The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga) (47 page)

“Do I have something in my teeth?” He asked
, rubbing his tongue over them to see for himself. I shook my head and offered an explanation for my rude gawking.

“Sorry to stare and all
, but you’re not exactly what I expected.”

“What, roguishly handsome, a fine specimen of a being maybe
, or just such a dashing representative of this very Underworld?” He asked grinning wide. I laughed, relaxing back into the seat. He was certainly a lively character for such a morbid job and he was cute. He reminded me of one of those guys who never wanted to grow up and loved life to its fullest. Whether that could be said for someone that did what he did I couldn’t say but he fit the type. The ones who like to party hard, play harder and didn’t give two shits what anyone thought about their life’s philosophy and who could really blame them if they were happy.

But then there was this guy who had that same easy going nature all those things embodied that just oozed from him. It was in his messy brown hair style trying to be contained under his bent hat, his growing bushy beard that wasn’t as neat as Jared’s
, but somehow still suited him. His eyes were soft and smiley with a hint of mischief ready to pounce out at the next opportunity. And then, there was his smile that made his eyes light up from somewhere deep and the lines there that said he did it often.

Oh yes, this guy made me relax alright, if anything he made me want to laugh out loud just for the fun of it. Definitely opposite to what he did in this place. It felt wrong for someone with so much life and soul to deal with so much death. Or was that the reason for it? To bring ease to thos
e who had passed? That would make more sense than say, someone who looked like death.

“Hey, what’s that?” I pointed to what now came into view. With the mist completely lifted it now gave me a clear sight of all the other docks that stuck out of the endless decked walk way. I couldn’t ev
en count them all there was so many. I could see other figures, tiny from as far out as we had quickly become.

“Oh them, don’t worry they won’t have to wait long
.” I frowned at what he could mean. Then I realised we weren’t the only boat on the water.

“Oh
God…they’re dead and they’re waiting to be picked up aren’t they?” I asked quickly losing that relaxed state of mind his presence had put me in.

“As great as I am, I am still only one being
, my pretty obol giver.”

“
Obol?” He gave me that cheeky grin of his again and replied,

“It means coin
.”

“Oh…and those…” I cleared my throat not knowing what to call all those unfortunate souls that
, unlike me, would not be making the return journey.

“Those… well now, only their
Charon will know the destination, once he has touched their soul.”

“But wait, you didn’t touch mine and I thought your name was Charon?” At this he burst out laughing and pushed the boat along after bending over to give a full belly laugh.

“Questions, questions, it’s one of the things I do love about my job and usually this is the point where I become all serious and say in a masterful tone, ‘Thou shall know when the Gods see fit”. He said this last part in a booming Godly voice that made me jump and rocked the boat.

“And see, isn’t it great! I get that same reaction every time! But for you I will answer your questions
, as I doubt you will be coming back here for a while.” He continued to push us along and I could see even more of the never-ending line of docks, to a point where I had to hold myself to stop from shaking. I mean I knew I was not naive to the ways of the world, for there must be death to grant life, I knew of the balance but to see it here, in front of my very eyes was…

Heart
breaking.

“Answer one, I did not need to touch you to read your soul as you had one of these
.” He said flashing the coin around in between his knuckles once again until it disappeared.

“And nu
mber two, there are many Charons, in fact as many that are needed…I am simply a small means to a larger end…but what a means! Don’t you think?” He said wagging his eyebrows at me.

“Well
, I for one definitely think you’re a nice surprise.” On hearing my comment he took off his hat and bowed, making a big floppy mess of loose curls escape. Then he pushed it all back with one hand and replaced his hat.

“Would you like to hear something once written about us?” I nodded making him beam at me.

“There Charon stands, who rules the dreary coast -

A sordid God: down from his hairy chin

A length of beard descends, uncombed, unclean;

His eyes, like hollow furnaces on fire;

A girdle, foul with grease, binds his obscene attire”

Once he finished I pulled a distasteful face at him and said,

“That’s wasn’t very flattering for you or very accurate.” At this his excitement grew, making him shout out,

“I know
, right! The only thing I can think of is that he must have got one of us on a bad day.” I burst out laughing at the thought.

