2

Henry stode up and followed Damion out past the old man and into the street. For a second he thought he saw a flap of skin flip up on the man's arm. The old man rubbed his arm and the flap was tight against his arm again. Henry's arms broke out in goosebumbs and a shiver went through his body.

The people in the streets were flowing like a river still. Henry found himself staring into the store windows again. In one store, an antique shop, a man and woman stood next to each other. They were looking at a peculir little doll. The little girl doll sat on atop a small chair. She had pink hair and skin, like most people here in Hell. Instead of smiling like most dolls were created with, this little doll had an expresion of fear. Henry thought that must of been how many people looked after discovering where they were. A face that expressed fear and confusion, I'm not supposed to be here. No, no not me. But they were in Hell and that would never change, not in an eternaty. The two people standing in front of the doll must have felt the same way as Henry, although showed their feelings by crying, Henry showed his by looking away.

As Henry walked along and almost tripped on a crack, he thought about what was going on here. 'Ok, here I am, in Hell. But maybe I'm not, this could be a dream, or nightmare. Or it could be really happening. Either way I'm scared. Oh Anne why couldn't be here? When I wake up tommorow morning I'm getting out. Me and you Anne, we're going on vacation. Put on your bathingsuit cause we're going swimming. What where that guy go?' Damion was no longer in front of Henry, or anywhere to be found. Henry spun his head around to look for Damion. When he turned around and stopped, the world went on without him. The stores, the people, the ground were all spinning, faster and faster. Henry was maybe wakeing from the dream. Then blackness, nothing to be seen, and Henry by himself.

"Henry, are you alright?" Mom's voice was coming through the blackness and Henry could hear it. He opened his eyes and stared at the aged women, his mom. Her hair was thinning and black. Her eyes were brown and wide like her mouth. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"You had an accident. A car hit you yesterday and you've been in a mild coma till now. Anne, he's awake. It's alright now though, I came here last night."

Henry looked around the hospital room that he was laying in. The usuall stuff was in there, t.v., bed, chair and nightstand. His mother had been reading a coby of the King James Bible, Henry did not notice, but, the pages were white without the black letters, empty pages.

Anne ran in from outside the room, Henry's father followed in behind her. Dad's hair was gray and thinned greatly. He wore the clothes that he had always worn, grey pants and a white button up shirt. Henry could never remember a time when he was wearing anything besides this bland appearal. When they went to the beach Dad never came in, just sat and watched as Henry and Mom swam, maybe read a book under an umbrella, but he always had those clothes on. It was like he was chained to the grey pants and the white button up shirt was glued to him with some mental glue that wouldn't allow him to change clothes.

"Oh Henry I was so scared when I saw you through the diner window. Do you hurt or anything?" Anne picked up Henry's hands and held them tightly. She stared into his eyes with her wide eyes, they said I love you and looked worried at the same time.

"I'm fine, I guess. Wha... whaa... what happened to me again? I don't remember." He rubbed his forhead and discovered that he had bandages wrapped around his head.

"I'll tell you later sweety. I'm just glad you're ok." Mom had walked over to the opposite side of Anne, and was rubbing his shoulder. She was wearing a short sleave flower shirt, and Henry saw that the scar that had always been on her arm was going. The scar she had got when she feel out of the tree in her childhood backyard was gone. 'I guess she got it fixed. Maybe it wasn't even there. I can't remember for sure. Did I really get hit by a car? Did I have an out-of body experience and go to Hell?'

A doctor walked in with his white clothing on, a stethiscope hung around his neck and a pen stuck out of his breast pocket. "I see you're up Henry. Do you think you're ready to go home?"

Mom answered for him, "Yes, he's ready."

Dad, who had been standing in a coner of the room stepped up and in an irritated voice told the room, "Ok, lets get the Hell out of here."

