Chapter Text
The temple used to have heavy doors made of iron and stone, our class instructor told us. A hidden marvel, massive and foreboding, tucked away along the Greek coast and supposedly dedicated to the god of the underworld, Hades. Snow and ice surrounded it all year round and this summer was no different. Locals avoided the place and thought of it akin to a cemetery -- for good reason. Over the centuries, thieves and vandals chipped off pieces of the doors to sell, only for the pieces to find their way back to their original positions as though they were never removed. One day the doors mysteriously disappeared. Now the entrance stood wide and gaping, the temple’s cold grey interior shrouded by shadows. And my study abroad program was going to be the first to finally study it. After literally thousands of years left untouched!
“Hey (Name), your turn!”
I looked up at the sound of a classmate calling me. He and my other classmates were huddled in a circle, giggling and talking among themselves. Our instructor had left us by ourselves while he went to a nearby village to pick up a drone with LIDAR scanning and other supplies. While we waited for him to return, we worked on our fieldnotes. Or rather, we were working on them and then most of us got bored and played games instead. Like “Truth or Dare”.
I saved the note I was pretending to work on and stuffed my phone into my fanny pack. Snow crunched under my boots as I walked over to the group. “‘Kay, what’s my dare?” A cold breeze blew past and I shivered: my butt was cold from sitting on that boulder for almost an hour.
“Damn, straight to the dare?” the classmate who called me jokingly remarked, “You sure you don’t have a juicy secret truth to tell?”
“What happens at the temple, stays at the temple!” another classmate declared. We all laughed.
Smiling, I said, “You guys already know everything there is to know about me. So what’s the dare?”
“Go into the temple.”
My smile faltered. The rest of us became quiet. A few tittered nervously. I blinked at him, processing what he just said. “... No.”
“Not even with shoe covers on, which technically makes it not breaking fieldwork protocol?” He held up a box of plastic booties that our instructor had left with us. I mean, he was right to an extent. If I entered the temple with shoe covers on, I was at least following proper procedures…
“No! We have to stay put. We can’t go into the temple ‘til the drone does the scan to make sure it’s safe to go in.”
“(Name), go into the fucking temple.” This was from my friend, (Name 2), who was in the program with me. We were fellow students from the same college but we couldn’t have been more different. We clashed often because of this. Somehow we were drawn to each other, quick to forgive and try again. He usually meant well when he said stuff like this. Usually. But that day he was really pushing my buttons and I wasn’t having it. And... I guess I’ll be completely honest: he’d been pushing my buttons for a while now too.
I turned to (Name 2), feeling more than a little indignant that he wasn’t on my side for this obviously ill-thought-out dare. “I’m not going in!”
“Okay. Take the truth, then. Admit that you’re in love with me.”
I could only stare at him, taken aback. A flash of anger brought me back to my senses. “I am not in love with you!" I shouted, "I’m not attracted to anyone!” He knew that at the time too, that I wasn’t attracted to anyone and didn’t want a relationship. Sometimes he teased me about it and make a crude joke, but I would just let it slide and try to ignore how uncomfortable it made me feel.
I think I came off much angrier than I intended because he flinched ever so slightly. Still he was undeterred. “Oh yeah? How come I caught you checking out that waiter from last week?” He pointed an accusing finger at me. ... He did that a lot.
“Checking out??? Oh my fuck- you think I was checking that guy out?! I always stare at strangers after they talk to me and leave! That’s how I know that they existed! It’s never about checking them out!”
“You liar!”
“I’m not lying! It’s literally-”
“Ugh! I’m sick of you always being like this! You don’t even… URGH!” He threw his hands up and stormed towards the river that flowed adjacent to the temple. “And you can forget about ever being friends with me!” He stomped the rest of the way and planted himself on a snow-covered rock with his back to me. Someone in the back coughed.
My classmate awkwardly broke the silence. “Um, (Name)? You don’t have to -”
I stuck out my hand. “Give me the fucking foot gloves.” He pulled out two shoe covers from the box and gave them to me.
“Alright (Name 2)! I’m going into the temple! I’m doing it to save our friendship!” I marched to the temple's entrance with our classmates following closely behind me. (Name 2) looked over his shoulder and walked over, arms crossed. I snapped on my shoe covers and stepped through the threshold. Smooth little stone tiles were organized in a spiral pattern on the floor. At the center of the spiral was a block of white marble on a large square tile. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the large square tile converged with two very long brick borders which stretched all the way to the wall across the entrance. A head with horns?
