[ WP ] unbaptized babies and small children who die and go to Purgitory get adopted by demons .

A flash of light, then darkness. And the pain, oh, the pain. I need to get out of here. An adrenaline rush is urging me to get moving, but I am unable to comply. Something is crushing me. I feel an unbelievable weight on my arms, on my legs, on my torso. I had n't even noticed the sirens and the screaming until I could n't hear them anymore. They're fading away - no, that ca n't be right. *I'm* fading away. 
 
 `` No...'' I try to say, but my lips wo n't move. My body is still, but my mind is slipping. In fact, I am falling. I fall and I fall. And then I rest. 
 
 -- - 
 
 I am awake. 
 
 `` Wha...'' I blink against the light. It's blinding at first, and I instinctively clamp my eyes shut again. I rub my hands against my face, and in doing so I realize that I have control over my body again. I was in a car crash, that much is certain. A pretty bad one, I had thought. But my body is oddly clean. No bruises, no scars. Perhaps the crash was n't so bad after all. 
 
 I am lying on a hospital bed. The bed frame is white. The sheets are white. The covers are white, the floor is white, everything is white. 
 
 `` Hello?'' I call out. 
 
 No one responds. 
 
 The room is oddly quiet. Where are the doctors and the nurses and the other patients? Why is n't there a constant whir of machinery in the background? The room is small. A row of four beds faces a row of four other beds, and that is it. Light streams out from windows on all four sides of the room... and from those windows I can see outside. Grass. Trees. My heart pounds as I realize that this room might be all there is. It's not part of any sort of larger building, and no one is coming to help me. 
 
 My son was with me during the car crash. I have no idea where he is, or where anyone is, for that matter, but I know I have to find him. I do n't trust a hospital that would separate a mother and her son. There's no way anyone else could be taking care of him the way I can. Hell, I do n't even know if he survived. Why has n't anyone told me? Why are they keeping me from him? 
 
 I jump out of bed, heading for a door at the end of the room. I have a brief moment of panic, wondering whether the door is locked. But it is n't. Evidently, I am not here against my will. The door opens easily, and I am outside. Outside. Out-fucking-side. I could scream. 
 
 The air is pleasant. It's warm, and there's a nice hint of a breeze. On one side of the building I've just exited is a dense forest. On the other is a grassy hill. Both sides seem to spread out infinitely. Why was I being kept in the middle of nowhere? What kind of hospital was this? And where was my damn baby? 
 
 `` Hello?'' I shout. 
 
 No response. 
 
 The only thing I can do, I decide, is to pick a side. The hill. It is n't a particularly long climb, but I can feel my muscles straining. They must have weakened while I was asleep. What the hell? How long was I even out? I begin to pant with the effort, stopping to rest when i reach the top. I see something large in the distance, a city or a town of some sort. No, not a town... a playground! I can hear some playful shrieking and see some figures moving. It's kids. Just kids. Kids playing on a playground. 
 
 Laughing, I break into a run. I am delighted at the thought of other people; hopefully there will be some parents who can point me in the direction of the rest of the hospital, or let me borrow their phone to call home. 
 
 A few adults stand at the edge of the playground. I see young children swinging on swings, sliding down slides, chasing each other and giggling. 
 
 I approach a woman who is standing with her arms crossed, watching the children playing with bored disinterest. 
 
 `` Excuse me,'' I say, `` can you tell me what town this is? I just came from back there...'' I gesture behind me, ``... and...'' my voice trails off as I lose my train of thought. I stare at this strange woman, and suddenly I know that all hope is lost. How foolish I've been! I should have known something was n't right, but I was so hopeful... so desperate... 
 
 The woman... if she could even be considered a woman... Oh god. The woman is obviously a creature not from the world I am familiar with. Her eyes are a piercing black, and her ears are long and pointed. Her most stunning characteristics, though, are her bright red skin, which I had somehow missed when I had approached her from behind, ( from behind, she had seemed so normal, with her jeans and t-shirt, and her dark hair covering her shoulders ) and... her tail? Oh lord, her tail. 
 
 `` Holy shit,'' I say, backing away. `` It's okay, I'll just... um...'' 
 
 The woman rolls her eyes and gestures across the playground. `` You need to talk to him,'' she says, annoyed, as if I should have somehow already known that. `` Come on, I'll take you.'' 
 
 I follow her to a man-creature standing under the shade of a large oak tree. He is holding a baby. My baby. He steps close to me. *Too* close, I think, until I realize he is holding the child out to me, waiting for me to take him. 
 
 `` It's alright,'' the man says. His voice is gentle. `` This happens sometimes. You can stay.'' 
 
 I take my baby from his arms and hold him close to my chest. I have no idea what's going on, but for some reason, I get the feeling that everything will be okay. 
 
 I bring my son away from my chest, cradling him in my arms where I can see him. I can also see my own arms. They are red.
