Gone Isn't Forever

King of Hell

Chapter 17

I was dragged out from underneath the bed only to find that it was Jimmy who had caught sight of my feet poking out from beneath the bunk.

“Whoa, whoa! Where’s the fire kid? Calm yourself it’s just me, your friendly neighborhood drummer man.” Jimmy chuckled and I kicked my ankles free from his grip.

“I think you bruised my ankles.” I said, pouting and pulling my knees to my chest to rub them.

“Aw, I’m sorry Mell. You know if you hadn’t squirmed so much it’d probably be alright.” Jimmy replied bending down to massage my legs. I just leaned against the side of Johnny’s bunk and closed my eyes while he did so, enjoying the leg rub and secretly the attention.
He smirked, “Ya know, if you were craving my attention you could have said something.” My eyes flew open.

“Get out of my head Jim-bob.” I said and he laughed, massaging his way down my legs and moving on to my feet. God damn that felt amazing.

“You’re welcome.” He said, sticking a tongue out at me. I glared hard daggers at him, narrowing my eyes into slits. “What? It’s not like I can turn it off Mell. When I’m near you, I’m can hear your every thought…your every… did you read my journal?” his tone took a harsh turn and he stopped rubbing out my feet and stood up. I continued to sit on the floor as I looked up at him brooding over me, his face expressionless.

“I… um…um, No.” I averted his eyes and he leaned down and grabbed chin, forcing me to look at him.

“I don’t like it when you lie to me Melinda.” He stated and I could see the worry in his eyes.

“How…how old are you Jimmy?” I asked him after a long moment of silence and he paused for a moment before he yanked away from me.

“What? What kind of question is that? You know how old I am.” He replied, avoiding eye contact. I shoved myself off of the ground after diving under Johnny’s bunk to grab his journal. Holding it up in front of him, I confronted the confusion.

“Really James? Do I? Because your first journal entry is dated 1786. Explain yourself Sully.” I said, crossing my arms and he pursed his lip while rubbing the back of his neck before he looked me in the eyes.

“I… can’t.” Jimmy answered and I just stared, blinking at him.

“Excuse me?” I replied without changing my stance.

“Youuu…wouldn’t like me very much anymore.” He told me with worry laced in his voice.

“God damnit all to hell Jimmy! I’m sick of the lies. Just tell me the truth… all of it! Don’t leave out a single thing. I need to know what you’re hiding.” I said in desperation and he just stood there looking at me, contemplating.

“No…I won’t.” was his reply. We stood there in silence for a moment and then I decided to do the only thing I could. I had to know the truth about my so called “guardian angel”. I was starting to fear that Jimmy’s past was much, much darker than even I could imagine.

So with Jimmy black leather bound journal in hand, I ran. I bolt out of the tour bus as fast as I could. I had to know, and the only way I was ever going to be able to find out was by finding out for myself. I was going to read Jimmy’s journal cover to cover and take in all of his secrets. I was so sick of being the dark when it came to that man.

I ran long and hard, and it seemed like it took forever to get to a secluded area down the road from the tour grounds, attempting to tune out Jimmy's shouts from the tour bus. I slowed down, gasping for air near the side of the road gazing back at the tour grounds. Through all my hard breathing I didn’t hear the sound of a car creeping up behind me. I whizzed past me and brushed my hip, just barely grazing it but the damn jackass almost hit me. I threw myself on the ground to avoid getting smashed in the nick of time and Jimmy’s journal flopped in the ditch a few feet away. I glanced up the road to see a sleek black Cadillac heading towards the venue. Fucker.

I attempted to crawl over to grab the journal out of the ditch. A searing pain shot through my palms and I raised them to look at what was causing the agony only to find that hands were stained with my own blood from the fall. I decided to ignore it and I pursued the notebook again. I finally got to it and decided that perhaps a dry ditch would be the safest place to read this journal. Jimmy may have known how to find me before when he was still a ghost, but as a human he couldn’t just pop up anywhere anymore.

I opened the journal to page two and began reading.

Journal,

It’s me again. I know it has been a while old friend, but running a kingdom of torture leaves a king with little time for such petty things. The dreams keep coming and this mere mortal has been haunting me for some two centuries now. I have not been so utterly consumed by such human affections for another entity since I walked among them as part of their society that lead to mortal destruction during the bubonic plague in Europe. It’s such a peculiar thing.

