Read Demon Gate: Beyond the 9th Circle: The Rapture Was Just The Beginning. Online
Authors: Joel Heath
Spencer’s search took him throughout the
labyrinth of consumerism, searching for the exit.
It took a while before he found it, then he
retracted his steps to meet up with his friends,
eventually finding Vince and Jessie returned.
“Did you find the way out?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, I did.” Spencer replied, “It’s down
on the lowest level.”
“That figures.” Vince retorted.
Jessie looked around for an elevator,
“What about the service hallways?”
Vince suggested, “There might be stairs or a
freight elevator there.”
After a thorough search, no stairs or
elevator of any kind could be found. A bench
offered a brief respite. Vince and Jessie sat in the
bench while Spencer sat on the clod tiled floor.
“I don’t get it, there should be a way
down.” Spencer declared.
Vince looked at the book in Jessie’s arms.
“You think there’s something in there that
will tell us about where we are?” Vince asked.
Spencer turned and looked.
“You know I think there might, I mean it
stands to reason.” Jessie said opening the cover.
Spencer turned and looked, and he was
confused. “What did you find there?”
“We haven’t looked at it yet,” Jessie said,
as she slowly turned the pages she saw a basic
history of Lucifer, which started with his being
cast out of heaven. After twenty pages Jessie
came to a diagram of a circle with multiple
layers, there were nine layers surrounding a large
red dot in the middle. Below the diagram there
was a series of numbers with corresponding
names and additional page numbers.
Jessie turned to the page for the fourth
circle of hell; there was a simple phrase in the
middle of the page.
“Fortune be with you if you
choose to go forward and play games with fire.”
“Play games?” Jessie asked then turned to
Vince. “Didn’t we pass an arcade center on the
way to the book store?”
“Let’s go check it out.” Vince suggested
as he practically leapt to his feet.
Vince led the way down the main concourse to
an arcade center that was larger than it looked;
most of the games were concentrated in the rear,
there was a small cluster of games in the center
concentrated around a bunch of pinball machines.
There was one game that stood out from the
crowd, as it was not a pinball machine, it was a
coin-operated fortuneteller.
“Fortune be with you…” Spencer said,
the hint became clear, approaching the
fortuneteller and kneeling in front of it, he
inspected the face. A decal on the front told them
that the machine needed a quarter.
“Does anybody have a quarter?” Spencer
asked, then realized how dumb the question was
and noticed something in the machine’s coin
return slot, reaching in Spencer pulled out a
glistening quarter; Spencer then inserted the
quarter into the coin slot and stood as the
fortuneteller began to move.
The animatronics gypsy woman seemed
more animated than Spencer expected.
“Welcome to the gate way to hell,” The
fortuneteller invited. “Why have you trespassed
on Lucifer’s domain?” the soothsayer demanded.
“He has a soul, one that does not belong
here.” Spencer replied.
The fortuneteller became defensive.
“Who are you to decide who belongs here
and who does not? Those who die in their sin
must be sent here if they will not forsake their
sin.”
“She is innocent,” Spencer corrected “and
she’s not dead.”
“Then why is she here?” the fortuneteller
demanded.
Spencer debated telling the soothsayer the whole
story.
“We were…” Spencer began.
“There was a mix up.” Jessie interjected.
The fortuneteller scoffed.
“There are no ‘mix ups’ here. She must
have done something…dire to find herself so
deep in Satan’s realm.”
Spencer’s ears perked up. “You called
him Satan.” Spencer declared.
The fortuneteller seemed flustered.
“N-no I didn’t.” the fortune teller
defended
“Yes, you did.” Spencer said with a
laugh, he couldn’t believe this coin operated
personality had the nerve to lie to his face in his
master’s own realm.
“I most certainly did not.” The psychic
lied. “He detests that name.”
“Then you should know what he’ll do to
you for using it.” Spencer warned.
“I never said it.” The fortuneteller
defended.
“I heard it.” Vince confirmed.
He knew he had been caught.
“What do you want?” The fortuneteller
asked.
“I want though; I want to go to where
Satan keeps the souls he captures.” Spencer
demanded.
