Meghan: Hell?

She stretched the muscles in her hands and arms elegantly, light gleaming off of her skin in a slippery glow.
“One more time?”
The girl she was addressing hung limply on a wall, suspended by coarse rope. She spat out a mouthful of blood in reply, “Go to hell.”
The glowing girl danced with laughter, heartbreakingly beautiful and a sharp contrast to the other; battered, broken, and bleeding.
“But Anabelle, we’re already there.”
“Don’t call me that.”
The glowing girl drew her fist back as if to strike her and Anabelle flinched away, but she just reached forward to stroke her cheek.
“You’d prefer I call you that blunted name, Ana? You have a beautiful name, and I will use the whole thing.”
Anabelle’s jaw rippled in anger and the glowing creature kissed it.
“Mmm, I love the taste of rage.”
Quick as a snake, Anabelle’s head darted forward but her teeth only clicked on the empty air where the creature’s throat had been.
Smiling, the glowing thing grabbed her face in one of its hands and smashed her skull on the stone wall behind her. Anabelle gasped as pain burst in her head and eyes, feeling the barest trickle of blood running down her back.
Again, again, and again her head was bashed against the wall, while she could only choke and bleed, not even having the strength to pull at the bonds that held her upright.
Then the pounding stopped and she was left to hang while the thing looked at her, smiling.
“Don’t worry, you won’t die.”
She tried to fit her lips into an answer but words seemed like a faraway dream.
“Wh-who?”
“Who what?”
“You.”
“Who am I?” another bright laugh, “Darling, I should think that’s obvious?”
“Hell, you said. Hell?” Anabelle’s vision was starting to clear, “Are you the devil?”
“Hmmm…well I wouldn’t say that’s an incorrect statement. The religious symbols are so hard to keep track of these days…”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Well—“
“Why am I here, I don’t understand! Why—“
Anabelle froze as the devil’s fist flew at her face again. This time it didn’t stop and she closed her eyes and prepared for pain. But when she opened her eyes she saw the being’s fist buried in the wall next to her head, stuck to the wrist.
“If you could just wait.” She said softly, “I will tell you.”
Anabelle swallowed and the thing extracted its hand from the stone.
“You’re here because it’s what you want, love.”
Anabelle’s mouth worked in confusion and horror, unable to reply.
The devil slid her arms around the girl’s waist, “You were such a good girl, weren’t you? Always helping people. And then your life on earth ended protecting the life of another. Such a sacrifice is not taken lightly here, and we are prepared to give you your worth in happiness.”
“But that’s heaven,” spluttered Anabelle, “What you’re talking about isn’t hell.”
“Oh.” The glowing thing looked around the room, “Perhaps I mixed up my words. Your religions are very confusing.”
“This can’t be heaven.” Anabelle argued.
“Why not?”
She half laughed, half cried, “Then you’d be an angel?”
“I suppose so.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Why?”
“Heaven is supposed to be full of happy things, not pain and…” she looked away
“Pain is not happy?”
“No.”
The angel slapped her across the face and the sting of it rippled through her mind.
She gripped Anabelle’s jaw in her hand and raised her face to meet her eyes, “You can lie to yourself all that you want Ana, but don’t you dare lie to me. I can see into your soul, you are my charge and this is your heaven, whether you like it or not.”
Anabelle panted and stared into the flaming eyes of her captor, “Call me Anabelle.”
The angel smiled,
And drew back her fist.


-Meghan