clouds. Her shirtâs light blue and sheer so the white tank underneath is visible. Her hair is out and she has on sunglasses that cover her eyes. I automatically lick my lips, since she looks hot. I pause because and think I might actually be drooling.
Krystalâs not alone, but then thereâs nothing new about that. Sheâs always with the clique she hangs out with, Sasha and that new girl, whose name I forgetâand Jake.
âYou know these students?â Charon asks.
I nod my head. âWhy?â
âThatâs why you were chosen. You are going to help me conquer them.â
âConquer who? Krystal and her friends?â
âTheyâre interfering with my destiny.â
âTheyâre just kids, like me. And you are⦠What exactly are you?â
The emptiness around me grows very cold, like Iâm suddenly in a deep freeze. Then it gets hot and sweat actually pours from my face. Something grabs me around the neck and squeezes. Iâm gasping and gagging and this feels real, like at any minute Iâm going to pass out on this spongy ground and get sucked into an abyss.
âI am very powerful. I will one day rule. You would be wise to help me. If not, you will die,â said Charon.
Just like that, my throat is released and I breathe in gulps of air that is polluted with all that black smoke swirling around the cloaked figure.
Okay, the choice is help him or die. That seems simple enough. Like the blue shirt or the red one, pick one and get dressed.
âWhat exactly do you want me to do?â
âYou must first prove you are worthy. Show your loyalty to me by doing whatever I ask.â
Iâm thinking Charonâs demand is way too open-ended. I mean, what if he asks me to jump off a cliff or something insane like that? It wouldnât be any crazier than me being in a place called Trance and deciding if I want to live or die, though.
âIf I prove myself, what happens to me? Do I get to go back to my life as if nothingâs happened?â
âFrom this day forward, your life will never be the same.â
No kidding. If this was a dream, by now I would have awoken with a mix of dread and confusion coursing through my body.
âYou help me, and you will be rewarded with powers beyond your dreams.â
Powers? Who wants powers? Iâd much rather breathe the polluted air on earth and walk the streets with kids who have real bodies, not smoke screens. But anyway I hear myself asking, âAnd if I donât help you?â
Charon lifts his arms again and this time the black cloud comes closer, shadowing me as the image I see now is not one of sunshine and suburban bliss. Itâs dark and tinged with a red aura. Skeletal bodies move aimlessly around in this inferno as three-headed beasts bark ferociously.
âDeath,â he says.
This is a different place. Itâs still evil, but I can see thereâs a different kind of suffering here. Itâs crowded with terrified, emaciated beings clinging to and practically peeling off the walls. Their mouths are open, though I can barely hear them. But I can easily imagine their wails and moans.
The jaws from the head of the three-headed beast open up to roar, but then quickly clamp shut. Another creature appears. This one is huge and tall and humanlike, but with grotesque features. The other two heads of the beast encircle him, intent on attacking the giant. The fight is brutal and I get the sense that the fight will be waged to the very end. This is Hades, and I so donât want to be in this place.
âOn the sixth day,â Charon says, holding his arms in the air. A breeze begins to blow around me as I stand perfectly still. âOf the sixth month,â he continues. âAt the sixth hourâyou will be judged.â
Dream or reality, thereâs this deathly silence. I figure heâs waiting for my answer, so I shrug, thinking Iâve got nothing to lose,
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