“You don’t want to go down there.” The
fortuneteller argued, fear filled her voice.
Spencer drew his sword. “You have two
choices, tell me how to get through this place, or
I’ll hack you out of this box and drag your ass
around with me.” Spencer threatened.
The fortuneteller huffed. “Very well,” a
card emerged from another slot next to the coin
slot.
“Take this to the door across the
concourse and enter the sequence into the pad.
But be warned, Satan has some rather terrifying
servants wandering the lower floors of this
illusion.” The fortuneteller warned.
Spencer put his sword away and took the
card before leading Vince and Jessie across the
hall to a heavy looking door with a key pad.
There were no letters, mostly symbols, each was
archaic looking, and each was a mark of evil.
Spencer punched in each symbol of the
ten-symbol sequence into the keypad and a sound
echoed through the main concourse, something
had been unlocked.
The door slid open revealing a staircase
that spiraled downward to the next level.
Arriving on the next level Spencer immediately
noticed an escalator that looked to be running,
getting on it took them down another three levels.
At the bottom of the escalator, they found a sign
for an elevator.
The elevator shaft ran through the heart of
the chasm in the middle of the mall, and it looked
to go down quite a ways, almost to the bottom
where another elevator picked up, only one floor
below where the first one stopped.
Spencer, Vince and Jessie got in and
pressed the button for the lowest floor they could
get to and the elevator began to move.
The ride made Jessie a little uneasy, but
she endured it realizing things could really be
much, much worse.
The elevator doors opened twenty-eight
floors from the top floor; Jessie was the first one
off, then Vince and Spencer.
Spencer looked around and only saw one
escalator. It climbed up to the next level, but
there was another escalator that started above
them and it dropped down to the level below
them where an elevator waited to bring them to
the ground floor.
Spencer, Vince and Jessie charged up the
escalator, and their blood ran cold. Thirty feet
away stood a large wolf that was covered with
rippling muscles under its fur, and stood on its
hind legs. The wolf reared its head back and
belted out a bloodcurdling howl before it began
snarling.
Spencer raised his sword as a deterrent
tactic. The wolf was not intimidated and
continued toward Spencer.
“Get to the other escalator.” Spencer said,
Vince nodded and took Jessie by the arm and
then carefully skirted the chasm not taking his
eyes off the wolf until they were to the top of the
other escalator.
“Spencer, we’re clear, get moving!”
Jessie called, her voice echoed through the vacant
mall. Spencer slowly moved toward the second
escalator and the wolf stayed with him, waiting
for Spencer to make a mistake. That mistake
came when Spencer briefly glanced back to
check his progress, the wolf snarled and lunged.
The wolf’s claws cut through the air
intent on driving them into Spencer, but he
blocked the wolf with his sword.
“Vince, get the elevator, find Gretchen.”
Spencer shouted.
“What about you?” Vince shouted.
“I don’t matter right now.” Spencer
replied angrily.
The wolf noticed Vince and Jessie. It released its
assault on Spencer and leapt over him, charging
at Vince and Jessie who were quickly descending
the escalator.
The wolf quickly realized that he wasn’t
fast enough to catch up before his new quarry got
away so he climbed up on the railing and leapt.
The wolf sailed though the air as though
everything were in slow motion, Spencer had
only a split second to get everything right so he
hurled the sword, and it tumbled as it whipped
through the air.
The wolf would have to land on the
escalator before he scurried down the rest of the
way, but the sword struck first, piercing the wolf
in the shoulder an instant before his feet touched
the escalator. The momentary diversion caused
the wolf to miss his mark and tumble over the
side of the escalator, falling more than twenty
floors to the ground.
Landing on the ground the wolf exploded
into a black fog that quickly dissipated, when it
cleared the wolf was gone and the sword
clattered to the ground. Spencer raced to the
escalator and hurried down to meet Vince and
Jessie.
“I thought you were dead.” Vince
admitted.
“Yeah,” Spencer replied, “Me too.”
