Heaven's Hellfire

Chapter One

Look, I never asked for adventure in my life. I never looked up to the heavens and asked God for an exciting life. No. I just wanted a perfectly normal life, find a husband, kids, the whole shebang. I wanted decent grades, a nice and comfortable job, and a bunch of friends. But no, he looked down upon me and thought, "I'm going to mess up her life as much as possible." Because that's exactly what he did.

And I hate him for it.

But, I am under my own obligation to tell you all, because this affects a lot more than you would think. It affected things a lot more than even I thought. Ever think about all those people who just suddenly went missing? Blamed on kidnappers, murderers, and just simply getting lost in the crowded cities or the rural countryside? No, the majority of them are not lost to that. They are lost to something much worse, much greater of a problem than just dying. For there is a life after death, but these people, the ones who are unlucky enough to be like me? Most of them don't get that life. They just...vanish. Their soul lost. Gone. Forever.

You could be one of those people, and my advice to you? If you ever, EVER, feel something growing inside of you, or see a swirling black mass between your feet, you must seek help immediately. It doesn't matter if you are Atheist, doesn't matter if you are Christian, just find someone to help you. Pray to God, I don't care, but do anything you can. If you don't, something will come for you. And the last sound that will ever come out of your mouth will be your scream.

My name is Heather Sophia Grey. I was one of the, I guess you could say, lucky ones. My fate didn't end with just disappearing into the abyss. But, for all the trouble I went through, I honestly may have preferred it.

We all started out young. All of us. But only the ones who were found lived past their teenage years. I, myself, am fifteen years old. I had just started my sophomore year of high school, and was going to take my driving test in a few months, after I turned sixteen. Not a perfect life by any means, full of fake friends, boys, and gossip, but it was a life that I would have given anything to get back to. Unfortunately, God had other plans.

I had often asked him, "Why me? Why was it me that you chose for this?"

He had never answered me, not that I really expected him to. I mean, I wasn't a good kid, but I wasn't a bad one either. I did my homework, ate what I was given, and did almost everything that I was told. All in all, pretty close to perfect. But, let me start by telling you about the day my life changed forever.

I was walking to school one day. A Friday, in fact, which is usually a good day. It was the last day of school before the weekend, and everyone was enjoying themselves extra today. So was I, as a matter of fact. I was just planning on making it through the day, so I can hang out with my friends this afternoon. We had planned to go bowling at the local bowling alley, complete with an arcade and laser tag, and hang out for a few hours. I had been looking forward to it for weeks, waiting as patiently as I could for today to come, so I could finally go have some fun for once. Unfortunately, I still had to make it through seven hours of hell...I'm sorry, school.

I had gotten dressed, brushed my teeth, fed my breakfast to the dog, and shouldered my worn out backpack.

During the entirety of that walk to school, it was as if I felt a small tug, as if something was trying to pull me into the ground. It was accompanied with a strange sense of relaxation, as if I was going somewhere that I was familiar with, as if...well, I don't really know how to explain it. It was strange, I'll give it that, but I ignored it. It was probably some figment of my imagination. At least, that's what I thought before it happened.

I soon entered my ancient school building. The whole place had gone to crap, literally falling apart at the seams. The ancient brick was slowly crumbling to nothing, and the roof had more leaks than the entire city population. However, the one thing that I enjoyed about it was the massive library, where I could read or draw in peace, on either of the two stories filled with more knowledge than I could ever hope to possess. I would spend my hours here, and, since I took off campus PE, I had a free period to do whatever I wanted. I usually spent my time there, working on my latest drawing, or maybe reading a book or two. I would always keep a log of what I had done, so if my parents or friends ever wanted to know what I was doing and where, I would be able to pull the journal out and show them. It had often helped them determine if I had been spending too much time doing one thing or another, especially when it came to getting me gifts and finding what I was currently interested in. I never really knew why I kept that log, and I never really used it, but it was nice seeing what I had been interested in two months ago. We're getting off topic here. Anyways, the library was easily my favorite place in the school.