#theikostask02

it  starts  with  a  normal  day  at  the  gym.   devon  is  training,  as  he  usually  did  before  big  fights,  knuckles  wrapped  &  an  empty  makeshift  gym  that  was  located  in  an  abandoned  building.   he’s  alone,  how  he  likes  to  be  in  order  to  clear  his  mind.   it’s  only  been  an  hour,  but  he’s  taken  it  upon  himself  to  quit  his  warm - up  &  move  on  to  a  more  impactful  workout   –––   one  that  requires  him  to  grow  familiar  with  a  bench  press.   he’s  supposed  to  have  a  spotter,  but  he  doesn’t  feel  as  though  he’d  be  doing  anything  too  out  of  his  comfort  zone.   it’s  too  bad  he’d  end  up  being  wrong.

fingers  curl  around  the  bar  as  his  back  hits  the  seat,  eyes  on  the  metal  for  a  brief  moment  before  he’s  inhaling  gradually.   preparation  like  that  would  be  useless  compared  to  the  nightmare  he  was  about  to  unleash.   palms  push  upwards  to  remove  the  bar  from  the  handle  to  begin  his  first  set,  but  the  weight  seems  heavier  than  normal.   it  causes  brows  to  furrow,  but  then  something  weird  happens :   a  violent  flash  of  what  felt  light  lightning  hit,  temporarily  stunning  the  male  &  sending  his  mind  reeling  back  into  a  world  he  wasn’t  completely  sure  was  fake.

his  shoulders  &  palms  were  no  longer  carrying  the  weight  of  gym  equipment.   no,  the  item  being  held  up  was  cold  &  rugged,  jagged  &  sharp - edged  as  it  dug  into  his  flesh.   the  weight  of  the  boulder  he  seemed  to  be  holding  up  becomes  the  only  thing  on  devon’s  mind.   feet  dig  into  the  grassy,  yet  completely  rough,  surface  beneath  him  &  he  knew  he  was  outside.   it  felt  like  he  was  trying  to  move  up  the  side  of  a  mountain  of  sorts.   the  boulder  on  his  shoulders  was  no  boulder  at  all.   in  fact,  it  was  much  greater  than  that.   it  was  the  sky  &  heavens,  a  burden  placed  upon  him  for  mistakes  made  against  the  olympians.   his  body,  although  firm  in  place,  had  been  shaking  beneath  the  hold,  begging  for  an  ounce  of  relief  that  would  never  come.   his  punishment  had  been  to  carry  the  weight  of  the  world,  so  to  speak,  up  without  dropping  it.   every  time  he  thought  he  would  drop,  he  only  grew  stronger.   every  time  it  felt  like  he  needed  to  give  up,  he  stayed  put.   

Thanatos was never given commands from any one other than Hades. He was loyal to the Underworld god. But to say no to the King of Gods Zeus, Thanatos didn’t have much of a choice. Thanatos didn’t get a lot of details except this mortal man had angered Zeus so much that he wanted Thanatos to chain in down in the Underworld. A simple task enough. It was not hard for Thanatos to locate this infamous king, Sisyphus. He had made a name for himself in the city of Ephyra.  Thanatos wasn’t one for theatrics or needed to put on a spectacle like many other gods. The god visited the king at the dead of night, swiping him away to the Underworld for his punishment.

Thanatos was given instructions from Zeus to chain up Sisyphus. He had very special chains in mind for this king. Thanatos had the king ready for his eternal punishment when Sisyphus had one request. Being the fair god he was, Thanatos allowed this request. That was his mistake. As Thanatos showed how the chains worked, the king was swift to trick and trap the god of Death in his own chains. The iron clasps stung on his wrist. The god was furious but the more he struggled, the tighter the chains wrapped around his body. He was trapped down here. He called out into the void. Only the screams of the dead echoed in the cave. 

//

Levi gasped sitting up on his bed. This throat felt dry as if he had been yelling. Sweat was plastered on his forehead. He hardly ever remembered his dreams. He hardly even had dreams. So for him to clearly dream was rare. His wide eyes scanned his room. He could still hear the screams of the dead. That’s where he dreamt was in. He was in Hell. Or some sort of it. He could still feel the iron cuffs on his wrist. Heavy, holding him in place. He was chained for what felt like years. They weren’t meant for him but he somehow got trapped in them.

His shaking hands checked for the cuffs in the darkness. It’s been days. Almost a week since Levi actually had a decent night of sleep. And on the night he managed to fall asleep he had a night terror. He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling. His breathing was still frantic. If he stared long enough the shadows started to form shapes. Faces almost. The last time he had night terrors this bad was when he was a child. It was back before he wasn’t diagnosed with anything. He wasn’t on any medication to help.

The longer he stared into the shadows, he drifted back to the feeling of being chained, unable to move, unable to do anything. The faces on his walls were the same ones he saw in that pit he was chained in.  His thoughts went to the strangest conclusion that he had actually lived through that. It wasn’t just a creation of his brain. How could that be possible? Levi had never been arrested in his life. The dream felt more like deja vu. He was tricked into those cuffs. Many, many years ago. He was a different person but at the same time it was him.

Maybe she would have been better off not listening to her sisters was one of the only thoughts that ran through Psyche’s head as she thought on the tasks she had to work through so far. Aphrodite was a cruel goddess when she wanted to be, that was one of the only things she was certain about. The woman didn’t want to think so harshly of her sisters in spite of how they had led her down the wrong path and into the predicament she was in now.

Who’s to say she wouldn’t do the same if she thought either of them were offered up to a monster? After all, that was what her father had thought the prophecy meant. She thought she would never be more terrified in her life than she was when she was left on that mountain to wait for whatever monster would be her husband. She never thought she would be so terribly wrong.

