//------------------------------// // Hell // Story: Just Human // by Lightless Void //------------------------------// Just Human, Chapter 8: Hell Where am I? Alex felt strange. There was a stillness in the air around him, and a warmth to whatever he was lying in. He recognized occasional flashes of light beyond his closed eyelids, though he couldn’t place their origin. He opened his eyes, only to become even more confused by what he saw. Above him, dark clouds gathered in a great swirling vortex, blotting out the sky entirely. The area around him was a wasteland of dead trees and ashen dirt, which was cracked and parched. The horizon around him was made up of the peaks of mountains, surrounding him like jagged teeth as though he were in an open maw that was primed to snap shut. Lightning occasionally flashed in the air above him. What... is this place? He pushed himself up from the warm soil. Standing up, he could see the broken landscape that surrounded him, as though some cataclysmic event had torn into the earth and left it littered with canyons, craters, hills and valleys. It was the most mournful sight he could remember seeing. Unfortunately, due to the landscape being so broken up, he couldn’t see very far. A cold had begun to set in, carried on a breeze that didn’t seem to stir the ground or the grasping branches of the dead trees surrounding him. He shivered and did his best to keep his arms close to his body. An unmistakable feeling of dread had begun to creep into his chest. I... I can’t stay here. I have to move. It doesn’t matter where. I just... Need to get out of here... He looked around himself for any landmarks, anything that could tell him what direction was safe. There was nothing he could see. There was only a feeling that pulled him into a certain direction, like a distant voice that called to him. How did I get here? he thought as he began to move, though no memory of this place, nor his journey here, came to him. I remember the voice of a girl. No... Not a girl. A unicorn... But those don’t exist. But if they don’t exist, why did she seem so... Important? As Twilight slowly regained consciousness, she realised she was resting on something hard and solid, which had a texture unlike anything she'd felt before. As her eyes fluttered open, the sight that greeted her was unlike anything she could’ve imagined. “Celestia...” She lay on a road, that she could tell, but the material it was constructed from was completely alien to her. It was black, with a texture like cracked stone, that despite its worn appearance still felt incredibly durable. Above her, in the sky, a great mass of dark clouds blotted out the sky, swirling in a familiar vortex pattern centered somewhere far beyond her sight. Far more incredible was the city that lay before her. It was massive, even compared to Canterlot, with buildings that almost seemed to caress the clouds, though each and every one of them was monotone in shape and coloration. All of them were the same blocky constructs, though of different sizes, and coloured in the same dull grey. She recognized windows in all of them, hundreds, if not thousands, set into the city like small black gemstones. Twilight stared in awe at the city, unable to grasp how buildings of such size can even be constructed, before realising where she was, and how she got here. “This isn’t real. This is... A dream world, I think. It’s his dream.” Lightning flashed in the dark clouds in the distance, casting an eerie pale light over the dull grey of the city. In the distance, she noticed the jagged peaks of mountains, giving her the ominous idea she was surrounded. No matter how incredible this place was, a part of her was mortified at the thought that what she was witnessing was taking place in the creature’s mind. “But then.. How did it come to this? If this is his mind, why does it look like this?” Her memory traced back to the moment when she first saw the creature, struggling atop the chimaera’s back, before fleeing for his life from its stomping claws. Especially the dazed, terrified look on his face when Fluttershy tried to help him escape the chimaera. “Was it the chimaera? I knew he was scared, but fear alone wouldn’t do this, would it?” As she looked into the city, she noticed a nearby sign. Once, she thought, this sign may have shown the name of whatever city this was, but now the metal was deeply scratched, as though something tried very hard to erase it. As the bleakness of this place struck Twilight once more, a feeling curdled in her chest like sour milk. Agonizing pity, that this was the creature’s state of being. Some part of her even felt responsible, as if this really was the doing of the chimaera, then it was her fault that the creature was drawn into it. “I don’t know if you can hear me, or if you know I’m coming, but I’m on my way. I’ll figure out where you are, and this time, I’ll save you.” She began to walk into the city, though she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. The massive grey buildings towered above her like sentries, giving her a strong impression of being watched as she entered the streets and left sight of the ruined signpost. Every step she took clicked painfully loud against the stoney road. Despite the clouds overhead twisting and spiraling rapidly, she did not feel, nor hear, a wind or breeze travelling through the city. Silence seemed to cover this place like a shroud, only adding to the oppressive atmosphere that seemed to hang here. Up close, Twilight could see that the buildings were, for a lack of a better term, completely empty. Each window had only a shadow behind it. No street lamps, sewer