FicWad

Chapter 3- The Road to Hell is Long

She did not fall instantly to hell (it was a reaper's job to do that). She fell back to purgatory where she met up with Alexander.
"Oh, there you are! So what did The Council want? Did they grant you the honor of washing their feet?" Alexander teased.
But his smile wavered at the sight of Sophia. Her wings were gone; the quiet beauty was replaced by deep sorrow.
"What happened?" he asked softly.
She looked at him, tearfully, and said, "Shawn...he is a sinner."
"What? Why? But wait...you...," Alexander's voice faltered.
"Yes, I have been exiled from heaven-"
She was interrupted as all the reapers appeared around her.
"You must be escorted immediately to hell," one of them ordered.
"Just wait a minute! Don't go ordering people around! I'm the Grim Reaper, I make the orders!" Alexander shouted at him.
The other reapers were silenced by Alexander's authority.
However, after this order, Alexander did not know what to do. He knew he didn't want to send Sophia to hell. She was the last person to deserve such a fate.
"I will send Sophia to hell. You all don't need to assist me. I've done it often enough to know how," Alexander said firmly.
"Grim Reaper!"
Alexander turned, startled. There stood Shawn. He was chained to the two reapers standing beside him.
The sight pained Alexander. "Let him go! I will take them both to hell myself!"
Under his authority, the reapers obliged and unchained Shawn. Shawn ran up to Alexander and Sophia.
"But, you said I could go to heaven," Shawn said to Sophia.
Sophia's heart ached as she looked into Shawn's sad eyes. "I know...I know I did...I'm sorry."
"You must take them to hell immediately," one of the reapers reminded Alexander.
"Yes, thank you, I'm well aware of that." Alexander snapped at him. Alexander's mind was spinning. Too many things were happening at once. What was he going to do? What could he do?
"You may go now," Alexander snapped at the other reapers. They went, but all of them gave him meaningful looks, telling him to hurry with the order.
"Alexander, it's alright. Just take us. We deserve it," Sophia softly, holding Shawn to her.
"No, it's not alright! You do NOT deserve it! What is your problem?" Alexander shouted, furious.
"Alexander- no matter what you think, you must follow the orders. It is God's will," Sophia replied, quiet as ever.
"God's will?! How is this God's will? It's all The Council's will! And they are the ones fucked up because you are the only decent, real angel I have ever known! And what about 'God takes care of his children'? Is this how he takes care of them? Sends them to hell?!" Alexander was so pissed.
Shawn began crying into Sophia's shoulder.
"Alexander! Watch your tongue!" Sophia said sharply, holding Shawn closer to her.
The two of them together melted Alexander's heart. He wished with all his being that he could protect them. He wished that there was someplace safe to take them, so they would never have to go to hell.
Heavily, Alexander sat on the ground with his head in his hands. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw it was Shawn.
"Grim Reaper...you're a nice man...but you gots to take me. It's my fault that she is in trouble," Shawn said with his lip quivering.
"No, none of this is your fault," Alexander said firmly.
Alexander knew that he had no choice. And even if he decided not to take them, he knew the other reapers would. It would be better if he did it.
"Alright, then," Alexander said and rose.
With his staff he struck the ground. A chasm seared into the ground.
Sophia took the boy's hand.
"Then this is good-bye," she said to Alexander.
"No, it's not. I'm going with you."
"No, you're not. Reapers have no place in hell."
"I'm still going with you," Alexander said stubbornly, so all three of them entered the underworld.

Falling, falling...down, down into the abyss. Everything was confused. Someone was screaming...Was it him? Alexander couldn't tell, he just wanted it to -
Stop. Suddenly, they were on the ground, lying like broken dolls. All of them lost consciousness....

