DWP - continuation #3

Somewhere in Austria.

The host threw his head back and his sinister laugh bounced off the walls of wherever it was we were. It pierced through my head and my whole being and everyone shivered and cried. Except for me.

He looked at me and the corners of his mouth curved into a strange smile. Then he paced the length of room as his menacing eyes surveyed us.

"As I call your name, you come forward," he declared. He started to call a name. The soul that came forward hesitated. I craned my neck so I could see his face but everyone seemed faceless.

"Come!" the host said.

The soul stepped towards the host and to our shock he disappeared in the dark ground between us and the host and all we could hear was his soul-wrenching scream. I waited to hear my name, or Daniel's.

That is when I heard it: my name. I quickly stepped forward. I had accepted my soul's fate: hell. Did I deserve this just for letting Daniel drown, or was it the other sins I had committed in my life? I stepped into the dark ground.

"You!" the host thrust his arm forward, his palm facing me.

I paused for a miniscule of a second and as he waved his hand, a jolt of lightning hit me. I fell on the ground, unable to move.

"You aren't destined for the darkness." He contemplated for a long time, paced back and forth and glanced at me once or twice.

He called another name and the soul quickly disappeared.

"There's another place for you," he said. He stood over me now. At the wave of his hand, a lightning bolt struck me again and I found myself floating in the darkness. I floated for a long time, until pain consumed me and my tired mind drifted into unconsciousness.

When I came to, I stood naked. A large uniformed woman stood in front of me. She slapped me once, then again and again. The last hit was so hard I fell on the ground, my face hitting the dirt. I looked around and saw that there were other women, equally naked, their heads shaven. Instinctively, I raised my arm to touch my head. And that is when I saw the mark on my arm. The distraction gave the uniformed woman's foot the opportunity to land on my face with such a force that I fell again on the ground. Through the blur, my eyes were transfixed on the mark on my arm. It was a set of numbers.