A Hellish Adventure

Chapter I

Blue flames hissed from the walls, heating the already burning air. Demons flew on the backs of red-eyed black horses. Screams erupted from deep in the cavern. Malicious laughs came from all sides. He walked on, anxious to get to his destination. He had faced worse challenges than this and wasn't about to give up now, so close to his goal. Rushing, he continued on.

The large dark door towered above his head. Hesitantly he knocked. A loud roar almost knocked him off his feet. "WHO DARES DISTURB THE LORD OF DARKNESS?"

He announced himself proudly. "I am Dark Stone. If I may, I would like to bargain with you." Dark Stone stood there, waiting for a response. He took the door opening as a good sign. Looking around the room he entered, he was amazed. Demons flew around the ceiling, holding bloody swords, bodies bleeding all over. Their hideous faces came close to making Dark Stone fall to his knees. Death, pain, sorrow, horror, all were visible in their eyes. Long curled black horns protruded from the heads of some, the tips covered in a thick, lumpy blood. Their bodies had strength. The strength of pure evil. In the center, sitting in a large throne that looked to be made of bones, with the stench of blood coming from it, was the one Dark Stone had come for. His name? Satan. Devil. Lord of Darkness. Lucifer. Beelzebub. The source of all evil. He, unlike his demons, was not covered in blood. In fact, he actually looked, well, beautiful. He looked very much like an angel. Which he was, at one point. But angels did not have the look of pure evil in their eyes. Satan held a scepter in his hands, with a globe filled with blackness at the top. He pointed it at Dark Stone.

"This better be good. I do not have time to waste when there are souls to capture." He said this with a slight smirk.

"I think you will enjoy it very much. I have co-" Lucifer looked at Dark Stone, signaling for him to get to the point. "Anyway, I would like to sell to you a secret that could give you advantages over anything and all. The price is simple: I want to have powers. Strong powers. Killing powers. A small price to pay, I should think." The Lord of Darkness stared Dark Stone down, thinking of how he could use the supposed secret. He didn't care how Dark Stone used the powers, of course. Evil was his forte.

"Okay, Dark Stone. I accept your offer. I will give you some of my strongest powers for your secret." At this he waved the scepter, stood up, and chanted. Dark Stone floated a few feet in the air for a moment, then fell with a thunderous clap. He stood up, brushing off his dark black cloak. Small blue sparks flew from his hands for a moment, then they stop. Half of his face looked burnt, a mark signifying the dark deed he had done.

Satan studied Dark Stone for a moment, admiring the mark he left on his face. "You will write this secret of yours on a scroll. I want to eliminate the slightest possibility of anyone using it against me." Dark Stone laughed hysterically, on the verge of tears. When he finished, he spoke.

"Lucifer, I thought you had better sense than this. You should know I would never give you any of my knowledge after I have received this kind of power." With that, he knocked down a piece of rock, separating himself from Satan. He ran through the still open doorway that he had entered the chamber from and came into the antechamber. Without stopping, he kept running. He could hear the wing beats of a thousand demons chasing him on their horses. Some of the demons ahead of him looked confused, but they soon learned what was happening when the other demons flew past them. Dark Stone had already passed, of course, so all they could do was join in the chase. Some of them were smart and once they saw the crowd behind tried to stop Dark Stone in the front. He proved too powerful, though.

At last, a large staircase could be seen leading a few hundred feet upward. The demons were right behind him now, and Satan would surely be drawing close, so he ran at top speed to get there. He wouldn't waste time climbing up those stairs, as the demons and their horses would catch up in no time, so instead he used his power for the second time. He didn't give himself wings, he just simply levitated up towards the opening. He went very fast, faster than the demons could ever go. They would not be able to come out into the sunlight yet, not without preparation. So he went straight upward into the sunlight, blinded for just a few moments.

When he was at last safe for a little while, he laughed. He had beaten Satan! At least for now, he thought. When Satan roared so loud the earth shook, that made it all the better, and worse, for him.


Chapter II

Demen slowly lifted his head, aware of the dim light seeking in through the small window. Today was the first day of summer, the first day of the year his father would not need him to do any work on the farm and he could go down to the creek. As the light got brighter, Demen got up out of bed and put his dark blue shirt on. It was stained with dirt, the mark of hard work. He hurried down the stairs of the small 2-story log house, the smell of cornbread and milk drifting up from the kitchen.

"Hello, Mother! Up early today, aren't you?" His mother was leaning into the fire oven, putting some fresh kneaded bread into it.

"Early?! The sun has been in the sky for at least an hour. Now, get out of here. I have work to do." Demen grabbed a small piece of cornbread and walked out through the open door. The wind was blowing gently, making the wheat field blow. Excitedly, he ran across the field, careful not to crush any plants, and made his way to the small patch of forest on the east side. He followed the sound of water splashing around. It had been almost a year since he had a chance to come down here, yet he still knew the way almost by heart.

