to it though.”
“Wow, that sounds horrible,” I said, “Can we talk more about it? If that’s okay with you of course.”
Angelo nudged me and pulled me aside. “Hey, you horny bastard. You need to overcome these challenges or else no one is seeing Brook, okay?”
I nodded and turned back to Ms. Monroe, “Actually, I really need to get going. Sorry!” I tried walking away but she grabbed onto from behind and I felt her breasts on my back.
“But, we just started talking,” She said. “You’re cute too.”
“I–I really can’t…so…See ya!” I ran to make sure I could get away from her.
Angelo came up behind me and patted me on the back, “You did good.”
Another group of those small demons came and brought us to our next location. Angelo told me this was the Circle of Greed. Here were all the hoarders and greedy businessmen of the world. Their punishment was to push these huge boulders up a steep hill. On one side of the hill were hoarders, who rarely gave up their belongings or money, and on the other side were the wealthy, who spent their money on a whim and ignored the value of anything they owned. Both groups were only ever interested in material goods. At the peak, they argued about each other’s lifestyles. Why do you hoard? Why do you waste? They yelled these questions at each other at the top. With their attention on each other, the rocks would roll back down and they had to go back to push the rocks back up. It was an endless cycle. Some of them noticed me and called out to me.
“Hey buddy, come over here and I could teach you how to make some good money!”
“I made millions off making subpar music, you could do the same.”
“I used to hustle all day and now look at my jewelry!”
“This one trick could turn you into a millionaire. Sell your soul to the Devil.”
It was hard to ignore them but I stayed strong and kept walking. Angelo stayed beside me the whole time, making sure I didn’t crack. I was so relieved when I saw the swarm of demons take us away to our last trial.
“This is the Circle of Violence,” Angelo said. “This is where we can find a bunch of murderers and other people who were violent. They even have people who break down trees because it counts as violence towards nature! ...There’s also someone we both know that is here.”
Once he told me that I heard a familiar voice.
“Did you hear that?” I asked. “That’s him. It has to be!”
“Take it easy. He’s already dead.”
I ran to the source of the sound and I saw him. The bastard that killed Brook. His blonde hair that looked like hay, his ugly blue eyes, and the milky skin that made me hurl. He was inside the murky red water that made up the marsh, begging for mercy. What a beautiful sight. I swung my fist but Angelo held me back.
“This is the last trial,” Angelo said. “Watch what you do here. You only have one shot, remember?”
I stared at Max as if I could shoot lasers out of my eyes. Eternal punishment wasn’t enough for this guy. At that moment, more of those demons were lined with flaming arrows and bows. They shot at him and the others that were in the water. He somehow made it to shore and I saw an arrow coming out of his throat and another arrow on his right thigh. As I was backing up, another arrow was shot into his chest. He was knocked down back into the water.
“Let’s go. We’re almost out of hell.” Angelo said.
The swarm came for us one last time and brought us to the feet of Satan.
“You were this close to failing, do you understand?” Satan said.
I stayed silent.
“Well, no matter, a pass is a pass after all. You shall be brought to the Gates of Heaven.” He stared deep into my eyes. I didn’t know which eye of his to look at but soon I felt dizzy and must’ve passed out. I woke up next to Angel with a bright light in front us. It was a golden gateway with an ethereal light leaking out of it. The rest of the room we woke up in was pitch black with gray grass, trees, and plants.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“This is Limbo,” Angelo said, “Nothing interesting here, that’s probably why Satan didn’t tell you. The people here weren’t as bad as the people in Hell but not so good to be in Heaven. This is where we split up.”
“What? Why?” I asked.
“God only lets people that have faith in him inside.”
“Wait, so, when you die, you’re going to either end up here or in Hell?”
“Probably.”
“Why are you so calm!? Did you see what those punishments were? Then this place! I don’t want you to end up in this depressing world!”
“Relax, I’m not dead yet. I got plenty of life to live before believing in God.”
“Do you not remember how quickly Brook died! He was barely 18! I won’t let you end up here!”
“You may believe in God but that doesn’t mean you get a free ticket into Heaven. You could end up here with me too.”
“I won’t let that happen, now that I know Hell is for real. I won’t let that happen to you either.”
