Demon Gate: Beyond the 9th Circle: The Rapture Was Just The Beginning. (30 page)

Spencer’s focus had diminished to just a
single point, one that propelled his feet forward
towards the tower where Lucifer waited.

The corridor continued on for another one
hundred feet before descending ten feet, down a
flight of stone steps before continuing onto
another corridor where Spencer heard an odd
sound, almost like something spinning, cutting
through the air, each revolution came quickly in
almost immediate succession. The sound was
coming from around a corner only twenty feet
away.

Rounding the corner Spencer found a
tunnel that spun on a horizontal plane, inside the
spinning tunnel there were three rotating
propellers, the blades were small allowing a
quick person to pass through or a slow person to
not be so lucky.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Spencer
exclaimed before accepting the reality that this
was the only way forward.

Spencer got into position just outside the
tunnel, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and
stepped into the rotating tunnel.

Spencer nearly lost his balance and fell
over as he stepped inside, it took Spencer a
couple seconds, but he managed to learn to stay
upright as he walked toward the first propeller,
timed his movements carefully and then about
dove through the spiraling blades, this time with
no problems, Spencer tumbled to the ground as
his feet hit the bottom of the swirling tube, and
his face landed a couple inches from the second
propeller. Spencer quickly scrambled to his feet
and got into position for to jump through the
second.

Spencer’s feet moved with the tunnel as
he timed his jump. His feet pushed off the
rounded floor as he went sailing though the
second, but he almost wasn’t fast enough. One of
the blades sliced though his pants leaving a
shallow gash on his outer thigh.

Spencer was able to land on his feet and
continue on to the third and final propeller. This
one was spinning noticeably faster than the
previous two. Spencer knew this would be
difficult, so he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth
and leapt.

He felt no blades tear into his flesh, what
he did feel was the hard ground collide with his
underside. Spencer opened his eyes and found
himself looking up at a short stone pillar that
stood only three feet high. Standing beside it, he
realized it looked like his own image but it
couldn’t be; although they did look alike one had
unkempt hair, dressed all in black, from a black tshirt and black jeans to a three quarter black
leather jacked, his eyes were hidden by very
stylish sunglasses. Dark was looking down at

