The room hadn’t been used as a stable for years, but it still held the lingering odour of stale hay, horse manure and urine. The entire room felt stagnant, filled with drooping eyes and nodding heads. Twenty-nine new entries of purgatory sat on three rows of benches, some wore their personal garbs from earth, others wore matching burlap clothes issued by the Church. Lazy shafts of light drifted through the cross beamed windows, illuminating a thousand motes of dust. David didn’t feel inclined to inhale given the sight, yet he did. David drew a long, unenthusiastic breath and prepared himself to educate these new entries on the world of Purgatory. Some of them had been waiting in this room for hours, growing increasingly anxious as they fidgeted and their eyes darted between the corners of the room, others had barely arrived and looked in a dream with vacant, half-closed lids.
Callum, a priest with bright orange hair and a burst of freckles across his nose, barged into the stables. Behind him he towed the last new entry for this session, freshly baked from stardust. The man didn’t have the vacant daze that was common in new entries, or the hyper mania that plagued others, instead his brows furrowed as his eyes calmly surveyed his surroundings. Callum shoved him into the classroom and slammed the stable doors shut, stirring a cloud of dust.
Leo sneezed and rubbed his nose. When he looked up to guide the last new entry his hand faltered. Light streamed through the cracks in the wood wall, highlighting Leo’s glossy black curls and his terrified gaping mouth.
The man wore a tuxedo drenched in blood. Drenched didn’t quite convey the sheer mass of crimson that dripped off his jacket, stained his once-white shirt and matted his blonde hair. His eyes were sapphires peering through a mask chiseled of ruby. He gave the room a friendly smile while taking his seat casually, as if slipping into his everyday desk.
Is all of that blood even his own? David wondered. It must be, surely a mass murderer would go to Hell, not Purgatory. A sense of repulsion rose up his throat. The new entries sitting near him, at least the saner new entries, shied away from him as far as they could without climbing from their seats. One man sat perfectly still next to him with a crooked jaw and steady stream of drool.
‘Did no one offer you a change of clothes?’ David asked him. ‘We have plenty spare, there is no need to wear… that.’
‘I told them I would rather die again than wear those rags,’ he said, lips curled in a friendly smile. ‘This suit is worth more than your home.’ A drop of blood fell onto the floor.
David couldn’t blame him, those itchy brown rags were horrible. But still, to be in so much blood…
‘That is your choice that you are free to make,’ David said, forcing a smile to match, ‘What is your name?’
‘Aaron Grant,’ he kept his smile and for all the blood, he seemed a nice fellow.
‘Thank you Aaron, that leads us to the first point in our lesson,’ David said, raising his voice and opening his body to entire stable of thirty new entries, ‘You have come to a new world, and hail from different lands from all over Earth, each ruled under a variety of governments, with unique policies. Here in the city of Kerioth, under the rule of the Church of Iscariot, no citizen will ever be forced to do anything, you will always have free will. A luxury not every country offers. Rejoice as you are lucky to be reborn here.’
Some of the new entries’ faces seemed to lighten upon hearing this, others looked more skeptical. Leo thankfully seemed to be engaged with his brown eyes wide and earnest. After only three days working in the gateway, Leo had mastered introductions, he still struggled when the children were taken, but he was improving. Therefore, what was most important for today was that he learnt to educate. This would make him a qualified priest and then could take over David’s position, allowing him to move onto more important things. Allowing him to promote to a bishop.
‘I’ve never seen a free country in my life,’ Aaron said, ‘especially not one that claims to be.’
So Aaron was an antagonizer, how unfortunate. There was one in every class, the trick was to not let them lead the conversation. David frowned, out of everyone, he didn’t want it to be Aaron, but now that it had come to this, David needed to follow the script and its contingencies.
‘Well you haven’t seen this country yet,’ David challenged.
David expected this line of conversation to drag on, but Aaron shrugged and David was able to move on. I will have to be careful of that one. The plan for the day was for David to get the ball rolling, explain some of the important information while Leo watched. Then Leo was to take over the script for some points while David mentored him. Finally, David would close the session and dismiss the classroom, unleashing thirty new entries upon the world.
