I'm not one of them

A new beginning

Gasping, I shot upwards, only to realize that, I was floating? I looked down at my body. It was smoky and transparent. Then I remembered. I died in a car crash, but then, where am I? Looking around, I saw other ghosts as well, we were all sitting in a waiting room of sorts. My eyes drifted to someone at the far end of the room. It was an older man, maybe mid twenties. I felt drawn to him, so I gently floated over to the desk he was sitting at.

"Excuse me? Sir? Where am I?" He looked up at me and lazily stated that I was nowhere and everywhere.

"In fact," he purred out, "you are inbetween time itself."

I thought a second. "But why am I here?" I questioned.

He chuckled. "You can't go to the underworld unless you can pay the fee, do you have a coin?" I thought back to just before I died, I had felt cold metal under my tongue. Reaching into my mouth, I pulled out a golden coin. I handed it to him.

"Is this what you mean?" He looked bewildered, then chuckled.

"Your lucky day miss, you get a pass into the underworld. Come along now." He took my golden coin and ushered me into the elevator. It gave me a crazy feeling on the inside as we rode in the elevator.

I looked around and realised, we were now in a boat rowing across a river of junk. I looked at him questioningly then with surprise as I saw that he was now only a skeleton in rags. "Why are we going across a river of junk?" I asked. He grinned a skeleton grin,

"This river has been polluted with lost or broken dreams from humans, demigods, gods, and monsters. It actually used to be a nice river." My head was reeling. Mortals? Demigods? Gods? Monsters?

"What are you talking about?" He sighed and rowed on, patiently explaining.

"The world you used to live in is inhabitted with greek gods and monsters. Once in a while, a god would, ahem, mate with a human and a demigod was born. Someone who wasn't a human, but wasn't a god either. They are sort of inbetpween. Like a crossbreed. Monsters are evil and are controlled by beings of ancient power. A mortal is human." I took in this information.

"Why haven't I ever noticed monsters before?" Again he explained, a little faster since we were nearing the stop. "Long ago, the god of magic, Hecate, made a veil of magic strong enough to shield the monsters from mortal eyes. Not for the monsters safety, but for the mortals safety. But every now and then, there is a mortal born with the power to see through the veil. They are almost always killed though." He looked at me closely, studying my features. "You look familiar, what's your name child?" I huffed in annoyance.

"First off, I am twelve and not a child. Second, my name is Lianna. Lianna Bridays." He rocked backward slightly. "Ahh, I know why you look familiar. I carried your father over this river a few years ago." My eyes met his, wide and curious to cold and recognizing.

"Will you... Will you tell me how he died?" He exhaled slowly, we were very close to the port.

"He was killed." He said softly.

I sighed, "I know that, but from what, or who?" He looked at me steadily as we pulled up to the dock.

"By a monster, your dad could see through the veil of magic." And with that thought circling through my head, I stepped off the boat and headed towards a long line of ghosts.

There were three lines. Two said 'Judging' and the other said 'Ez Death' mostly everyone was going through the ez death, but the judging ones caught my eye. Judging for what? I stood in line until it was my turn. Stepping close to a big wood desk, I counted three figures in black robes and gold masks staring straight at me. I leveled my eyes and waited.

"Lianna Bridays, twelve years of age, died in a car accident. Never had a sibling. Parents were a drug dealer and a gang member. Despite that you were raised in horrible conditions, you never broke the law or spoke against your parents. You are on a perfect judging score. You can either be sent to paradise, an island called the Isles of Blest, or you can choose to be reborn. What do you choose?" The judges took turns when telling me everything. When they said Isles of Blest, they pointed to a sunny island with perfect waters. When they said reborn, the pointed upwards. I thought about my options. Rebirth, a new life, or paradise forever? I looked back at them questioningly.

"I have a question." The judges looked at each other then back at me.

"Ask away," the middle judge said politely. I smiled,

"Can I choose what to be reborn into?" They nodded. I continued, " Because I asked the ferry man about the Gods, demigods, and monsters. And he told me that monsters are evil. Am I correct?" They nodded, but hesitently. I smiled mysteriously," May I be rebirthed into a new monster? One that is alone among its species? Because I want to go back into that world and kill the monsters that inhabit that world. An assassin of sorts, if you please."

Now the judges looked very hesitant. "We..will have to ask the lord Hades if it is ok." I nodded, it made sense.

"Can I go talk with him then?" I asked. They said they would get someone to take me. I stepped out of line. A minute later, a huge black wolfhound appeared from the shadows. It walked to me and nudged my shoulder. I grabbed its fur and heaved myself on its back. It turned and jumped towards a shadowed wall. I gasped as we passed through the wall and into a blackness my eyes couldn't penetrate.

A moment later, we were standing in front of a huge red-black palace. A tall man in a robe of souls approached me. This must be Hades, I mused. Getting off the dog-thing, i met the lord Hades half-way and bowed. Straightening, I saw him sizing me up.

"So," he boomed, "you want to be reborn as a monster, so you can kill monsters? Why is this child?" I huffed at being called a child again, but answered.

"My father was killed by a monster, and as a monster, other monsters would not be as suspicious of me. Easier to get to and kill." He nodded thoughtfully. "I could have you reborn as a monster, but what kind?" I thought for a minute before sharing my idea. "If it isn't too much trouble," i said slowly, "could you turn me into a monster that moves very fast, looks human, can be reborn countless times, and has sharp, wolf-like teeth?" He nodded without a second thought.

"What would be your Greek name? Every monster has one." Thinking, I can up with a perfect idea.

"My name that i will share with other monsters will be 'i anameikti' or the mixed one,but my real name will be ' i kryfi fonias teras' or 'the hidden monster slayer'." He smiled slightly before pointing at me and murmuring. I felt searing pains travel through my body as I fought to stay standing. I felt my leg muscules become more defined, my conscient being was given a state like iron, and my teeth, escpecially my canines, become longer, wider, and sharper. Finally, the pain burned away. Hades looked pleased with himself. "Now you may return to the above world. And when you are killed, do not panic, you will appear in the place you love most." I smiled, flashing him a toothy grin.

"Thank you kindly, Lord Hades." He snapped his fingers and I dissolved into air.