There is a saying that goes something like this: When falling from a great height. The scary part isn't the act of falling itself. But the knowledge that at some point you are going to come to a sudden stop.
However, Solomon had no time to think about this, or anything else really. He was too busy holding onto the barge's railing for dear life. The Barge, which was currently hanging halfway over the edge of the abyss had just begun to lean downwards.
Slowly at first, but with each passing second, it tilted further and further down, until it was nearly vertical.
At this point, if you turned to look at the pair Clinging to the railing at the front of the boat you would notice their souls leaving their bodies.
Not literally of course, But, if you looked at their utterly petrified faces, as they stared down into the abyss you would be forgiven for thinking they had both suffered a simultaneous heart attack and died, again.
Solomon turned to look at Hyde and noticed he was muttering something over and over again.
"Don't look down, Don't look down, Don't look down..." He muttered under his breath in a trance. His eyes were closed so tightly they might have been glued shut.
Solomon wasn't much better himself if he was honest. he was almost certain that if this suspension continued any longer he might fully enter a catatonic state.
What was worst about the situation, was the waiting. On one hand, they just wanted to get it over with and fall down already. On the other, they definitely didn't want to fall down under any circumstances.
It was with these conflicting thoughts that the two Demons were shocked out of their malaise by a whoop of delight.
There was a woosh of air as something shot past them and jumped onto the very front-most railing of the boat.
Their vision was obscured by a vibrant blue flame and long curved horns. Scanning further down, they found shoulder-length brown hair, a weatherbeaten leather trenchcoat and cloven hooves. A young girl with goat legs was standing on the railings.
"Captain wait! I brought your harness." A demon that looked like a sea urchin with spikes covering its body yelled as it ran towards them.
"Shut up Marco! If I wear a harness then there's no point. The thrill of falling goes away if I can't actually fall." Shouted the 'Captain.
"But if you fall who's going to steer the barge." The sea urchin demon named Marco cried out in exasperation.
"What do you think I got a Marco for Idiot." Replied the captain Snarkily
Marco, who looked to be at the end of his tether ground his teeth in exasperation.
"Someday." He muttered. "Someday I'll be free of this torment." Before continuing to try and persuade the captain.
If you watched closely you could see as he passed through each of the stages of grief:
Denial- "Captain you aren't going to stand at the front instead of piloting the barge again right?"
Anger- "What do mean you are! I swear to G.O.D I don't even know what I'll do if you do that again."
Bargaining- "How about this. if you get down from there I'll do all your paperwork, how does that sound?"
Depression- "Ughhh, why won't captain ever listen to me. is it because I look weird, or maybe I'm a bad first mate."
Acceptance- "Oh well. I guess she'll never change. She's been the same since I started working here."
Sending Marco packing, the captain turned to look at the two shell shocked demons clinging to the railings.
"Hehe, some more thrill-seekers. Welcome to Hell, you'll love it here." said the captain as she giggled.
At this moment in time, the pair were too overwhelmed to reply. There was too much happening and it was all far too fast. As the ship righted itself and plunged into the Abyss the two could only formulate one thought.
'If this is the captain then who's steering the ship?'
The Barge didn't descend gracefully. No. It threw itself down the waterfall of magma at breakneck speeds, ploughing through any and all obstacles, while still somehow speeding up.
The deeper they got, the darker it got and an oppressive feeling started to overwhelm the two struggling demons. It felt like there was an elephant sitting on their chest.
It didn't help that this whole traumatic journey was accompanied by the insane cackling of some sort of goat girl with a vicious scar running from her lower jaw to her forehead.
The captain, who seemed to have only just noticed the pair's discomfort leapt to a closer railing and patted them each on the shoulder.
"Buck up kiddos, That was the worst of it," she said comfortingly.
Her words didn't bring much comfort to the pair. They were too busy dangling off of the railing with their feet hanging loosely beneath them. If they let go they would certainly end up falling into the abyss.
Mustering all the courage he could Solomon asked in a squeaky voice. "How deep does this go?"
He really wished he hadn't asked when heard her joyous reply. "That's the best part. No one knows. Isn't that amazing!"
"Amazing..." Hyde echoed in a disillusioned voice.
Seeing their lukewarm reaction to this incredible fact (In her opinion) the captain tried a new tactic.
"Don't worry, we aren't going all the way to the bottom of the abyss, we are only going to the first level. The trip won't last longer than 10 minutes." Said the captain while beating her chest in confidence.
Sadly she didn't exactly rouse much fighting spirit within the two gormless demons. It was hard to trust a smiling demon while she stood with only one foot on a railing vertically above a bottomless abyss with a smile on her face.
Still, learning the trip would only take 10 minutes did brighten their mood slightly.
They decided to pass the time by counting. Each. Individual. Second.
"How long has it been?" Hyde called out.
"3 minutes 42 seconds" Came an exasperated response from Solomon.
"Which Bastard Made seconds so long! I'll wring his neck," Hyde promised.
