"...Imagine turning on one of the elements of your stove - let's say it's the electric kind with black coils on top... Maybe some tiny tendrils of smoke curl up from a previous spill on the burner. A slight violet tinge will appear, nestled there in the black rings, and then the element consumes some redish purple tones, like unripe blackberries. It moves towards orange and finally - finally! - an intense glowing red. Kind of beautiful, isn't it? Now lower your head so that your eyes are even with the top of the stove and you can peer through the shimmering waves rising up. I want you to trace the fingertips of your left hand gently across your right palm, noting the way your skin registers even the lightest touch. Now, slam that sensitive, responsive hand directly onto that glowing element.

And hold it there. Hold it there as the element scorches Dante's nine rings right into your palm, allowing you to grasp Hell in your hand forever. Let the heat engrave your skin, the muscles, the tendons; let it smolder down to the bone. Wait for the burn to embed itself so far into you that you don't know if you'll ever be able to let go of that coil. It won't be long until the stench of your own burning flesh wafts up, grabbing your nose hairs and refusing to let go, and you smell your body burn.

I want you to keep that hand pressed down, for a slow count of sixty. One Mis-sis-sip-pi, two Mis-sip-sip-pi... At sixty Mis-sip-sip-pi, your hand will have melted so that it now surrounds the element, becoming fused with it. Now rip your flesh free.

I have another task for you: lean down, turn your head to one side, and slap your cheek on the same element. I'll let you choose which side of your face. Again, sixty Mississippi; no cheating. The convenient thing is that your ear is right there to capture the snap, crackle, and pop of your flesh..."

-THE GARGOYLE Andrew Davidson

mad props to Davidson. what a great author. convinced me that my skin was burning. xD man I'm hooked... and its only the THIRD PAGE!