Heat in the Heart of Hell The thirst was unbearable. As was the hunger- constantly gnawing away my insides. But the thirst. If felt as though I had never taken a sip of water; as if my throat was a desert—all dry wind and sand. My body ached and was sore to the touch, my entire body was covered in blisters caused by the heat. My ankles and feet throbbed, repeatedly stung by scorpions. That was eternity in the Ninth Circle of Hell. My suffering in Hell started with Minos. While it was uncomfortable crossing the river with Charon into Hell Proper, it was nothing compared to what was to come. Minos grabbed me, and as I stared into his empty eyes, I was struck with so much fear that I immediately started shaking. All I could do was confess, and …show more content…
The shade who spoke was David Turpin, and he said that the other shade was his wife Louise. His voice was creaky, and it sounded like great effort was needed to make any noise. I asked why their punishments were greater than mine, and what they had done to deserve it. This time Louise responded, “we were abusive, the same as you. But we were stuck caring for thirteen greedy and ungrateful children. We treated them like the animals they were,” she croaked out. After she told me this, I remembered who these shades were. No wonder they were treated like this. They made my sins look like nothing. The Turpins chained their children up, starved them, and neglected them in nearly every way they could. Scorpions for their stinging verbal abuse, chains that they used on their children... I realized that I was talking to some of the most evil people in this circle. I asked them if they knew anything else about this circle. David responded, “we are in the ninth circle of Hell, the lowest one that there is. Within the larger circles are smaller ones, where shades of specific sins reside. Violence is the ninth circle, abuse against family is the smaller circle we are in. There are many other circles of course, not only in the ninth, but in all of Hell proper. There is no way to escape, only to continue with the pain forever.” And with those final words, it seemed like they could never speak another word. There was also nothing new for me to learn. I turned and walked away. Only after a few steps I looked back, but saw nothing but hazy red