Damnation and Denial
by
C V Ford
His struggle to revive over, the man gazed into the gray void above, faculties kicking in to the task of comprehension. He felt the gentle sway & rock of ... A boat?
Abruptly sitting up, his eyes traveled down the length of the small craft & into the pale, red-eyed visage of ... Her ... that otherworldly young girl, appearing out of nowhere reciting that strange chant & even stranger gestures. Now he was ... where?
He scanned a "360" over the vast, stagnant, expanse. Only jutting rocks & floating paper lanterns marking the way, breaking the bleak monotony. Looming behind him in the boats' direction, a great black ceremonial gate rose through an oppressive haze. A heretofore fear of something denied all his life came to the forefront of the mans' mind. A fear of ...
"Young lady!?" Dredging up courage to dispell his inwardly clawing doubts. "Explain yourself & this ... Immediately!"
The girl in the ornate flowered kimono stared back in emotionless, stoic, deadpan.
"WHO are you!? WHAT is the meaning of this ... & WHERE are YOU taking me!?"
Working the tiller/paddle side to side, she let out a wearied, slightly tortured sigh. In the centuries of executing her stygian task she had come to know the inevitable course of conversation of his type all too well.
"My name ... is Ai ..."
"So-"
"As for meaning, I have long since stopped questioning why things are as they are. I only know ... THEY ARE ..."
"..."
"... & where you are going is the place where the damned & dishonored dwell."
"You don't mean ... In all seriousness you believe such a place-"
"Yes ... it is."
"Young lady ...", he started in that faux serious mocking tone he was notoriously world famous for. "I've spent most of my life ... proving time & again that such as you say is total rubbish, a demented fantasy. And if you think ... for one moment I-"
"Your non-belief matters little."
"Quite the contrary! I-"
"It is of no consequence."
The eerie sereneness & finality of her abrupt replies only served to aggravate the arrogant scholar further. He decided on a new tack.
"Really," he drawled,"I suppose this loving God you serve is above the hypocrisy of condemning me ... as if-"
"The ONE who even my master serves is blameless."
"..."
"It is we who condemn ourselves." Something she knew well enough, having separated herself from the divine so long ago. "As have you ... & the one who entered into a covenant with me to take you here."
"!?"
"And your belief ... or lack of it ... is about to change."
"Enough of this!"
He held back. Even a fraction of his strength was more than enough to give him the physical advantage over this pale strip of a girl. His resolve to use it was tempered by giving her a last chance before he would take action.
"It's obvious an enormously elaborate joke is being pulled on me. I ... am ... not ... amused ... in ... the ... slightest. You WILL turn this boat around & you WILL take me to shore. NOW! ... or else."
The calm non-response from the girl as she continued moving the boat into the gates' shadow infuriated him to the point of action. Launching himself forward, he was fully intent on taking over & administering some "chastisement" (A thought he now more than relished.) into the bargain.
The man lurched back down as abruptly as he had started. The multitude of hands, seemingly growing from the very wood grain of the vessel itself, held him firm, secure. The foundational cracks in his sanity growing ever wider.
"Impossible! This isn't real! I refuse to accept even the possibility of this! This-"
The small boat passed under the black gate.
"... is vengeance. And I ... am to ferry you to Hell."
Storyline (only) copyright © 2-8-2012 C V Ford
Disclaimer: The preceding is a NON-PROFIT work of fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. I make no claim to ownership of the copyrighted names/characters, places, & events mentioned in this work. They are the sole properties of their respective owners. Please, by all means support the owners of such properties in the purchase & enjoyment of their products.