Spencer.
“Lucifer sends his greetings.” Dark Garza
greeted.
“Where’s your Master?” Spencer
demanded.
“High atop his tower and in one hour a
portal to heaven will open, and from hells heart,
he will invade heaven. If you wish to progress,
you will have to best me in a contest of skill.”
“What’s the ‘contest’?” Spencer asked
getting to his feet.
“To progress, you will face me in a game
of Chess.” Dark Garza challenged. “But I must
warn you that if you fail you will join the damned
and remain here for all eternity.”
Spencer perused the chess board he had
not played in several years he wasn’t sure he
could keep his cool under such tense
circumstances.
Though white would have allowed him to
go first Dark Garza chose to play black leaving
Spencer with white.
“It’s your move.”
Spencer stared at his dark self for a long
moment, hoping that he wouldn’t be forced into
this confrontation, but finally he relented and
made his first move, advancing the King’s pawn
as far as it cold go. Dark Garza countered with
his queen’s knight. Spencer moved his king’s
bishop diagonally three spaces to stare down the
opposing knight.
Dark shifted a pawn down one space to
support his knight; Spencer realized that a bishop
would be coming out, so he mirrored the move,
bringing out a pawn on the opposite side of the
board, thus allowing him the same advantage.
Garza bided his time and sent his king’s
pawn as far as it could go, taking control of the
center of the board.
Spencer knew that if he was to win the
game he was going to have to make a bold move
and throw his dark counterpart off balance so he
moved his king’s knight to f3.
“You’re desperate.” Dark Garza
commented, “Desperate people are prone to
make mistakes.” Dark Spencer said bringing out
his queen’s knight and settling it into f6.
Spencer moved his queen’s bishop all the
way to g5, pinning the black knight to its queen,
Dark did not appear impressed as he advances the
pawn at h7 a single space.
Spencer advances his bishop to take the
black knight only to lose the bishop to the
exchange to the black queen.
Spencer repeats the move with his other
bishop. Dark moves his bishop to defend his
remaining knight.
Spencer takes his queen’s knight to c3 to
prepare for another gambit and hopefully end the
game before he lost too many more pieces. Dark
moved his knight to d4, leaving it wide open for
an attack from Spencer’s knight, still patiently
waiting at f3.
“Going for my knight?” Garza taunted.
“Nope.” Spencer replied moving his
bishop to take the black bishop that stood in
defense of the king.
“Check!” Spencer said.
But Garza moved his king and the white
bishop fell.
“Now, your knight is mine.” Spencer said
moving his knight from f3 to d4 where a black
knight fell under the attack.
Dark moved his pawn to d4 taking out
one of Spencer’s knights, and leaving the other
safe due to a pawn that lay in wait on b2.
Spencer advanced in preparation for an
attack on the black queen, but Dark moved the
queen to g5, and out of harms way.
Spencer realized that the black queen was
coming in for the kill so he castled his king to
prepare for the onslaught.
Dark decided to hold off on the attack,
seeing no other alternative, and instead moved
his pawn at c7 to c6 to attack the knight, Spencer
countered by moving the knight on a suicide
mission to b6. The retribution was swift as the
rooks pawn at b1 moved in for the kill. Spencer
saw an idea to take the black queen and he went
for it sliding his queen to the left a single spaceto
put it in the black queens sights but Dark Garza
didn’t go for it, he merely retreated his queen to
f6, spoiling the move.
Spencer moved his pawn at e4 to e5 to
attack the black queen, only to have the black
queen retreat further, landing on e7. Spencer was
forced to take a desperate move moving his pawn
at e5 to e6, putting the king in check. Dark
Spencer took the pawn at e6 with his king.
Spencer moved his rook into place,
moving it only one space. Dark Garza retreated
his king, leaving his queen dead to rights, and his
king back in check. The Rook was taken by the
bishop at f8, but its sacrifice was worth it.
Spencer advanced his pawn at c2 to deal with
another pawn. The gambit worked the black
pawn at d4 took the bait; Spencer pressed the
attack and avenged his fallen pawn with his
queen.
Dark Garza moved the pawn at c6 to draw
Spencer into an attack, but Spencer instead
moved his queen to a3 in a bid to trap the black
king. The black pawn at c4 took the white pawn
at d3 giving it an almost unobstructed shot at
retrieving his queen. Spencer moved his rook
from a1 to e1 to force the bishop to retreat, and it
worked the bishop retreated to d8 allowing
Spencer to move his queen to eliminate the rook
that threatened his queen, but was held at bay by
a pawn at b2.
Now it was Dark Garza that was
panicking, he had been backed into a corner.
“Your king can run, but not far, my rook
will stop him dead in his tracks with a single
move, my queen will be right behind it.” Spencer
explained and then paused for effect. “I win.”
Dark smiled as he reached for his king,
and pushed it over symbolizing his surrender.
The pillar, the chessboard, and even
Spencer’s dark twin became more and more
transparent before disappearing entirely.
With a firm grip on his victory Spencer
jumped to a dead run, heading deeper into the
labyrinth; he was close to getting to Lucifer.

Vince had been running through the
labyrinth for a half an hour before he came to
something odd. The entire time he was in the
labyrinth there was no ceiling until he came to a
door that was flanked by three torches on either
side; the torches were spaced two feet apart.
Vince stepped through the doorway to find a
round room the ceiling was eight feet high and
there was a doorway on the opposite side of the
room.

In the middle of the room was a sort of
podium there were nine tiles, each had a Roman
numerals. Most Vince recognized, but there were
a few that were just vaguely confusing.

The sound of stone grinding against stone
escaped the doorways one either end, Vince
looked to see the doors closing and he ran to the
nearest one to reach the door as it finished
closing; he turned to see the other stone door had
already been closed.

The sound of rumbling preceded the
resumed sound of stone grinding against stone.
Vince crinkled his brow, he was confused, the
doors were closed, and then the sound resumed
full force, Vince glances upward where he really
coming from, the ceiling was coming down, not
very quick, but the ceiling was slowly lowering,
in a matter of ten minutes he would be crushed
between a rock and a hard place.

