Fashionably Dead Down Under(56)

“Hello,” I called out. “Anybody home?”
As soon as I spoke the shrieks and wails resumed at a level even higher than before. Words were intermingled with the howling and I heard garbled begging and pleading. WTF? I was close to the mouth of what looked like a large room. It was lit up like Christmas, a holiday I was certain they skipped down here. Go into the light, Carol Ann kept running through my brain and I laughed without humor. This was not a movie. It was real life—my life. Poltergeist was G rated kiddie crap compared to this shit.
Taking a deep breath and tamping down my gag reflex at the stench, I sauntered into the bowels of Hell.
A huge wall of fire blasted out of a crevasse in the floor that had to be at least ten feet wide and spanned the entirety of the room, which from my estimation was the length of several football fields. The soul lights darted around in the flames wildly, although some were sluggish. Were those the older souls—the ones that had become accustomed to being on fire? My stomach roiled at the thought. Did Satan come up with this punishment?#p#分页标题#e#
The Demons roaming around were identical to the ones that had dragged me to Hell. Their bloody skinless bodies were muscular and oozing with pus and disease. They undulated in and out of each other, stabbing and prodding the less powerful ones with their sharp and filthy claws. Had they really looked like the Demons on the main level at one time? It was difficult to wrap my mind around that. Huge blood covered teeth clicked as they ate what looked like flesh and organs. Fucking awesome, I had arrived in time for dinner.
Had no one noticed me, or was I being ignored?
The Demons amped up their attacks on each other and the sounds of moans and grunts joined the wailing. As wonderful as all this was I had no time to watch a real life horror movie. I needed to get the hell out.
“Excuse me,” I shouted over the cacophony. Everything halted, including the soul shrieking. Hmmm, not sure that was good. At least fifty pairs of beady bloodshot golden eyes turned to me.
A huge reeking Demon stepped forward. It took everything I had not to step back. Shitfuckshit. His eyes went red and his teeth clicked ominously. He had bits of skin on his arms and chest. They were rotten and peeling away. The edges were black and runny. Had he tried to redeem himself and failed or was he working on getting out of here?
“You’ve finally come,” he said in a voice that hurt my ears and make my throat clench. It was like my father’s. It sounded as if his mouth was full of glass shards.
“Well, I wasn’t really planning on it, but, um . . . yep. Here I am. I was wondering if you knew where a portal was?” I was sure my smile resembled a grimace, but if he was being polite, I could certainly do the same.
He turned his back on me and addressed the crowd. “Our Queen has come home,” he shouted. My stomach sunk and I felt sick. This was not going to end well.
The Demons cheered and dropped to their bone and muscle exposed knees. The souls began screaming again at a volume that vibrated through my body. I slapped my hands over my ears and bent forward.
“It will stop in a moment,” the Demon told me.
“Why?”
“It is the way. They are given a moment of peace so each time they burn it will be more devastating than the last. They can never be allowed to forget what it feels like to be free of pain. It would defeat the purpose of the punishment.”
“That is fucked up,” I said before I could stop myself. I mean, who in the hell came up with this sadistic kind of torture?
“Yes,” the Demon smiled and licked what I supposed were lips. “Your father was a brilliant man.”
“This is my father’s doing?” I gasped and wondered why I wasn’t more screwed up.
“He took the more violent Bible passages quite seriously.”
“Maybe he should have taken some meds more seriously,” I muttered and scanned the room for alternate exits. “Look, um . . . ”
“Lance.”
“Right. Lance. I’m flattered that you want me to be your, ah . . . queen, but I am not queen material at all. I am so fucking grossed out by this,” I said, gesturing wildly around the cave. “You really don’t want me to be your queen.”
“It is not our choice,” he grunted dismissively. “You made that choice when you killed your father. We would have never chosen a woman to lead. Women are weak and inferior, but we will deal with what we have been given.”
WTF? Was he kidding me? Inferior, my ass. I did not want to be the leader of Stinkyland, but I’d be damned if they didn’t want me because I was a girl. “Look, Buster . . . ”
“Lance,” he corrected.