'That's really screweded up man, when did Dad start using hell in anything not refering to the Bible.' Mom and Anne grabbed Henry between the arms and sat him up. They seemed to be in a rush to get him out. Mom pinched Henry the skin on the side of his chest, "Oww!! Not so fast Mom."

"Don't be a baby. Now get up."

Dad pushed a wheelchair up to the bed and pushed Henry down into the seat. He was just as rough as Mom had been, but Henry said nothing. The four adults left the room and went down a hallway. The hallway appeared to be at least a quarter of a mile away but in only about two steps they were at the end in front of an elevator. 'Man things are just a little bit strange. I guess the accident I was in knocked my brains a little loose.'

The elevator doors closed and instantly reopened and they were out the door, down the hall and out of the hospital. "Don't we need to sign-out?"

"We already did sweety. Why don't you just close your eyes for the ride home." Henry closed his eyes, well actualy he just blinked but the next thing he knew he inside he and Anne's apartment and sitting on his couch. Mom, Dad and Anne were standing in front of him with their arms crossed. Henry looked up at them uncomprehending the situation.

"Eat your food Henry." He looked down from his father at the plate on the wicker basket. On the plate was spagetti with hairballs. Henry stared at the little hairball, it was black hair with chewed grass in it. One of the hairballs had a fingernail sticking out. He looked at his father with horror and confusing twisting his face and worse yet Anne and Mom had disappeared.

"What's going on Dad, what is this?"

"Are you alright Henry?" Henry looked back at his food and meatballs had replaced the nasty little hairballs. He was not hungry though, so he picked up the glass sitting next to his plate. Just before the glass touched his lips he could smell the smell of warm piss. He dropped the glass and his mouthed dropped with it when he realized that the hairballs had returned and they had brought their friend, vomit. Henry jumped up and jumped away from the repulsive meal his loveing family had prepared for him.

Mom, Dad and Anne had lined up again and stared at Henry. The front door had blown open and a hot breeze came in and filled the room with a smell like a shit from a cow. Henry watched as four babies marched in, they each were marching Hitler like and were wearing nazi uniforms. They swung their arms to and fro and lined up in front of Henry's family. One baby walked to the front of the crowd and commanded the babies, "BA BA GO DA BA!" The babies saluted the head baby and turned around. Ropes flew up into the ceiling, hooked onto rafters and wrapped themselves around the necks of the three adults. The head baby commanded again, "GA TO GO!" He smirked at Henry. The ropes pulled up and hung the three. Their necks snapped and the babies began to laugh.

Henry stood still, he knew he wasn't really home and started to try to figure out how he would get away, find a way back to reality. As he began to run to the front door blood blew out from the stomachs of his family. His father looked down at Henry and started chanting in a cheerful voice "Henry is satanic! Henry is satanic!" The t.v. flipped on and a little girl with a thorn halo began chanting cheerly like Mom, "Fuck you Henry! Fuck you Henry!"

He turned and began to run back to he and Anne's bedroom when a giant wind up toy dog poked his head through the doorway. It barked and with that he made Henry blast backwards as if a bomb had gone off. The dog began chanting also, "Ready for Hell Henry! Ready for Hell Henry!"

As he backwards on the floor away from the babies who were still laughing, the two women that were hanging from the ceiling began chanting there own cheerful chants. Mom said, "We hate you Henry! We hate you Henry!", and Anne said, "God hates you Henry! God hates you Henry!"

The blood had begun to pour through the words that were coming out of their mouths and run down their chests. The blood had made the shirts stick to there chests and Henry could see that his mother's and Anne's breast had become little hard mountains under their shirts.

Earpiercing music began to play from someplace inside the room. Henry recongnized that it was Stairway To Heaven by Led Zepplin, it was playing backwards. The notorious words screamed over and over in the room "Here's to my sweet Satan" The words pounded into his head and the chanting was literally burns his skin. The skin on his hands were boiling and steem was rising up making Henry sick from the burning flesh smell.