It was a great day for a hike and Kyle and his dad Rick decided to take advantage of it. After all, compared to spending two hours on his report it was a good idea. Also he loved walking; probably why he went two miles in the wrong direction when talking to Joey the other day, he thought with a grin.

“So what’s up?”

“Nothing much. Coach says there’s gonna be a soccer tournament next week.”

“Nice, maybe you’ll get to play midfield this time.” Midfield was his favorite position, because nothing is better or more exciting than playing both defense and offense. It was everything exempt goalie, which he was bad at and didn’t like anyways. He liked to be in the heart of the action.

“Ya” Then it happened. Kyle suddenly couldn’t move. The ground started to shake, first slowly then faster and harder as if the earth itself was going insane. Murmurs surrounded him and things became dimmer and dimmer. Then all around him was pick black and he heard one phrase, hardly more than a whisper, “Bonds between Worlds.” His eyes closed and opened and it was back to normal.
He stood there for a second, recovering from the shock. He could hardly comprehend what, happened, let alone understand what it meant. Was he mad? No it was too real. Bonds between worlds. Could it really mean? No, I’m becoming insane, ignore it. But still…

He started to breathe fast, either he was mad, or everything he knew was about to change. Don’t think about it. He turned towards his dad, almost at the verge of hyperventilating. Rick was staring forward. He hardly moved an inch and said under the tone of his voice, “D-D-Did t-that really happen?”

So it was real. Two minutes later he made it to the top of the hill, yet the view wasn’t what he thought it would be. Dirt paths laid were some roads should be, but that’s not all. The bay had many small dirty houses, and large sailboats, but many skyscraper and cargo ships still stood. The Bay Bridge wasn’t there and no tour boats were going to Alcatraz. Nothing seemed the same. Worse right behind then wasn’t a flag of the United States, but one of the Democratic Republic of California, which was a country briefly founded in the Mexican-American War, over 150 years ago. He was right, everything he knew was about to change.

For a while he and his dad stood, staring at the once so familiar Bay Area. “Come on, let’s go home.” He had a lot to think about.

Kyle normally enjoyed the tall eucalyptus trees, but he was so deep in thought they were less than wallpaper. Bonds between worlds. It was interesting because bonds had two meanings, like chain. One was a link, something attaching things together, but one was something holding things back. Either way it meant that the worlds combined, but what worlds?

Another thing that caught his attention was that San Francisco looked almost completely different while Berkley, Oakland, and Richmond were hardly affected. Was it that San Francisco was older or was it that it was more famous? However its meaning wasn’t as bad as the flag.

The flag meant they were standing on land that was the United States, Mexico, and the Democratic Republic of California (who gave the land to the U.S. two years after being founded anyway.) It was almost certain to cause war and if that was the case here imagine the situation in Texas, or Canada that was once all British colonies, long after the United States was created. It probably was even worse in Europe.
“Kyle.”
“Ya.”
“The car’s there.” His dad said.
“Oh.”
“Hopefully the roads are the same.” There was a long moment of silence following. Kyle looked out the window trying to see if there was anything strange. Oddly enough there was nothing, but a random tree growing in the middle of a house every once in a while. Why so much change in San Francisco? As many small houses passed by, he wondered about it more and more. Then a thought hit him. Should he be thinking about all this or maybe it was beyond him. His eyes widened. No, he should at least understand what’s going on before something happens.

“How was the hike?” said Kyle’s mom.

“It was good. Hey, can I use the computer; something’s been troubling me.”

“Sure, but what about your report?”

“Its fine, in fact half of it’s on the computer to be typed already. I’ll do it there.” He said

On the way upstairs he heard Dad ask Mom if she felt something weird earlier. She said yes. So they weren’t the only ones. He turned on the computer and Googled bonds between worlds. There was nothing but a bunch of fiction books and stuff. Maybe it was about 2012. He searched that and found something very fascinating.

