Gomez ran down the stairs, intent on carefully carrying out his wife's instructions. He ran into the living room and stopped when he saw his family looking at him as though he were mentally insane. And not in the good way. "I found her!" It wasn't a complete lie, he indeed did find her. He just did not have her.
"You found mother?" asked Pubert.
"Where?" asked Pugsley.
"I heard a voice. After I asked where the hell to look, the voice said exactly. And I was the only one able to hear it. I went upstairs and the voice was of Satan. He has Morticia... in Hell." He prayed the family would believe him. And they, as his family, did not dissapoint.
"Well, how do we get to her?" Fester asked.
"She spoke to me in French. It's a code. The Devil, apparently only speaks English." Gomez saw they're confised expressions. "I know. Anyways, she told me to find her. She got there through the graveyard. She said to do some reading up on Hell. We're going to need to split up. Fester, Pugsley, Thing and I will go to the library and find books on Hell. Máma, Wednesday, Lurch and Pubert will check the graveyard."
The family agreed, and Pugsley, Fester, Thing and Gomez all drove down to the library. They parked and walked through the revolving doors. The library had brown walls and was enormous. Only about fourteen people, counting themselves were there. "Alright. Pugsley, stay down here and try to find the books. I'll check floor two, Fester, check floor three." They split up and began their research.
Máma, Lurch, Wednedsday and Pubert had split up and begun to search the graveyard. However, neither of them had found a thing. "Wait! I found something!" Wednesday said when she had searched one of the tombs. The family ran to her. "It's fabric. From mother's dress." She held the black fabric up.
"Why was she in here?" Fester asked.
"She wanted to get her mind off of her troubles. Go put the fabric in a safe place, Wednessday. Let's keep looking for more clues." Máma told the young girl.
Pugsley did not know where to begin. The first floor was the biggest. He walked up to the desk. The librarian looked like a sterotypical librarian or secretary. She had light brown, short hair in a straight bob. And she wore a white pantsuit. She had a gold wedding ring and looked about fifty. She was on the phone. She peered at Pugsley through pink square frame glasses the had a chain.
Puglsey stood at the desk patiently until she got off of the phone. She sighed. "May I help you, young man?" She asked.
"Yes." Pugsley said. "Do you have any books on Hell?"
"Yes." The librarian's name tag said Elizabeth. "Over here." She led him to a section on Greek mythology as well as many Inferno books and more. "Do you have a library card?"
"No." Pugsley said honestly.
"Then how will you check out a book?" Elizabeth asked.
Pugsley had already walked away and begun to read at the little wooden table in the corner.
Gomez had found the books and began to read in a black, plush chair. And all he could see in his mind was Morticia's face. He fianlly read something that could help him. "Hell is a place," he read. "a time, a conciousness, in which there is no love." -Richard Bach. He wrote it down on his notepad.
"There are some demons you cannot drown." Fester read. "The crafty bastards know how to swim. You have to drag them onto dry land, expose them to light and air. Only then will you beat them back to the depths of hell where they belong." -Natasha Andriese.
They had been at the library for fuve hours. Pugsley had finally found a passage that might help. "For you were made from dust, And to dust you will return, But I am made of fire, And like fire you shall burn." -Daniel Saint
Gomez, Thing, Fester and Pugsley all met on floor one. They each read aloud that they had found. And they found the answer.
Meanwhile, Máma, Pubert, Wednesday and Lurch had found footprints that looked like they belonged to a rat. Or maybe a mouse. However, the footprints got bigger as they walked on. There were thirteen. They stopped at the wall of the tomb where they found Morticia's dress fabric.
"So... what? Did she just walk through the wall?" asked Máma.
"No, " Wednesday said. "But the mice did."
So, the whole family reunited once more in their living room and dicussed everything they had dicovered. "Hey!" Pubert shouted. "I found something too. It was in the library here. I don't remeber ever seeing it, but it's here. It said, Hell has many gateways. The last and most uncommon gateway is the vortex of the thirteen mice. Otherwise known as the thirteenth gate. It is birthed by temptation."
"Pubert, show me the book." Gomez instructed.
