Why Hell Isn't Burning

Hell is based off of your own personal fears. If you ever happened to land yourself in what you assume to be that fiery pits of hell, let it be known that you'll get more than what you bargained for.

My senses didn't work anymore. I didn't know if it was because of the darkness, constricting my entire being enough where I saw spots in the corner of my eyes; or my heart, which fell dead a while ago.

I couldn't hear anything. Not the busy traffic sounds, or the wind blowing. I couldn't hear the ring of a cellphone, or the faint hum of electricity. Nor could I hear the distant chatter of civilians, or the laughter of my fellow peers. My world was mute, silent. It was as dead as I, no longer feeling the need to support me. I felt the atmosphere weigh down on my shoulders, sinking me further and further into the ground.

I couldn't see anything. Not the flickering lamp light hovering in my bedroom, or my classmates smiling and walking down the school halls. I couldn't see my family, my friends. I was alone. Stuck on a large plain that was shrouded in a thick blanket of black. Nothing, no one, was around. I guess that was a good thing...I couldn't see 5 inches in front of me.

My sense of smell was gone. I couldn't smell the scent of freshly mowed grass or of gasoline. The scent of baked bread didn't waft its way into my nose, and the lingering stench of stale perfume didn't seem to find its way towards me. Everything was odorless, colorless, stale. Nothing gave a certain meaning, or a certain uniqueness.

I felt so weak. My only sense I was given was touch, to be able to feel the pain in my heart and on my skin. I could feel chains dig into my ankles. Some kind of weight was slowing me down as I trudged on. Forward, forward, forward towards....

where?

I had nowhere to go, to hide, to rest, to think. My body refused to give up from its long journey onward. My mind was flooding with memories that helped the weights on my ankles drag me down. They intensified the pain in and around my being, wafting through my body in waves, not failing to make me cringe. The pain didn't stop there though. I had a screaming headache that wouldn't go away, my arms felt wrong. Like they were broken and they healed the wrong way. It felt as if my entire body was utterly mangled. And the pain was so unbearable that I was almost thankful I couldn't see if anything was really hurting me.

I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know where I was. It was like I was stuck in a never-ending, pitch-black, empty, silent room. I was mute. I was deaf. I was blind. And, worst of all, I was alone.

I didn't know how long I was there for. It felt like it had been years, centuries, decades, since I had last seen the blazing, burning sun. Since I had talked with people, felt the soft grass beneath my fingers, took a deep, relaxing breath.

I wanted to stop walking, but my feet wouldn't allow it, despite their pitiful condition. I could feel the chains dig into my skin, the weight always catching my tired body off guard. I wanted to control my actions, but I kept moving forward. It- not I, mind you- was determined to get out of here.

Wherever here was, anyway.

But then suddenly, it was there. A shine of light, ever so tiny. A dot of white in a sea of black. It appeared out of thin air, and the sight took my breath away. I could see and, more importantly, I could see a light. As I slowly trudged onwards, the weight still on my feet, I could slowly begin to feel it's warmth. It was comforting, and gentle.

I hurried, trying to walk faster. But the chains on my ankles were fierce, and refused to let go. The weight that I was dragging along seemed to grow heavier, denser. Soon I was traveling at the pace I was before, slow as a snail. But I tried so hard. My palms were outstretched, trying to grab the light and hold it in my hands. My legs were struggling to move, but I kept them going. I kept them going and I didn't falter.

As I got closer I started smelling things. Wonderful things. Freshly cut grass, the ever so amazing aroma of dinner in the oven, and- surprisingly enough- the ghastly smell of car fumes. But it was a smell. It was something.

I also started to hear sounds. Children's laughter, the sound of cars passing by, my favorite song. All of them blending together in a beautiful harmony that was music to my ears. But I didn't stop to relish in the sights and smells. I didn't know how long this miracle would last, and I was determined to reach it before it was gone.

It seemed like a millennia before I reached the source of the light. It was a window, as big as I was when I was hunched over, trying to breathe. After catching my breath, I walked up to the window and slowly put my hand on the smooth glass, peering out.

I almost cried.

It was like peering out of my window back home. Cars passed by in a hurry, people walked calmly on the sidewalk. There was laughter, there was a bright blue sky, there was the sun.

The glorious, glorious sun.

I laughed, my voice rusty after not being used for so long. I pressed my body closer to the cold glass, desperately aching to fall through into that world. I found myself wishing to run my hands through the grass, inhale the fumes of passing cars, and live again. Those people I saw walking around seemed happy, and I wanted to be happy too.

Suddenly I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and looked towards it. It was a small group of three people. A family, perhaps. There were two kids and a woman- all of which looking extremely happy and carefree. One of the children, a little boy, was running around the sidewalk with a large grin on his face, holding what seemed to be ice cream in his small hands. It swayed precariously on its small cone, but didn't fall as the boy danced around. The other child, a younger girl, was laughing along with the boy, holding a bag of gummy candy and a large white teddy bear. I watched as the woman- the mother, maybe?- lightheartedly calmed them down went into the parking garage, where I couldn't see them anymore. I wondered where they be going, before deducing that a carnival or festival was nearby. The look of the family made me smile, and I made a move to break the glass. 