Everyone knew that the Mayans predicted that 2012 was the end of the world, but he never looked up how. According to the link they believed that December 22nd 2012 was the exact time the gears of time lined up, probably explaining the flag, the change in SanFransico and the mysterious growing trees.
He remembered in school that the Mayans were incredibly accurate, and even today there prediction of the rising of the moon was only of by forty seconds. However for a prediction thousands of years in the future forty seconds add up. Still they were wrong about the end of the world, unless they actually meant the beginning of a new. No, listen to yourself, he thought.
Was he actually becoming crazy? No, he wasn’t the only one who experienced the shaking. He went downstairs to turn on the news.

There was something about someone taking over a bank and holding thirty people hostage. He had two hours before the police busted in. It was hard to watch. They said if the situation got out of hand the swat might come in. Kyle went to the bathroom to mess with his hair. He needed a break from all this thinking.



Then he heard screaming from the news anchor, “OH MY GOD!!! The hostages are running out of the building and Chris Freeman seems to be strangling himself.” Kyle kicked the door open and dove for the couch to see what was happening. He watched as the man tried; with no prevail to peel his right hand off his throat. Kyle’s eyes widened as he coughed and groan trying desperately one last time to rip it off before he fell silent.

He sat on the couch, eyes fixed on the TV. What’s happening? For a while everyone on the news was silent, thinking the same thing. Then the chief spoke, “That was the third one today.”
So there was more. More people forced strangling themselves. What sinister creature was behind this? Who was next? He stared at the screen desperately as if his eyes were begging it to explain what will happen next. Could it possibly get any worse?

Kyle sat there silent. He was going insane; this never happened. He wanted to believe it was all a lie, but he couldn’t. His heart started to beat faster. Could he be next?
Everything from the moment he had the vision has been chaos. He needed to find out what was going. He needed to stop it. He needed to bring order. Everything that happened up to this point proved it. Yet where could he start? Everything around him was madness. Everything was madness. It was random, uncontrollable and unpredictable. Or was it?
He turned back to the TV and hit rewind. He saw the report on the deaths. All of them were criminals, so he should be safe, but who knows what will happen. All the thinking made his head hurt. He needed a break.
He went upstairs and laid on his bed. Mom came upstairs and asked if he was ok. He said he was fine, but they both knew he was lying. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, I’ve just been so worried after...”
“I know. You left the computer on. You looked up quite a bit trying to figure out what was going on. I think you’re worrying too much.”
Worried too much? After what was going on, how could you not be cautious? He looked up and said, “But I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”
“Neither does I, but how can you. Stay in the present.” She walked downstairs “Dinner’s in half an hour.”
“Thanks,” he said under his breath, but her smile showed that she heard him. He really did need a break. That was one of the last thoughts he ever had.

His hand started to twitch against his will. He stared at it in surprise. What was going on? Three seconds later he remembered what he saw on the news. The man suffocated himself. Horror struck him and his heart started to beat like it was going insane.
“Help!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. His dad came changing up the steps, followed by his mom, but it was too late. His right arm slammed into his throat, knocking him out the window. Pain covered every inch of his body, yet he still survived. However it didn’t matter because he didn’t stand a chance against his right hand.
He laid there a moment trying to take in what happen. He couldn’t breathe. He felt his right hand around his neck. It was hopeless. Then he saw his dad and mom take one look out the window desperately before bolting down to help. No. He won’t die easily.
He ripped his right hand off his throat with his left and did everything he could to hold it back. Air never felt so good. However he knew his right hand was dominate, but it didn’t matter. As it forced its way back on it tighten its grip. Mom and Dad came also, grabbing the arm and trying to rip it off, but with no luck. It was over. The pain started to go away and he started to feel sleepy. He mouthed I love you then passed away.

Kyle opened his eyes and stared at what was once his body. He felt shame for a second, but then emptiness. It was over he was dead. He felt sad as his mom, dad and even his cat mourned over his death. There was nothing he could do. He stood there truly lifeless. He hardly even had time to do anything with his life. This must be what it’s like to die incomplete.

