Until death – chapter 12

Until Death
Chapter 12
Theme:- welcome to the Afterlife part 1

As it was inscribed in the holy book, it was given for a man to die once, and after that death, it is judgement. But for me, Rey Reed, it is different. If my guess is right, this will be the third time I have visited the land of the dead. The first time was when I escaped from the tar pit. I can’t remember how long I lost consciousness, but when I woke up. I only opened my eyes in hell. The second is the collision when Ryan and his soldiers were chasing us. I visited my dad, who told me I had yet to accomplish my mission. I was sent back to earth, only to be welcomed back by my worst nightmare again. This is the third time, and I doubt my chance to wake up again. I was indeed a dummy. My dad is right when he said love is a sin, and my emotions will only lead me to an earlier grave. I continue my journey on a lonely path. The night wind was blowing furiously. The loud chirping of the crickets could be heard everywhere. The same goes for the hissing of an animal, which I guessed to be a snake. The frog wasn’t left out. Everywhere was dark, and the moon wasn’t showing its glory either. I was walking down the lonely path of a bush. It was like heaven was against me. Thunder clapped in the sky, lightning flashed across the whole forest, which sent fear and a cold chill down my spine. Suddenly, the sky darkens more, and the clouds gather in the sky as if the rain is going to fall. I felt a hot tear slip down my eyes at my own foolishness and jealousy. If I hadn’t let Kira’s sight distract me, perhaps I might still be alive, dragging my limping leg and resting in a scheduled area that Ryan would have prepared for me. The thought of my leg reminded me of the various wounds I received on my body in the arena ground. I checked my body, looking for any sign of the wound. But I found none. I sigh in relief and continue my journey to nowhere on foot. Thunder clapped in the sky again, and it was louder and scarier this time. It was like all my village Witch was following me. It was like I could feel their scary eyes and hear their mocking voices. It was like I could hear what they were saying. “Your suffering begins now,” I heard a strange voice whisper in my ear. “Welcome to hell, Rey Reed of Smith.” Then I heard the strange female voice again. I can feel my heart beating faster. I can feel my soul getting ready to desert me again if anything unexpected happens. My mom has told me the tales of the witch and the wizard. The same goes for our pastor. He always said something about Jinns, ghosts, and night-walking spirits. The voice made me remember a verse our pastor used as a sermon in the bible the last time I attended the evening bible study that always takes place every Tuesday. I can recall the verse very well that says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Take therefore the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, with your loins girt with truth and your breastplate of righteousness on. And with the preparation of the gospel of peace on your feet;
Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the wickedness of the world. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”
If our Bible study preacher was right, then I am sure there is no way I am going to survive against those witches. I can’t even remember the last time I prayed. Well, I can’t be blamed. I have been fighting for my survival, and the only thing going on in my mind is how to escape from the arena ground and return to my mom in Ibadan. A sudden hissing of something jolted me out of my thoughts. I spun back in time and my gaze met with that of a malignant anaconda. It was about 65 feet tall, and its eyes were blazing red. It lunges at me, and I barely have time to roll out of the way. “Welcome to hell once again, Rey Reed of Smith.” A female voice said. Without being told, I was sure it was coming from the snake. Finally, my soul activated his temple run and strutted away, leaving me to solve my problem alone. I can hear my brain telling me that this is the farthest he can follow me. The same goes for my blood and water. They seem to have dried up. I stayed rooted to the ground, unable to do anything. I just witnessed a snake talking. Something that I haven’t heard or seen before. All my life, I always thought our Sunday school and Bible study teachers were lying to us about the existence of evil spirits. Now take a look at me. I have just witnessed one. Then something crept into my mind. Our teacher always told us to pray to God whenever we had a bad dream or saw something strange. Without anyone telling me, I knew this is exactly what our teacher was talking about. A talking snake thank goodness, my mind hasn’t left me, or the idiot is also planning to run away. “My dear heavenly Father,” I prayed in my mind. My mind drifted to Nasir, who swore to Allah, and I wished he was here with me. Perhaps, he might help me. “Please, deliver me from the hand of this serpent, just like you promised in the book of Psalms.” I can still remember the verse very well, where it says, “nothing bad will happen to you, and no plague will come close to your home. For he will entrust his angels with your protection in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, and you must trample the young lion and the dragon under your feet.” Thanks to my mom, she always makes sure I read those words before I sleep at night. “Please, Lord.” I begged, and I could feel my tears increasing. “Save me from the hands of these evil serpents.” Instantly, I felt something rising from the pit of my stomach. It was