Dante's Inferno Chapter 4

As Dante reached for the door Alexander stopped him.

"We cannot go in until we are invited Dante!"

Dante knocked. A heavy-set middle aged negro woman answered the door. She was the one Dante referred to as "Auntie" despite not being biologically related to him.

"Auntie, can we come in?"

She invited both of the men in. In the shack there were several young men, some older than Dante, and some younger than him. There was on other young female in the house as well.

"Oh lawd Jeezus. I can't believe my eyes, is 'dat really you Dante?!" she said with bewilderment in her eyes.

"Yes, I's back." Dante replied.

Auntie and the other slaves looked at Alexander with fear in their eyes.

"Oh lawd child, this man here done caught you?" She turned to Alexander.

"Please mistah, have mercy on dis boy, he don't know no betta"

Dante smiled. "Well, dats the great news. Ain't nobody catch me, dis here man saved my life. An' he made me strong an' powerful."

Dante turned to one of the young men. "Jack, throw dat dere pot at me as hard as you can!" Dante pointed to a pot sitting in the kitchen.

"Boy is you crazy?!" Jack objected.

"Jus' do it boy!" Dante shouted.

Jack suddenly threw the pot at Dante very hard toward his face. Dante effortlessly moved his head out of the way and caught the pot by the handle. Dante then spun the pot around on his index finger extremely fast, before zooming toward Jack and giving him back the pot. All of the slaves looked at Dante with amazement.

"How'd 'e do that?!" one of the slaves said with disbelief.

Auntie however was not impressed by the tricks. "Lawd Dante, what in da world was dat?"

Before Dante could answer, the door of the shack flew open. Dante saw the other slaves cower, when he turned around he saw the wife of his master Mrs. Betty, a cold-faced, blonde woman and a pretty light-skinned Negro woman who stayed in the main house named Harriet.

In Mrs. Betty's hands was a musket. She spoke with anger in her voice. "I oughta shoot you dead right now boy!"

Mrs. Betty turned to Harriet. "How'd you know he was here?!" She barked. "You in on his escape too?"

Harriet's voice trembled. "No'm, I done seen him running outside wit' this other fella, 'dats when I called you."

Mrs. Betty turned toward the tall blonde man. "Thank you sir, for bringing him back, this one can get a bit uppity at times."

Alexander ignored her.

"I ain't coming back." Dante said.

All of the slaves gasped at his response, the room was absolutely silent. Mrs. Betty raised her rifle right at Dante's face.

"You goin' outside boy! In the morning, you gonna tell me exactly what happened to my husband!"

Dante looked down the barrel of the gun. "No!" He shouted.

Dante then with ultra quick speed grabbed the barrel of the musket, snatched the gun from Mrs. Betty and aimed it at her.

"I oughta shoot you now." He then turned to Harriet "An' you too! Or better yet, I oughta eat both of you." Dante's fangs popped out and he leaped at Mrs. Betty's throat.

"STOP!" Alexander shouted.

Dante came to a sudden abrupt halt.

"Killing is not the only answer," Alexander said.

"But she'll kill me," Dante replied.

"Let me show you something." Alexander said turning toward his progeny.

"I'm going to teach you how to glamour. Now this only works on humans, not other night dwellers like us."

Alexander looked into Harriet's eyes and spoke with a hypnotizing rhythm. "You will turn around and go back inside of the main house, you will not tell on the other slaves again, or try to get them in trouble."

Harriet turned around and began walking away.

"Harriet, get back over here this second!" Mrs. Betty yelled at Harriet, but to no avail. Harriet walked out and left Mrs. Betty and the other slaves.

"Now you try it," Alexander said to Dante.

Dante looked into Mrs. Betty's eyes, which were now filled with fear. He began to glamour her.

"You gonna turn back an' leave us alone. You gon' forget all about me. You ain't never gonna whip no slaves again! Now turn around and go on' back to yo' house." Dante told Harriet. Harriet turned around and walked back to the main house.

Dante turned around and looked proudly at his companions, who to his surprise stared back at him with fear. It was Auntie that broke the silence.

"Dey been talkin' 'bout there was two demons in the forest 'dat killed Massuh an' da other men. Was that you?"

Alexander spoke up to defend his progeny.

"No ma'am that was me."

Auntie shook her head. "Boy what is it you got into? I don't want none of it. We good chuch goin' folk."

Dante looked excited, "Come wit' me, let's run away from here. I can make y'all like me."

Ezel, the youngest child of Auntie who was in his teens walked up to Dante.

"Can you make me fas' like 'dat?!"

"No," Auntie said standing before her son. "You ain't gonna be a monstuh like him, you believe in Jeezus." Auntie became teary eyed.

"I don't know who you is no mo'. We'll stay here as slaves, now go on and get goin', we don't want no mo' trouble."

Dante looked around at everyone; each person's face a series of complex expressions.

"Well, ain't nobody comin' wit' me? Don't ya wanna be free?"

Dante pleaded.

When his words were met with silence Dante slumped his shoulders and turned around.

"Alright 'den, y'all take care now."

As Dante walked outside, Alexander put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Your human relationships will be one thing you have to sacrifice; I just want you to know that I've been through the same thing." Alexander said to Dante as they were leaving the shack.

"And while we're leaving things behind, these" Alexander said breaking of the metal shackles on Dante's arms and ankles, "Take them off! You are no longer bound you are as free now as you ever have been, a slave only to the darkness."

"Yes massuh" Dante said.

"And another thing" Alexander added. "Stop calling me master, we are now Maker and Progeny, no bond goes deeper than ours it is insulting to call me that."

Dante looked back at the plantation one last time before making his journey toward Louisiana with his maker. It would be a fewer hours into their trip that Alexander explained to Dante exactly why blood was seeping out of Dante's eyes.