Chapter Two

BAD COMPANY

- Chapter Two -

E’s destination in the state over is Jasper, Alabama. As a born-and-bred New Yorker, it’s not somewhere Diane is familiar with - in fact, the whole state of Alabama is pretty much unchartered territory for her. Their journey time is less than half a day but it allows for plenty of time for E to chatter on to Diane about his plans.

“Do you know what’s in Jasper, Alabama?” E asks Diane somewhere outside of Tifton.

“No, but I’m going to guess you’ll tell me in a minute anyway,” she replies bluntly.

E ignores her tone, “The entrance to Hades - well, one of them anyway.” E grins at Diane excitedly and she has to try her best not laugh. E can see the mirth trying to break through though, “Okay, rule number one: no laughing at anything I ever tell you.”

Diane rolls her eyes and sits back in the passenger seat, throwing her feet up onto the dashboard. E swats at them immediately, brows furrowing in a frown.

“Rule number two: no feet on my dashboard.”

“Rule number three: don’t touch me,” Diane demands quickly.

“Noted.”

A long silence befalls the pair. Night is slowly passing by and the very tip of the sun can be seen in the rear view mirror, creeping up beyond the horizon.

“Don’t you have any questions?” E asks curiously. He takes a long side glance at the Latina in the passenger seat. She looks bored beyond belief; eyes drooping shut out of exhaustion.

“Mostly I just ask myself why the f**k I agreed to this.”

“Ah, that would be because of a deeply rooted curiosity at what I am offering you and whether or not I can truly provide it. I think part of you also wants to prove me wrong " or, more importantly, prove yourself right. I also-”

“Okay, rule number four: no psychoanalysing me.”

“Duly noted.”

Five minutes later, Diane rolls over in the passenger seat to face E, “Right, fine; why are we going to Hades?” Diane overloads ‘Hades’ with so much sarcasm it makes E twitch.

“This darkness, this ominous shadow that has encompassed Olympus is quite obviously something sinister and deadly and not to be dealt with lightly. I mean, let’s be fair: Zeus can’t even remove it himself. So, my plan is to unite the other Olympians and have them launch an attack on this darkness in the hopes it will disperse and Zeus can be freed " and, y’know, the whole world be safe again. The usual.”

“It’s just darkness? How hard can that be to get rid of? Can’t you just get your boy Apollo in there - Mr. Sun God and all that " and have him zap a bit of sunshine through it?”

“I’m impressed by your limited knowledge of Apollo however I’m stunned you haven’t deduced that if a first generation god " never mind king of the gods, God of All Gods Zeus - can’t remove this shadow, then no one can. And certainly not a second generation Olympian like f*****g Apollo. What an appalling suggestion!” E chuckles under his breath at his own pun.

“You need to warn me before you want be patronising; it was a simple question.”

“It was a stupid question,” E chides childishly.

“Don’t make me instate a fifth rule!”

E merely smiles sardonically, eyes focused on the road ahead. It’s been a quiet, undisturbed journey. Few vehicles have passed them and no one has come up behind them. In such deserted lands, a sense of isolation consumes the pair.

“How do we get into Hades?” Diane asks quietly, body now turned to face the passing scenery outside.

“We find the oddity in the vicinity. It’s somewhere around the Walker County Lake just southwest of Jasper.”

“Oddity?”

“Yes. Something about the area will be a little off - like a difference in soil type or a tree a little taller than the rest. It’s quite likely to be a large patch of dead grass in an otherwise flourishing meadow of green because, y’know, Underworld and dead people and stuff.”

“And why Jasper? Why Walker County Lake?”

“I believe it’s a geographical thing,” E muses, “I think Walker County Lake aligns along the longitude of the Earth with every other entrance to Hades or something.”

“How fascinating,” Diane drones monotonously.

“You’re the one who asked!”

“Yes and I regret that. So why do you think this cloud is hanging over Olympus?”

They pass through another town but it looks just as deserted as the entire scenery surrounding it. Windows are boarded up, cars are abandoned - it’s like a ghost town.

“Ah, I’m glad you asked!” E brightens up, “I have no f*****g clue.”

“Are you shitting me?” Diane exclaims angrily.

“No, I am not shitting you. I s**t you not. It could literally be anything - or anyone. All I know is it isn’t good.”

“Why isn’t it good?”

“Because Zeus is trapped. Do you have any idea what that will do to the planet’s weather systems?” E cries dramatically, “If you think global warming is an issue then you don’t want to know what a thunderstorm not properly chaperoned by Zeus could do. Hawaii would become the new Atlantis.”

