Dante's Road (eBook)

C.M. Stroble (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
108 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3178-1877-7 (ISBN)

Infos

The story depicts a man's journey through the afterlife. It is an adventure story filled with characters from ancient mythology. The protagonist struggles to reach heaven by surviving the long perilous journey up the Road. He struggles to maintain his sanity, while looking for his beloved wife, who is lost on the other side. The unique world of the road is filled with danger and heartbreaking sacrifice. Physical violence and spiritual discipline, combined with intense training, provides the character with unique powers to fight the darkness. It is a simple story of a person trying to find his love in a world of terror and confusion.

C.M. Stroble is a retired Nevada State educator of thirty-two years. He holds a master's degree in art education as well as a B.S and a BFA. C. M. currently teaches rapier combat in Youngstown, Ohio where he lives with his wife Connie. Dante's Road is C.M. Stroble's first published work exploring this new and usually untouched genre.

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Even the Afterlife has its Heroes. The story depicts a man's journey through Purgatory. It is an adventure story filled with characters from ancient mythology. The protagonist is brutally murdered and must walk the Road of the famous Italian author Dante Albergotti. The character struggles to reach the gates of paradise by surviving the perils of this hellish gauntlet. He struggles to maintain his sanity, while looking for his beloved wife, who is lost on the other side of existence. The unique world of the Road is filled with danger and heartbreaking sacrifice. One wrong step off the Road and the man's soul will be forever damned. Only physical violence and intense spiritual training can prepare the seeker for the journey. In order to survive, he must become one of Purgatory's Wardens, a process that may destroy his very soul. In essence, this a simple story of a person who faces terrifying obstacles to find the woman he loves.

Textauszug

Book One

He felt the sensation of being pulled along in a current. The darkness gave way to a hazy light as Joe began to hear voices and noises. The sounds were like the hospital noises he knew so well from his military days. Odd, he thought, Shouldn’t I be hearing harp music or something?

Joe hung there for what seemed like hours as though he was anchored against a strong current. Then he heard Amy, his wife’s voice. It sounded small and muted. He could not make out anything distinctly, but he could tell she was in pain. Joe tried to move towards the sound. He struggled to reach her but was violently pulled away as if by the swift moving invisible current. Joe squinted from the shock as the force pulled him away from his love.

Then his vision began to clear, and he saw two distinct lights coming towards him. The largest of the two was intensely bright, almost blinding. It was like a giant spotlight burning, sterile and cold. The smaller light had a warm dull glow, which pulsed like a distress beacon in the fog. Instinctively, Joe feared the bright light. It was already burning his form and mind, exposing all that was the inner part of his being. Fear turned into blind terror as the current seemed to increase and force him towards the white fire. Joe struggled to break free, and to his surprise, he was able to maneuver his form away from the harsh light.

He began to drift closer to the small warm light as it blinked in a soothing rhythm. Its pulses were hypnotic, and Joe began to hear sounds emanating from within the light. He could hear glasses clinking in toasts and the laughter of indiscernible, yet familiar voices. As he drifted closer, Joe could smell food. What was that? Turkey? Amy’s perfume mingled with other fragrances. It was home. Joe yearned to pull his being into the red glow, wrapping himself in the light’s warmth.

Yet, as he moved forward, Joe heard a desperate cry for help. It was a child’s voice, screaming, beseeching him to save her. The pleas were coming from the center of the white-hot burning light. Afterwards, Joe told himself that it was his military training that made him react the way he did. He wrenched free from the seductive glow of the red light. With a primal yell, he dove into the searing white inferno. It felt as though his form had slammed into a burning brick wall. The impact produced a feeling that could only be described as agony. The pain made Joe’s vision blur as his mind shut down.

 

True darkness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was jolted into awareness with a violent chill to his entire being. Joe was suffocating, as if he was underwater. The pain of existence tore at him, and he struggled to pull his form upward, away from the cold liquid that encased his body. Joe thrust his arms outward tearing through an invisible barrier. With an effort that took all of Joe’s strength, he lunged forward into a sitting position. He was free. When his vision returned, Joe beheld an eerie scene.

The first thing he saw was a gray leaden sky. He was sitting in a shallow hole the exact size of his body like a small grave. As he looked about, Joe realized he was on a sandy beach next to a vast gray ocean whose waves broke a few feet from his position. Joe began to hear sounds of humans moaning all around him. A spasm of cold racked his form with a mighty shiver. Joe looked across the beach and saw people emerging from their own shallow grave holes. Like Joe, they were naked and shaking off the effects of the cold. There seemed to be hundreds of them all coughing and gasping just like him. They stretched out down the beach as far as the eye could see. All of them were without color, gray and it seemed as though everyone had a translucent shimmer to their bodies. Almost like they were constantly fading in and out of existence.

