The Lambs and Goats

I was inspired by Dante Alighieri's "Inferno" and I started to brainstorm ideas of what to work on here.

I can still smell the burning sulfur that filled my lungs an nostrils with black soot. The stench of molten flesh had given me the feeling of nausea and the sight of these tortured souls, continuously, having their skin ripped off and their muscles pierced by the servants of Satan. I heard the screams of agony of the damned souls over the torturers' demented and lunatic-like laughter. Their bodies were exposed to the open flames and covered in the open wounds from the spears of Hell's minions. 

I remember walking on the hot, molten, rigid stones of a pathway that led to the chambers of perpetual torture. There, the souls are chained to the walls by their wrists. They are stabbed repeatedly by demons feed on the screams of the condemned. Their agonizing wails and moaning echo throughout the chambers as their punishment for their sins continue. I walked past a poor soul who was chained to a rock surrounded by large thorns that poke at his feet every time he slacks his arms that are held by the chains. He said to me, "Leave this place, now! For he knows you are here! Leave before you join us!" He reached out his hand to me and extended out his index finger, assuming he was pointing the direction of my exit route. His hand was nothing but molten flesh and bone and his face was cut and bloody, like the rest of his body. A demonic, evil-sounding voice roared throughout the chambers, "Who ventures in the realm of the damned?" A black figure appears from the shadows and appears to me with white, blood-shot eyes with no pupils staring down at me. The figure was a grotesque, beastly-looking behemoth with a horrid-looking goat's head with a satanic cross on its forehead. Its body was decorated with chains its physical appearance had  It gets closer to me, face to face, and smells me. "This one still has a soul," the beast proclaimed. It shows its teeth with a facial expression of what seemed that it was about to consume my soul. Fear had taken over my entire body as the monster prepared to slay me. As soon as it raised its sword, my reaction was to shield myself from his strike with my arms and hands. Out of nowhere, a beautiful, white crucifix appeared in my hands and caused the demons to cower in fear. "Keep that away from us," the demons shouted angrily, "you vile mortal!" I exited the chambers only to stumble upon the next punishment that awaited my presence. 

I walked inside a long cavern littered with human remains and black candles lit on the skulls. When I got to the end of this unholy cave, I came to a stone doorway that had a red and orange glow in its opening. I walked inside and my eyes were not ready to see what awaited me. There, I had seen a river with not water, but boiling blood and wailing souls trying to keep afloat above the blood. I walk along the river and stumble upon trees. These trees contained hanging souls on almost every branch it had. These souls hung by their necks with nooses made entirely of thorns. Their sounds of despair filled this unholy environment and my ears constantly. I heard a voice call my name and I turned around only to see a hanging, tormented soul with tears running down her eyes, unable to make the slightest movement. Her sobbing seemed to be the only thing i could hear, let alone the numerous screams I was hearing the minute I entered this unholy place. This soul said to me, "You! Please help me!" I look at her with no words, but after awhile, I responded, "I can not help you down from there! I am only a mortal!" She then said, "Don't help me down, you fool! Absolve me! You carry a holy relic that carries the divine power of the Holy Father!" I looked at the white crucifix that appeared in my hands from when I was in the chambers. I pointed the crucifix at the tormented soul and prayed. A white light appeared above this retched realm. This light was brighter than anything I have ever seen and it seemed to shine brighter than the sun if it were up close. The thorn noose unwound from her neck and she let out a sigh of relief. Her body levitated and her spirit was lifted to Paradise. The lit tunnel that led to Paradise closes and the shrieks and wails of the damned continued even louder than before. I proceeded my walk along the river of boiling blood and exited the realm.

I had woken from my sleep in the middle of the night. Everything I had seen occurred in my nightmare. I got out of my bed for a glass of cold water to calm myself from my horrifying vision. My parents and my little sister were sound asleep. I tip-toed across my living room, then, out of nowhere, I heard a voice call me to my left. I looked but I had seen nobody, until I looked up and gazed at my family heirloom crucifix. It had been turned upside down and it had a sentence carved above the crucifix. "I almost had you," it read. Next to the crucifix was bloody print of a goat's hoof. 

Author's Note

I am not the best writer ever. Grammatical errors happen sometimes, so do not lose your sanity over grammar. Thank you.