Jessie warns us about.” Vince guessed.
“You aren’t going to get out of this.” A
young boy taunted.
Vince turned to see the boy and then realized
who he was.
“Stewart.” Vince said.
“You said you were my friend, and yet
you let me die.” Steward said accusingly.
“I went for help; I didn’t know how to
swim.” Vince defended.
“Is that how you absolved yourself of
guilt?” Stewart wondered, “By making excuses?”
Vince turned away to try and focus on the
problem of his impending fate.
But the image of his long dead friend and the
lowering ceiling didn’t make it easy.
“…I…?” Vince asked examining the first
tile, and then it hit him.
“Not I.” Vince said aloud, “One!”
Vince noticed nine slots where the tiles would fit.
“I know this.” Vince said “I think.” Vince
guessed that if he got it wrong something terrible
would happen, so he had to be certain.
“No you don’t ‘know this’.” Stewart
affirmed.
“Shut up!” Vince begged impatiently.
The central row he knew, and so he began
placing tiles. “One…five…nine.”
The top row was a little confusing, but Vince
proceeded regardless.
“Eight…three…four.” Vince said. Vince
went on alert when the sound of stone grinding
against stone seemed to accelerate, he looked up,
and sure enough the ceiling was coming down
noticeable faster. He watched the speed and
guessed he had maybe five minutes left; he must
have made a mistake that cost him half of his
time. He examined the tiles to try and figure out
where he went wrong and realized what he
thought was the ‘eight’ tile was really the ‘seven’
tile.
“I told you, you let me die, and now
you’re going to join Lucifer’s arm and serve him
for all eternity.” Stewart gloated.
“Crap.” Vince said as he pried out the
‘seven’ tile and found the ‘eight’; he took an
extra couple seconds to make certain it was the
correct tile, Vince doubted he could afford to
make another mistake.
Vince slapped the ‘eight’ tile into place,
and then started placing the remaining three tiles.
“Seven…six…two.” Vince said placing
the last of the tiles, to his great concern the
ceiling accelerated again leaving Vince with
maybe thirty seconds to correctly fix the order of
the tiles.
“You’ll never escape from hell; you’re an
evil, selfish person.” Stewart warned, but Vince
tried to ignore the image of his friend.
“Crap, eight, one and
six
, Make fifteen.”
Vince said as he pried out the six and the seven
and switched them.
Vince’s head was now an inch below the
ceiling as his chin rested on the podium. Vince
pulled his head out and went for the door hoping
that it was enough, and then the ceiling stopped
and the door behind Vince opened.
Vince scrambled out of the death trap that
was almost his tomb and looked back to see the
image of his friend was gone.
“I’m sorry, Stewart.” Vince said then took
a minute to calm down before climbing to his
feet and ran along the passage.
“Hold on, Jessie, I’m coming.”
Soon Vince came to an overlook that
gave him a view of Jessie, she was swinging
across a chasm before landing on a platform, and
then she slowly made her way over to a solitary
door. She was trying to call to someone beyond
the door, her hand wrapped around one of the
doorknobs and as she did she briefly caught sight
of Vince before she pulled the door open.
Jessie slowly walked down the tunnel as
she passed into another secondary hall she was
joined by the sound of footsteps, not heavy, but
light footsteps, as though they were made by a
child.
“Hello?” Jessie asked. There was no
response, Jessie pressed through the labyrinth for
another few minutes before she heard a child. It
was definitely a little girl, maybe eight or nine,
and she was crying, but Jessie couldn’t see the
little girl.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” Jessie called.
“I’m scared.” The girl replied, the sound
was muffled as though the girl were locked away
but Jessie was able to follow the sound to a sort
of obstacle course comprised of four legs, a fifty
foot tumbling cylinder that Jessie would have to
traverse, three platforms that had no discernable
support, a series of six swinging scythes over a
platform, and a rope that Jessie would have to use
to cross a thirty-five foot expanse finally ending
at two separate doors.
Jessie got a running start. As her foot set
onto the cylinder she managed to keep her
balance until she neared the end, she knew that
she would have to leap. The distance was no
more than three feet, which Jessie easily made.
As she landed on the first platform, it
became obvious that something was amiss, the
platform was sinking, she acted quickly and leapt
