Day two, Alexandria

Alexandria suffers trauma from the previous day while being ridiculed by lucifer and forced to accept God's existence.

Day Three:

Alexandria

Alexandria woke up. She found herself sitting at the University. This was the University she went to, Harvard, and she recalled her professor, Smith at the end of the lecture hall, lecturing to her and thousands of others that made it to such a prestigious school. She came to, realizing that this was just the beginning of a Hellish nightmare. “God, what trick do you have for me? What task that is impossible for me to bear?” She touched her bottom, it still stung from the Pear of Anguish, but it was now tolerable. “Thank you John.”

“The trick lies within the school itself.” John said, who sat right next to her. “So this is what Harvard looks like. She looked to him with trusting eyes then again looked at the board. Professor Smith wrote an equation, 2+2=3. That is so wrong! “That can’t be right!” She couldn’t refrain from shouting out at Professor Smith. “It is four!”

The professor sat pointed his ruler at her. His eyes flamed red and horns grew above his head, perfectly aligned with his eyes. “Sit down prideful student! Just because you made it to Harvard you think you have all the answers. Lucifer was this professor who hurried to the desk, slapping it, and growling in her face. “There are geniuses here. You are an idiot!” The other students laughed at her, pointing. Chanting, “Stupid,” over and over again.

Alexandria looked to John for comfort as she grabbed hold of her chest, this pain of agony to her selfish pride made her weep. The look on John’s face was that of compassion, pity, and of course, despair.

“It is simple addition. Can’t you get your feeble mind around it!” Lucifer slapped her in the face. “Two and two equals three.” He pointed his demonic finger at her, and the laughter continued. Not only the laughter of the men, but the shame which continued to pierce her heart.

“But the answer is four!” Alexandria cried out. Her classmates, male and female alike pointed and laughed at the idiotic student. She constantly fought herself, trying to stand her ground on the right answer, and yet here she was being mocked. “What disfuncional school did I go to?” She asked herself, bowing her head in shame, eyes wide with confusion, trying to figure out what kind of torture this is.

“Answer correctly you must! You must you foolish child!” Lucifer growled at her.

“The answer is four not three!” She stood up, roaring at the devil. She closed her eyes, squinted very hard, trying to ignore what the devil might.

A student walked up, pulled open her shirt and poured his lunch down her shirt. He poured his orange juice all over her golden head. THe students laughed, and pointed. She looked up to be found in a circle of mocking faces. “Wimp, wimp, wimp, stupid, stupid wimp.” again and again they would chant, unrelenting for all eternity. She sat down, weeping, covering her face in her hands.

“Can’t you ever get anything right?” Lucifer mocked, forcing her in her chair. “Go cry to your own mother you incompetent fool. Clearly you aren’t smart enough for the ivy league. How did you even get in here? You are an imbecile, and an idiot!”

The class continued on insulting her. The torment was so wrong, wasn’t society well passed this point? Harassment on such a simple question, but she certainly can’t say she was never guilty of it.

“My answer is correct Smith! Your answer is not right. Damn you demon! God will smite you if not yet!”

“I control all things in this hellish place. I have all control, and you dare incite God’s name here? He isn’t here. This is total separation from God!” He snapped his fingers, and darkness swirled all around, creating in her evil thoughts of despair. She lost sight of all things, even John, her guide, her protector, her God.

“John! John Where are you!” She cried out in the void.

There was no answer from him, only the sinister laughter. She felt as if she was lying down, covered in something. It was rather gooey and sticky, much like molasses, restricting her wrists, It was heavy, it strained even the neck muscles from further movement, to prevent herself from drowning in this substance. She struggled, grunting with every effort, only to see rather large serpentine eyes in the darkness. Its gaze lit up the darkness, revealing to her the full weight of her sin. The sludge dripped from the highest heavens, and she found herself confined to an unholy black cross. She resembled Christ on the cross.

Alexandria turned her head, which hurt as she lay on this restricting cross. Her arms were pulled, stretching her on the cross. Lucifer came down in the darkness, the eyes shining on him as he scratched her in his demonic form, much scarier than Satan from yesterday. Lucifer took a hammer, and pulled hands to the edge. He took out a stake, and aligned it with her palm.

“No! Stop it!” She screamed, resisting his strength with futility. “Stop it! STOP IT!”

The hammer swung down, and blood poured out into the sludge, and the sludge found its way into the wound. It stung, her scream echoed as Lucifer’s smile gleamed with joy. She screamed as it stopped and worked on the other hand. The screams were no less severe. She fell asleep through the pain.

The warm summer breeze blew. Alexandria woke up. She woke up next to a king, a great king, a conqueror of men. Alexander the Great is the one she woke up next to. The bed was with purple covers, and she instantly felt disgusted for sleeping with a man...wait a moment. She just woke up. She didn’t sleep with him. She looked down and she was in a scarlet dress, not the attire she left in. She looked again at Alexander, and he was dying. This wasn’t just his bed, this was his dead bed.

Lucifer was next to him, leaning over the dying body, smiling, smirking at his handy-work as if this was one big accomplishment he had in his thousands of years of living...or perhaps million...billion years more likely. He looked up to her, “This is the downfall of pride. He never saw it. His death is because of pride. I did this to him.”

“Are you saying, pride killed him? That Pride is a man disguised? It is an entity?” she asked, “Pride is going to kill me?”

“Not just any pride.” he said, walking to her to whisper in her ears. “But your pride. Your pride will murder you. Your wrath is not the one sin, behold, Pride has killed more than Wrath!” He said ever so softly. “You can’t accept the responsibility of your actions, and thus, God sent you here to me, so that I can show you how much suffering it causes. Beware of the consequences, death will follow you, and kill you.”