"How long..." Hyde tried to ask after only a minute had passed before being interrupted.
"Shut up or I'll kill you." Spat Solomon through gritted teeth.
Seeing the pair's interaction, the captain grinned and added more fuel to the fire
"I may or may not have played down how long this trip takes." She said while beaming.
The two snapped their heads around to look at her shit-eating grin.
If looks could kill, she would surely be six feet under. After a moment of solemn silence, Solomon finally spoke while glaring venomously at the smug demon.
"How long?"
"When I said ten minutes... I meant, more like... an hour."
No words. No words could describe this betrayal. They both looked away from her in disgust and focused all their attention internally while thinking the same thing.
'I will never speak to this woman again.'
As more time passed Solomon, tried his best to keep track of time while stoically ignoring the Captain's endless attempts to break their vow of silence.
Hyde's thoughts were decidedly darker as he pondered whether or not kicking the railing would make her fall into the abyss.
The pair passed the time by saying childish things like. "It must be windy down here." and "Did you hear something... No. Me neither," Whenever the captain tried to start a conversation with them.
Eventually, the captain went off in a huff and they were left in silence with just their thoughts.
Sure. they would also have liked to leave the front of the boat and go inside. But, to do that they would have to release their vice-like grip on the railing, meaning they could fall. Quickly deciding against this course of action they tightened their grips and buckled in for the long hall.
As the barge fell, smashing its way through the scattered rock and molten lava something glorious came into view.
The lava slowly gliding down the sides of the wall suddenly took a sharp turn into a plateau in the shape of a ring surrounding the endless abyss before continuing to flow downwards.
This plateau was hundreds of meters wide and in each direction of the compass, a gigantic opening could be seen. As if someone had opened curtains, the lava split and revealed a cavernous space behind it. Ships entered and exited from these openings constantly. like bees coming to and from their hive.
Realising this was their destination, the pair at the front became nervous. Weren't they going too fast to stop? wouldn't they end up submerged in lava from the front of the boat when they reached the plateau?
Seeing the approaching plateau grow ever closer and that the barge wasn't slowing down, they looked at each other before making a very difficult decision. They released the white-knuckled grip on the railing and started scrambling up the vertical deck as fast as possible.
Solomon instinctually used his tail like a monkey to swing himself up the railings along the side of the barge, while Hyde simply dug his claws into the deck and dragged himself up with his arms.
The impact was getting closer and closer with each passing second as the boiling magma rushed up to meet them.
Finally, with not even a second to spare, the barge impacted into the pool of lava and Solomon threw himself with one final burst of strength down a hatch used to store hundreds of pointed spears.
Before he could even finish closing the hatch he saw lava filling his vision and he quickly slammed it shut.
The barge sunk deep into the endless lava before righting itself and quickly floating up to the surface. The sight of an ominous black metal barge bursting from lava while glowing red from the heat was particularly striking.
Sadly, no one on the barge itself was able to see such a sight as they were too busy hunkered down inside while being tossed about. Solomon felt like he knew how it must feel to be inside a washing machine.
After feeling the barge stabilise, he decided to be brave and opened the hatch to see the strange sight of a bunch of demons hopping about on the glowing surface of the barge. It was red hot after being submerged in the lava.
From what he could tell, the big demons were trying to prove they were better than the little ones by staying on the burning deck for longer.
Slowly closing the hatch after making sure he wasn't noticed Solomon had a thought.
'Are demons stupid? No... I don't think I'm stupid. Then why do they do such stupid things all the time?'
He concluded that demons were not stupid but highly emotional and instinctual beings. Who didn't always think before they did something. If that wasn't the case then... he didn't want to think about it.
Comforted by the knowledge that he wasn't inherently stupid, Solomon waited under the deck until he heard a banging on his hatch.
"Hey! You can come out now the deck has cooled down enough." Hyde's voice drifted through the hatch above him.
"I'm glad you're alright," was the first thing Solomon said to Hyde once he had his feet firmly planted on the deck.
"Ah, it was no biggie. I made it inside with plenty of time to spare." Replied hyde casually
Solomon knew this was a lie. Judging from Hydes singed clothes (which were kindly provided by the crew before they set off) it had, in fact, been a biggie.
Taking a proper look at his surroundings Solomon watched as they neared one of the openings in the lava and while the paddlewheel churned lava they drew ever closer to land.
Once they passed through the arch, they were met with a breathtakingly large port city that was bustling with activity. Endless demons roamed the docks, some dressed as pirates or sailors, others wore full suits of armour as they fished in the lava, while some peddled strange foods and weapons to the throng of demons.
There were no real houses in the city. What took their places were caves carved out of the rock wall and giant tents. It seemed people didn't usually live here for long enough to need a house.
Dumbstruck by the strangeness of it all. Solomon only noticed they had finally docked when Hyde tapped him on the shoulder.
"Let's get our adventure started then!" Hyde proclaimed proudly.