grates or ornaments of any kind could be seen, and when Twilight took a look inside one of the buildings, she found nothing at all. No furniture, and most importantly, no people. “Hello?” Twilight called out softly, the sound echoing through the structure. There was no reply, but Twilight still felt her heart beating faster in her chest. It was almost as though she had just let her presence be known to the entire city, and that thought frightened her even more than the desolation that surrounded her. She quickly hurried on her way into the city, though the feeling of being watched only seemed to intensify. Soon, she reached an open area in what appeared to be the centre of the city, surrounded by the tallest structures. Here she stopped, as for the first time, she caught a glimpse of something standing behind a window of one of the structures. It was tall, like the creature, though its shape was hard to define in the shadows. All Twilight saw for sure was a pair of pale eyes, looking at her from the dark. Soon, she noticed another pair, and another, appearing in windows all around her. “What’s going on?” Twilight asked aloud, looking around frantically. The strange shapes staring at her were appearing not only in previously empty windows, but also on the top of roofs, gathered in thick throngs. They did nothing but stare at her, but even that was akin to torture. It felt as though each and every single one could look right through Twilight, condemning her, but more importantly, surrounding her. “What do you want from me!?” she called out desperately, before noticing that the strange shapes were also filling the alleys and streets around her. They were blocking off her routes of escape, and she’d have nowhere to go. Twilight made herself as small as possible in the centre of the square she was in, and though she could not see them move, the shapes in the corner of her eyes seemed to creep closer every time she didn’t look. It was driving her mad with fright, and she didn’t know how to escape. Why are they doing this to me!? What are those things!? Why can’t they just— “Leave me alone!” A bright flash of light erupted from Twilight’s horn, melting away the shadows around her. With the shadows, so too did the eerie shapes disappear, unable to stand the light. Immediately, Twilight saw a purple stream of magic flowing from her horn up into the air, a weakening sensation setting in immediately, followed by a cold radiating from her horn. All the breath felt like it had been knocked out of her lungs, and she struggled to draw breath for several moments. The thin strand of her own magic disappeared from her sight, into the heart of the vortex above her, as she realised what was going on. Magic... It’s magic that’s sustaining this place. That’s why none of the magical treatments worked on him! Because all the magic was drained here. But that doesn’t make any sense! Nothing has the power to create something like... Like this. Twilight looked around, only to realise that all of the shapes that had been watching her had not returned. The oppressive feeling of paranoia that had been digging into her mind had abated, though not entirely. Whatever evil presence existed here lingered, even though it had retreated for now. In the direction of the eye of the vortex above, she saw a great wall surrounding the city. A wooden gate had been set in it, the road that had led her through the city leading right to it. A way out! I have to leave quickly, before those things come back! Wasting not a further moment she ran towards the gate, which swung open remarkably easy under her touch. She hurried herself through it, before closing it behind her with a loud thud. She took a moment to catch her breath, relief washing over her at leaving that nightmarish city. Again, she was surrounded by silence, but no longer would a lightning strike occasionally light her surroundings. Here, in this strange new place, all she saw was a brick road, leading to a house, much smaller than the buildings she saw in the city, and looking much more homely. A fence stood around the one-story house, surrounding a patch of grass interrupted only by a small tree. It reminded her a lot of the houses in Ponyville, save that it seemed to be made entirely of stone. It looked quite homely, save for one thing. It was entirely devoid of colour. It seemed as though something had drawn out all colour that this place might have had and replaced it only with shades of grey. Not only that, but this house, with its lawn and the road leading to it seemed to be the only things that existed in this place. The door behind her had disappeared into the shadows, and darkness surrounded everything, making her afraid that one wrong step could send her falling into a black void forever. Twilight approached with caution, keenly aware that like the city, this place may also contain more of the apparitions she had encountered before. What could’ve created those things? she thought, invoking a shudder as she began on the road to the house. It must be the magic that’s keeping this place intact. Why would anypony create a place like this? The creature couldn’t have done that himself, could he? I need to find him, as soon as I can. As she reached the door, she first attempted to take a peek through one of the windows. The curtains were drawn, preventing her from seeing inside. I’m not sure what this place is... But there’s no going back. Only one way forward. She tentatively touched the front door with her hoof, which slid open. Inside, darkness greeted her. I can’t see anything. I’m not going to walk in there blindly. She urged her magic, emitting