Jay Evermist and the Olympians

Book One: The Battle Begins

Chapter 14: Dead on Arrival Recording Studios

(This one seems really rushed so sorry. Also it is a little short, and ends in a cliffhanger.)

I had a hard time keeping my eyes open the whole time we were going there. When we did arrive, the size struck me as odd. It was supposed to be a recording studio but couldn't have been more than two stories. I don't know much about Hollywood, but I assumed they were to be larger.

When we grabbed our stuff we carried them to the door and came with a problem. Where would we keep our bags? Miki offered to carry them with us, but she would not like carrying all her bags and it would get tire-some. What really scared me is that if we kept them, they would slow us down. Jacob finally said that we could just leave them in the lobby and hope for the best, which we did.

When we stepped inside, I was suprised at how crowded it was. People were crowded in the black leather furniture that contrasted deeply with the steel gray walls and floors. We walked around for a while, in circles, before the crowd parted and we were directed to a large podium stood with a man behind it.

He was tall and his bright blonde hair struck against his chocolate skin, much like the walls and furniture. His Italian suit had a small name tag that read, 'Hello, my name is Charon', writen with what looked like cursive writing.

"Hey, Charon." Jacob said to the tall man in sunglasses.

"Oh, well if isn't the little godling Jacob Reed." He said in a smooth and almost elegant voice. "And you brought some friends. Are they dead?"

"No," Jacob cut in. "We would just like some passage down under to the castle. I need to speak with my father."

"Well, why didn't you just get an Iris message." He pointed to me. "This one here's a godling of her, it could have been easy."

Jacob just calmly replied. "It's more a matter that needs to be adressed face-to-face." He handed hiim some drachmas and Charon eyed us one more time before leading us to a big elevator. Obviously we weren't going up, and my stomach turned at the thought of actually going down to the Underworld.

"You know I could get fired for this kid?" Charon asked while we pilled in to the elevator.

"Yeah, but you won't." Jacob mumbled. "You never do. And if you did, me and Nico would put in a good word for you." Jacob joked, a little louder.

After a few minutes, that felt like hours, the doors opened to a dark cave with a small river, starting right in front of the entrance doors. Charon lead us over and slowly helped each one of us into the rickety old boat before getting in as well and grabbing his oars.

I couldn't help but stare, everywhere. The cave widened and we came into the open. I couldn't see the roof, but I had a feeling we were still in some sort of cave. In the distance there was a shore and behind that, a giant wall. Designed to keep something out. I trembled, 'or something in,' I thought.

Charon dropped us off on the shore and turned around immediatly mumbling something about stupid godlings wasting his time. I shrugged my shoulders and felt compleatly out of place.

"Where are we heading exactly?" I asked while rubbing my arms.

"Well we have to go and talk to Hades." Jacob began. "And I figured we could take it from there?"

"And you're sure he's going to be there?" Miki sounded skeptical.

Jacob was not taken aback by the question and I could tell he had been thinking the same. "If all else fails we can count on Persephone to be there."

"And she's okay with you? What with Hades cheating on her and having a kid with your mom?" Miki didn't mean to be so straight forward, but she had. Jacob turned away and took a deep breath before continuing.

"We have to go through the fields of Asphodel in order to get to the palace. First we'll have to make it past the judgement hall and the gates though."

Somethimg rang in my head and I pained myself to try and remember what it was. 'Take the road less traveled to survive,' he had said. "No." I said outloud.

"What?" Jacob and Miki turned back to face me.

I took a staggered breath. "No, um we have to go another way."

"And why exactly do we need to?"

"Zeus told me, in a dream. I think it was a dream, but he did. He said to take the road less traveled."

They both looked worried but also confussed. "Okay, we'll just find another way." I nodded before continuing with them to the gates.

Jaocb really knew this place inside and out. I didn't really know how many times he had come here, but he knew all the shortcuts. After nearly being Cerberus' chew toy, Jacob whisked us away. He showed us this cool hide out thing Nico had made that lead from the gates to the pavillion. We had to swear not to tell, it could cause an uprising in the dead at the pavillion, Jaocb seemed to be in his own place. He seemed distant and reminiscent. There were many times were Miki had to drag him along so we could make it past the hall, unnoticed.

We finally made it past and were now overlooking all of the fields. In the far, far distance sat the palace and looked like it would be at least a day trip on foot. Jacob said it was just an illusion to give the souls no hope to try and escape, not like they could anyway.

"Okay, so there are the fields." Miki pointed out in front of us. "And the only other thing I see is dirt."

"We'll just have to follow it to the palace." I said.

"Are you sure?" Jacob asked, "It would add at least an extra two miles to the walk." At this Miki groaned.

"Yeah, I'm sure." So we headed out.

Yeah there were sometimes when we got tired, but we pushed through it. We were tired, hungry, sleep deprived, and getting thristy. We couldn't judge time, what with my broken watch. I guessed we had been walking about two hours when we finally made it. It was funny, one second it seemed we were a mile away and the next, on the doorstep.

"This is it," I said weak.

"Yeah," Miki choked out. Jacob was suprisingly quiet through this whole thing. We approached the door and cautiously knocked on the huge bronze knocker. Not to our suprise, no one answered. "We'll just have to go in." Miki said while opening the door. "Great, unlocked. That's always a good thing." I rolled my eyes at her sarcasm and Jacob took the lead into the palace.

He took us through the baren halls and never ending rooms until we came across the main throne room. There, sitting on a throne of bones, was a crunched over figure I could only assume was Hades.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked while Jacob looked like he was considering comforting his father.

But someone else took that job. Sitting next to him on her own flowery throne was Persephone. Her long, curled black hair melted softly into her brown and orange, fall colored, dress. She was soothing Hades or at least trying by rubbing him on the back as you would a child.

Hades rose his head and looked up to where we were. "Jacob, come to join the cause I'm sure." He smiled and two men, skeletons, came and grabbed Jacob's arms.

"Get your hands off of me!" Jacob exclaimed.

"Now," Hades strode over to us and grabbed Jacob's face. "Is that anyway to talk to your father?" Jacob shook out ofhis father's grasp but was having no such luck with his arms. Miki started to run after him, but I held her back.

Before we could even react, Jacob was taken out of the room and into another hallway. "No!" Miki escaped my hold and she ran up to the now closed door, pounding on it with her fists. "Jaocb! Jacob, we're gonna get you out! Hold tight!" She screamed while Persephone looked at her with actual pity.

I, well, I was still frozen in place. With fear, shock, hopelessness. Heck, I didn't even know how we were getting out of here. Jacob was our go to guy for all things dead. Now where was he. Locked up somewhere, or worse.

"Now, you two." Hades voice shook me. "Haven't seen you two around, you must know."

"Yeah, the fact that you started a war against Olympus." I practically screamed in his face. Miki was now crumbled by the door, crying, still beating her fist agianst it every so often.

Hades' eyes looked that of confusion and guilt, but that was gone in an instant. "You sicken me," He waved his hand and more minions apeared. "Take them away, not too close to out guest of honor, Jacob, though." He wickedly smiled. Who would have thought he was so cruel.

"Honey," I heard a small, but powerful voice come from the thrones. "Don't you think you're being a bit unfair?" Persephone reasoned with him.

"I thought I told you not to speak unless spoken too!" Hades crossed the large room in strides and gave Persephone a hard smack across the face. She withered down in fear and hurt. It was then that I realized our biggest challenge. Getting out of here alive.