Penelope
Once upon a time, all of humanity lived in harmony. There was no killing, no stealing or raping. There was only serenity. People were artists, from painters to sculptors to guitarists and flutists.
But as the eons passed over, a darkness covered the realm of humanity. One that came after the blue-moon eclipse and the birth of the starlit twins. Glitter and Gold, born to two loving, doting parents. One would become the goddess of life. Her brother, younger by a mere few minutes, would become the god of death. Revered and feared for the things that happened after you died.
Death isn’t something to fear, Gold would say, right before his scythe slit your throat and sent you to the depths of your newfound hell.
PENELOPE
Death was the easy part. Really, truly, it was. I was here one moment, driving along I-75, listening to Kesha (I know, so 2010s), and the next thing I knew, I woke up at the bottom of the ocean, tethered by some unknown force, dragged deeper into the blue. The light faded from above. My little red car was dangling over the side of the bridge.
Bodies. There were so many bodies drowning next to me. Cars too. Giant chunks of what had once been the Seven Mile Bridge were now obliterated, sinking down beside me. I didn’t feel the drowning. No, it was as if I were breathing the oxygen above, simply drifting. Then I was gone.
The room was stark, white and clinical. No doors or equipment other than the plain white bed. Limbo, I thought. Oh great, I’m stuck somewhere between life and death. Some hot firefighter probably pulled me from the depths and tried to bring me back to life.
I waited for ages. Or at least, it felt like ages when finally a door appeared out of thin air. The figure that stepped in was draped in black, his cloak barely hiding his face. He seemed to float just above the floor, soundlessly making his way over to me. A long, bony finger reached for me as the room stretched in unnatural ways.
I screamed, thrashing and fighting. He pulled back, his obsidian eyes blown wide by the outburst.
“No!” I yelled, hopping to my feet and pointing a finger at this god. Gold Reveric was about to take me to the depths of hell. To live with him and the fiends that inhabited the land of the dead. “I did not wait in limbo for an eternity just for you to drag me to some torture chamber.” I stamped my foot. He tilted his head, his dark curls falling into his face. I stumbled back, caught off guard by how cute the movement looked.
“You’ve been here for five minutes.” he sounded young. Too young. He looked it too, not much older than me. Twenty-five maybe. “I’d hardly consider that an eternity.”
“I—” I stuttered over the words, my back hitting the wall. Death stepped forward, reaching out a hand.
“Death isn’t something to fear.” He sounded so sure, his voice luring me in. I knew what would happen next: the feel of his scythe. The blades he’d run over my skin, cutting into me for all of eternity. I couldn’t go anywhere else. I crossed my arms, stamping my foot once more.
“Where’s Glitter? Why don’t I get to go to the good place or whatever in the hell you guys refer to it as?” He pulled back, his thin lips stretching into a smile. “What’s so funny?”
“Your mortals are funny.”
“We are not—” He pushed his hand out once more, his palm open as if he meant to hold my hand. My eyes flickered to his, a lump forming in my throat. My body lurched forward, as if drawn to him.
“Trust me, Penelope.”
“You know my name?”
“I know everyone I reaps name. I have them etched down, a record of those I’ve saved.”
“Saved? You call this saving me?” Finally, he showed contempt, his face screwing with anger in a flash. Then the smile was back, and I knew I was doomed. He moved fast, his arms sweeping around me. Then we were gone, thrown into the depths of hell.
