A Mortal's End: August 19th, 2004
"Let's get fucked up! Let's play Zoomie Zoomie! Zoomie Zoomie, three three!" my friends and I chanted, pounding the palms of our hands on the table and clapping in unison with the chant.
"Three three, seven seven!" Sydney chanted.
"Seven seven, one one!" Marcus corresponded.
"One one, six six!" Douglas said, turning his drunken gaze towards my direction.
"Six six si— No, wai-wai-wait! Shit!" I foolishly slipped up in my buzzed stupor, realizing I was five five.
The whole room filled with laughter and my buddy Garrett slapped his hand against my back.
"Dude, how did you mess that one up? You only had six beers so far." Garrett said, grinning.
"Its gotta be the drinks. I swear, I'm not this mentally disabled," I dryly said, tipping an empty beer bottle into my mouth. "Shit, I'm actually out of beer. Uhh, hey, Syd, pass me one of those Jello shots." I said.
"Blue, red, or green?" Sydney asked.
"Give me the green." I replied.
"You actually like vodka, Ethan? All I've ever seen you drink is beer." Walker asked as Sydney handed me the Jello shot.
"I've had it a few times before," I replied, raising the paper cup over my mouth and squeezing the Jello out and into my mouth, swallowing the gelatinous food with a single gulp. "Shit's strong, though, am I right?"
"Maaaan, not for me." Walker replied.
Zoomie Zoomie was just a tidbit of the drinking game we were all playing. The whole game was really just a homemade board game and involved a lot of challenges that involved alcohol to whoever loses. Of course, when Garrett mentioned the alcohol to me on the phone, I was more than happy to join them. I was always down for a drink.
The party lasted until it was early in the morning, around 3 AM to be exact. I was the last one to leave because I was trying to figure out where my car keys had gone despite them being the most obvious spot imaginable. At first, I thought they were in my pockets and somebody took them, but no, that wasn't right, they were only on the kitchen counter. I had too much to drink...
"You sure you don't wanna spend the rest of the night here? I know you kind of slowed down on the drinking a bit near the end and took a break for a while, but I don't think you're good enough to drive. I'd feel like shit if you got into a crash." Garrett said as I went for the front door.
"I-I think I'll be okay." I replied.
"You sure? You have that look in your eye again. I know who you are, Ethan." Garrett noticed.
"Nah, I'll be good. I've only got eight miles to go anyways. And by the way, who's gonna be driving this late at night?" I said, leaning up against the door.
"Cops, people going to work early, the creatures of the night..." Garrett said.
"Oh, right. Well, looks like I'm sticking to the country roads then. Nobody goes out there at night anyways." I said.
"Dude, come on. Just stay. We'll put another Jack's Pizza in the oven and play some PS2." Garrett insisted.
"Look, man, t-thank you for the offer, but I'll be pretty fine. If I get into a crash, you can say, 'I told you so' for as long as you want. Bragging rights, eh?" I said, prompting Garrett to raise his eyebrow.
"Well, I can't force you to stay. Just drive slowly, dude. Seriously." Garrett said with sincerity.
"I'll do my best." I replied.
"You better not be kidding." Garrett said.
After denying my friends offer, I left him and navigated myself through the apartment complex. Going down the flights of stairs with my slightly off-balance equilibrium made the simple task a little difficult. Despite the impairment, I made my way to the car. However, before I got into the vehicle, I just felt this random hunch to look back at the apartment complex, but it left as soon as it came.
"Nah."
Without giving much thought, I plopped myself onto the driver's seat, starting up the engine. The radio instantly booted up and the audio of Humans Being by Van Halen boomed into my ears, causing me to jump in my seat after a delayed reaction.
"Fuckin' earrape radio." I jeered, cranking the dial down.
I then shifted into reverse and I was off onto the road without a care in the world, impaired and under the influence.
