So Scary 8- Vision of Hell
A storm was brewing outside in the coldest winter of night. Richard Freeman was an old teacher who taught his college students about the facts of Dante and his life. But what they didn't know was the fact that Dante had seen visions of hell during his sleep. He couldn't imagine what Dante went through to see all of it. But was it true that he had visited there? It was something that Richard couldn't fathom the idea of a human being going there, and then come back to Earth, describing in his poem with excruciating detail. His student just came back from Italy after visiting his parents for Christmas. Now he had arrived at Richard's house to talk about Dante and his famous works.
When Richard opened the door for the young man, he said, "I see you have nothing else better to do than come here, and talk about Dante." He even sighed at the thought of it. The student who went by the name of Lucius Mattei, had indeed wanted to know the truth from his own teacher. Richard had been teaching Occult History and Sciences for over twenty years now, and he had never seen quite a student like Lucius. He was an Italian immigrant, who wanted to know more about Dante's personal life. He was also quite obsessed with it.
"I have come here to ask a few questions, sir," Lucius said. "If you don't mind..."
"No. No. I don't mind you coming here. In fact, I never expected your presence at a time like this."
"Ah yes," Lucius said. "Christmas..."
"Now then," Richard said. "Do come inside. There's the fireplace in my drawing room. That way, you can feel warm and comfortable."
Lucius nodded at the idea and went there. Richard followed him.
"So..." Richard said as he closed the door behind him. "What is it you wanted to know?"
Without answering his question, Lucius sat down on the couch, and looked around the drawing room. He had visited this place, quite a few times already. But he never thought that Richard had books of the occult, which were placed on the high shelves.
"I see that you've been very busy, sir."
"Yes, I have. I can see what you're saying, but..." Richard stopped and went towards the shelf. He grabbed the book, titled, "Doorways," and then handed it to his favorite student.
"Do you know what this is?" Richard asked him.
"Yes... It says, Doorways."
Richard laughed. "I know that. But do you know what it is?"
Lucius seemed to be confused. At times, he wondered about Richard and his occult teachings back at the University in London. Unfortunately, the education board didn't want themselves to look bad in front of the Christian public. Therefore, Richard had to resign his position and find another job elsewhere. He found a teaching position in Canada. Luckily, he found the freedom and opportunity to teach the history of the occult.
"This book contains the information on how to access doorways to hell."
Lucius stared at him, and wanted to laugh. But he couldn't. Not in front of his best teacher.
"Is that true?" Lucius said.
"I know that you don't believe me," Richard said. "But if you've read the book, you will begin to understand why I have it."
"Why?"
"Because..." Richard paused and thought about his poor wife, who had died a long time ago.
"My wife is in Hell because she committed suicide."
"Oh..." Lucius said. "I'm... sorry to hear that."
"Anyways... the thing is that I have to bring her back. But it seems unlikely. She already have done the deed. I had to know what it would take to bring her back here, or pardon her sin."
"You can't possibly do that." Lucius sounded unbelievable. "That's... That's impossible!"
"As impossible as it sounds, I have to try. Right? After all, I'm too desperate for such things."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I thought you would understand me better than the other students. It seems that I was entirely wrong."
"I see."
Richard sat on the chair, and stared at the fireplace. "I had nightmares about my wife being eaten alive by winged, demonic creatures. I know... It sounds disturbing. But I couldn't help thinking about it."
"So..." Lucius said slowly. He thought of how to approach with his teacher's crazy idea of bringing his wife back from Hell. "You have this book and?"
"I've read its entire contents. But there are certain steps to make this happen. A sacrifice has to be made, and then..."
"Then what?"
At first, Richard didn't say anything. He hoped that his nightmare would end soon. At a time like this, he shouldn't be thinking of doing forbidden things outside his teaching. But he couldn't help it. His wife...
"Tell me what I have to do," Lucius said.
Richard looked at him seriously. "You know this isn't a joke."
Lucius didn't say anything.
"I had one of my students laughed at me. Yes... I heard him doing so. It was certainly embarrassing, even for me. But let's get to the point, shall we?"
"Yes..."
"One must know the magic of it. The chants and so forth. I have learned this form of magic for the past few months. It should work. But we need a human sacrifice. I couldn't wait any longer. I've been meaning to ask you, Lucius. Your friends..."
"Wait... Are you saying..."
"Yes, my dear boy. Why? Do you have a problem?"
"I don't mean to be rude, sir. But... don't you think that's unwise? You could get caught for this."
