The Hunters of Artemis

Chapter 36: Judgement is Passed

Kat's POV

Blinking, I sat up. The pain in my gut was gone and when I looked down, there was no blood, no mark, no torn shirt. I had no idea how the heck that happened, but I wasn't complaining. I wasn't wearing shoes or socks, and my feet were cold. I was still wearing my silver Hunters' parka and jeans, but on the cold stone floor, my feet were unprotected. I glanced around and noticed that I wasn't in that room with Lyra, Atlanta... Liam. My Liam. I didn't know when I started to love him so hopelessly, so fiercely, so desperately... and now he would never know.

"Do you have a drachma, dear?" asked a silky smooth voice. I turned around and saw a tall man in a silk Italian business suit. His thick black hair was slicked back, and he sat at the desk of a lobby area. 

Blinking, I asked, "Excuse me? Where am I?"

"You're on you're way to the Underworld. But in order to get there, you need to pay. Do you have a drachma?" he asked again. Then I saw his name tag: Charon.

Neurons fired and I realized where I was. I was in Los Angelos. Of course. When people die, their souls go to... wherever this place was, where they paid the fare to get ferried down to the Underworld. "Um, yeah. One sec."

I plunged my hands into my pockets and felt the cool metal of a golden drachma. Thank Artemis I always had one with me. Handing it to him, I looked around again. 

There were so many other souls here. Men, women, children, all waiting. For what? I shuddered as I thought about it. Actually, I didn't want to know.

"Alright! Boat 2,036, 483, 811 please line up at the elevator!" Charon called. I turned and saw an elevator to my right. Stepping over, I avoided the other people who were vying to get onto the boat. Thankfully, I made it on before I was trampled. In the elevator, about twenty other people were with me, along with Charon.

As the elevator descended, the rectangular shape of it changed. It seemed to melt and mold itself into a boat form, then with a crash, it landed on a river. The black river was like darkness in liquid form. It almost seemed to have a mind of its own. 

The thick black goo sloshed against the boat in a sickening glop. All kinds of garbage polluted the river Styx. Wilted roses, torn letters, childhood dolls. I gagged. So this was where the world's sorrow pooled. It was awful. How could anyone ever live down here? 

Around me, all of the dead began to shimmer and their appearances changed. Slowly, I looked down. I had changed too.

My clothes had changed to a black cloak/sack. My skin was pale and gray; it was translucent. I stared through my hand in half horror, half fascination. Suddenly, the boat crashed onto a rocky shore. 

"Everybody off!" Charon called. I jumped off of the boat and felt the rocks bite into my now-bare feet. Nervously, I followed the long trail of dead people to a ginormous cavern. It was so big, I couldn't see the top of the dome. I saw three figures flying among the massive stalactites that littered the roof. They must have been the Furies. 

A loud howl pierced the air and that was when he shimmered into existence. A massive, three-headed Rottweiler howled and whimpered as a ghoul hit his giant paw. 

He put his head on his paws and whimpered again. Someone pushed me forward and I fell in front of the ghoul. As I scrambled up, he studied me. His face was ghastly and gray, with dark black pits for eyes. His black cloak covered all of his body except for his face, and even then, I wished it had. 

His face was pock-marked and scarred, the white and red raised flesh standing out against the gray predominantly. "You. They told me you'd come..." he rasped.