Silence
Jack tried to look around him. All was blackness. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't feel any ground underneath his feet, and he couldn't feel himself. It was almost like being suspended inside a bottomless pit. Except, there wasn't any light above him to suggest that there was an opening.
Jack couldn't remember anything. He could barely remember who he was, let alone how he had come to be in this never-ending dark. He didn't remember what his life had been like before the darkness that now engulfed him, and he couldn't remember if he had even existed before then. Perhaps his name was one he had given himself before, in another life. Perhaps he was even now a babe in his mother's belly, and that was why it was so dark.
Rumbling sounded around him in so sudden a moment that he nearly cried out. But in a moment, the rumbling stopped, and Jack was able to collect himself.
He didn't think that he had ever been afraid of the dark. Perhaps this was because he knew, like most people, that the dark had an end.
But this dark was different. This dark scared him. This dark had no end, and the silence was only occasionally broken by the rumblings.
He had no sense of direction anymore.
The complete blackness was to blame for that.
Jack didn't know how long he hung there, in the darkness. But, finally, a light seemed to go on from somewhere far away. It was a reddish light, and it cast an eerie glow to the place that he was in.
The light came closer, and Jack was able to see that there was some sort of . . . thing carrying it. The light bobbed up and down with the thing's movements.
Jack waited patiently, but after a time, the light seemed to stop moving. This irritated Jack. He wasn't cold (surprisingly) and he wasn't hungry. But he was enormously tired, and the fear that had taken hold of him wasn't doing any good to chase away his weariness. So, you can imagine what it would be like for him.
He hated the darkness that engulfed him.
Jack thought that maybe if he called out, whatever it was that was carrying the light would come closer. He felt his mouth open; felt his lips form the words, but no sound came. It was as though his vocal chords were gone; as thought his capacity to speak had been taken from him.
Jack tried to make some sort of noise, but his body would not listen. He tried to move, but it seemed as though his arms and legs were pinned in place.
The light began to move again, ever closer to where Jack was stationed. As it came closer, Jack tried in vain to force his limbs to obey him. Nothing seemed to work.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, the light was directly beneath him. The thing carrying the light looked up, and the hood of its black cloak couldn't hide was was beneath the fabric.
Jack gaped. The thing had no face.
In the dim light that did nothing to penetrate the darkness, Jack saw the thing lift the light higher. It had tentacles for hands.
The thing didn't make any movement, but Jack suddenly felt his invisible bonds loosen, and he fell from where he was anyways. He landed on something soft. For a moment, he couldn't move. Then, a tentacle grabbed him around the upper arm and hauled him to his feet. He swayed, not yet able to stand on his own.
The faceless creature holding his arm waited a moment. Then, with quick and sure steps, it led Jack away from where he had been.
Jack tried to ask the creature a question, but his tongue still felt heavy and thick, and though he tried to form the words, no sound came. The silence around him was deafening.
After what seemed like ages, the creature stopped and turned to Jack, releasing his arm. It just stood there, staring at Jack without eyes. It was, to say the least, unnerving and frightening to have that strange half-man, half-monster facelessly staring at him.
Then, it was as if a miracle happened, because Jack was actually able to speak.
"Who are ye?" He asked in a whisper. It seemed proper to whisper in that place.
The creature did not answer. But, in a second, Jack remembered what had happened, and he cringed. He remembered being eaten by the Kraken. This . . . thing must be the guardian of the underworld, or something like that.
"Where am I?" Jack asked, trying a different question.
The creature still didn't say anything. But in a moment, Jack got his answer.
Suddenly, and without warning, the whole place was lit up like a firecracker, and Jack was able to see where he was.
Dead things and pieces of driftwood floated in water. Jack was standing on what looked to be a pink island. He thought that mayhap it was the Kraken's tongue - if it had a tongue.
The creature standing beside him gestured to Jack's surroundings. Farther off into the distance, there was darkness. The creature pointed to it, and took Jack's arm again. This time, because there was light and because now Jack knew where he was, he pulled out of the creature's grasp and turned around to run.
There was complete darkness not two feet from where he was standing. Jack knew in that instant that he couldn't go back. There was nowhere to go but forward.
The creature took Jack's hand again and led him away from the darkness, and towards where Jack could barely make out the wrecks of several ships. They waded through the muck, never getting wet.
With every step he took, he was going farther and farther away from the real world, and he knew it. It terrified him. Yet, he also knew that he couldn't stop. To stop would be to stay in this strange form of limbo forever.
As he traveled with the strange and silent creature, Jack saw numerous shipwrecks, and countless dead bodies. He cringed at the sight of a dead child.
There was always enough light in front of them to see by, but never enough to see what they had passed if they turned around.
Several times, Jack turned around to look back. But each time, the darkness was always two steps away.
After what seemed like ages, the creature stopped. There, right in front of Jack, set into a black wall, was a door, painted a grim blackish gray. Beside it was another, much smaller, door. This second one was painted a pale pink. Jack liked the look of the second door much more than the first.
The creature gestured to the two doors. To Jack's surprise, instead of staying silent, the creature spoke - even though it had no mouth to form the words.
"Choose," it said. It had a surprisingly deep voice that resonated throughout the cavernous place they were in.
The creature pointed to the black door. "Life," it said. Then it pointed to the pink door. "Death," it said. "Choose," it repeated.
Now, you would think that Jack would, obviously, take the pink door, wouldn't you? That would be the case, if Jack were not the suspicious person he was. He would have taken the pink door because it was calming, and much more appealing.(Even though Jack didn't like the color, it was better than black.)