"Yes, father." Pubert ran into the library, found the book and ran back with it in his hands. "There are thirteen gateways. Maybe we can read up on all of them... like mother said to do." Pubert paused. "Because I miss her." But his look, the heartbroken facial expression killed his older brother. Pugsley had felt he was responsible although in his heart, he figured he was not at fault. But blame is everything. And if he was not to blame, then who was? Satan. He told himself that Satan was to blame. And then he walked with the family out to the graveyard while his father and Thing studied the book about Hell's gateways.
Thing handed Gomez the notebook as Gomez sat on the bed and began to read. "Hell has many gateways. The last and most uncommon gateway is the vortex of the thirteen mice. Otherwise known as the thirteenth gate. It is birthed by temptation. The twelvth gateway is through a seonce. One may contact a loved one. However a seonce can bring one to Hell if one person participating was sick. It is birthed by desperation. The eleventh gateway is through a black mirror. Black mirrors are cracked mirrors that have been enchanted using black magic. It is birthed by pride. The tenth gateway is under a bed. If under the bed is placed a sheet of paper with a confession to at least one sin, the gate will open. It is birthed by lust. The ninth gateway is through shattering a mirror with a sword. If the sword is cloaked in the blood of an enemy, the gate will open. It is birthed by wrath. The eighth gateway only allows one peson to step through. This gateway is through digging up a grave and stealing the deceased's ring. It is birthed by gluttony. The seventh gateway is through the bottom of a lake. If one digs up the bottom of a lake gand finds black treasure, the gateway will open. It is birthed by greed. The sixth gateway is through killing one you have always envied. Once their blood is spilt, the gateway will open. It is birthed by envy. The fifth gateway is through forcing others to dig underground until they hit water. It is birthed by sloth. The fourth gateway is through hanging an innocent. It is birthed by evil. The third gateway is through dying with a black heart. It is birthed by justice. The second gateway is through killing someone due to a small confrontation. It is birthed by ignorance. The first gateway is when two souls are bound together, and forcebly ripped apart. If those two souls still remain one, in time the gate will open. And you can save Morticia." At this, Gomez dropped the book. He had to be hallucinating. How long had it been since he had eaten? Since he had slept? Days? A week? No, it couldn't have been a week. He rushed downstairs. He found his family in the kitchen and Máma was making dinner with Lurch and Thing while Fester, Wesnesday, Pubert and Pugsley sat at the table. He was thurougly confused.
"What are you doing? You should be in the graveyard, we have to save Morticia!" He cried.
All of the sudden, a strawberry blonde, green eyed skinny woman in a pink dress who looked just a tad familiar and about thirty four years old, sat at their table where Morticia usually sat. Who was she?
"Amanda, I'm so happy you got back in touch with Gomez." Máma said. "Really, he's been so depressed ever since the... incedent. But you are a wonderful role model for the children. And you're young! Oh, and I'm sure you'll both have lovely children." Máma finally noticed Gomez. "Oh, Gomez! I didn't see you there! And what did you say? What has gotten into you? We don't speak that name anymore." She paused. "I'm sorry, Amanda. I thought he would have gotten over it. It's been five years."
"No," Gomez said. "I can't live like this."
"You can and you will, now eat up." Máma said. Gomez suddenly realized that they were now in a shed. A big shed and he heard bombs outside. A small Tv was near the table. The Tv was turned on and he saw a woman. Covered in blood, in a fire red dress with her hair pinned up. But her lips... her eyes... he figure. Morticia. It was Morticia. And she had just commited seven deadly sins in less than five minutes. And then... she stared on the television right at him. And uttered the words... "You could have saved me. I believed in you. And now see who I am... I'm," Máma was about to shut off the Tv but Gomez pushed her away. Morticia started to speak again. "I'm the devil."
Máma shut off the Tv and held a hysterical Gomez's shoulders. "Shh... Amanda needs you right now."
"No... No!" Gomez screamed. His eyes opened in a flash and he was in his bedroom covered in paper. Sweating and... crying. Pugsley was shaking him awake. "Father, father!"
Gomez hugged Pugsley. He hoped that all of it was a dream. "Where's your mother?"
Pugsley shook his head. "Remember, she's in Hell? We're trying to save her."
Gomez sighed a sigh of releif. "So, we're not too late." He jumped out of bed and looked at the book next to him. It read, "the gate will open. And you will be saved." Gomez then ran into the living room to find his family, particularly his mother-in-law. "Máma? I need you for a minute."