Hearts of Brimstone
by L.F. Loza
Electricity crackles in the air despite the hour,
The desert night is burning,
the moon shines down hot and bright
The old sports car is speeding down the road,
Anguish is in the heart of the driver,
The vehicle of a demon in flight
Vision is blurred by tears and pain,
Air is whipping his face,
Drying the blood and the tears
His cries are drowned in the night air,
Hands on the steering wheel are cold,
Realization of all his dread and his fears
The car stops, silent and hot,
The rear lights like crimson eyes,
The driver’s door opens to a cruel world
Two black boots hit the asphalt,
They head to the trunk, scraping along the way,
The trunk opens, the horrible secret is unfurled
A bloody sheet is inside,
Wrapped around solid proof of love lost,
Wrecked with loss, the sheet clings tightly in his arms
He sobs into the sheet, pain apparent,
The cold sheet, tight against his beating heart,
Innocence seduced by wicked charm
Stumbling, he heads towards the desert,
Kicking rocks with his boots,
Sending up clouds of dust and sand
His shirt is crimson stained, sticking to his self,
Behind his neck is a symbol,
A mark to the world, an infernal brand
A ghoulish skull with protruding horns,
Grinning a mouthful of fangs,
A serpent tongue slithering down
He shambles further in the dark,
He’s lost in a haze, dreamlike
He’s leaving behind a crimson trail on the ground
He remembers when it all started,
Two souls found and torn apart,
He wants it to end, he wants to sleep
He falls to his knees and weeps
Before, he had entered the tavern,
Jack is his name,
He looks around this place of vice
Air reeks of sweat, smoke, and sin,
Patrons of the lowest kind,
Music drowns out all talk under the lights,
He’s at the bar, wants a drink,
Bartender is a women,
Eyes gleam bloody with lack of rest
Through black bangs, she stares at him,
A whiskey, he says,
Ice? No. Straight? Yes.
He sips, peanut shells crunch under his fingers,
Man next to him is coughing up blood,
Still he drinks from his beer, undeterred
Jack motions to the bartender to come,
He gives her a name,
She stares at him, face grown with concern
She tell him the corner booth,
Then rushes away,
Jack looks to the fore mentioned table,
Single Man In a dark black suit, drinking,
Jack sits in front of him,
Hoping to find the wish master of fables
The Man Looks at him with serpent eyes,
His face is snakelike,
He speaks to Jack, poisonous words are laid
Asks Jack why he interrupts him this night,
Asks him if he has any manners,
Jack responds that he’s looking for a trade,
The Man regards him with interest and intrigue,
Asks him how he heard of his name,
“In desolate alleys where whispers tend to slither”
The Man asks him if he’s ready for what comes,
Jack is willing to trade,
For he promised his love their problems will wither
The Man’s serpent eye gleams in the low light,
Tells Jack the price will be high,
Jack nods, their glasses meet with a clink
The Man’s eyes glimmer hungrily as they drink
Jack had met Luz in his hometown,
An olive skinned beauty,
With dreams to aspire and grow
The winter winds are harsh, they blow ceaselessly,
They don’t notice, eyes locked together,
Ignoring the frost wind and the snow
He’s a man of the hard life, hard work, and hard drink
She’s a scholar and a dreamer,
Goals of a career and a family shine in her mind
Her hand is reached for, warm and soft in his cold fingers
They make their way to his car,
He promised her a warm Camaro with heat for a ride
They kiss and they connect as wandering souls,
An energy surges through them,
Their hearts meld together as they thirst
They spend the night together, as newfound lovers,
She asks him if he cares for her,
Jack tells her he would rearrange constellations for her
Her being has become the stars of his dreary night sky,
She strokes his face, a lover’s caress,
They sleep as their bond grows stronger after the night
Their love blooms into a life together, ups and downs
He works to support her dreams,
She tries to spend every moment with him in sight
They continue this for years to come,
The bond only gets stronger,
She graduates college and has plans of moving forward
But misfortune lay ahead, a reminder of reality,
A death in the family,
Her aspirations are to be frightfully lowered
Her mother had died in her sleep, heart problems,
Devastation, as she sinks in sorrow,
Economic problems mount, drowning her further
Jack worked tirelessly to help her escape this hell,
But nothing could help,
Heartbroken to see how much the loss had hurt her
One day she breaks down crying, her life in shambles
Her head on his chest, she weeps
He then made a promise to himself that day
Through hell itself, he would make the problems dissipate
Jack, heading home, spirits lifted, seeks to find Luz
He tells her all will be alright,
She asks him, her confusion is heard
He holds back on the truth, knowing it will worry her
About meeting the Man,
Assuring her, everything is in order, he gave his word
Jack and the Man meet, the next day, in an alley,
Man confesses, Jack needs a vow,
A bond to seal his commitment to the deal they agreed,
