Rest In Peace?

A peek into Hell.

    It wasn’t the constant smoke burned eyes or the sulfurous odor. It wasn’t even the endless white noise of torturous screams, the long hours or even the smell of his own flesh cooking. It was the heat. A crispy, dry, blow torch heat. ‘What I would do for mouthful of spit... Anyone's.’ he thought as he finished off another rail car of Number 9 coal.

    Howard listened to the screechie wheel bearings as the next set of cars were pushed into place by a sorry a*****e named Bob. Bob had been an animal abuser. His specialty was homeless dogs. Howard had no beef with Bob but he sure got a kick out of watching him dance on those hot coals between the rails as he pushed those cars with flame charred hands and the most beautiful rictus grin of agony.

    ‘I use to smile.’ Howard remembered. He leaned on the handle of his coal shovel and thought about those beautiful choir boys... and a particular blonde altar boy. ‘Those horrid little brats are what got him here.’ he thought, and ‘Who knew there was such thing as Hell? I mean, Really?’

    Howard’s personal Hell was realizing what should have been simple faith to the Priest he had been in life.

    Ex Father O’Bannon’s skin flamed up at that moment. The demon behind him blew on the flames to make them spread. Howard made a feeble attempt at patting them out before giving up and grabbing his coal shovel again.

    The furnaces of hell never cooled and neither did it’s inhabitants. Howard had a job to do and he got back to it.