They had chased Kate through the streets to her home. They thought she had done something terrible. That she had hurt their children, but she would never. There was nothing in her soul but love for those children. They were trusted to her care day in and day out. It was a trust that Kate would never break. Now their parents were at her door, frothing and snarling and banging like wild beasts. Kate could only stand and watch them with frantic tears blurring her vision. They were going to get in. The door wouldn’t hold and when they did. God, there would be no reasoning with them. They were far beyond reason. They thought she had hurt their children. The basement, it had a heavy door and a large bolt. Maybe, just maybe she could keep them out. The front door let out a crack as it started to give. Kate didn’t need any more motivation. She ran for the cellar just as the first of her pursuers broke in. She ran for the stairs, hit them running and raced down desperate for the safety of the cellar. She caught her foot halfway down and went flying. Tumbling painfully all the way to the bottom. She didn’t have time to wonder why she couldn’t get her breath. Or why her throat felt coated in the coppery tang of blood. She had to move, there were footsteps above her, coming her way. Kate crawled trying to ignore the screaming pain in chest and fell into the cellar. She kicked the heavy door closed and threw herself upward to the handle. Another bomb went off in her chest. Gritting her teeth Kate seized the bolt and slid it home just as the first of her pursuers reached the door. She fell back exhausted, reeling from the pain and the madness of the terrible night. Hacking she rolled onto her side and spat blood, kicking up a little cloud of dust. She felt woozy, sleepy. Outside she could hear them saying things like ‘break the fucking door down’ and ‘smoke her out.’ She didn’t feel fear or worry, truth be told she couldn’t feel much of anything. She let go, it was easier than staying to face her accusers. Before she slipped into oblivion she wondered if she were dying? She was passed out when the parents broke in. By the time the first few kicks had landed she was long gone.

In the weeks that followed Kate Swarbrick’s murder, one of her students came home hysterical to her parents. When Jenny Green finally calmed down enough, she told her parents, who had been at the Swarbrick house that night, that the scary man had been trying to take her away again. When they asked who she meant, she told them that all the kids were scared of him. That he smelled funny and wore a smart pink shirt and a bow tie and offered her and her friends sweets if they would come with him. That he hadn’t been back since Miss Swarbrick chased him away. But now that she was gone, he wasn’t scared anymore. Local police were alerted and arrested a suspect. A Leonard Karlson, who, once in the interrogation room, proceeded to tell the police every sick thing he had ever done to his helpless victims. They weren’t sure what was real and what was the product of his twisted mind. But what the parents involved in the Swarbrick murder came to be sure of, was that they had murdered an innocent woman.

She was born again in fire. Naked, reeling and burning she fell. All around her were the sounds of screams. She smelled blood and fire on the winds tearing at her naked body. The colours were unlike anything she had ever seen. Beautiful, terrible and utterly indescribable. They assaulted her senses, bombarding her with sound and fury. And the sights she took in as she fell. There were mountains of flesh and bone that quivered with life. Souls trapped within screaming and tearing at themselves to be free. In the distance she saw five colossal black obelisk’s. Red lightning stirred the air around their summits and things that she could only describe as bat like circled the storm. Other souls were caught in midair by thick vicious hooks. Dragged upwards until their jaws gave way and made to fall again. She was falling through a cage of sinew and bone now. Through the gaps she glimpsed more atrocities. Large creatures pulling victims both male and female from the walls of flesh. Raping them, tearing them apart and throwing the remnants to some foul combination of dog and man.

The cold hard floor came up to meet her. Smashing her body to pieces. She felt every broken bone and pulped organ. She tried to scream and a mixture of blood and intestinal fluids flooded her mouth seeking escape. Yet the worse was yet to come. She felt her body begin to rebuild itself. Muscles weaving, bones knitting, the itching inescapable torrent of sensation. The process was quick but to her it seemed to last an eternity. When it was done and she was whole again, she curled into a ball. Unmoving, she awaited her next torment. Then from above came voices. She dared a glance upwards and what she saw there froze her blood. A creature was descending the sinew like a spider in a web. It was female and had three heads. The beauty of them seemed a mockery when compared to the rest of the beast. It had no legs, instead eight arms clutched and grabbed at the web as it made its way down. Each sprouting from a mass of flesh and eyeballs that was its body. As it got closer she noticed the heads were blindfolded beneath the masses of long black hair. She began to pick up snippets of its speech.

‘What is this?’

‘Is it new?’

‘Is it flesh?’

‘Is it fresh?’

The strange sisters slowed their descent, savouring the feeding that was to come.

‘Smells fresh.’

‘Will it squeal?’

‘Will it tear?’

‘Will it beg?’

It was close enough now that she could feel it’s fine hair caressing her naked flesh.

‘So sweet.’

‘So clean.’

‘This meat.’

‘Will scream.’

‘Hags’ a new voice boomed into the chamber. The sisters recoiled with a mixture of hisses and squeals. Scuttling back to the safety of their web. Yet as they climbed great clawed hands emerged from the viscera caked walls to hold the crying creature in place. Someone else had entered the chamber, gliding in with a grace befitting royalty. His body was naked, yet his legs were robed in scarlet that seemed to flow like smoke. His torso was a pale blue colour pockmarked with tubes and apparatus that pumped a sickly green liquid into and out of his body. He wore a crude mechanical mask, with more tubes leading into his head and neck. When he turned she saw the flesh of his torso had been hollowed out to allow two glass tanks of the strange liquid to be inserted. It bubbled and burned at the flesh it touched, yet the creature seemed to feel no pain. It glanced at her briefly, then turned its attention to the sisters.

