Latter Rain by Vanessa Miller Page A

awful night in Isaac’s jail cell, God had allowed him to experience hell. Actually, he had a reunion down there. Met up with all the people he had sent to eternity, in one way or another. Now, these demons thought they had free reign. Thought they could just bring him back whenever they were having a slow night. Oh, Lord, help me. I’m having another nightmare!
    â€œLook at you. Big, bad, Isaac Walker crying for help.”
    Oh, God, not again! Not this again ! But as he lifted his head, he knew the demons had won. Isaac was spending another nightmarish night in hell. Sweat drizzled from Isaac’s coal black hair. It clung to his nose like icicles. Could he live through another night of God-awful torment? Evil evaded his space and demanded his attention.
    Destroyer, that old enemy demon taunted him. “What’s wrong, Ike-man? You’re not allowed to talk to us no more? Don’t you want to come out and play?”
    Isaac didn’t open his mouth. The torment was worse when he talked back. He tried not to take in the suffocating smell of death and decay. No use. The odor slithered up his nostrils and crawled down his throat, gagging him. He tried not to think about his brother, Donavan, or his ex-girlfriend, Valerie, being tormented in this place for eternity. But that was useless too. Tears creased the corners of his eyes. It was all his fault. If he had been a better brother; if he had left Valerie alone, maybe she would have gone back to church and rededicated her life to the Lord. Life was full of coulda-shoulda-wouldas. He’d go back if he could, right the wrongs. “Oh God, if only I could change it!”
    Destroyer’s heat stained breath beat down on him as he lay on the scorching, hot floor of hell. “Serve your daddy again, Isaac. Let Lucifer help you change it.”
    â€œNever!” Isaac said as he stood up.
    Two of Satan’s henchmen brought Donavan’s mangled form into what the demons called the Fun Room. Although the demons had plenty of fun, none of the inhabitants of this room had any. They were too busy having their limbs torn off and being used for target practice to have any fun.
    Isaac fell on his knees. “Help me, Lord. I don’t know what you want.” A sob caught in his throat. Tears mingled with sweat. “Don’t know how to fix it.”
    Destroyer’s flesh devouring fangs cut into Isaac’s back as he pulled him off his knees. “Shut up, fool. Ain’t no God down here. You pray in hell, you pray to Lucifer.”
    Isaac’s back ached as Destroyer dug into him, but his mind was made up. He would serve the Lord with his last breath. No devil in hell would stop his praise.
    â€œThe Lord is everywhere, beholding both good and evil,” Isaac shouted.
    Destroyer pimp-smacked Isaac and flung him against the wall of lost souls. The wall was sticky from the heat. The souls that had been encased inside the wall seemed to scream out to him; begging him to save them. But the wall was so sticky, Isaac didn’t even know how he would get himself unglued from it, let alone open up the wall and begin pulling lost souls out of its God forsaken clutches.
    Isaac tried to pull himself off of the wall of lost souls, but he couldn’t get free. The cries inside the wall tormented him. Isaac felt defeated. He just wanted to give up and remain attached to this wall.
    Then Destroyer began taunting him again. “Watch this, Isaac. Then you tell me again how your God is everywhere.”
    Isaac was still struggling, trying to get away from the wall when he looked at Destroyer. Destroyer pointed in the direction of the two demons that were tormenting his brother. But it was no longer Donavan, his brother, standing between two demons with arms stretched wide, but Donavan, his son. When would this nightmare end ?
    Destroyer lifted his sword and Donavan looked at Isaac and cried, “Help me, Daddy. Help me.”
    Desperation