Pandora's Box

Spencer looked around. Was this Hell? Where was the ever-lasting fire? The screams of those who suffer an eternity of torture?

"It doesn't really meet your expectations, does it?" Her face was then stricken with grief. "But I can assure you that the suffering is unbearable." She then looked past Spencer and her terror filled eyes slowly moved upwards. "You see, my penance is to experience the unbearable grief for what I did, and the regret for not experiencing the life I might have had."

Spencer followed the direction of her glance and saw the lifeless body of his mother hanging from the staircase, her eyes bulging from the noose tied around her neck. Spencer raised his hand to his mouth in horror and quickly turned away.

"How could God punish you like this? I thought he was merciful. I thought he was forgiving!"

Mary gave him a weak smile. "In the end, my son, we are all held to account for our actions in life. That's what free will is all about. That's why you mustnot do what you are about to do."

"Mom," Spencer said as he took her hand, "this is all father's fault. You're here because of him."

"I'm here," she said turning away from him, "because of what I did to myself. Your father was a weak man. He broke my heart. I took my life to hurt him in one final, selfish act. He doesn't deserve to die by your hand because ofmy actions." She walked slowly towards him and gently took his face into her hands. "Let him go, and maybe you can still save your own soul."

Spencer began to weep. "It's too late for me, Mom," he cried pitifully. "I chose to look into Pandora's Box. I wanted it to rob me of any goodness so that I could get my revenge on father."

"Spencer," she said softly, "Goodness is an inherent part of all of us. No demonic box can rob you of something that is part of your soul. Individuals can choose to be good, or they can choose to be evil." She kissed her son on the cheek and whispered into his ear, "Choose to be good, my son."

-------------------

"Kill me," the priest cried hysterically. "End this waking nightmare I have been living for fourteen years."

Spencer felt a moment of disorientation. He had the knife in his hand and was ready to use it. But then he looked down at his father with pity. "You are a pathetic man, father," he said in disgust. "I pray that God will strike you down dead," he added, "but it won't be by my own hand." Spencer threw the knife down on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Stephanie hollered in shock. "We came here to kill him."

"Not tonight. Let's go," Spencer said after taking a final puff on his cigarette and throwing it down on the ground. "Where are the others?"

Just then, Lynn and Lisa ran out of the church laughing maniacally. "We did it!" they hooted and hollered. Spencer could see through the windows a yellow glow growing brighter, followed by a sudden explosion that sent flames through the roof of the meeting house.

"Woooooo-hooooooo," Lynn and Lisa screamed."We don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn! Burn, motherfucker, burn!" They tore their clothes off and began dancing like savages in the wild in front of the conflagration.

"We don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn! Burn, motherfucker, burn!"

"What have you done?" Spencer screamed at Stephanie as he watched in horror the church he helped build go up like a torch.

"I'm closing this chapter of your life for good!" she hollered triumphantly. She then picked the knife up off of the ground and plunged it into Father Greg's chest. The feeling was exhilarating. She actually thought she might orgasm right then and there. She pulled the knife out, intoxicated by the surge of evil that flowed through her body, and was ready to plunge it a second time into the priest's chest when Spencer grabbed her arm.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" he wailed as he grabbed the knife out of her hand and tossed it as far away as he could. Violently pulling her by the arm, he shoved Stephanie out of the way and embraced his father who remained on his knees with an expression of horror on his face. "Father," Spencer sobbed, "I'm so sorry. Forgive me."

"My son," the preacher said gasping for breath, "it is I who am sorry for not being the father you needed after your Mother's death. I go now to the Lord for his judgment." The pain was so intense that he lost consciousness, though Spencer thought he was dead.

"Spencer, come see!" Stephanie shouted, callous to the murderous act she had just committed, and pointed at the church engulfed in flames. "Isn't it beautiful?!"

Spencer had never been more afraid in his life. It was impossible for him to think clearly. He had to get out of there; had to find some place, any place, where he could decide what to do next.

"Get in the car!" he yelled at Stephanie.

"But what about Lisa and Lynn?" she protested.

"Get in the fucking car!!!"

Stephanie did as she was told. The other two could take care of themselves. Why should she give a fuck? Besides, four's a crowd. She and Spencer would now be like Bonnie and Clyde, roaming the country and looking for excitement.

