The Underworld Corporation

"2018 school shootings: a list of incidents that resulted in casualties..."

"Ambush in Niger kills four American soldiers and two green berets..."

"Hawaiian volcano sends lava oozing towards town..."

"Amber alert issued for two children after woman found dead in Texas..."

Hades let out a small sigh as he scrolled through the articles on his laptop, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. The amount of death in the modern day world astounded him. Not even the old world he once flourished in was quite this full of violence and death. He braced himself once again to meet the souls of these unfortunate individuals.

He should have been pleased with the increase of business he was receiving, sure, but he was beginning to feel burnt out. Another confused man here, an angry woman there, insert a scared child and he really had his hands full. Not to mention the helpless animals that ended up with him, too. Business in the Underworld Corporation had never been better and Hades had never felt emptier.

That was why, exactly one month ago, he had put an ad in The Daily Deity looking for a successor- someone who was young, able-bodied, and could handle the large intake of souls for many more years to come. Replies came quickly from naive gods who thought they, of all people, could handle his business better than he could. If Hades couldn't take it any longer, what made them think they could? But he would grin and bear it until he was resting somewhere far on a beach with Persephone's hand in his. That was all he wanted anymore.

He reached over and checked his phone for Charon's GPS. He was about half-way up the River of Styx now, another poor soul sitting in his boat, waiting to meet The King of the Underworld Corporation. That familiar downward tug at his lips happened again. Who would he meet today? Another victim to a murder? A suicide? A war member? The thought weighed heavily on his mind. He loosened his tie as if it was at fault for his choking feeling.

A knock at the door tore him from his thoughts. Persephone stood elegantly in the doorway, dressed in a skirt suit with tablet in hand. Hades often thought to himself that she had the best job out of all of them, considering she had six months of vacation leave that no one else had. That was probably why she was so full of joy as she said, "Thanatos is here to see you, honey."

Hades nodded once to his wife. "Bring him in."

Persephone nodded to someone behind her, moving out of the way so they could enter. A tall, broad-shouldered man sauntered in, dressed professionally from head to toe. He reached out and shook Hades' hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Thanatos."

"Pleasure." Hades repeated, pointing to a cushioned seat across from his desk. "Please, take a seat."

Thanatos did as he was told and Persephone left the room, gently clicking the door behind her. The hesitant smile on her lips as she left told him, she, too, hoped Thanatos was 'the one'.

He pulled out Thanatos' resume from deep within his overloaded desk. "So, Thanatos..." He quickly scanned it, not having done so before, as he had been so busy. The man across from him grinned eagerly.

"Tell me a little about yourself."

"Well," the young god paused as he contemplated what to say. "I appear to humans when their time allotted to them by the Fates is up and bring them here for Charon to transport."

Hades grunted. "Not a bad job. Why the eagerness to move on?"

Thanatos pursed his lips. "I suppose I feel it's time for a promotion. I've worked hard all these years and I think it's time I move on to bigger and better things."

"Of course. So what is your view on death then?"

"It's merely a sleeping state from the passage of the mortal life to the afterlife." Thanatos leaned back in the chair, seemingly confident with his answer. He even did a small shrug as if to say 'that's all'.

Hades chuckled. Boy, oh, boy, did this god have somethin' comin'. "Alright. Where do you see yourself in five years?"

"I see myself here, having taken your place as King of the Underworld. I've come up with a new organizational system for the intake of souls and I'm in the process of cleaning out the River of Styx."

He felt his smile widen. "Big goals."

The younger god nodded. "Yes, I'm very goal-oriented." He leaned forward and pointed to a bullet statement on his resume. "It says so there under my skills."

Hades quirked an eyebrow at the thick resume in his hands. For only having one job all his life, Thanatos was rather confident in himself.

"I see." Hades paused a moment before asking, "You can see yourself dealing with the souls of the lost every...single...day?"

Thanatos blinked. "Well, I already do, sir. That was my job before-"

Hades leaned back, putting his hand up to stop Thanatos' answer. "No, no, I mean dealing with them. Like, really, REALLY dealing with them."

He nodded with excitement. "Yes, sir, I do see myself being able to do that."

"Are you sure you could-"

Another knock at the door. He answered and Charon came in, his shiny bald head catching the fluorescent light as he held the hand of a small girl. She clung closely to him, fear coming out as tears in her innocent brown eyes. "It's her time to speak with you, sir. So she can go and rest for a while in the River."

Hades glanced back at Thanatos, a large grin spreading across his lips. "Alright then. You're hired, boy."