These are your sins

The inky darkness that polluted his vision pressed into him. Chris couldn't tell whether or not his vision had grown accustomed to the darkness. Being in the darkness, he had lost all orientation of time, date, and location. All he knew now was the darkness. Suddenly, he could see a faint glimmer in the darkness below him. As that glimmer grew, so did his hope. The sliver of light grew faster and faster, and was rushing up to meet him. Suddenly, it started spiraling around him, reminding him of a twister, wiping away the darkness. After the darkness was gone, he was surrounded by white clouds, the bottoms as grey as steel. The thing was, Chris noticed, was that the clouds made a kind of sphere around him. He looked up, and the clouds broke at top, making a hole with brilliant sunlight filtering down and concentrating on a single spot in front of him. It reminded him of the very heavens itself opened up. It was almost as if his very thoughts were read, as bare feet emerged from the hole, followed by pure white robes. The figure descended slowly, and it was a man dressed in stark white robes, golden hair flowing from his head. His arms and face were of a healthy complexion for a white man, and his brilliant azure eyes gave him a haunting yet stunningly beautiful and handsome appearance. The Angel stood there, staring at him, until finally he spoke.

"My name is Michael." The angel simply said. Chris tried to speak, but his words failed him. He stood there, mouth agape, staring at Michael. Michael then swung his right arm, and the clouds vanished. The ground was rushing up to meet them both and Chris cringed, screwing his eyes shut. Yet, where there was supposed to be a sickening crunch, there was a decrease of speed, and his feet were lightly set upon the ground. Suddenly, the Earth started to rotate underneath their feet, and the Earth grew faster in its rotation. Finally, it slowed to a stop, and in front of the pair was a bar. Michael led him inside and they both sat down at a table in the back. Suddenly, Chris could see himself walking in and sitting down at the counter. He looked at Michael quizzically, and he dismissed his look by nodding in the direction of the counter. A fairly decent woman walked up to him and sat next to him, and they chatted for quite a while. After a few drinks, Chris could tell that the man who looked like him was beginning to get a little bit on the playful side. All of a sudden, they both walked away from the counter, and towards the steps. She took him by the hand and led him upstairs, where Chris could tell exactly what they were doing. Suddenly, time froze, with Chris and Michael being the exception. When Chris went to ask Michael what the thing that they witnessed was all about, Michael started to speak before he had the chance.

"Your lechery was your problem. You seemed to put the opposite sex ahead of almost everything else in your life. You committed adultery, and yet you thought nothing was wrong. Your lust for sexual behaviors was so great, that you didn't put anything else in the forefront of your mind except vulnerable women. Luxuria was but one of your sins…" He finished with that, and the scene melted away, leaving the terrible darkness to take up its place. Shortly after that, there was almost a shattering noise, like when you would drop a glass or break a window. The darkness came apart in shards, and a whole new scene replaced it.

Chris could see that they were in his home. He recognized it as around the time they were going through some difficulties, and money was tight. They had to watch what they spent money on, and also what they consumed. Chris could see lights on in the dining room, and when he went to take a look, it was a family dinner-one out of many. Only this time was different. This time, he was looking in on the scene, instead of actually taking place in it, like he was watching a play or a movie. He watched his children running off to play, and his wife kiss him before leaving; only he made no move to get up. Instead, he waited until he didn't hear them anymore, and then snuck into the kitchen. He ate so much, not leaving much left. He obviously didn't give a damn, but Chris knew what was wrong when he saw it. The scene dissolved again, and Michael was standing in front of him.

"You had not wanted even to share in eating the food with your family. Instead you horde it for yourself, much like an animal does before settling down for the winter. You had no just cause to overeat, especially in a time of financial troubles like you were in. Gula was but one of your sins…" A new scene replaced the previous one. In this, Chris saw himself sitting in his office as CEO of his business. He was going over the income, and calculating how much each person would get as pay, and how much he would have to take out for supplies and such. Chris saw himself smiling as he clicked on something on his computer, and typing something in. He lowered the amount that all of his employees would be getting, only by a little, unnoticeable bit. He then added the total amount to how much money he would get from that month's income. The scene vanished before his eyes.

"Avarita… you condemned things eternal for the sake of temporal things. You couldn't let go of any money, and you even couldn't find a way to justify your stealing. You betrayed the trust of those that depend on you; you destroyed and ruined their lives." That scene, much like the others, fell away and was replaced with a new one. Chris could see, in the faint glow, a figure whose pallor was of a deathly hue. It was hunched in the corner, and sobs occasionally sounded from the huddled mass. A glint of steel could be seen, and something glistening and black ran down what looked like an arm.

"You let your apathy, depression, and joylessness get the best of you. You tried to take your own life, a selfish attempt that would only destroy the lives you care so much about. Acedia is where you went wrong." Michael's voice sounded from nowhere. Chris was getting increasingly worried, wondering what was going on. The scene was replaced with Chris, pointing a black handgun in someone's mouth. A twisted smile played on his face, as he pulled the trigger, blowing the brains of the person out from the back of his head.

"Your hatred and anger took the best of you, plunging you further into the darkness. In enacting your revenge, your love of justice was perverted to revenge and spite. You killed for vengeance, and that only left you empty inside. Ira threw you into the darkness." That scene was replaced with a courthouse scene. Chris had just got done winning a case that sued a woman for $2.2 million. He took great pleasure in taking what was precious and needed from her, and relished in that.

"You saw that you lacked what she had, and wished to deprive and tear it from her. You took pleasure in seeing her low and beneath you, and in doing so you destroyed your own self. Invidia destroyed you." Michael said. This scene change was gradual, much like the first one. The courthouse faded away, and a new place became visible around them. It was a strange place, filled with many different swirling colors. All of a sudden, memories and images assaulted Chris's mind. Times where he felt that he was better… that he didn't need to donate, or to admit defeat. Times where he tried so hard to compete with other people, and stepped on others to win. The assault lasted the longest out of all the scenes, and left Chris in a heap on the ground.

Michael's voice came, yet softer this time. "You ruined the lives of others to try and get to where you are." Michael's azure eyes now filled with apparent compassion. "You reveled in your feelings of superiority. From superbia, came the others." Michael waved his right arm, the same way he did when they started. All of the scenes appeared around Chris, overlapping each other. "Your sins… Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride." Chris realized that he hadn't said anything since they first began. Tears welled up and spilled over from his eyes.

"What do I do?" Chris said for the first time since being on this endeavor.

"You let go." Was the last thing Chris had heard. Darkness started to spiral up from the area beneath Chris, much like the source of light did. It spiraled around him, enveloping himself in total darkness. This time, he could see many bodies beneath him, their eyes shut. Yet, their mouths were slightly open, and a chilling wail emitted from each mouth. There must have been millions of them, some with their eyes simply shut, others with their lids sewn together. Some had terrible masks, and some were eternally lit aflame. Chris slowly descended closer and closer to the grey bodies, and they reached out for him. He tried fighting it, but they wouldn't let go. Soon, the floating bodies made room for him to slide into. Slowly his eyes shut, as he descended into oblivion for the final time.

These… are your sins…

-Jon