for the next platform and it, too, began to sink so
she leapt for the third before continuing on to the
suspended platform that boasted six swinging
scythes.
Jessie charged through the first, and
latched onto the second, riding it briefly before
dismounting it and rolling through the third
before jumping over the fourth, Jessie dodged the
fifth and sixth before grabbing the rope and
shoving off the platform and swinging to the
opposite side.
The platform was just another hall with
two doors next to each other, the hall went on for
two hundred feet in each direction, an overlook
hung over the labyrinth at Jessie’s right, she
glanced over and saw stairs that lead from the
upper level to the lower level.
Jessie turned her attention to the pleading
voice of a child, she knew that she had to be
moving on, but she couldn’t turn a blind eye to
this girl. Her humanity clouded the fact that she
was in hell, and she couldn’t trust anybody or
anything.
“Help me, please!” The voice pled, the
voice was vaguely familiar, but for some reason
he just couldn’t place the voice.
“I’m in here.” The girl said.
“I hear you.” Jessie said as her hand
closed around the door knob, she turned the
knob, and briefly looked back to see Vince on the
overlook, and then she pulled the door open.
A cloud of dark of demonic spores poured
from inside the door, Jessie couldn’t escape fast
enough, she didn’t inhale a lot, just enough. She
could feel the spores infesting her body, her heart
seemed to slow down, her skin felt hot, sweat
poured off her body, and she lost most of the
strength in her legs causing her to collapse. In the
chaos of her infection came the most disturbing
revelation of all: the girl emerged from the
doorway, and Jessie instantly recognized her, she
saw her younger self, the younger Jessie was
perhaps five or six.
“You killed your mom, you deserve to
burn in hell.”
A second figure emerged from the door, it
was her mother, wounded and bleeding, as
though she had just been in the car wreck,
Jessie’s tears began to flow, not out of fear, but
from the sorrow of the last time she saw her
mother.
“I loved you Jessie, why did you do this
to me?”
“I’m sorry, Mom.” Jessie begged, tears
streaming down her face.
“You killed me, and I will never forgive
you, I hate you!” Jessie’s mother spat.
“MOM, NO!” Jessie wailed as the two
images faded to leave Jessie to her fate.
Vince ran for the stairs that would allow him, as
he did he nearly ran over Spencer who had
emerged from a tertiary corridor.
“Vince?” Spencer asked.
“Spencer, it’s Jessie.” Vince said, “She
got hit with Lucifer’s gas.” Vince declared.
“What?” Spencer demanded, sinking into
a stated of shock.
Vince pushed past Spencer and ran to Jessie.
Reaching Jessie Vince held Jessie in his
arms as Jessie lay on the labyrinth floor.
Spencer arrived seconds later and lifted Jessie’s
shirt a couple inches to determine the extent of
the transformation, also checking her lower legs
and arms.
The curse was obvious and spreading.
“How long does she have?” Vince asked.
“I would say two hours, maybe three.”
Spencer admitted.
Vince saw a look on Spencer’s face, and instantly
objected.
“No!” Vince defiantly declared, “I can’t
kill her.”
Jessie spoke up.
“Spencer, don’t kill me yet. You have to
go face Lucifer alone, Vince and I will handle his
invasion force.” Jessie offered.
“How?” Spencer asked.
“He infected me, but that gives me access
to the knowledge of what he is planning. He’s
going to launch his attack from the room with the
glyph within the hour. I can get Vince and I back
there, and we can at least slow them down while
you do what we came here to do.” Jessie offered
clearly withholding something.
“What are you telling me?” Vince
demanded.
Vince and Spencer helped Jessie back to
her feet.
“Here Vince, take this.” Spencer said
handing his sword to Vince. “You’re going to
need it.”
Jessie handed the book to Spencer. “This
will do more good for you than it will for me.”
Jessie said.
Spencer opened the book to find the
quickest path the Lucifer.
“I’m sorry Jessie, I failed you, but I will
avenge you.” Spencer offered before charging
away while Vince and Jessie headed to the head
of the labyrinth to stop the invasion force.
After twenty minutes of running though
the halls of the maze he finally found the exit to
the labyrinth, it was a straight shot to the tower.
Reaching the tower Spencer looked up to see a
man on a ledge near the top, he was saying
something.
“Now is the time, we march on Heaven
for glory and for revenge!” a demon shouted to
the rousing cheers of the demons below. Time