Greg regained consciousness just as the Mercedes peeled out of the driveway, leaving an immense cloud of dirt in its wake. He turned his eyes towards the direction of his burning church and the two naked silhouettes dancing in the glow of the flames, continuing their chant over and over.

"We don't need no water let the motherfucker burn! Burn, motherfucker, burn!"

The priest began crying uncontrollably, but there were no tears left to shed. He had lost everything. In a few minutes, he knew that he would lose his life. He had already lost his will to live. And then he heard footsteps behind him and the click of a lighter.

"Hello Father," Jezzie said as she crouched down to look him in the face. "I told ya I'd see you again soon."

"Come to gloat?" the priest asked in a voice filled with despair.

"Mmm-hmm," Jezzie said with a wicked smile. She brought the 120 up to her lips and took a luscious puff. "I just love the smell of burning hymnals," she added with smoke pouring out of her mouth which was then caught by the night breeze and swirled around her head like a mini-tornado. "It smells like...victory."

"We don't need no water let the motherfucker burn! Burn, motherfucker, burn!"

"Shhh," Jezzie hissed, and Lisa and Lynn both fell to the ground like rag dolls, their naked and lifeless bodies motionless. "How can a person even have a conversation with all that noise?" she mumbled as she turned back to Father Greg.

"Spencer could not wield the knife against me," he said in a tone that was almost triumphant, though he lay dying.

"Yes, apparently he had a visit from his Mother," she replied in disappointment.

"Mary appeared before him?" Greg asked in surprise. "Have you lost control even of your own hellish realm, Jezebel?" the priest cackled. "And now you believe you can defeat the heavenly armies of Christ and control the cosmos?"

Jezzie placed her hand on the preacher's chest wound and pressed on it. "That looks painful," she said shaking her head. "You really should get that checked." She pressed on it again, immensely enjoying the scream of pain from the priest.

"And as for Hell, I don't actually control the realm. I'm more like the warden," she said before bringing the 120 up for a puff. "But not even I can control whoHe lets in or out for a visit."

"You'll fail, Satan, as youalways do," the priest said defiantly. "Spencer willnot curse God."

"The night's still young, Father," Jezzie replied, confident that she would win this final round with the Lord. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Greg did not actually have the confidence to contradict her. He feared that Spencer's anger and hatred towards him might still be enough to convince his son to turn against God. Oh, what regret he was feeling.Death will be both a comfort and a blessing. "Lord Jesus, Come into my life," he prayed. "I believe you died and rose from the grave. I believe you live eternally in heaven. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Forgive..."

"You have a long list of sins to atone for, Greg," Jezzie said with a chuckle. "Besides, you're not going to die. At least, not at this moment."

Jezzie put her hand again on his chest wound, and within seconds, the pain in the priest's body had disappeared. He looked down at the blood soaked shirt and saw that the wound had been healed.

"I want you alive to watch the fireworks tonight, knowing full well that it was your own flesh and blood that brought about the End of Days." Jezzie did a quick jerk of her head and stared down the road. "Gotta go," she said as she stood up, brought the cigarette to the side of her mouth, and took a long puff as she watched the flames engulf what was left of the church. "See you in Hell, Father" she said finally in a smoky exhale. She then turned and walked away, the glow of the cigarette in her hand swinging back and forth in the darkness.

PART 13 - The Prodigal Son

Stephanie turned on the radio, searching for the loudest and dirtiest rock music station she could find. When she came across an acid rock guitar solo, she pumped up the music and lit a cigarette. She turned the tip a bright orange with a powerful freehanded puff as her fingers moved rapidly in an air guitar accompaniment.

Spencer kept his eyes on the road, his white knuckles gripping the steering wheel tightly. He wasn't the one who torched the meeting hall, nor did he kill his father with his own hand; but he was culpable for both acts. After all, it was his idea to go to the church; and he certainly went with the intent to end his father's life. When Stephanie had committed the deed, he fled the scene after watching what he believed was his father's last breath. He was finally free of his father's clutches, but at the cost of his soul. He was damned now for sure. What would Hell look like for him, he wondered? Was the hellfire and eternal torture only reserved for murderers...and abettors like himself?

