Dante's Infanzia

Chapter 5
Baby Blues

Chapter Description: After his revelation of almost entering Hell, Dante tips past the boiling point.

Chapter 5: Baby Blues

Dead. Limbo. One-minute short of eternal hellfire and brimstone. Instead he was sentenced to an eternal existence as an overgrown infant. All because he had died just one minute short of his 18th birthday. Sixty more seconds, and he would have gone to the Lake of Fire. That one realization made everything hit home for Dante. He was dead. He was in Limbo. He was stuck in a giant daycare center filled with other people who had died without a baptism. And the only options presented him were to either go insane and become a drooling idiot, or go with the flow and accept the treatment.

Fear welled up inside of Dante. He fell over onto his side and curled up in the fetal position. He stared straight ahead at the mesh walls of his new prison.

“Dante?”, Lysa said. “Dante? You there, kid? Helloooo?” Dante just ignored her. His soggy diaper was starting to cool, too; his hairless crotch starting to chafe and itch. He ignored that too. “Criminey, kid, don’t do this now! You just got here! Snap out of it, already!” Fuck her. Stupid blonde-headed -dead- bitch. He had problems of his own.

Apparently, finding out that he had had a near Hell experience was a more traumatizing experience than an actual death experience. A big baby experience didn’t even compare. Mrs. Applegate had remarked once that “No one dies an atheist.” Even atheists feared Hell on some level. It was better to rot in the ground than to be tortured till the end of time.

He would have gone to Hell if he had died one minute later. It just wouldn’t get out of his head. It wasn’t fair. He had been a pretty good kid all his life. Not great, but pretty good. He got mostly A’s in school. He had never hit anyone, save in self defense, and generally listened to his parents. But all because his parents decided not to have some old child-molester drip water on his forehead when he was a baby, he was now stuck as a baby forever? That wasn’t right! That wasn’t fair! His vision got blurry as tears trickled down from his eyes.

No. What REALLY wasn’t fair, was the fact that he was dead to begin with. He was supposed to be planning for college, not dead! He had had his whole life ahead of him. He wasn’t supposed to worry about what happened when he died, that was what people did when they got old. Who knows, given enough time, maybe he would have gotten religious and been baptized and all that other stuff after he grew up. But now he was never going to grow up, in any sense of the word.

Dante murmured something under his breath.

“What was that, kid?” Lysa asked, leaning in closer to him.

“I said WHY DIDN’T THEY LEAVE MY SHOES ON?!” Dante roared. Lysa fell back and started shimmying away as Dante screamed at the top of his lungs. He could feel his face turning red and snot start pouring out his nose, but he didn’t care. Fear had given way to anger. The feeling of the hot tears streaming down his face only increased his anger. He was transmuting his embarrassment into rage.

“WHY DIDN’T THEY LEAVE MY SHOES ON?! WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T THEY DRAW ON MY FACE! IF THEY HAD BEEN PLAYING A JOKE ON ME WHEN IT HAPPENED I WOULDN’T HAVE DIED! WHY…gasp….DIDN’T….gasp….THEY…gasp…DRAW…gasp…ON…gasp…MY FAAAACE?!” Dante was lost to words at this point. He didn’t have any left.

He started punching the floor of the playpen as hard as he could, right in the middle of it. He kept striking and striking. He wouldn’t stop until he had either punched a hole in the floor or until his knuckles broke. Midori and Lysa looked on from opposite sides of the pen. Both had a look of shock and fear on their face.

On his sixth or seventh swing, Dante lost his balance and ended up sprawled on his stomach. Even his coordination was going because of that stupid milk. Too angry to bother to get up, Dante started pounding his palms on the floor and kicking his legs in a good old fashioned temper tantrum. Real mature. Not that it mattered, anymore.

He quickly found himself being picked up and held by the Judy. She used one arm to support his bum, and stroked his back with the other arm in an attempt to soothe the bawling baby teen. She bobbed up and down a little to try and cheer him up. He buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing, but was too tired right then to make any audible sound. He rubbed his nose on her scrubs. Didn’t matter anyways, it’s not like his mucus would stick to her.

“Awww, Dante, wussamatta, baby?” the angel cooed. Get real. She was his problem. Her and everything about this day was his problem. Her free hand left his back and he felt two fingers sticking into the leggings of his diaper. “Uh-ooooooh!” the Judy proclaimed with sing-song concern. “I know what’s wroooong. SOMEONE had an accident. Off-we-go-for-a-change.” She exited the playpen with Dante in tow.