“Come on, the elevator is here.” Jessie
said, moments later the elevator doors opened
and they stepped inside. Jessie selected the
lowest floor, then the elevator doors closed and
the elevator began to descend.
On the ground floor the doors slid open,
Spencer noticed his sword lying on the ground
where the wolf used to be and approached the
sword before picking it up and putting it back
into its sheath. Then he headed towards a door on
the far end of the court.
Spencer pulled the
door open, inside was an elevator.
“Another elevator?” Vince asked before
everybody filed in, one by one.
There were no buttons inside, just a posh
looking elevator car. The elevator doors closed
and the elevator began to move.
It was another minute or two before the
elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal a
high school. The halls were clean and clear of
debris, much like the mall, but most of the lights
were out, a few lights flickered weakly.
Spencer stepped out of the elevator to
have a look around a chill ran down his spine, a
chill he could not explain.
“Are you okay, Spencer?” Vince asked.
“There’s something creepy about this
place.” Spencer remarked.
“It’s a High School, they’re all creepy.”
Vince replied.
“No, I mean...” Spencer stopped at the
sound of a disembodied moan, almost begging,
pleading for relief.
“Where the hell did that come from?”
Jessie asked.
“I don’t know.” Vince replied.
Another ethereal moan filled the air and
faded, and seemed to continue at seemingly
random intervals.
“I think we should find the exit as soon as
possible.” Spencer suggested and Jessie nodded
in fear and agreement.
“So where do we start?” Vince asked.
“The main office.” Spencer decided.
“Which way?” Jessie asked impatiently.
Spencer thought for a second and then pointed
toward one end of the hall.
“This way.” Spencer said and he was on
his way.
Jessie and Vince followed.
“Are you sure you’re going the right
way?” Jessie asked not wanting to.
“Not at all.” Spencer replied.
The hall continued for another couple
hundred feet before intersecting another hall, to
the left was a third hall and to the right at the end
was an open area, Spencer headed for it.
As the hall opened up to the commons
area Spencer noted a couple doors that sat like
book ends to a row of windows.
Spencer tried the door knob and the door
swung open to the main office, there were papers
strewn about, the lights in the office were not
much better. A wicked fit of laughter replaced
the moaning.
Spencer decided to move on.
“Where are you going?” Jessie asked, as
though she accused Spencer of quitting.
“I know where to go from here,” Spencer
replied, “Your book will confirm.”
Jessie stopped and opened the book to the
circular diagram then flipped to the page for the
fifth circle of hell.
“Who ever thou art, act well thy part.”
The door to the auditorium sat open,
Spencer walked through the open door to see row
after row of seats, there were several spotlights in
the upper seats and the lights were focusing their
light toward the stage where a door frame
secured a door. Spencer walked down the nearest
aisle towards the stage as Jessie and Vince caught
up. As he arrived at the stairs, Spencer climbed
the stairs to the door.
Approaching the door he turned the knob
and pulled the door open, beyond it he could only
see the auditorium so he walked through the open
door.
Turning around to inspect the door
Spencer saw something that was not the
auditorium, it was a carnival, but there was
nobody there.
“Jessie, what does your book say about
the sixth circle of hell?” Spencer asked.
Jessie and Vince walked up the stairs as Jessie
opened the book she was carrying and turned to
the page for the sixth circle of hell.
“Things are not as they seem, it’s not as
much fun as you might think. Deception
abounds.” Jessie read as she and Vince came
around the door to see what Spencer was looking
at.
“Spencer?” Vince asked, “Did Jessie just
say ‘carnival’?”
“Yes, she did.” Spencer confirmed before
proceeding through the door.
Jessie took Vince’s hand and walked with him
through the door.
The smell of hay and popcorn and cotton
candy filled the air. A darkly overcast sky
hovered over the carnival as a thin veil of fog
filled in the gap left by the clouds.
The moaning continued joined by an
occasional scream form an unidentifiable person.
“That’s a little unsettling.” Jessie
commented. The carnival might as well have
been put up in an unmarked cemetery, the ground
felt odd as though it were riddled with long
buried bodies.
