Chapter 15.1: Ring of Fire

Earth, July

Gabriel was getting the real college experience, taking his gap year by travelling the world and finding himself.

Sadly, he was saddled with two grumpy old men.

Gio and Carlos were two sticks in the mud, arguing over which way to go in the sprawling public park. The night sky was illuminated by sprinkled stars and the terraformed moon, shining down on the dirt path that carved its way through the rocks and bubbling pools of hot mud.

Gabriel decided to try and enjoy the trip to New Zealand as much as possible, he'd been enjoying their trek around the world, checking every known gate to hell that the Disciples of Amorth knew about, but all of them were either inactive, superstitions, or traps.

Momo's idea had worked, but that didn't make Gabriel exactly pleased with her. He was just grateful that he could sit still in a chair and he didn't want to tear the neck off of every meatsuit he saw.

Gabriel leaned over the wooden railing and bent over to stare into the bubbling hot mud, the steam opening his pores, making his skin sweat, and he swore he could hear it tighten the longer he held his head over the small, black pit.

He counted the bubbles, popping back and forth, trying to make the time pass faster as Gio and Carlos's arguing became louder, shouting over each other, not allowing the other to get a word in.

Gabriel forgot to blink, his eyes started to dry out, and he went blind for a few seconds. He closed them, and shivered, reminding himself he needed to be more careful. When he opened his eyes again, the world was fuzzy, static surrounding him, and from the pit, he swore he could see something move.

He leaned further over the railing to get closer, his eyesight damaged, the bubbles popping faster and faster, the soup coming to a roaring boil.

Carlos pulled him from the back of his t-shirt, grabbed him, and laid into him.

"I shouldn't have to do this anymore," Carlos shouted. "We fixed you!"

"That's not it," Gabriel groaned. He pushed Carlos off of him and glanced at him in disdain. "I'm fine. I was looking in there, I swore I saw something!"

"It's dark, it could have been anything," Gio replied.

"Check yourself," Gabriel replied. He pointed to the bubbling pit, and they both leaned over, nothing different. Gabriel leaned over as well, his eyesight now fully restored, and he was adamant he saw a hand.

"Let's just go check ourselves," Gabriel said.

"No, that's a dangerous idea," Carlos replied. "We're not invincible!"

"What if we just took turns and-"

Gabriel and Carlos paused, stiff as boards, and smelled the air. It was familiar but different, a sibling was nearby, but they did not know this smell, they did not know this one. They smelled the air like bloodhounds, taking a few steps and glancing nervously at the pit.

"What is now," Gio asked. "Why must you continue this depravity?"

"Someone's in there," Carlos said in horror. "Someone we might know."

A sizzling sound came from the black pit, louder and louder, the sound of meat frying intense, causing Gabriel to salivate, his lips twitch in excitement.

They all jerked slightly but stood in place when a skinless body came flying out of the pit, bobbed, swerved, and then landed with a thud a few yards over, on a pile of rocks.

"We found a real gate, one that isn't a trap," Gio exclaimed. "Yes!"

"Someone is hurt," Gabriel complained.

"That is a demon. Don't bother," Gio snarkily replied.

Carlos and Gabriel ran off to the body, and Gio trailed behind unenthusiastically, preparing himself to be greeted by another meat-man made of fingers and human misery. Instead, it was the body of a woman, her body sizzling, and seizing on the ground.

Carlos and Gabriel tried to hold her down, but they did more harm than good when their hands touched her raw muscles, causing her to scream even louder, blood dripping out of her body, her eyes, her tongue destroyed, rendering her unable to speak.

"What should we do," Gabriel asked in a panic.

"Put it out of its misery," Gio suggested.

"No! Who are you to decide," Carlos barked.

Her body continued to seize and convulse on the ground, and Gabriel calmed himself, remembering his training. He took out his wallet, and stuck it in her mouth, or what he assumed was her mouth, protecting whatever was left of her tongue.

He took off his white shirt, placed it under her head to create a pillow, and sat with her until the seizure stopped.

"I'm not going anywhere," Gabriel said. "I'm here for you."

Her convulsions slowly stopped, and she laid still, all of them not sure if she was alive, dead, or un-dead. She couldn't be alive to survive a boiling pit, she was some form of un-dead, so they worked their way up from there.

They all punctured the "juice-boxes" and poured it over her body, and it soaked right in, her sponge body taking in as much as possible. The more they poured over her, the healthier she became. Her eyelids grew back, and she shuddered in relief, the bugs no longer able to sit on her bare, exposed retinas.

