Henry Senior

*content warning - sexually explicit references. 

Henry arrived at the door to the Sodomy Room. He reached for the knob, but stopped himself. Did he really want to see his father like this? Would his father even talk to him? He thought for a second, deciding swiftly that none of it mattered, he had to see his father. He turned the knob and entered cautiously.

As he entered, his eyes searched frantically for the face he longed to see. He saw many other recognizable faces in this room, and the thought of what they did to get here sent a shiver down his spine. Henry was not a good person, and he understood why he ended up here, but he was immensely glad his eternal punishment didn't have anything to do with this particular room.

Henry walked slowly into the room, continuing his search for his father. He passed an older man with white hair, completely naked on all fours. There was a demon behind him holding a large candlestick, dripping with blood and other fluids.

"Ready for another round, Jeff?" The demon smiled deviously as he rammed the man from behind with the candlestick. The man's screams of sheer agony reached Henry's ears as he continued his search.

To his right, there was a vacant torture station, with two demons leaning against the back wall, smoking cigarettes. One demon looked at his watch, then at the other demon. 

"He should have been here by now, how is he still alive?"

Henry eyed the big golden "T" above the station, with a picture of an elderly orange man below it. He turned and kept walking, not wanting to spend any extra time in this horrible place.

Then, he spotted him. Henry Senior. He was at the back of the room, sitting in a rusty metal chair. Henry regretfully noted that his father was naked, jumper cables attached to his nipples. As he approached, the demon behind his father attached the other end of the cables to a car battery, sending a jolt through Henry Senior's body. He shook violently, his hair standing on end. 

"Is that all you got?" Henry Senior shouted at the demon behind him, his face wincing from pain, but his voice strong and unwavering. At that moment he looked up, locking eyes with his son.

"Daddy?" Henry whimpered as he began jogging toward his father. 

"Henry Senior's face momentarily lit up at the sight of his son, whom he had not laid eyes on in hundreds of years. The joy was fleeting, as he realized where his son was, and exactly what his son was seeing in this moment. His grin faltered, turning to a frown.

"Hank, my boy, what are you doing herrrrreeeee—" He began speaking as another jolt from the car battery ran through his body.

"I, ugh, well..." Henry trailed off, not wanting to admit to his father why he ended up in Hell. "I could ask you the same thing, I guess."

"Yes, I suppose, that's only fair." Henry Senior broke eye contact to stare intensely at the floor for a moment. "Maybe we can both gloss over that part for now?" He glanced up at his son, hopeful that he wouldn't be made to explain himself.

"Oh, come on, my guy, just tell your son that you were diddling the alter boys already." The demon behind him gawked, before removing the cable clamps from his nipples and attaching them further south on Hank Senior's body.

"I—" Hank Senior began, but again, broke eye contact to look at the floor, hanging his head in shame.

"Dad, I... I think I already knew." Henry muttered, as a memory flashed through his mind of his father guiding a young alter boy into his chambers, the boy looking over his shoulder at Henry with pleading eyes, begging for help. Henry was too young at the time to know that that meant, but now he understood.

"Hey, Hank, I have to ask, what's with the french maid's outfit?" His father asked, looking him up and down.

"Well, you see..." Henry began, but suddenly decided it was none of his father's business. "Actually, I, uh, I have to go." Henry turned to leave, but his father called out to him.

"Please, son, don't leave me here alone. This place is torture." Henry Senior pleaded.

"That's kind of the point, isn't it?" Henry muttered without turning around. He swiftly made his way out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He leaned back against the door, sliding down to rest on the floor, where he began to sob. His chest heaved, his breath hitched in his chest. It's always a challenge for kids to see their parents in compromising conditions, not wanting to come to terms with the fact that all humans, including our perfect parents, can make bad choices. That realization stings, even after you're dead. Henry wiped the tears from his face, now more determined than ever to find that girl and receive the accolades he thought were coming to him. He stood and began marching purposefully toward the dungeon.