David began by explaining the countries of the world, of which there were twelve, each named after an apostle of Christ. To be deemed a legitimate country all that was required was the possession of an apostle plate, a bronze disc that Kerioth housed inside the cathedral. An apostle plate was the only way for a human to enter this world, the twelve funnels from Earth to Purgatory.
‘Many countries, including our own, are united under the Church. We represent the safety and freedom of Purgatory whereas countries in the western continent of Ishmael and the peninsula country of Matthew reject the Church’s teachings and mistreat their subjects.’
A burly man with thick forearms and a glistening bald head slammed his hands down on his knees and rose in a sudden jerk, ‘Right, I think I have had enough of listening to a black.’
David almost smiled, he had lost count of how many slurs he had been called in this role that just being called “a black” was cute. New entries always seemed stuck in their old ways. In societies on Earth, some groups of people put themselves above others. It was difficult for those in the dominant group to adjust to this new world. Death was sometimes the least surprising part of the afterlife.
‘Why is that?’ David asked the man, keeping his voice that of the innocent and curious.
The man seemed dumbfounded, ‘Why? Why would I listen to you? I shouldn’t have to be in the same room as a black man, let alone forced to listen to him speak.’
Aaron sat upright from his slouch at the word “forced” as if an idea popped into his head.
‘Do you think you are better than me?’ David asked, remembering the script. It was pretty simple to dismantle this ideology in Purgatory. Make the perpetrator claim they are of a superior race then point out they landed in the same afterlife, not a greater one free of those pesky lesser races.
The man looked around the room as if searching for support among the other new entries, he seemed to notice that the majority of the room was not light skinned like himself. Several folks glared at him, but he still found the courage to lift his chin and say, ‘of course I do.’
‘Yeah,’ a white woman said. ‘My husband employed five of your kind as laborers. Your lot ain’t smart enough to be teaching. Everyone knows a white is above a black.’
‘Then why are you here?’ David asked.
‘What do you mean why?’ Aaron cut in, back to lounging on his seat with a blood-stained grin, ‘you are forcing us to be here.’
‘I don’t mean in this room,’ David said, ‘I mean why are you in Purgatory? If you are better than I am, then how did you end up in the same afterlife? You aren’t in Heaven and I'm not in Hell. We are the same.’
‘Doesn’t mean I want to listen to a kaffir,’ the bald man said.
‘And you shouldn’t have to,’ Aaron said, ‘he said we were all free, remember? Which means you are free to walk out that stable door.’
This is bad, David thought, Aaron is steering the conversation.
An ash-knight clad in armor stood by the door, she met his eyes and David nodded.
The bald man took quite a liking to Aaron’s idea and made for the door, but the ash-knight stood in his way, her body posture domineering.
‘Move woman,’ he said.
‘Sit down,’ she ordered. In one hand she held her rectangular shield and her other hand held a steel spear as tall as her.
‘First a kaffir, now a woman. I’m not going to take orders from any of you.’
Aaron stood up and spoke to the room, ‘So now we see the Church’s true colors. They say we are free, but we aren’t. Why else would they not let us leave this room?’
‘Would you just shut up for a second?’ David asked and to his surprise Aaron sat back down, raising both palms in submission. ‘Whatever you say dictator.’
David would accept it, insults and all. What was most important was to regain control. What was most important was to make sure Leo was listening. Leo looked highly concerned. Fuck we strayed too far from the script. Control. Control. David needed control.
‘Sir, please take your seat,’ David requested.
The bald man seemed to go red with rage, his scalp becoming an inflamed thumb, ‘I said I wasn’t going to listen to no kaffir,’ he turned back to the ash-knight and pushed her, ‘move bitch.’
It’s too late.
The ash-knight drew her blade and before the man could say another word, the spears head sliced through his neck, her arm moving at super-human speed.
Screams lit up around the classroom. No one held the vacant gaze of a new entry any longer. Terror filled the eyes of every man and woman.
No, this can’t be happening. Not when I am so close.
They stood to run, eyes darting for an escape.
I need control.
Aaron sat crossed legged in the middle of the catastrophe, laughing.