‘You would dare to lay claim to that which is mine?’ It’s voice was rich and loud. It echoed throughout the chamber like a procession of cavalry.

‘Didn’t know’

Couldn’t see.’

‘Enough’ the stranger boomed again. ‘Enough of your ceaseless nonsense. This flesh is mine. As is yours.’ The arms understanding their masters command, dragged and pulled the sisters into the wall. Where who knew what torment awaited the shrieking beast.

She felt herself being raised aloft by invisible hands to face her tormentor. He looked her over, circling her, taking in every detail. ‘Such wonders I could craft from flesh such as this. Such splendour, a pity it is already claimed.’ It softly said before releasing her gently from its grasp. She tried to speak but all that came out were dry croaks. The very air seemed to scorch her throat. ‘You have questions, usually I wouldn’t trouble myself with them. A master does not expect its dog to question it. But you are a, unique soul.’ The creature raised its hand and she felt life return to her ravaged body. She fell forward gasping at the sweetness of the air however stale and tinged with blood it was.

‘Kate’ she screamed ‘my name is Kate.’

‘Was, here you are just meat and skin.’ It replied as if disgusted by the motion that she had a name.

‘Here?’ She asked breathing hard, still savouring each sweet breath.

‘This place has had many names amongst your varied histories and cultures. Naraka, Tartarus, Irkalla. Yet I believe the one you would be most familiar with, is hell.’

‘Hell’ she whispered, shocked still by the revelation ‘I am in hell?’

‘You call it hell, we call it The Choir. To explain its workings, it’s history and wonder, would take far longer than you or I have. All you need know is that hell as you call it exists and you, are in it.’

‘But why? Why am I here?’ She pleaded.

‘Why indeed’ It smirked. ‘There is a mark upon your ribs, a brand, you are of Alcaysia. What you would call heaven.’ The thing grimaced at the word as if disgusted by it. ‘As such none of this realm may harm a single hair on your head. Lest we break the treaty and risk war with those above.’

Kate had a million questions. Each of them screaming for an answer. He head was spinning, she felt sick to her stomach. She was being told the secrets of death by a demon. Things she believed no human should or ever could understand. She wanted so desperately to be away from the insanity. And yet at the same time she felt drawn to it. Perhaps her being here wasn’t an accident.

‘You still haven’t told me why? Why am I here?’

‘In death you were accused of atrocities against children. Perhaps in your final moments the Alcaysia deemed you guilty. Divine they may be, but they are far from perfect. Realising their mistake they branded you and sent you to the safest place they could find.’ The demon explained.

‘Is there such a thing in a place like this?’

‘As with any place, some parts are worse than others. You took in the mounds on your descent? Saw inside their guts and looked upon the horrors within?’ Kate didn’t think she’d forget the experience for the rest of eternity. Her silence spoke volumes to the demon.

‘Then you have your answer. But fear not, your keepers will come for you soon.’

‘And if I choose to stay?’ Her words turned the demon. Slowly, curiously he faced her.

‘Nonsense, no soul would give up paradise for the pits.’

‘No not the pits, I want to be like you, I want you to teach me.’

‘Teach you? And what would you have me teach you foolish child?’ the demon roared ‘all there is to learn here is suffering.’

‘Then teach me suffering’ Kate snarled back and the demon quieted.

‘To what end?’

‘Look into my soul, you’ll find your answer.’ The demon did as she asked. What he saw there was rage. A beast unlike any he had seen before. It demanded satisfaction, it demanded blood.

‘You would return from this place, punish those who have wronged you?’

‘And send them screaming into your warm embrace.’ Kate smiled at the thought of it.

‘Impossible, not only are you marked, but it would take decades for you to attain such knowledge.’ Without reply Kate looked the demon in the eye and began to pluck at the flesh below her left breast. The plucking turned to pulling, the pulling to tearing. Growing in ferocity as she stripped away her flesh. Blood and lumps of meat gathered around her like grotesque little cairns. When she felt she was deep enough she reached inside and with a mighty tug, cracked the branded rib free. She held it up so the demon could see. The brand was glowing a brilliant blue. Kate made sure he saw it and then tossed it from the cage. ‘I renounce paradise, my place is here. And if it takes decades for me to achieve my ends then so be it. If I can’t have them, then I will come for their children, their grandchildren even. And in their darkest moments, when they wonder what they could have done to deserve such a fate. They will think of me and know who hunts their kin.’ The demon seemed both pleased and perhaps a little stunned by Kate’s display. She was already beginning to speak as they did. Perhaps she had the strength to survive what would follow.

‘To be one of us, you must find your melody. That sweet suffering that sings to your soul.’ As the demon spoke, more of his brethren appeared as if from the air. A beautiful woman with large chunks of mirror buried in her flesh. A man, his head and torso caged in bone that held thousands of tiny creatures that tore and bit at him constantly. Only for his wounds to heal in the next instant so the beasts could begin their feast anew. ‘Would you learn the song and be reborn?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then prepare yourself, we will begin.’