-Aimee, Hell-

“The Damned Holies.” I laughed to myself at the nickname the newspaper had given the angels back when I was held captive. Humans can be pretty creative. It had started appearing many times in the newspapers over the years.

“You still think that’s funny?” Lucien asked, nudging me with his foot from the opposite end of the couch.

I sighed and laid the newspaper on the coffee table, looking at Lucien.

“Uh oh. I know this look. Something serious.”

“I’ve kind of been procrastinating this, ever since I got here. It’s a curiosity thing, I suppose, but I would just like to know…”

“What is it?”

“What is Hell? What does it really look like? Who gets sent here?”

“I was wondering when you would ask.” He sat up and pulled me closer to him. “Have you ever read Dante’s Inferno?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Good, that will make it so much easier to explain. The descriptions in that book were pretty accurate.”

“But when I first got here, what was that?”

“Before you’re judged on your sins and sent to one of the levels of Hell, you see whatever you want to see. Well, not what you want to see, no one wants to be in Hell, but what you as an individual think Hell looks like.”

“Well, it certainly made a point to me.”

“Want to see it as I explain? Visual images always help.”

“Umm…”

“I hope let anything happen to you, I swear.” He laced his fingers through mine and our home was gone. It was replaced with rolling grassy hills and a cloudy sky. “The first circle, what Dante called Limbo.”

It was peaceful here, no eternal torment, but there was a taste in the air. It was something faint, something wasn’t quite right here. Sadness, I suppose. People wandered here and there, whole and unharmed. Some of them conversed with each other, different languages not barriers. A castle loomed in the distance, home to more souls.

“The unbaptized and virtuous non-Christians?”

“Yes. They do not suffer here.”

“I’m glad; they don’t deserve to suffer.”

“Socrates, Homer, Julius Caesar, and Aristotle are here, in this ring.”

“Where?”

“The castle. Their debates are quite interesting. Their souls deserved to be immortal. They still had so much to contribute to the world.”

“I’m sure they are. Maybe I could listen sometime?”

“If you’d like… Onto the next circle?”

We were in the middle of a hurricane. My hair whipped around me viciously, but Lucien and I were not moved by the strong winds. He yelled into my ear, “The second circle, Lust.”

Souls were blowing violently back and forth by strong winds, preventing them from finding peace and rest.

“The strong winds symbolize the restlessness of a soul who was led by the desire for fleshly pleasures. Sex, in other words.” Lucien pointed out souls as they whipped around us. “Tristan. Helen of Troy. Cleopatra.”

“What’s that noise? Not the wind but something else…”

“The wails?”

“Yes?”

“Those would be the Succubi and Incubi. Lesser demons who feed off of sex. They play with the souls here, torturing, tempting, seducing.”

“Fun.” I said sarcastically.

Lucien brought me down, down, down… Until we were in a lavish room. Beds, blankets, pillows, and naked bodies covered the entire chamber. It smelled of sweat and sex. I crinkled my nose.

The bodies stirred and writhed like snakes. “Lucien, is that you?”

“It’s been so long.”

“Why do you not visit us anymore?”

“Do we not please you?”

Their voices were whispering, seductive whines. Most of them were female, with full breasts and wide hips. They were all kinds of ethnicities, and some of them were hard to tell, muddied in between.

“Succubi?” I asked.

“Yes.” Lucien looked away from them. “And a few select souls that they’re playing with.”

“Who is this soul you have brought to us?”

“She is different.”

They moved closer and closer to us and I pressed myself closer to Lucien, taking a breath through his shirt and inhaling his scent, and not the smell of sex. Their dark eyes inspected me closely.

“A ring? What is this?”

“Lucien has chosen a bride?”

“Stay back. She is mine.” He barked, his ring flashing in the dim light.

“We just want a taste…”

“I wonder how long this one will last, but then again… This one is different.” One succubus purred.

“Lucien, can we go?” I whimpered into his shirt, shying away from their touch. Although beautiful, they just felt… Wrong. I noticed poison dewing on their fingertips.

