We Bent Fate

Chapter 30.

We sat in silence with the pressure of decision weighing down upon us. 

Martha and I had decided to go straight to Tartarus and meet her parents. We picked up her sisters on the way and quickly drove off across the barren to the humble abode of my girlfriend's parents. 

Martha finally remembers what she had created ages ago and no one is happy about it. 

"I don't understand. Now she remembers what she had created, then why aren't we doing something? Shouldn't she be on her way to control it or something?" I wondered aloud and stopped blabbering when I realized her parent's eyes' on me. I swallowed. 

"Yes but something is not right. Hope isn't an evil thing! Are you sure 'hope' was what you created, Martha?" Erebus asked her and I realized how right he is. 

Hope isn't a bad thing. Then why....

"We need to ask Oneiroi." Nyx declared. 

"So...." Erebus raised his hands as if asking what's the next step. "Should I summon them?"

Chloe and Lila began to argue but their protests came at a halt when Nyx again spoke up. 

"I think we should all go there. It's been quite a while since we entered the land of dreams and as their parent, I'd like to check on them."

Land of dreams...hmmm! Sounds interesting.

For some reason, I had a picture of a Utopian land in my mind with a huge rainbow and a bunch of beautiful unicorns trotting their ways here and there  around the green grassy lands of wherever this land of dreams was situated.

Someone suddenly cleared their throat behind me and I spun around to see Chloe staring at me with a bored expression. "What?"

"I need your car keys." She said. I raised my eyebrows for her to repeat.

I certainly did not hear that right.

"Give me your car keys."

"Why?"

"Are you planning to walk into the woods?"

"Into the woods?" I frowned.

"Don't tell me you thought that we were going somewhere across the beautiful pearly gates with fairies and unicorns." Chloe smirked and I grew hot. I shook my head slowly and her smile widened.

"Its okay." Erebus said from behind us. "If he doesn't want to give his car keys, we should all use our powers. Martha can take Austin with him."

When I folded around to look at Erebus, he had a weird grin on his face. He should really smile more often but not in this way. Right now he looks like he is up to something and I don't think I like it. I swallow a lump that had appeared in my throat as I motioned towards Martha and raised my hand to hers.

She smiled up at me in admiration and took my hand. With another blink, I felt the scenario change and I gaped at whatever I saw.

I had underestimated the utter blackness of nighttime in the woods. I had never imagined that the trees would be black trunks against a bluish charcoal sky, the path would become deepest brown and the moonlight would bleach the stones within it.

A bead of sweat ran down my spine when I couldn't find Martha around me. Or her sisters. Or her parents.

I panicked as I frantically searched the darkness and in vain, found nothing but air. I was panting now as I compared the situation with anything worse. It couldn't be any more suffocating than it would be in a black coffin, six feet under and piled with darkness and dirt.

"Austin." I hear a voice from behind me and I freeze.

I hoped in vain that I would turn around and find Martha. To my disappointment, I saw no one and I shivered as a cool splash of breeze sloshed over my body. I began to breathe the cold air more rapidly as darkness pressed from all sides and my body told me to scream.

My eyes landed on a dark figure at a distance and I gulped. The dark figure was that of a young girl, who was as short as Martha but she stood so still that it made me question if I was really seeing what there was or just hallucinating.

It took me a blink and the dark shadow closed its distance towards me. I took a step back. "Martha? Is that you?"

She took another step towards me and her green eyes sparkled in the dark. I gasped when I saw her cock her head to a side and heard a cracking voice as if her bones were breaking. A horrible voice screamed at me.

I flinched, falling backwards into the dried mud and the shadow turned into ash, whisking into the air and evaporating into nothingness. From the corner of my eyes, I saw light coming.

"Is that him?" said a deep unfamiliar voice and a beam of torchlight flashed over my face, blinding my eyes.

"Oh my God, yes!" I heard Martha saying and I staggered backwards. She ran towards me and I flinched, thinking she might hurt me. She must have noticed my discomfort because then a pained expression crossed her face. "Are you okay?"

"I saw you-" I tried speaking but my mouth was too dry to let the words flow. "I saw you. You-"

"Its okay, buddy. Welcome to the land of nightmares! I am Phoebetor. The God of nightmares." He offered me a hand and I looked at it for a second before taking it. "I am sorry, I frightened you. We are a little antisocial. We don't meet people much and so we scare off the trespassers with their greatest nightmares when they get here" He voice roared when he laughed.

"Yes, you frightened the shit out of both of us!" Martha yanked his arm and he laughed. "But its nice to meet you after so long!"

"Yes, little sister." He smiled down at Martha in a way that didn't reach his eyes and then looked at me, "Shall we, lover boy?"

The narrow path, which was made uneven by the knotted roots that crossed it, branched at intervals. There was no map to follow but the two sibling Greek Gods, and so I did just that.