Chapter 12 - Once Lost Soul Deserves Another
 
Well, now Christofert was in Hell.  He sat for a minute to catch his
breath.  While he was resting, he turned to try to clean some of that
burning dog slobber off of himself.  When he turned, he saw that his fur
was now bright white.  That foul beast Cerebrus had scared him white!
"Oh well," he thought "white is just a different shade of gray."
 
Christofert set off once again down the tunnel.  So far he had only one
option in direction, but ahead he could see a huge cavern opening up.
Surely soon he would have to try to pick the best direction.  When he
entered the cavern, he could see tunnels heading in every imaginable
direction.  There were hundreds of tunnels.  He was so bewildered, that
he didn't notice the human sitting on a rock nearby, until the human
spoke.
 
"Welcome to hell" began the human.  "I will be your orientation
administer."
 
Christofert jumped when he heard the voice and realized that he wasn't
alone.
 
"Hmm, you don't belong here!  You aren't one of the dead.  As a matter
of fact, you look like a ferret, although I haven't seen a white one
before.  My name is Dante.  I was once given a tour of Hades by Virgil,
and now I have to give a short tour of Hell to all of the newly arrived
souls.  But I don't think that is too important now.  I have never seen
a LIVE soul reach this point.  Come over to my rock and tell me who you
are and how you got to be here."
 
Christofert was unsure, but this Dante human seemed decent, and he
really didn't know where to go.  He joined Dante, but instead found a
shallow hole to sit in while they talked.  He told Dante all about his
adventures, and how he came to be there.  Dante was especially impressed
when he heard about Cerebrus.  He told Christofert that only a few live
souls had ever managed to get past Cerebrus.
 
"Now Christofert," continued Dante "I'm not supposed to help you.  But,
I really don't like my job, and would love a chance to play a trick on
the demons around here.  So I'd like to help you.  First of all, you
won't be able to travel through Hell safely.  You are obviously not an
immaterial soul, and you aren't a demon.  I can't make you immaterial,
but we can make you look somewhat like a demon.  All demons have glowing
red eyes.  I can give you something to rub in your eyes.  It will
inflame them a bit, and burn, but your eyes will look nice and red.
Most demons have human form, but there are enough animal type shapes
that you should be able to pass unmolested."
 
Christofert accepted a small pawful of leaves.  He crushed them between
his paws then rubbed his eyes.  His eyes immediately began to burn and
water.  After a minute, the burning subsided.
 
"How does that look?" asked Christofert.
 
"Very good!  You're eyes are nice and red now.  Now, as to your mission.
I think I know someone who might be able to help you, but it will be
very, very dangerous."
 
(to be continued)
 
            Bryan P. Coffey - Boston, MA
      Weasel Warriors - Albi, Esef, Merri, and Mint
        http://www.gis.net/~bpcoffey/furball.html
[Posted in FML issue 2828]