No Redemption

sequel to No Exit/ another trip into hell itself

      Preface
      It seems as though everyone these days tries to ignore responsibility, ignore duty, and ignore each other. Meetings can be put off, work can be delayed, and lovers can wait for their lustful fix. And yet everyone wants to be treated right. They all want the same unbiased treatment, the same social appreciation, and the same amount of love as evryone else. And yet they don't deserve it. Well, what would happen if they earned it? What would happen if earned what they longed for most: a chance to enjoy life itself and not a lie? What would happen?

      Screams are echoing out through the dark hallways as we walk down their dilapidated passageways. Doors with unfamiliar symbols and even stranger languages line both sides of the hallways. We tread cautiously, all the while following our grim guide. He appears to be dressed as a valet, although the light is too dim to tell. Our valet leads us to a room at the end of the hallway, Room 666.

      He pushes the door open and allows the three of us to enter, remaining quiet as we filed into the dark, blood red colored room. he walls seemed to almost cry out their agony to us as we all sat down on the singular black couch in the room. Our valet proceeded to exit the room, closing the door behind him as he went but uttering only one phrase as he left: "Read the journals and the answers you seek will be found." We stared dumbfoundedly at the door and turned to stare at one another, examining eac other's faces for the first time.

        The man i stared at was one of a muscular build with short, crisp hair, a fair complexion, and a handsome face framed with wit, virtue, and beauty, contrasting his blonde hair sharply. The other figure was a short, brown-haired woman whose hair seemed to be scarred with rays of sunshine. Her otherwise attractive, busty yet plain build seemed to indicate a very sexual creature, hiding behind an angel's disposition. The two stared back at my tall, skinny frame and began to search the room for the alleged journal mentioned by the valet and found it stashed beneath the couch, wrapped in a cloth whose texture resembled human flesh. All grisly details, we turned to the first pages of the journal and began to read.......

        Entry 1

       My name is Inez. If you are reading this, you are in as terrible a state as I am in. You are in the innermost parts of hell (yes, hell-the eternal, flaming pit of damnation) and you will suffer greatly. Prayer will not save you and lies will not comfort you. Only truth will bring you closer to what truly matters. With that said, I will tell you of my time here in this place i call God's Personal Nightmare.

           Entry 2
       I arrived here shortly after my death, having spent one last night with my female companion and having died due to suffocation. I was led to this room by the valet and introduced to a coward named, a philandering fool who had been sent here for his sexual instability.He seemed fond of scrutinizing the room and looking for something else to stare at besides me. He failed. He looked at me with the same look a drunk has when he finds a long sought after spirit. Before he could indulge himself with me, a gorgeous blonde by the name of Estelle walked into the room, brought by the same valet who Garcin and I had been let in by. Her beauty seemed to emanate from her like a radiant sunshine, with her features providing me a seductive treat. But I digress.

              Entry 3
        Estelle seemed confused by her prescence here. Obviously, she was too beautiful and perfect to be trapped in such a horribly stuffy place. But she wasn't. She had driven two devoted men to their deaths just for the sake of feeling as though she meant something.
          The two immediately tried to figure out their miserable condition and comfort each other with physical acts of comfort and lying acts of treachery. I didn't care. I wasn't denying anything. I knew we were all horrible human beings. I knew we deserved to be here. It took only a matter of time for all of us to realize the hopeless situation we were in.....and to give in to our lustful ambitions to each other. Who cared about escape when we could enjoy our pleasant misery together? But what if we did try to care? What if we did try to...........

           "That's it?" A shrill voice broke through the silence. "After all that fluff, we don't even get an answer?"The brunette cried out in a frustrated scream, "What the hell are we doing here? And who the hell are you two supposed to be?" The golden treasure beside me answered in a sweet and soft tone. "My name is Goel and I am( or was) a priest of the Second Coming Church of America. Please do not scream. There is no need to do so. I am sure if we place faith in the lord he will provide us with an answer."
               "Are all you priests this blind? We are in HELL!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no God!!!!!!God has abandoned us and he couldn't care less!!!!!!!!What kind of God leaves his children to burn in his in his personal cell of torture?" his carried on for some time, with Goel defending his beliefs with a strong yet almost perfunctory defense against the screaming banshee who later revealed her name to be Ankanksha. After the screaming subsided, they both turned to me and asked for my name.

