Tenebrae Aeternae

I see my life flashing before my eyes.

I was always told that I would see happy memories from a life lived fully, but all I see is darkness. My memories fade, and I can no longer comprehend where I am.

“Tenebrae Aeternae,” something whispers in the darkness.

Who’s there? My voice is lost in the vast emptiness of my despair.

I can not move. I can not even see my own hand in front of my face. In a flash, the darkness is gone, lightning is crashing all around me, and hell has been unleashed. Fires everywhere. Screams echo through the world. I see people burning. Nothing makes sense.

“Tenebrae Aeternae,” another whisper.

I feel a harsh, hot wind against my cheek. Another flash, this isn’t lightning. The light blinds me, and I am in darkness again. The screaming is perpetual. The poor souls.

Where am I?

How did I get here?

I was outside, wandering around the park. I heard sirens, felt a hot flash against my skin, a never-ending pain engulfed me, and then the sound of an explosion…

And then what?

Darkness!

“Tenebrae Aeternae,” another whisper.

I try to run, but I have fallen into a pit of burning liquid. Lava? Fire? Where am I? Torture. It is too much. Please, kill me. Save me from this pain. The fire (lava?) is over my head now. I can feel my eyes, brain, every part of my body burning like gasoline, I know nothing but an everlasting agony. Why am I not dead? Why must I suffer? Where is the end? It should be mine. I deserve an ending to my suffering. An end to my torture.

“Tenabrae Aeternae,” the whisper says.

Leave me alone! I want to scream, but the lava (fire?) rushes down my throat, and I can no longer function. I have no thoughts but this everlasting pain. I know nothing but this eternal darkness. In this hell I am, forever alone, forever living in this torment.

The fire is gone. I am falling into darkness. Wind slaps against me like thousands of knives cutting me at once. It is knives! I am being repeatedly stabbed! What’s happening? Please, save me from this hell. I want to be free. I want to have peace. What happened? Why me?

Think! Try to form thoughts! Eternal Darkness. Forever my home.

The flash of light! A mushroom cloud higher than any building I have ever seen. I was in New York. I was walking in the park. Sirens. Screaming. Hot flash. Burning. And then?…

Darkness. Pain. Misery. Torture. Torment. Eternal.

“Tenabrae Aeternae,” no longer a whisper. It is a booming voice, filled with hatred and evil. It fills my mind, and I am no longer myself.

“Tenabrae Aeternae,” the voice thunders.

I fall onto a bed of thorns. I am pierced. I am dying. I am dead. The thorns turn into billions of animals, vipers, and snakes. I can not see them, but I can hear and feel them. They are biting me. I am numb with the pain. Sleepy. But I can not sleep. It will not let me have an ounce of peace. It? Who? Why? What is happening to me?

“Tenabrae Aeternae,” the voice laughs. It enjoys my pain.

Please, help me.

No answer. Only laughter.

I understand now. I know the truth.

I am dead. I know this to be true. My worst fear has happened. I lived through a nuclear explosion and am now dead, yet somehow still living. I can’t be. It can’t be. I am not breathing. I am in eternal darkness. How am I thinking? How am I experiencing pain? Nothing makes sense. The world as I knew it is gone, and I am…

No. Please no. It can not be. I can not be where I think I am.

“Tenabrae Aeternae,” more laughter.

I am falling again. Red eyes stare at me as I fall through the darkness. The owner of these eyes has sharp teeth, for they are biting me, taking out chunks of my skin and meat. There is nothing left of me to chew on. I am not even a brain anymore, yet I still feel a never-ending pain. I land (how?) on more thorns. I touch myself, feel my body, and know this is my life now. Forever. Always falling. Always getting eaten. Always pain. The snakes are back. They bite me. I feel the poison flushing through me. It torments me. I am falling again. Those red, beady eyes, staring at me, those sharp fangs slashing through me, eating my flesh, meat, and bones. Please, make it end. Give me some peace. I will do anything that you ask of me. Just end the pain.

“Tenebrae Aeternae,” the voice says, as it laughs.

My life is its. No. Hell. I am in Hell. Why me? I was a good person. I was kind and generous. I didn’t believe in God, but why should that give me a one-way ticket to Hell? Why should I be here? Nuclear War. I died in a nuclear blast and was given as my reward an eternal darkness. It is not fair. I have done nothing wrong. I lived a good life. I deserve to be…

Heaven.

I didn’t believe. I was warned, and I did not heed the warning. I was told that this would be my punishment, and I did not believe. I am cursed to spend eternity in this Hell of darkness.

“Tenebrae Aeternae,” the Devil says.

Now I know who is talking to me, laughing at me. The Devil. I stand no chance. I wish I had lived my life differently. I wish I had done more with the time that was given to me. I wish. I wish. I wish. I am living my worst nightmare. But now I am the living dead, and I know nothing but pain and misery for all time. It haunts me. It hunts me. Where am I now? Brimstone. Nothing makes sense. Brimstone.

“Tenebrae Aeternae,” the Devil screams.

Eternal Darkness…