Day 23: Outline Revision #4

Day 23: Outline Revision #4

Opening:
         In a South Manahatten Gentlemen's Club, Gabrielle prepares for the show in a small changing room attached to the waitresses locker room. It is not as posh as the one the dancer's get, but singing allows her to set herself apart. One of the men in her band, Cisco, enters to see if she is almost ready. In true diva form, she manages to convince him to relinguish his Rum and coke for her itchy throat and lace her corset.
         Cisco and the guys take full advantage of the free drinks afforded the band. Before the set is over, Gabby knows she'll be finding her own way home
          Gabrielle leaves the stage after a particularly well-received set. Speaking only to order a shot tequila, she downs her drink and exits into the bustling Saturday night crowd.
          She sits on a bench at the bus stop flanked by a middle-aged woman in scrubs and college kid who is learning how to hold his liquor through bitter experience.
          At last, the bus arrives and the three bench mates walk single file toward the folding doors.
          Suddenly, the bus is gone, as are all signs of the city. They have been replaced with a billowing white landscape, but like the city's Saturday night street, the landscape is crowded with a sea of bodies, with faces distorted by a silvery glow that seems to emanate from every surface.
          The crowd moves in unison toward an unseen destination.

Action:
          Gabrielle discover that she has been taken with the Rapture.
          She looks over her shoulder to see the damned screaming for help through a portal in the clouds. Only she and the angel at her side seem to notice them
          The angel tries to dissuade her from investigating, but Gabrielle ignores him. With a single touch of her hand she finds herself transported from the Cloudscape of Heaven to the stark black caves of Hell.

The Meeting:
          A darkly handsome man rounds the bend to greet her. After exchanging hostile innuendos, she realizes she is speaking to Lucifer, Satan himself.
          Lucifer is evasive when she asks about the tortured souls, and Gabrielle figures out that he is as surprised by her presence in Hell as she is.

The Challenge:
          Lucifer enjoys her presence, both as an object of torture and an object of desire. Gabrielle must endure all of her past traumas without benefit of putting on a brave face.
Action
         First Gabrielle awakes in the ICU, excruciating pain coating every surface of her body and clawing its way out from within. She is told cautiously by the police that she had been the victim of a drug-induced psycosis. Her body is covered with small punctures, teeth marks, and bruises. When the policewoman leaves, the doctor explains that her one of her friends had raped her with a broken broom handle. The internal bleeding was so extreme that cervix had to be cauderized and her perforated uterus removed.
         Next, Gabby finds herself back in the dormroom with her friends as they discuss how to administer their new "study aid".
         Gabby watches this scene from a distance knowing what is to happen. When the compound touch the tongue her younger self, however, Gabby suddenly finds herself looking through the eyes of the unfortunate freshman. There will be no black out this time. Gabby can hear the panic stirring in the room and sees her friends swatting the air and clawing at their skin, but she is immobilized.
         Gabby, feels their hands on her. And listens helplessly to the insane rambling. "You're taking the air! I can't breath! Give it back!" her new friend Cameron screams as he clumsily stabs her with a pencil. Her friend Leah proclaims that the holes from the pencil are too tiny to release the stolen air. With that she sinks her teeth into the skin of her collar bone. Gabby can hear the snap of the broomstick, and begins to scream.
         Suddenly, the scene is gone and Gabby finds herself curled up at Lucifer's feet. She is hysterical.
          "There, there, " says Lucifer, "It was necessary for you to see what you missed. Follow me. I have a surprise for you."
         Reluctantly, Gabby follows him into the pit. It is the first fire she's seen since she entered Hell, but she recognizes it from the portal.
         Standing at the edge of the pit, Gabby can make out a human form on the other side.
          "A token of my hospitality before they make their decent," Lucifer purrs. Gabby narrows her eyes and recognizes one of the human form as Cameron freshman year friends. She is astonded that he looks pasty and broken. She doubts this is attributed to his time in Hell. Gabby and her old friend lock eyes across the pit and he begins to scream at the sight of her. He turns to run but the wall is solid with only a shallow overhang keeping him from the flames.
         Gabby sees movement from above him. The creatures are a chalky white and appear human except in their movement. They move on all fours, crawling down the wall head-first, like lizards. They decend on the screaming Cameron quickly, but everything else about their attack is cruelly slow. The creatures twist his limbs until they snap and slowly peel the skin from his muscles. When the muscles are fully exposed, the creatures take their time separating them from the bone.
         Both Cameron and Gabby are screaming. "I don't want this!" screams Gabby, pounding at Lucifer's chest. "You eat or you are eaten," Lucifer replies coolly. Gabby then looks over her shoulder to see a familiar face staring at her from across the pit. It is Leah in ghostly form. Her posture is bent and her eyes are hollow as continues to feed on Cameron. Gabby continues to sob and buries her face in Lucifer's chest. He embraces her.
         When the screaming stops, Gabby lifts her head to see a coy smirk on Lucifer's face. Without warning, he shoves her backward into the pit. Gabby screams as she falls. The flames don't touch her. When she hits the bottom of the pit, the flames part leaving only contact with the cold ground. She pushes through the pain to struggle to her feet. Around her the flames form a perfect circle that moves with her as she walks to the wall of the pit, never getting close enough to touch.

