Canto IV
For a moment, everything went black. As my vision began to come back I looked around for my guide, but saw him nowhere.
My fear of being abandoned by Danny was momentarily halted as I looked around me. I found myself in a wasteland. I was standing in a muddy bog, surrounded by snow. I watched in awe of the sights around me as the sky released more white powder, small spheres of ice, and a strange colored rain like I had never seen before.
I wasn't sure how long I'd stood there, unaware, really, of how very cold I was, before I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around, startled, and was met again, much to my relief, by my guide. Behind me was a second man, one I found to be quite attractive, even in his state of being in Hell.
"Where were you?" I asked Danny, though my eyes were fixed on this new stranger.
"I went to go find an old friend," he told me. "This is Rusty Ryan."
I smiled and blushed, more embarrassed than I was before when meeting my guide. "It's really nice to meet you," I said as he shook my hand and I smiled even wider.
Danny rolled his eyes at my too-friendly tone and gestures, but Rusty, whether unaware of my instant school-girl crush or just being kind enough to spare me the embarrassment, did not show any signs of noticing.
"She a new one?" Rusty asked, referring to me.
"Yep," Danny answered.
"You showing her through-"
"Uh-huh."
"Have you shown her-"
"Of course."
"How about-"
"That's next."
I stood there, confused at this conversation. The other two must have sensed my confusion; that or they noticed the blank expression on my face.
"Sorry," Danny told me. "We've been friends for a long time. We tend to-"
"Know what the other is going to say next," Rusty finished.
"Don't worry, people found it annoying when we were alive, too."
Now I understood. "So, you two knew each other before coming to Hell?"
"Yes," Danny began. "In Hell, you tend to see a lot of people you knew in your previous life. I guess I should explain. Me and Rusty were part of a team."
"What kind of sport?" I asked.
"Actually, we were thieves."
I was shocked to learn this information. "Thieves?"
"Yep," my guide answered.
"We pulled some great scams like-"Rusty began.
"The Belagio job," Danny finished.
"Best casino heist ever."
"You bet."
I glared for a moment, not sure whether or not the two were talking about things that made no sense to me again. I started to think that it would be easier to go back and talk to Yen then it was talking to these two.
"Sorry," my guide told me. "Anyway, you'll be meeting the other members of my team today.
I thought for a moment, then realized something. "Isn't there one circle specified for thieves?" I asked.
Danny took a moment, thinking. "Well, yes, but…"
"What fun would it be to put us all in the same circle?" Rusty asked.
I thought about this for a moment. "I guess that's true. So, what circle of Hell is this?" I asked, realizing that I'd been there for awhile now, and really didn't know where I was.
"The third circle," Rusty answered.
"The circle for the Gluttonous," Danny said.
I almost let a laugh escape, but held it back with a well timed cough. "Gluttony?" I asked.
Rusty explained, "I liked to eat."
"That's an understatement. We'd be robbing a bank and he'd have a stack of money in one hand and cheeseburger in the other," Danny told me, smiling.
"As I said-I liked to eat."
As Rusty said this, the rain picked up, the snow became chillier, and the hail became larger and harder. The wind too became heavy and scattered the falling snow, blurring my vision of the two men.
"We should go!" Danny shouted over the howling wind. "See you around Rusty!"
"Bye," I yelled, as I desperately tried to get one last glimpse of Rusty from behind the swirling wind. Again, my vision blurred, turned gray, and then completely black.