Her fingernails regenerated, along with her long brown hair and soft skin. It was a slow process, and the more of her that returned, the more embarrassed the men became, a naked woman in front of them, and they started to avert their eyes.

The last to grow back was her tongue, and she spat out Gabriel's wallet. She wore his plain white shirt and Carlos gave her his jeans, not wanting to see anything else, worried about breaking his vows, and a young woman's chastity.

The woman seemed to be almost mute as they bombarded her with questions and all she could do was stare and shiver, unable to process her voyage.

"Do you know a man by the name of Santos," Gio asked her.

The woman nodded and gripped her shirt tighter, and then she started to cry.

"I left him," she rasped. "I left him because I was afraid. I was so afraid. I'm sorry."

Carlos did what he always did when faced with conflict. He left. In nothing but hiking boots, a blue shirt and striped, green boxers he left, angry that a woman had left his father to die.

"He needs to man up and stop avoiding all his problems," Gio said.

"You need to leave him alone," Gabriel argued. "You've done nothing but argue, and this poor girl needs our help!"

"Why should we help her? Why should I? She left my brother!"

The woman scrambled to her feet, but then fell back down, her body still weak, and suddenly she was hungry again, her body exerting so much energy just to heal itself. The angry blonde man in ugly jean shorts, hiking boots, and a wife beater glowered down at her, and began his investigation.

"Who are you, witch, " Gio spat.

"I'm not a witch," she whispered.

"Leave her alone," Gabriel shouted.

"Give him back to me," Gio bellowed. "Tell me where he is!"

Gio grabbed her by her long brown hair and dragged her back to the pit. She struggled to fly away, but she was too weak, and he pulled harder on her hair, almost tearing her scalp from her head.

Gabriel grabbed Gio by the left arm, the arm he was holding onto her hair with, and pulled.

Sparkling red blood flew out into the air, showering the ground as his arm flew off into the distance and the girl landed to the ground, crawling behind Gabriel, sobbing and begging for mercy.

"I was just afraid to die," she cried. "It was horrible down there!"

"You left him," Gio cried. "You can't-"

Gabriel pushed Gio and he stumbled back, and the entire world tilted with him, the dazzling night sky spinning, and he couldn't hold on, his entire body wet from his own blood.

Gio fell into the pit, hanging on by one hand.

He screamed, Gabriel screamed, the woman screamed, the entire world screamed, his true voice shaking the ground, the air, and Gabriel knew he had made a horrible, horrible mistake.

The world was now jagged lines, all of them screaming, and with every step, they seemed to shake faster, left right, right-right-left, because everyone would feel Gio's pain, no one would be spared.

Falling to the ground, the world still vibrating, Gabriel started to become jagged too, all his lines separating, unfurling, and he was now a blur, everyone was just a color, vibrating along with him, tearing apart at the seams.

Another blur went by, and then another, and the lines snapped back into place. Gabriel was on his back, and he was afraid to move, afraid to anger Gio again, until the woman with brown hair wobbled over, and told him it would be okay.

"Father Alvarez stopped him," she said. "Look."

She pointed to the side, where Gio was now a burning crisp of a man from the waist down, his mouth, tongue, and vocal cords, torn off clean by Carlos. He left Gio on the ground, the bugs already circling his mutilated body, another gourmet treat offered that night.

Carlos overheard what she said and ran over, pushing her away from Gabriel.

"Who are you and how do you know my name," Carlos hissed.

He grabbed Gabriel and this made him jerk away, exclaiming that he could take care of himself, but Carlos would not let go, certain that she was another imposter, just like Gio.

"You don't remember me," she asked. "We met two, three days ago. In Stull? For the party?"

Carlos let go of Gabriel and they laughed nervously, but she was serious, and she pointed at Gabriel, saying that she knew him as well.

"I think I got your number too," she said.

"We went to Stull months ago," Carlos replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'm Savannah. We met… I know we did…"

Carlos looked at her, and saw another Mimi, another little girl who was lost and confused. She was no threat, the mosquitos were more of a threat than she, and Carlos made a mental note to call Mimi soon, and ask her how she was.

"Let's get you out of here," Carlos sighed. "You're not dangerous."

"I think she might be one of us," Gabriel suggested. "Let's take her home."

"What are you talking about," Savannah asked.

"We're blood-brothers now," Carlos smiled, flashing his fangs. "We can smell it on you."

Savannah had left to Hell to be with monsters once again.

There was no escape.