Punished by the Guilty

The night was dark.

    My feet shuffled through the leaves nervously. I watched my back carefully. They were looking for me. They were looking for revenge. They would have it.

    I knew my fate. I ran nonetheless. I did not need to stop to catch my breath. They did. This placed much needed space between me and my pursuers. It would not last long.

     Torches lit ablaze from the fires of Hell followed me closely. They were carrying them. When I would look to see how far away they were, it seemed that they were always closer. The torches always burned brighter.

     I hated the light. I was escaping it. Light always brought clarity. Clarity brought understanding. Understanding brought self-loathing.

     "I see the monster!" One of them cried from behind me. The light had found me. I quickened my step. I thought I could outrun them. I was wrong.

     "Then capture it and we will send it to Hell where it belongs!" Another one of them yelled out. I looked over my shoulder. They were ten feet away. I was as good as caught. The light burned my back. They came closer.

    An eternity passed in these next moments. I ran, but I waited. I waited for them to capture me. It seemed to never come. Then it did. They brought me to the ground. My head was covered. My limbs were tied. Moments later, I was being carried back. Punishment awaited me.

     "Good job, boys!" A voice congratulated them. A hand hit me in the stomach. It was painful. "This thing is hideous, isn't it?" They laughed hatefully in agreement. "Set it up over there."

    They carried me. They tied me to something. It felt wooden. My head was bound to it. The cover was lifted. My eyes adjusted. The light burned my skin. The flames of Hell burned so close to me. I was in a room. It was small. It was unfamiliar. On the ground before me lay a half-eaten corpse. It was missing a head. The head was lying on the other side of the room. It was unfamiliar. They crowded around the corpse.

     "Look what that monster did!" They exclaimed. I could not speak. I could not defend myself. One came up to me. A knife quickly sliced off some of my own rotting flesh. They watched in sick anticipation. The one with the knife shoved the flesh into my mouth.

    "Eat it!" It yelled orders at me. I did as it asked. My flesh was flavorless. It smiled. It joined the others.

     Another one walked up to me. It had no knife. It had a torch. It stuck it against my body. I felt excruciating pain. They laughed cruelly. My body caught fire. The flames of Hell were consuming me. I knew not what to do with myself. My eyes searched the room. My eyes found one of them taking off a bloodied shirt. He looked up. His face was covered in blood. It was human blood. I looked back at the corpse. It was her blood.

Then the flames banished me from that world.

-Zero