But, Jack being who he was didn't quite believe that the pink door could be death, yet he also didn't think that the creature could be lying. Why would it lie? It would have nothing to gain from telling Jack a false truth - would it? There was the possibility that the creature was the kind who relished in other's pain. If that was the case, then Jack was in trouble.
He couldn't tell if the creature was lying or not, and he certainly didn't want to pick the wrong door. But, being his suspicious self, he didn't want to for one minute believe that the pink door was death. It looked too much like life. Something that was dead wouldn't be pink - unless it was a trap.
Jack didn't know how long he stood there, trying to decide. Then, a thought came to him. Even in the little that the creature had said, there could be something hidden.
"What kind of life?" Jack asked, pointing to the black door.
If the creature had had a mouth, it would have smiled - and it wouldn't have been a nice smile.
Again the creature spoke, although there was still no mouth to form the words. "You decided long ago what kind of life you wanted to live," it said. "You chose a life of piracy, and don't even remember why you chose it. Now is your day of judgment. Will you choose the easy path, like you did in life? Or will you choose the narrow road that is filled with trials? The choice is yours. Choose."
It waited in silence. Jack tried to ask it more questions, but it silently refused to answer any of them.
Jack had to make a decision, and he didn't know how much time he had left to do so. He bit his lip, frightened - and not for the first time since arriving in that place.
Hours seemed to pass in silence, but there was no way to tell how much time had actually passed before Jack finally came to a decision.
He knew he should choose the door that led to redemption, however hard it was. But that was a little difficult, considering he didn't know which one it was.
After another moment of consideration, Jack chose the black door. He only pointed to it, not quite willing to open it.
Again, the creature would have smiled, had it had a mouth. This smile would have been harder to discern as good or bad. The creature gestured to the handle, presumably meaning for Jack to open the door.
After taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, Jack opened the door.
He could see nothing through the opening. He looked down into the inky darkness through the door and thought he saw a glimpse of something red.
Jack turned to the creature, who was waiting with arms folded.
"Did I choose the right one?" He asked hoarsely, once again fearing for what might be left of his life.
The creature said nothing for a moment. Then it seemed to come to decision. "You have chosen the path that is easy…" it said hesitantly.
Jack gaped, thinking he'd been tricked.
"…and the path that is hard," the creature continued.
Jack tilted his head to one side questioningly. "Huh?" He asked, confused.
The creature seemed to sigh. "The choice you have made is one filled with trials," it said. "But it is also filled with some happiness." The creature paused, seeming as though it didn't know what to say next.
"This is how you will live for eternity," it said after a moment.
Jack began to protest, but the creature held up a tentacle for silence.
"But," it continued, "There is a way for you to redeem your soul, and live again."
"How?" Jack asked, trying not to sound too eager.
"There are tasks that will be presented to you," the creature said. "You must complete these tasks with a willing heart, and an innocent soul. Once all the tasks are completed, there will be a test. You will not be told how many tasks there are before hand, and you will not be notified when the test comes. It could come after five hundred tests, or it could come after one test.
"If the test and the tasks are completed with a compassionate, pure, and innocent soul and heart, then you will be given your life back."
"And if they aren't completed with a pure, compassionate and innocent soul and heart?" Jack asked.
"Then you spend eternity in hell," the creature replied. It sounded as though it hated giving people this information.
"Oh," Jack said, scared again.
"You are lucky," the creature told him. "Most people choose the wrong door, and they have to spend eternity in hell without the chance for redemption."
"I feel so special," Jack said sarcastically.
The creature seemed to smile. "As the gatekeeper, I am privileged to give out one piece of advice to anyone who passes through," it said.
"Oh?" Jack asked, looking through the open doorway again. "And what advice is that?"
"My advice to you is to have faith," the creature replied. "There is a chance that someone will come for you, and retrieve you from the waters of the afterlife."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked, turning to the creature with new interest.
"There is a chance that someone will make the journey to the afterlife to bring you back," the creature said. "If they come for you, by honest means and without any hidden agenda, then you will be allowed to return to the real world, even if you have not completed all the tasks, or the test."
Jack raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
"Until then, you must try to complete the tasks set before you with patience, purity, and innocence," it finished.
"What if I'm in the middle of a task or test?" Jack asked.
"Then that must be completed before you will be allowed to leave," the creature replied.
There was a long pause.
"Can I ask a question before . . .?" Jack gestured to the open doorway.
The creature nodded.
"What kind of tasks are they?" Jack asked.
"They are different every time," the creature said. "Sometimes they might be tasks that will test your emotional capability, and sometimes they will be tasks of mental endurance."
"Mental?" Jack furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Like a task of avoiding temptation," the creature offered as suggestion.
Jack nodded, only partially understanding.
"In your case, there will be crossroads that will be similar to the ones you faced in life. You will not be able to tell they are crossroads, though," the creature added.
"So I should be on my guard?" Jack asked.
The creature shrugged. "That is for you to decide," it said in a voice of indifference. "I have already given out the one piece of advice that I can give." It gestured to the doorway with a tentacle. "Now is the time to make the transition," it said.
Jack nodded, as though that was exactly the answer he had been expecting.
"Now is the time," the creature said, once again motioning to the open doorway.
Jack nodded again. He faced the open doorway, and took one last look through it, and down.
The reddish glow was still there.
With a deep breath, and a pounding heart, Jack took two steps into the doorway. The door immediately slammed behind him with a loud thump. Then, Jack fell into the darkness.
And the silence wrapped its terrifying arms around him again.