Rosetta Dagotto and the Fight for the Underworld

Chapter Fifteen: Escape the Underworld

Chapter 15: Escape the Underworld

Rosetta finds the river quickly enough. It's next to a weird, grimy building at the end of her walk. The purple river smells disgusting, and she spots dead bodies in the water, making her skin crawl and her stomach roll in disgust. She heard that the Underworld wasn't for the faint of her heart, but she didn't think it was this bad.

She looks up at the ceiling, which is covered in stalactites. They worry her. If one or multiple stalactites fall, they'd most certainly impale whatever was in their path. And she doesn't want to be one of their targets.

But she faces another quandary before she can even start down the river. The boat is gone. She looks all around but doesn't see it. Either she missed something, or the ship must be on the other side of the river where she can't reach it. How is she supposed to get across? The boat is her only option, as far as she knows.

Rosetta doesn't have to be a genius to know that one dip in the water would certainly kill her, or worse. So, swimming across isn't an option. Anyone who gets in this water of death would probably need a bunch of vaccines after.

She frowns as a classic Greek story comes to mind. The story of Achilles, who was dipped in the River Styx and gained incredible strength. The river sort of gurgles at her.

Yeah, she's pretty sure that even if the river could make demigods immortal, it certainly can't do so without help from someone else. And it certainly doesn't help her now.

She stretches her neck. How far is the river? She squints and can barely see the river's end. She pulls out her bow, knocks an arrow, aims, and releases.

It soars across the river, falls short, lands in the water, bobs for a second, and sinks. For some reason, Rosetta thought that the arrow would fly indefinitely because of its magical properties.

Welp, that's quite a distance. Rosetta thinks.

Rosetta places the bow back and pulls her phone out of her pocket. No service.

I guess that Underworld doesn't have a phone system set up or even wifi.

She pockets her phone, sighing in annoyance. She came all this way, fought monsters, and lost a friend just to end up at a dead end.

Unbelievable, she thinks, throwing her arms up in exasperation.

She clenches and unclenches her fists, her jaw tight. Her eyes prickle with tears, but she refuses to shed them.

I'm sorry, Dimi. I'm trying so hard to stay strong for you. I thought I would be okay on my own, but I miss you. I need your help.

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them back up again.

The boat!

Her eyes widen in shock and relief as she catches sight of the boat rowing closer to the shore. Two people sit in the massive rowboat, a grown man in a black cloak and a teenage boy in a t-shirt and jeans. The man is rowing the boat with both arms but seems tired. As they draw closer, Rosetta can tell he's been roughed up pretty badly.

She smiles. That must be Charon, the ferryman. It seems Fortuna really is looking out for her.

How on earth did he escape? She wonders. And who's the boy with him? I thought spirits couldn't leave the Underworld.

The boat docks ashore, scraping against the dark sand and rocks with a soft sound. Charon drops the oar with a heavy sigh and clutches his ribcage, groaning in pain. The boy helps him up and out of the boat and onto the shore.