“What responsibility?” She asked him. Alexander died. “Is my sin murder?” Within my heart. What evil have I done to you?”

Lucifer thrust a sword into her chest, she coughed up blood, splattering the corpse of Alexander. Blackness shifted around her and she found herself in the Oval office of America, with President Nixon. She looked at him, and he had strings, the same black strings attached to her. She looked up, and saw Lucifer, the puppeteer controlling him, and her. The puppeteer is Lucifer!

All of Nixon’s actions were being controlled by the master manipulator. Alexandria lied to herself for so many years to pretend like she didn’t see it, but she did. This master manipulator, is the pride that impeached Nixon. All this time, she thought she had free will, and alas, this day, was not meant for punishment, but for enlightenment. She now knew, being aware with Lucifer, he was not meant to torment, but to brighten. Why? This pride killed so many, claimed so many lives, like in the holocaust. She found herself guilty, and in her began to realize in her heart. She, just like Hitler, could become Hitler. She could very well be Hitler’s doppleganger!

A gate of fire opened up. The strings of sludge compelled her to walk through that fire, from side to side did she walk. From side to side did she burn. She can’t deny her actions, or her heart. She can’t deny the truth she tried to conceal from her soul. Lucifer now controls her, no. It is her own pride that controls her. She struggled against this new realization but the endeavor became pointless.

She felt shame as she walked in the fire, and desired to end it. Truly, she would rather be death, and die a horrible death than know what she knows now. Free will is nothing more than a reality she tricked herself into believing, and now it is crumbling down!

She found herself, stepping inside a swirling bird cage. She was on the stool at the bottom, looking down below in a bottomless pit. She was now, seeing great eyes. They were the same serpentine eyes as before. She heard foot steps. It grew closer, and the eyes grew wider. She saw its sinister smile. It was Lucifer!

“Why isn’t king David here! He had pride! He was the greatest king of Israel! What answers do you have for that!” Alexandria cried out. Not to Lucifer but she cried out to God. She was unsure if Lucifer could provide the answer she seeked. “How is Alexander the Great, and Nixon guilty but He is not!?”

“David had little pride.” Lucifer answered. “He was flawed yes, but his pride wasn’t toxic to him. He had a humble heart, and was not blind to his pride. Unlike you, unlike them, he knew where it was, and kept it away. He let God handle his Pride.”

“Six hundred and sixty six lashes you will endure.” Lucifer said, pulling out a fiery whip, and proceeded to whip her. She cried as her blood turned to mist in the air. She squirmed to escape but there was no freedom. There is no way out. “Do you think you have had enough lashes?” She bled, and kneeled to the mercy of this demon. She looked at the marrow and flesh, burning on that cursed flame.

“P...p...please!” She cried. “No more! WHY!”

Six hundred and sixty six more lashes continued. She noticed, underneath the little bird cage were these creatures. They pranced around, oh the little goblins in her raining blood. Lash by lash, her blood rained down, quenching the thirst. She noticed a man below, ignoring the goblins below.

“John.” He didn’t answer. “JOHN!” he looked up in despair. “What can I...do!” She coughed up a thick blob of her own blood. He stepped aside, allowing the goblins to feed on it.

“Call upon the force you hate so much.”  John said.

The lashes continued, her blood still drooling onto the floor. “Lucifer please stop lashing!” She said.

“You called upon the wrong name! Heh, heh, heh.” he laughed. “Six hundred and sixty six more lashes!”

He whipped harder. Alexandria began to grow pale with the amount of blood she lost. She couldn’t believe she was still awake. Let alone...that there is that much blood inside her body. She observed the creatures, with tools, and one of them held the pear of anguish! Old memories, disturbing memories from just the other day.

“Call onto His name! Mean it! Call onto His name!” John yelled up. “

“HELP ME GOD!” she cried out as she was whipped yet again. She didn’t fully believe, or really want to believe in him. She beheld large hands, glowing white hands. Lucifer looked up and disappeared into the shadows. The hands lifted her out of the cage, and safely brought her to John who embraced her.

His embrace was warm, and just what she needed. It was warmer than even Jessica’s, but it wasn’t intimate. She didn’t have that intimate feeling, it was just...different. Something words cannot quite express, but attempt I will. Like the loving embrace of a brother to his sister whom he has not seen in awhile. They had different passions for each other, whatever small it be, or however large.

As they wrapped each other, Alexandria could feel her blood returning to her face. Strength was restored in her arms and legs. She began to feel whole again. Her body began to heal.

“Let’s go.” John said to her. He pulled her aside, and looked up at the disappearing light hands. “Light can never survive in the darkness, and where light is, darkness can never be. Remember, if you have a secret, you should tell it. I tell you this, in the odd chance, you forget everything you see here.” She nodded, unable to say anything. Only subconsciously believe in God.

John lead her to another door. This door was made of charring human flesh. “These are the souls that could never see despite having eyes to see.” The door smelled like overcooked ruined turkey on thanksgiving dinner. Not a scent you would desire to have in your nostrils.

“Riddle or question are you?” The door said in a dreary voice.

“Riddle isn’t complicated.” John answered.

“What did you learn?” The door said.

She took no time in answering the question. “Humble I have not been. Pride, is toxic to the Human soul and steals lives.”

The flesh gate opened and she saw shoreless water on the other side. It was restless. Very restless. John held her hand. “It is time.”

The two dove in the restless water, and the gate shut behind them.