At long last my friends, the journey ends. Review and enjoy plz. :)
Jay:
As the day grew late, and the bodies of the fallen were wiped off of the streets and fields, did any of us finally begin to realize that it was all over. The sun gave off a cool, clear warmth which felt refreshing to the skin when exposed. I had convened every survivor to the temple at sundown. By the time that the suns last rays peeped over the horizon, we had everyone. The Olympian gods including Hades, the last few of the centaurs, dwarves and other manners of beasts. There were also amongst the highest surviving ranks of the human military there. We all sat around a large circular table which was littered with food and drink.
Despite the reasons to celebrate, we were all silent. We had won from the hang of a thread. Had it not been for fate, we would have died. Human numbers had dwindled so much that it seemed that it would be impossible to recolonize. And there wasn't really anything left to colonize. The majority of survivors were old war veterans who let their experience save their lives. Nobody talked or even smiled. After finishing a leg of chicken, I decided to stand up.
"I assume you all know that we are all here to decide what happens next."
The room looked to me, expecting a magnificent speech. Not that one happened, of course.
"Maybe we should consider starting fresh?" I proposed. One of the old soldiers stood up.
"With what?" He demanded, "There is nothing left. We went in through the Mediterranean and didn't see a single fish, tree, or any other animal even remotely alive."
"Well what was all the fighting for then? If we're all just going to give up." Athena proposed, "Your men, our men, our families and friends are all gone. What do you propose then, if you seem to know everything?"
"Athena, sit down." Whispered Hera, who sat next to her.
"Hera's right." I said. "We're not getting anywhere if we fight amongst ourselves."
"Indeed we're not." Said a voice behind me. It was a familiar voice of an old man, with a gentle but powerful tone. Turning my head, it was Zeus! He was standing upright, with his cheeks rosy and his beard clean and white. I couldn't believe it. Hera jumped out of her seat to grab him and litter his cheeks with smooches. Once she realized she was seen by everyone, she rushed back to her seat and maintained her conservative attitude.
"Zeus? Wait, does this mean-"
"Yes. It means that humanity will survive, and I too."
You could hear a cheer of celebration amongst everyone. Zeus simply smiled and walked over to me, grabbing me by the shoulder.
"Once again, I have asked too much of you Jay. Yet you still kept going and gained victory. I will not hide it. I have ruined what could have been an easy and happy life. I cannot expect you to forgive me, but I want to let you know, that you have my thanks."
I smiled and held his shoulder too. "You will always have my forgiveness Zeus."
The old man smiled, "You're in my seat Jay."
Blushing, I stepped off of the chair and let him sit at the throne seat at the head of the circular table. He began to speak;
"Ladies, Gentlemen, gods, and all creatures alike. As you may have known, I have been out of action for a while. But regardless, I am very aware of the current situation. And you all have my heartfelt thanks for your service, and the sacrifices you have all made. However, a thank you will not help the world right now. We need to start over. All of us. At the current time, the world is a barren wasteland, completely and utterly uninhabitable. Now, while I was in my zone, I was actually in a form of conciousness, and I had a lot of time to think about the impact I have had on this world, we have had as gods. In the past, we were the big game changers. But in the past 50 years or so, we have caused nothing but trouble and damage to this world. Making a mess and leaving you mortals to clean it up. And so I have made the decision that we, the gods will make this land as it was. We will return all life and leave it to you; the mortal kind."
Hera spoke up; "Zeus, that is more a tedious task than we have ever done. It will exhaust our powers forever. We'll go right out of existence!"
"And the burdens we place on this world with them. I am aware of the consequence. Perhaps it is better that we leave this world." She nodded and joined his side. The rest of the Olympian gods joined them. I stood up to join them but Zeus stopped me.
"No Jay. This isn't your fate. You don't belong to this destiny. You belong in elysium fields, with your friends. This world is starting fresh. We must leave it to the young. Leave it to Herry."
"But lord Zeus, Herry is dead. We recovered the body from the heart of the world a few hours ago."
"He is yet to cross the river. If you reach him before he boards, you may be able to exchange a life for a life."
He gave me a sincere wink. It was as if he could sense my deepest desire. I was sick and tired of life. I had been young for too long. I wasn't cut out to be a god. He was right, I could exchange my soul for the one that this world needs. My sons.
Zeus looked to the rest of the table. "I sense many of you are weary of this life. For those, I offer a chance to peacefully move on to the underworld. This world is in need of young people, and the old and sick will only hold the future of the race down. Come now. Be at peace."
Many of the older men and women stood up. Zeus created a portal to the docks that lay at the mouth of the river styx. One by one, they filed in with releived looks on their faces. I was at the end of the line, but before entering, I looked back to the gods.
"So this is goodbye then." I said. They nodded gently. I stepped over to them and each gave them a farewell. And then it came to Hera and Zeus. Hera gave me a kiss on the forehead and I hugged Zeus strongly.
"Of all the mortals I have met in my life, you are without a doubt the greatest Jay. You have surpassed your ancestor and all those in between. You have taught me more about mortals than millenia of ruling over them. and now you have silenced the darkest evil that this world will have ever seen. You deserve peace."
