Descendants of Heroes

After our farewell and after I started the car, I turned the radio off and stared at Nyssa through the window.

Why am I leaving, I thought to myself. Not really wanting to express more craziness as I sat there.

“Are you letting this girl get away? She is a descendant, isn't she?” Hades' voice was like acid and even more painfully grunted. I gulped in fear, staring through my rear-view mirror. I bit my lip and let out a brave whimper.

“What...What will happen if I am?” I stammered, feeling my lip quiver. Hades scoffed.

“You are trying to protect her. Is her life more important than yours?” I watched In the mirror as Hades opened his clenched hand to a small doll. With a slightly overlay of hair and sunglasses, I knew it was me. It was cloaked in gray like when I had become dead and looked more transparent. “We had a bargain, Corra. You would help me destroy the Descendants and help me get more power, you get your old life back. Now, tell me the truth. Is she a descendant?”

My jaw tensed I knew that Hades had me in a slightly hold. Quite literally.

“I can't tell you... I know we had a deal, but her life is more important than mine.” I couldn't believe I had that much courage in my voice at that moment.

My eyes shifted colors as I glared, mostly nervously at Hades through the mirror. His eyes started to burn with a fire and filled with red. I gasped when he started to squeeze the me-doll. I felt like all the oxygen was being blocked off just because of the doll. My hands immediately went to my throat for some way to relieve the pressure building up.

“Tell me, Corra. I don't want to lose my best asset, but I need to know who all is joining me in the afterlife. Or returning to it.” Hades voice boomed and warned. “Tell me now!”

The car erupted into flames as he continued to squeeze what seemed to be my very soul. It could have possibly been, though I would wonder how that even happened at this point.

“Cory!” Nyssa's voice rang just outside the car, panic very deep in her voice.

“Let go!” I whimpered, begging as I clawed at my neck, my senses dulling. I growled, thrashing for air in the front seat. The fire was sucking the air out of the car. Tears soaked my face, my chest clenching in pain. I'm going to die again...

“Corra!” I gasped, hearing Hades' snarl and finally let go of the doll.

His dark form vanished, the fire disappearing with him. I was panting for breath and trembling. I lifted my knees past the steering wheel to my chin. I sobbed into my hands silently, eyes still very dull. I had heard the door open, Nyssa's figure off to my right.

“Get up Corra...” Nyssa's more masculine voice appeared.

“Ach-achilles...” I heard a growl from Achilles as he leaned in to pick me up. I was still trembling as I was taken back into the house and laid on the couch. I curled up into a ball on the sofa, closing my eyes and tears falling.

“Corra...” Nyssa's sweet voice came back.

“N-Nyssa...” I manged to choke out, still having such a terrible tremble. I opened my eyes, seeing Nyssa's worried expression.

“It's ok, Cory. I'm right here.” I watched her retreating figure and my chest clenched in panic.

After a few moments, she returned with an arm filled with blankets. As she put the blankets over and around me, I curled up under them, tears still falling and I started to grip my hair. I was still unsure that I was alive at the moment. My trembling got really bad as I reminded myself of what had happened.

“Nyssa... I... he-he... almost killed me...” My voice was squeaky, filled with fear.

“Who almost killed you...?” She seemed as frightfully scared as I was. I continued to shiver as she hugged me, whispering in my ear, “It's ok.”

I gulped and leaned into her hug, trying to stop my own trembling.

“I'm not allowed to tell you!” I was more frustrated that I couldn't tell her. The one person I trusted and I couldn't even tell her what happened. I clutched onto her, the shaking seeming to get worse.

“Cory, calm down...” I curled closer to her, tears still falling heavily as I tried to calm down. The instance Hades tried to kill me, I instantly became and looked weak and vulnerable. Nothing like my usual self. “Shh...”

Nyssa's soothing voice went through my tremblings. She started to rock us gently, probably to calm me down. I let out a soft whimper, curling up into a tighter ball and taking deep breaths. I eventually started to calm down, still having pain come back to me.

“Corra, are you going to be ok?” I sighed deeply, regaining some of my composure, not wanting her to worry about a pathetic fool like me.

“Course I'm going to be alright.” I whispered, quietly, looking up at her. I knew it was quite noticeable that I wasn't going to be alright. I was shaking mostly from shock. Not surprising really. She looked at me and sighed softly.

“Tell me the truth.” Her eyes started to bore into mine, the same ferocity as Achilles had before when he was fighting the lion. “You're working for someone, aren't you? They almost killed you in your car because you didn't do what was asked of you.”

She was right on the money as usual. Now, I could confirm that it might be because she had the experience from Achilles behind her. I brought myself back to the reality of the situation and nodded. I closed my eyes and gulped.

“Y-Yeah..,” I mumbled, blinking back tears as I thought about how I couldn't say much more.

I felt her lay me down and I opened my eyes in time to see her head outside, saying something like, “I'll see you in the morning, rest here” as she closed the door behind her. I closed my eyes again, feeling the tears fall as I curled under the covers.

I can't tell her the truth, I thought as I laid there. It would only scare her away.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath as I tried to sleep. I finally did fall asleep, only to be sucked into my own, worse nightmare... The same one that had been plaguing me since the day I died. I tried to recall it all. Why I couldn't remember may have lied in Lethe's River down in the Underworld, the one place I didn't really want to go.

The first snippet was me in the car with my mother driving, my dad making faces toward the backseat where my little brother was. And then, CRASH! Screeching tires, an old man with a crown with the most transparent body, cackling as his work and the pull of my soul to the dismal dark world below.