like my body was on fire. The anaconda lunged at me faster than my eyes could see. To my greatest surprise, I saw it move in slow motion. I stretched my right hand at the snake on instinct, and I watched in amusement as a white ball shot out of my palm and headed straight for the anaconda’s direction. It collided with the vicious snake, and a loud shrieking sound escaped its lips. I stood there in shock, unable to believe what had just happened. Just a few seconds ago, I was at the mercy of this snake, hoping for a miracle to occur. But now, the vicious creature was shrieking in pain. The fire burned all over its body, and it was now decreasing in size. The sky gets darker, and the cloud now covers the whole sky. Unexpectedly, a hailstorm began to fall from the sky. I stayed rooted to the ground, hoping that it wasn’t going to have any effect on me. But I made a wrong assumption and I regretted it instantly. I felt my skin burn as the hailstorm touched me. A painful growl escaped my lips, and I activated my subway surf. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, using my eyes to scrutinize the whole forest for anywhere I could take shelter. Unfortunately, for me, there is nowhere to hide. “Finally, my village mysticism has taken a hold on me.” I mumbled amidst the pain. I can feel the hailstorm chasing after me, running twice the speed I am going. I felt another hailstorm touch my skin and I screamed out in anguish. I shake my head in pity, knowing fully well that this is the punishment for disobedience. I felt the ground rumbling behind me. I look back, only to discover that the ground is now sinking after me, faster than I can even imagine. Before I could make another move, I felt myself plummeting into the sinking ground and the hailstorm pouring on top of me. It burned my body, and I felt as if I was on fire. I felt my body sinking deeper into the earth, and my breathing was becoming harder. Not only that, I felt something crawling all over my body. I calmed my nerves a little so I could observe what was walking all around me. Another painful scream escaped my lips as I detected what was walking inside my body. It was an insect, the size of a soldier ant. They had big eyes like that of a Gollum from the lord of the ring, which was glowing green. They had about a dozen rows of teeth, and each tooth was bigger than the ant itself and sharper than a razor blade. They plunge their teeth into my skin, making yelps escape from my mouth. I was plummeting down into the soil, the hailstorm raining heavily on me while the soldiers were biting and creating more damage to my body. After what seemed like forever, when I thought this was my end, I felt my body touching something cold, followed by a splash of water. Without being told, I knew I had just landed in a large body of water. I can feel my body sinking faster and deeper into the water. Surprisingly, I was able to breathe under the water. Different questions were popping up in my head. Am I a merman or some kind of water monster? I look at my body, looking for any sign of those insects or the hailstorm. But I can’t find any of them. Even though they weren’t here with me, nor could I see any sign of them in the water, the pain they left in my body is still aching and hurting badly. Out of the corner of my eyes, I caught the sign of something gleaming. Without reluctance, I swing towards the object. Even if I decided to ignore it, I didn’t have any choice. Who knows, perhaps that might be my way out. The object becomes larger and clearer as I move closer. I opened my mouth in amusement as I saw the object in front of me. No, it wasn’t an object. It is a small room made of transparent glass. Due to the transparent glass, I was able to see everything inside. The room was painted white and brown. There was a cushion, a working desk, and a different pile of books on the desk. The transparent glass stands as a shield between the water and the room, making it impossible for the water to gain access to the room. Not only that, a being was standing in the room, his back facing me, making it hard for me to discover who it was. Slowly, the being turned back, I opened my mouth wide, agape. It was no other person than my dad. His eyes held bitterness, nausea, and contrition. Without being told, I knew what that looked like. It says I have flunked him once again. I have acted on my own and failed to follow his orders. I have gone against his rule. He didn’t say anything, nor did the expression on his face change. He walked closer to the glass, and simply unfolded a piece of paper, which I hadn’t seen in his hand earlier. I watch as he stretches the paper for me to see, and I can see the words that were written inside the paper.
“Discover your identity, find out who you truly are, and don’t let my sacrifice end up in vain.” I read it aloud, and my dad shook his head in approval. Right in front of my eyes, I watched as his body started dissolving, and the room started crumbling. “There won’t be another chance, Rey Reed of Smith.” My dad yelled at me, and he vanished from sight. Different thoughts run through my mind at once. The talking anaconda calls me Smith; the same goes for my dad. I wished I could stop him and ask all the questions going on in my head. But it was too late. I was distracted from my thoughts when I felt a bright light engulf me. I felt my body being drawn out of the river. Before I could blink, I disappeared out of sight. However, I was welcomed by the sudden scream of a female voice that said, “Welcome to the afterlife, Rey Reed of Smith.”

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