All of existence has for some reason started calling by the first King’s name. To the mortals, I have been called Satan of all things. I suppose the origin of the word suits my rule because in many ways I have modeled my governance after his. But now even the demons I govern have begun to call me King Satan. I suppose it is not an insult, but a compliment. Except that they must have forgotten that he is the commander that I defeated in the third Unholy War. I defeated Satan in the thirteenth battle and have ruled over all of Hell since. I believe I deserve more than his shabby title. But for now, I shall leave it be. I have my own demons to defeat.

The matter of my good name holds no importance over discovering who this Melinda character is. I have asked my general perform the sacrifice so that I may walk among the living on earth. Johnathan understands his duties to bring me back whenever my mortal body fails me and then I spend a small amount of time at home, torturing souls to remind everyone that the king is still here. But it is tiring and unforgiving work. But I shall find this Melinda eventually, and I shall take her mortal life and employ her in servitude to her new king. No amount of sheer punishment or an eternity in Hell will be good enough for this wench. She’ll serve me as my own personal slave and I shall have my vengeance once and for all.
Melinda my darling…I’m coming for you.

-James O. Sullivan

My heart accelerated beyond the point of breaking and indeed Jimmy was not who he said he was. He was no angel, as I found out and he was more than a demon. I had spent the last six months with Satan himself and I didn’t even know it. It’s true what they say about him. I didn’t quite know what this whole Unholy War was about, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that somehow I had unbeknownst sold my soul to the devil. Suddenly I knew just how Robert Johnson must have felt.

I may be damned to become Jimmy’s slave in Hell, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight. I had no idea what my role in his dreams had to do with anything at this point so far. Maybe…maybe I wasn’t the one who needed his help. Perhaps Jimmy needed mine. Was I supposed to save him from himself or something? Could I be the new savior of earth and Hell? Or… was I supposed to join him?
No… that’s a ridiculous thought Melinda. He plans to kill me? Fine. But I’d be damned if I put my friends in danger. I had to get them away from Avenged Sevenfold as soon as humanly possible.

“I’m afraid that’s going to be problem dearie. How are you supposed to save your friends when you’ll be…detained for a time?” A menacing voice spoke from behind me. I jumped and turned to see my adversary. A tall man dressed head to toe in a full tuxedo with dark hair that fell over his familiar green eyes, and he had a snake bite lip piercing. I watched closely as a tattoo of a serpent snaked down the left side of his neck and settled horizontally, morphing into the word Forever in the middle. No fucking way.

“Zacky…wha-what the hell?” I questioned standing up and standing on the other side of the ditch. Zacky stared back at me with a mischievous eye.

“Have you not figured it out yet? Well Melinda, let me enlighten you. King Satan has lost his hot touch. You’re making him soft! He hasn’t been home in three decades! He’s too busy trying to figure you out, his little… obsession. It’s sickening. It was time I took matters into my own hands; now that I’ve found you I can remove you from the equation. Then maybe Satan can go home and be a father to his Kingdom again.” He explained and then paused, chuckling. “Or perhaps…” he said before flashing from the middle of the crossroad mere inches from me. I trembled, feeling the evil he resonated. “I’ll just have to take a Queen and jump ahead of him in heir. And since most of the demons have come flooding to me, it shouldn’t be too hard to persuade the rest. Prince Lucifer, Satan’s little brother gets married, taking a mortal wife and turning her into the purest of demons while big brother is stuck on earth searching for his precious Melinda. And who would be better to take as my wife than the person who means the most to his infatuation. Why he’d be so wrapped up his own mission, he’d complete disregard his kingdom trying to search for the one thing he almost had and lost.” He stated, looking deeply in to my eyes.

“You keep your filthy soul sucking hands off of Jo!” I shouted at him, shaking with anger and realizing what he’d been doing this entire time by getting close to her.

“Oh how touching, and whose going to stop me Mell. You? Why you’ll be too busy going stare crazy in the darkest dungeon of Hell and I’ll take Jo as my wife. I’ve already seized the day the demons came flooding to me for direction because Jimmy abandoned his children. Every kingdom needs a leader, and with big bro gone, who better to take up the throne than I? So thank you Melinda, for playing your part in my rise to power.” He seethed, taking a step closer to me grabbing my by the collar of my t-shirt.

“Now… To Hell with you!” He spat, lifting me up off the ground and throwing me into the stop sign at the crossroads.

I flew through the air before feeling my body slam hard into the metal surface. My vision went blurry and the last thing I saw before my world went utterly black was a familiar creature appear behind Zacky.

“Lamashtu… escort Miss Melinda to her chambers.” Was the last thing I heard before Zacky’s voice faded into nothingness.