         Gabby finds new strength as she climbs the wall of the pit. The rocks alternate between sharp and smooth, but her grip never falters. She wonders if she has become a monster, too.

          From the top of the pit, she can see Lucifer watching her with a look of rage mixed with bewilderment. Beyond that he looks strangely proud. "Impressive," is all he says.

Beelzabub
         As she nears the top of the pit, Gabby sees a man that, by his appearance could easily be the brother she never had. His coloring is the same olive skin, dark hair, and piercing green eyes. He offers his hand and Gabby takes it without showing the doubt she is feeling. He pulls her to her feet.
         Stoic, one of few words. He introduces himself as Beelzebub, right hand of Lucifer.

The Relationship

          With nobody else to talk to, Gabrielle soon finds herself engaging in conversations with Lucifer. His stories are the most enthralling she has even heard, though she reminds herself not to believe them. Lucifer is the deceiver, and it is hard to know where the truth lies in his stories.
          The common ground between them is their disobedience to God. Lucifer shows his anger that a rebellious whore would be taken in the Rapture, while he and the other fallen angels (now demons) remain in exile. Gabrielle can only acknowledge the injustice and remind Lucifer that she is also in Hell, although by choice.
          Lucifer is touched by this sentiment and tells Gabrielle that he would like her to be companion. He promises to spare her the torture of Hell if she will merely stay.
          Gabrielle cannot deny the attraction. Lucifer has not only manifested his form to combine all of the physical features she finds handsome, but there is honestly in his brutality.
          She accepts his offer and finds her love for him growing with each passing hour. She cannot be sure if the love he professes to her is genuine. She no longer cares.

The Truth
         Gabrielle confides in Lucifer that she feels responsible for the downfall of her former friends.
         "How much I would like to have told them that I forgave them. Did they really fall apart because of what happened to us?"
         Lucifer smiles sadly at her. "They didn't."
          "But I saw them tortured in Hell," Gabby gasps.
          "Admit it," replied Lucifer, "Telling you that they had moved on with their lives would have been like telling little Gabby there is no Santa Claus."

The Climax:
          Lucifer prepares for the final battle with Gabrielle at his side. He admits to Gabrielle that he is afraid and will not attack first.
          Michael, the Archangel, appears before them, demanding the return of the hostages.
          Lucifer rebukes the angel for entering his realm. Micheal then explains that Gabrielle has been sent to prepare The Light for harvest so that it may be returned to its rightful place in Heaven. "A part of every human soul belongs in heaven, Hell may keep the rest."
          Lucifer begs for Gabrielle to stay, but Michael tells him this is not possible. When Lucifer professed his love he gave Gabrielle his own light. Michael says he rejoices in the reunion of the heavenly hosts. "Your light will be returned to its rightful place in Heaven, my brother. The Light Bearer is redeemed. Hell can keep the rest."
          A countless glowing orbs appear and drift upward toward the ceiling of the cave before vanishing. The air is so thick with them that Gabrielle can hardly see what is happening to her handsome Lucifer.
          His skin turns grey as ash, his posture is bent. When their eyes finally meet, Gabrielle finds only vacuous rage. The savage monster before her bears no resemblance to the charming deceiver.
          Michael takes her hand and leads her through the portal to heaven. Upon their arrival, the angels flood past them toward the earth. "It is the end," Michael says sadly.
         When Heaven wins the final battle, life begins anew in paradise. Only Gabrielle and Michael are allowed to remember the events that brought them there.