Journey through Hell by Gavin Johnson (free children's ebooks online .TXT) 📖

Sulpher filled my nostrills, causing me to choke. I didn't know where I was. Then, a cry, an animal cry, exploded around me. It sounded like it was getting closer. So I did the only thing natural. Run. My feet felt heavy, so all I did was a light jog, but the creature was not fast also, so I could keep away. From the sound of it, the creature was huge! A meat eater, and scary looking. Right when I thought that I could escape the beast, I missed my footing, and I plunged to my doom.

As I was about to die, the srangest thing happened, I smelled no longer sulpher, but pancakes. I sprang up. It was a DREAM! None of it was real. The pancake odor was stronger now. Then I remembered, the first day of school! No time for a long shower, so I took three minutes to wash my hair and body. I still smelled a bit, but it would have to do. I climbed on the railing of the stairs. I slid halfway, climbed down, and jumped the rest of the way.

"I was wondering when you would get up," Mom smiled, filling my plate with a stack of pancakes. "Sorry, next time wake me up earlier, will ya?" I said. My father lowered the thick newspaper and stared sternly at me through his thin glasses. "Sean, it's your job to wake up on time, not your mother's" he scolded. I sighed and poured syrup heavily on my pancakes. The reason I remembered it was the first day of school was because every year, on the first, and last day of school, my mother would make her famous, thick pancakes with a bottle of the delicious Aunt Jemima syrup.

"Sean, I don't want to need any reason to go to that school, you're a seve nth grader now, I expect more improvement from you, understand?" I saluted to ensure he got the message across. You see, I am not a bad student, I had straight A's on every report card since the third grade, it's just teachers don't like me because of my "attitude." So what if I don't listen to the teacher's lessons? I know all of them. So what if I talk back to a teacher? It never turned into a shouting match, most of the time. And if you heard I "purposly" lit the assistant principal's trash can, I'll have you know it was Bobby Durganson, he lit it on fire, he just ran away, while I had to explain my innocence while clutching the evidence.

After carelessly brushing my teeth for about thirty seconds, I zipped to my room. I packed two folders, five pencils, a note book with 750 lined paper, two binders, my luckey saber tooth, and a granola bar. Short after that, I was out the door, kissing my parents goodbye.

One thing that I hate about my school is I am walking distance away. So if I feel a little groggy in the morning, I can't say, I'll catch some sleep in the car, or the bus. Nope, ever since the first grad, I walked to school. So I know the route there like the back of my hand. Anyway, today was a particular day, because there was a lot more traffic than usual.

And also today, I was a little dull on my senses. Here's what happened:

I walk through a intersection, apparently, traffic was still moving.

I saw the school, so I figured I had time, so I slowed.

Then there was the truck....

That's all I remembered before I blacked out. When I awoke, I was no longer in the intersection, not a road nor a hospital, I wasn't even on earth anymore! "Where am I?" I asked. The red and black sky above me shook a little. No, they weren't shaking, I was shaking. I was on a boat! "Where am I?" I repeated. A robed man rowing the boat answered," On your way to Hell young man.

"Hell?!" I shreiked. "But isn't that were bad people go?" "Yes." was the man's answer. I looked down at myself, I was no longer wearing earth clothes, instead I wore a scraggly old robe, another piece of cloth held it together by the waist. The boat that I was on was a long one, it had two rows, and could fit 29 people, including the driver. I was in the front, second row of the left side. About 28 people were scrunched into me. Luckily, I still had my backpack. "As I was saying, All of you will face twelve stages of your most deepest, darkest fears," the robed man explained.

"Pass, and you wil get a single wish, fail," The man's lips curled into a sinister smile, "you will suffer in the lake of fire forever." I gulped as he said this. "Oh, and another thing, every stage has an entrance, filled with holes, where villianous snakes roam, there is a way to get past them, find it before you pass the entrance, or you will be poisoned, and fail." A huge animal cry then rang throgh the rockey walls on either side. I glanced at the driver, he was petrified, fear flickering in his eyes.