"No more rules,motherfucker!" Stephanie yelled at the top of her lungs. She placed the cigarette between her lips and formed the sign of the horns with both hands as she took a powerful puff, inhaled, and exhaled a thick cascade of smoke through her nose. "Wooooooooo!!!!!"

No more rules. Spencer had to admit: it was tempting to just say "fuck it." After all, if his soul was already damned, then really, what was the point of holding back? He lit a fresh cigarette, feeling the evil of the Pandora course through his veins. It was amazing how calm that cigarette made him feel.Maybe we can get away with what we have done, he began to rationalize to himself;if not in the afterlife, than at least in the here and now. They could do whatever the fuck they wanted!

But for how long? Weeks? Days? A few hours? It's not like they could just disappear. Spencer knew that eventually they would be caught. And no matter how much smoke he inhaled, he could not shake that nagging feeling of guilt. Yet the hooting and hollering of the young woman in the passenger's seat indicated that she had absolutely no concept of the inevitable consequences that would flow from their actions tonight. It was like she had gone totally insane, her mind twisted beyond redemption by the wickedness of Pandora's Box that gave her so much pleasure.Oh, God, what have we done? Why did we listen to Jezzie?

He had so much hate for that woman. With every puff he took on that pearl-filtered 100, he thought of the many ways he would kill her. He wanted her dead. Unlike with his father, he would show no hesitation if given the chance to make that happen. No second thoughts. She would pay for what she had done to him and his family. He sped down that dark country road at 70 mph, thinking about the lustful pleasure it would give him to snuff out her existence; the same pleasure he had when he ejaculated all of that hate into her pussy.That bitch is going down.

And then, off in the distance, he saw the shape of a woman several miles down the road. He knew it was her. It had to be her...taunting him. Waiting for him. He put his foot down hard on the gas pedal.

"Hey," Stephanie said pausing her air guitar solo, "you're going pretty fast. Why don't you slow down?"

Spencer ignored her. He tapped the excess ash off of his cigarette and placed it in the corner of his mouth between his teeth, puffing hard to make the tip glow brightly so that he could inhale a powerful blast from that Pandora.More speed.

"Spencer," Stephanie yelled, frantically reaching for the seatbelt, "you're doing 90 mph. Slow the fuck down!"

Spencer smiled as he took another powerful puff.This ends now. He would only stop when Jezzie's broken body was crumpled on top of the windshield.

As he moved closer to the woman, he saw her taking a puff on the long cigarette she held between her fingers. He was nearly on top of her, so close that he could see her inhale the ball of smoke in her mouth. And then the woman threw out her arms towards the car in a dramatic gesture.

"LOOK OUT!" Stephanie screamed as the Mercedes slammed into the road barriers of Dead Man's Corner.

As if in a slow motion scene from a movie with the acid guitar solo swelling into a crescendo, Spencer watched the world spinning round and round as the car somersaulted multiple times. Shards of glass began floating in the cab as the windshield shattered. He heard a blood curdling scream from Stephanie; the sound of the car horn going off and on; the deafening scraping of metal being twisted. Suddenly he was flying through the air and hitting the pavement with an agonizing thud. For a few seconds more, the night was filled with the blaring of the car horn as the Mercedes came to rest right-side up. And then...there was only silence.

Immediately Spencer was on his feet, limping towards the wrecked vehicle."Stephanie!" he screamed. "Oh, God....Stephanie!" When he reached the car, there was no longer a door on the driver's side. He looked inside, once again calling her name, and saw her broken body. Blood dripped from her forehead. Her eyes were wide open with the look of terror in them.

Spencer stared at the scene in shock, numb to what he was seeing.She can't be dead. It's not possible. "Stephanie?" he asked softly as he gently put his hand on her shoulder. Tears formed in his eyes. "Babe?" And then he lost it, a total emotional meltdown as he began to cry uncontrollably. This was his fault. All of this was his fault.

Suddenly he felt a piercing pain in his stomach. He looked down at his shirt and saw that it was soaked in the color of crimson. He didn't need to look at the wound. He knew instinctively that it was fatal. Feeling increasingly light headed with the loss of so much blood, he collapsed to his knees but managed to turn his body around so that he could sit leaning against the car. He could taste the blood now in his mouth as it was increasingly more difficult to breathe.