Going through the downtown area of the city was somewhat easy, due to the limit either being 25 or 30 miles per hour. But, as I reached the edge of the city and got out onto the country highway, I miraculously realized I was zoning out while driving the long stretch of road. The sound of the tires rolling on the pavement combined with the dark, vapid scenery illuminated by the headlights put me into this drunken trance, causing me to unknowingly veer the vehicle onto the side gravel. When I heard the pebbles getting kicked up, I got a sudden burst of alertness and quickly corrected my direction.
"Woah, seventy." I said, checking the speedometer and slowing down to fifty-five.
This fortunate sudden burst of energy slowly began to wear off and the effects of my excessive consumption of alcohol returned with an even bigger bite. Instead of spacing out and not concentrating, I was overcome with this huge wave a fatigue and visual impairment. Everything in my vision was swaying left, right, and even doing and even fading in and out. This affection was only worsened when a vehicle with high beams on appeared in the oncoming lane.
"Ah, geez." I grumbled.
As the vehicle got closer and due to my poor judgement, I believed the logical choice to make in blocking out the blinding light was look away, taking both my eyes off the road. All it took was a few seconds. Time slowed down right in front of my very eyes as the vehicles inched towards each other. Before everything went dark, there were flash images in my mind; images of people who were close in my life. My family, friends, and just these happy moments from the past, everything. It was now all worth nothing.
I didn't know how long I was lying in the field. Upon the devastating and fatal impact, I must've been ejected from my physical body. What prompted me to wake up was a fire engine's siren and horn blaring in the distance that eerily echoed in the air. A short drift away was the crash site in the middle of the road. I silently moved past the police cruisers blocking the road and to the site where a fire truck and an ambulance were parked. It was almost as if the crash site was abandoned, but that wasn't the case. There was faint murmuring of disembodied voices, too, possibly the rescue officials.
When I moved over to the wrecked vehicles, I saw the result of my reckless choice. A mysterious trio of bells individually tolled in the distance as I focused on the grisly sight. Both vehicles front-left sides were pushed all the way in. There was blood everywhere and our bodies were mangled beyond recognition. Brain and blood stained the seats, spattered on the hood, and even dripped onto the pavement, creating thick pools of bright crimson red. The vehicles fumes mixed with the metallic scent of the profuse amount of blood filled my nostrils as well. It was an absolute mess.
I knew what I had done, and the past sins in my mortal life were never forgiven. One would most likely feel intense fear or terror for what was to come next, but I did not feel neither. Instead, I only continued to experience the unbearable feeling of regret as it gnawed on my consciousness. I was remembering the sins I committed.
"How could I be so blind? What was I thinking?" I questioned myself. My legs buckled and I collapsed onto me knees, pounding my fists downwards in a state of mental devastation. "Please, save me."
I had my chance to correct myself in life and now I blew it. This car crash was the last straw and there is no excuse for murder. Now unable to move, frozen in place, a ring of fire accompanied by a red pentagram inside manifested around me. The circle of heat emitted a guttural groan, opening up to a red hue. With no solid surface beneath me anymore, I was dropped straight into the realm of evil.
"NO, PLEAS-"
I let out scream after scream in absolute terror while plummeting thousands of feet towards the ground. Obviously, I didn't take the time to look down and I tightly closed my eyes as I gritted my teeth, bracing for impact. When I did make touchdown, there was no agonizing pain to go along with it. I hit pretty hard and felt the pressure, but no pain at all.
"Hey! Get out of the road!" a voice with a sleazy accent shouted, followed by the honking of a car horn.
My eyelids popped open. Without hesitation, I rolled out of the way and the black cab pulled up besides me. Both of us were taken back by each others appearances. I couldn't tell whether if this was a bird-man or what, but he reminded me of a crow. His line of sight noticeably shifted downwards to my crotch, which led me to realize I was completely nude.
"Oh, what the..." I gasped, covering my genitals.
"Heh-heh. Why don't you hop in the back and I'll give you a ride back to Valentino's studio? I mean, if you can pay for the fare..." the creature asked, giving a suggestive grin as he bared his razor sharp teeth.