But when I looked around for anything that could, there was nothing around. No rocks, no special equipment. I found myself beginning to panic. I banged on the glass, ignoring the throbbing pain in my hand. The glass no longer felt glossy and light, but rough and dense, like a clear brick wall. The "window" of sorts was the only thing between that life and this nightmare, and I wanted no more of it. I kept at it for a while, trying to make a dent in the glass, when something horrible happened in my little dream-land.

It happened slowly. It seemed innocent at first, but then a car started speeding it's way down the road, swerving crazily every which way. It was going insanely fast, and I didn't like the look of it. Someone was clearly drunk in that vehicle, and it unnerved me. I wondered for a split second just how stupid someone could be to drunk drive, or where he could be coming from in the middle of the day. But my thoughts were interrupted when I saw a silver car pull out of the parking garage and into the road, only to be rammed into by the speeding, swerving car.

I gasped, but I was unable to look away. The car stabbed the side of the other in a burst of metal, causing both cars to veer off the side of the road. The peace that was once shone on the faces of people walking by were long gone, replaced with horror and fear. The moment stopped briefly, everything was silent.

But it then turned into total chaos.

People started screaming, calling the police. Cars that were behind the other two swerved to avoid the wreckage before traffic stopped all together. Ambulances pulled up and police started directing traffic away from the wreckage, and slowly the medics began trying to save the people inside the cars. I watched in horror as they pulled the people out of the silver car- the car that was hit.

And I couldn't breathe.

Inside the silver car, was the family.

The mother was brought out first, her body limp and drenched with blood. Then the boy came out, an ice cream stain on his shirt and some lacerations. The medics seemed to have a hard time getting him out, and I flinched when I saw the poor boy's legs completely crumpled. If he survived, he most likely wouldn't be able to walk again.

And the young girl...

The young girl was dead. There was no sugar-coating it. She was on the side the driver bashed into, and in turn got a lot of damage. Despite also having serious lacerations, the girl's skull seemed to have cracked open. Blood seemed to flow through her short blonde hair on down her neck, which seemed twisted to the side. Glass dug into her skin almost everywhere on her upper body. But what hurt me most was the thing in her hands.

It was a large, white teddy bear; it's white fur stained a deep dark crimson.

Enraged, I tried to look at the person responsible only to find the murderer under white sheets. My scowl lessened when I saw blood spots grow on the white fabric. I was half glad he was dead, and half disappointed he didn't see the people whose lives he just destroyed. I closed my eyes, my mind whirring with thoughts on what just happened, and when I opened them, I saw the car.

It wasn't just any car. I didn't notice what kind of car it was as it was speeding down the road, but with it being still now I got a better glimpse. It was a blue 2004 Honda Accord with a newly cracked windshield and a completely ruined front. But I knew more than it's measly exterior. I knew it didn't have any insurance on it. I knew one of the cup holders was completely filled with pencils and pens. I knew there was a McDonald's bag behind the driver seat being used as a trash bin.

That car was-

"Mister?"

I quickly turned around at the voice. There was nothing there, nothing but the darkness I just came from. I shuddered at the thought of going back in there again, and took a quick step back, only to step on something. Startled, I looked down, to find my foot stepping on an object that wasn't there before.

A bloodied white teddy bear.

My whole body shook. I didn't know what to make of anything. Slowly, I reached down and picked up the bear, holding it away with outstretched arms. Its black, bead eyes were staring at me with little emotion but I couldn't help but feel that there was some life in them.

"Mister!"

A girl, the same from the wreck, was staring at me through her bloodied, blonde bangs. I stood still, afraid to move. The girl was littered in wounds she received from the wreck, and they were even more terrifying up close. Her skull seemed to concave, and her eyes seemed lifeless. One arm wasn't the right way, and glass was still poking out of her skin. It terrified me, to see her in this state, but she didn't seem to notice my shaking and quivering.

"Mister, can you give me my bear?"

I looked down at the bear in my hands, it's white fur clutched tightly in between my fingertips. But I still couldn't move. What happened down there, in the window, was shown to me for a reason. I knew why I was there, why that was happening. I knew what was going on. What I didn't know was how to stop it.

I realized I was taking a long time to respond when the girl pouted her cut lip. I tried saying something, anything, but no words would come to my mouth. But before I could come up with a word to say, the little girl spoke again, holding something behind her back.

"Mister, why aren't you giving me my bear? It's mine. My mommy won it for me. They're all waiting for me, and I don't really like it here. Can you please give me back my bear?"

"W-who are you?" I asked, not able to come up with anything logical. My mind felt like it as having a meltdown, and a soul-crushing feeling was weighing down on me.

The little girl sighed. "If you won't give me my bear," She paused. We stayed in the deafening silence for a few moments before she held out the thing behind her back.

A...beer bottle?

"If you don't give me my bear, could we trade? I know how you like this stuff. You drank it before you killed me after all."

I screamed, and the window behind me slowly closed.