Once he got to the water, he threw off his shirt and jumped in. It was icy cold, despite the intense summer heat. It felt good, though. He went underwater, just to resurface about 30 seconds later. He was never good at holding his breath for long. He wasn't very talented in many areas like that. Swimming, climbing, running, none did he excel in. But when it came to building things or reading a good book (though they were hard to find) he was great.

After around an hour just lazily drifting, he decided to get out. After putting his shirt back on, he attempted to climb a small tree. But before he could start, the ground shook. Harshly. He fell on the ground, tearing his shirt straight through the middle. He stayed on the ground until it stopped, then hurried home.


Chapter III

Dark Stone hid in the bushes, looking this way and that for any of Satan's demons that may have made chase. He didn't expect any to come, as they did not come out very often. Of course, after Satan's outrage came in the form of a loud roar, many of them would probably like to be out. So Dark Stone hid.

He realized, after more than three hours of sitting in the bushes, that he could use his new found powers to warn himself ahead f time if there were danger approaching. A few words, and he had his own safety vision. He also realized he was hungry. Doubting he had the power to control that, he went in search of food.

He found a few berries in the small forest, but nothing significant. He decided to go out of the forest, to find a rabbit, perhaps. But instead there was a field, and a small house of to the right. He examined it, found no dangers, and walked towards it. Maybe there would be a nice, He laughed at the concept of "nice", family there that had some food He could steal.


Chapter IV


"DEMEN! What has happened to you? You look like a bull has trampled you." Demen was just entering the doorway when his mother saw what he looked like. He was hoping to be able to sneak in past her, but of course he had no luck in doing so. She was always looking around, making sure nothing ever happened.


"You didn't feel the earthquake? Surely you did." When his mother looked at him quizzically, he explained to her what had happened when he felt the earth rumble violently beneath his feet.


His mother looked flustered, waving her face with a small towel that was sitting on the counter. "Do not lie to me young man! You know as well as I that earthquakes do not come out this far. Why, they hardly come out as far as Charlestown. Now tell me the truth. What really happened?"

"I'm not lying Mother!" She glared at him, and signaled for him to leave. He ran up the stairs, hurrying into his room. Looking out the small window, excluding glass, as that was much too expensive, he saw a man wearing a black cloak walking toward the house. As the man drew nearer, he saw that half of his face was dark black, as if it were burnt. Something was very suspicious about this man.

There was a knock on the door...

Chapter V
Demen ran down the stairs. He wanted to know what this man was up to. He got down just as his mom opened the door.

"Why hello, sir. What brings you by here?" His mom examined the man. Dark, torn clothes. Scarred face. Honestly, she thought he looked like he had just came out of heck. Which he had, but they didn't know that. Yet. His voice was stern and fierce when he responded.

"I am looking for a place to stay, ma'am. All of my possessions have been blown away by a storm that came by earlier. What's on my back is all that I own..." He put on a little charade. A whited sepulcher is what you would call him, I believe. They of course did not know what he was really up to. Only Demen had a few suspicions about him.

"Come in, sir! Come in. I'm sorry for what you have loss. I have some soup boiling over the fire right now. Go sit at the table and I am sure we could spare some." Demen knew this wasn't true. They barely had enough to feed themselves, much less another adult. It had been a rough time. No way would he be able to stay long if they wanted to live. Besides, there was something Demen didn't like about this guy...

Chapter VI
"Susan, who is this?" Demen's dad had just walked inside as the sun was setting. Dark Stone was sitting in a chair, silently sleeping.

"This is Joseph, Matthew. He's had a rough time. I've invited him to stay for a while, until he can get back on his feet." He pondered this for a moment, then waved it off. He had better things to do than worry about some stranger. He went over to the oil lamp, lit it, and reached for his Bible. He always read the Bible aloud to his family at night. Tonight was no different.

"Ephesians, chapter 5 verse eleven 'Have no fellowship ...'" At this Dark Stone, or "Joseph" as he will be referred to as now, jumped up.

"I'm feeling a little sick. Would you mind if I go upstairs and lie down?"

"Most certainly not," Susan said. "You can sleep in Demen's bed. He won't mind. Last door on the hall." This made Demen mad, but there wasn't much he could do about it. His father continued on...

"' [11] Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. [12] For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. [15] See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. [16] Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. [17] Wherefore be not ye unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.'" His father continues on for quite a while, while Demen only half-heartedly listened. His mind kept going back to the strange man.

When his father finished, he solemnly closed the Holy Book and bowed his head in prayer. When the prayer was finished, a large wind flew through the uncommonly dense night air. Demen didn't know it, but it was the start of the rest of his life.