Richard laughed so loud that he couldn't believe it. "Listen, Lucius. I mean to say it to you very clearly. You've always done well in my class, and yet you still couldn't believe the exact nature of such things."
"That's because I was curious."
"Curious? Oh, I see. Let me tell you something about it. There are things in this world that couldn't be explained. Let alone the people would dare to challenge the dark forces of nature. You know what I mean?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now then... Your friends... How well do you know them?"
"Well... I used to hang out with them after class. So, yes. We always have a good time."
"Any name in particular that you would like him or her to partake in this unholy matters of ours?"
"Um..."
"Lucius... You came here to know about Dante. Now, I'm offering you the chance of a lifetime. If this ritual works, then you will come to know that Mr. Richard Freeman is not a fool. Understand?"
"Um... Yes, sir."
"Good. Whom do you prefer?"
"Casey Matthews."
"Casey? Why her?"
"Because..."
"Do you love her by any chance?"
"No. I wouldn't dream of it."
"She's a good student of mine. That girl... I do like her a lot. But there are times that she would disagree with my... own views of the occult. Anyways, Casey it is."
"Sir... what if I say to back out? Then what?"
"Then you will never find out the true nature of my work. And you will not be welcomed in my house any longer than you would think. Here, let me show you something."
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Lucius followed his teacher down the basement. This was the first time that he had entered here. He looked around the darkened corners of the room where black candles shone dimly towards the floor. At first, he thought he and Richard Freeman weren't alone, since the pathways looked much broader for anyone to cross the threshold of the forbidden zone. Richard opened the door and said, "So, Lucius... how are your parents? I've heard that you went back to Italy."
"They're doing fine. I had to visit them, of course. After all, it's the winter holidays. They expected me to come there."
"I often wonder if they found out that you were here with me. Would you say that they will be... disappointed?"
"I'm not sure about that, sir."
"You said that your parents were religious. Am I right?"
"Yes... that's right."
"So, how would they react when you take occult courses?"
Lucius didn't reply to that. He already knew the answer.
"Listen carefully, my boy. There are religious fanatics who would dare to prevent us from what we are doing is best. I don't mean to be rude, since you've brought up in that sort of way. But you're venturing into the unknown here, and there's no turning back. It's not too late to back out, you know."
"No... I want to see it."
"Ah, you're getting curious by the minute. Come..." Lucius followed him slowly, and then found himself in the room with another set of black candles. But this time, they showed a pentagram on the floor. He had seen it a couple of times in occult courses. And he was fascinated by the looks of it.
"Behold, the power of the pentagram," Richard said proudly. "One must design it in order to chant the words of unholiness."
Lucius looked at him, surprisingly. "You... You did this all by yourself?"
"Yes, my dear boy. It took me years to design its perfect pattern. It wasn't easy. But I've managed to accomplish it on my own."
"It's... It's unbelievable!" Lucius looked back at the floor.
"You better believe it. Now... are you going to make a sacrifice for me? Or should I find someone else?"
"No... That's not necessary. I'll bring Casey here."
"Make sure you do that. But know this very well, Lucius. She shouldn't know what we are about to do to her. Do you understand?"
"Yes... I do."
"Good. I'll show you the rest of this place. You'll soon know the real world of the occult."
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Casey Matthews have just arrived to meet Lucius in private. But she couldn't understand why. At first, Lucius thought it was a bad idea. Casey had planned to meet her friend for a Christmas party. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to a power failure. For that, Casey was unhappy.
"I could tag along for a while. I don't mind."
"Thank you, Casey. It means so much to me."
"You're cute. I like you. So... Mr. Freeman have invited us for dinner?"
"Yes."
"He's something you know."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. I've began to notice it in class for a while now. He seems interested in me."
"You didn't ask him?"
Casey laughed at this idea. "Are you crazy? Never. I just meant to wonder of what he was thinking about. I bet you anything that he's a pervert."
"Not likely."
"Oh, I see. So you don't think he's a pervert?"
"Let remind you that his wife..." Lucius stopped.
"His wife? What about her?"
"You didn't know?"
"Know about what?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Come on, Lucius. Just tell me."
"Come to my car. I'll tell you along the way."
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After explaining the whole story, Casey said, "My God... His wife committed suicide?"
"Yes."
"I never knew that. Man, I feel so bad for him."
"You don't have to. You said that you didn't know."
"Yeah, but still... I've heard that he was married though. But I've never met his wife. Now it explains everything. But why she did such a horrible thing?"
"I don't know."
"Ah, I see. Mr. Freeman hadn't said anything about it yet. I understand that."