As the journey c
ontinued onward I let my mind wander to all that had happened and what was still happening. Jared’s face still haunted me when he saw my coin. Where was it I was going to exactly and should I have accepted his offer of help? No, I couldn’t. So far I had followed all the rules from the Oracle and it hadn’t steered me wrong yet. I just had to keep my faith in her and continue. I mean, what choice did I have now? But I must say my main concern had switched to not where I was going but more like to whom.

Jared
’s own words wouldn’t leave my mind, playing over and over…
'Because I know where and to who it will take you and trust me when I say you do not want to go there’.
I shivered at the thought.

“It does start to get colder the closer we get to the gates
.” I looked up at Charon, who simply nodded ahead. I shifted in my seat and looked at what he meant. A gasp escaped me as I saw the most incredible sight. There, coming closer to us, was a structure so great, it didn’t seem it could possibly be real. It made me wonder how long I had been sat there lost in my own thoughts.

Along the full length of the water until out of sight were the most colossal columns that were at least 200
ft high. They were sparkling white but with no sun to reflect off them, I didn’t know how it was conceivable. The columns made up the start to a wall of tunnels big enough that the Lady Liberty could have walked under them with ease. Each archway over the opening reached up in a spear that pierced the sky for another 100 ft at least. I couldn’t even count how many there were, but I could see some with small boats entering the dark tunnels.

“What are they?” I uttered in breathless fascination.

“Those are the destinations.” I had to tear my eyes from the sight to gauge his expression.

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, now this is the part where people always get testy…let me ask you, are you a deeply religious person?” His question threw me and I didn’t know any other way to answer but truthfully.

“Umm, sort of…I don’t know
exactly what is beyond life, although this is giving me a pretty good idea alright.” I laughed and then had to continue,

“Living with the supernatural, I now know about
Gods, Angels and Demons, Heaven and Hell, but even being allowed to live with that knowledge, it doesn’t seem to make me anymore knowledgeable than the next person.”

“Then I can answer you, for you will not bite my head off with you
r faith.” He said winking at this last bit.

“The truth of the matter lies as such, if you believe in this place then it lives, it
is that simple. You find many a crumbled passageway lies in ruins at the bottom of these waters from the death of a faith.” My mouth dropped open is disbelief.

“So
, what you’re saying is that each one of those tunnels is a gateway into the end that they believe in, with the Gods that they worship?” Even as I asked for confirmation I knew the truth. I remembered back to all that time ago on Draven’s balcony. I remembered the day I finally found out what he was, and the words he used
…“Everyone sees things through different eyes and it is as simple as yes and no. It always has been. Religion means something different to everybody. Every race of life, throughout time has viewed God differently but they have all had something in common...they all believed. That is the difference.”
   

    So that was the only difference. People had to believe in order to come here and find their own end.

“But wait, in that case what happens to those who don’t believe?” At this he just shrugged his shoulders and said,

“Sorry, not in my pay grade to know but I will say this…” He leant closer to whisper,

“…I don’t hear much about reincarnation, so what I don’t hear means it doesn’t happen down here and what doesn’t happen down here…could very well happen up there.” He looked up and I followed his gaze staring into nothing but endless white.

“You mean Heaven?” I asked causing him to turn serious.

“No my obol giver, I mean up in your world.”

I couldn’t say much after that because my mind was like a spinning top in the hands of a small child. Naïve and innocent watching the colours of life blur with such speed, well that’s what was happening to me right now. All those myths, all those stories now holding some sense of truth… All the world
’s fighting and killing in the name of a faith that people tried to control when there never was any.

Two men at war when both of their beliefs existed. And all for what…to come here at the end of days and see the mistakes they made. To see all this and know that glory was not ever to be found on earth but right here and right now. Glory in belief, whatever it may be is true only if it is true to you.

Your very own personal Heaven or your very own personal Hell. That is what awaits us if we believe and if not, then maybe what Charon says is true as well. If there is no belief then maybe nothing happens but the simple reuse of our soul. Not for Demon, not for Angel but for plain old humankind.

