LaShanna Adams
Dr. Mitchell
Engl 3200-01
24 September 2008
When Hell Freezes Over
Beth had waited for this day for what seemed like an eternity. She had not considered that it could ever really happen. She spent her mornings, her days, and even her nights restless and keeping to herself. Beth did her best to drown out the shrills and howls that constantly surrounded her in a world she had come to accept as her place. That had taken much more time than she had ever imagined.
Beth had chosen to ignore the stories she heard of the unbearable, incessant heat. Nothing can really last forever, she thought. Besides, this is it. Life is all there is. After this comes death and that’s the end. She refused to believe the hype about a place called Heaven with golden streets or a place called Hell with burning, bubbling lava. She also refused to believe in eternity. Eternity was an impossibility.
She knew better now. Of course, now was too late. She couldn’t remember any longer how much time had passed. She knew that it was at least a century… or more. Surely, it had been more than a century. But today was a new day. She had stayed close to the edges of the burning lava in hopes of this very day. Her mother used to respond to requests simply with “when hell freezes over”. Beth had heard those words repeatedly in her mind since she had arrived in Hell. It had now become her mantra, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over.
Beth had noticed recently that there had been small chunks of solid material floating in the lava from time to time. She had never noticed anything like this in the bubbling bath before. Save the forms of everyone that had been damned to this place with her, the lava melted everything into its smooth body. Beth had not mentioned this to any other passerby (sometimes they exchanged words between wails of pain); she simply took note of it and let a spark of hope ignite within her. She had also noticed lately that the burning sensation was gradually dissipating. This had all happened over an extended amount of time and Beth assumed that’s why no one else had noticed these strange occurrences. She remembered hearing long ago that a frog put in room temperature water would not jump out if that water was gradually brought to a boil. She imagined the reverse was going on in this instance, the lava was gradually cooling but it had been such a slow process that few noticed it. She repeated her mantra again, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over.
When Beth first began to notice the changes in her surroundings, she started making a better effort to stay near the edges of the burning pool. She didn’t do this absentmindedly as before but with decided determination that when the day came she would be the first to climb out of the lava bath. Sometimes it was unbearable to be this close to the edge. She would catch glimpses of pools of cool water just out of reach, and phantom breaths of cool air that lasted no time at all. She couldn’t decide if seeing and feeling these things were just tricks her own mind was playing on her or simply an added touch to enhance the torture of the lava. She believed the latter was the case. She had to believe the latter was the case. If these pools of water really existed, she determined that the first thing she would do when she climbed out would be to drink from one of them until she could consume no more.
Beth knew that her entire plan was the biggest risk she could take. The wards that stood along the edges would be near impossible to get past. Those disgusting creatures had always terrified her; it was one of the sensations that never dissipated with time. The wards were massive in size and had snarling teeth, the ground shook with their every step, their eyes were the same fiery red as the lava, and their weapons were sure to inflict severe pain. Beth shuddered at the notion of being entrapped by one of these mutilated monsters. In the time she spent close to the edge she tried to notice if there was any occasion when the wards did not seem to be paying attention but they were ever watchful. She knew the only chance of getting past them would be if they became caught off guard by the occurrence along with the others floating in the lava pit. She hoped they had not noticed the slow cooling that was taking place. She knew they had not noticed the solid pieces floating in the lava because they were smart enough to stay a good distance away from the heat. She hoped they were not prepared. Beth repeated her mantra, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over.
Beth had not expected the final stages to happen so rapidly. She could not figure out how any of this had come to fruition in the first place but she wasn’t going to question it. She would simply use it to her advantage. The small, solid pieces had quickly turned to large chunks floating through the lava. She could see thin sheets of ice forming over the lava on the edges. It seemed like in just a few hours the lava was quickly freezing over. The chill of the red ice was nearly unbearable after having spent so long in the burning heat. Slowly and quietly, Beth began to lift her body further and further out of the icy lava. First, she pulled herself out to her shoulders. She reveled in the joy of feeling coolness on her skin. Beth clung to the edge and stayed only shoulder high for a while so that she would go unnoticed by the wards. Then, when she felt they were not paying her any mind she lifted herself out to her stomach. She could not believe that she had the strength to do any of this but knew the adrenaline was keeping her steady. Beth smiled as she repeated her mantra, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over.
Suddenly, Beth heard the lava beginning to slow. She turned just in time to see the lava forming into a solid mass of ice. The lava was freezing with incredible speed and she could see that the wards were in a tizzy over this. Beth noticed that those that were in the frozen parts of the lava were now stuck in the ice block. She imagined the shock was excruciating to the body. Beth lifted her body completely out the red ice just before it turned solid where she had been. She turned for a moment and looked victoriously at the solid, red mass. She quietly uttered her mantra, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over.
Beth had no idea where she would go from here. She had not really believed she would ever make it this far. The wards were busy trying to determine what had happened and what to do. They had not noticed Beth or the few others who had obviously plotting in the same manner. Beth first ran to one of the pools of water. They were real and they were ice cold. She laughed to herself as she remembered the other thing her mother had always said to her, “and people in hell want ice water”. A feeling of victory flooded her as she stopped for a moment to take it all in. After she had her fill of water, she began climbing the walls of hell. Beth had no idea where that pinprick of light led to but she knew it was the way out of here. Beth continued climbing and the light grew bigger and bigger. She felt like she had been climbing for days on end. She could not believe that the wards or even Satan himself had not tried to stop her. She wasn’t complaining though, she could see freedom within reach. As Beth got further and further up the rocky wall she looked down and saw the frozen red block far below her.
Finally, Beth saw beyond the opening of hell. She climbed more fervently than she had before. When she pulled herself from the hole she stood in shock. She had made it out of hell… or had she? Beth looked all around her; she was surrounded by ice and snow. Beth began to shiver. The cold seemed even more unbearable than the heat from before. Beth stood there in shock and began to cry as she realized there was no escaping her destiny. Beth screamed her mantra from the top of her lungs, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over, when hell freezes over!