“Then pray for me.” Angelo smiled and pushed me through the gates. The lights were so bright, I started to tear up. The tears were for Angelo as well. Once I became adjusted to the light I looked around. It was a lush garden with all kinds of plants, flowers, and trees. Some plants I had never seen before. Vines grew down from every other tree and people smiled everywhere I looked. Everything was so colorful and vivid. I walked on the path that seemed to be made of white sand. I saw some angels too. They were like floating baby heads with wings attached behind their ears. There were even some grown heads that were men and women with the same wings. Then I saw him.
“Brook!” I called out to him. He was dressed in a robe with a white sash.
“Dante?” He came running up to me. “Dante is that actually you! But, you’re alive? How did you get here?”
“I was led by Angelo,” I responded.
“I see. I know he believes in God but not any faith, I’m assuming. I always found it strange.”
“We have to save him! He’s gonna end suffering in Hell if we don’t!”
“You need to save yourself first. Let me show you the wonders of their kingdom so you can try and convince Angelo. Starting with right here. This is the Garden of Eden.”
I looked again at all the trees and plants. Some trees were towering over us while others barely went to our knees. They were all so beautiful. I saw some people eating fruits that I know for sure do not exist on Earth.
“Wait, Brook. I don’t have much time. I need to get back to Earth soon and traveling through Hell was a lot. Let’s just talk here for now.”
“Sure! To get out you would have to see God but we can do that later.”
“First question I have for you: What did God tell you about masturbating in the church?” I laughed.
“Dude they were…disappointed to say the least but it was one of the only times I ever gave in to lust so I guess they forgave me in the end. I’m glad I ended up here though. Imagine I was stuck in hell because of that?”
“That would suck. I actually met Marilyn Monroe who was stuck in the circle of lust. I wouldn’t ever want you to go there.” I began to tear up. “I miss you. I’m going to New York tomorrow and you’re…here.”
“Hey, stop that. Save your tears for Earth. You and Angelo still need saving after all. I want the three of us to be in the afterlife together, in Heaven, not anywhere else.”
“I nearly failed every trial, Brook. How am I supposed to find salvation? I don’t think I can do this.”
“I know you can. You’re the only one who can because Angelo would never go to church by himself. He never listened to anyone else but me talk about God so I know he’ll listen to you. We’re all friends, right?”
“That’s right.” I hugged him. We stayed in the Garden of Eden for a while. Talking about anything and all things. It felt like no time had passed at all since he left. I loved every moment of being in his company. However, I knew I couldn’t stay here, not yet.
“One last question before we go see God,” I said.
“Go ahead.” Brook responded.
“Do you feel anything towards Max, the driver that killed you?”
“No, I don’t actually. He was foolish with his drinking and that’s all there is to it.”
“I met him in Hell.”
“I see…I don’t feel anything towards him. How about you?”
“Well, I was angry when I saw him. I wanted to hurt him, but seeing all this and hearing you seem indifferent to it all. It makes me feel pathetic in a way.”
“It’s not pathetic. It’s conviction.”
“So…deep down inside me, I feel…bad for how I acted towards him?”
“How would I know? Are you ready to see God?”
He told me that there were spheres of Heaven just how there were circles of Hell. We didn’t have to go through them to see God because in Heaven, we were free. We reached His throne room. I could hardly find the words to describe God. He had no shape; his body was always shifting. He was blue and within his body was a sea of stars alongside a sky of fish. It seemed like the entire universe was encapsulated inside his body. Then he spoke.
“Hello, Dante.” The voice of God was feminine. I wasn’t expecting that. “Do you wish to return to Earth?” The voice then morphed into something masculine. Brook could sense my confusion and told me the answer.
“Just how God’s body holds every sight in the universe, their voice is every sex, pitch, and tone.”
“Dante. Tell me your answer.” I was unable to get used to their shifting voice of high, low, and feminine, masculine, but I wouldn’t have to, not yet anyway.
“I want to go to Earth,” I answered.
“Very well. I shall grant you my blessing for venturing so far into the howling dark of Hell and Limbo.” I don’t quite know what the blessing was but it felt like a kiss on the forehead. After that everything became bright and then dark. I woke up in Angelo's living room. It was extra dark, it must be night time already. Luckily, Angelo was already awake.
“Let’s go to the car. Tell me all about Heaven and Brook there. I’ll drop you off at home too so you can sleep before your flight.” he said.
“Thanks. I’ll come over during break. Maybe one day, you’ll be able to see Brook yourself.”
Angelo looked at me with a confused look. I couldn’t help but smile
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