"Valentino's studio? What studio? Where am I?" I asked, inspecting the urban environment.
"Pfft, you must be new here. Read the signs and you'll find out." the creature dismissively replied before driving off.
I could only shake my head in disbelief before turning my attention to the surroundings, looking for the so-called signs. I appeared to be in a rundown area of a city. There was a cannabis store just a short walk away, so that was something. My search didn't last long once I gazed into the inky, black sky. In the center was the same pentagram from the ring of fire, now much bigger than before as it took up a prominent portion of the sky.
"This is Hell?"
It sure as Hell was. This was only confirmed thoroughly by the demonically stylized neon signs that specifically spelled out my grand, warm welcome reading, "Welcome to Hell."
"Hey, check out the fresh meat over here!" a stocky, bipedal, bug-like creature called out, followed by a series of trills and a swipe of his bladed tail.
Horrifying, bizarre creatures and demons in all forms of shapes, colors, and sizes from the block over flooded the street I was on. There was so many, like, there had to be nearly a hundred of these beasts. The street was filled with the clamoring, jeers, and even some cat-calling by the overwhelming crowd of demons. I was about to make a run for it, but I was stopped dead in my tracks by a nasty, toad-faced demon that bounded out from the crowd. His jagged yet amphibious hands were moist to the touch when he grabbed both my shoulders, looking down at me with his beady, black eyes with a red fluid swirling inside them.
"You best get to learning the ropes around here, pretty boy, cuz you might not last long here in Pentagram City." he said, his coarse voice masculinely deep and filled with a threatening intent.
"Get off me!" I growled, forcefully relieving his grip and delivering a kick powerful enough to send him flat on his back.
Not wasting anymore time, I just ran away from these monsters and didn't look back.
"You'd better run!" Toad-face shouted.
I was flying blind in this city and I couldn't stop running into demons. Every single turn I made, there would be demons, some passing through while others were committing malicious activities. The city was infested with these fuckers. Eventually, I just decided to stick to the sketchy back alleys that were dimly illuminated by red light and made my way into an abandoned brothel house where I could recollect myself. Old remnants of the buildings previous use were still present, wether it be sex toys or posters advertising the demonic prostitutes in their skimpy outfits.
As I continued to explore the sex house, I reached the door that leads to the roof of the building. The wind from outside howled as it blew underneath the door, a horizontal ray of red light shining through. Slowly, I gripped the knob and turned it. The squeaky door creaked opened, allowing me to observe Pentagram City at a better vantage point. For as far as my eyes could see, there were no bright colors to this God forsaken city. Everything was either black, red, cold, and had a negative aura.
It was hard to believe this is what Hell was truly like; a dark, dystopian city. Deep down I was somewhat relieved to be here because Hell didn't seem like the depictions I remember, but that didn't mean I wasn't being punished for my sins. That alone made me feel regret once again, wishing I had never acted out on my sins in the first place.
I managed to break my focus on the gloomy vista and looked down at my arms, inspecting what I could. My once tannish-white skin was now drained to a nearly ghost white pale and my physique was slightly thinner while gaining a decent amount of muscle. My fingers were slightly elongated while my fingernails were replaced with jagged, triangular claws and my feet looked monstrous, resembling what I call vampire feet with gradually faded directional tire tread scars that ran up to my thighs. In a fit of bitter rage, I tightened my fingers into a fist and shot around, punching a hole through the door and tore it right off its hinges.
"Fucking stupid bullshit!" I cursed to myself.
When my anger passed over, I calmly walked over to the edge of the roof and looked onwards once again at Pentagram City, the gateway to evil. Toad-face's warning echoed in my mind in a loop as I dwelled on my thoughts.
"You best get to learning the ropes around here, pretty boy, cuz you might not last long here in Pentagram City."
So really, the only question I had on my mind now, knowing I was now a demon in Hell, was simply this... What should I do now?