"Into the Depths of Hell, My Cat Led Me (updated: 02/21/02)" by Karen Jean Baker

Into the Depths of Hell, My Cat Led Me

      I was taking a short nap before heading off to work when a small, furred body flung itself through the air and landed smack on my stomach. My eyes flew open and a whoosh of air escaped from my lungs; I was suddenly awake. I propped myself up as well as I could without dislodging my visitor, and looked into a pair of brilliant, azure eyes which were glaring haughtily at me. It was my Burmese/Siamese mixed cat, Ariss. She was sitting, as regal as you please, on my abdomen. I opened my mouth to begin, when she beat me to it.
      "Are you aware that you have not fed me yet?" asked a high, pure voice that dripped culture.
      My mouth fell open; Ariss was talking to me! "Uhm…Ariss, you can talk?"
      "Score one for the ever-touted human intelligence," my pet replied dryly.
      "But…why haven't you talked to me before this?" I asked timidly.
      "It was never necessary," Ariss replied loftily. "But this is the third time this week you have not fed me on time."
      "But, Ariss, I'm working and going to school, I mean, I'm sorry, but I've been a little busy," I stammered.
      "I did not ask for excuses. I am here to show you something, in fact." Ariss squeezed her eyes half-closed in a feline smile.
      She arched her back in a small stretch, then glanced at me in a meaningful way. It sent a small shiver down my spine. "Follow me," she said. "You might want to close your eyes."
      With that cryptic phrase she proceeded to jump off my bed--and disappear in mid-air. There was a small blip of light in the air where I last saw her. I didn't know what to do--even if I wanted to follow her, how could I? I was still staring at the spot when Ariss's head popped back out and it was obvious she feeling very impatient with me.
      "What are you waiting for?" she asked frostily. "Get off the bed."
      Thinking that getting off the bed couldn't hurt me any--I'd done it all my life, after all--I complied and as my legs swung over the side, I felt an odd pulling, whirling sensation. Within a heartbeat my room and familiar surroundings had vanished.
      I found myself in a primeval-looking forest. The trees were enormous--it would take two or three humans with linked hands to encircle one of their trunks. The ground was thick with ferns and other shrubs. I was standing on a path of pounded earth that stretched neatly out before me, but I could not see where it led for the trees blocked my view. I turned around to find Ariss and stumbled backwards a few steps when I did. Ariss was huge! She had the same pale, cream and mottled brown coat as well as the same piercing blue-eyed gaze, but her head now stretched almost up to my chin. The rest of her, including her claws--which I got a good view of as she began to rend a patch of earth with those suddenly intimidating nails--had grown proportionally.
      I was once again reduced to stammering. "Uh…Ariss, how come you're so…big?"
      Ariss indulged in one more back-arching, earth-tearing stretch of pleasure before she replied, "In the after-life we felines change into our true forms."
      While she said this she bared her teeth--which were now each about as long as my thumb--and I suddenly did not care to press her for more details.
      She continued, "Welcome to Hell-well, the section dealing with animals anyway."
      I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer. "This is Hell? Isn't it supposed to be…well…hotter than this?"
      Ariss replied easily, "Oh, some parts are. But back to the reason for this little trip." She paused to sniff daintily at a clump of grass.
      "I was not joking when I said you had forgotten to feed me three times this week--indeed, this has been growing into an alarming pattern over the recent few weeks. I decided--and got permission--that a small tour through the Pet Owners's realm of Hell would do you a world of good.
      "Do not get me wrong, you are a nice enough owner; in fact that is why I am going through so much trouble to warn you--you really do not want to end up here. Now, let us begin our little journey, shall we?"
      So saying, she turned her back to me and began walking down the trail. Mutely, I followed her, still trying to decide if this wasn't some sort of wild dream. Presently, we came to a large open pit just a little ways off the path. Ariss led me to it and I peered over the rim of it. Inside was a large number of dirty humans, frantically stuffing what appeared to be living, squirming worms and others earth-crawlers into their mouths.
      "What in the world is this?" I asked, feeling more than slightly sick.
      "Disgusting, is it not?" asked Ariss, stopping to give her spotless coat a few licks. "Just watching it makes me want to take a bath. These are the remains of the pet owners who did not feed their animals or fed them garbage. They are sentenced to feeling like they are starving, and no matter how many grubs they eat, they never feel satisfied."
      Shuddering uncontrollably, I turned away and walked quickly back to the path. Before I could ask to return home, Ariss spoke again.
      "While we are here, let us travel a bit farther--we have to go forward anyhow to return to the mortal world." Without waiting for a response, Ariss continued walking down the path. Suddenly the verdant forest gave way to a featureless plain, though the trail still continued on its winding way. Without warning, Ariss again left the road, which left me with little choice but to follow her. Soon I noticed something extremely odd. There were small boxes hanging from a chain attached to one corner--but the chains ended in nothing more substantial then thin air.