Spencer nodded before pressing into the
sea of tents, booths and carnival games with
Jessie and Vince on his heels.
“Where are we going?” Jessie asked.
“I’m looking for the fun house.” Spencer
replied.
Spencer finally made his way through the sea of
tents to the main midway where most of the main
attractions sat.
A familiar face stood out in the mist. The
fortuneteller complete with her glass enclosure.
The fortuneteller sat still and quiet until
Spencer approached, checking the coin return
slot as he had done in the fourth circle of hell he
found a coin. Inserting the coin the fortuneteller
came to life.
“Greeting weary traveler…” the fortune
teller greeted, then saw who it was, “Oh, it’s you.
Still trying to save your friend? Or have you
given up and now you wish to leave this dreary
place?” The fortuneteller asked.
“I’m looking for the fun house.” Spencer
said.
“Why do wish to find the fun house?” the
fortuneteller inquired, he was a poor actor,
Spencer saw through the delaying tactic.
“Look.” Spencer said slamming both fists
onto the glass, “I’m not leaving with out her, now
cut the crap and tell me where the damn fun
house is.”
Reluctantly the fortuneteller lifted a hand
and extended a single finger, Spencer, Vince and
Jessie turned in the direction the fortuneteller
indicated to see a creepy face peeking out from
behind the words ‘fun house’. A pair of hands
wrapped wormy fingers around the edge of the
sign that otherwise had a face that resembled a
demonic clown with sharp teeth exposed.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Jessie
commented.
“If any of you want to turn back, now is
the time.” Spencer offered.
Jessie smirked at Spencer.
“I didn’t come all this way just to turn
back now.”
“Know this,” the fortuneteller added, “If
you make it beyond the ninth circle you will be
forced to endure things that you wouldn’t see in
your worst nightmares.” The fortuneteller
warned, “You will be tested beyond what most of
what gods children can withstand.”
Spencer paused for a second. “Thanks for
the warning.” Spencer said before leaving and
walking towards the creepy fun house.
The fun house grew more sinister and
more disheartening as Spencer drew near, but
Spencer pushed on towards the door which eerily
creaked as it swung open.
The floor inside the fun house was
comprised of dilapidated wood flooring, it hadn’t
seen a broom in a decade or so, but the corridor
was surprisingly free of cobwebs.
A dark and sinister laugh erupted from
deep inside the fun house, echoing as it went.
Spencer was surprised by the laugh, but he only
paused briefly before stepping inside.
Another laugh, as dark and sinister as the
first, echoed through out the corridors.
The corridor continued on for fifty feet or so
before Spencer realized that Jessie was being a
little quieter than her usual self. Turning back he
noticed that she was gone.
“JESSIE!” Spencer shouted, his voice
trailing off into a never-ending echo.
Vince started to turn to go in search of Jessie
when Spencer stopped him.
“Let me go, Spencer.” Vince demanded.
“No, Vince, you can’t help her.” Spencer
urged.
“LET ME GO!” Vince shouted as he
struggled against Spencer’s grasp.
“VINCE!” Spencer shouted.
Vince reluctantly stopped struggling.
“Come on, let’s get to the end and finish
this.” Spencer said quietly.
Vince followed Spencer to the end of the hall to a
small room.
There was a door on the far wall and a
swirling pattern on the floor. As they neared the
center of the room the floor began to turn, after
each rotation it accelerated faster and faster, the
walls blended together until only darkness
remained. Vince and Spencer noticed several
handholds on the floor, Spencer reached for one.
Vince tried but the centrifugal force was too great
and Vince was swept off into the shadows,
Spencer was losing his grip. Then he noticed the
floors rotation was quickly slowing down.
As the rotation came to a stop Spencer
slowly got up, shaking off dizziness before he
was able to continue through to the next room
where a dead end obstructed any further progress.
“Where the hell do I go now?” he
mumbled, and then the floor dropped out from
under him sending Spencer into a chute that lead
down, curving this way and that, until he hit the
end of the slide and landed on his rear end.
Standing, he saw thirty mirrors side by
side in a full circle and above him was naught but
darkness surrounding a large crystal maybe four
feet across. Surrounding it was three smaller
crystals that were two and a half feet in length.