There were so many things wrong with those last few remarks. “Uh oh?” As if she hadn’t expected to find him wet? She wouldn’t have checked him if she hadn’t expected it. “Someone” had an accident? As if Dante didn’t know that the Judy had been referring to him? Like she was going to stick her fingers in his diaper and then tell him that some other baby was wet? No, some other…aww skip it. Oh, and finally, why was it called an “accident”? THIS was no accident. They had intended for THIS to happen. From the very moment that they had strapped this wretched thing on his waist, THIS was the end-goal that they had had in mind. There was nothing “accidental” about the current situation at all.

Dante shut his eyes as he was being carried over to the changing table. He was so pissed he didn’t want to even look at himself. He felt himself being lowered onto the soft padding of the changing table. He immediately became aware that he couldn’t really move. He kept his eyes shut all the same.

“Here you go, sweetie” the Judy said. Dante felt a rubber teat brush his lips. He opened his mouth and accepted it. He needed some time without ambition or inhibition for a while. Screw Lysa and her pretentious know-it-all attitude and rules about enduring this crazy existence. Dante needed some kind of relief.

Dante sucked as hard as he could, waiting to accept the creamy milk. Except none came. Great, they had given him a pacifier! Now he had to go through this whole thing sober. These angels or whatever they were had to realize that their wards weren‘t really babies. They were too sadistic to be that dumb. Oh well, at least he had something to bite on.

Dante refused to open his eyes even as he felt nimble hands unbuttoning his snaps. He would not watch this. He would not look for Lysa, who was no doubt silently judging him for his breakdown. Even though he could squeeze his eyes shut, Dante’s other senses were still at the mercy of his caregiver.

He felt the buttons being unsnapped, and his onesie becoming more like a shirt as it was shimmied up his hips past his stomach to his chest. He heard the scritch-scratch of Velcro as the tapes of his diaper were ripped loose. He felt the breeze as his moistened privates were exposed to open air, and smelled stale urine mixed in with the perfume of the soiled garment. He winced slightly as baby wipes were dragged across his cock and balls. He felt his legs lifted into the air and his rump got a similar treatment. He felt warmth and comfort as he was lowered down onto fresh padding.

He let out a brief sigh. Almost over. He grit his teeth- biting onto the pacifier- trying his best not to enjoy the feeling (and doing a pretty good job at it) as the new diaper became taped on and snug. Still filled to the brim with righteous fury, Dante was determined to not let the Judy have the satisfaction of thinking she had solved his problem.

What Dante had failed to account for, was the Judy deciding to blow a raspberry on his tummy.

PBBFFLLIITT! PBBFFLLIITT! PBBFFLLIITT!

A most rude noise interrupted Dante’s loathing, and a jolt shot through his spine as the angel‘s lips and hot air flapped and vibrated on his stomach. If the spankings were like EMP’s to his nervous system, then the tummy blowing was electro shock therapy targeting his pleasure centers. He squealed and squirmed as Mama Judy tickled him and said the nicest things to him, even if he couldn’t understand them all. This was the most wonderful feeling in the world!

“Who’s all nice and dry?!” the Judy cooed in motherese. “Who’s all nice and dry?! Yyyou are! Yyyou are! Theeeeere‘s a happy boy. Theeeeere‘s a happy boy!” Everything seemed brighter and better; even the decorative cherubs on his waste seemed to be smiling more. The tickling subsided and Judy started buttoning Dante’s blue onesie back up.

“Can’t have too much tickling, or Mama Judy’s gonna have to change you all over again. Isn’t that right, Dante? Isn‘t that right?”

Dante’s laughter died down, and the rational part of his mind hopped back in the driver‘s seat. In the back of his brain, Dante realized that the Judy’s wouldn’t even let him be miserable on his own terms. That’s how much sway they had over him, now. That’s how little control he really had. He wasn’t even allowed to be angry unless they allowed it.

The Judy toted him back to the playpen and set him down. Then she picked up Midori and announced Midori’s forthcoming change to all as she stepped out with the simple-minded girl. Why was it supposed to be private and discreet when a grown person relieved themselves, but was breaking news when a baby did it?

Dante didn’t bother to look at Lysa. He braced himself for a cacophony of “What did I just tell you NOT to do’s?” from Lysa. She would be unsympathetic. She’d survived this treatment for decades. It hadn’t yet been half a day, and Dante was sure he was already half way to breaking completely.

“You okay, Dante?” she asked? You okay, Dante?! Was this a setup?

“Yeah, sorry I freaked out.” he replied. Here it came.

