Gone Isn't Forever

Chapter 18

Art of Subconscious Illusion

I awoke above a dark and damp cavern where there wasn’t even the slightest bit of sunlight. However, the ledge I was stung up on was lit by torches and in the depths below ran a liquid river of raging fire that ran out to pool into a lake. When my vision readjusted and I studied the lake of fire, I couldn’t help but notice that the fire seemed to form faces or tortured souls. The distant screams that hit my ears were so bone chilling that it almost made my stomach churn. I was watching them burn. I was watching all of the sinners burn in the pit of fire.

“Wakey wakey, Miss Princess Bride to the King! Good morning. How was your nap?” A familiar voice called out from behind me. I tried my best to turn around to face my captor, but found that I was bound to a cross that sat a ways off from the ledge of the Fire pool. I winced when upon feeling the pain of my restraints, which just so happened to be nails in the middle of my hands and feet. When I attempted to move my head, I let out an ear piercing scream when the crown of thorns dug into my temples. They had pinned me up and had chosen crucifixion for my “punishment”? What the fuck was this?

“What the hell Ilejay? I’m not fucking Jesus for Christ’s sake! I demand answers!” I called out to Arin, whom’s voice I had finally recognized. A low menacing chuckle was my only response until he came into view.

“Vengeance thought it would be worth the irony of your religion. Now you can join the Jesus empathizer’s and rot on that cross for all eternity. Unless… Well, never mind. You’d never agree.” Ilejay said beginning to walk away.

“Unless what?” I hissed at him. He whipped around to face me again, his brown eyes reflecting the tendrils of fire that licked the edges of the ledge around us.

“That is, unless of course, you would be willing to strike a deal.” He told me, and there was something about the way he looked at me when he said it that sent shivers down my spine.

“I’ll never make a deal with you. I’ll never make a deal with a demon. And to think… I actually kind of liked you.” I whispered the last statement and his expression softened for just a split second. He shook it off and took a few more steps towards me.

“You might be strong willed right now Little Miss Bliss, but one day you will break. It might be a year, it might take a thousand, but you will tire of watching others burn my dear. You’ll begin to recognize faces from your life, those who were once close to you, and you watch them suffer in the burning lake for centuries. No companions other than the hell hounds that will rip you to shreds at the peak of every hour on to do it all over again the next. The torture sessions will replace your nights of sleep with agony and misery and you will be broken Melinda, and when that day comes I will be here to make that deal you will desperately and greedily cling to for the only once of sanity you have left. So buy your time and refuse my services now, but one day you will be mine.” Arin growled before running off and leaping over the edge of the cavern, spreading his red hued bat-like wings and soaring over the tortured souls that so desperately were reaching for a helping hand.

I stayed on that makeshift cross and for what seemed like years. Every day at the top of every hour, a pack of hell hounds would greedily rip my limbs apart and tear out my insides. The worst part is that I didn’t die. I felt every inch of their sharpened demon dog teeth that bit into my flesh and watched my blood spill until it ran out cold. And once it was all over I would lay there pooled in my own blood, sometimes in pieces. After so long, you would think that you would get used to pain. I didn’t. Every ounce of agony was fresh and renewed. Once I lost so much blood I would slip into blackness and reawaken, pinned up on my cross again.

And then the torture would begin. Sometimes it would be pure physical militant torture; sometimes it would be emotional or psychological because Arin would force me to stare into the fire and watch my friends and family mourn my loss, projected out on the lake like an oracle movie screen. On earth, I had gone missing and all of my loved ones were worried sick. Not being able to be with them was torture enough, and he would taunt me with images of Jimmy. Despite that fact I had been lied to by him and he was technically king of this hell, but I found that I loved him even still. My heart would literally ache whenever I thought of him, which was quite often. But other times, the torture turned quite… sexual.

I awoke one evening... or day or whatever it was after the hell hounds had feasted on my insides yet again. But this time, I was no longer on my cross. I was lying on a huge comfy bed and I stared up at a red ceiling. Well, this was different.

"Oh good, you're finally awake." Arin’s voice spoke, and I sat up to see him come in with some lunch or dinner on a tray. "I didn't know what to get you, so I kind of just got everything."

He sat it down next to me on the bed and all of my favorite foods, including deserts were lined up on the tray. I could feel my mouth watering from the desire to eat. I hadn't eaten since... well since god knows when. I had been in this hell hole for so long that I had lost track of real time.

"Go ahead and dig in, believe me you will enjoy it" he grinned happily as he poured me a glass of wine, "Believe me you will enjoy the deserts."

