The Ferry Trip
With a hum on her lips, Tams in Wright returned to her hotel room and the pile of clothes dumped on the floor by her case. Things weren’t great for her at the moment, work as a freelance ecologist had drawn her away from her home, her friends and her loved ones for over two months. And while she was well paid, the beds she slept in were never as comfortable as her own. Dropping her lucky pack onto the pile of clothes, she walked into the bathroom and stripped off her brown chinos, orange tank top and olive green hunting jacket, before turning on the shower.
After waiting a few seconds for the water to warm up, she stepped inside and released her copper red hair from the bun it was held in, long locks streaked with dust falling over her shoulders. Whistling the tune to Eddie Grant’s ‘Give me Hope Johanna’ she began to wash herself, only for the water to turn deathly cold, her body collapsing to the floor.
“Well that was anticlimactic.” A bored voice stated, as Tams in stirred, her hands pushing against the grey grass on the bank of the river she was lying by. Rubbing her eyes she looked to the river and the speaker, a man with sleek black hair dressed like a riverboat gambler, a short cane in his hands. “Come on girl I haven’t got all day you know.” He added, as Tams in got to her feet and staggered over to the man, and the barge boat sitting on the river.
“Uh where am I?” Tams in asked, as she realised she was still naked, her hands rushing to her breasts and her hips, her forest green eyes wide in embarrassment.
“Oh please I’ve seen homelier, besides we have clothes for you on the ferry.” The riverboat gambler stated, as Tamsin stepped onto the boat, and took one of the myriad of empty seats. “Okay Charon let’s book.” The man ordered, as he sat down next to Tamsin, before pulling a flask out of his pocket and taking a swig. “Congratulations you’re dead kid, have a drink on Ole Scratch.”
“You…you are the…the devil.” Tamsin gasped, “But I donated to charity, I was a good person I don’t deserve to go to…”
“Hell?” Scratch finished, as he looked at Tamsin’s neck, and the pentacle hanging from it. “You’re dead five minutes and already your faith is wavering. Relax kid, this isn’t hell, this is just where everyone who didn’t get to heaven goes. Being…” He stops and pulls out a piece of crumpled paper. “…eclectic wicca you are banned from heaven by the Judeo-Christian Agreement. Anyone who isn’t Jewish, Christian or Muslin ends up down here for processing, and apparently that’s my job.”
“But you’re the devil, how can I trust you?” Tamsin asked, as she felt something soft caress her beasts, and looked down to see the black leotard she was now wearing.
“That’s all we have at the moment.” Scratch sighed, “And as for trusting me, it’s either that or paddle 20,000 leagues down the Styx.”
“Ah okay.” Tamsin stated, before bowing her head. At the back of the boat, the rudder man dressed in a long cloak coughed, and the ferry pulled over once again to the river bank. There clad in an orange jumpsuit, was a bald man, a wicked sneer on his face.
“Stay down kid.” Scratch ordered, as he stepped off the boat, his body morphing into a red skinned, shaggy bearded, cloven hoofed figure. “Your eternal punishment begins here!!” He boomed, as the man on the bank took three paces backwards, only for Scratch to pick him up by the legs and drag him over to the back of the ferry where Charon handed him a chain. Screaming as Scratch wrapped the chain around his neck, the man was pushed overboard, his body submerging in the water.
“Next stop Charon.” Scratch ordered, as he shrunk back to the form that had greeted Tamsin. “Hey kid are you alright?”
“That man, you didn’t have to do that.” Tamsin whispered, as Scratch sat down beside her.
“I did, he was a serial rapist and murderer who chained young children to lumps of cement and tossed them into swimming pools.” Scratch stated, he saw me as the punishment he deserved, as was his agreement with the faith he chose. “I am the devil to him. You on the other hand, see me just as a normal man because there is no hell concept in your religion.”
“Did you enjoy it?” Tamsin asked, as she looked back towards Charon and the chain dragging behind the ferry.
“Did you enjoy your work?” Scratch asked, as he took another sip from his flask. “Although I guess your job was very different to mine.” He added, as Charon pulled the ferry over to the bank again, a small hare sitting on the bank. Cocking her head to one side, Tamsin watched as Scratch stepped out, picked up the hare and placed it in the ferry,
“What is that for?” Tamsin asked, as the hare leapt onto her lap.
“He was a Hindu, he’s being taken to be reincarnated for his next life.” Scratch explained, “If he has lived a kind life he will return as a human, if not he will become an even lesser creature.” He added, as the barge pulled alongside a half finished bridge sticking over the Styx, a work crew standing on platforms in a vain effort to finish construction.
“And they are?” Tamsin asked, as the workers saluted the barge drifting past.
“Contractors from heaven and the other dead realms.” Scratch explained, as he saluted the workers back. “The Lord and I agreed to fund the construction of a bridge, but so far there has been little progress due to the water and its ability to make a man forget why he is here.” He added as the barge pulled over again, and a man in a suit wandered forward, his eyes covered with a strap of fabric.
“An Atheist.” Scratch told Tamsin, “They are forbidden to see any part of the dead realms due to their lack of belief. Still they are catered for; he’ll be placed in the fields of the faithless where he can be happy.”
“So where am I headed?” Tansim asked, as the Atheist sat down on a seat near the back of the barge.
“There isn’t a place for you.” Scratch stated, “True followers of the Wicca faith are reincarnated, and true Atheists go out to the fields, whilst sinners go to Hell, but you are neither. As such you’ll probably be retained on the ferry until the bridge is completed.”
“Oh.” Tamsin stated, her voice causing the atheist to shudder, the sound surprising him. “Wait what is that?” She asked, as she pointed to a path on the opposite bank, the ferry turning towards it. Throwing out a gang plank, Scratch took the hare off of Tamsin’s lap and placed it on the floor. Shaking itself the hare sped off, down the gang plank and away across the path, its form vanishing over the horizon before the ferry could push off.
“That is the path of reincarnation.” Scratch explained. “A fair if slightly tough path.” He added, as he handed his flask to Tamsin. Taking a deep sip of the river water inside, she watched as the ferry headed back past the bridge, the workers and passengers saluting to each other, before Charon pulled the ship onto another path, one that led to flat fields covered in grey fog.
“The Fields of the Faithless?” Tamsin asked, as Scratch put down the gang plank down again, before helping the Atheist out of the ship, the once staggering man now striding out towards the mists. “So that means out next stop is Hell.”
“I prefer to call it Eternal Damnation.” Scratch told her, as Tamsin took another sip from the flask. “It prevents confusion with the Norse Realm of Helheim.” He added as Charon pulled up the submerged sinner, his body red with blisters and scratches. “This is the final stop before we begin the journey again.” He stated before he took the chain in his hands. “This is my one billionth trip you know, finally my contract is done.” He added as the water opened up to reveal a massive sinkhole, the innards glowing a hellish red. “This is your ship now Tamsin.” He announced, kissing her on the lips before being dragged down by the sinful anchor he was holding, the water crashing down to hide his descent.
“You must complete a billion trips before you can go free.” Charon croaked, as Tamsin watched her reflection change in the river’s surface, her leotard being replaced by a silk dress, a choker wrapped around her neck. “Where to first milady?”
“Take us to the living shores.” Tamsin ordered, her memories of her past life forgotten. “We have work to do, and souls to tend to.”
Log in to comment