Whack. Whack. Something hurts. WHACK!
"OUCH! Dammit!" Alexander cussed in pain.
"'Bout time you woke up," a voice over him said with a sulk.
Looking up, Alexander looked right into the watery, cloudy eyes that sunk back into his skull. These eyes belonged to an old man, who had been whacking Alexander with his cane.
"Who are you and why are hitting me with a stick?" Alexander said crossly.
"It's my cane," the old man said, tipping his head to the side while studying Alexander intently.
"Whatever," Alexander shifted uncomfortably under the man's gaze.
"His name is Charon," Sophia's voice sounded from his side.
The old man grinned and cackled happily. His body was small built, and his back hunched a bit. The olive-colored skin was faded and wrinkled on his face and arms. The rest of his body was covered in rags.
"An angel and the Grim Reaper, plus a sinner, for Hell," the old man was greatly pleased.
"But the Grim Reaper cannot stay here, the Grim Reaper must leave now."
"What? No, I'm coming with them!" Alexander protested.
"You have committed no sins. There is no place to put you," Charon said, looking at him unblinkingly.
"Place?"
"Hell is divided up into nine levels. The boy is in Level One, and the angel is in Level Nine."
"Is that bad?" Alexander asked, confused.
"For the boy, no. There is no punishment in the first level. That is the level for the good souls not committed to God. For the angel, her place is next to the Evil One himself."
Alexander looked at Shawn and Sophia as Charon talked about their fate. Shawn was crestfallen, but Alexander knew his fate wasn't too bad. At least he wouldn't be punished for eternity. But Sophia's fate was much graver. Alexander gazed at her with his heart out to her. She did not return his gaze but looked away, her hair hanging limply on her face. He noticed how her hands fell defeated at her sides, how her body slumped with shame.
Alexander looked back at Charon, who was watching him intently again.
"I'm going, too," Alexander simply stated.
"For what? I've never had anyone want to go to hell," Charon cackled.
"I want to save Sophia from her fate. She doesn't deserve this," Alexander challenged.
The old man found this greatly amusing.
"What's so funny?!" Alexander fumed.
The old man hobbled toward Alexander, so he could look right into Alexander's eyes. Alexander took a step back from the intent gaze of Charon.
"Let me get this straight," Charon said, his voice changing from an amused old man to a serious, deep voice. "You want to use your powers as the head reaper to save this angel?"
"Yes," Alexander replied.
Charon continued, "You want to use your powers that God has given you to save this angel from the fate /that God has chosen for her/?"
"Yes," Alexander replied again, this time feeling more uncomfortably, now realizing what he was really doing.
"Just so you know," Charon's voice continued on gravely, "this means that you are exercising your free will to turn away from God, which is why the angel is here?"
"How did Sophia use her free will?" Alexander challenged, ignoring the other part of what Charon said.
"Why, she decided that Shawn deserved to go to heaven when he should have been here in the first place."
"But his heart was lighter than the feather-"
Charon tsk-tsked at him. "Don't you understand, Grim Reaper? Her sin was committed before the judging of the heart. She believed that Shawn wasn't going to hell, not because God wanted it to be so, but because she wanted it to be so. Do you see? Therefore, because of her sin, the feather was not pure anymore, so the feather fell with the weight of her sin while the heart was pushed up."
Alexander tried to understand the concept behind that incident. He thought he might understand all of it, but he still wasn't sure.
"Well, I'm still going to save her," Alexander said stubbornly. "And I'm coming whether you want me to or not."
"Well, that's okay," Charon said.
"What?! Now it's suddenly okay?"
Charon whacked him with his cane again.
"Don't you listen? You have decided to turn away from God. Now, you belong here, too."
Alexander looked at him, stunned, while rubbing his arm where Charon had hit him.
"Yes, yes, another one for the furnace," Charon cackled, his facade turning back into the old man. "Now, both the angel and the Grim Reaper for Level Nine."
"Well, come on," Charon called after all three of them. "The boy's stop is near, but the angel and the Grim Reaper have a long ways to go to get to Level Nine."
All three of them reluctantly followed.
Grudgingly, Alexander asked Charon, "A long ways? Why?"
"Why, we have to pass the first eight levels."
"Is that going to take long?"
"What does it matter? We have an eternity."

-End of Chapter 3-

For this part of the story, I'm almost totally relying on Dante's levels of Hell. (Everyone knows who Dante is right?) I found this quiz that places you in the level that you belong in according to Dante. I took it and I'm headed for Level One of Hell if I don't change my ways. (I'm not committed to God, I'm like Shawn.) Oh! You have to take the quiz. Here's the web address to it:

http://www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-test.mv

If you want, tell me which level you fall into! See, this story is so interactive! Not like the kind of interaction that erotica gives where you only type with one hand. This is so much better!

Charon- Greek mythology. He is the ferryman who takes the sinners across the river Acheron into the first level of hell. But if you took the quiz, you would already know that! (Why am I so excited about this?) He is portrayed as an old man. No mention of cane given, but that is my right as a writer to add that in.