City of Sinners

Chapter 31

We kept our mouth shut.

While we sail on the river of hell, we never made another instance of conversation or even any noise. It wasn’t because we’re not allowed to, but because it became a undiscussed agreement for all of us, as we observe these things that we were seeing swimming in the burning river.

We were wary and alerted. Seeing these things—people’s soul that is swimming, moaning, crying, shouting, and begging—swimming in a surely terrifying extreme-degree of the river. It was as if a scene I have been seeing in a lot of biblical portrayals about hell, but more extreme—more terrifying.

Everyone was crying, looking at us , begging to be helped by us.

“Help!”

“Someone save me!”

“Repent your sins!”

Those were just the things I have been hearing as this supposed to be silent river became the swimming place of the ghostly sinners.

From seeing this terrifying thing, I have asked myself: did I do wrong things, an extreme one, or perhaps just a small one, that would make me also convicted into swimming endlessly into this river of hell—forever?

The thought has gave me shivers. Fear—not from the ghosts being burned in the river, but the fear of the things I have wrongly done—had made a chilling sensation crept to my body. To repent my sins, I think, that is what I shall do.

Finally, after an hour-like long minute of sailing in the river, we were now able to reach the other side of the river, and in here, I know that second gates of hell was already waiting for us.

“Joshua, how’s your arm?”

I heard Gaston asking. Joshua was a Vulture member like me, and he was the one who’ve had a burnt arm when a certain soul’s arm from the burning river of hell has held onto him. Luckily, Gaston has given him a healing potion which had quickly penetrated to his wound after he drank it.

“Better. Never expected that the burn of the fire would be that painful. The pain, it is unexplainable,” Joshua answered.

We were already standing at the shore of the river, away from its burning fire. We were just waiting for the others to get away from their boats. Surprisingly, after reaching the other side of the river, the grim reaper has went missing from our bare eyes. Yet, we can still feel its presence, and the power it was resonating. The boats are still moving on its own, moving in an arranged manner, so that the there would be no havoc upon board.

I know for a fact that there the grim reaper was somehow recorded in literary books or records that the world have. It has a name, and it has a specified role. But since I’m dull when in terms of remembering, most especially if it is academic-related, I don’t remember what the name of that grim reaper is.

“S—Sitri.”

I was busy looking and watching the other gangs getting off of the small boats they are riding, when Gaston called me in a manner of panicking.

I looked at him with confusion. “What is it?” I asked. My forehead were scrunched in confusion.

“The gate for the second cirlcle of hell,” he answered.

He did not pinpoint were the second gate of hell was, but I was able to find it just by following where Gaston’s eyes were fixed?

I remember this place. 13th Upper Hill Subdivision, Sao Garde City. It is a subdivision found in the city where most of the people may be able to live a good, abundant, elite life. However, they were not as rich as the people found in the center of the city. This subdivision were not extremely strict in terms of security. In fact, a lot of people who wants to seek filling their pleasures, can be found entering and exiting in this place. It is a subdivision where a lot of bars, motels, prostitutes, and even darker; drug dealers, could be found. It is one of my dad’s most problem, next to us, the gangs who are causing havoc in the whole city. There has been a lot of actions that was took to eradicate the problems and complains in this place—even the owner of the subdivision was given a legal file complaint, and was sentenced for imprisonment. But, since the owner was a big international business tycoon, he has never served his sentence, instead pay a lot of money to those who were affected by the issue. Even my dad has received a huge sum of money—which he took, because I know he is greedy.

Ever since, it was called the pleasure zone. Because most of the things that can be found here, was into making people’s lustful pleasures be satisfied.

And, never did I know that the gate of the 13th Upper Hill Subdivision, the gate of the pleasure zone, would also be the gate for the second circle of hell: the circle of lust.