a small flash of light, but no more than that. She didn’t want to feed this place anymore of her magic than she had too. Inside, she saw tables, chairs, closets. Everything she’d expect to find inside a house, but nothing that was immediately frightening to her. She also spotted a lamp very close to the door. She walked up to the lamp, searching for a bit until she found how to light it. A switch, set into the wall just below it. It wasn’t made for something with hooves, but with a little effort, she managed to flick it on. The lamp burst into light immediately, momentarily blinding her with the intensity. She couldn’t find the presence of a flame within it, nor anything that could’ve possibly lighted the lamp. How does this thing work? she wondered, before realising the strange things that now surrounded her. Many of the simple pieces of furniture she saw she could recognize, even if their design was odd at best. The chairs were too tall and would leave no room for her tail if she tried to sit on one, and the closets reached up higher than an earth pony could hope to reach without a ladder. More intriguing to her were the items she couldn’t place at all. A box of an unknown black material with a thick sheet of glass placed in it, a device with all sorts of buttons on it that she dared not touch, and several metal devices she couldn’t open at all. The sense of wonderment she experienced at the sight of all these contraptions she couldn’t place completely made her forget about the apparitions that had driven her here. Did the creature make all of these things? It’s amazing! How do they work? What are they for? I can’t wait to ask him! Nearing the end of her exploration of the house, she found a set of stairs which led to another room. Here, covered in the same greyness as the rest of the house, she found a very simple bedroom. There was a bookcase, a nightstand, and a bed. Something caught her eye on the nightstand. She came closer, and when she got a better look, she realised it was a picture. It showed the creature who’s mind she had entered, surrounded by two more of his kind. Though it took her a moment of intense study, she could see there was some resemblance between the two others and the creature. A family resemblance. That must be... His family. His mother and father. This must have been their house, and this his room. She looked around, trying to find more pictures. On the bookcase, she found books, but they had no titles and were filled only with empty pages. No matter where she looked, she couldn’t find any other pictures. He has a picture of him with his family... But then, why none with him and other people? No other relatives... No friends? She looked around again, and the greyness of the place struck her anew. She wracked her brain for a good explanation, but couldn’t find it. It was almost as though she had the pieces of some puzzle, but the pieces didn’t quite fit together. She moved back into the rest of the house, searching and trying to find more pieces to this puzzle she had uncovered, though her search afforded her little. Many of the closets were empty, or filled with items that defied her comprehension, or items that didn’t seem to have any purpose at all. It’s almost like... This place is a memory, but an incomplete one. Like only the most important things were left intact. However, as she searched, she came upon a door that she hadn’t opened yet. Only now did she realise its odd placement. It was placed between two other doors, but logically deducted that the door should lead into a room she’s already visited. When she looked in that room, however, she couldn’t see the door on the other side. Logically, it shouldn’t lead anywhere, but then, why is it here? She tentatively opened the door, and beyond it yawned the darkness of an entirely new room. The light coming from the house she had already explored seemed to struggle to penetrate this new place, though within the thin strip of light that did enter she was able to see another lamp. She carefully stepped into the room. Again, the switch was where she had found it before, and with a little effort, she managed to switch it on. This room was unlike any of the other ones she had encountered.. The ground showed wear and tear where it appeared as though someone had paced back and forth constantly. It was empty, save for two things. The lamp hanging from the ceiling, and a mirror standing in the furthest part of the room. Twilight stepped forward carefully, reminded of the dreadful events that led her here. She swallowed dryly as she stepped close to the mirror, and peered into it. She saw but the vaguest reflection of herself. It was as though the mirror was dirty with grime, allowing her to see only a shadow of herself. She ran a hoof along the glass, but no dirt came off. In fact, the glass felt completely clean. What is the purpose of this room? Why doesn’t this mirror show my reflection? Just to the side of the mirror, something caught her attention. Writing in the wall behind it. She pushed the mirror aside to remove the shadow obscuring her view, to reveal writing that appeared clawed into the wall itself rather than chiselled. “You see yourself reflected in the people you hold dear” It took Twilight a moment to let the phrase sink in. Her brow furrowed as the pieces began to click together. You see yourself reflected in the people you hold dear... So someone who has no one to hold dear, will not see themselves reflected? Does the mirror symbolize that? Is that why this place is so grey and bleak? Because the creature was all... Alone? Twilight looked back in the mirror. It no longer showed