Disenchantment 47

*****

 

 

 

 

Floyd Benson was angry, very angry. Oren Phileus would pay for excluding him, for snubbing him. All his life people had ridiculed him, or at the very least, ignored him. They all thought they were good people, but they weren’t. Floyd never had any friends, anyone to care about him, and he eventually became soured to the prospect of developing relationships with others.

 

That had started to change with this group. He began to like Oren and Mark and Nannette, especially Ricardo and Jesus, but that had all come crashing down, like he had half expected it would. Oren barely even knew Hornblende and there was no reason to pick him. He had spent much more time with Oren than the cop. He didn’t understand why Mark suddenly did what he had done. They would all pay for this. The world would pay for the way it had treated him. Fuck them. Fuck them all.

 

Oren’s wife’s decision pleased him. Oren was clearly in distress with her strange decision. That was fine by Floyd, of course. Yet, he wanted more vengeance, wanted the man and the rest of the world to hurt more for what they had done to him.

 

His begging hadn’t worked on Hades, but he could try it again. He still had hope that he could change his outcome here, get power somehow. People had shunned him or outright attacked him his entire life. They had bullied him and used him, tossing him aside when their own ends had been met. He was closer than ever to what he desired in his life. He had to see it through.

 

“Mark Nicastro,” said Hades, “You can now make your request.”

 

“I want to stay here, I think, but I know how to come back, and if I get a request, I don’t want to waste it on that. Maybe I can go back and take care of a few final things, get my affairs in order, then just sort of die. I don’t know.”

 

“You need not think out loud. Do you know how many mortals would love to request something of me? Make your request.”

 

“I guess I would like to know what happened to Mattie. He obviously died. I didn’t want to bring it up with him. He still seems the same age he was when he disappeared. What happened to him?”

 

“Are you serious?” asked Hornblende. “The world is falling apart and you want to ask for some personal shit?”

 

“Silence,” was all Hades said to Hornblende. The cop quit speaking, but didn’t lose his air of defiance.

 

“What happened to Mattie?” asked Mark.

 

“You request knowledge?” asked Hades.

 

“Yes, and maybe vengeance.”

 

“I’ll grant you both. Vengeance was a waste of a request. Any who hurt children suffer down here. I suppose I can make your vengeance more immediate than it would otherwise be, yet still it would have happened regardless.”

 

“Thank you?” Mark posed the words more of a question than a statement of sincere gratitude.

 

“Knowledge. That can change your world down there, primarily that of a police officer.” Hades then looked at Hornblende.

 

“Mark, you can ask for something better,” said Floyd, nearly stammering the words out. “You can find out all this stuff when you finally die.” Floyd knew that he was in some serious trouble.

 

“Says the murderer of your child,” replied Hades.

 

“What?” asked Mark. Even Oren seemed to snap out of his dazed depression upon hearing the accusation of Hades. “He was always suspected, right?” Mark looked toward Hornblende when he asked the second question.

 

Hornblende nodded. “No proof, no motive, but Floyd Benson was the primary suspect. He had not record of abusing kids, or murder, or anything. We didn’t know why he would want to do it.”

 

“He sacrificed him to false gods,” said Hades.

 

“Look, it was to Aztec gods. They believed in human sacrifice. But, you guys, that’s not the real reason I did it. I kidnapped him. I did. Yet, I couldn’t go through with it. I was going to let him go.”

 

“Then why didn’t you let him go? If that was what you were going to do, then what happened?” asked Hornblende.

 

“Malbourne came over.”

 

“Malbourne?” asked Oren.

 

“Look, it was so easy to get him. He basically walked right up to me. He was so trusting. You should have been a better parent. You should have warned him not to trust people. No one was around. I just invited him over for a root beer. He came in willingly. I kept him for a time, and no one saw it. I waited, and the police were called. That first night, they didn’t even interview me. I knew I had gotten away with it. I knew that I could do whatever I wanted with him.”

