Gerard sat down on a flat rock and stared at the empty slot surrounded by trees. It was odd. The shape of the dirt was a perfect circle, it was a completely flat land big enough to set up a camp. Gerard murmured, "What the hell am I doing here?"

Brendon floated near the flat area, "This is where the portal is. To hell. You can go down there and .. well .. you need to get something."

Gerard stood up, "For what?"

Brendon paused, "There's a lot you don't know Gerard. One being that I wasn't always just a bunch of souls mixed together. I was something much stronger. I was betrayed by people I trusted .. when all I wanted was power. You see, there was something I had to do to get that power and not many people liked it. Can you imagine the person you trust most, betray you?"

Gerard shook his head, "It'd piss me off."

"Exactly. And so I became enraged and had to be .. put down." Brendon took in a deep breath, "But I'm here now. And do you think I should be put down for any longer?"

Gerard stared at the shadow, "I barely know you," He tucked in his lips, "but so far, you don't seem like a bad guy."

"Then can you please, do something for me?"

"Depends." Gerard said, "What will it do? And what am I getting?"

Brendon's voice echoed, "My cane. And it'll help me in my current situation .. I need a real body. Only my cane can help me." His deep laugh got Gerard's full attention, "Actually, only you can help me."

Gerard stared at the flat area. He quietly asked, “If I get it for you .. you won’t hurt anyone, right? I know I’m a demon but .. but I don’t want to feel like one.” He glanced at Brendon, “I know I can’t change who I am .. but there’s something about being a demon that makes me feel like I have no control on what I do. So the last thing I want to see is blood being shed.”

Brendon’s voice echoed, “Yes. I promise I won’t shed any blood.”

“You really mean it?”

“I do.” Brendon said. He hovered close to Gerard, “My cane is in the room with the red door.”

Gerard nodded before entering on the flat surface, standing in the middle. He looked at the silhouette, “Now what?” There was a slight rumble that vibrated his body. Gerard looked down to his feet and saw a bright white glow surrounding him. Before he could react, the ground shook him hard enough to make him fall onto his knees. His head became hazy as the ground shook even more heavily than before-and suddenly, a white flash blinded his eyes.

Gerard’s body ached as he saw the world sideways. He got up onto his feet very slowly, not familiar with the place. There was a bright chandelier hanging above him, and a firepit that bloomed its flames behind him. Gerard didn’t know what to expect from hell, but class wasn’t a guess. The carpet he stood on was a gold shade, and the curtains that covered the brick walls were red. He paused briefly as he stared at the portraits on the wall that were painted so beautifully, but were so gruesome.

One had a man hung upside down from restraints, being sawed from in between the legs. Another was a woman being burned on a stake. The image showed her skin turning red, boiling bubbles popped from her skin.

Gerard stared for a while before finally making his way toward the door. He slowly lifted the gold handle before opening the creaking door. He peered out, seeing no one in the dark halls. He stepped out of the room, scanning the halls from left to right before moving to the right. He followed his instincts and turned corners swiftly, not sure where he was going, but made sure he didn’t get lost along his way. His body stopped when he finally faced a red door.

Gerard wasn’t scared. He had the utmost confidence. Sure, he doesn’t remember being in hell, but he was a demon. So he should feel comfortable-and weirdly he did.

Again, he lifted up the gold handle on the blood red door. He opened it slowly and stepped in. There wasn’t much in the room. There was a big throne made of rock, and there was what seemed like a large screen in front of the throne. Gerard stared at the pitch black screen. His combat boots shuffled against the ground as he scanned the area-and then he found it.

Leaning against the side of the throne was a black cane with a silver globe at the top. Gerard grabbed the cane and inspected it. He tossed it back and forth, hand in hand-it was light. Really light. It could have been his demon strength but holy shit it was like carrying a feather.

“What’s so special about this?” Gerard asked himself, staring at the globe. The decoration of the globe looked a lot similar to earth. It was strange, but Gerard didn’t think about it for long. He held tightly onto the cane as he ran out of the room, oblivious to the fact that he could get caught.

He went around the corners, thinking back to where he last turned. He stopped by a gold door and opened it, entering the same room he was dropped in. He didn’t know how to get back up on earth. He tried standing on the same spot he was dropped on, hoping that he’ll just ascend up. Though, nothing happened.

Gerard was becoming frustrated. He set the cane by his side, causing a the globe to shine white. Gerard stared for a while until the white flash blinded him-yet again.

Gerard groaned out, “The fucking light is annoying,” He got up from the dirt and angrily handed out the cane toward Brendon, “Here.”

Brendon replied, “I cannot take it. My hand is nothing but smoke.”

“So, then why the hell did I go through the trouble to take it?!” Gerard growled.

Brendon didn’t reply right away, “It is yours. Go ahead, try it.”

Gerard rose a brow, “Mine? I don’t even know what it is or what it does.” Gerard looked at the cane as Brendon replied, “It’s my source of power. I use to have .. slaves who I gave power to. They have most of it but what they don’t know is when I was .. gone for a period of time, the rest of my power was transferred to my cane.” He said, “You can have it. But you need to learn how to use it.”

“How .. how do I do that?”

“Hit the globe against the ground.”

Gerard looked at Brendon, “Um, what will that do?”

There was a long pause from Brendon. He softly cascaded to Gerard’s side, “Trust me.”

Gerard stared at Brendon. The sun’s rays shone down to them, but nothing could warm Gerard’s body. He felt cold in the presence of Brendon, he glanced at the cane. His hands traced along the cane as his eyes scanned it. He nodded, “Okay .. I trust you.” He plunged the globe against the ground-but nothing happened.

Gerard reeled back the cane, “Wh .. what is-” A loud ring sent Gerard wailing to the ground. He screamed out loud in pain, covering his ears with his hands. There was a bright white light until Gerard blacked out, getting masked by the dark.

There was just a man now, no silhouette in sight. There was only a man with bright red hair, eyes shut, lying in the middle of the ground. The woods were bristled by the wind, the critters in the trees made their call as the sun slowly faded out. Time was passing, and the young man still hasn’t awoken. In the far distance, a movement in the bushes occurred. Gerard’s eyes fluttered opened. He got up on his feet and grabbed the cane that rested on the dirt. He waited patiently until Frank appeared in front of him, “Gee .. are you okay?” He asked, making his way toward him.

Frey smacked tree stems that were in her way as she approached next to Frank, “See? I told you I knew where I was going.” She stopped in front of Gerard, “Whoa .. your vibes they .. feel different.”

Gerard stared at the two before forming a smile. He walked toward Frank and grabbed his hand, “I feel different too. The truth is, I was a jackass, Frankie. I’m sorry and I’ve changed.” His voice was deeper, and more smooth.

Frank smiled softly, “Your voice sounds different ..” He blushed, “But uh, yeah-okay so that means you're done with your violent ways?”

“Well, not really. I just know how to control it easier.”

Frey stared at Gerard, “How? It took you years to control it-not less than two weeks.” She scanned the ground Gerard was standing on, “This is weird. This area is so flat.”

Gerard scowled a bit toward Frey, “You talk too much.”

Frey frowned, “Geesh-sorry-it’s just .. I feel like something isn’t right.”

Gerard had brushed off Frey’s words and talked to Frank who couldn’t hear what Gerard did. There was another pair of eyes, an inner soul trapped but could not be heard-it was Gerard. Gerard was panting and begging for Frank to realize who he was talking to wasn’t him but no other than the man who tricked him and possessed his body-Brendon.

Notes

plsdon'thurtme xo