Daughter of Death - Trip to Hell

IX ⚜️

          Jay pulled me out of the cave. I took a good look around at the trees and buildings. I was grateful to be in the upper world again. My encounter with Lamia had completely destroyed my curiosity for underground.
         We walked further. Jay had been unusually silent since the lair. I glanced up at his blond hair. It was messy, and the roots were dark.
         "Haven't you ever wondered why you're blond? I mean, your hair is meant to be dark, right?"
         He snorted. "What makes you think that?"
         "Well, when I asked you, you told me my hair had to be like Hades', since his hair is dark too"
         He kept walking, not even looking back once. "Okay?"
         "So, is it meant to be black?"
         "No", he said plainly.
         "Really? I mean, you never actually thought about it?"
          "No"
          "Wow. You never actually thought about it? Because, if I remember correctly, in genetics, dominant features rule over recessive features, right? And I'm pretty sure black is more popular than blond"
         "First, Heidi, gods don't have genetics. And, I never thought about it because I dyed my hair blond"
         I stared at him in shock. "You what?"
         "Um, I dyed it? D-Y-E?"
         "I know how to spell dye, bonehead. Why did you do that?"
         "Because", he said. "I didn't need any more reminders that I was the son of Hades"
         "What?"
         He rolled his eyes. "I dye it every month. My hair is black underneath, okay? Plain black. Not black that reflects purple."
          "You never told anyone this. Not even me, or Lina or Enid"
          "I didn't want to. I never wanted to dye it. It's just...my mom used everything to remind herself of my dad. Everything"
          "Oh..."
          Everywhere suddenly became silent. I decided to break that silence. "You know, I think you'd look better with black, not blond"
          He raised an eyebrow.  "You think?"
          "Yeah!", I replied. "It wouldn't look so bad on you. It would be nice if you washed the dye out"
          "Hm. I'll think about it"
          I smiled. "Great. You know, I just got a new nickname for you"
          "What?"
          My smile widened into a grin. "From now on, you will be known as the 'Prince of the Dead'"
          Jay shook his head disapprovingly. "No"
          I chortled. "I'm going to keep calling you that"
          "Please don't"
          I shrugged, saying, "No promises"
         Jay looked at me with disgust. I couldn't help but laugh.
         "Okay, enough mocking me. Let's go"
                          🔸️🔸️🔸️
         We took a taxi ride to the Atlanta City Hall in Georgia. Jay claimed that was where the underworld was. I asked him why the heck the underworld would be under such a place. He did not give an answer.
        Anyway, the taxi driver seemed concerned as to why he was carrying a bunch of homeless teens to a city hall, so he asked a lot of questions. Luckily for him, we answered honestly.
        "So, what are you kids doing out here?", he asked.
        "Just looking for shelter", I responded.
        "At the city hall?"
        "We're looking for someone there", Jay said. "He's our uncle"
        "Uncle, eh?"
        "Uh-huh", we both replied.
        The driver looked at us through the rearview mirror. He studied us like he wasn't sure whether we were normal kids or teen assassins.
        Eventually he said, "Yeah, I know you guys are orphans, but, do you have money to pay for this?"
        Jay and I looked at each other. Jay searched his pockets. He pulled out a few scrunched up dollars. "Is five bucks gonna do?"
        The driver arched an eyebrow, and we just smiled like the innocent homeless orphan kids we were supposed to be.
         "You don't got any more?"
         Jay checked again. "How about a few cents?"
         "Sorry kiddo. I know what you guys've been through, but I can't take you any further if that's all you have. Unless your uncle can pay for it?"
          Jay and I looked at each other and back to the driver. We knew the answer was no. The car slowed down, and then stopped.
          "Um, you aren't actually going to drop us here, are you?", I asked.
          "Yeah, I have to. I need this money, kid. I've got a lot of mouths to feed"
          We watched as the car drove away, leaving the two of us alone on the street. We just stood there, mainly in shock.
          "I can't believe he just left us here"
          "I can", Jay said. "He didn't look very nice"
          We walked around the streets. It was quite late at night, and we had nowhere to stay. We continued moving till we saw a building, completely lit up unlike the others. It was a hotel, or at least, it looked like one. Jay seemed excited at the sight of it.
