Excerpt from Chapter 1

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     The gates of Hell were now closed and Emily found herself in a new position. She was now trapped in Hell and it wasn’t looking good for her. The only way in or out was closed and locked.

     It wasn’t going to be easy but saving the world was more important to Emily than her comfort. She hadn’t thought all of this through but there hadn’t been time to think that far into this. Enough evil had already seeped into her world. She had faith in her family to take care of it but leaving those gates open would have been too much for anyone, even her. Now she was stuck. Seeing the demons below her terrified her, but she couldn’t let them know. She had to put on a brave face and move forward. The gates were sealed so going through the demons was her only choice. Emily found herself dangling from the ceiling where the gates used to be. They disappeared as the final seal took place. Now it was just solid rock. The stairs that lead to the gates were crumbling. She looked down and saw the demons. They hadn’t recognized her yet but she knew they would in time. She was popular down there.

     As Emily slowly descended, she made subtle changes to her appearance. Her hair was a little darker, as well as her skin. And her blue eyes changed to Hazel. When her feet touched the dirt-covered ground, she looked at the others.

     “What happened?” a man asked as he looked at the ceiling.

     Emily looked at him, then at the ceiling where the gates had been.

     “Are you talking to me?”

     “Well, yeah, you’re the last one who reached the gates before they disappeared. What do you think happened?”

     “I don’t know. Is there another way out?”

     “I don’t think so. I was so close. I heard the gates were opening but I came too late.”

     The room began to empty as angry demons and Hell-sent people yelled. Emily followed the crowd acting like she was upset too. She needed to come up with a new plan but she couldn’t do anything with so many eyes on her. She looked around as she took the rear of the crowd. She felt like she was in a cave with tunnels scattered everywhere. Some tunnels were hotter than others so she remained in the vein that connected all of them. The crowd thinned down as they passed the tunnels. She wondered where everyone was going but didn’t want to ask. The man she first met stayed close by her. She wondered about that too.

     “So where you from?”

     “Pennsylvania.” She didn’t see any harm in telling him that much.

     “Not during your life. I meant down here. The tunnel leading to my area is coming up. Where’s yours?”

     “Oh, yeah. I hadn’t been here long enough to be assigned. I kind of got pushed around and ended up here,” she lied.

     “Oh, I know how that is. It was like that when I arrived. I was in the Dead Zone for what seemed like years. Finally, I was deemed worthy enough to be placed down here. The torture I received was humbling, I can tell you that.”