Souls recycled.

“Look there, for that boat holds someone set out for The Elysium fields.”

“That’s the place for good…so like a Heaven?” I asked as the penny finally dropped. You didn’t rise up to Heaven
, but first you came here to let the fates decide what type of life you once lived.

“A lot of gateways if it isn’t
.” I nodded my understanding.

“So where is it then that we are heading, if there is more th
an one version of Hell?”  This was when for the first time Charon lost his easy going smile, replacing it with one full of menace and sinister venom.

“Let’s see shall we
?” He said once again producing the coin I had given him for this crossing. We came to some sort of deeper section of the water as it had changed to a darker colour as far as I could see. For the first time down here, I actually began to let the fear seep in enough to root and take hold.

“Make a wish
.” He said and I didn’t know if he was joking or not, however I still wished and said one name in my mind. Then he flipped the coin up and over the boat into the darker depths.

His eyes clouded over and his lids flickered for quick seconds before snapping open and looking to one of the tunnels to his right. I followed his sights and saw it was one of the darkest tunnels, with the waters not looking as calm as the rest.

“Your answer… off to one of the nine circles we must go.”

“Nine circles…as in D
ante's Inferno nine circles?!” His answer came like a spider crawling up my spine under my skin…

“And you were such a nice girl.”

Chapter 43

A Draven at Home in Hell

Charon pushed us off what seemed like a
dip or small ledge in the water as, all at once, everything about this journey started to change. The water that was once still and tranquil quickly turned into an angry entity that made the boat rock. I held on just as he shouted over the roar of water,

“HOLD ON!” I gripped the edge of the boat with one hand and the bottom of my seat with the other. I also tried to use my legs as leverage, anchoring me down. I bravely turned my head to see the churning water ahead that twisted and gushed up into waves of white foam. It battered against the rocks that could now be seen rising up from the water. I didn’t know how this small gondola could survive, along with us in it.

“AHHH!” My scream got swallowed up by the sound of water smashing into the sides of the tunnel we were about to enter into and amazingly Charon remained standing as he manoeuvred us out of danger. The front of the boat would dip down in between two rocks that were causing a clash of power with the water and then the back would fall, landing with a splash through the spray. I looked up to see the last of the white sky disappearing overhead as we entered the belly of the beast.

My grip on the boat became painful
, but it was drowned out by the heady mixture of adrenaline flooding my senses and life threatening fear. I felt drunk on it and it wasn’t only the extreme motions of the boat that were making me feel sick and dizzy. I just wanted it to be over! Why had I come here? How could I have possibly thought that I could have survived this? I wanted to shout STOP! I wanted to put an end to it all and call it quits just like any other scared witless fool would do, but then something happened.

“Draven
.” I uttered his name as a prayer. It was all I had to hold onto. But then, unbelievably, I saw that some of the rocks had started descending back under the water. Was it a sign, was it my faith? I had to try, so this time I shouted louder,

“Draven!” M
aking even more of the rocks disappear. It was really working! He must be here! He must be able to hear me somehow! Then, just as the worst of the rapids could be seen ahead, I swallowed the last of my fear. I gripped the sides now with determination and found my footing to follow through with what I thought was the best chance at living, or I would not be making it past this part without my body intact. I got up on shaky feet, steadied myself enough to make it to the front of the boat and held on to the wooden frame that curled towards me.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Charon screamed from behind me and I answered,

“WHAT I HAVE TO!” Then I rose up with all my strength and shouted with everything I had left in me,

“DRAVEN
, HEAR ME! I’M COMING FOR YOU!” And just like that, the rest of the rocks and dangerous boulders that would have made our journey nearly impossible, all erupted, bursting into tiny versions of what they once were. I screamed, placing my arms over my head as the debris rained down over us and sank down to the floor of the boat.

It was only when we again entered calm waters did I raise my head and look round.

“Well, it looks like he heard you.” Charon said after jumping down from his perch at the back of the boat. He produced a heavy lantern from underneath some plastic covering and lit it just as the last of the opening’s light could be seen as a small white space in the distance. He then hooked it onto a fancy iron holder that curled at the top. It swung with the motion of the boat and the light from its windows danced along the tunnel’s walls in a pretty display.

