Fire & Brimstone

I was raised on the idea that good things happened to good people and only the bad things happened to bad people. The “Just World Phenomenon” and whatnot. I went to church, said my prayers, committed good deeds, just like my mother taught me. I always thought I was a good man.

So why did it happen to me?

It all happened one night working at the office. It had been hours sitting at my cubicle, staring at the dull blue light of my desktop entering data in spreadsheets. I was just listlessly moving the cursor to the submit button for the database when my coworker, Russel, called out to me from the other side of the thin cubicle wall.

“Hey, Akuma?” He poked his head above the wall.

“Hm?” I clicked on the button without looking at him until I heard his seat shift from his weight lifting off of it. I looked up to him peering down at me over the wall with a manila folder.

“Do you think you could finish my reports for me before five? I gotta go pick up my kids or else the wife will get after me.” For a second, I stared at the glint on his bald head, then my eyes shifted to the folder. I then looked down at the three-inch-thick stack of papers on my desk that had a bright orange sticky note saying, “DUE BY 5PM.” I bit my lip slightly, wondering, “How am I gonna get my stuff and his done in time?”

Despite the growing anxiety I felt building in the pit of my stomach, I adjusted the glasses on my face and said, “I-I could try my best. I wouldn’t want your kids waiting on you alone.” Russel’s face lit up with relief, his bright smile lifting the wrinkles in face.

“Ah! Wonderful! You’re such a saint, my boy! I owe you one for sure!” He passed me the folder, grabbed his jacket, and hurried to the elevator.

Why did I have to be so nice?

I stayed late well past five that evening, but luckily I wasn’t the only one suffering in silence. My best friend, also the girl of my dreams, Cara, was staying late as well. When I finished most of my work, I stood from my desk just as she was walking out herself. She gave me a bright smile, and my eyes instantly went to the dimples her gingerbread skin created. 

“I know it’s late, but we’re still on for dinner, right?” She asked, throwing up a peace sign. My heart fluttered just by the sheer fact that she was eager to have dinner with me. I know I was always a friend to her, but I made sure that when I finally mustered the courage to ask her to dinner, it was going to be a date. I was still in denial about her saying yes a couple days ago.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said, lowering my eyes nervously as I felt my cheeks heat up. We walked together to the parking garage where I watched her drive off. I always took the bus to work, but at this particular hour, it wasn’t running. So, as foolish as it may be, I decided to walk home. 

The night sky was clear and abundant in stars and the air was refreshingly light. It was always a relief to feel the fresh air after being exposed to air conditioning all day. Although, as I turned down a dark alley for a short cut, I began to whistle to myself to break the unsettling silence.

A quiet roll of a pebble, followed by a raspy whisper, “I wouldn’t go that way if I were you…” I stopped halfway down the alley, turned over my shoulder, and was instantly slammed with a flurry of panic when I saw a masked man peeking around the corner. Only his mouth was exposed and it was a sickly smirk.

My first instinct was releasing a scream, then lurched forward clumsily towards the end of the alley, only to abruptly stop and instantly throw my hands in the air when another masked man stood at the other end with a gun pointed in my direction. 

“No wait! DON’T SH—” 

Bang.

As soon as the sound pierced the air, I felt a wind push me back, followed by a burning sensation in my stomach. My hand rested over my stomach as my knees buckled and I crumpled to the ground. I coughed, watching spurts of blood stain the uneven cobblestone. Then, I pulled my hand from my abdomen and looked at the warm blood covering it. The outline of my hand went in and out of focus as I tried to process the fact that it was my own blood. I crumpled over with my forehead in the dirt, continuing to cough as their footsteps drew near my head. The man with the mask that only showed his mouth carried a gasoline can and his partner with only one eye continued to point his gun at me. 

“Now, where did you think you were going?” The shooter asked nonchalantly. It took every bit of strength I had to push myself to sit back up on my knees. Tears streamed down my face as blood continued to spread through my shirt. A gentle breeze carried through the alley, cutting right through me. I shivered uncontrollably.

“P-Please…I’ll give you every last penny,” I pleaded. The partner with the gasoline can began dumping it all over me, and I quickly balled in the fetal position to shield my face.

“We’re not interested in your money,” He said. Through the small crack between my arms, I watched him ignite a lighter, then drop it on me. Suddenly, I was struck with an enormous amount of energy and ran around screaming until my throat closed off from the smoke.

The last thing I heard were distant sirens and the men running off with my briefcase before everything went black.

The blackness turned into an endless void with several hands pulling me further into its depths. There was no more pain, and when I reached toward the sky, I saw my hand in three different forms, shifting in and out of one.

            The hands anchored me at a much faster speed until I hit a hard surface on my knees. Again, there was no pain, but I was still being held down by greyish blue clawed hands around my neck, head, and shoulders. I looked down at myself, and my body was completely white as snow—literally. I had no race, just an empty shell of a mannequin.

            What is this? Where am I? I looked up, seeing a figure with one demon wing and one angel wing in a long cloak. It wore a hood, had pale blue skin and a black gem in the middle of its forehead with colorless eyes.

            “Do not fret, my child, for I am only Death.” Her voice carried in disembodied echoes that almost resembled a harp. “As you were presented with a premature ill fate, you may be given a choice. You may choose to move on to Heaven, or seek retribution.” 

            I stared at her in pure awe before tears began to run down my face. She extended her hand towards me as I crossed my arms and curled over.