          "I'm definitely going in"
          Jay ran up to the door, and pushed it open.
         "Jay!", I called. "Where are you going?"
         "Inside. I'm getting a room". He went inside. I had to follow him, unfortunately.
         "You can't even pay a cab", I reminded him. "How do you pay for a room?"
         "You'll see"
         I had no idea what he was up to. He walked up to the reception table. There was a nice looking lady sitting at the desk.
         "Hi", Jay said, innocently. "We need a room"
         I looked around. This place looked expensive with all the good stuff I saw in it. How was Jay planning to afford this?
         The receptionist looked at us suspiciously.
         "I'm not supposed to attend to kids, you know". She overlooked the fact that our clothes were tattered and we reeked like rotten cheese.
         "Don't worry. We're old enough. We aren't kids"
         I looked at Jay in astonishment. Really?
         "Alright then", the lady said. "You'll have to pay for your room. It's..."
         Before the lady could finish, Jay had dropped a few gold bars on the counter.
         "Paid", he said, with a crooked smile.
        She stared at the ingots, and then at us. "I can't take this...currency", she said. Then suddenly, she froze. She was staring at Jay, and she wasn't moving at all. She seemed to be in some sort of trance. It was then I realized Jay must have done something to her.
         "Okay, listen", Jay said in a hair-raising voice. "You haven't given me much choice"
         "What are you doing, Jay?"
         He ignored me. "Lady, either you give us a room, or you spend the rest of your days in hell"
         She quickly searched a few drawers, and brought out a key with a numbered card attached to it.
         "This is the key to your room", she mumbled. "Number one-two-five"
         "Thanks", Jay said in his normal voice, as if nothing had happened. We both walked towards the rooms.
         "You can't just do that", I berated.
         "What?"
         "You can't just threaten people with death"
         "Why not? It's one of my abilities. And it's not like I was actually going to send her there"
         I frowned at him.
         "Alright, fine, I won't do it again. But trust me, you need this room same as I do"
         We searched for the door that had our number on it. It was a high number, which meant we had to go upstairs to find it.
         "One twenty-three, one twenty-four, one twenty-aha!"
         Jay put the key through the lock and opened the door. Yeah, I was still mad at Jay for what he did earlier, but I have to admit, that room was luxurious.
         I looked around at the room. It was bigger than my bedroom, and definitely much neater. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, covered with white sheets. In fact, the whole room was covered with white. White walls, white sheets, white towels. Jay had already gone into the shower, and a few minutes later, had come out wearing new, clean clothes he got out of his backpack. I decided to take a shower too, since I also had clothes I could wear. I got out, feeling like a newborn baby. I wanted to lay on the bed, but I found Jay on it already, covered up in the sheets, watching TV.
          "Okay enough, Jay. Scram!"
          He rolled his eyes. "I got here first"
          "Don't care", I said. "Move over"
          "I thought you didn't want this room"
          "I never said that, I just don't like the way you got it"
          "You're not going to make me sleep on the floor, are you?"
          "No", I answered honestly. "I'm going to make you sleep in the bathtub"
          Jay folded his arms. "Fine. I'll move. I'm going out anyway. You should come with me"
          "To where?"
          "To explore the rest of this place. You aren't going to spend the night without doing anything"
          "That isn't happening. I'm not going"
          "If you have just tonight to have so much fun, why are you being so reluctant?"
          "Because I'm not here for fun. I'm here to rest for the night, and then I'll rescue Lina"
           Jay stared at me. He eyed me anxiously.
         "You're still feeling guilty about it, aren't you?"
         I nodded. He hugged me tight.
         "It wasn't your fault. Things just happen"
         He let go of me.
         "Come on", he said. "We might find something to make you feel better"
         I took his hand and followed him downstairs. He was quite right, I found a lot of things that made me feel better. There was a pastry section on our left. We were facing the games section. There were different classical games, and some new ones. There were adventure games, RPGs, and puzzle ones. I was pretty sure this kind of place would make Enid squeal. I smiled to myself at the thought of it.
         Enid was a kind, cheerful and lovely friend for anyone to have. Her intellect made it easy for her to escape any situation. I remembered how she helped us at the train station. She was definitely a terrific friend.
