Hell is Real

Chapter 6

School let out, every day, at three. There was no bell, no clocks, but everyone knew to go. Nobody questioned it.

Nico left the building, left the decaying walls, left in a grimace of fear that he'd never return. Some people never did. They wanted to know about the outside world, they wanted to know how things worked. They questioned the system.

They just disappeared.

His mother had gotten in her car, swore to come back when she found the next town. She never did.

His sister visited the lake with Percy Jackson one day. They pulled Percy out but never found Bianca.

Percy didn't remember her name.

There were mines up north, mines that always called his name. He walked there every day, walked to meet the ones inside. He never saw them, but he heard them breathing.

Sacrifices, sacrifices, they wanted more sacrifices.

The water that dripped down the wall was as old as the earth, as old as anything to ever exist. It dripped, dripped into nothingness. He never touched it.

The mines up north had once been full of riches. Now, the townsfolk said they were empty. But Nico knew they weren't. No, no more riches, but they weren't empty. Some days, he knew that people agreed. They were just scared.

They hoped the mines were empty.

The sun set, he hurried home. Get home before 2, get home before 2, get home before 2.

What happened at 2?

He smelled like the mines, smelled like the earth that they were created from. His pants were full of dirt, his white shirt would never be cleaned. He went home, fell asleep to the smell of dirt.

In his dreams, he saw why the mines were "empty". He saw why people were afraid. When he woke up, he couldn't remember why. Did he ever dream? The safe answer was no.

His mother disappeared, his sister disappeared. His dad? They found his body, void of life, sitting in those mines. They went to get help, came back, the body was gone.

Another of the missing.