Grey

Chapter 40

I had never felt so much pain in my entire life.

Every nerve in my body was screaming, searing as the flames of Hell tore at my mortal flesh. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. My skin was melting off of me, bubbling and boiling as the fire coursed through me. It felt like- well it felt like I was being stabbed by a million scalding knives all over my body. However, as unbearable as this physical pain was, it was nothing in comparison to the anguish in my heart when I'd heard Grey's scream the moment I'd fallen into the fire. That- that hurt more than any physical pain, more than any pain I could ever feel. Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, it stopped.

The relief I felt in that moment was euphoric. Air rushed into my chest and I felt my knees hit solid ground, cool against my skin. Slowly and cautiously, I opened my eyes.

I was knelt in an empty dark room, alone. I could see all four walls around me, nothing out of the ordinary on any of them. They seemed to have a sort of odd reflective quality. Slowly, I rose to my feet. Was this some kind of joke? Wasn't Hell supposed to be, I don't know, on fire?

"Sit, my child. You have a decision to make," a thunderous voice boomed, echoing from wall to wall. I looked above me, confused when I saw only the same plain ceiling. Where was the voice coming from?

"Who's there?" I called out with a scowl.

I just died and now there's some creepy Morgan Freeman voice telling me to sit down? Oh hell no, I'm not about to sit down, I just died!

I just died.

Oh.

Well.

I'm not exactly sure what to make of that revelation. My human life was over. I'd now only exist as a Demon or a damned soul, for the rest of eternity. What a bleak future that was.

"Sit." The voice commanded, and I felt my feet give out from under me as I plopped onto the hard floor.

"Um, ow?" I frowned, now irritated. "You gonna answer my question, Morgan Freeman?"

"Who do you think I am, my child?" The voice responded with a slight chuckle to his deep voice.

"I don't know, dude, I'm super lost right now. I don't know if you know this, but I just died, so I'm kinda off my game," I replied with a roll of my eye. I was so not in the mood for games.

"No need for the sass, Jordan. I'm here to help you. I can't physically be there due to the manner in which you passed, but I can access your mind because you have yet to Pledge your soul. My name is Michael, I am the highest of the Archangels," the voice replied.

"Where have you been all year? I didn't even have a chance at Heaven because Lucifer messed everything up," I hissed in irritation. "Also, if you're in my head, why is there an echo?"

"This entire room is in your head, my child. I do apologize on behalf of all holiness that we didn't recognize it sooner. We haven't had contact with Riel in some time, and we had assumed it was because he was focused on recruiting your soul. Lucifer was once one of us, as I'm sure you're aware. He knows how to fool us," Michael's voice replied. "Nonetheless, what happens here is still up to you. Lucifer was correct in saying that you can no longer Pledge to Heaven because your mortality was taken by Hellfire, but I believe there may be a way to spare your soul from eternal damnation as a Demon should you convince yourself you aren't strong enough to survive the fire."

So in order to save Heaven, I would have to convince my soul that it wasn't powerful enough to survive, allowing it to burn in Hellfire until Michael could save me? No thanks.