“Stop looking. It would only make you feel sadder.” said a hooded figure behind him. He knew it was an angel of death. He turned around, try not to look back at what he once was. “Follow me.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“To judgment” He said and then added, “The system got more complicated with all the new Gods.”

“What type of Gods?” He asked.

“You should know. The moment the bonds between worlds broke what held back everything you humans imagined combined with the realm of reality.” It said. “I won’t want to spoil which Gods you might see, for it might help you occupy yourself with something for some of eternity.”

“Well, if Heaven as good is as they say it is I don’t see how I could get bored.”
“I don’t know if you did well enough for heaven.”
So where was he going? Will he stay a ghost? He couldn’t possibly be lazy enough to go to hell. Or could he? Fear and doubt started to fill his mind, but he had no choice but to follow the angel of death to his fate for all eternity. He got more nervous with each step.
“Well here we are.” He saw nothing but a small circle. This was it. The moment his soul would be judged. Everything he did his whole life lead up to this moment. “I have to go” said the angel of death, “You may step on whenever you like.”
He signed. Might as well get this over with, yet the circle stayed there intimidating him. He looked at it. His essence for the rest of eternity was about to be determined. You’re over thinking it, he told himself. Just get it over with. However he feet refewed to move. Cut it out, he said to himself as he stared at the circle once more. Ok, deep breath. He signed and stepped in.

A light beamed for the sky, almost blinding Kyle and he heard a great voice. “You lived a life full of honesty, love, and kindness, but not triumph and now the circle of life ends here. You where not lazy, but after you died you didn’t rest in peace. You weren’t complete. Unfortunately that now means that you are not pure enough for Heaven, but you will go to the Underworld instead of hell. I feel sad. You would probably accomplish much more with more time.”
The ground in front of him opened revealing a stairway to Hades’ layer. He swallowed hard and then went down. He remembered the hooded figure’s words. Greek Mythology was always popular. Even now there are plenty of books that use it, so it made sense that it was one of the places to go to when you died was the Underworld. To think what he obsessed over so much his last hours was so simple. Anything that humans imagined was becoming a reality.
As he went down the spiraling staircase he saw a dim light getting brighter and brighter. He felt so drawn yet repelled to it. Was this really where he would be spending the rest of eternity? He walked in.
In the room he saw a Jackal, but it wasn’t any Jackal. In fact it was no less than Anubis, Egyptian god of ceremonies himself. Slowly he approached and said, “Cover over here, so I can weigh your soul.”
Kyle walked forward and was placed on a scale. Anubis held a feather which he held up high and spoke softly, “This is a feather from Ma’ta, goddess of justice and harmony. It will determine if your soul is just enough.”
Then he placed it on the scale and Kyle felt himself slowly rise. With each inch he felt more and more confident about whom he was. He looked down and saw how high off the ground he was. He smiled with a sense of pride. He truly was just.
Anubis looked at him “Your soul is impressive. I’m surprised you didn’t make heaven.” Then he turned around and pointed, “The exit is that way. There is the last part of judgment.”

Kyle opened the door and saw nothing but rock and the River Styx. There stood Thanatos, God of Death to guide him. The man slowly grabbed his hand and guided him to small wooden canoe. Well, this was it. Thanatos whistled and a massive three-head dog looked at Kyle and growled. He got the message: no trying to escape. He signed and took one step in the boat when he heard a beautiful tune.

He turned around and saw he wasn’t the only one who heard it. He stepped out of the boat and started to look for where it was coming from. Where was the slow majestic sound? It was amazing, so calm and pretty, so beautiful, so soft, so…


His eyes slowly started to tire. It was so calm. His eyes rolled back and he fell backwards into the river that would make him lose his memory forever when someone grabbed his by the wrist and yanked as hard as he came stumbling down to the rock in front of him. He tripped and hit the ground quite hard, instantly bringing him back to his senses.

He leaped up and saw a tall black haired and fair skinned man in plain clothes holding a flute. Kyle could have sworn he seen his face somewhere.