             "My name is Rue and I am the head of the American Brothers against Sexual Defamation. We specialize in keeping those pesky gays from obtaining any of those rights that they wa-" A giggle interrupted me. "And what exactly is so funny?"
             Ankanksha, in between fits of laughter spoke. "It just seems funny that a raging f*g would want to harm his fellow homos." I flushed a deep red and yelled angrily, "And what would make you think that?"

               "Oh, I know all about your little montly visitors. Your blonde love toys you come to have fun with you for a while. And I noticed the way you have been looking at the priest over there. You are barely holding yourself back aren;t you?" In my heart, I knew she was right but I would not allow her the satisfaction of knowing that.
               "And what about you Ankanksha? I have heard all about you. Showing up at random churches, mocking every one of those who has faith, screwing every human being who happens to come your way. How are you any better than I am, you filthy piece of garbage?" We carried on like this for hours, with Goel ignoring us for the most part and merely staring at Ankanksha, staring at her like a starved dog who has finally found a treat. Ankanksha noticed.

              "Why are you staring?"
              "Because you have made me realize the half-hearted performance which I have given in my service to the lord.......and all that I have denied myself. I must know that I matter.........and I must have you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" As he finished speaking, he launched himself at her, trying to satisfy his primal urges. I joined the mix, hoping to satisfy my own with the libidonous priest. Before anything could occur, we heard a strange noise....the door. Someone had opened the door. We rushed quickly to the doorway to meet our hero........
                 .........and we found nothing. The screams we heard from earlier were still present but there was no one there. We walked down the hallway looking for an exit.........
                   .........And we found two figures staring at us from down the hallway. One was clothed in a white robe, with the appearance of a heavenly angel.  The other was clothed in a black, tattered robe with the face of a demon. They turned to stare at us and spoke, with a monotonous tone to their voices.

                 "We are here to tell you that there is no escape. Did you really think you would leave so easily? The guards have been called and will be here soon. But we can help you. One of us can grant you a way to an eternal respite of happiness, the only thing you truly desire. But the other will only return you to the nadir of your existence. Who will you choose?"
                   We took a moment to decide, knowing that we had precious little time left.  We decided to take the obvious choice, the saintly angel. But he was anything but.  He led us to another room where we were ambushed and placed in chains. "I hope you enjoy Hell," the angel replied in a sinister, mocking voice. We were dragged back to our room, with our valet reappearing to close the door once again, leaving behind only a single page of paper.......the final page of the journal. It read as follows:

                    ".......to accept our mistakes. What if we tried embracing life and stopped denying our responsibility? Could we escape from this horrid place and learn to stop inflicting holocausts on our fellow man? Could we?........
                    We remained silent for a time, not speaking a single word. And then finally Goel spoke the one question we were all thinking:

                     "Could we actually take her advice? Could we accept our mistakes and move on from them?" Amkanksha seemed frightened and angered by this. "No....no.....no we can't do that. It.....It is too frightening. How can I admit how much of a w***e I am.....how can I admit I have been such a horrendous monster to people?"
                       I answered her, "well, we will never know unless we try."
                       "My name is Rue and I am in love with men.  I have done all I can to hurt and punish them but I know now that that is wrong." As soon as I finished speaking, my chains broke and vanished. Seeing my liberated state, the others followed suit.
                        "My name is Goel and I have long harbored a grudge against the church for denying me my desires. But I know now that the only one at fault here is me and I accept that."
                         "My name is Ankanksha and I have given myself up to anyone around in the hopes of finding meaning. But I know now that I am the only one who can give myself meaning. And I accept that." When they finished speaking, their chains broke off and a door of light appeared on the side of the room. The valet from earlier stepped through and, as before, uttered only a single phrase: "Ready to go?" We answered in unison, "Go where?"
                           "Back to the lives you once had..........if you want them."
                           We picked ourselves up, and followed him through the door, leaving behind only a single scrap of paper with a quote on it: "Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others."-Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. We hoped it would help the next person as much as the journal had helped us.