Chapter VII
Meanwhile, "Joseph" was sitting on the floor in Demen's room, trying his best to stay alive. Just hearing that small snippet of Scripture made his stomach lurch. Knowing they were reading it downstairs made it that much worse. He tried to conjure up his powers and perhaps make things a little bit better, but he was too weak.

The whole time Demen's father had read, Dark Stone lurched on the floor. It didn't stop for a long while. He had never felt anything like it. When it finally ceased, he crawled onto Demen's bed and pulled the sheets over his head. He had no trouble falling asleep.


Demen had wanted to see if the mysterious man was doing anything. He crawled up the stairs to his room and looked in. Oddly enough, he was sleeping like he lived there. Maybe he isn't so strange after all, he thought. A chill wind blew from his room and he went downstairs, his new temporary room. With a strange feeling inside of him, he fell asleep.


Chapter VIII
"Joseph, would you like to come down before breakfast?" He woke with a start, after having a terrible dream. Demen's mother was standing in the doorway, the sun shining on her face. He noticed that his vision was back to normal. Figuring that his earlier magic had just worn off overnight, he responded.

"Thank you for waking me up, ma'am. I will be down in one minute." She nodded and left the room. He got out of the bed and immediately put his "safety vision" back on. It worked perfectly, and he was glad it did. Satan wouldn't wait much longer. Thinking about this, he went downstairs.

Mrs. Susan Poin was preparing a small piece of meat and some bread for breakfast. Of course, it wasn't much. He stared greedily at the food. Demen saw this, and got very angry.

"You know we all have to eat that, don't you?" "Joseph" looked at him, nodded, and sat down. Mrs. Poin came around with a plate holding the food.

"Here you go, Mr. Joseph...?" She waited for him to reveal his last name.

"Stone. And thank you very much, Mrs. Poin." Everyone talked gleefully during breakfast, except Demen. He knew something was wrong.

Chapter IX

Demen was outside, trying to have a bit of time to think. After breakfast his mother had asked him to help clean up, and she kept talking about how nice Joseph was. Demen knew she was wrong. How could they all be fooled by his horrible charade? Older people are supposed to know these things, he thought.



Dark Stone was chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Poin and they were having a grand old time. Mr. Poin was telling about the recent mishaps in town, he figured Joseph should be able to have a clue on what was happening.

"But don't mention it to Mistress Love. She's terribly ashamed of it now!" They all had a great laugh, as if they were old friends catching up after a long time. Joseph stood up, and asked if he could go outside for a bit of fresh air. With their approval, he left out the kitchen door.

Demen saw him come through the door and quickly ran behind a small tree. He saw Joseph squint, scanning the surrounding area for something. Demen looked around too but saw nothing. Joseph breathed a small sigh of relief, but he stayed very alert. Demen watched as he pulled something out of the black cape he was still wearing. It appeared to be a small rock, with a dazzling blue center. Demen stared at it, mesmerized. He gasped when Joseph rubbed it between his palms, burning a hole straight through them. Joseph didn't even blink, but he did smile. This proved to Demen that this guy wasn't normal.

Suddenly, Joseph's gaze fixed on Demen. Joseph grinned evily and walked towards him.

Chapter X

"Hello, Demen." He was staring into Joseph's dark cold eyes. They penetrated him, leaving him cowering in fear. Joseph just smiled, looking as innocent as a puppy.


"W-what do you wan-nt?" Demen shivered as he spoke to the man. Nothing was nice in his features. The burnt spot on his face had a glow to it, making him seem all the more menacing.

"I think the real question here is, what are you doing spying on me?" He glared at Demen, not too harshly though.

"I wasn't! I... I was just looking for something that I lost out here." He spread his hands through the grass, hoping Joseph would believe him.

"I'm not very fond of liars, young man! Now, come with me. I have something that you should know before you ever try to spy on me again." He picked Demen up by his shirt and led him to a place far away from the house.

Chapter XI

"You are a very sneaky child," Dark Stone sat down on a rock. "But not sneaky enough. I know you tried to peek in on my the first night I was here." Demen acted innocent, but Dark Stone just waved him off.

"So, you must have something to hide f you don't want me seeing what you are doing," Demen tried his best to sound confident.

"I don't have to hide it, I just choose to. Would you like to know the story? You won't remember a thing after you leave anyway." Demen nodded, thinking there was no way Dark Stone could make him not remember.

"Well, first things first. My name is not Joseph. I go by Dark Stone. No, no, no. Hold your applause." Demen wasn't applauding anyway. "How did I come to be here, at your house? Well, let me start from the very beginning, well before you or I was born. There was an angel named Lucifer. He was the Chief of Music in a place known as Heaven. One day, he proclaimed that he was better than God. God cast him out, and made a place just for him. This place was called Hell. Hell was never intended for humans, rather just Satan and his followers.

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