Partners In Death

Chapter 1: First Day in Hell

     The car accident was loud, complete, horrid, and final. I did not survive. A light at the end of the tunnel... two angels with ringing bells and celestial lights approached. They inform me I have been chosen- chosen to be the One Happy Soul in Hell. I protest, but they chain me. I am ushered deep, deep, deep into the Chambers of Eternal Horror, torture pits for souls whose happiness came at the expense of others…

     At the Grand Entrance Gate a huge, thick, blackened demon glared down from his perch. He handed me the Free Pass. The ‘Exception’ Card. The Unlimited Charge Account. A 'First Day in Hell' tee shirt, and a 'Hell Hath No Fury' water bottle. If the demon could have, he would have devoured me right there on the spot, just to have everything for himself. Such is the nature of demons.

    At the next station I receive a Limited Transmutation License, along with a Personal Portal back to the earth’s surface. I inspect the license. It includes transmuting into various vamps, weres, ghouls, hunchbacks, ogres, a select few of those man-made monsters, and a creature from the black lagoon. Little did I know how my soul was going to depend on each and every one of those foul entities…

     I tell you this story from a jagged protrusion jutting out of from a shelf of hot lava rock. I have a grand view of the black chasms of Hell. Directly below me is an intersection of two busy thoroughfares that channel lost souls to their next horrid destinations. In the middle of the intersection towers a demonic Watcher. He had purpose. He is happy. Me? I exist. I am happy just to exist. Sure, that is enough in most situations. Even for a Soulwalker. It is also a happy thought to have while being tortured. Then I think of... what of… where is… when will she… though the thought of her never left me, now it hit hard. I determine that I had to find her. I had to touch her once again. I realize I will never be complete without her by my side...

     I could not let the angels know this. To deviate from angelic instructions would cause a rift between Heaven and Hell, and a new Dark Age on Earth, dawning as the minions of Hell slip through the rift and pour into the unsuspecting world of the living…

Chapter 2: A Problem. A Solution.

     My first visit to the surface sent chills through my soul, even thought it was a pleasant night. The shimmering silver smile of the full moon greeted me like an old friend. I had forgotten the beauty of the night sky. I longed to be alive again, and transmutations just didn't do it. They left a bad aftertaste... this night I chose a vampire, who wore a long, crimson robe with a shrouding hood. Perfect for entering the sleeping city...

     The City. Where Iwe met. Where she still lingers in life. Dare I touch her when we meet? Will she know it is me? I pass several pedestrians and vagabonds. I can sense that their end is near. Her neighborhood. Her street. Her door. My hand reaches for the bell and hesitates…

     So beautiful in life. I am stunned. At first she is startled and horrified, then… she senses… and soon she knows. Her practice of the dark arts have served her well. “I miss you.” I enter. There is the familiar chair at her seance table. They both seem hover in the air. Will I ever get used to walking among the living? “So, it is true. The Afterlife. Hell.” “Yes.” My eyes dim inward. She senses my uncertainties and grips my hand. Although it is not really mine, the realization that she is reaching out to me warms my soul. I am as close to being alive as I will ever be, and in her presence, I forget that I am dead...

     I recount my tale. She follows with the look of a perpetual problem solver. “Partners in Death.” “What?” I stammer. “Partners in Death.” She looks at me in earnest now. “I will not pretend I do not know what you want. What you need. I will tell you something I know you do not suspect, or will not admit. I need you as much as you need me.” What heart I had froze. Then it almost burst through the tattered robe. I nearly collapsed. Her solution slowly crystallized and became clear. It all made sense. I only had to wait for one lifetime… her lifetime.

     She said she had to die a natural death. This would be challenging, for evil lurks everywhere, and I possessed what it wanted most, what it existed to consume, what it consumed to exist… potential happiness… and that was sitting right before me, and I was peering deep into her soul…

Chapter 3: The Remainder of Her Lifetime

     I had a problem. I had a solution. That is called a ‘plan’. In Hell, plans are frowned upon, even if they are hidden from the angels…

     “Show your pass, or your soul is mine!” There is nothing more chilling then the look of a determined demon freshly disappointed… One lifetime. It shall pass in the blink of an eye… They call me 'Soulwalker' here. Partners in Death… I ponder that notion… we will be the first… will we then become a King and Queen? Royalty? Celebrities?

     I spend the next seventy-three years learning how Hell operates and who pulls the strings… to make the most of when our time arrives…

     That day arrives without incident. I attend her funeral. She is dead. It is still a blow. She is beautiful in her white, wizzened hair, and has a wise look beyond her years. I feel a sudden chill behind me. A whimsical yet passionate voice echoes in the chamber. "I thought you'd never show..."     

     The searching rays of two celestial lights illuminate the hallway leading to the funeral director’s quarters. Then the glow of wings. I feel an intense urge to reveal our plan to the angels. After all, they are my guardians. I am about to act on my notion when I sense her demonizing. Fangs. Scaly back. Muscle-bound madness. Yes, if I tell the angels, she will transform into a demon, and I will lose her. A demon, I sense, that will forever replace her…

     The angels confront us. “Greetings. We know of your plan. We have seen Him. Your request is granted. She may accompany you to Hell, for is that not what you wish? It is forbidden for you two to love.” Now, in the realms of Heaven and Hell, when the word ‘forbidden’ is used, there are serious consequences for breaking that forbiddance. I could not just simply ignore it. She could not just simply ignore it. Yet it is precisely what we had to do, what we were meant to do, what we were designed to do, and we knew it was our destiny to become Partners in Death...



Chapter 4: Changing the Rules