         Come to think of it, I had other terrific friends. Jay had been by my side from the beginning. The very beginning. He was the first person to talk to me on my first day of school. We had become close friends since then. And sure, he was a bit reckless, but he was loyal. He would stick with you till the end.
         And of course, Lina. My best friend. She and I shared so many characters, that only our looks could differentiate us. She was funny, kind, silly, and yes, she could act stingy, but never selfish. She would do what she could to help those she cared about. She could take a bullet, swim the Mediterranean, and even cross between worlds for her friends. In fact, she already had...
         "Hey...you okay?", someone asked.
         I blinked. I was daydreaming again. I wasn't conscious of the things around me until I heard that voice.
         "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Jay", I replied.
         "You sure?"
         "Yes"
         "Okay. I have something for you"
         "What?"
         He brought out a small, sky blue cardboard box from behind his back. I took it from him. Something inside smelled really good. I opened the box, and inside was a chocolate cupcake, with pink icing and sprinkles on top.
         "Aw, thanks Jay", I said. "But where did you get it? I hope you didn't steal something?"
         "Nope. I actually paid for it", Jay said with a twinkle in his eyes, so I knew he didn't. "And I got it there". He pointed to the pastry corner. "Wanna raid it with me?"
         "As long as we're paying for it"
         He grinned. "Of course"
         We ran to it. Gosh, there was a lot of snacks. Buns, pies, donuts, et cetera, et cetera. Somehow, Jay managed to pay for the snacks.
         We went over to the games section next. We played a few classics for a while, and I beat Jay in everything. He got mad, and started acting overly dramatic about it. He started to explain how badly video games were made, and that he would have beaten me if he wasn't so tired. And the truth was, even I myself was starting to feel a bit sleepy.
          Jay and I decided to go back to our 'stolen' room. We were done exploring the building, and besides, we had something we needed to do once we woke up in the morning. As we went back, I glanced at a few pieces of artwork. There were paintings, and there were sculptures. They all looked quite beautiful, but there was one that actually struck my eye.
         It was the statue of a lion. It was very realistic and life-size. It seemed to be staring at me, and I could have sworn that it blinked. It might have been a hallucination, I might have been daydreaming, say all you want, but I was sure that it blinked.
         "What are you staring at?", Jay asked.
         I looked at him. "Just these pieces of art"
         We walked past the statues. Just as we reached the elevator, we heard a roar. A loud, mighty roar. I quickly turned back. The statue had come to life. The lion was moving, roaring as it stepped on the other sculpture fellows, squashing them. It chased people as they screamed and ran everywhere. I looked at the lion again. It seemed to be focused on us now.
         "Who the heck brings their pet lion to a hotel?"
         "I don't think that's a pet lion"
         Jay picked up one of the shards. It was big, and it would hurt someone if it was thrown.
         "What are you doing?"
         He aimed it at the beast and threw it. Once it landed on the lion's back, I expected it to injure it, but instead it just broke into pieces, leaving the lion unharmed.
         "That's a Nemean lion"
         "A what?". I racked my brain to remember. "Wait, the Nemean lion? I thought Hercules killed it, like, a gajillion years ago?"
         "Well, obviously it's back. Come on, we need to get these people out of here"
         I looked around. Everyone was panicking and screaming and running around all over the place. Jay and I had to get the people out of the hotel as fast as possible. The Nemean lion had already started to chase them.
         "You get them out, I'll distract it"
         Jay drew his sword and ran towards the lion. I tried not to think what could happen to him, and I started moving people out of the hotel. It wasn't all that easy, mostly because too many people were screaming, and nobody could hear me, not even myself.
         "Everybody, get out!", I yelled.
         I heard a roar and looked to my left where the sound had come from. Somehow, the lion had smashed all the sculptures and paintings, and had flung the last statue towards a group of people. They were frozen in shock. I quickly grabbed the closest thing I could find and hit the statue away from them. It shattered into pieces on the floor next to them. They thanked me a lot after that.
         "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome", I said. "Now get out!". I pointed to the exit.
         When most of the people had left, I got out my own sword. I switched up the blade from its black handle, and it transformed into my sword. Just then, I saw a flash of bright light shine on my face. I turned and saw that someone, I have no idea who, had taken a picture of me. Great, now he was going to post it online. I ignored him and ran to Jay. There were bigger problems to solve.
