Tartarus

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Thanatos, where are you? 

The plea entered my mind like a racing truck, bouncing in all four corners of my mind. A prayer of sorts. It was strange, I hadn't heard a prayer directed to me in a very long time. People had stopped worshipping me over a century ago, ever since technology and the distaste for religion had prevailed. 

I heard that voice and I knew who it belonged to. 

Just less than a minute ago my phone lit up with an alert, a portal had opened in the underworld leading to the field of punishment. I'd spent the good part of my last two hours tracking down Janus, the god of progress. When I set out to find him I knew he would be able to hack into the underworld and get me access to the system. 

When I'd taken flight from the ski resort both anger and fear drove me, fear for what the world would become should Hades have his army. Should the Titan's win and rule again, our parents were old and out of touch, they'd rule with an iron fist. Us gods weren't much better, I had to admit to myself but we were the lesser evil. 

I flew with urgency and accuracy, my wings gliding through the air as I shot forward with speed. It took me an hour to reach the land of America and another twenty minutes to reach Silicon Valley. The only place Janus would be, in the heart of progress, whispering in the mortal's ears influencing their great ideas. He was like a Muse, but he did not do this for artistic purposes, no he always had a more sinister agenda. 

I'd easily overpowered that bastard, he was on the top floor office running the damn place from behind his swanky mahogany desk. An earbud in one ear, and a phone in his hand while also typing on a laptop. I'd bust through one of the floor-length windows announcing my arrival. The idiot tried to make a run for it but I'd taken all of four steps and pinned him to the wall. 

"Give me a device that's hacked into the underworld's system," I demanded as I gripped onto his neck. 

Janus had gone utterly still in my grasp before he handed me his phone wordlessly. I snatched it out of his hands swiped the home screen up. 

"What app is it on?" 

"The one that says underworld," he said snarkily. 

I squeezed his neck tighter as a warning but searched for the app on the phone. There, under a red square app icon, were the words underworld. I clicking on it and waited for it to load. I went straight to the menu bar hoping there'd be a section covering portals and low and behold there it was. 

"Do you get alerts when portals open and close?" I asked not bothering to look at Janus. 

"Uh, yes. In fact, any activity with the portals gets reported back to me. You, know as whose stepped in and out. It's a bit glitchy with demigods but I'm working on that for the next update." He seemed rather proud of his work as he spoke through my grip on his neck. 

"Does anyone else have this app downloaded?" I asked narrowing my eyes. 

Janus shook his head frantically, "No, this is just a prototype. I only put out things that are flawless. This is not ready." 

I knew Janus took pride in his work and I had no choice but to believe him, I let go of his neck and brushed down his suit. I didn't need another enemy trying to stop me and that was the least I could do at this point. 

"I'll be taking this," I said holding up the phone, "You'll get it back via Hermes if all goes well." 

Janus swallowed, "Don't forget to leave a review!" 

I rolled my eyes as stalked out of his office and fell from the window into the empty sky.

Now still in flight I raced towards the nearest sky portal, a mix of elation and determination pulsed through my body. 

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