Devil -- Fiction; Hell -- Fiction; Short stories; Soviet Union -- Fiction
Nick poised above a party of phantom men and girls sliding downhill on
their _derrieres_ and ending in a heap at the bottom. A nice change
from traveling under their own power. Their maximum speed while swift
and incomprehensible to mortals, seemed relatively slow to one of
Hell's old timers. Only Nick and his best scout, Cletus, could move at
thought speed--"Click-Click Transportation."
Drifting on, a pleased smile on his red, bony face, Nick paused
several times to read Belial's welcomings.
"Die and see the original Naples in all its natural beauty," said one
sign. "Try our hot sulphur springs and become a new soul." Gayest
pleasures were promised to all and golfers had special attention.
"Register with the pro at your favorite golf club so you can qualify.
No charge for pro's services who'll teach you to break 80. Free lunch
and drinks at all Nineteenth Holes."
No fool shade would wonder what he'd qualify for, nor suspect he'd
have to shovel eighty million tons of coal and ashes before his
handicap would be lowered enough to earn him a set of golf clubs or
that the free lunch and drinks were chunks of brimstone, the
sulphurous air and Styx River water which is always just below boiling
point at 3,000 deg.F.
Hell's thousand of new golf courses, gambling joints and bars would be
available only after downtrodden souls had worked a millennia or two
at common labor jobs. A shady deal, indeed, but all a part of Nick's
master plan to get him and his legions back to Heaven.
By modernizing Hades he hoped to annoy "The Big Boss Upstairs" while
diverting the attention of those two vigilant celestial watchers,
Michael and Raphael, from the main idea. In a series of bold moves,
known only to Nick and his Board or Inner Council, mankind would be
wiped off the earth--and thus bring The BBU to time. Or so Nick hoped.
As a first step, he had spent a year as Pudzy, a college boy, studying
electronics and modern skills of all kinds. He had enjoyed the holiday
on Earth though it irked him to recall that he'd been obliged to do
good here and there. The thought of these satanic lapses caused him to
frown, but his jolly mood returned when he saw the familiar gates of
Hell wide open in obedience to his whistle.
The whistle's high frequency waves also awakened Cerberus, the
three-headed watch dog, besides actuating "The Dingus." This
electronic device Nick had stolen to operate the three ponderous
triple-fold gates of adamantine, brass and iron.
He slowed to supersonic speed, brought back his great red wings and
made a neat three-point landing without injuring the needle-sharp dart
at the end of his long, black tail. Still feeling jovial, he kicked
all three of Cerberus's heads, then zoomed down through the tunnel to
the north bank of the River Styx.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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