So this is how it all ends? Alone? Without redemption? He closed his eyes.What an idiot I've been. The tears had stopped but not the chasm of regret he could feel surging in his soul in what he knew were the final minutes of his life on this earth.

"Hey lover," he heard a soft voice say. When he opened his eyes, he saw Stephanie standing in front of him holding a freshly lit 120 cigarette. She was dressed in the same black sexy outfit she was wearing that evening, but now there wasn't a scratch on her. In fact, there was a certain glow about her. "You don't look so good," she said to him with a thin smile.

"I don't feel so good," he replied with a wince as he wiped away the blood from a corner of his mouth. Spencer was calm as he stared at her. He knew she was dead and that he would be joining her soon.

She sat down next to him and offered him a puff from her cigarette. Spencer declined. "I was always afraid that if I started smoking it would kill me," he said with a weak chuckle. "'Guess I was right." He gave out a monster of a cough.

After a long pause, he said pathetically, "We really fucked up."

"Mmmmmm," Stephanie replied ruefully as she made the tip of her cigarette glow orange with a gentle puff. After exhaling through her nose, she added, "We made some bad choices."

"You think?" The pain was excruciating now, and Spencer wanted to scream, but he found the strength to continue to remain calm. Having Stephanie next to him was a great comfort. At least he wouldn't die alone."Oh," he moaned with another wince as he clutched his stomach with his hands.

"It won't be much longer now," the specter said in a sympathetic tone as she stroked the side of his face. "We'll be together soon."

"In Hell?" he asked, unable to hide the fear in his voice.

"It's not so bad, really," Stephanie answered. She then added with a weak smile while holding up her cigarette, "You can smoke as much as you want." Then she looked crestfallen. "Though I will admit that it doesn't feel nearly as good as when I was alive." She took another puff and quickly exhaled. "In fact, I can't feel anything at all."

"Maybe that's the idea," Spencer responded with a chuckle that gurgled from the blood forming in his mouth; "to remind you of the pleasure of life without actually enjoying it."

"Hmmm," Stephanie hummed as she took another puff. "Maybe."

The two were silent for a brief moment, the only sound being the hiss from Stephanie's exhales.

"So what's it like down there?" he asked with another cough.

Stephanie took a puff which she then slowly inhaled in a creamy stream up into her nostrils as she thought about how to answer that question. "Mainly you just sit around and feel...regret." She looked at him with sad eyes. "It's pretty miserable, actually." She took a long puff.

"You only just died a few minutes ago," Spencer said in surprise.

"Time has no meaning there," she replied with smoke pouring out of her mouth.

"Honestly, it's already felt like an eternity to me," she said in despair. She then looked at him with a sparkle in her eye. "But you can change that."

"Can I?" Spencer replied in disbelief.

"Listen to her, Spencer," said one voice.

"She's telling you the truth," offered another.

The dying teenager looked up and saw two young women standing before him, both of whom were holding freshly lit 120 cigarettes.

"Lynn? Lisa?" He had only just left them at the church.Were they dead, as well?

"You have the power to save us," Lynn said.

"You're the last of the virtuous line for mankind," Lisa added.

"You can bring about the End of Days and get your revenge on God," Stephanie said calmly.

"End of Days? Revenge on God? What are you all talking about?" Spencer replied, his head spinning as he tried to make sense of what sounded like total nonsense to him. "God is not to blame for why I am slowly bleeding to death. I was the one who made those choices in life that got me here." He coughed violently and spit out a mouthful of blood. "We all did!"

But the three women continued to make their arguments with a sense of desperate urgency.

"God took your mother, Spencer."

"And mine, too."

"He let you suffer a lifetime of abuse from your father."

"And look at this hell on earth he's created."

"You can put an end to it."

"Curse him now, with your last breath of life, and you'll be eternally rewarded."

"We all will!"

Spencer closed his eyes. A moment ago, he was grateful that he would not have to die alone. Now, he wanted these specters to just leave.Dear God, why won't they just let me die in peace?

"You don't owe Him anything, Spencer," Stephanie counseled. "After what you've done, my love, you're damned anyway. Do yourself, us, and mankind a favor. Bring the end of days."