            “What is it to be, Akuma Takada?” She asked. Despite giving her an immediate answer, her voice still sounded patient.

            “What…did I do to deserve this? I’ve…I was a good person! I would’ve given them any money they wanted! I…had such a good life…” I sucked in a breath and released a final heart wrenching yowl, “And she was finally going on a date with me!!!” 

            Death only looked down at me with a subtle furrow of her eyebrow, almost as if she was suppressing a pitiful expression. With her hand still extended, she drew in a breath.

            “Find peace in Heaven, for your soul was pure. However, you have the free will to find peace in retribution, but choose wisely. Only one of those options grant true peace and the other, endless sorrow.”

            This time, without skipping a beat, I snapped, “I want retribution. I can’t rest knowing they’re still out there.” Death knelt in front of me and cradled my head in her cold hands.

            “You will learn soon enough…your pure soul will be tainted, and all you’ll ever feel is darkness.” In the back of my mind, I could tell she was warning me. However, my heart was the only thing in pain in this place of limbo, the Grey…

            “If bringing them down with me is what it takes, then so be it.” I said with hate between my teeth. Death sighed and stood back up.

            “Very well then, child, you’ve made your choice.” Black smoke began to rise from her palms as she spoke in a foreign, otherworldly language. She interrupted herself to say one last thing: “Guard your name, for those who possess it may summon you to do their bidding. This is a dark power you will receive, born from the depths of Hell itself, and the wicked souls on Earth will want it. Don’t let it control you.” 

            As soon as she continued her spell, my entire body was engulfed in red and white flames. It burned worse than the fire that killed me, but through that pain, I vowed they would never escape my wrath.

            Before I knew it, the burning stopped. Instead, I felt cool pelts of water hitting every inch of my body in inconsistent intervals, gradually picking up speed. I cracked my eyes open, but realized I could only see out of one. I peeled my face from muddy grass and noticed a small crowd of umbrella tops at a cemetery at bottom of the hill. It didn’t take me long to realize that they were people from the office currently surrounding my casket and listening to a priest. Then I noticed I was only watching from one eye.

I peered into a puddle below me where, to my horror, half of my face was burned and practically nonexistent. Half of my lips were gone, with my teeth exposed and my cheek with a gaping hole. I was shirtless, with patches of burned scars spotting across my shoulders, chest, and abdomen. The other half of my face was untouched despite my entire body being engulfed in flames twice. To my shock, my hands instantly covered my face. I jumped to my feet and took off running before any of them could see me…especially Cara.

Three Weeks Later

            A lot of time had passed, much more quickly than I was used to. When I first returned from the Grey, ten days had left even though it only felt like I was there for ten minutes. Now, in the three weeks it’s been of trying to retrace those monsters’ steps, it now feels like just one really long day. I guess it’s true when they say the wicked never sleep.

            I got in the habit of wrapping my face in bandages, leaving only my good eye exposed to spare people of my gore. One night, I decided to visit a gas station named “Stop n’ Shop.” I used to frequent it along my route whenever I walked to work. It was only a block away from my massacre and I hoped perhaps the worker would know something about it. This time, a young girl with pink hair stood behind the counter. She watched me warily as I approached.

            “Can I…um…help you?” She asked anxiously, gripping her wrists.

            “Yes…I just have a question.” I leaned over the counter slightly. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the man that was burned alive a block from here?” 

“Who hasn’t?” She rubbed her neck nervously.

“Do you know any updates? Suspects, maybe?” She moved away from the counter when I inched closer defensively.

“What are you, a cop? That stuff is old news, no one cares about—” The glass doors slid open and we both snapped our heads in their direction. My heart slammed against my chest when I realized it was Cara and her blue haired, grunge best friend, Dana. They both appeared to have come from a gym. I stood there, frozen solid, and like a deer in a hunter’s line of fire, they froze in their tracks too. 

“Um…is this place being held up?” Dana whispered to Cara, barely moving her lips. Cara merely stared at me, and I couldn’t decide whether it was studious or fearful.

“I’m not robbing this place, I was just leaving,” I quickly said, before Dana’s wild imagination started a chain reaction.

“Dude, your face is literally covered inside of a convenience store.” She said, smacking her own forehead with a sigh of relief. “Don’t do that, bro.” I pushed away from the counter and walked between them as Cara rolled her eyes from her friend’s remarks.

“Have a nice night, freak.” The pink haired girl waved with a smug grin on her face.

Just as I was about to set the motion sensor to split the doors open, Cara called out for me. I could hear Dana try to stop her under her breath.

“Wait!” She shouted quickly. I didn’t turn around, only turned my head ever so slightly to listen better.

“Have we met before? You sound…familiar.” I wanted to hear hope in her voice, but I knew it was for the best she never knew I came back to life…not as the monster I am now, especially knowing she grieves for me more than anyone. I still held onto that date we were never able to have. I still imagined how warm her skin could be as I wrapped my arms around her or caressed her cheek, how soft her lips could’ve been if I had the courage to give her a kiss good night. By now, though, I knew our co-worker Liam is probably working on her vulnerability to sweep her off her feet. Maybe it was for the best, she needed a distraction just as much as I do. With her standing only ten feet behind me, she was really miles away. I finally gave her a response as I continued walking for the doors. My words pained me, but I couldn’t look back.

“Maybe in another life.”