I'll deal with that later. I turned around and saw (Name 2) in front of everyone. He looked very pleased. I sure as hell wasn't. “Look, I’m actually inside it!" I said loudly, "Wow~! The mosaic design is so intricate and well-preserved but you know what? I’m not enjoying any of this! I hate this! But I’m doing it regardless because I don’t want to lose you as a friend even though I’m getting fed up with your bullshit!" The smile on his face slowly faded as I ranted at him.
“As a matter of fact, let me just get up on this conveniently-placed pedestal so you can see just how much I hate this right now!” I stepped onto the block and waited for his response. His eyes flitted around, avoiding my gaze.
The temple responded instead. The floor split apart and collapsed, curling inwards like hands digging into a hole in a seam and pulling the stone tiles open to a dark bottomless pit. I yelped and tried to steady myself. The block pedestal lurched forward. I remember how my hands pathetically grabbed at the pedestal’s slippery-smooth surface as I plunged into the chasm below and my classmates' screams faded away.
I regained consciousness hours later in pitch-black darkness. What time was it? My hand swept a rocky surface and found my fanny pack. My phone. The pack was unzipped. I felt my fingers absentmindedly brush against its contents. What was I looking for? Rectangular, smooth, made of plastic. A bump on one edge and two more on the opposite edge.
My phone! My hand closed around it and took it out. A shaky finger tapped the screen. Several hours had passed since my instructor left for the village. It was already the next day.
I swiped down my lock screen and tapped the flashlight feature. A beam of light revealed sparkling stalactites and a drop of water that landed on my cheek. I slowly sat up, pointing the light around me. My head spun. Stalagmites and stone columns. Boulders. Rock debris. I groaned. My chest hurt. My collarbone ached and I couldn’t lift my other arm without a painful twinge. I aimed my light on my legs: a spot of dried blood was on my left shin. Shit. I put my phone on the ground flashlight-up and gingerly pulled up my dusty pant legs.
An open fracture. Great, fucking wonderful. All this for a stupid dare I just had to take. I sighed heavily and immediately regretted it. “Shit.” I wiggled and bent my right leg; seeing that it was fine, I used my right foot to push the pant legs back down.
My hand on my good arm intuitively touched my ears. My earrings were still intact, even the magnetic ones. I remembered putting them on in my room. Which room? I shook my head. What do I do? I looked down at my fanny pack. It was still open. I put it in my lap and squinted at its contents: my wallet, some napkins from lunch, and my keys. I zipped it closed. The strap buckle was broken. Guess I was holding it. I grabbed my phone and put it in my mouth. The flashlight blinded me for a few minutes as I took my time to get on my feet. Once I was upright, I thought, I could’ve just had my phone in my hand. Thank fuck I was alone.
A small crackling fire appeared out of thin air and I almost fell back down. More little fires appeared in succession like torches, illuminating a path leading deeper into the cavern. Was it a way out? It was the only path available at the moment so it had to be, right? Not wanting to stay where I was much longer, I took my chances and followed the comfortless orange glow of the source-less flames.
I limped along the strangely well-trodden path for some time when the flames stopped at a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a wooden dock that creaked noisily at my every step. Melting candles burned in wrought iron sconces tied to the pilings. But what truly caught my attention was the body of water that the dock was situated. The pool was an unnerving brilliant red hue, swirling and shimmering like a sea within a ruby. A river roared just ahead, ruby red like the pool and equally disconcerting. I gripped my fanny pack a bit tighter. I wasn’t about to swim in that, as pretty as it was. How was I going to leave with no boat?
I was so entranced by the water that I didn’t notice a curling purple mist gathering at my feet. Or the large shadow. I spun around. A terrifyingly tall figure with gleaming purple eyes towered over me. It moaned and wisps of violet smoke wafted out from the gold collar that obscured its face.
I cried out in fear and stepped backwards, straight into the opaque red pool. It was freezing cold much to my shock and discomfort. My wounds smarted as soon as I plunged into the water. With my eyes tightly closed, I clawed upwards and resurfaced. Then I couldn’t remember how to tread water and began to drown. As I sputtered and thrashed about to stay afloat, I noticed that a new figure had arrived at the dock. This one was shorter and human-shaped but had flapping wings on its head and feet. And it was floating.