Lucius stopped his car and opened the door. Casey did the same. Then...
"Ah, what a big house that Mr. Freeman has. Someday I..." She stopped and felt dizzy all of a sudden. She noticed that Lucius just stabbed a syringe on her left arm.
"Lucius... What are you..." She fainted and almost fell down. Lucius grabbed her immediately, and dragged her towards the house. Richard opened the door, and looked around the place. There was nobody else in sight.
"Get her in here. Quickly! Before someone else sees us..."
Lucius brought her inside, and the door was closed.
"Come on... Time is of the essence here." Richard hurried downstairs and began to sweat.
"I think you need to relax, sir."
"I know that. Just bring her here. I'm not sure how long she'll be out."
Lucius laid down his friend on the pentagram. Then he stepped back, awaiting orders from his teacher. Richard held the book of Dante's poem, Inferno. He said, "According to Dante's poem, my wife is being held at the seventh circle. That's where all the souls end up after committing suicides." Then he chanted the unholy words from Doorways. Lucius couldn't recognize them. He knew that his teacher was experienced enough in this sort of thing. But he felt a bit of shiver from behind his back. He thought that he should get out of here before it's too late. But Casey...
"Slash her throat." Richard ordered him.
Lucius came back to his senses, and realized what he just said. "What?"
"I said, slash her throat. There's a dagger on the table."
Lucius simply stared at it.
"What are you waiting for?" Richard said impatiently. "Do it!"
Lucius stepped closer towards the table, and stared at the sharpest dagger that he had ever seen before. He picked it up slowly, and then turned around to face his teacher.
"Now, my boy... The gate is opening. You must kill her."
Lucius stood there, and gulped. Then he said, "I..."
"I said do it!"
"No! I can't! This is... This is wrong!"
"Oh, for Christ sake." Richard dropped the book, and went to grab the dagger from the boy's hands. But Lucius wouldn't allow it.
"Give it to me, Lucius! My wife... I can't bear my nightmare any longer. I must save her soul!"
"Is that what you care about? Yourself?"
Richard stopped struggling and looked at him.
"I see," Lucius said. "You don't care about her. I bet she killed herself for that very reason. And now you wanted to save her, so you could end your nightmare."
"Give the dagger to me, Lucius."
Lucius struggled to let go of his teacher. Then Richard whacked his head, and that the boy fell down on the floor.
Richard took the dagger, and came closer towards the unconscious girl. She was beginning to wake up when he slashed her throat. Lucius cried out, "NO!"
"It's too late, my boy," Richard said. There was a flash of white light, emanating from the pentagram itself. Both Richard and Lucius were blinded by it.
A few seconds later, a figure came out of the gate. It knelt there, coughing out drops of blood. And not to mention, it smelled like rotten flesh.
Lucius looked at it, and then puked on the floor. He couldn't believe it.
"Melissa..." Richard said his wife's name. She looked around, shaking all over and saw her husband. "Richard?"
"Yes, it's me. Oh, dear God. I've missed you so much."
"What... What did you do?"
"I brought you back. Don't you see? I couldn't bear seeing you there. I just..."
"You must be mad to bring me here, Richard. Even after all these years..."
"Listen to me, Melissa..." Richard said imploringly. "It's alright. You'll be fine. Your body will heal completely in the next few days."
"You made a big mistake, Richard. You don't care about me. You only care about your damn work!" She punched through her husband's chest. Richard stopped and then looked down.
Melissa had grabbed her husband's heart and then pulled it. There was a sort of crunching sound. Then she threw it on the floor. Richard Freeman fell down. Lucius backed away as he attempted to escape from her, and this awful place. But Melissa stopped him.
"Don't go. I won't hurt you."
"I'm... I'm sorry. I should have stopped him."
"It's too late now." Melissa stood there, naked even though she was entirely covered in blood.
"I must say it really worked. I have to thank my selfish husband for that."
"I... I see."
"What's your name?"
"Lucius... Lucius Mattei."
"Lucius, bring me my clothes. Will you?" She stared at both Richard and Casey. "We must clean up this mess."
Lucius didn't say anything else, and did as she ordered.
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The next few weeks, Lucius packed up his things from the apartment. He couldn't explain Richard's disappearance to his fellow classmates, since he was the only witness at the scene of the unholy crime. He came back to his car and closed the door.
"Where are we going?"
"I heard that Italy is a great place, Miss Freeman. You will like it there. But... you need a new identity."
"Don't worry, Lucius. I can manage that."
Next story- A Howling Christmas.
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