Disclaimer: Gabriel Van Helsing is not my creation. Also, if you would be
offended by anything that goes against Christianity, don't read this.
The sentence having been pronounced, the Lord turned away. Gabriel felt his Brethren grab at him. They tore away what made him who he was. Bone and flesh were ripped asunder, and the blood dripped down Gabriel's thighs and pooled at his feet.
Gabriel opened his mouth but no sound came out. He knew sounds such as the one he would have made were not permitted here. There was to be no agony. No shame. No guilt. Such things were forbidden.
Then why did he feel all three?
His Brethren stepped away, without a tear in their eyes. No sadness over what they had just done or the fate of their Brother. He felt the wounds in his back close, but scars would remain. For these scars penetrated deeper than flesh and blood. They pierced his soul.
The clouds parted, and Gabriel fell.
He fell. Faster and faster, downward through the air.
He fell. In his mind, he damned God. Damned Him for casting him out. For thinking differently. For questioning. For wanting to feel.
He fell. The forbidden emotions swirled through his head and threatened to consume him.
He anticipated what it would be like to burn. He braced himself for the touch of fires of eternal damnation.
What happened next, he had not expected.
A tree broke his fall.
A living tree.
This could not be Hell. A tree would not be alive in Hell.
This was worse. This was much, much, worse.
God had not damned Gabriel to Hell. Gabriel had been damned to Earth.
The sentence having been pronounced, the Lord turned away. Gabriel felt his Brethren grab at him. They tore away what made him who he was. Bone and flesh were ripped asunder, and the blood dripped down Gabriel's thighs and pooled at his feet.
Gabriel opened his mouth but no sound came out. He knew sounds such as the one he would have made were not permitted here. There was to be no agony. No shame. No guilt. Such things were forbidden.
Then why did he feel all three?
His Brethren stepped away, without a tear in their eyes. No sadness over what they had just done or the fate of their Brother. He felt the wounds in his back close, but scars would remain. For these scars penetrated deeper than flesh and blood. They pierced his soul.
The clouds parted, and Gabriel fell.
He fell. Faster and faster, downward through the air.
He fell. In his mind, he damned God. Damned Him for casting him out. For thinking differently. For questioning. For wanting to feel.
He fell. The forbidden emotions swirled through his head and threatened to consume him.
He anticipated what it would be like to burn. He braced himself for the touch of fires of eternal damnation.
What happened next, he had not expected.
A tree broke his fall.
A living tree.
This could not be Hell. A tree would not be alive in Hell.
This was worse. This was much, much, worse.
God had not damned Gabriel to Hell. Gabriel had been damned to Earth.