“That’s an alive human,” it mused. The other one moaned in response. They watched me flail for a good 15 seconds.
Another moan came from the taller figure. “Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrgg…”
“Boss says you should be able to stand at this close to the bank,” the voice using words said.
I stopped flailing and allowed my feet to touch the bottom. The water came up to my eyes. I tilted my head up and dryly asked, “I don’t suppose the extremely dubious red water doesn’t almost completely engulf this ‘Boss’ you speak of?” I flicked my hand to dry it a bit and rubbed my eyelids with my thumb knuckle.
The voice hummed, clearly entertained. “Well, no. But I suppose that's one of the perks of being a chthonic god. And such a tall, handsome, loving god he is~!” I blinked and looked up at them. The taller figure chuckled and turned away in a bashful manner as his companion wrapped an arm around his collar and went in for a kiss.
In the pale yellow candlelight, I could make out more details: the taller figure wore a wide-brim hat and long indigo robes with golden trimming. Heavy necklaces of gold coins circled where the robes met the matching collar. In his hand was an oar with a gold shaft and a gold wave-shaped decoration on the blade. “‘God’?” I echoed, watching the pair getting cuddly. I took my wet fanny pack out of the water.
“Well of course! Can’t expect good looks like his, from mortals like yourself. I’m a god myself so I would know. No offense though, you’re very cute yourself.” The floating god did a mini-somersault and floated down until he was just a few inches from lying on the dock on his stomach. Smiling, he crossed his muscular arms and rested his chin on them. I looked straight into his curious dark eyes. The wings poking out of his glossy black hair were the colors of the sunset and matched his scarf that rippled in the air as though it were underwater.
“None taken,” I said blankly. Glancing at the dark looming being and back at the cheerful hovering one, I added, “Also, where am I?”
“Oh, you’re in the Greek Underworld.”
“... The- the where in what now?” He nodded and made an affirming sound, still smiling nonchalantly. The tall, hatted god got on one knee and set down his oar on the dock. I gasped: his face looked like the pictures of mummified skulls from my archeology textbook. I used to watch video game play-throughs that were so much scarier. Why did this look and feel so wrong??? I took a deep breath to calm myself and winced. My chest…
I felt myself tilt backwards and took a step back to steady myself. My boot’s toe touched the bottom a bit too hard. “Ow…”, I whimpered. It was my injured leg.
The floating god noticed and lifted his head, his wings stretched out. “Are you hurt?”
“Yeah,” I grimaced, “I fell into this place from the temple. Some bones are broken.”
“Here, allow me.” I lifted my good arm out of the water. He floated next to me, slung my arm over his shoulders, and hooked his fingers on my belt to pull me out of the pool. I wondered if my leg fracture would get infected from the river water as I was lifted into the air.
An unexpected jerk caught me off guard. “Um, I think my leg's stuck.” At this, the tall hatted god took his oar and stirred the red water where my leg was caught on something beneath the surface.
“Boss, isn’t this pool supposed to be just sand on the bottom?” the floating god asked. The other grunted and lifted the wet blade out. The floating god gently tugged my dripping body. My leg was still stuck. The tall hatted god made a noise like a grumble and stirred the water again with his oar. He abruptly stopped and looked down. A red translucent hand drifted towards me. The god adjusted his grip on the oar's shaft and swatted the hand away.
“... What was that?”
The floating god waved his hand dismissively. “Ah, that was just a river hand. They’re harmless.”
A growl came from the tall hatted god as he brought his oar down a second time. WACK! I looked at the water. Several river hands were coming our way. The tall hatted god hissed urgently at the floating god and began swatting away fast approaching hands. The floating god quickly hoisted me over his shoulder and pulled my trapped leg. I inhaled sharply and groaned as my body painfully shifted. “Apologies for any discomfort, my acquaintance! Augh, why won’t it move?!”
He didn’t have to ponder that much longer: a river hand grabbed my free leg and yanked me back into the pool. The floating god grabbed my wrist intending on pulling in the opposite direction but lost his grip as a red hand shoved him away. I was dragged into the depths of the river, into a bowl-shaped space of still water. I blew some bubbles to find the surface and followed them. When I burst out of the freezing red water, hands were there waiting and immediately tried to pull me back under.
