A Tour of Hell

T   Then, there it was in front of them, like some unholy picture that would be burned in his mind forever.  A total glimpse of what he had briefly endured during his decent. Something more horrifying than anything he had every seen in his whole life, the image of his rabbit being killed and the man dying in the coffee shop, paling in comparison. A fire raged in front of them like nothing that was possible on earth. Ladamus hadn’t been able to see it from back in the cave, but now it was up close and personal and the heat was so intense that it should have killed them both immediately, but it didn’t

“’Dear god,” Ladamus whispered, astounded. . “No,” he whispered, “No…It can’t be.”

                   Ladamus’s heart was pounding in his chest. The fire was in a huge circle in a massive  pit.  And people were inside of it. Countless people. People on fire. People screaming in agony. People weeping and pulling their skin off and gouging out their eyes. People writing and drowning and climbing over each other. People trying to escape to no avail. People burning alive and yet they didn’t die.  They were pressed together like cattle, swimming and screaming and sinking and burning. Dear god they were actually burning. Their skin was ablaze and Ladamus watched as they were scorched alive, their skin turning a crispy black and gray underneath. There were breaks in the red river of fire where things that looked like thick, white worms surfaced and wiggled and swam. While the people screamed and flailed around, the worms attacked them; biting and ripping chunks of their flesh while they tried to escape out of the horribleness they were entrapped in. The people batted at them and tried desperately to get away from them.

                   Worms. Not just any worms. The worms were anywhere from five to six inches long and about three inches thick. Ladamus felt like he was going to vomit. The worms had teeth. Very sharp, tiny teeth, big enough to see and two black, hideous eyes on their heads.

“This is The Lake of Fire. Hell. Hades. The Underworld. Gehena. Whatever name this place has been given by so many different people from so many different backgrounds-here it is.” Eugene said

                   All the stories, all the myths-none of them could compare to this.  Ladamus stood there with Eugene, unable to move and unable to look away. This was Hell. And yes, it was real. More real and more horrible than any movie could illustrate.