‘SIT DOWN!’ David screamed, ‘SIT DOWN OR YOU WILL DIE LIKE PIGS.’ He pointed to the corpse, leaking blood from the neck. ‘DO YOU WANT TO END UP LIKE THAT? HUH? DO YOU?’
They slowed, no one wanting to make the first move.
I can salvage this; I just need control.
‘Anyone not seated in five seconds will meet his fate,’ he said, pointing. ‘She will do it again.’
A bluff. David was breathing heavily and the ash-knight was giving him a hostile stare, but she did not rebuke him. The classroom took their seats, hands and legs shaking. In truth, David lacked authority to order the ash-knight to do anything. She was working with him on her own orders, not under his. She had simply decided to kill that man who pushed her. A right that she had over someone who was not even a citizen yet.
I can salvage this; I just need to start over.
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Silence hung over the stagnant stables, a room filled with darting eyes and bouncing knees. A thousand motes of dust swirled around, suspended by the lazy shafts of light and stirred by the violent panic. He didn’t want to inhale given the sight, but twenty-nine new entries waited for the next words to come from David’s mouth.
He took a long, unenthusiastic breath. ‘As Aaron kindly illustrated earlier, you are not free – yet,’ David said slowly. ‘The Church of Iscariot offers freedom to its citizens, a luxury you have not earnt, but if you cooperate with me today and listen you will all become citizens when you leave this room.’
No one responded, they looked like hostages, but fear was a form of control and David desperately needed it. He looked to Aaron who sat grinning, still drenched head to toe in blood. Making eye-contact Aaron nodded as if he was giving David permission to continue. This asshole. He caused this mess, that blood was on his hands.
Leo tapped David’s shoulder who bent down for Leo to whisper in his ear, ‘Is this normal?’ he asked.
‘Sometimes things go wrong,’ David said. ‘In this role you need to be able to adapt and continue, just like with the introductions.’
Looking back at the classroom he cleared his throat, ‘We will continue. This first point should already be clear, but I will reiterate: You are in Purgatory, not Heaven, not Hell. When you die in Purgatory you will go to Hell unless you have repented, tipping the scales to go to Heaven. This is no easy task; the bar has been raised since you were on Earth because you now have the advantage in knowledge of the afterlife. To reach Heaven you must commit selfless and kind deeds from now on, the Church will guide you through this journey. This means that that his soul,’ David said pointing to the decapitated, bald man, ‘is now in Hell, experiencing eternal torture.’
Several winced at this. Most had probably lived their lives not believing in an afterlife, but now they had proof and they knew Hell was their next destination.
‘Another thing you should have noticed is that there are no language barriers in Purgatory. This is a blessing and a sign that we should let go of our grievances on Earth. Race, gender, country, status; none of it means anything anymore. You have been sent here with nothing but the clothes on your back so that you can have a fresh second chance. Use it wisely, do not weep over lost gold.’
Some seemed to take this news well, others, particularly the white woman who had supported the bald man, scowled at David. Honestly, it was less of a scowl and more a look of trembling terror. David expected Aaron to be upset by this as he clearly lived well off on Earth, but he only grinned innocently. The blood detracted from this image.
David looked to Leo and nodded, signaling him to take over.
Leo stepped forward and David leant against the back wall. ‘Um, hello all.’ The crowd did not respond. Leo cleared his throat. ‘In Purgatory you will age as you have on Earth,’ Leo said with a shaky voice, ‘but there are some other considerations. The first is that any bodily cycles that take longer than a day will no longer function, making it impossible to conceive children. The amount of lifespan you have is determined by how much time you had left to live on Earth until you would have died of natural causes. This is the time God intended for you to have in order to tip the scales. However, your lifespan can be traded, this is your most valuable currency.’
Aaron took a great liking to this news, ‘What do you mean by traded?’ he asked.
Leo paused for a moment, ‘Let's say…’ he trailed off and made a humming sound, ‘Let’s say that you had seventy years left to live, you could decide to sell five years in exchange for gold which you can then buy commodities with. You will physically age five years when the lifespan is extracted. However, if enough gold is saved you could also purchase lifespan back and de-age in the same way.’
‘So if someone was able to accrue gold to purchase enough lifespan they could live forever?’ Aaron asked.
