Persephone Incarnate [Wattpad Prize 2014] | ✔️

{5} Sophie

Ava, Anna, Austin, Kyle, and a few others were on the screen. I saw the backs of Ramsey and Bella, in the background, hunched over something.

Anna started speaking first. “Hey, Sophie. You’re probably in the Underworld right now, and we’re having Isa bring this message to you.”

“I feel so weird, because it’s like recording a video but different, and she keeps on glaring at us,” Ava said warily, looking at something beyond what I could see. Probably Iris.

Anna continued, like she hadn’t been interrupted. “I’ve asked Gavin – really, it’s quite strange how we’ve all come together over this gods and goddesses thing, because yesterday, we hardly spoke to each other.”

The others agreed and voiced their own opinions, and for a few minutes it was pure cacophony before Iris’s sharp voice cut in. “Hurry up, you people. Visiting hours end at 6, and it’s already three. It takes a while to travel to the gateway to the Underworld.”

They all sighed. “Let’s talk about this later guys,” Abby said, warning everyone to stay on topic.

Anna started up again. “Anyway, like I was saying earlier, I had asked Gavin, and he thinks that Zeus remembers what the trial was. He was the one who created it with Poseidon before they went into their deep slumber.”

“OH GODS!” came a shriek from the background. Everyone turned their head slightly. Ramsey was on the ground, hurriedly trying to pick up his water bottle, and pieces of paper that had fallen all over.

“Oh, Ramsey,” Ava shook her head and went over to help him pick the papers up. “Not again – it’s not like we can print directions to the Underworld on Google, you know! It took me a while to…” she looked back nervously at Iris, then changed the subject. “Anyway, don’t drop them again.”

Everyone eventually turned their attention back to Iris, though it took them a few moments for them to settle down again.

“Ethan’s not being very helpful though. He’s sitting in the corner.” The view suddenly panned over to Ethan, who was sitting on a stool, hunched over a paper with a pencil in hand. “He’s working on Math homework, can you believe it?” The view suddenly changed and went over to Gavin, who was staring intently at the wall in front of him, as if it would reveal the secrets of the universe to him, if he just looked hard enough. “Gavin’s trying to think, but I could be wrong, and he’s just trying to burn a hole into the wall now.”

“I’m working on it!” was his only reply. He didn’t even turn around. I tried to hope that he was working on thinking of what my trial would be, not on damaging the wall.

Anna made a grimace. “He’s definitely trying to burn a hole through the wall. The sad and funny thing is, it might even work.”

Ava came back to the screen, and then she started to speak. “So, right now, we don’t really know why you’re there. But we’re planning to get you out. We have a map to the Underworld and everything, and we’re sort of having a war council in Science class right now, except well, it’s a little weird. Iris did something, and nobody’s having class right now for some reason.” Her face contorted into a confused expression. “They’re outside, trying to hunt for a rainbow UFO or something.”

Realizing that she was getting a little off topic, she took a deep breath, and started up again. “So, we’re having the war council, and we’re going to get you out of there, as soon as we can and as safely as possible. We don’t know what trial you’re going to get, so we’re hoping for the best, and that you’ll get out by yourself, and in that case, we only need to swoop in and transport you back out. But we only have 24 hours from now, and if you’re not out within those 24 hours, you’re going to be stuck with Hades. For a long time.”