 

“Where does Malbourne come in?” asked Hornblende.

 

“You people! You shit all over me. No one cares about me. No one has ever given me a chance. I can be a good person, a good friend. You assholes only ever ignore me or use me! I want more. I want friends and power. I want to be loved too. I have sought out the gods, for the power, to be liked, respected.

 

“Still, he was an innocent kid. I got nervous about letting him go, but I couldn’t bring myself to kill the poor child. The police interviewed me the next day. I kept my cool. The following day that private detective you hired came over. He left suspecting something. I am sure of it. Mattie was good and quiet, but I think that guy suspected something. Then Malbourne came the day after. That guy is sick.

 

“He only suspected, but at the time I thought he knew. He offered me money, friendship. He only wanted to have his way with the kid.”

 

“Your hand held the knife that cut his throat,” said Hades.

 

“Malbourne seemed so nice and understanding at first. He reminded me what happens to child molesters in prison. That disgusting prick is into all sorts of stuff. He said I could get rich or I could go to jail. I let him do what he wanted...at first.

 

“He said he wouldn’t hurt him. The first video he took, scared him, but Malbourne only talked to him. The second video... there was some stuff done. He made Mattie take off his clothes and slapped him a bit. He films this stuff and sells it to others. I guess there’s a market for this kind of shit. He said that the first two videos were warm ups, teasers to what comes next. He said he would come the next day to take him away. I just had to watch him overnight.”

 

“Why couldn’t you bring him back home?” asked Mark.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want the kid hurt. I didn’t want to go to jail. It seemed a sign to me. Put the kid out of his misery and also please the gods. He was traumatized. I convinced myself it was easier on him to end him. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it. He would have been put through worse if Malbourne had taken him. I should have released him.”

 

Mark lowered his head and looked at the ground. Silence invaded the space. Hades looked on, his minions quiet, waiting for him to speak. Finally Mark spoke: “Was it quick? Did he suffer when you took his life?”

 

“He might have been scared, but slitting his throat was quick. I learned the Aztec gods don’t exist and started studying others.”

 

“What did Malbourne do when he came to get him?”

 

“He actually sent some men. They ended up taking the body instead. He did come again later. He threatened me, said he would kill me.”

 

“Why didn’t he?” asked Hornblende.

 

“I told him I could get others. Kids tend to like me and want to approach me. That held him off for a time.”

 

“Did you ever get others?” asked Hornblende, a loathing evident in his voice.

 

“No, I kept putting it off, making up excuses. That lasted quite a time. Eventually, I think he knew I wouldn’t and he also seemed to think the case would go unsolved. Malbourne really likes his money and I guess he figured I wasn’t going to say anything and he didn’t want to invest in my murder and disappearance. That’s just a guess. I really thought that when you contacted me and Malbourne found out about it, I was back on his radar for elimination. After Mattie died, he had always threatened me, treated me with disdain, just like everyone else likes to do.”

 

Again, silence prevailed for a time, and all was quiet except the crackling of flames that seemed to burn eternally without any fuel. It seemed Hades was allowing this information to sink in with the other three mortals.

 

Finally, Hornblende drew his revolver and pointed it at Floyd. “You’re going to pay for that, motherfucker.”

 

“Stop,” said Hades. “The living cannot be killed properly in the realm of the dead.”

 

“I can’t ignore this,” said Hornblende.

 

“You are not required to ignore anything. Mark Nicastro also asked for vengeance and I will grant it.”

 

His anger was dissipating. Floyd was beginning to see just how much trouble he was truly in, his past actions were about to be paid for in the present. Rather quickly all his negative emotions against others, against the world were being consumed by fear. “Look, I saved the kid from something worse than death.”

 

“Why didn’t you actually save him like a normal person would? Why did you take him in the first place, you sick fuck?” asked Mark. “There is a reason no one likes you. Most people don’t like weird, perverted shit like that.”

