Awakening: Dead Forever Book 1 by William Campbell Page B

at the doctor. He nods, and they appear satisfied.
    “Very good, Carl. Now, let us explore the concept a bit further. Tell us what you know about Heaven and Hell.”
    “Everybody knows about Heaven and Hell, that’s easy. Heaven is where the good people go, and the bad people go to Hell.”
    “Go when?” he asks.
    “When they die. Okay, so their body is worm food, but they get to spend eternity someplace else.”
    “Tell us, Carl, where would you like to spend eternity?”
    A dumb question. Like anyone wants to burn in Hell.
    “Heaven, of course.”
    The needle jerks, making jagged lines across the rolling paper, now collecting on the floor. The businessmen glance at the doctor. He nods, and they appear satisfied.
    The leader asks, “Did you consider that Hell is unpleasant?”
    That thing is reading my mind.
    “Of course I did. Hell sucks, everybody knows that.”
    The scribbling needle calms down. Now I understand, there’s no use in lying. It’s all on that paper rolling onto the floor.
    “Now tell us, Carl, which was your first thought? That Heaven would be pleasurable, or that Hell is not?”
    “How awful Hell would be. I don’t want to go there. I want to be good and go to Heaven instead. I’m sure it’s way better.”
    “When you considered how terrible Hell would be, how did that make you feel?”
    “Like I’m burning alive, that’s how. I don’t want to go there, really, I don’t. Going to Hell is the worst thing that could possibly happen to anyone. I’m scared just thinking about it.”
    The businessmen crack small grins. Are they pleased? Or gloating? They didn’t even glance at the doctor. My words were enough to satisfy them this time.
    “Very good, Carl. I am proud of you.”
    I’m going to vomit if he says that one more time. He’s not proud of me. No, he’s proud of what he has done to me.
    * * *
    All this talk of the afterlife has triggered an excruciating migraine.
    “Hey, doc,” I call out. “Got something for pain?”
    The doctor is perplexed. “Doc? What is that?”
    I think to myself, You! Ya dumb-ass!
    The needle goes berserk and catches his attention.
    “Sir, my head hurts. Do you have any drugs?” Maybe he’ll understand that. Most doctors do, and seem to enjoy the query.
    “Oh, yes, of course.” He rummages through his little case.
    Another businessman stands. “ No! There will be no intoxication during the interview.”
    Thanks a lot, pal. I’d like to share this fine pain, via a swift kick upside his head.
    The drug-forbidding businessman returns to his seat, and the doctor cowers over his weird machine.
    The leader says, “Now, Carl, we have one topic remaining.”
    Good, we’re almost done. Thank—
    “God,” he says. “Tell us what you know about God.”
    A jolt of terror stabs my heart. They’re plugged into my mind. They’re invading my thoughts.
    “I’m not sure, other than we’d better please Him, or we’re not going to Heaven. Right?”
    What do I know of the Almighty God? Only that I should fear Him more than these creeps.
    “Do you fear God?” he asks.
    Again my thoughts are invaded. This intrusion is sickening. My heart sinks to join a foul knot forming in my stomach.
    “I do, more than anything else. He will send me to Hell if I do not please Him.”
    Their questions have reached a dark place where caustic emotions brew. I fear God may be watching over our conversation this very instant, judging my every word, even my thoughts, and He stands poised to punish me if I select an improper response, even an unsatisfactory consideration. I have broken out in a cold sweat. My heart is racing. I’m trembling, the needle is swinging across the paper. They have triggered a terror in me I did not realize exists—an embedded, gruesome fear—I must please God, or He will send me to Hell, without question or reprieve, ever. I cannot imagine any thought more terrifying. Absolute, eternal damnation.
    The fear is intense, yet I fail to understand