her own reflection, but it now showed the reflection of a tall shape with glowing green eyes. The glass of the mirror cracked and the door slammed shut. This place is so cold... Alex folded his arms over his stomach, trying to preserve the body heat that was being drained from his body. It was only a soft breeze that blew here, but it felt like it was he was caught in a blizzard. Everything was numb and sore, but worse, he didn’t feel like he was making any progress at all. The landscape remained the same, no matter how far he seemed to walk, just shattered hills, dead trees and barren dunes. Looking back, he saw a trail of his own footsteps going back far beyond his sight. He shook his head in frustration, trying to get himself to focus on the job at hand so that these little thoughts of hopelessness wouldn’t distract him. Looking ahead, a tall dune blocked his path. He would’ve opted to walk around it so the climb wouldn’t drain him so much, or expose him to the biting breeze, but now a different idea crossed his mind. Let’s just see what’s over this dune here. I’m sure I’ll be able to see something that will guide me out of this... This place. He began the climb, the soft sand shifting around his feet and making the effort twice as taxing. Before he even got halfway there, he fell to his hands and knees, forced to crawl the remaining distance. He put one hand on the crest of the dune, then another, and pushed himself up so he could see. The wasteland seemed to reach as far as the eye could see. There did not seem to be an end to the ashen landscape, save for the mountains on the very horizon. Not a single city, nor any sign of civilisation, lay in sight. There’s... There’s no way out. Why am I here? Why hasn’t anyone come to try and find me? The cold gripping him seemed to grow even stronger now. Alex lost even the strength to keep himself up as every muscle in his body shivered and begged for warmth. The sand around him began to slide to the other side of the dune. Only now did Alex realise his mistake. He hadn’t looked down. On the other side of the dune was but a mighty rend in the earth itself. A black chasm that didn’t appear to have an end, just an endless blackness of an inconceivable depth, and the way the sand was giving way around him, he’d slide right into it. He struggled and fought, willing his arms and legs to motion, but what little movement he managed was utterly wasted. There was nothing to grab, and no way to fight against the sand. “Help! Someone, help me!” he managed to cry out, before he tumbled over the edge and into the void. The cold embraced him fully, and everything went dark, save for two sickly white lights in his vision. A sinister voice hissed to him. “Not yet Alex. Not like this.” Alex pushed himself up so quickly he nearly blacked out again. No longer was the ground beneath him an ashen dirt, but now it was white and cold. Snow, he realised. All around him, tiny little snowflakes flitted in the breeze, falling all around him. His new surroundings confused him. His vision was limited, the flurry of snow turning everything beyond a few dozen yards into a white fog, but he could clearly see a great pillar of ice closeby. He stood up, carefully making his way closer to the pillar. Though his surroundings were still cold, it was different from the breeze before. This cold was soft, soothing. He put a hand on the surface of the ice, and to his amazement, felt a soft vibration making the pillar shudder. That’s odd... He put his ear to the pillar, listening closely for a sign what might be causing the strange vibrations. Deep within the ice, he could hear a familiar rhythmic thumping, the ice quaking with every pound. “It’s a heartbeat,” he said aloud. A vicious chuckling cut through the air, causing Alex to jump. He looked around, but couldn’t immediately find a source for the voice. “Who’s there!?” “You already know, Alex.” The voice sounded so strange, familiar, despite the guttural tone. In the blizzard, he saw a figure approaching. Slowly it came into view, until Alex could clearly see that this thing, whatever it was, looked like him, though it was something far more terrible. It wore his clothing, though his was ripped and torn. It’s nails were jagged curved claws, and its eyes bore slitted pupils that glowed a soft green. It’s teeth were a mess of misshapen jagged spikes that curved at uneven angles, and its legs bent the wrong way, giving it a strange raptor-like gait. It was a sight that terrified Alex, and he jumped back several steps as the full horror of the monstrosity struck him. “What the hell are you!?” he cried out in disbelief. The creature chuckled again in response, scratching its chin idly with one claw. “How about a different question first, Alex? Where are we now?” Alex looked at the icy slab, the sole feature of the landscape here, but nothing came to mind. Nothing did since he entered this hellish place. “I don’t know,” he spat back in anger. “I’ve walked for ages, and I haven’t gotten anywhere! Why am I here!?” “Ah ah!” the creature spoke, waving a clawed finger around as though berating a child. “That’s not the way it works, Alex, but I’ll lift the veil, just a little. After all, this wouldn’t have any point if you didn’t understand.” The creature put both its fingers to its head, poking at it several times. “This place you’re in, everything you’ve seen. It’s all in your head.”  