hiraeth

twenty

xx. Nia

"The fuck," Nia deadpans as soon as she regains consciousness, cheek smushed against a smooth carpet. She doesn't think she's physically injured -- just disoriented if anything. "why do I always get knocked out?"

The plummet had rendered her and Enne entirely senseless due to the rate at which they fell, and now her head is throbbing like a bitch. she presses up from the landing with her hands.

Enne is already up, looking equally beat. "I think I'm gonna throw up," her friend complains, arms shaking.

"make that two of us."

"What is this place anyway?"

Nia looks around. They're in a greyish room, presumably a sort of lobby. Cactuses sit in each corner, and the leather couches and chairs are ebony in colour.

"Gods, it smells like Axe body spray in here," Nia spits out.

Enne snorts. "ah yes, the scent of a boys' high school gym locker."

"PTSD. why couldn't we have landed on a couch like...those people are?"

Her skin crawls. Crammed onto the piece of furniture are people who aren't quite human. Alike in the fact that they look like humans, sure, but they're mostly transparent. The entire space is jam-packed, but none of their surrounding neighbors get too close to them, leaving Enne and her in a small bubble of their own.

"Ghosts," Enne says.

"Dead people," Nia agrees. "Hold up. Are we dead? Did we die from that fall?"

"I don't think so."

"Man, I was hoping we were."

"You really need to stop saying stuff like that."

"You can't stop me. I'm unstoppable."

A noise akin to the pounding of a gavel in a courtroom makes both of them jump. They turn around to see three people in black suits behind a long desk, shouting numbers.

"Next in line for the Underworld! One-eighty-three! Please step forward!"

"No way." Nia shares a glance with Enne, mouthing, "Oh, we are dead. So dead."

"Nia, I can literally still see you. You're not dead."

"Damnit." Nia rubs at her scalp. "Isn't the Underworld in Los Angeles? How the hell did we get over here again?"

"What?" Enne yelps. "Nia, we need to go back and find Edmund! She's in control of his mind. Soon enough, she'll brainwash him entirely."

Nia hangs her head, a flush of shame heating her skin. "It's my fault we're here."

She speak hurriedly, explaining the attracting forces and the strange telepathic communication.

"For the former," Enne says, "it must be because you're a daughter of Hades. Maybe you activated a portal."

Nia kicks at the ground. "Wasn't intentional."

"As for the latter, I have no clue."

She doubts Enne will like what she has to say next, but her curiosity is threatening to eat her alive. "Hades is close."

A blank look crosses Enne's face momentarily. "I forgot you wanted see him. Sorry, I..." She takes a deep breath, carding her fingers through her hair. "I know that's important to you."

"Listen." Nia squeezes her friend's arm. "The Witch won't do anything rash: she's scary possessive of Edmund, so she wouldn't harm him. Until we figure out a way to leave, we're probably stuck here, so we might as well take a detour."