A face appeared in the larger crystal, that
of a clown with a wicked smile.
“My master has declared your progress to
be unacceptable; I will cease your progress, and
stop you from reaching the lowest level of hell.”
The clown hissed.
Spencer smiled as he drew his sword. The
clown shifted down to one of the thirty mirrors
and began pacing from one mirror to the next
staring at Spencer as he moved around the circle.
“If you want to get to him, it will be as his
servant.” The clown said and then snapped his
fingers, as he did two faces appeared in the
crystals: Jessie and Vince.
“As you can see, I have imprisoned your
compatriots, Mr. Masters and Ms. Monroe.” The
clown gloated and then pointed as the crystal that
was, as yet, unoccupied.
“Here is where I will deliver you to
Lucifer and receive the honor of converting you
to his cause.” The clown finally stopped moving
and stared at Spencer before a bolt of purple
lightning shot out of the mirror that the clown
was standing in, Spencer barely managed to
dodge the bolt and it harmlessly entered the
mirror on the opposite side of the circle.
The clown continued to move around the
circle, randomly firing purple lightning at
Spencer, one such bolt grazed Spencer’s arm as
he tried to leap out of the way, Spencer cringed at
the pain.
Spencer drew his sword, he tried to
deflect the next bolt of lightning, but instead the
lightning shot out of the mirror and stuck the
blade of Spencer’s sword, and the blade actually
absorbed the energy.
Spencer’s eyes grew substantially, he
wasn’t expecting to survive the hit, but his sword
was charged with a dark energy, Spencer sliced
through the air and a bolt leapt from the tip of the
sword and struck the mirror that jump the clown
was in, but he jumped out of the way. The mirror
was not damaged, so Spencer followed up with a
strike to the glass the mirror collapsed into a pile
of broken shards.
Spencer noticed the clown had jumped to
another mirror on the opposite side of the circle.
“Is that all you can muster?” the clown
challenged.
Spencer raced across the circle of mirrors
and swiftly struck down the mirror. The clown
barely managed to get out of the way before
Spencer’s stroke fell.
Spencer continued attacking each mirror
that the clown infested. It was strange that the
clown never moved to any mirror on one whole
side of the circle. Spencer suddenly realized that
it was trapped, and they both knew it by the look
in his brown eyes. Spencer continued smashing
mirrors until the clown had nowhere left to go,
the sword still had enough energy for one last
bolt which Spencer shot directly at the large
crystal above the floor.
“NO!!!” was the final word from the
clown as his screams echoed through the
chamber.
The crystal shattered as the bolt of dark
energy came into contact with it, spraying the
entire room with millions of shards of crystal and
silencing the clowns screams.
The remaining crystals and mirrors must
have been somehow dependant on each other
because they, too, shattered as well causing
Jessie and Vince to drop down from the shattered
crystals.
Jessie managed to land on her feet, but
Vince wasn’t as lucky, he landed on his back.
Spencer and Jessie helped Vince to his
feet and began searching for a way out, as the
entire room started shaking, very large fragments
of debris started falling to the ground.
“There!” Jessie said, she led the way to
the door and Spencer pulled it open, on the other
side of the door was what looked like a ships
engine room.
“It’s better than staying here!” Spencer
said as he noticed Jessie’s apprehension.
Spencer, Vince and Jessie stepped through.
The engines hummed as the ship churned
though the sea, heading for an unknown
destination, a destination it would never reach,
the ship rocked violently, as though it had struck
something. Alarms began blaring, Spencer
noticed a touch screen display, and tried to make
some sense of what was going on.
“Where are we?” Jessie asked.
“The seventh circle of hell, I would guess
it’s representing an ocean liner, I would guess
this thing has all the toys.” Spencer guessed
perusing the display.
Worry spread across Spencer’s face as he
finished examining the display.
“What’s wrong?” Vince asked, almost not
wanting an answer.
“We have a hull breach and we’re taking
on a lot of water.” Spencer replied.
“We’re sinking.”