It then placed one claw on the surface of the ice, before grinning wickedly. “This place in particular, this cold place, that has been locked away for so long behind walls of ice and snow, is your heart.” Alex looked disbelievingly between the creature and the icy pillar. His head shook slightly, as though he were denying it to himself. “That-That can’t be true!” he uttered. “That can’t be true... You can’t just... Go inside your own head like this! Everything’s too real! This isn’t a dream, is it!?” The creature just laughed even harder at Alex’s increasing confusion. “No. No more dreaming Alex. This time, it’s all too real. This time, you will not run away from this,” the creature said menacingly, as it took a step forward. “Tell me, Alex. If this world is your mind, and this place is your heart, what do you think that makes me?” “S-Stay back!” Alex said, taking another step in response to the creature’s advance, but the creature immediately took two more steps. “I am every little doubt that has bitten into your will, Alex. I am the little fears and little questions you were afraid to confront at your heart. And when you sealed this place away,” he said, as he gestured widely around himself, “I was locked in with it. And now, I want what belongs to me.” It said as it took another step. “I want you.” Alex was panicking. He knew he couldn’t fight this thing. It had claws and teeth, and he had nothing. All thoughts of escape evaporated as the creature began to bounce forward, its inhuman gait carrying it faster than Alex had any hope of running. Alex managed to dodge the first rake of its claws as it swung sideways, trying to rip Alex open in the first swing. However, immediately afterward the creature swung both its claws downward, and Alex had no chance to evade. All he could do to prevent the claws from gouging out his eyes was by using his own hands to cover himself. The claws locked on his hands, and with savage glee, the creature dug his talons into his fingers, drawing a thin trickle of blood from each hand. Alex groaned in pain, trying not to let himself cry out, as the creature smiled broadly at him, twisting its fingers ever so slightly to elect another jolt of pain from his hands. “No more running, Alex. No more hiding. Now, you’re going to face this.” Alex fell to a knee, cold sweat dripping down his brow as he fought against the creature’s immense strength. It bore down on him, giving him no respite. “You were always afraid, Alex. You’ve always been so very afraid,” the creature spoke with sadistic delight, making obvious his intent to draw as much torment out of Alex before he would finish the job. “That’s why this world looks like this. That’s why you are here now. That’s why you are weak.” That last word echoed in his head like a painful memory. Involuntarily, he began to clench his teeth, his expression turning into a ferocious snarl as the word seemed to grip his chest and stoke the fire within to the point of bursting outward. “Weak,” Alex spoke softly. “Yesss...” the creature hissed. “Weak!?” Alex began to push back against the creature, causing it to lock the talons on its feet in the snow. The creature’s eyes turned wide as Alex pushed even harder, allowing himself to stand back up, while slowly forcing the creature down on its knees. “No! This-This is impossible! You are weak!” The creature lost his grip on Alex’s hands, but Alex’s didn’t let the creature’s claws retreat. He grabbed them in turn, squeezing tightly and making the creature whine in pain. As the creature was pushed fully to its knees, Alex looked dead into its mortified eyes. “I was never weak!” Alex headbutted the creature square between the eyes, causing it to fall backwards, its eyes rolling aimlessly in its sockets. He pulled on its arms, forcing it to stand as he rammed his knee into the creature’s side. Alex let it fall against the slab of icy, small spots of blood marking where it had impacted. Alex was furious. Enraged even. How dare this, this thing, call me weak? he thought. It looked up at him, blinking blood out of its eyes from the wound on its forehead. “You... You cannot win.” Alex grabbed the thing by its deformed head, and rammed it into the icy slab. “I.” Again, a blow to the ice. More blood spread across its clear surface. “Am not.” Another impact, small fragments of ice falling into the snow beneath the thing. “Weak!” A last bash of the thing’s head against the ice, the crystalline surface cracking under the strain, as the thing’s body went entirely limp. Alex stood up to his full height. His hands hurt. So did his chest. He didn’t want to realise it, but this thing had hurt him. The dull pain of a insult too many throbbed in his chest. “I am not weak. I will get out of here, and I don’t care if you, or anything else, is going to try and stop me!” From the crack in the ice, a black sludge began to ooze. Alex recoiled from it, but it seemed to follow him, moving ever faster until it latched onto his foot, which went numb immediately. He dropped, unable to maintain his balance, struggling against the grip of whatever held him. “No! Let me go!” It drew him closer, dragging him into an empty void like the one he fell in before. All went cold as he blacked out once more. A black shadowy form looked sadly at the broken body at her hooves. Snow was already settling on it, covering it in a soft coat of white, while erasing the ugly red stains in the snow around it. A look of mournful regret was drawn across her violet eyes and shadowy muzzle. She looked up at the vibrating slab of ice and let out a deep weary sigh. “Father has always been more... Resilient.” She shook her head sadly, and stood up to walk away. Her outline slowly disappeared against the white background that was the blizzard. “But it doesn’t matter. Everything is set. All we need to do is wait. This place will break him. And then, it will break her.”