“It’s alright.” she said. “Happens to all of us sometimes. It’s just that, usually, it’s not till couple days in this place that the initial grief sets in.” She said “us”. Maybe super-shrew was a real person after all. Maybe she was worth confiding in outside of pumping for information.

“Yeah…sorry,” Dante sniffed. “I kind of had a breakdown, there didn’t I?” Lysa was kind enough right then not to agree. He took a deep breath. “When they brought me here, I heard them say that if I was one minute later, I wouldn‘t be allowed in here.”

Lysa clapped her hand over mouth. Her eyes widened with recognition. “Oh my” she sputtered, “you mean…?” Dante could only nod. He was already all cried out. Lysa crawled over and hoisted her self onto her knees. She held her arms open, inviting him for a hug. Despite his ego, he shuffled toward her and accepted it.

She squeezed him, tightly. He squeezed her right back. No back rubbing, nose wiping, bouncing, cooing, or cuddling. This is what a hug should be like: Two people just holding each other, equals if only for the moment. The moment didn’t last though. A third set of arms joined the hug, and Dante found himself on the receiving in of another sloppy drool covered kiss. The Judy looked on from outside the playpen, having already placed Midori back inside. The angel just stood there, mesmerized by the cuteness of three children playing nicely together in a big group cuddle.

“Love you too, Dori,” Lysa said, sounding only slightly exasperated. “Now go play.” Midori complied.

“Thank you.” Dante whispered, still embracing Lysa.

“Welcome,” she whispered back. They released and looked at each other for what seemed like a while. Remembering the conversation that the two Judy‘s had had rocked him to his very core. Why would they even tell him that? Why would they even bother to say that in front of him?

The wheels in Dante’s head started turning. His eyes glazed over as he searched inward. The Judy’s treated everyone here like babies, no matter what. That meant talking over them like they didn’t understand what was being said.

BEEN HERE SINCE 11:59 PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME.

IT’S THE 18TH NO NEW ARRIVALS TILL NEXT YEAR.

ANOTHER NURSERY.

Doors labeled 0101A, 0102A, all the way down to 1017AB and beyond.

Eureka!

“Sorry if the hug was uncomfortable.” Lysa broke the silence. “Being a baby for so long kind of destroys your sense of having personal space. It‘s something you just have to get used to.”

Dante smiled. He felt a small thrill surge through him. He was inches away from crashing his car into his parents garage. “Not necessarily.” Lysa shook her head, sadly. She cupped Dante’s face in her hands.

“Kid, I’ve already told you:” nothing but pity showed in her eyes. “There’s no getting out of here. There’s no winning because we’ve already lost. We‘re here because of a higher power.” Dante looked over to see if the Judy was still watching. She wasn’t.

“If this power is so high,” Dante asked, “why is it that they have limits?” Now it was Lysa’s turn to be truly dumbstruck. She dropped her hands down to her side, and stared in bewilderment.

“Lived on the East Coast before you died, didn‘t you?” he remarked, more of a statement than an actual question. Lysa didn’t correct him. “I bet everyone here lived in an Eastern Time Zone, too. That‘s why the exact time of my death was important.”

“And,” he went on, “you died on October 17th, same as me. “That‘s why the door to this nursery was 1017.” Dante could almost taste her disbelief. “Aaaand,” Dante built up steam, “there’s only so many babies that can be held here. That’s why they have 1017A, 1017B, and so on. Then they have to make room for a new nursery. Tell me I’m wrong!” She wouldn’t be able to.

“I don’t think I can,” Lysa said. Knew it! “But what’s your point? What does knowing all this prove?”

“It proves that they’re not all powerful or omnipotent. If they were, every kid that ever died would be in this place. They wouldn’t need a filing system or separate nurseries! They have limits here. And if they have limits, that means”

“I don’t like where this is going, kid”, Lysa quavered. “This has bad idea all over it, and it’s still just your first day.”

“Oh, I’m not getting out today.” Dante practically shouted, his blood pumping. “It’ll take a while, obviously. But it’s possible. There’s still hope!” Lysa rolled her eyes and smacked her own forehead.

“Now what did I specifically tell you NOT to do?”, she said. “Are you a slow learner or something? Hope is a poison here. Too much hope, and you‘ll go insane with despair when it doesn‘t pan out. Or worse.”

“What could be worse than ending up like, her?” Dante said gesturing towards Midori. Midori smiled, only knowing that she was being talked about.

“What’s worse?“ Lysa said indignantly, “What’s worse?! Let’s go someplace, and I’ll show you what too much hope can do to you. Mama Judyyyyy!” she called out.

To be Continued.