Prompt: Limbo
Character Name: Zep Hindle
Origin: Saw
Word Count: 509
Character’s LJ: itstherules
Rating: PG-13 (mentions of horror themes and violence, slash implied)
Prompt: Limbo
MUN NOTE: I used another meaning of the world Limbo -not “a dance”, but “a hypothetical afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned.”
In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts Limbo as the first circle of Hell. ©
From Wiki
Time was running out.
Nervously, Zep wiped away the sweat from his forehead and stared at the monitor again. He realized by then that Lawrence would fail - it was inevitable, and then he would do what he had to do. He clasped the handle of the gun and kept his finger on the trigger. His hands shook slightly.
He recalled their last meeting with John at the hospital. His treatment was over. When Zep arrived John had already packed up his things and was about to leave.
“I’m so glad that you’re better, John. I’ll miss you though.”
“I’ll miss you too” John said with a slight smile.
“If you return for treatment, be sure, I’ll be here to keep you company” Zep said, after a moment of hesitation.
John shook his head.
“I’m fed up with hospitals. There’s no point in carrying on the treatment. As you well know, Dr. Gordon said it’s a hopeless case”.
“Don’t listen to Larry! He is just a - “
“Calm down. I know that I’m dying and it can’t be helped. I don’t want to spend my last days in hospital. I have so much to do before I die.”
“But why, John, why?! How could all this happen to you? It’s unfair” Zep muttered.
“I disagree” John replied in a calm voice. “Once I thought it is unfair. I remember the day that my journey to Hell began. I passed through all the circles: Limbo, Purgatory, Hell of the Damned… At first I couldn’t understand: Why?! What did I do to deserve such a punishment? But I realized at last. I lived like other people in the world. I took my life for granted. I was as blind as others. But someone - or something - wished to cure me of my blindness. Sometimes you should pass through all the circles of Hell to understand - life is blessing! Humanity no longer uses its instinct of survival. We all live in ignorance. But some of us have a chance of rebirth.”
“Does it mean I live in ignorance too?” Zep said thoughtfully. “Do I really have a chance of rebirth, what do you think?”
“Sure, you do!” John smiled kindly at Zep. “One day you will face your own demons, but don’t be afraid. It will be the day of your own rebirth.”
“Good luck, Zep!” he said and went away.
Zep stayed alone in the empty ward.
For a few minutes, he stood motionless staring at John’s bed which still kept the scent and the warmth of his body.
“That’s all” he thought, seized with the bitterest feeling of loneliness.
Making sure that nobody saw him he knelt before the bed and pressed his cheek to the pillow inhaling the almost perceptible scent of the man who had become so close to him.
“Good luck, John!” he whispered.
6:00
Time was up.
He turned off the monitor and took a few deep breathes.
“We all are in Hell now. But some of us have a chance of rebirth” he thought loading the gun.
Origin: Saw
Word Count: 509
Character’s LJ: itstherules
Rating: PG-13 (mentions of horror themes and violence, slash implied)
Prompt: Limbo
MUN NOTE: I used another meaning of the world Limbo -not “a dance”, but “a hypothetical afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned.”
In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts Limbo as the first circle of Hell. ©
From Wiki
Time was running out.
Nervously, Zep wiped away the sweat from his forehead and stared at the monitor again. He realized by then that Lawrence would fail - it was inevitable, and then he would do what he had to do. He clasped the handle of the gun and kept his finger on the trigger. His hands shook slightly.
He recalled their last meeting with John at the hospital. His treatment was over. When Zep arrived John had already packed up his things and was about to leave.
“I’m so glad that you’re better, John. I’ll miss you though.”
“I’ll miss you too” John said with a slight smile.
“If you return for treatment, be sure, I’ll be here to keep you company” Zep said, after a moment of hesitation.
John shook his head.
“I’m fed up with hospitals. There’s no point in carrying on the treatment. As you well know, Dr. Gordon said it’s a hopeless case”.
“Don’t listen to Larry! He is just a - “
“Calm down. I know that I’m dying and it can’t be helped. I don’t want to spend my last days in hospital. I have so much to do before I die.”
“But why, John, why?! How could all this happen to you? It’s unfair” Zep muttered.
“I disagree” John replied in a calm voice. “Once I thought it is unfair. I remember the day that my journey to Hell began. I passed through all the circles: Limbo, Purgatory, Hell of the Damned… At first I couldn’t understand: Why?! What did I do to deserve such a punishment? But I realized at last. I lived like other people in the world. I took my life for granted. I was as blind as others. But someone - or something - wished to cure me of my blindness. Sometimes you should pass through all the circles of Hell to understand - life is blessing! Humanity no longer uses its instinct of survival. We all live in ignorance. But some of us have a chance of rebirth.”
“Does it mean I live in ignorance too?” Zep said thoughtfully. “Do I really have a chance of rebirth, what do you think?”
“Sure, you do!” John smiled kindly at Zep. “One day you will face your own demons, but don’t be afraid. It will be the day of your own rebirth.”
“Good luck, Zep!” he said and went away.
Zep stayed alone in the empty ward.
For a few minutes, he stood motionless staring at John’s bed which still kept the scent and the warmth of his body.
“That’s all” he thought, seized with the bitterest feeling of loneliness.
Making sure that nobody saw him he knelt before the bed and pressed his cheek to the pillow inhaling the almost perceptible scent of the man who had become so close to him.
“Good luck, John!” he whispered.
6:00
Time was up.
He turned off the monitor and took a few deep breathes.
“We all are in Hell now. But some of us have a chance of rebirth” he thought loading the gun.