      "This is where people who locked their pets up in cars or cages for long periods of time are punished. They are stuffed into those hanging boxes, the inside of which is covered with thick, dull spikes, which guarantees they are not only cramped but also very uncomfortable. The 'room of little comfort' taken to an extreme," Ariss explained.
      Stunned, and knowing I would not be able to say anything worthwhile, I did not say a thing, but silently followed Ariss back to the path.
      "Our next stop," Ariss began in a good approximation of a tour-guide, "is the final resting-place of those who twisted their animals in some way. You know, they shaved them, declawed them, forced them to wear human clothing, or had them fixed at an early age."
      As she spoke, we came to a spot where there were many people stretched out on the ground, writhing in agony. Their eyes had all been gouged out and now they were slowly having their nails and digits pulled out; soon they were regenerated and the cycle continued.
      I stood there, transfixed by the heart-rending scene before me. Ariss butted me with her huge head back in the direction of the road.
      "It is time to move on now," she said and led me down the road again.
      Feeling rather numb from it all, I asked slowly, "How much longer before we can go back? I…really am not too interested in seeing anymore."
      Ariss looked at me, her eyes seeming to pierce to my soul. "There is just one more stop before we reach the next available portal." Her eyes seemed to soften a bit. "This next one we can only view from a distance, so it should not prove so difficult for you to watch."
      So saying, we continued on in silence, my thoughts in tangle so thick they would not allow me to try to carry on any conversation. Before long, I saw what looked like a huge mountain over the horizon. As we got closer I could see that it was not very stable. It appeared to be made only of boulders of various sizes. There were people climbing up the mountain all at different positions. Ariss said nothing this time; as we watched the mountain suddenly began to shake violently, causing a massive rockslide. As the boulders began tumbling down, so did all the people climbing. When the mountain finally settled down, everyone had been redistributed closer to the bottom. As Ariss had said, we were standing at a considerable distance, so I was saved having to see their wounds and terrible situation up close. I was truly grateful for that, as even without seeing it I knew that being in an experience such as a rockslide one would ordinarily suffer near-fatal hurts. In Hell, where death is in the past, there is only the pain of the present.
      After the earthquake had passed Ariss said, "These are the people who abused their pets in either mind or body. Things would be fine, and the animals would think they were getting closer to their owners, when all of a sudden they are being shouted at or kicked in the ribs for no reason they can fathom. It would be like living on a fault line-or climbing a mountain over a fault line."
      As she fell silent, I turned away. I felt sickened by what I had heard and seen. Somehow knowing that I could take no more, Ariss quickened her pace down the path, with me trailing behind. I kept my eyes on my feet, so I would not have to see any of the other punishments waiting. Ariss stopped suddenly, causing me to bump into her.
      "Wha--?" I blurted out in surprise. I lifted my eyes from the path and saw that Ariss was standing in front of a medium-sized, multi-colored cube.
      "Is this…the portal?" I asked, remembering the word she used.
      Ariss nodded, and then turned back to me. "I know you will not wish to speak of this once we return, so I am going to say this to you now. No matter how tempting it seems, do not forget what you have seen today."
      I shuddered. "You're right…it's very tempting. I never thought I'd ever see Hell--even a small section of it--and I don't want to ever again! I don't even want to think about it again."
      "But if you never think of it again, how can you learn anything? How can you prevent not only seeing it again, but maybe even finding yourself caught here for eternity? No, you must remember. If you block it out, this whole trip will have been in vain." Ariss regarded me seriously out of her bottomless blue eyes.
      "I…I cannot promise you anything--" I began.
      "It would not be me you promised it to, but yourself," Ariss broke in solemnly. "Forget or not, it is only you who will suffer."
      I was silent for a moment, thinking about the cries of the tormented that still seemed to ring in my ears, though I knew I could not hear them. "This has been an awful experience--I know I do not want to end up here--in fact, I wouldn't want anyone to have to be here," I paused another second. "You're right. I simply can't afford to forget this."
      Ariss nodded in satisfaction. "All right, time to return." She gestured with her chin to the cube. "Simply place your hand in there."
      "Aren't you gonna go in first?" I asked timidly.
      "Not this time. Last time you took forever to follow me. No, this time I shall follow you," Ariss said decisively.
      Shaking my head, I slowly edged toward the odd box. My outstretched arm almost touched it when I hesitated. This was all just so strange. Suddenly I felt something wet and cold plant itself firmly in the small of my back and push me, hard. I lurched forward and my arm was caught in the same maelstrom as before, only it felt stronger this time, more final.
      I sat up in my bed and suddenly wished I hadn't. The screech of my alarm clock suddenly reminded me all too well of the shrieks of the damned…