For the millionth time, she cursed herself and the people who had praised her beauty in her head. Without that, she wouldn’t be traipsing through the underworld with some ‘beauty cream’ for a vain and cruel goddess who had no need for it. She cursed her sisters, though she wanted to believe the best in them, for using the well-being of her unborn child against her. Had they suspected without telling her? Had they somehow known that her husband was a God even though she didn’t?

Aphrodite was so fearful that even the queen of the gods wouldn’t help her. What a hateful woman. The fourth task was something unheard of. For some reason, though, the queen of the underworld had seemed more merciful than even the goddess of love.

What could Aphrodite want other than the beauty she already had? Curiosity and a dash of hopefulness filled her head and before she could stop herself, she had opened the box. Just enough to peek inside. The blonde pulled back momentarily as a somewhat sweet smell filled the air. Confusion was her last thought before everything seemed to grow a lot quieter and she quickly slipped into darkness.

~

In her small apartment in New York, Poppy’s eyes opened as she felt panic flood through her. It was so dark. She sat up in bed quicker than she had meant to and rubbed her eyes as she glanced over at her bedside table. 3 in the morning. Great.

The dream had been so vivid, almost like a memory. But there was no way. “What the hell,” Poppy mumbled to herself as she rubbed some of the sleep from her eyes. She let out a heavy sigh as she fell back onto her pillow and pulled her covers up to her neck. She’d never really had a dream like that. One where she swore she could feel every emotion like she was there. The sadness, the anger, the confusion. It all felt too real.

her  makeup  had  been  a  pain  to  remove  that  night,  wipes  scattered  across  the  surface  of  the  sink  as  she  finally  finished  off  the  removal  of  her  mascara.   she  tosses  the  dirty  wipes  into  the  trash  can,  but  clumsiness  surfaces  &  she’s  accidentally  knocking  over  the  mirror  settled  on  the  edge  of  the  counter.   it  falls  to  the  ground  with  a  deafening  crash,  but  lucie  doesn’t  flinch  &  silently  thanks  herself  for  not  living  with  anyone  else.   surely,  it  would  have  scared  them.   “   fuck  me.   ”     she  leans  down  to  pick  up  the  now - cracked  mirror,  middle  of  it  showcasing  as  the  center  point  with  several  cracks  jutting  out  from  it.   her  eyes  find  her  reflection,  now  skewed  &  showing  six,  seven,  eight...  nine  of  herself,  of  her  own  face  in  it  from  the  damage  inflicted.   the  sight  of  herself  nine  times  over  in  the  cracked  mirror  makes  her  zone  out,  makes  her  mind  travel  far  from  her  current  state.

she’s  suddenly  underwater,  swimming  peacefully  beneath  the  surface  with  currents  dragging  across  a  rugged,  scaly  back.   there’s  a  breath  of  fresh  air  that  she  feels,  but  it’s  a  result  of  pointed  fins  breaching  the  surface.   everything  felt  calm  &  steady  as  she  moved  through  the  water,  but  her  body  felt  massive.   her  brain,  although  mainly  centered,  felt  like  it  was  being  pulled  in  several  different  directions  at  once.   head  turns,  but  then  she  sees  another  dragon - like  one  beside  her,  attached  to  the  same  neck.   then  she  looks  to  the  opposite  side  &  sees  two  more,  both  attached  the  same  as  the  first.   there’s  several  of  them,  nine  to  be  exact,  all  moving  in  different  directions,  but  all  swimming  effortlessly  attached  to  the  same  body,  to  her  body.   it’s  eerily  still within  the  waters  &  she  feels  at  ease  with  where  she  was :   home,  at  the  bottom  of  a  lake.   she  felt  safe  &  guarded,  untouchable.

Lyssa did not like being told what to do. Not one bit. She very much preferred making her own decisions, but when Hera told you to jump, you jumped. “Why does she want me to do this?” She knew the reason before the words even left her lips. There was only one reason that Hera would wish for her to do such a thing to someone who was already a hero in their own right. It was no secret to anyone, especially the Gods, what her work was.

“I didn’t ask,” Iris whispered back. Whether it was from fear of Hera listening in or the intimidation of speaking to her, Lyssa didn’t know. She didn’t care either.

“Well then, why should I do it? Why can’t she just do it herself?” The next thought that crossed her mind seemed to explain it all as the two goddesses stood wordlessly before Iris disappeared as quickly as she’d come. Even the Gods feared Zeus and the wrath he might bring down on anyone who hurt his favored illegitimate sons. Especially, Heracles. Maybe it was the little bit of madness that lived inside her own head, but Lyssa feared no one. Not even Zeus.

She might be the goddess of madness, but she took no joy in watching the man dispatch his family due to her influence. It was simply her job and what she was made to do. Still, she glanced away as the smell of burning flesh and blood filled her nostrils. The man’s distressed screams were no better. At least Hera knew the job was done and maybe she would leave her in peace for a while.

~

Alice jolted awake as she lurched over the edge of her bed. The smell of burning hair, skin, and blood seemed to linger in her nose as she fought back the urge to vomit. Her whole body trembled as she squeezed her eyes shut. It had been a while since she’d had a dream like that. So vivid. So violent. Almost like she was right there watching the whole thing right before she opened her eyes.

Her head swam as she pulled herself back up onto her bed and wrapped her arms around herself. What the fuck was wrong with her now? She wasn’t about to go back into a hospital because of some dream especially not after a long time of being fine. She was just shaken, but she would be fine.