Distorted

Chapter Six

The queerness of my senses anew, I began to gradually adjust.

I could see souls.

What’s this? Another look-alike world? First, I came upon Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and then now I’m in Dante’s Purgatorio?

As I shuffled into the abysmal dampness of the cave following the goblins, the pathway widened at the same time the forest of stalagmites and stalactites increased but each of them got smaller in size. I could sense Cruella getting slightly agitated, while Virgil remained neutral.

The goblin with a trident led us to a wall of sculptures inscribed in it. Though they were sculptures, life seemed to be present in them as well. Tears cascaded down their faces while their posture remained still.

Cruella cringed, her face twisting in disgust. She began to dance uncontrollably at the same time scream helplessly. The wall emitted an aurora-like flame, attracting Cruella as she repelled it.

“No, no, no no! I did not do anything! I’m not, I’m not!!”, Cruella protested as her hair began to fly then became static in perpendicular to the wall. Her arms fling towards me, begging for help.

As soon as I was about to get hold of her hands, she went airborne then became inscribed in the wall, permanent and unmoving, her arms flying above her head, her feet somewhat dislocated. Water formed in her eyes and began flowing like river.

No way this will happen to me. No way. All this time, I realized my task is still pending.

Shit. Why did she get herself sculpted?  Dogs suddenly barked and an idea sparked.

I get it now.

The Prideful. The first terrace.

Virgil patted my back and whispered “She’s really stuck there, you know…but she was set free in order to bring you here….but then because of her pride for luxury, this happened.”

Awestruck because one of the most powerful villains could not even protect herself, I sighed and continued on with my journey to the next terrace.

Scattered souls crawled like babies but as I look closer, iron was screwed in their bloodied eyes. There was a smell of rancid bitterness once I passed by them. I noticed some souls couldn’t crawl so instead they dragged and wormed themselves, and something far worse was in their eyes: rusted iron.

The goblin with the trident began to move its hands, a sign of talking.

They screwed themselves up because they did not have what they want. Their eyes were the main reason for such. So, we screwed it up as well.

I don’t know why but I started to laugh boldly, insanely, desperately…

Until it became a mourning.

The Envious. The second terrace.

Yes, indeed! Why did I want to destroy the world anyway? Because of my misery! I envy those who had always been peacefully living such peaceful lives! And besides, I know I committed all these fucking seven deadly sins.

Swiftly, I opened my arms up wide like Jesus did on the cross, expecting iron to appear right in front of me and tear both my eyes but TA-DA! Nothing happened.

Virgil folded his arms, shaking his head. I thought twice about what I did.

Right. Souls here in Purgatorio are just temporarily experiencing pain. Angels…I mean, goblins were to be the ones to decide whether to place them in heaven or in hell.

The goblins moved and I followed. Instead of going up Mt. Purgatory, I realized we were going deeper, as I sensed heat coiling around my body, at the same time sending shivers down my spine.

A series of crucifix came into view. There were souls crucified, blood dripping down their temples, adhesive tape covering their mouths. They seem to try to get out of their state.

The Wrathful. The third terrace.

I pulled myself to observe them closely. Normal, unknown souls looked at me furiously. I moved on to another row of crucifixes, still with these ordinary souls. On to the next one, I saw Captain Hook.

I noticed right away his hooked right hand like one of those captains, his blue eyes encapsulated with anger, his long dark curls, and his thin, pointy moustache. With the power from the “JC” in my forehead, I received Captain Hook’s thoughts:

Fuck Peter Pan. Fuck his name. Fuck his very existence. Because of him, I lost my hand to a fucking crocodile. My fucking revenge failed. That stupid Pixie. Bullshit.

Even here in Purgatorio, he is still filled with angst.

Like telepathy, I replied: I’ll work it for you. When I go back to Earth, I’ll be giving everything that they did to me. They were shameless and ignorant. I’m a dark force you see, I work for you people… Don’t worry. I’ll destroy the peace that you were deprived of.

Giving him one last reassuring look, I trod on to the next terrace.

In this terrace, there were… gym equipments that souls seemed to be using at maximum. Here and there, treadmills worked at 20 kilometers per hour; here and there, barbells with a minimum weight of 20 pounds were used; here and there, hard punching bags hung to be boxed. Though they looked tired because of palpitation and tears forming in their eyes, nothing could be done for they have been tasked to work out eternally.

The Slothful. The fourth terrace.

I passed by somebody apprehending, well not a person, but a pokemon character. Snorlax. Though awake and working out, his eyes was still closed.  Huge, dark blue-green and creamy colored, his body is composed mainly of fat. He had ears like that of a cat, and teeth like that of a cat though only two protruded.

The dampness of the cave soon alleviated, as the temperature rose.

Out of nowhere, puddles filled the uneven rocky surface of the cave. Dull, dead fishes jumped and trolled in them. One big puddle in particular, surfaced with a dark, eerie mermaid. Her tail was green but was engrossed with black ink, above her red hair was a thorny, crooked crown, and along with this oddness, she was eating human flesh of a man…with dark, black hair. Prince Eric. Along that, she cradled in her arms a chubby yellow fish with blue stripes, Flounder.

It’s her. Ariel, the little mermaid.

The Greedy. The fifth terrace.

The goblins explained to me in unity: She was never satisfied with what she had in the sea. She was always vicious about what humans had and what she did not. She fell in love with a human, and sacrificed her being a mermaid to get what she wants. Just like you. Never happy for at least having God creating you.

I smirked.

I continued walking towards a dim light until I noticed the goblins and Virgil were behind me. Then suddenly, the ground trembled, shaking us and the souls.

Virgil spoke quietly, “Stop. A soul was just purged. He’ll be sent to hell.”

Oh damn. Interesting.