Diane looks at E eyes heavy with boredom.

“Egypt saw its first snowfall in over a hundred years just the other week there. A hundred years! That’s just the beginning of it!” E exclaims dramatically.

Diane’s expression doesn’t falter.

“Your concern for your planet is overwhelming, please contain it.”

“I feel that’s a violation of rule number five and I won’t stand for it.” E side-eyes Diane but says nothing in return, “So… you have no idea who’s behind this “darkness” or whatever but you will take it upon yourself to do something about it? I’m getting why it’s important that the “darkness” be removed but I don’t understand why you’re calling upon yourself to do it? Why you?”

“Because I care. Because someone needs to care. Because no one else seems to be doing anything about it even though it’s been there for a week now.”

“Perhaps people have tried but to no avail; perhaps it’s just that impenetrable. Perhaps this is a suicide mission and perhaps I should not partake in it.” This time E looks directly at her with an unwarranted glare.

“Perhaps nothing. Nobody has tried to attack that cloud " that darkness. I’d know. You’d know. You’d f*****g feel it,” E explains, “It’s a cosmic thing - it’s part of the atmosphere. You should feel its presence - and its consequent dispersion - because it’s part of our atmosphere. It would cause ripples in the very fabric of our Ozone layer. And you’ve sold your soul to me so shut up.”

“You seem to know a lot about this cloud,” Diane muses, “And I haven’t sold anybody my soul, thank you very much.”

“I’ve studied the cloud. I’m not one for suicide missions so I’ve done my research; I’ve done my studying. I don’t know why it’s here or who or what put it here but I do know about its matter and its molecular make-up.”

“You’re a Classics professor, right?”

“Yes but I majored in both Physics and Classics - leaning more towards Classics, naturally. So I know my s**t.”

Diane falls quiet but looks at E with a curious expression on her face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he demands, glancing briefly to his right to look at her.

“Hmm, no reason,” Diane dismisses casually.

“No, tell me.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I’ll implement a fifth rule myself, if I have to.”

“It’s just strangely coincidental, don’t you think?”

“What is?”

“That everything to do with Greek mythology is real and has happened and its main source of " I don’t know - power? Information? Is in jeopardy. How coincidental that a man who’s studied both Physics and Classics should deem it necessary that he make a proactive decision to save this entire culture.” Diane scrutinizes E with piercing brown eyes.

“I wouldn’t say coincidental - convenient sounds more like it,” E reasons smoothly, “While you consider it coincidental - for whatever reason - it’s also incredibly useful; incredibly beneficial. What if I was just an average Joe? I wouldn’t actually know of the existence of Greek mythology, for one. So I certainly would never have considered seeking out Olympus to satisfy my own curiosity. And I definitely would never have discovered the peril in which Olympus lies at this very moment " never mind choosing to act upon the discovery. It’s not coincidental - it’s convenient.”

“And the degree in Physics?”

“That’s quite coincidental, actually,” E replies, defeated slightly.

They are passing outside Montgomery now, not too far to go. Diane is astonished to find even such a large city as this= just as deserted as the back country they’ve already passed through. There aren’t any boarded up windows or blocked doors here but there still aren’t any people around.

“This is getting weird…” Diane murmurs.

“What is?”

“I haven’t seen a single person since the bar you cornered me in. It’s really weird.”

“That is strange. No idea what it could be - or where they could be,” E replies absentmindedly, clearly not as worried as Diane.

“This is Montgomery though,” Diane stresses, “I don’t know Alabama - I’ve only ever passed through. But I kind of know Montgomery. I’ve passed through Montgomery a few times and it’s always been packed. There are almost always traffic jams on the way into, and around, the city. This isn’t right.”

“Maybe it’s parade day?”

Diane looks like she contemplates this justification for a moment but something still nags at the back of her mind.

“Who cares though, we’re about two hours or so away from Jasper now - ooray!” Diane grimaces at E’s light, excited tone.

“Do I need a wetsuit if we’re venturing in to a lake?” she questions uncertainly.

Reviews

[Stefanie Holmes]

Another strong chapter and the mythology makes things even more fantastic! This story is really progressing nicely. :) Loving it so far!

~Stefanie

[carynolivia]

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying it :)

[Brittany Zedalis]

I'm really loving this. All the mythology in this story is just breathtaking. I also love that you incorporated the snowfall in Egypt. Amazing!

[carynolivia]

Glad you're enjoying it! Since I'm writing it in a modern day setting, I thought I'd incorporate some modern day events just to keep it current, haha!