“The third circle, Gluttony.”

Thick, gooey liquid was up to my knees, made up of food so rotten it had liquified. It smelled horrible in here, like every kind of rotten food imaginable. I covered my mouth to keep from gagging. The souls here were… Grotesque, like zombies. Their tissue was decaying from their bones, falling off in chunks, bodies bloating up from the heat in here. I could hear the creaking and hissing of the gases escaping their bodies. They scavenged for food in this filth, picking up bits and pieces of the most solid stuff, even the pieces that had fallen off from their own bodies, and fighting over them likes a pack of wolves.

“They’re never able to sate their appetite.” Lucien said, looking down to see my reaction.

“It’s horrible here.”

“Aimee, we are in Hell.”

“I know, but still.”

“Time to go?”

“Yes please.”

“If you want to go home, just tell me. You don’t have to see this, I don’t want you to. I don’t want you to look at me differently…” He trailed off and looked away.

“Lucien, I love you.” I grabbed his chin and turned his face to look at me. I kissed him quickly. “I wanted to see and know exactly what this place is.”

“Despite your opinion, you don’t know everything Aimee. You know a lot, way more than most humans, so I’m not saying you’re stupid. There’s still a lot you don’t know.” Lucien spoke softly, full of affection and concern.

I eyed him suspiciously. “Like what, Lucien?”

“I can’t tell you. Not yet, anyways. I promise I will eventually.”

“Do I get any hints?”

“This isn’t a game, Aimee. It’s serious.”

“I know but --”

“It’s not nice things, that’s your hint.” He snapped, which made me shut up. He never used that tone with me. It was hurtful. I pulled away and turned my back to him, wrapping my arms around myself.

The scene changed around me and suddenly the ground was not stable. I stumbled and my arms pinwheeled to find some sort of balance. The ground was made up of gold coins and jewels as far as my eyes could see.

“Fourth circle, Greed.” Lucien’s hand grabbed my waist to steady me.

The treasure made mountains that were constantly shifting and moving, like tidal waves. The coins fell and made metallic clanging noises that echoed forever. Huge vats of molten gold, silver, and bronze were pouring from the ceiling, like waterfalls.

“Where are the souls?”

“Look closer.”

I was perplexed. It just felt empty in here. Then I saw it; hands, feet, and other body parts sticking out of the ocean of treasure. “They’re what’s making this move?”

“Yeah, they keep trying to acquire more and more gold. They’re suffocating under the weight of it but still want more.”

“Fitting.”

“Onto the next?” He asked, but then added, “It just gets worse from here.”

I bit my lip, thinking. I was scared and didn’t want to see anything that was worse, but a part of me needed to see it.

“You’re tired. We can continue this tomorrow, if you really want to.”

“Yeah, I think I should sleep.”

The environment changed, bringing back familiar ocean smells, cool breezes, warm sunshine, and a soft bed. Lucien tucked me in, propping himself up on one arm to look at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just a lot to take in.”

He played with my hair, stroking it with his fingers. Goosebumps broke out across my skin, because of how much I loved the sensation. He smiled at me, brushing his lips against my shoulder, which later turned into nips.

“Don’t tease me like that when I’m so sleepy.” I mumbled, trying to keep up a serious facade.

He sighed. “Fine, fine, fine.”

“Lucien, what exactly is your job here?”

“What do you mean?”

“What are you supposed to do?”

“I just supervise everything.”

“So you aren’t Hell’s greeter?”

He laughed. “No, if I was, I would be gone all of the time.”

“Why were you there, then?”

“I sensed something different coming, good. You were like a light in complete darkness. I had to investigate.”

“I’m glad you did.” The corners of my mouth lifted into a small smile. Lucien leaned over and kissed me and my fingers twisted into his hair, pulling him closer to me.

“I thought you told me to quit teasing you.” He smiled against my lips.

“I changed my mind.” I murmured, tugging off his shirt.

“I’m glad you did.” He whispered against my bare skin, repeating the words I had said.