"My work here is done. Thanks for everything." I replied, stepping back.
"Now I beleive you have a boat ride to stop my friend." He said.
I looked back at them one last time, and then leapt into the portal.
The underworld looked much like it always did. Red and damp. There was quite the crowd waiting for the boat to arrive. I looked for Herry amongst the crowd but I couldn't see him everywhere. I walked out of the crowd in frustration when I saw him walking towards the crowd, several feet behind Athropos. Not by mere accident, I knew.
"Anthropos!" I yelled. I caught her attention. She didn't seem enthusiastic as we werent on the best of terms since the time when I nearly died and she lost her chance to have me as a trophy.
"Oh, hello Jay. I must say congratulations on your victory. You've given me a lot of lost souls to lead to the underworld. I trust you're here with reason"
"I'm here to make a deal. My life, for the life of my son."
Herry had seen me and his eyes were open as wide as possible.
"Dad..."
"You don't belong to the underworld yet Herry and I have outstayed my visit. The world above needs you and it no longer needs me so please don't try to deny your father. I want this."
He breathed deeply and eventually nodded.
Anthropos smiled at my offer. "Ever since you escaped from my grasp, I have longed to get you back Jay. When you were proclaimed a god, I thought I would never see this day. You are worth two souls to me in my books, yet you seek out only one. is there another life you want to give back?"
"Ashlynn." Herry muttered. "Bring Ashlynn back too. I won't go back without her."
Anthropos frowned. "I have not received any Ashlynns recently. Your one hasn't died yet."
"Shes not dead?" Yelped Herry.
"She wasn't killed honey. You didn't actually believe that hag did you?"
Blushing, Herry moved aside. I moved to grasp his shoulder.
"This isn't goodbye," I said, "One day we will meet again. But until then, I want you to have this."
I gave him xiphos. "No matter how many times you use it, the blade will never go dull. Keep it close."
Dropping the sword he gripped me with the tightest hug I had ever felt. He sure had Theresa's grip.
He watched me as I waved goodbye from the boat. He had a face full of stubble now, his hair was messy and dirt covered his clothes. He wasn't a boy anymore. He was a man. From that point of my existence, I knew that my job was truly done. I had felt more peace than ever before.
Herry
Seeing sunlight for the first time in weeks was a releif, but not as much as seeing ashlynns face for real. We made out for a solid five minutes before noticing that we had an audience of around 30 people, all around our age.
"Herry!" I heard my name called. It was Sean! My old friend from school. He ran to me and we greeted me with a good old fashioned man hug.
"Sean you Irish son of a bitch. How did you survive?"
"When war broke out, I joined the navy. About a month after you dissappeared conscription was called for national emergency. I lied about my age and joined. We fought here at mount Olympus, but I got gutted by some asshole wearing gold armour. I thought I was a gonner. I was waiting for the boat when I say you, your dad and that bald chick. He stepped on the boat and suddenly, I woke up again in real life."
I patted him on the back. "This world would be boring as fuck without you man."
He smiled. "So where were you all this time?"
"Later, where are we?"
"At mount Olympus," said Ashlynn.
"Isn't the city of the gods here?"
"Not anymore. The gods, the darkness, they're all gone. They sacrificed themselves to rebirth the planet. We're all that's left."
"So I guess that it's up to us then."
"We'll follow you Herry, son of Jay." She said. I looked to the horizon. The sun was setting and staying on the top of a mountain was an unwise idea for settling.
"That way looks promising." I said, pointing west to a luscious valley at the feet of the mountains. We walked . I at the lead and Ashlynn by my side. She held my hand tightly, yet comfortingly. We had made it thorugh all the trials of the past, and were ready to face the future together. I loved her with every inch of my heart, and I knew she loved me back. We were ready to begin the new lives of ourselves, and our race.
Jay:
Elysium fields smelt sweetly of spring flowers. The sun seemed to appear to be late noon and I walked a small gravel road with walls of birch trees. I came across a familiar sight. I narrow house what seemed like a section of a townhouse. I got closer when I realized that was exactly what it was.
The brownstone.
There appeared to be six people circling around a campfire in the side yard. The entire place was surrounded by tall trees with forests which went beyond sight. I stepped out of the shade of the trees and they all turned to see me.
One looked at me with solemn eyes and square glasses, another with massive biceps and cheeky sideburns, there was silky blonde hair on another with a blinding smile, there was one with a purple mullet, another with messy red hair.
And there they were. The same eyes I had just said farewell on the far side of the styx. The ones that I missed the most. She had never looked this beautiful ever before. We all looked like we did when we were teenagers. Myself included.
Running into my embrace, Theresa whispered,
"Jay, welcome home."
And that is the end, my friends. It has been quite a ride. I question whether I will write more on this site, but if I do, I will have some big shoes to fill. Now, this story is left to all of you. Review to your hearts delight wether it be within the hour or within many years, it is irrelevant. I bid you all a good farewell,
Sam.