“Are you o.k.?” he said, and then Kyle remembered who he was. Standing before him was Orpheus, the legendary greatest magician who ever lived, and more importantly one of the few people who made it to the Underworld and back. He remembered the legend of his love.
Kyle looked up and grinned. “Ya I’m quite fine Orpheus.”

Orpheus stared at Kyle for a while in amazement. “How did you know my name?”
Kyle caught a threatening ton in his voice. “I’m from the future, for time itself is broken. I hear you loved his wife so much he couldn’t live without her, so he journeyed all the way to the Underworld, where no one ever returned from legends. After using your awesome magician skills to make Thanatos and his three headed dog fall asleep and to convince Hades to let her go, you had to make it out in one condition. If you looked at her you would lose her. Unfortunately you did.”
Orpheus stood there a moment, trying to take it in. It was a lot to process. Kyle sat down and waited for what seemed forever, but he didn’t blame him. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if some random guy told his whole life story.

After what was five minutes but seemed like forever, Orpheus looked up and Kyle saw his sad blue eyes for half a second before they filled with determination. He stood tall and strong and said, “I guess I’ll have to try harder this time.”
“So are you going to stand there or what?”


Kyle stayed there for a moment. He felt such an urge to help Orpheus, but he saw the face of his parents when he died. He couldn’t leave them. Besides was it really his battle to fight? He looked back at the exit, his way back to the life he had. Then he remembered God’s words: his soul was so good yet he lacked triumph and seeing how Orpheus had followed his love to Death itself, he felt like he’s never done anything significant in his life was. He looked at the steps like he was looking at his family one last time and said, “I’ll be back.”

Kyle was rowing the boat across the river Styx when something crossed his mind. How does your dead soul come back to your body? He looked at Orpheus and asked, “How do you plan to revive Eurydice?”
“I honestly don’t know, but if it doesn’t happen instantly I have this.” He held a small jar of liquid. Kyle was fascinated with Greek Mythology, yet he was clueless about what it was. “This is the blood of one of Medusa’s sisters. The blood from the left side of her is a lethal poison, but blood from the right side can cure anything - even death. However if you eat or drink anything in the Underworld you’re stuck there forever.”
It made sense. Kyle was touched by the legend of Orpheus, but never until he was part of it did he question anything about it. Now, if he wasn’t mistaken after they crossed the river and followed a trail there will be three judges. With some convincing they could probably bring them to Lord Hades.
“So you know my story. What’s yours?”
His story? He never thought about what he’s done, only who he was. He was a straight ‘A’ student, a drummer for the school band, and a soccer player. Compared to most people at his school it was a lot, but still when he died he felt incomplete. He probably would have done better with more time.
“I was an athlete. I won a few trophies and was pretty good, but not amazing. I was learning quite a bit, but I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I was interested in so many things. I knew I was going to do good in my future whatever it was. I was going to succeed. Then things started to get weird and I tried to figure them out. And I almost did, but I died and I don’t even know how.”
As he said he didn’t know how he died he felt like the answer was in the back of my head, like he felt all day up to his death. The rest of the boat ride was silent.

Kyle got out of the boat and looked at the three tall men that greeted them. Actually greeted wasn’t the word for the way they looked at him.
Their pale, dull expressionless faces hardly showed any light when they said hi. There deep eyes seen to stare into Kyle’s soul. No doubt about it they were the gods of judgment. Kyle took a deep breath and said, “Can you tell us the way to Hades.”
“I can’t even let you pass us until you finish judgment.”
“Are you serious?” Kyle was judged twice, died an unexplainable death, and took it to himself to complete a quest that already failed. As much as he always wanted to go on an adventure, he just wanted to get this over with and go home. Besides in the look in his mom’s face after he died showed that she thought he was dead. The more he took his time the more his family would sorrow over his death. The more they would waste tears.
“Justice has no pity. Now tell us why we show let you pass, both of you. Then tell me why we should let you live if you’re clearly dead and we’ve never let anyone else live.” He said staring intensively at both Orpheus and Kyle. He gave Orpheus a feather. “This will be harder than any trial. One lie, no matter how small and the Feather of Trust will make you lose your soul.
Orpheus stepped forward and said, “My wife died of an unknown sickness. She was everything to me. I promised her that if anything happened to her I will do anything to get her back. I can’t break my promise.”