"N..no! It can't be! We locked you uUUUUUPPPPPPP!" A massive head rose up, a dragon head, it bared its teeth, each the size of a school bus, and caught the driver in its mouth. It bit the guy inhalf, leaving the feet and legs behind, many jumped out, which lead to failure, and their doom as the dragon gobbled them up. Others saw this and just ran around, screaming for help. Me? I just stood their, frozen. My brain, and every fiber in my body screamed at me to scream, run away, yet I stayed put. After finishing off the rest of the passengers, I alone, stood still, The dragon sniffed, and looked past me. Then he dipped his head under and locked targets with another boat passing.

I stood there, alone, scared, and confused. Suddenly I realized something, if I were ever to get out, I would have to face the twelve stages of my fears. I picked up the battered paddle, and began to row. This was very difficult, because I still am going through some stages of puberty. So I hadn't gained much strength. It took me almost an hour to get to the first stage. Snakes, huger than I've seen in my entire lifeafterlife coiled and uncoiled around the entrance.

I began to scan the area, nothing like snake poison or traps nothing of that sort was in the present. In fact nothing was really present, just an entrance. I began to get closer, and I also began to panic, then my eyes fell on a torch, it was worth a shot. I made a quick grab for one, and before any snake could attack, they retreated back into the holes.

A hidious, disembodied voice then rasped, "You have access to all twelve entrances, get ready to face your fears, and remember, if you show your scared or even flinch, it's hello lake of fire, Hahahahahaha! Good luck! Not!" Not even flinch? oh man, now that was going to be tough.

The first, was, of course, clowns. But these were far menacing and scarirer than at the circus, luckily, I closed my eyes and imagined myself at the beach, that got me through the stages 1-6. 2 was spiders, 3 was lava, 4 was height, 5 was cramped caverns( I almost cracked at this one!), 6 was bats.

Suddenly the wretched voice came again. "So, you easily passed half way, well, there is a new rule now, you must fully expirence the evil of your fears. You must make it through each stage without blinking now! Hah!" This sentence made me quiver inside, and it only made it worse when I passed the seventh entrance, the scariest one yet, Godzilla.

The horror began a few seconds after I passed, Godzilla came lurking behind, he made a screech that would have normally made me squeal, but I dared not to make the slightest movement. The Godzilla wasn't as big as the dragon, but as sure as Hell scarier than him. This mutant form of him was a green shady like, with blood red spikes. He let out yet another gruesome roar, this time in my face, still I made no emotion.

He continued, for what seemed like hours, finally, when I was about to cry and jump overboard, I had passed leaving him far behind. The eighth entrance contained a whirlpool, which I navigated away from. The ninth had a black hole, I stared off into space, and prayed in my mind I would pass.

After the ninth entrance, I was halfway to the tenth entrance when I saw the the dragon, destroying yet another ship, with rocks, I held my breath, and let the current take me. Arter ten minutes, I let go and breathed heavily. 10 was scorpions, 11 was drowning. After The 11th entrance was completed, I thought," Once I get through this one last entrance, I am wishing to get back home to Mom, and Dad." I almost cried. The last entrance was guarded by one King snake, Realizing that that one torch was not enough, I quick grabbed another, officially warding off the last snake. The twelfh entrance was very long and smelled of dead bodies, not a Good sign.

My last, most terrifying fear was, a dragon. The dragon that attacked this boat earlier had appeared! Letting the slow current take the boat, I breathed silently, and my green eyes stared into the dragon's fire orange eyes. This was the most scariest, darkest, and longest expirences I ever had.

Then, I finally made past the gates, of Hell, leaving my fears far behind me. As I stepped of my boat, I felt the hot rubble beneath me, it burned. Running forward, I was greeted by what looked like Hellhounds. I pushed past them, down the stairs to the presence of Hades, and the devil!

"By the Gods!" Hades exclaimed. How could it be? the Devil said, flabbergasted. I stood up, dusted myself off, and stammered, "My wish, one, a wish?" "Ah yes, of course!" The Devil exclaimed. "Now what is it?" I'd like my life back on Earth please!" "BWWWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!" The Devil and Hades howled in laughter
"What, what's so funny?" I demanded. "Kid, ya can't wish for ressurection!"

"What? No one told me anything about limits!" "That's cause no one ever passed before, now what else is there?" Hades laughed. "Wait what if I do something for you, then you do the thing that I came for." "Very well, Here's the challenge, CharcoalBreath, come!" Hades calls The dragon comes! The devil explains, "kill him," the Devil