The floating god flew to where I was wrestling with the mindless river hands. I tore my good arm free with a grunt and stretched it towards him. With both hands, he grasped my hand and wrist and yanked me out of the water. But the river hands were unrelenting. I kicked away watery arms in vain.
My heart pounded in my chest as I looked up at the flying god. “What’s happening?!” I cried. An icy red hand reached up and grabbed me by the shoulder. My whole body felt numb.
He gritted his teeth and strained. More red hands emerged and slowly pulled us down. The wings on his head and boots flapped furiously. “I don’t know! The Styx doesn’t usually do this!”
“What do you me-”
Deafening howls filled the air. I glanced down at the river: the still water turned into a whirlpool as the river continued flowing past it. Two massive waves rose from the whirlpool, forming giant hands which engulfed me in a red liquid prison. My eyelids squeezed shut and I tried not to snort in any water. Agonizing pain suddenly shot through my body. It felt like my bones were disconnecting and rearranging themselves. I screamed and a flurry of bubbles escaped. I clapped a hand over my mouth. Shit! I clenched my jaw and tried to move my body that was getting colder by the second. But I couldn't move. I started to feel dizzy.
A sharp jolt a minute later reassured that I was still alive. I gasped loudly and spat out red river water. I wanted to faint. The hands had finally released me and the floating god was carrying me in his arms. He carefully laid me on the dock, exchanging some words with the tall hatted god and kneeling beside me.
“Oh my god,” I coughed. What a day I was having. Something heavy was laid over my body. I dragged a wet hand down my equally wet face and sat up in a daze. A soft animal pelt covered my legs. No one spoke -- or groaned -- for a few moments. I kept my eyes on the fur pelt, not daring to meet either god’s gaze.
The floating god soon spoke up. “So~ I’m Hermes -- God of Swiftness and official Messenger of the Olympian gods -- and this is Charon, the Stygian Ferryman and my fellow psychopomp! Welcome to the Realm of the Dead!” The tall hatted god Charon and I stared at Hermes in silence. “What do you think? Cousin Hypnos probably did it better than I can but I figured our mortal acquaintance could use a warm welcome given everything that’s happened to them thus far!”
“... The gesture is greatly appreciated. I’m (Name).” I stuck out my good hand for a handshake.
“A pleasure!” Hermes chirped. He shook my hand enthusiastically.
Charon took his oar and rose. He groaned, gesturing towards a boat where some ghostly green beings sat waiting. Its bow was decorated with skulls and bones and on its hull, a gold wave.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“We’ll be taking you to the House of Hades. For a person of your circumstances, my Lord Uncle should be informed as a start.” Well, if these two were right in front of me, I supposed that it wasn’t too much of a stretch that the Ruler of the Underworld, Hades, existed as well.
Hermes wrapped the pelt across my shoulders and helped me up. To my surprise, my body didn’t ache. “I don’t hurt,” I said aloud. I pulled up my left pants legs: the bit of bone that stuck out of my flesh had retreated and the laceration was already closing up. I looked at Hermes, who watched the wound heal in bewilderment.
“... Definitely never seen the Styx do that before. Welp, no time to think about that!” As we approached the boat, Charon turned around and stuck out his ashen hand. I stared at his outstretched hand and back at him, confused. “He’s asking for payment,” Hermes explained after an awkward moment. He floated over to Charon’s side.
“Oh! I have some…. My bag.” My head whipped around in panic. Where’d it go? I looked out towards the river. My fanny pack bobbed and floated downstream a bit before sinking beneath the rolling waves. Fuck.
“There goes my money,” I said with resignation, “And my other things.” My phone, my one source of communication was in there.
“That won’t be a problem at all. My dear associate here accepts payment in any form, isn’t that right Charon?” Hermes playfully nudged Charon who simply nodded. His free hand gently took my jaw and tilted my head left and right. I gulped a little: his hand was cold, too cold to be alive. Yet here he was, assessing what I could give him to pay my fare. He moaned and pointed a bony finger covered in gold rings. “He likes those little red stones on your ears.”
“My studs? Um, okay.” The little red stones were pieces of red sea glass (Name 2) found on a beach during a road trip from years ago. He had turned them into earrings and gifted them to me as a birthday present. He said they made him think of me…
I guess I still have my magnetic ones on me, I thought. I removed my studs from my earlobes and briefly looked at them one last time before placing them in Charon’s large palm. He simply dropped them into a brown sack that hung at his side and stepped aside to let me board.