Orpheus handed the feather to Kyle, yet Kyle stayed there silent for a second. Why did he help Orpheus? It was out of pity, but that wasn’t all of it. There was more and explaining it without accidentally lying was almost impossible. Orpheus did it for love. What else did you do it for? He took a deep breath.

“I did it because I felt sorry for Orpheus, but that’s not all it. I was looking for something that I lack in my life. I was incomplete. I died too early and never had time to find a goal. Now if I make it out of here with Orpheus and his wife, not only do I bring him back to his true love, but my life is a story worth telling.”

He handed back the feather. “You may pass. To get to Hades Palace take a left then a right.”
Kyle nodded and followed Orpheus down the gravel road. As Kyle walked away he thought he saw a hint of expression on the gods’ faces, or was it just an illusion as they stared without feeling waiting for the next person to judge.

Kyle stared at the intimidating yet beautiful mansion in front of him. It was magnificent. Half of it was brilliantly flowing with colors, while the other half was nothing but black. It was such a beautiful contrast, yet there was a massive circle of gray perfectly balanced on both sides. It showed perfect balance of the Greek belief that there is a good and bad part of the Underworld and the modern belief that it was just a place where souls wondered around for all eternity. Just like the giant gray spots he found in all the lovely meadows and grassy hills he pasted. Now he truly saw the meaning of bonds between worlds.

Orpheus slowly walked up to the double doors and used the knocker. Kyle could tell he was trying to hit it as softly as he could, but loud enough for someone inside could hear him. They didn’t want to start out on Hades bad side. They waited a minute then a woman with a brown hair and a black dress slowly walked up to answer the door. She looked down and Kyle saw a mixture of sorrow and boredom in her eyes. She was definitely Persephone Hades wife.

“Is there any way we can speak with Hades.” Orpheus asked.

“I’m sorry Hades is doing some important business, but you can come in while you wait for him.”

“OK” said both Kyle and Orpheus in unison, like a child would say it after being asked to do a chore after two hours of homework. They walked in and sat in some comfy yellow chairs.

“So what do you want to see my husband for?”

Orpheus spoke. “My wife Eurydice died and I can’t live without her. So I came down here to get her back.”

There was a moment of silence then she looked down and told them, “Eurydice is a lovely nymph. I sometimes speak to her when I’m strolling through here. She has a great personality, but she’s always lonely. It reminds me of myself down here. For her I’ll get her and let you escape, however you must not look at her until you exit the Underworld.”
“Ok” Orpheus said, but as she exited he asked, “Can I have earplugs, a pen, paper and a boat.”
“Yes” Persephone answered and then left the room to get it. Kyle looked at him a second then she came back holding a canoe in one hand and all the other stuff in the other. Slowly she put it down next to Orpheus.
“What are you planning?” She asked as he frantically wrote on the paper.
“You’ll see.”

Kyle watched for a minute as Orpheus wrote as fast as he could. It was only a minute, but it seemed like much longer. After Orpheus was done he said, “When I first saw you and you explained things to me I knew what you told me was true. I can’t imagine finally being reunited with Eurydice and then being forced not to even look at her face, so I decide to go ahead so I won’t have to.”

He paused a second to see if there was a reaction, but there was none. They understood it had to be done.

“Now I know I just met you Kyle, but I have to put a lot of trust in you. I need you to lead her to me. Give her this note and I’ll meet with you at the end. Now if Thanatos and that three-headed dog, Cerebrum, are at the end I’ll tell him I failed and play some notes of the saddest song as loud as I can. If you hear this put on your earplugs, because after Thanatos loses his guard I will play a song that would put them both to sleep. After that I will run up the stairs that lead to Greece where I will meet you – and my love at the end.”