Joe saw a gray bundle next to his hole. As he reached for it, Joe realized that his limbs functioned as they always had. He noticed the pain he usually experienced in his left leg was gone. There was no bullet hole in his face and all his old pains were gone. He was better than healthy. It was as though his whole body had been reset. He could never remember feeling this good.

He opened the bundle to find a gray robe and a sturdy pair of sandals. The robe was a rough spun textile. Yet, it was very soft and fit his form perfectly. The sandals were closed at the toe. Not unlike any other summer footwear Joe had worn. They seemed rugged, but comfortable.

As Joe donned the shapeless robe, the man in the hole next to him called out.

” Hey man, where are we?”

“I don’t know.” replied Joe. The man looked to be in his mid-30’s, African American with a thinning hairline. He was tall and well-muscled with a small potbelly. His face was hard, but his eyes showed a kindness born from sympathy for the less fortunate. He shook his head as if he was trying to shake off the effects of sleep. The man turned around in his hole several times before crawling out to reach for his bundle.

They both stood as they dressed, their eyes darting across the beach, surveying the surroundings. Everything was gray. The sand, rocks, even their own skin had a grey tint. The light which illuminated the area did not come from a single point in the sky like a sun. Instead, a colorless hazy tone, only slightly brighter than the sand, lit the horizon. Joe could not discern any plants or vegetation, nor could he see any birds or other forms of life that might give him a clue to his location.

“My name’s Robert.’ said the man nervously as he fidgeted with the thin cord that held the robe together.

“Joe Barton, how are you feeling?”

“I feel surprisingly, good, except being damn cold.” Replied Robert.

“Do you know what’s going on? I was driving down the freeway and this semi side swiped me. I remember hitting the guard rail. Then there was this sharp pain on the side of my head. I saw some freaky light show like I was floating. I heard my girls calling my name. Like they were far away. Then I hit a ball of white light and Bam! I’m here! And now, I’m freezing my ass off on some beach out of an old black and white movie. I got to be hallucinating from the accident, right? I’m at the hospital, probably in a coma. What else could it be?”

“I think we’re dead”. whispered Joe.

“What are you man, crazy? How do you know!?” shouted Robert.

“I saw a kid shoot me in the face.” Joe whispered again.

“Oh.” said Robert. “That would do it.”

“Yeah,” said Joe.

“No shit? Really? Dead?” said Robert with a tone of resignation in his voice.

“No shit.” said Joe.

“But this is not the way it’s supposed to be right?” cried Robert. “I mean this don’t look like heaven! I spent every Sunday of my life praying in a hot church pew for this?! Man, think of the ball games I missed to end up on some dead beach for all eternity. I mean what do we do now? Was all of it about God and heaven a lie? What am I supposed to do with this shit?!” Robert shouted his voice almost hysterical.

“I know.” said Joe. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Suddenly, a great deep bell began to toll, and a light began to emanate from the cliffs near the beach. Without a word, Joe and Robert moved from their holes towards the light. Most of the figures on the beach moved with them; each feeling the pull of the bell’s tones. A few of the figures seemed confused and unable to hear the bell. They put their hands to their ears trying to hear what everyone else did. Most of these unfortunates wandered down the coast or stayed in their holes.

The Bell chimes carried Joe and Robert along like a strong current in a river.

Joe kept looking up as he tried to make out some familiar part of the landscape. A cloud, a bird, anything to help his mind make some understanding of what he was seeing. There was no wind or movement of air. The water and the land gave off no scent or smell. All his senses had been put to sleep except his vision and hearing.

As the group moved, Joe saw many people: male and female, young and old, of all different races, and physical types. He suddenly noticed that some of his fellow travelers were missing arms or legs. These people moved normally as though their limbs were still attached and functional. It was amazing to watch them walk on the path without hinderance supported by nothing but air. Each of these people walked about grinning, as they were fully aware of their restored bodies. Oddly though, even with variety and conditions of humanity, there were no children among the crowd. No one younger than their late teens.

As the group neared the cliffs, the Bell stopped. The sudden silence felt almost like a warning. As they crested a dune, Joe noticed a large trench which ran along the cliff face. In the trench, were other grey people. Joe noticed that these forms were a darker shade of gray than the people that moved with him. Joe was shocked as he examined the people in the ditch.

Many of these dark gray forms huddled on the ground crying. Some walked aimlessly babbling to themselves; unwilling to speak or acknowledge the presence of the light gray newcomers. Joe reached to touch one of these despondent figures to get a response. His hand passed immediately through a woman’s shoulder, much as if he had reached into a pool of water. The woman flinched but continued to move away from him.

Robert tried to touch Joe. His hand went through Joe’s form. Joe did feel a slight tingling sensation as Robert’s hand exited...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 30.9.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3178-1877-7 / 9798317818777