Author Games - When In Rome

Semi Finals - Nixie Adams

Trixie's POV
I unwound my stiff body from the tight ball I had been rolled in. I knew that Nixie had experienced something traumatising, but I didn't have a clue what it had been. Hopefully it had been enough to send her over the thin line between sanity and insanity. Then she could finally join me and we could take this world by storm.

"Nixie, are-" Eden began, but I cut him off loudly.

"It's Trixie, dick brain. And to make it easier, I'm going to tie my hair in pigtails, to show that appearances don't mean anything." I snapped, and Eden quickly apologised before I wandered over to Phae and Tyber, tying my hair up as I went. Eden wandered after me, making sure to keep at least a metre and a half of distance between us. Smart move.

"Hey Trixie, good that you're back. Nixie wouldn't move before, must've been traumatised by seeing her loved one." Phae said sarcastically, a malicious grin on her pretty features. I offered her a tight smile in reply, and smirked at the two boys. At least Phae had shed some light on what had transpired with Nixie. She had probably seen one of her family members, one of the ones I had killed years ago. Ah, good times.

"I wonder what the Gamemakers have plan-" Tyber began, and was instantly cut off by the ground opening up. I let out a brief shriek as my whole alliance fell towards a ground of fire and jagged rocks. There was no way we could survive this, save for a miracle.

I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable. Since I didn't believe in miracles or God, I wasn't going to give myself false hope and pray to God for a miracle that wasn't going to happen. A sudden jolt rocked my body, and blackness overtook conscious thought.

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When I finally came to, I was lying on a rocky outcrop next to my allies. About a hundred metres to our left lay two groggy-looking boys, whom I could only assume were Jaiden and Jonah. I sat up and saw Tyber slowly stumbling to his feet, looking around in awe.

"Trixie... Look." Tyber managed to gasp, his eyes wide with disbelief and... Fear? I didn't bother to answer him, instead opting to look over the edge of the cliff. A sudden burst of fire shot into the air directly in front of me, and I fell backwards with a small cry of shock. When the fire disappeared, I got a good look at our surroundings. There was a massive canyon in front of us, filled to the brim with fire, screaming people and torture - lots of torture. I grinned happily; this was already looking like my sort of place.

On the other side of the canyon was a dark city, the only light coming from open fires which cast a harsh red glow over everything. There were winding paths, leading up and up, towards a mysterious, black castle that loomed over the landscape. If my assumptions were correct, that meant that we were in the Underworld, and that in turn meant that the castle belonged to the Lord of the Dead, Hades.

"Are-are we in the Underworld?" Eden asked groggily, rubbing his eyes as he looked around and absorbed the scene before him. I nodded wordlessly, knowing that the Gamemakers had literally sent us to Hell, probably the only place worse than the arena itself. If we were in the Undeworld, then that meant that there was only one way across the canyon. The ferryman, Charon. He was said to have an extremely grouchy outlook on life, and who could blame him? Everyday was Hell for him.

He was waiting about two metres away from the still-sleeping Phae, who Tyber was about to shake awake. If the stories were true, then the ferryman would demand a payment of some sort. I shoved my hands into my pockets and began searching around for something, anything, to pay off the ferryman so we could get to the other side. I gestured to my allies and we headed over to where I could see a morbid-looking longboat floating in midair.

"Trixie," Eden whispered. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to get away from this stupid rock. We're going to Hades' palace." I said darkly. No one questioned me, instead opting to stay silent and follow me towards the longboat. Finally, the four of us were crowded nearby, and I was almost tapping my foot from impatience.