We are straying too far from course, David thought, Last time that happened someone died. ‘The Church encourages living for repentance and passing on to Heaven,’ David cut in before Leo could answer.
‘But is it possible?’
‘Yes,’ David said, ‘now let's move onto the next topic.’
Leo nodded, ‘lifespan is also used in noctra.’
‘Noctra?’ Aaron asked, ‘I do not know this word. You said there were no language barriers.’
‘Noctra is a word specific to Purgatory,’ Leo said. ‘It means to weave lifespan into superhuman feats, such as magic or enhanced physical abilities.’ Leo gestured to the ash-knight by the door. ‘Chana learnt noctra skills at the School of Ash and now earns a living as a knight. Be wary it is a challenging career and many lose decades of their life in pursuit of magic only to die an early, un-repented death.’
So her name was Chana. David had no idea.
‘Finally, the Church warns you all to stay within the city walls. Some animals in the wild have been warped by noctra over generations and are referred to as monsters. They are incredibly dangerous and violent.’
David gave Leo a pat on the shoulder. ‘Good job, I will take it from here. Thank you all for listening patiently, you will all now have the option to purchase your citizenship.’
Chana opened the stable door and a woman wearing a dark cloak with her hood draped over her head walked into the room.
‘Our mage will come around to each of you and if you wish to become a citizen she will extract three years of your lifespan in payment.’
‘Three years!’ A woman exclaimed. ‘That's outrageous.’
‘That is the price for freedom within our walls,’ David said. ‘You have the choice to reject and not pay, but you will be escorted outside Kerioth to the mercy of the monsters.’
‘Monsters,’ another man scoffed. ‘You expect to scare us into giving you three years of our life with monsters? Something I told my children so they wouldn't misbehave. It is ridiculous to think we would believe you.’ He had a snowy white comb over that covered his tanned scalp. Someone who had likely lived a long mundane life on Earth. Adjusting would be difficult for him.
David pointed towards the corpse. ‘When that ash-knight swung her spear, did that look human to you?’ David asked, ‘I could barely see her move, next thing a bald head had hit the floor. Now imagine a lion or wolf that could move that quickly, with claws twice as long. If that isn't a monster, then tell me what is.’
The man surveyed Chana’s armored figure from head to toe, looking at the corpse he grimaced.
‘There is an option for you to gain citizenship and avoid paying the fee,’ David said. ‘There are jobs to be worked for the Church; a variety of positions from construction work, to cleaning or farming. You would need to commit to this work for several years depending on the role, but you will be paid a fair wage and-’
A yawn cut through the room, ‘I never knew hell would be so boring,’ Aaron said, his black polished boots kicked up onto the bench in front of him
‘As I have already stated,’ David said, ‘this is not Hell. You are in Purgatory.’
‘And you want us to work minimum wage labor?’ Aaron asked. ‘Might as well be hell.’
A few of the others sitting on the bench around him gave murmurs of agreement. They didn’t have the courage to speak out themselves after seeing the earlier display, but the sheep were perfectly content rallying behind someone else.
‘Minimum wage?’ David asked, not knowing where Aaron had got that information. ‘You will be paid a fair wage, not to mention this deal will allow you to become a citizen without paying three years of lifespan.’
‘Yet we will lose years regardless.’ Aaron laughed. ‘What a joke.’
‘Call it what you want,’ David said. ‘That is the Church’s offer. If any of you decide you want steady work in this world, pay the three-year fee then stay behind to talk with me after the class is dismissed, you will be reimbursed when contracts are finalized.’
David nodded to the mage who began moving around the room. She stepped up to the first person, a middle-aged woman of Asian heritage, ‘Would you like to become a citizen of Kerioth?’ the mage asked her. The Asian woman looked troubled, but after glancing at the decapitated bald man she accepted.
‘Hold out your hand,’ the mage said and the woman complied. From the palm of the woman's hand the mage pulled a white token out from the seamless fabric of her skin. The coin glowed with an alluring light. In seconds the woman’s face grew slightly older, her crow’s feet lengthening. The mage moved onto the next person, who also accepted and aged three years. This continued down the line, each as hesitant as the last, until Aaron, the tenth person, did not immediately respond. Every eye in the classroom hung on him, the others seemed to expect some grand rebuttal from him; something they could follow.