There was a moment of silence then Kyle yelled, “You’re a freaking genius!”

They all looked at him funny for a second then Orpheus looked at Persephone and said, “I’m going to leave now. Can you get her here?”

“Yes, good luck.” Then she smiled for the first time since they saw her and opened the door and left.

Orpheus looked at Kyle, “I have faith on you.”

Kyle nodded, “Same here.”

Then Orpheus left too leaving Kyle all alone waiting for the plan to unfold

Kyle sat there waiting. Never in his life had time gone by so slowly. He considered looking at the note, but he knew it was none of his business. He sat back looking at the clock. They were only gone for one minute, but he was so anxious he could hardly stay still. He started to start pacing around the room. He went on like this for a painfully slow ten minutes when there was finally a knock on the door.

“We’re back.”

He walked over and opened the door. There next to Persephone was the woman that Orpheus loved so much. He remembered how he spoke of how beautiful and kind she was all the way to the palace, but Kyle had no idea. However it wasn’t just the type of attractive beauty. From only her eyes he could tell she was an innocent, intelligent, and heartfelt lady. Kyle understood why he’ll go to all the way to the Underworld for her. One look and Kyle could she was a great person.

He handed her the note and said, “Orpheus left this for you.”

Her eyes lit up the second she heard his name. She read it savoring every word. The more she read the more serious she was. They both understood that they had to carry out every step of the plan if they wanted to be reunited.

She looked up. “I understand”

Persephone then turned to both of them, “I already docked the canoe. Now I suggest you leave as soon as possible before my husband comes back.”

Eurydice then opened the door for half a second before closing it instantly. She looked back and said, “Hades is already here.”

Kyle got it even before she said anything. He looked at Persephone and asked, “Is there a back door?”

She looked at him and told him, “Yes it’s just down the hallway.”

Kyle looked down the insanely long hallway in front of him. It was at least one hundred meters. Persephone looked out the window and gave them a sharp glace. Eurydice and Kyle looked at each other for half a second then broke out into a full-out sprint.

Just 100 meters; there was no time to look back. 90 meters; he had to make it. 80 meters; he felt a half second of doubt. 70 meters; there’s no time to think. 60 meters; he had to get to that door. 50 meters; he was halfway there. 40 meters, 30 meters, 20 meters…

Within a split second the door opened and Eurydice dove to the side tackling Kyle into the room next to them. Kyle closed his eyes as he felt the impact of being slammed into the red carpet on the wooden floor. She stood up for a second as Kyle recovered from the blow. They waited to see if anybody heard them. After a while of silence Kyle also got up. It seemed they had to find another way out.

Now getting out of a house was easy. Getting out of a mansion with about two hundred rooms was not too easy. Kyle and Eurydice were experiencing this themselves as they went through room after room, trying to find the exit. At first they tried to be sneaky and fast, but after a minute or two they started to walk aimlessly until they finally found one with a window on the first floor.

“Do gods seriously need this many rooms”, Kyle said as he finally found the way out. Eurydice walked over and opened the window and they both slipped through.

They found themselves surrounded by dead plants. “I guess this is the Taurus side of the house.”

Kyle looked at Eurydice, “The what?”

“One day I asked Persephone what does she do down here. She told me that sometimes when she’s really bored she does some landscaping around the house. She told me she was planning to symbolize the balance of the Taurus, where the evil villains and monsters go in the Underworld the Elysium, where the heroes went, and Erebus, where most people go in her mansion.” She explained as they walked out.

“She did a good job.” commented Kyle.

