War Games

It was the heat from the stones they were lying on that caused them to awaken.  But upon rising, they soon discovered that there were cool spots to be found among the rocks.  As they settled in more and looked around, they found themselves in an enormous cavern.  It was the hell of their imagination as that is the only place hell has ever been found.

The people were of all ages, colors and creeds.  Somehow, they had all been whisked away from where they had once been but they did not know why or even where they had come from.  Their answers would soon follow. 

“Greetings slaves,” said the Demon as he strode in purposefully onto the ledge above them.  He was closely followed by his Imp who was carrying a whip.  “Just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, you are all dead!” he said with a cackling laugh.

The crowd looked apprehensively at one another.   

“You don’t remember how you died, do you?” he said.
They did not.

“You were vaporized by a nuclear explosion,” he said.  “Your very souls were incinerated.  Personally, I was glad for it, but your Creator chose to put you back together to stand before me now so I could tell you the truth.  You see, I have no need to deceive you anymore.  You all belong to me now.”

“The beginning of your end came with your last presidential election in America,” he continued.  “As usual, most of you fools thought one candidate would spare you from the same fate as the other, even though it was obvious that both were mine.” 

 “Many of you cheered as your trumped-up enemies were taken to the camps.  You failed to realize that your group would soon follow.” 

“Also, prior to the bombs putting most of you out of your misery, many of you were killed off by the same troops you had previously supported when they killed elsewhere in your bloody wars.  There’s nothing that gives me more pleasure than watching people kill their own,” he laughed.       

“But the biggest player in my game was the one that you thought was my enemy,” said the Demon.  “You see, I am Yahweh!”

Those in the crowd below were horrified by what they had heard. 

“You fools have been worshipping some off-shoot of me ever since you crawled out of the caves,” the Demon continued.  As time passed, each empire took bits and pieces of religions from those they conquered so they could be more easily controlled.  In the end, your existence was as short and brutal as the gods you worshipped,” he said.  

Those below would still not believe it.  At a nod from his master, the Imp cracked his whip and the crowd began attacking one other.  Even those who had previously followed the same religion were now turning upon each other.

The Imp howled with delight.

“Oh, how I love the sound of chaos in the morning,” the Demon shouted above the din.  “Now you will burn here for eternity!”

“Enough demon,” said a voice of strength and confidence.  From the fighting below came a man who looked no different than the others, but the energy emanating from him caused the crowd to disperse.

In the silence of the moment, a hiss of steam could be heard.  It was the Imp pissing himself on the hot rocks at his feet.  He dropped his whip and ran to hide behind the Demon.

“You know that all souls come back to me in the end no matter how long it takes,” the man continued.  “And as for blowing up the world, I have many other planets in my universe where I can reinsert these souls.”

With that, this heroic man leaped up on the rock shelf and hit the Demon in the mouth.  The Imp that had been hiding behind him scampered away into the darkness.

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From another room on another planet, a mother called out to her son, “Put your things away, Norrin.  It’s time to go out and play with your friends.”

“Okay mom,” said Norrin, throwing his toy soldiers back into their box.

Children on the planet Zenn-La had learned at an early age about the history of the people of Earth and their strange beliefs that had led to their demise.  It was a cautionary tale used to remind them of what could happen if they ever allowed their image of god to be created by someone else.