His face was scrunched and downturned as if he was deep in thought calculating some difficult math problem. ‘Can I have some time to think about my answer?’ he asked.
The mage looked to David for approval.
‘Fine,’ David said, ‘but make your decision by the time she finishes the rest of the classroom.’
The mage moved onto the next, skipping Aaron, and they accepted. She made her way around to each remaining new entry, none of which refused, and came back to Aaron. He rested his chin on his fist, his elbow propped on his crossed leg.
‘Excuse me,’ the mage said, her voice timid towards the blood-crusted man, ‘have you made your decision?’
‘I have,’ he said.
‘And what have you decided?’
Aaron stood up, ‘I have decided to make my own way through this world.’
‘So you will refuse to pay?’ David asked.
‘No, I will pay your tax,’ he said, ‘but I will fight against your system. This network you have established to benefit yourselves, I will tear it down and pave a new way for those new to this world so they don’t need to be exploited by you.’
‘And how will you do that?’ David asked.
Aaron smiled a cocky, scheming grin, ‘I have no idea.’
David was too stunned to speak, his jaw hung loose. He’s an idiot.
‘All I know for certain,’ Aaron said, ‘is that I won't be taking your slave labor. Tilling your fields and sweeping your floors whilst you pay us pennies. We then spend that on lifespan to prolong our time in this Hell. We would live till we’re well past expiry as the Church drip feeds us life, but we would never be living; just another pawn in the big man’s game.’ Aaron took a breath. ‘Does that sound about right?’
David didn’t respond. This show wasn’t really for him, David realized. It’s for them.
Aaron held out his palm and without the help of the mage he manifested a white token, shining with a soft blue hue. How did he learn that? David wondered. Aaron tossed the coin lazily through the air, ‘take it.’
It landed in the mage's hand, ‘three years,’ she confirmed.
‘I have a knack for money,’ he said with a wink.
I am losing control again, David realized, but at least this direction was not leading towards violence. David had already completed his duties, now if he could recruit a dozen or so for the Church it would be a resounding success, dead man and all. He could taste his promotion. I should let this play out, watch this man struggle through a world he doesn’t know and fall flat on his face.
‘So what is your plan then?’ a woman dressed in burlap rags asked.
‘Good question,’ Aaron said, ‘those three years they stole, I will buy it back, but not by fruitless labor. I, for one, am going to make my own way through this world. I’d rather not waste my second chance at life as a slave. I will start my own empire and I will need help. Anyone in this room who comes with me and stays loyal I promise to you your lifespan returned and more than that I promise a fulfilling and exciting second life. We will create a third path for those born here.’
‘You don't even know this world,’ David said, ‘You haven’t given a plan either, just lofty ambitions.’
‘I’ll figure it out,’ Aaron replied. ‘I have always been lucky.’
‘Until you died,’ David said.
‘That may have just been the best thing that ever happened to me. I guess we will soon find out. Now, I’m leaving. Who’s with me?’
‘I am,’ one man said. He was covered with tribal tattoos and jumped up as fast as he could. ‘My name is Brusco, it would be an honor to follow you.’
Aaron grinned. ‘Not follow me, my friend Brusco, but work with me; side by side.’
Seeing someone be so easily accepted another rose, then another until it was a tidal wave. It felt like every new entry was trying to beat the others in their declaration of support.
It was going too far, it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. ‘Wait!’ David called out, ‘We have good jobs with the Church. They have security, something he cannot-’
He couldn't even hear his own voice. They cheered and when Aaron marched out of the stable doors, they followed, a storm of dust following their stampede.
What they left in their wake was a measly four new entries. The dribs and drabs. Two young women who held each other's hands in the corner, an older lady who was severely overweight and a scrawny teenage boy. David knew the next step, he had to sign them into work for the Church and then pay their lifespan back, but he just couldn’t move himself. He slumped over and softly groaned.
Four isn’t enough, he thought, I failed. I won’t become a bishop. I have been defeated by some new entry in a bloody suit.
Leo stepped up, and asked them, ‘would you like to hear specifics about the roles we are offering?’ He had a calming smile, eyes that spoke trust and care.