Kyle wondered what Erebus would be like. In most of the fiction books he read it was nothing but wondering aimlessly around for eternity. Was that really what it would be like if Orpheus hadn’t come? As Kyle walked along the dirt path he felt a new sense of gratitude towards him. He them realized what he meant when he told the gods of Judgment.
As much pity and admiration he felt for Orpheus, that wasn’t the only reason he offered to help. Kyle died incomplete and by helping Orpheus it gave him a purpose before he came back to life. When he died he did lack triumph and now by fighting for something, even if it’s another man’s dream, gave him a purpose.

“We’re here” Eurydice said.
Kyle felt in his pockets to see if he still had the earplugs then they both sat in the canoe. He grabbed the paddle and started to row then across the river. He kept his ears opened for the signal.

“So how did you die?”

Kyle looked at Eurydice, “I died by something mysteriously forcing me to strangle myself. I’m determined to find out what it is once I come back to life.”
There was a moment of silence then they heard the song. He reached for the earplugs and handed a pair to Eurydice. They were almost out of there.

They were rowing for only two minutes when Eurydice started to act weird. At first she seemed to be checking her pockets calmly, but then she started to look around frantically, searching for something that they lost. Kyle checked if her earplugs were in. They were in, but what was the problem.

As if to answer the question a loud screech from the distance was heard even under his earplugs. He turned around and barely saw something shaped like a strange mix of a crow and an old woman in the distance. They had plenty of distance, but it was ridiculously fast. He spun around and looked forward. They were about five hundred feet from the shore where Thanatos and Cerberus laid asleep.

He and Eurydice paddled as hard as they could. They had to make it. Ahead he heard a deep low growl. Just great. Not only did Kyle have to deal with his pursuer, but the monsters after him also awoken Cerberus and Thanatos. They were sitting ducks no matter what they did. Kyle was terrified of the three-headed dog that waited for him, growling at the end, but there was no time for hesitation. Despite all of Orpheus’ brilliant music skills and planning it was a mad dash to the end and nobody could afford to lose.

He heard two more screams behind him and something said, “You can’t escape the Furies!”

At this point of time both his earplugs fell out and he heard Eurydice nag herself between strokes, “If… I … hadn’t… left… that… note!”

Chaos surrounded Kyle, but he didn’t have time to think about it. He didn’t have time to think at all. All that mattered was that he got out. The canoe slammed into the shore and they both leaped out in the air slamming two different heads of the three headed dog at once, then landing on their feet and continued to run like they were born to do it.

Behind him he heard the Furies. They were almost caught up. In front of them lied a stairway; There ticket out it seemed, but them he saw the sign saying Bay Area. Kyle didn’t know how he did it, but in a split second he read, remembered that Orpheus said that they should meet in Greece, and fought of the temptation to escape. He let go of his paddle, grabbed Eurydice and forced her to go left.

His legs started to tire, but Kyle didn’t have time to deal with it. Kyle saw a shadow in front of him and Eurydice pulled him to the side just as one of the Furies narrowly missed him by an inch. Up ahead he saw the exit, the really one. They were almost there. Then he realized that Eurydice wasn’t next to him and felt about a tenth of a second of hesitation.
That moment a Fury dove knocking him into the wall right next to the stairway he tried so desperately to get to. His back filled with pain, and it felt like it was over, but he saw the look on Eurydice’s face. It reminded him of the face of his dad as he looked at Kyle desperately before he ran down determined to save his life. He couldn’t fail.

Kyle kicked the Fury as hard as he could with both legs. The blow hit the stomach as it was flung backwards and Kyle sprinted up the stairs. I have quite a boot he thought to himself. It was the reason he often a defender. He was only at the tenth step when Cereus leaped over him. The two heads that Kyle and Eurydice hit earlier whimpered as the middle one growled. He clearly wanted revenge.
Kyle looked back and saw two of the Furies behind him then looked forward and saw Cereus. Kyle knew that he had no way to escape however it wasn’t quite over just yet. He knew he still had a spare pair of earplugs in his pocket and he had a plan.

Actually the plan was quite, but considering the circumstances it was hard to think of anything besides getting the heck out. Kyle noticed that he was so close to the end that Orpheus could probably heard him from where he was. Therefore if he yelled play as loud as he can Orpheus will hear him and play all of his enemies asleep. The real problem was finding enough time to put in the earplugs.