“Is it usually like that?”

“No, only when life tries to cross over…death however, it welcomes.” I nodded thinking as much.

I was about to ask him if he knew who Draven was when his new appearance
stopped me. Unlike before when his clothes had been clean and smart they were now ripped and thread bare. The white stripes looked as though long ago they had turned so dirty it was hard to distinguish them anymore. His hat now looked as if it had been dumped in black ash where it had once been cream. But it wasn’t just his clothes that had taken a turn for the darker. It was also his features which looked haggard and older. His beard was longer, scruffy to the point he looked homeless but the most change was in his eyes that no longer reflected cheekiness and humour.

Now they lo
oked like the eyes of a man who had given up.

I decided that it would be a good idea to put a lock down on my questions for now as he wasn’t looking as friendly as he once was. So
, I sat back on my seat and waited for my destination to reveal itself, just holding onto hope that it would be into Draven’s arms.

Time went on and
, as it always does on a journey where you don’t know the way, it was taking a small forever. The tunnel didn’t change much and inside my mind I was going out of my head with worry. I didn’t think I would have any bloody lips left for Draven to kiss by the time we got there!

Thankfully
, not long after that we came to our first entrance. A tunnel that was cut right out of the rock was covered in lush green moss and was in the shape of a keyhole, thick enough just for a single boat not much wider than this one. Then, when I looked to see the rest of our tunnel, there were entrances the full length down on each side but all were different. The next was a grander entrance with tall pillars made up of hundreds of naked bodies all tightly entwined.

I looked away feeling awkward
on seeing such a sordid display as they seemed so real, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the tunnel started to fill with the sounds of rapturous moans. I looked further on and could only make out the next two tunnels, one of which had a crude statue of a grotesque, large creature gorging on fistfuls of flesh from something dead at his feet. The other was a startling contrast to this dark and dreary place as it shimmered from every point. It was large Roman columns that looked to be made from solid gold and reflected that same shimmer on the water, making that too look as if it was liquid gold.

Then
, whilst my eyes strained against trying to see the other ones further on, I hadn’t seen us turn before everything was snatched from view. I didn’t even know which one we were now travelling down. I was thankful though, that this one was bigger than the first one I had seen, as that looked as though it would barely fit us. No, this one, although not as large as the tunnel we just came from, was a big enough size to not feel trapped in or claustrophobic. In fact, our little gondola seemed quite small and dainty for such a turbulent journey. Which made me ask, despite my earlier reasoning to stay quiet,

“I am surprised you guys don’t upgrade to speed boats after doing
rides like this on a daily basis.” Instead of the friendly laughter or smile I expected, he almost looked like he was trying to hold back from taking a bite out of me. Eyes that once lit up with welcoming discussion and an easy going manner, now looked almost cruel and irritated. So much so, I was surprised he answered me, even though his tone demonstrated that he found the chore distasteful.

“There is no modern technology in this place
.” And that was all I got, so I firmly decided this time not to speak unless utterly necessary. I made a point of turning my body away from him and facing the front as we continued further on down into the unknown.

After a while
, I was almost at a point where I feared I would start seeing things that weren’t there. I don’t know what the cut-off point would be for staring down a tunnel without seeing anything new for hours and not go crazy but I had already felt I had hit my limit. My Charon still hadn’t said a word to me and the last time I had looked at him, there had been a few more lines added to his gaunt face. Hell, it looked like the guy had aged about a year for every minute down here!

The even stranger thing was it wasn’t just his face but also his clothes. They were getting to the point of falling from his body
, they were so tired and worn. It was such an upsetting thing to witness and now I could add trying not to look at him as well as speaking to him. Oh, it was Hell alright and we weren’t even there yet!

We started to approach something in the distance but it was hard
to make out with only the aid of a single lantern. I had to wait until we were closer to it and only then did the light hit the features of such an imposing statue. Three large heads had been carved straight into the rock and were big enough that they covered every inch of the opening we were now heading for.