was almost up, Spencer pushed the unlocked
door open to find stairs leading to the highest
point, and he began to climb.
Vince and Jessie arrived back at the
beginning of the labyrinth. Jessie’s demonic
powers were developing and she was able to use
them to reactivate the glyph because she still had
control over herself, for now. Vince and Jessie
stepped onto the glyph and disappeared.
Spencer entered reached the room at the
top of the steps and stepped into the darkness, as
Spencer’s eyes adjusted to the lack of lighting he
noticed that the floor was made of mirror
polished obsidian which reflected the image of
thousand of disembodied souls floating around
the room, giving the illusion of walking through
space. In the darkness the voice of Lucifer called
to him.
“Welcome, Spencer.” Lucifer greeted, “I
knew you would make it here, so I’ve prepared
some suitable entertainment for you!”
Lucifer offered as he came into view, he
was surrounded by a pyramid of energy that
glowed with a pale, unearthly green light which
was also reflected in the mirror polished obsidian
floor, the green pyramid looked to be a light
screen which levitated off the ground and rotated
around Lucifer.
A sort of crystal ball faded into view from
the darkness and on it an image appeared, an
image of Jessie and Vince.
Lucifer grimaced as he saw Jessie
walking around.
“You know, she really shouldn’t be
moving after being exposed to my curse. It only
makes it worse.”
“How long are you going to let this sick
game continue?” Spencer asked.
“Until I have conquered every corner of
Heaven and I have destroyed God, himself.”
Lucifer vowed.
“Just because God cast you out, from all
accounts he kicked you out of Heaven because
you opposed him.” Spencer countered.
“I had an independent thought, and he
blew me off.” Lucifer shouted.
“Your ‘independent though’ stole from
every man woman and child the one thing that
was crucial to the point of mortality.
“Mortality.” Lucifer smiled as he scoffed
at the idea. “Just think how meaningless
mortality is. You live in such a fragile state,
honoring a being that claims to be perfect but he
is so close minded, and allows such horrible
things to happen, like war and cancer.”
“God has no more control over that than I do.
Good or bad things happen to good or bad
people. Do you have any evidence that he control
who gets cancer, what nations wage war against
each other, who lives and who dies?” Spencer
retorted.
“He never said it would be easy. He only
said it would be worth it.” Spencer concluded.
The comment only seemed to enrage Lucifer.
“How dare you defend him in my
kingdom!” Lucifer spat.
“You have no right to impose your will
when you were opposed to it to begin with. You
forget that it’s not the net result of ones life that
matters, it’s the day-to-day concerns, the personal
victories, and the celebration of life and love!
That’s more than enough if people are able to
experience the joy that each day can bring!”
Spencer defended.
“And have you found your ‘joy’, in your
nearly dead world?” Lucifer asked.
“Yes!” Spencer replied. “I know what
love is. It’s less about love than it is worrying
about them more than yourself.” Spencer
explained.
“But what about your love, has she come
to forgive you for abandoning her?” Lucifer
wondered aloud, at those words a gossamer
image of Gretchen faded out of the darkness.
“Gretchen.” Spencer said moving
forward, but dozens of the disembodied souls
moved to bar Spencer’s path.
Lucifer turned to the image of Gretchen.
“Have you forgiven him for what he has
done to you?”
Spencer looked upon Gretchen, fully expecting to
hear the her voice declare forgiveness.
“He abandoned me, I’ll never forgive him
for that!” Gretchen spat, but it not quite her
voice, it was lower, maybe by less than half an
octave, but it was not her voice.
“YOU’RE LYING!” Spencer challenged,
“That isn’t her.”
Lucifer huffed, “Do you really believe
she could forgive you?”
“She already has.” Spencer defiantly
declared, much to Lucifer’s shock. “And I have
you to thank for that, letting her know how I felt
about her and the strength she is to me.” Spencer
affirmed.
“This is sickening … you sound like a
cheesy romance novel. As much as I hate to
admit it, you’re right. But her soul is still in my
possession, so prepare yourself for my next trick;
I will now extinguish her soul.” Lucifer said
raising his hands in a grand gesture like a
magician preparing for his finale.
“Stop, don’t do it.” Spencer begged.
Lucifer paused and lowered his hands.
“What fun is it if no precious souls are