         The lion looked bigger and more ferocious now. It seemed Jay must have troubled it a lot for it to look so angry.
         "Great, you're here", Jay said, panting. "Good thing you are, 'cause I need your help"
         We stood in battle position, blades in hand. I wasn't a very good fighter, but Jay was, so I wasn't at all worried. We were ready to fight it.
          "Ready?", Jay asked.
          "Ready", I replied.
          We advanced towards the beast. The big cat did the same, roaring as it came. I jumped heroically and tried to slice through its back with my sword. Instead, the lion had no cuts at all, and just shook me off it.
           "This is going to be harder than I thought"
           The animal groaned and tried to pounce on us.
           "Was it always this hard to kill?", I asked.
           "When monsters reform, they become stronger and more powerful"
           "Oh. Good to know"
           Jay ran to the monster's side. He tried to put his sword through its stomach, but the lion sensed him and threw him to the floor.
           "Wow", he said, rubbing his head. "This is hard"
         "Told you"
         We looked as the beast was turning to us. It looked really angry.
          "We have to get to its mouth somehow. That's its weak spot"
          "Got it!"
          Jay ran to its left, and I went to the right. We were trying to confuse the lion on who to attack. It paused for a while, and then decided to fight Jay.
           "Heidi, now!"
           I propelled myself upward and thrust my sword into the lion's neck. It saw me, which definitely wasn't part of the plan. I squealed as it's claws hit my chest. I slammed into one of the walls and I fell to the ground. Why was this so hard?
          "Heidi!", I heard Jay shout.
          "I'm fine", I groaned. "Finish it"
          He nodded and tried to attract the beast's attention again. I could tell he wasn't having any fun from it. I willed myself to get up. I picked my sword and looked at the animal. I thought about killing it with my stare, but I was too exhausted. I wasn't going to die. I was going to kill this thing. I ran towards the monster, and just then, it hit Jay. He hit the ground with a thud, his eyes closed.
          "Jay! Jay, can you hear me?"
          He didn't respond. His eyes remained shut. He was unconscious. I tried to wake him up, but then I heard a growl behind me. The Nemean lion was charging towards me. 
          "Oh, no way you're having my friend for dinner"
          It roared in reply. It pounced on me, and I sidestepped. It slammed its head into one of the walls. I started throwing broken pieces of furniture at it. It turned to me in rage, but I kept throwing. The monster started to chase me, roaring angrily. I tried to slice it, but before I could do so, I felt my hand release its grip and my sword fell down.
         "Oh, not again!"
         The lion's claws had somehow dug into my skin. It burned me really bad, but I couldn't focus on my injuries. I picked up my sword and started swinging it at the beast. Sensibly, it backed off. Then, I heard someone groan in the distance.
          "Ow...", Jay mumbled.
          The lion turned to him.
          "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!"
          It ran towards him, roaring loudly.
          "Jay! Get out of the way!"
          "What?", he groaned. He was still confused, until he saw was coming for him. "What the-"
          "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
          He rolled to his left, and the lion crashed into the wall again. It turned round to face Jay, its claws extended, and teeth bared.
          "Uh...nice kitty?"
          Seriously?
          "Jay, where's your sword?"
          He looked around. It was lying on the floor, like, a mile away from him.
          "It's too far away, I can't reach it"
          Just as he said that, the lion pounced on him, but I was quick. As the lion opened its mouth, I put my sword through it. It roared one last time and fell to the ground, lifeless. It was finally dead.
         "Phew. That was close"
         The lion's body dissolved, leaving a small coat made of fur. Lion fur.
         "Why is that here?", I asked.
         Jay stood up. He shrugged. "It's yours, I guess"
         "Mine? But I don't want it"
         "Why not? It's yours, and it's pretty useful"
         "I just don't want it. I don't wear fur coats"
         "Um, okay". He picked it up and stuffed it into his bag. "Just in case"
         "Hm. You know, this is like, the third time I'm saving you"
         "Shut up", he said, and I laughed.
         "Okay. So, Prince of the Dead, what now?"
         He frowned. "Do not call me that"
         I laughed again.
         He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We need to leave before someone spots us"
         "I believe someone already has"