The Executioner

Original artwork by Gaya and Steinberg

As the life drained from my body, the light left my view, and soon I was left in full darkness, as if my eyes were never even there to begin with. I could not even properly remember what seeing was like, for it had escaped me for that moment, until I finally saw something again. Flames around me, burning over a marble floor where evil creatures stood. They were pale beings with many scars, and they carried axes and halberds that looked soaked in the blood of enemies. Spaced evenly on the same floor were stone pillars that reached for a non-existent ceiling, they were carved and symmetrical to the last detail.

Before and behind me there were humans, wearing rugs and with roughened skin. Some of them were blindfolded, some were gagged. When some tried to run, the evil creatures beat them back to the line. And at the front of the line, the guillotine awaited, managed by three of those horrendous beings. The end was again imminent, as I was finally reminded of how life just left me. And I thought aloud “this must be hell”, as I saw the line grow beyond the horizon.

And as I approached the executioner, I could do nothing, just let my blood taint the marble again, and return to the end of the line.

The Hell Loop