Title 2

I gaze up at the charcoal gate before me. It is massive, towering above and engulfing me in its cryptic shadow. Despite the queer quivers of heat that radiate through the iron, my body shivers and convulses beyond my control. An ice-cold trickle caresses my spine. Anticipation? Fear? Guilt? I mentally check off all of the above. I do not know what lies beyond the metal barricade before me and I am not prepared to enter. I move my gaze upward, past the reaches of the ominous gate. A sorrowful sky lingers far above, casting a dim grey over the entire world. The clouds coil and writhe together, creating an opaque veil. There is nothing around me but the gate and the grey. I am all that exists; therefore I must not exist. I can feel a tug in my chest, the gate beckoning me forward, luring me to enter. The emptiness, the loneliness that surrounds me is Hell enough. A flame sparks to life within me. Furiously, I contemplate the fate that lies behind the vast barrier. I am certain of the broiling flames that await me, their incandescence envelopes me even where I stand. A small panic rises from my gut as my intuition draws the conclusion. My fate, my destiny beyond the gate is an illusion. Behind the metal lies the same hollow, harrowing world. I was right; this is Hell. A disconcerting calm overtakes me as I accept this destiny. I close my eyes and before I can think, I shove the gate open and step into the fire of my isolated mind.