Gate to Hell

Chapter 1: The Opening of The Gate

"Come on Jem, it's going to start" I pleaded, pulling on the sleeve of his crisp white shirt. It was autumn and the sky was beginning to blacken. He looked at me, his eyes cold. "No," he said bluntly, "We shouldn't associate ourselves with those people."

"But Jem, we only see them once a month!" I continued, catching his hand as he attempted to walk away.

"We are separated for a reason Kido, Townies don't mix with Hunters, that much has always been clear." Jem retorted, knowing his point had taken its toll on me. I had to agree with him there, we had been warned about Hunters and The Gate our whole lives. The Gate wasn't a laughing matter. Last year thirty-seven Hunters went in and only six came back bruised and battered. The rest had been slaughtered by the Demons within.

All of a sudden a trumpet sounded from somewhere amongst the crowd. I saw my chance, grabbed Jem and pulled him into the crowd of people. Then I realised, it was a mistake. I lost him instantly. As the crowd moved closer towards The Gate they began to quiet down. Everyone had heard the stories and faced the facts at one point or another. Most people who went in never came out. We stopped and waited for what was to come next.

Twenty-six Hunters had gone into the gate this month. This was when we saw how many of them were still alive. Silence filled the space as the rusted iron doors of The Gate slowly creaked open. Five figures emerged from within. Their feet squelching on the muddy walkway as they neared us. Their faces hidden under their thick black cloaks. When they were standing so close to us, that we could feel their breaths on our faces they stopped walking, and stood dead still. Slowly, one by one they removed their hoods to reveal their faces. Each one was scarred and disfigured, yet still seemed beautiful and almost angelic, nevertheless. "Five Commander" One muttered, their voice sounded confident yet strained. I couldn't find the owner of the voice at first. I had to look again, closer, more intently. The voice belonged to a young woman about my age. Her long brown hair was in a braid down the side of her face and a long scar covered most of the left side of her face.

"Kido!" I heard a voice yell from behind me. I turned to see Jem, standing a few feet away frantically waving his arms. He raced towards me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I was so worried" he continued "I heard some naive kinders ran into The Gate as a lark"

"Are you serious? They must be suicidal!" I gawped, suddenly understanding Jem's brash behaviour. I turned back; the cloaked figures were heading back into the gate, although this time there were sixteen. They had been joined by more Hunters. How could this many people be willing to die? I wondered.  The festival was now over and eerie feeling filled the awaiting crowd.

All of a sudden Jem raced out of the crowd towards the gate "Maria!" he bellowed, running towards The Gate! "Stop!" I screamed "Don't do it, are you crazy?!" But it was no use. I saw a tuft of blond locks as he disappeared into the abyss of bones.