The one in the middle was that of a man or
God, opening his mouth wide, providing the new entrance. He had curling hair that dipped under the water and his expression said one thing…enter if you dare! The one on the left of this was a bull’s head, with the horns disappearing into the roof of the tunnel as though he had just reared up and pierced them into the rock. The one of the right also had horns but looked more like a demonic Ram, with them curling up and round, coming to a deadly point. Both creatures either side also blew out flames from snarling nostrils which reached out like grappling fingers along the tunnels walls.

Well
, whoever lived here, they most definitely got the intimidating welcome down…forget belly of the beast, I was travelling straight into the mouth of Hell alright!

I looked up to
see his teeth hanging down as though any minute they would clamp shut on us and that would be the end of that. The tunnel we travelled down now was smaller but looked more like a corridor in some ancient palace. Gone was the harsh rock, being replaced with heavily decorated walls of terracotta statues that seemed to be built into the structure. It reminded me of some kind of temple, only taking one look at what the statues were doing, my guess would be the type of worshipping they did was only that of the body.

There were too many figures to count as they all entwined in
to one great massive orgy. Legs and arms were spread out in the most unusual ways, all to display their willing secrets to the world and the parts that fit them. Every single one of them had hold of the other, whether it be in their mouths or being mounted like rutting animals and every single one had a smile.

I wanted to be disgusted at
the sight, but found I would be condemning myself a liar of the worst kind, as the evidence was pure and simple…I was getting turned on. I didn’t know what it was but it didn’t look like it was just about sex and any hole to fill or be filled. The reason for this was the closer you looked, the stronger actual love shone through. I knew that twenty different people could look at this the way one would with art and see something different. After all, that was the beauty in the creative world we lived in. Everything was personal.

Every book, song or painted picture was something different to us all. And it wasn’t just exclusively to the ‘Arts’ but to anything…buildings, places and even people. That’s what made the world beautiful! So could the same be said down here?   Even in this sexually framed passage? Because what I saw wasn’t just sex, but it was the way the women were also held. It was the way some gazed into the eyes of their lovers, the gentle hold on the heads as pleasure was delivered and the kiss given in praise to others. I know not many would agree but I couldn’t help but see the beauty in this too.

However, that beauty was soon over and opening up into a dark open space with gigantic pillars that made me think we must be underneath a castle. Our little boat floated on by one and it was the same width as the black bricks that made up the circular structure. It was incomprehensible to think that if these pillars were this size then what was the size of the building they held up?

Well
, I was about to find out as we went through an open archway at the end of this massive underground room. I sucked in an amazed breath as my head went up and up and up, taking in the imposing black castle that rose above us as though it had just this second, risen from the depths of a volcano. I had never seen black rocks cut into blocks and used to build Hell’s version of a Fairytale castle.

That was the only way to describe this place. Turrets the size
of skyscrapers were everywhere. It was like a city full of them had all gathered and joined together. They weren’t just round but they were actually carved into giant soldiers and were all connected by sweeping passageways that looked like the bent over form of a woman. This wasn’t just a castle on an epic scale, but it was also an art sculpture of mass proportions. From this angle I could just see that it was sexual slaves being held captive by heavily armoured soldiers. You could see the battlements on top of the helmets they wore that reached out to an angry grey sky of swirling clouds.    

It surrounded us in a U shape so there looked to be no es
cape from this evil place. I continued stretching out my neck to keep it in sight, when it finally got to me as the whole place started to disappear when we entered another underground tunnel. This time there was no holding back on speech.

“What…is this place?” I asked in a voice that didn’t sound like my own. I looked to Charon for answers and jumped in my seat. He now looked like a man possessed by something raging inside of him. He was
actually looking at me as if he wanted to attack, only I couldn’t tell you if it was for my blood or my body. His eyes had started to burn into me and all the skin around them looked scorched. Flames shone from deep within and I could see he looked to be fighting some consuming thoughts that made him crush part of his pole in two hands. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. It was like being in the sights of something deadly, whether it be a lion or a man, holding a gun to your head.