Dear Secrets, Please Fly Quietly

14) In the Underworld

I felt nothing, nothing at all. "Am I dead?" I moaned, half expecting no reply.

"Yes, Hermes." Came a sweet voice and the scent of fresh flowers.

I opened my eyes. I was laying on a large white bed, but I only knew that by seeing it. I couldn't feel a thing. My body was semi-transparent, like it had been in my memories, which brought back bad memories. "Persephone?"

"Yes, dear." She said turning toward me. "I'm glad you're awake."

"What happened to me?"

"You died in a car accident with an 18-wheeler."

"Well I know-"

Persephone cut me off, calling down the hall. "Hades! He's awake!"

Shortly afterward, Hades appeared on the other side of the bed. "Hi." He said simply. "Welcome to the Underworld."

"I've been here many, many, times. To deliver dead souls from- up there." I pointed vaguely to the ceiling.

"It's called the Upperworld. If there's an Underworld, there's an Upperworld."

"And I think I should get paid more than a dollar per thousand souls or whatever. I can't make a living off that with this economy!"

Hades looked at me flatly. "1) I don't have to pay you at all. It's your job, and you have to do it regardless of pay. And 2) you're dead."

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

Sensing the brewing fight, Persephone inched toward the door. The room rattled slightly, and leaf fell from a rose in the corner. A sound metal dragging against stone reverberated down the hallway, followed by gruff whining noises. Before I could ask what in the world that was, it answered.

A tri-headed dog bounded into the room, destroying many plants in his wake. He was roughly the size of a Great Dane, but had a jet black coat and six blood red eyes. He also slobbered, a lot.

"He's killing my flowers!!!" Persephone whined.

Ignoring the goddess, the dog ran past her to Hades. He dropped a saliva-covered human head at Hades' feet. "Good boy, Cerberus. I thought you wouldn't catch that one! Amelia Earhart sure does fly!" He laughed at his own joke while Cerberus impatiently barked for the 'ball' to be thrown again.

"GET THAT DISGUSTING MUTT OUT OF MY ROOM!!" Persephone cried. Cerberus looked hurt, and moved behind his master, whimpering.

"Sephy! That is a very rude term!" Hades chided his wife. "And stop screaming."

"Well what do you want me to call him? He's certainly not a purebred!"

One of the dog's heads barked with disapproval. Hades sighed, and Cerberus moved around the room, sniffing three directions at once. Without warning, he lifted his leg in a corner of the room. The poor plants in that area immediately shriveled up and died. Persephone just about had a conniption.

"YOU SAID YOU HAD THAT THING HOUSETRAINED!!!" The goddess roared.

Personally, I was still disgusted at the fact that Amelia Earhart's head was being used as a chew toy, and now this. By the way, if you think cat pee is bad, try three-headed demon-dog.

The lord of the Underworld picked Amelia Earhart up by the hair and threw her out the window, Cerberus bounding after. After repairing the damaged glass, Hades turned his wife. "He's gone, happy?"

Too angry for words, Persephone stormed away, leaving a trail of thorns. Hades followed, calling out to his 'little pomegranate'. I got the impression Persephone didn't like being called the very thing that had gotten her into this situation, but that was just guess.

I was left alone for a few minutes, until Thanatos, the god of death, appeared. With him, a wave of sorrow passed over me as I was reminded of my missing wings. His were jet black and impossibly clean and glossy. He must spend at least a couple hours a day grooming them. It made me miss my own wings, which I regret to say I had forgotten about. I wanted them back, no, I needed them back. "Thanatos?" I said quietly.

He looked up from the iPad he had been scrolling through, his golden eyes fixed on me. Or possibly the pillow my head was against. It was hard to tell.

"Am I dead?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm sure you know how." His voice was smooth yet it held immense power.

I smiled. Finally, someone who understands that I'm not stupid. "But why? And also, what's going on with the sun? I know Apollo's behind it, but..." My voice trailed off.

Thanatos sighed and leaned back in a chair he conjured for himself. "It's difficult to say. By the way, I was hoping you were awake. Your case is rather interesting to me. A god has never died before, even after being turned mortal. I don't know if you can be resurrected, but if you can, I don't know to what extent: mortal or god."

I nodded. If Zeus was still mad at me the way he was, even though I hadn't stolen any of the weapons he accused me of stealing, he most likely wasn't going to be bringing me back as anything glamourous. Thanatos didn't have many answers, but he did tell me what little he knew about the heatwave in the Upperworld.

The god of death frowned. "It's bad. The numbers down here are increasing rapidly, most of the new entries from heatstroke and dehydration. Persephone is upset because the ground has suffered too, as you can imagine. Nothing can get enough water anymore."

I was shocked, not necessarily because of the details, but because of the sheer volume. "How long has this been going on? How long have I been dead?!"

"A whole week." Thanatos answered gravely. "The Olympians have tried to get Apollo to lower the sun, but after a few days and nights, they gave up. He won't budge, and Artemis is severely injured from trying to go and talk to him. Hades said she had some constellations on the loose that can't be defeated until they go back into the night sky. Unfortunately, one of those hasn't been available for a while."

"Haven't the mortals noticed by now?" I knew we had the mist on our side and Hecate was probably covering what she could, but they must have realized something was off.

"Not really, surprisingly. Artemis drives the moon across the sky as normal, despite her injuries, and places it in front of the sun. For what she can't cover, Zeus and Poseidon are trying to keep cool and hydrated, but Apollo is more powerful than most think. But down here, we haven't suffer much."

An idea began to take shape in my mind. I was Apollo's best friend from the beginning. He was doing this because of me, so maybe I was the only one who could stop it. Besides, the worst he could do is kill me, but I'm already dead! "Thanatos," I said confidently. "I need to get to the Upperworld and to Apollo. I have a bone to pick with him."

The god of death smiled. "I can't take you, but I know someone who can."

In a few minutes, Hades and I were on our way. I was going to put an end to this. And maybe, get my wings back.