Karras

A Vision and a Nightmare

The Acheron river flowed, many souls passing by Mel. The faint glow from the suffering souls reflected off her dark hair and her light eyes. She had been waiting for a while, her father had asked to see her. Mel didn't want to waste any more time, she wanted to get back to her task. A deep, commanding voice came from behind her, "Melinoe, my girl." She turned around and saw her father, the god of the underworld himself, Hades. He had hair almost darker than his daughter's and intense eyes that almost glowed when he was angry.

"Hello father. The Acheron looks full." "More souls...full of pain." He put a hand on her shoulder and started to walk with her. "Melinoe, I don't want you to spend too much time in that world. I need Karras before he masters his powers." They both stop, he put both hands on her shoulders, "You don't want a god interfering with my plan, do you?" Melinoe shook her head, "No father." "I need you to work faster." His daughter chuckled, "I thought taking his spirit in public would be a bit...unsettling." Hades laughed, then they continued to walk. "I would find it exciting! But I'm not a mortal."

"What is your plan, child?" He looked into her eyes, he had eyes you couldn't lie to. "Get close to him, have him trust me, then do the deed." Hades pulled a thin cigar out of thin air, lit it with a snap of his fingers. He let out a puff of smoke, "Charm him my darling, bring him to his knees and do it fast." "Yes father, I will."

--

Max was at the kitchen table writing quickly, occasionally reading a section from a textbook at rapid speed. He muttered to himself. Max looked at the calendar, he observed it for a good while. Gwen rushed into the room suddenly. "One week!", he exclaimed. Gwen threw herself into Max's arms, she was trembling. "Baby girl...what's wrong?" You could hear she was scared, "I found something outside." Max looked at her concerned "What did you find?" "It gave me a vision. People with guns are going to come and hurt us." The little girl buried her face into his chest, he rubbed her back, hoping it would calm her down.

--

Max entered Cordelia's office, leading Gwen by the hand. "What's wrong?" Max put his arms on her shoulders, she was still trembling, "Tell her what you told me." Cordelia kneeled down in front of Gwen, "It's okay sweetie." "I've never seen her like this." Max gave Gwen a reassuring nod, "She's the supreme, she has to know kiddo." Gwen slowly reached into her pocket, pulled out a silver bullet. The little girl presented it to the supreme. Cordelia took the bullet, looked at it with wide eyes. "I found that outside, it gave me a vision." Gwen's eyes welled up. Cordelia caressed her cheek, "Witch hunters?" Gwen nodded, "They're coming on a full moon." "Anything else in your vision sweetheart?" Gwen shook her head. Cordelia gave her a hug, "It's okay sweetie. Thank you for telling me." Cordelia rose from the ground. Max hugged the little girl. "We won't let anything happen to you. I won't let anything happen to you." "Gwen, why don't you go lie down?" The little girl nodded then left the office.

Cordelia let out a breath. "When's the full moon?" "Four days", he immediately responded. Cordelia raised an eyebrow, wondering how he knew that? Max bit his nail, "I don't know why I told her that. I can't even protect her. I can't cast spells or anything." Delia got closer to her son, "That's not true. You always protect her." He shrugged, "From monsters under the bed and an occasional ghost."  The supreme took hold of his shoulders, "I know what you're going through because I felt the same way. You are not weak and you are not a nobody. You may not believe me right at this moment, but I need you to hear me, son." "Okay", he said softly. "You should tell the coven. We only have four days. I'll learn what I can about hunters." He started to walk away, "We don't know who it is. There are organizations but..." Max looked at his mother, "I got to at least try." "You're too kind, maybe for your own good." He cracked a small smile.

--

Max was sound asleep, a beam of moonlight shined through a window. Mel suddenly appeared in his room. She slowly made her way to the foot of the bed, then raised her hand towards her sleeping victim. The deity's eyes began to glow a neon blue. Max began to move, his nose scrunched, his muscles tensed. Mel put her hand down, her eyes went back to its normal pale color. She came closer to Max, his hands clenched into fists. Mel observed his face as it twitched. He saw images in quick flashes, a hooded figure shooting multiple times, each gunshot he heard revealed a witch's lifeless body. Zoe, Queenie, Gwen, Misty and Cordelia. Each one of them bloody.

His eyes flew open, he shivered, covered in sweat. Mel is nowhere to be found in the room. Max wiped off the sweat on his face. He got out of bed and went over to a drawer and got on his knees. Mel reappeared in the corner of the room and watched him. He slowly slid open the bottom drawer and took a look inside. The drawer held a locked box. He flipped up the corner of the rug he was kneeling on and picked up a key. Max unlocked the box and slowly opened it. A hand gun resided in the box. He picked it up, Mel's eyes widened. "Never took you for a gun guy." This went unheard by Max. The powerful woman chose not to be seen as well. Max took a seat on the bed, clutching the gun, looking around the room a bit paranoid. The nightmare felt very real. Nightmares, Mel's specialty.