Together Forever

They were inseparable, two sides of the same coin. That was said about them. They were more then friends, more then husband and wife. It was as if they of the same soul, split into two parts. Never more then a dozen feet apart, they were together always.

It also happened to be that they were drug dealers, the most notorious couple in the world. Billions flowed through their fingers, as did the blood of countless addicts… and those who opposed them. Their wealth was uncountable, seemingly without end. So it was with their power as well, rivaling even the most powerful governments. In a world where power and money was king, they were the undisputed emperors of the world.

But to them, it was all just a game. A little diversion to what truly mattered… each other. For the drugs, the money, the power, was just a means to an end… enabling themselves to be together always. They had first met in the streets, both outcasts from the world that shunned them. In the cold and dark, they found warmth in each other, and something else… hope. A hope that one day, they would leave the streets and never have to go without food or warmth ever again.

The fastest way to such dreams was not through honest work, but with drugs. For on the streets, those with no hope flock to anything that promises an hour or two of relief.

They started out small, just a little at first. Becoming the dealers of their street. Then the block. Then the neighborhood. And then the city. And from there it only spread. Soon more cities fell under their control, and eventually an empire of drugs was formed in the seedy underbelly of society. The two outcasts who had been abandoned found their riches and their wealth, their endless food and luxurious mansions.

But again, it was all just a side effect. They were together, and that was what mattered. Nothing would ever come between them. If someone did, they were killed. If it was other dealers trying to take over, they were brutally murdered, the bodies found with eyes, tongues, hands, and all manner of body parts cut off.

After all, no price was too high for them. They would do anything to stay together.

But life has a funny way about it… the higher peaks you reach, the more spectacular the fall. And in the cutthroat world of drug dealing, falls come fast. The rulers of empires make many enemies, and it isn't long before these enemies unite in the face of a common foe.

The end came swiftly and violently. The couple was enjoying a picnic in their backyard next to the huge swimming pool when they came… a literal army of rival dealers and their private soldiers.

In mere minutes, the king and queen of the empire were overthrown. But simply removing them wasn't enough. No, those who had stormed the mansion had lost much to the brutality and viciousness of the couple and were determined to extract their revenge, to avenge all the blood spilled.

The couple had their arms and legs tied together so tightly that veins began to pop up from under the skin. Angry screams were quickly silenced with duct tape, and then their frantic struggles ended when duct tape was wound around the both of them, tying them together. A grave was dug in their backyard, back in the corner, hidden near several trees. Without a coffin, both were simply dumped in and buried under seven feet of dirt and mud, entombing them in the earth forever.

They had awoken as kind and queen… and less then seven hours later, lay in the ground.

Their empire shattered and splintered. They were quickly forgotten as others came and took their places, and as the drug wars began all over again.

But for the couple, things were not yet over.

***

They awoke from their graves to find themselves inside, of all things, a jail cell. Their bathing trunks and bikinis were gone, replaced by orange jumpsuits and shackles around wrists and ankles. Neither knew what was going on, or how they had even gotten here. They were frightened. They were scared. Moving as best they could in the chains and locks, they got close to each other for mutual comfort.

But that didn't last long as the guards came… guards who were huge, imposing, and not human.

The trial was brief, less then ten minutes. Both of them were allowed to speak their case and allowed to speak on their own behalf, to give their own versions of the story, of their life. Those in charge of the court listened for as long as the two talked.

When the testimonies were over, the verdict was decided and read. The two defendants had ruined the lives of millions, were responsible for so much death and sheer misery that they were guilty. And it was a verdict that could not be repealed or undone, and could never be changed. It was, now and forever, permanent.

The punishment was decided and read… and the two defendants screamed.

They were taken back to their cell, where the chains and shackles were removed, as well as the jumpsuits, leaving them naked. The guards went to work, carrying out the judgment of the court.

It was a simple punishment. Both were wrapped head to toe in bandages, limbs wrapped, then forced together and wrapped again to seal arms and legs to the body, followed by even more wrappings, going around them tighter and tighter.

Both of them screamed, begged, pleaded for mercy. But it wasn't out of repentance. It was out of fear, and terror at knowing that reckoning had come, and they could not stand against it.

They were wrapped as mummies until movement was impossible. Hundreds of layers had gone on, and even wiggling was now an impossibility. Only their heads remained, and they too were wrapped. The guards paid no heed to the human's screams as they were bandaged up, mouths, nose, and eyes stuffed and covered. Hundreds of layers went onto their heads, until like their bodies, they were silent and still, screams and pleas sealed away forever.

With both of them wrapped, the two were taken out of the cell and carried into a long corridor that stretched as far as the eye could see, and had no ceiling, nor a bottom. It was filled with cells, the construction of each sturdier, more solid then the holding cell they had been in.

An empty cell awaited them. They were taken to it. All that was inside were two bunks, and it was upon these bunks that the two were placed, then strapped down with heavy belts, ensuring that even if they could move, they wouldn't be able to get off.

With the belts tightened, the guard left, and the barred door was closed, locked, and sealed. Whether it would be forever was yet to be seen. The two would spend the next eighty million years within the cell, bandaged and mummified, completely immobile and sealed into their own dark world.

But do not pity them. Do not feel sorry for them. For they earned this punishment. From a lifetime of evil they have earned their fate. They will live the lifespan of every individual whom they destroyed, or rather, live it as it would have been, had the individual not been destroyed by the couple's greed. They will see the life that could have been lived, and then see how it ended. And they cannot escape.

In eighty million years, they will be re-evaluated. They shall be asked questions. And it is from there that their final fate shall be decided. If justice has been done, they will move on to whatever awaits them. But if they remain unrepentant… then they shall be returned, and this time the cell shall be locked and sealed for eternity, never to be opened again, and they will spend eternity locked within their cocoons, forever watching and experiencing the evil they have caused.

But eighty million years is not their punishment.

Their punishment is far worse.

Their lives, their evil acts, were for each other. Love is a beautiful thing, the most beautiful thing in all of existence. But when love is corrupted, when it is used to do unspeakable acts of evil and cause suffering to millions… then love is turned to evil.

The couple's punishment is that for eighty million years, they will be only four feet apart, mummified and on separate bunks… but they will not be able to see each other. They will not touch each other, talk to each other, or even know that they are that close.

They will be alone.

Either way, if this is their permanent fate, or if they will continue on… then they will be, for better or worse, together forever. 

02.06.09