"This... isn't going to poison me is it? It's not going to make me cry blood and literally explode only to wake back up on the cross again will it?" I ask bitterly, looking down at my own body which somehow looked like not a scratch had been put on it when I had been devoured everyday by vicious muts from hell. It was then that I noticed that I was wearing black lingerie. A sleek lacy, almost see through corset bra top and matching underwear that had the straps going down my legs. My feet were encased in black knee high converse and I looked up to meet his gaze, wondering why he was being so 'generous'.

"No it isn't going to harm you in any way, I figured I would do something nice for you." he stated, smiling at me and licking his lips. "Just try it out."

"You... the prince of hell's watchdog wants to be nice to me? Hah! What's in it for you?" I asked, going straight for the poppy seed chicken casserole, shoveling a forkful into my mouth like a starved wolf.

He looked over, glaring at me. "Can't you just enjoy what I am doing for you? You could be up on the cross right now" he countered clearly upset.

"Right...Thank...thank you." I managed to choke out, moving to the spiral ham that had been perfectly sliced and defatted to my liking. "So, why are you doing this then?" I ask, feeling incredibly satisfied with the food.

"I'm going to make you a deal." he stated, watching me finish everything.

"And what deal would you be offering?" I asked skeptical, finishing the last bite of a chocolate mousse cheesecake.

"Marry me or you will go back up on the cross" he stated without missing a beat.
I spat out the bite of cheesecake on the floor, shocked at his proposal. "E-excuse me? I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you just ask me to marry the likes of you?" I asked standing up and crossing my arms.

"If you want to go back on the cross for the rest of your unnatural life" he said looking down at me.

"You.. you can't be serious. What did I do to deserve this? I never asked for any of this! I never asked for Jimmy to walk into my life. It's not my fault he's been obsessed with me for centuries upon centuries!" I exclaim, telling him exactly what I knew.

He looked at me seriously, "Is this your answer?"

"Dammit, do I have any other options?" I ask, fighting back tears as I leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, feeling so defeated. What other choice did I have? I didn't want to marry this prick but I definitely didn't want to go back to torture. I couldn't take another moment up there on that cross. And dying wasn't an option. I died every day many times but I always came back to die in another horrendously painful way.

"You have two of them, what more do you want?" he countered, rolling his eyes at mw. "Look, obviously if Jimmy gave a shit about you, you wouldn't be here...I stepped in where he couldn't. I never wanted you up there, but this is what choice I was given to give you."

"By who? Your fucking Prince? Fuck him!" I hissed and then I caught myself throwing away my chance of getting out of misery. My expression lightened as I made my decision. If I could get out of hell, I could figure out a way to get myself out of this mess. I just needed the opportunity. Arin was here, giving me just that. "No... You know what, I'm sorry Arin. You've shown me great kindness... And for that reason, I will marry you. Not because I don't want to go back to other option, which I don't. But because you were willing to put yourself out there and rescue me. It shows me you care, and I at least owe my hand to you. So yes Arin... I will marry you." I say, tears rolling down my cheeks and I smiled at him weakly.

He nodded and pulled me close, kissing me softly at first before it slowly turned harder as the seconds went by. I eventually kissed him back. I couldn't push him away and make him angry. I had to stay on his good side so he wouldn't send me back. I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed him back just as hard, biting his lip for affect. He grabbed me by the hips and swung me down on the bed and he followed, his lips still on mine. It was kind of nice, but at the same time, it felt so wrong. My heart belonged to Jimmy and as fucked up as him being the king of hell is, I still loved him. He slid his hand down up my torso and grasped my left breast in his hand, massaging it as I continued to kiss him back. I didn’t want to take any chances of him detecting that I was putting on a show to get back to my old life.

He started kissing down my neck and he slid his tongue over and down the valley of my cleavage. He continued kissing down just about every inch of my body and for some reason, I wasn’t sure if it was because I was in the actual world of sinners, but it was actually really making me antsy. I felt like I had just been drugged but my senses were still very much intact. But I felt outside of myself, like I was watching myself from the outside in. My body liked it, but I knew it was wrong. He slid a finger into my panties and found my clitoris, which had swelled from all of the excitement. He started rubbing it out while I laid there, trying my best not to moan or think of Jimmy. I heard an audible pop when he slipped two fingers in and began pumping slowly at first, and I winced as he pumped harder and faster with every second. I clawed at the red comforter beneath me screamed when I finally released.

A knock on the door made him jump away, leaving me laying on the bed in my own body fluids. He cleaned himself up and threw a sapphire ring at me and I didn’t move an inch, panting still as it landed on my stomach.

“Consider us engaged.” He said before heading out of the room, leaving me there, breathless.