A Gift in the Dark

Another Chance

Another Chance

Gary woke to the sound screaming, maniacal cackling and deviant laughter. Confused and frightened, he cautiously raised his head to inspect his surroundings. Two other men sat with him on a narrow bench in a blank cell, a solid looking door in the far wall the only visible way out of the stiflingly hot room. One man rocked back and forth, whimpering constantly, his hair awry and frightened eyes wide with terror, the other sat in silence.

"What's going on?" he asked, his mouth dry with fear.

"No idea mate," said the other man turning towards him. He pointed at the rocking man. "He don't talk by the way, hasn't stopped doing that since he woke up."

Gary recoiled in horror from the man who'd just spoken to him. A pale face stared back at him, veins highlighted in a grim network of blue lines. His arms were peppered with pinpricks, eyes a bloodshot mess, and the bones on his lanky frame stood out in ridges above the sunken flesh.

"What the hell happened to you? How are you alive?"

"Not sure I am mate. Mind you, you don't look much better yourself, if you don't mind me saying so."

"What?"

Further conversation was interrupted by the door opening. The screaming and cheering that had provided a background to their conversation thundered into their cell, as did a booming voice.

"And here they come ladies and gentlemen. The latest batch of contestants on 'Another Chance'. Give 'em a wall of sound folks!"

Gary wasn't sure whether he moved or something moved his limbs for him as he stood and walked through the door with his fellow "contestants".

"Oh! Dear God." The involuntary mutter escaped his lips as he walked through the door.

The sound was incredible: a constant wailing drone was produced by hoards of demons and imps who tormented the souls on which they rested. The seating in the demented auditorium in front of him comprised a continuous writhing mass of screaming human flesh tormented by their capering, misery inducing captors who derived a constant laughing pleasure from their pain. Tier upon tier of the damned, condemned to everlasting and inventive cruelty by past crimes and misdemeanours. A host of imps tended to the 'seating', force feeding the naked humans with sweets and fatty foods to make sure they were plump and comfortable. Larger imps and demons writhed up and down on their seating, claws slashing skin, occasionally setting fire to the hair of their victims to hear them scream all the more. The combined smell of vomit, excrement, burning hair, and fear stunned Gary as he walked into the room, leaving him shaking with dread at what was to come.

As they walked, their red skinned host turned towards them, a tall demon with a wide, albeit pointy, Hollywood smile. Dressed impeccably and carrying a trident styled cane, his elegant red three piece suit matched his lava coloured skin. A long barbed tail cut through the suit at the back, whipping around in feline fashion behind him, and his tall top hat was cast at a rakish angle over the horns on his head. The epitome of game show host cheese and smarminess, he beamed a perfect - if slightly bloody - canine smile at them and carried on his patter.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome. Okay folks, settle down now please. We have an amazing show for you all tonight. Which of these three unfortunate souls will be given 'Another Chance'? Shall we see their pasts; shall we see their shame and judge them?"

"Yes!" screamed the appreciative audience of minions who danced on their screaming fleshy seats. "Show us the shame, show us the shame."

"Number One this week is someone we've seen many times before. It's Chaaaaaaaarlieeee." The long drawn out vowels of his name sent the whimpering man into a foetal ball until the host snapped his fingers.