Tells Jack of a contract, a covenant between them,
He needs only to sign it,
A signature in ink, but of the crimson type, is what they need
A silver dagger is drawn from the dark suit,
A carve is made into Jack’s thumb,
Dark crimson stains the parchment, seeping through
Man tells him that all Earthly desires are within reach,
A life of luxury and riches await,
All that’s asked of him is a task, to start his life anew
The Man tells him, his eyes reflecting eerily,
That one task must be complete,
That the Man’s employer is an understanding host
But in order to appease the Employer to his favor
They first need see his devotion,
He needs to sacrifice what he loves the most
Dread spreads in Jack’s chest, his breathing quickens,
He asks what he could mean,
The Man grins, a devilish smile pulls back on his teeth
He scoffs at him and tells him not to be naive,
His Employer is looking for devotion,
So he could live deliciously as long as he breathes
The requirement, the blood of his one true love,
The blood spilled must be done by a familiar hand,
The body to be delivered to the heart of the desert
Panic floods Jack’s veins, heart hammering in his chest
He stammers and gasps, he can’t,
He compromises to anything else, as long she doesn’t get hurt
The Man stares, those serpentine eyes,
Coldly he states he doesn’t have a choice,
That it was too late to pull back, he signed the contract
A light flares in Jack’s mind, blinding him on impact
Light subsiding, Jack is shook out of his daze,
Spots pepper his sight,
Glancing at his hand, in his fingers is the dagger
His shirt sticks, scarlet and sodden,
His hand are coated in it,
He looks down, the horror makes him stagger
Luz, looking up at him from a pool of her own blood,
Stab wounds adorn her body,
A slash on her throat, gurgling through blood, still alive
Hands grabbing her throat, life draining by the pint,
Those starlit eyes looking back at him,
Perplexed by his betrayal, no chances to survive
Dropping the dagger, his body starts to shake,
He falls down, broken, watching in horror,
Hysteria taking over, he starts to wail and sob
His mind, lost in emotional chaos, denies his actions
He reaches out, her hands meet his,
They’re cold, clammy, and blood sticks to his palms
His hands are on the wound, she no longer breathes
He looks about, no phone is within reach
He needs medical help, he needs to save her
But the room was a blur, there was only them
The truth is distressing, she has passed,
His tear stricken cheek on hers, he has failed her
He acted foolishly with her in mind, now she lay dead,
He had walked into a devilish snare,
His heart, broken, and by his own hand was maimed
His love, his reason to be was now gone,
His sky was now dark and broken,
Nothing to keep him breathing on this treacherous plane
The back of his neck burns, lines were being scorched,
An infernal brand seared his flesh,
He is a mere puppet, string pulled on him to dance
He caused this destruction, the blame was on him alone,
All this agony, brought on by his hand,
But there was determination, he needs to finish, one last chance
A white sheet is being wrapped, a burden on his heart
His black boots scrape their way to his Camaro
Sheet placed in the trunk, in his being he’ll never forget her
He drives out into the dark night of the desert
He gets to his feet, pressing tighter into his chest
He goes deeper into darkness,
The heat radiating from the sun baked ground
Panting, the will to live evaporating from his aching body,
The moon, bright as it watches
Jack can only see the darkness that starts to surround
The heat intensifies, the air is now radiant,
In front of him towers a dark silhouette,
Two embers glow, showing malice and promising lies
Jack falls, the sheet corpse drops, he reaches back
The dagger is tucked in his back pocket,
It glimmers as it’s drawn, Jack staring into those Devil Eyes
A pungent smell wafts towards him, death and sulphur,
He knows this entity,
The Employer that demanded a sacrifice
This evil had set up a trap, making him a monster,
Under the influence of such evil
He ripped away and destroyed, the love of his life
No words were exchanged, but he knew deep inside
The evil communicates,
It is pleased, and was now willing to hold its own end
Luxury, lust, and gluttony flash inside Jack’s mind
All within reach, all with his grasp,
He denies these gifts, wants back his stars instead
He pleads, begging for resurrection of his Love,
The silhouette rumbles,
A guttural laughter, amusing the beast,
For their covenant, the requirements of the trade
He had completed his end,
And for that It was eternally pleased
Jack feels numb, he sinks deeper into a pit of despair,
Without Luz, what could he aspire for?
His sky is without stars, why should he exist?
The dagger flashes, it’s held to his own throat,
The beast stares, nothing is done,
The scarlet embers stare, Jack denies his gifts
More blood is spilled by the same familiar hand,
Jack falls, warm crimson fluid pooling around him,
A final act of defiance, a final act of spite
It is still pleased, the reek of blood is in the night