 

“No, the world did it to me first. I only did what I did because the world just doesn’t care about me. The people need to be taught a lesson. They need to learn to respect me.”

 

“Respect is earned,” said Hornblende,” and it seems you’ve done very little to earn it.”

 

“Since you are quite familiar with our history, then you should be familiar with the story of Tantalus, yes?” asked Hades.

 

“Oh please, no. I wasn’t sacrificing to you. It was to different gods.” Tantalus, in Greek mythology sacrificed his son to the gods and they didn’t approve. He was in the underworld, being punished for all eternity.

 

“You can kill in self-defense. You can kill in war. You can kill due to a blood oath or proper vengeance. You can kill someone if we don’t like them or if we think the cause is just. There are many reasons taking a life is looked upon favorably. Human sacrifice is not one of those reasons.”

 

“I helped him,” said Floyd, not even believing the words himself this time. Life was never fair to Floyd Benson and he was beginning to realize that his eternal death would not be fair either, and it certainly wouldn’t be at all enjoyable.

 

Hades stood and raised his hands above his head in clenched fists. “Keres!” he shouted into the hall of the underworld.

 

A low rumbling occurred, and soon the ground beneath them began to vibrate, then shake more violently. A cracking sound thundered through the underworld. A large creature rose into the air in the distance on massive wings. The monster flew toward them and was close enough to gaze upon in seconds. It looked like a giant snake with wings and the head of a dragon. Yellow, orange and gold scales flickered in the firelight. Rough, jagged teeth protruded from the creature’s jaws and the scent of death and rot and despair came from the creatures open mouth as its forked tongue flickered in and out of the black orifice. Obsidian eyes glared at Floyd.

 

“You mortal men have already met Thanatos, god of peaceful death. Please allow me to introduce you to Keres, his sister, goddess of violent death and disease. Some mortals would fear her more than me. She is the only thing to make the followers of Ares waver in their beliefs.”

 

“Please...” said Floyd. He had mostly given up and couldn’t find the words to speak to beg for his life. He didn’t think anything would be worthy enough of forgiveness.

 

“Now you shall have your vengeance, Mark Nicastro. Normally we would allow him to finish his mortal life, but a request is a request and I will allow you to have it now. It makes little difference to us when he is punished, just that he is punished.”

 

In a split second the dragon-like creature lunged forward and grabbed Floyd in her jaws, clenching down hard and flying around in circles in the great hall. There was no pain at all and Floyd only felt the violent movements of the creature as it toyed with him like a cat might do to a mouse.

 

“The living cannot die here in the underworld. Keres, take him above to dispatch him, then bring me his soul.” Hades sat back down in his throne.

 

Keres flew up fast, so quickly. Floyd felt the rushing wind of the G force as the creature propelled him up to the surface with great speed. Once there he began to feel the physical pain as the monster’s teeth tore into his flesh. The jaws of the creature held him tightly, one side of the creature’s mouth allowed Floyd’s arms, shoulders and head to extend beyond the teeth, the other only his feet.

 

Keres bit down sharply, snapping his bones at his ankles and tearing apart his spine and rib cage, allowing the pieces to fall into the dirt. Then it spat out his middle part, his legs and most of his torso. The pain was excruciating, but within seconds it began to fade as Floyd’s body died.

 

He found himself looking down at his body, or the part of his body that still had his arms and head. Dead open eyes stared back at him. “I’m dead. I’m gone.” The sound didn’t come from his body, but his soul.

 

Keres darted back and now grabbed his soul. she writhed around in the air for mere seconds then plummeted back down through the Earth, through Gaia. A new pain began, a burning pain, as if there was a fire deep within him, it got increasingly more intense and excruciating as the creature went down and down, deeper than the great hall of Hades, down into Tartarus.

 

The pain became more and more, the fires burned hotter and hotter. Floyd knew that this was just the beginning of his eternal torture.