Hunter

Chapter Thirty Eight - Haunted House

Walking amongst the dead, I didn't feel as out of place as I thought I would. I felt as though I belonged with the dead. I felt as though I was dead. That feeling was especially evident when I walked through the feet of Cerberus. My heart didn't jump out of my chest in terror, but he was still a sight to look at. Large dark paws with vicious claws dug into the dark sand that coated the earth. Beneath its nails, death crawled and squirmed like earthworms through the soil. Cerberus was enormous and powerful, strength radiating from its protective stance. Its fur was matted with blood and filth, large chunks of grime stuck to and creeping all over its back and limbs. Its coat resembled this skin of a soldier, scars, and wounds decorating its pelt like jewels on a tapestry. Its six eyes darted back and forth, their color as red as freshly spilled blood. Piercing canines glared at me, meat of different colors hanging from the crevices. A rumble so low and so dominant radiated from so deep within his throat, it felt as though the very earth on which I stood was groaning. Above all, Cerberus looked like a shadow: always there, but sometimes overlooked.

My passage away from the feet of the beast led me before the three judges. Or, should I say two? Of the three magnificent thrones that stood before me, each once gracefully adorned, one was void of its owner. I didn't know much about the three judges of the underworld, so I didn't know who was missing. Since the counsel was incomplete, the souls of the dead were allowed entrance into the Fields of Asphodel. Asphodel was where the ordinary souls went, and all that they happened to get was ordinary. It was dreary and bland: a large open meadow that was painted in grayscale. No wind blew, and nothing moved nor sounded, except for the drifting of the wandering spirits. No happiness or sadness offered variation. An eternity in the Fields of Asphodel would be dull.

So when I saw a castle sticking out from the center of the fields, embellished by an array of precious stones, I knew that that was where I had to be: the Castle of Hades. I drifted along with all the other souls, stepping into the grass that felt like small hands underneath my robes. I was determined to make things right. After all of my failures and after all the wrong that I had done, I needed to have something right. I owed it to, not only myself but everyone around me. Everyone that witnessed my failures and was affected by said failures. I wanted to prove that I was worth something. I was so desperate: I wanted nothing more in the world than to prove it. To prove it to everyone! And when I arrived at the gates of the Castle of Hades, that determination shone through.

I looked for a lock, but there was none. The black metal was cold as my hands grabbed onto it. I looked for a foothold and proceeded to climb, but I was immediately covered in darkness. I was disoriented as I dropped on the ground. This darkness was familiar. It was just like when Thanatos's Celestial appeared. I was unbalanced for a long while, not knowing which way was up or down. My head was spinning, but I closed my eyes and focused on the earth. I focused on the gravity beneath me. It took a hell of a lot of concentration to return me to my full equilibrium, even after the darkness was gone. I raised my bowed head to be greeted by two deities, each looking exactly the same.

They both wore mail and plate armor. It looked heavy, but they didn't seem to be weighed down by it. A thick cloak draped over their shoulders and down their backs, pooling by their feet in a shadow of ink. Their faces were covered by a large plate helmet that revealed only their eyes and nose, but even that was hidden behind the shadows. They both stood, feet apart, a sword in front of them, both hands resting on the hilt. The sword was broad and large, almost my height in length, and I wasn't short. The blade was dark and metallic, glinting like the eyes of an enemy.

"You do not belong. Return to the Fields." They spoke in unison, and I didn't dare respond. I was already in the Land of the Dead, but I was pretty sure that those swords would do more than just send me to the Underworld. I thought for a slight moment before pulling out the red rose from where it was safely tucked under my robes. I laid it down on the ground. The deities raised their swords, and I shut my eyes, getting ready to end up in the Fields of Punishment, or even Tartarus, but when I heard clashing without feeling a thing, my lids snapped open. They made a large X over the rose with their swords, and then they disappeared in their cloaks of darkness, with my flower. The gates before me opened, and I wasted no time in entering.

The castle loomed above the Underworld, the highest point scratching the sky. The palatial edifice was built from dark stone that looked like it was scrubbed by sore hands every single day. My footsteps didn't echo and no sound was heard. Even though I was treading carefully across the prickly lawn, my feet barely touched the ground, resulting in a feeling of weightlessness. Colossal wooden doors stood before me. The wood was numbing to look at, but the metal knockers shone incandescently before my eyes. I moved to push them, but they opened on their own accord, clearing a path for me to proceed.

I could barely see in the darkness, and I immediately knew that I didn't want to spend more time in there than necessary. I had this strange feeling. The feeling that a thousand fingers were crawling over my body. The feeling that I was being watched and followed. A great hallway unfurled before me, cloaked in a dark leather carpet beneath my bare feet. The corridor seemed to expand on forever, as I saw no clear end in sight. I took one step, and the floor creaked beneath me. I sucked in a breath, nervous, and didn't move an inch. Listening carefully, I could hear scratching in the walls. My ears tingled with awareness and my heart was pounding forcefully in my chest like a wild beast trying to escape a cage.

The scratching increased ferociously, making my nerves heighten immeasurably. I scanned the area rapidly, my eyes darting from corner to corner as I remained in the same position that I had assumed earlier. Just as quickly as it had started, the scratching stopped, and all was silent again. Nothing moved, nothing changed. I relaxed slightly, but when I felt warm breath on the back of my neck, I spun quickly, arms up, ready to attack. But there was no one there. And what made it worse was the fact that the doors were gone. An infinite hallway spread out to either side of me, no doors or windows visible.

I was stuck.

Exhaling, I closed my eyes, letting my head fall forward. I was so tightly wound that I felt as though as I was about to snap. I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck, mentally preparing myself for the challenge that stood before me. I wasn't ready for what I saw when my eyes open. I screamed at the two red orbs and vicious silver teeth that snarled before me. My voice failed me as darkness consumed and cloaked my body. Gnarled hands with serrated claws dug into my robe as I struggled with everything that I had left in me. Two sharp tips sank into my neck, a searing hot pain spreading out across my body, and then everything went foggy.

My body was being pulled into a darkness. I tried to climb out of the hole that I was falling into, and I eventually hit the bottom.