Kyle positioned himself directly in-between Cereus and the Furies. He was weaponless and the only way to cause any damage was for them to ram into each other. Besides this way he can anticipate the move of both enemies. The Fury on his left stopped for a second; for it knew he was waiting for it to make its move. However Cereus charged strait for him at full force. Kyle ran out of the way and started sprinting up the stairs as fast as he could. Kyle gave a mischievous grin as he heard the thud, but he wasn’t quite done.

While running he scooped up a rock off the stairs with his hand and turned around ready to throw it. He knew there was a second Fury after him and that this shot was the only way to buy time. Kyle went into a state of pure concentration and time started to slow down. He heard his heart beat as his arm move slowly to toss it. It tensed as the rock left his arm and slowly flew towards the Furry after him. Then it smashed into the head and time speed up back to normal.

Kyle then quickly reached in his pockets and yelled, “PLAY!!!” so loud it echoed all over the wall and seemed as if it would cause a cave-in. He felt victory, but as he shoved the earplugs in and he waited for Orpheus’ melody to play the monsters asleep, they recovered showing no signs of slowing. They all looked at him as they were on the edge of rage and Kyle was out of tricks. Something was holding Orpheus up and all the hope Kyle had left was that Orpheus can make it out before his enemies stopped all hope of either Kyle or Eurydice escaping death.

Kyle turned towards the monsters after him. He couldn’t fail. He couldn’t fail Orpheus. He couldn’t fail Eurydice or Persephone. He couldn’t fail himself. He turned around and prepared to fight for something like he never fought in his life. He will succeed it was only a matter of time. Orpheus will come he told himself and waited for something to charge.

All three of his enemies charged at once, and Kyle knew that they couldn’t land a single blow on him or it was all over. If they did his earplugs will be knocked off Orpheus, no matter how strong of a person he is, will go down to check after a while, because Kyle couldn’t help Eurydice get to him. That’s when he’ll see Eurydice and they will never be able to see each other again. He couldn’t let that happen.

He dove under a Fury covering his ears as he slammed his head into a stair. If he wasn’t dead that blow would have killed him, but he rolled over and got up. His head filled with unbearable pain, but he stood at his enemies in the face with cold eyes. I will win his expression said. For a second they hesitated and Kyle heard a scream from a Furry behind him. He smiled. Eurydice was stronger than he thought.

She jumped behind him and he pointed to his ears. She understood and nodded and they both jumped to the side. Then all hell broke loose as Kyle ducked, dodged and did everything he could to avoid blows. Eurydice did her share to, once tackling a Fury in midair and taking everything it took to make sure he didn’t get hurt. Kyle felt sorry for her seeing the look on her face when she took pain that should have been his, but he knew this is what they had to do.

They did this for two minutes straight when suddenly everything around Kyle started to slow down. The monsters stopped going so fast. There charges started to slow into walking and them they all went to sleep to Orpheus’s memorizing tune. Kyle grinned, for he knew he had finally won. Eurydice started to roll her eyes back and then slowly leaned back. He ran towards Eurydice who was about to hit the ground and pulled her up. He suddenly remembered the moment Orpheus pulled him up as her eyes opened. She looked at him slightly dazed and he said so calmly, “We did it.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

She then got up and gave him a peck on the cheek, “Thank you.”

He felt that kiss of gratitude for the rest of his life.


Kyle stared at her surprised for a moment then she said, “What are you waiting for.”

The next few minutes where some of the happiest moments of Kyle’s life. Seeing the lovers together, knowing he was part of it, hearing again and again of their eternal thanks, and finally drinking the Gorgon’s blood that brought him back to life and saying goodbye where just some of the priceless moments he felt after that. He felt so proud to be part of it. So proud to bring them back proud to bring them back together. He found a purpose and finally felt complete, but there was much more to live for in his new life.