A common misconception about Hell is that it's hot. "A snowball's chance in Hell" and "when Hell freezes over" mean the exact opposite to what people think they mean. People don't burn in Hell. They freeze.
And actually, that's a lot worse. Heat can be dealt with. The cold is a much more effective means of torment. Hell isn't just some big room lit on fire with a bunch of souls tossed willy-nilly all over the place. In fact, it's very well organized. The only chaos is inside the minds of the damned. Hell is laid out like some sort of one-story medieval castle, all stony corridors and iron rod cells. Or maybe that's just where they keep the high-profile souls. In any case, that's all I've seen.
Sometimes, they leave me alone for years, sitting unchained in an unlocked cell, but it isn't like I could get out if I tried. I might be able to wander aimlessly for a while before they find me, but that's it. I can never fully escape, because there is no way out onto Earth. It isn't just a place, it's basically another dimension. You need some power to get between them, and I'm not an angel anymore.
Like I said, it's cold. The kind of cold that, if I was still alive and if I was human, would probably kill me. Unfortunately, I can only die once.
I'm in a different place now, not the cell. I try not to feel relieved, but I can't help it. It breaks the monotony so very nicely to be tortured. I wonder what it is this time. And then the temperature starts to drop even lower. I start to see ice crystals forming everywhere. The very air turns solid, and I would scream if the breath in my lungs wasn't solid, too. And when I shatter, I can feel each cell of my body fall apart.
With a snapping sound, I am put back together. The temperature is back to what it was before, but it slowly drops again. And again I am shattered. And again. And again. And again, until I can't tell the difference between when I am whole and when I am shattered. It's all just one big blur of ice.
I'm tossed back into my cell. I should be shivering, but I'm not. I suppose it wasn't real, they didn't actually freeze me, and it was all in my head. I can never tell anymore: what they actually do and what they make me think that they do. That's probably the point, really.
I close my eyes, if they were ever open. It's so dark. Silent. I can't even hear myself breathe. I don't think I am breathing. Oh. Should I be? It probably isn't a problem anymore, but breathing is reassuring, so I start. I kind of like breathing. I remind myself to breathe more often, and then I fall asleep.
It isn't a very restful sleep. I don't have nightmares exactly, because I'm living inside a nightmare, but whispers make their way into my mind. I come to realize, though, that the whispers aren't trying to make me afraid. Quite the opposite, in fact. I don't quite recognize the voices, but they know me. They keep telling me that everything is going to be alright. I don't understand. How can anything be alright? I'm so cold. I would tell them that, but I can't make a sound.
I'm not cold anymore. I'm burning up. Is this what people generally think Hell is like?