Madness's Melody | Apollo / Lester Papadopoulos

Chapter Fourteen

IT WAS A GUT WRENCHING SOUND. Cassidy felt misery wash over him. The tunnels amplified Apollo's voice, carrying it to every Myrmerke in earshot. Cassidy struggled to focus on anything but the anguish and heartbreak they felt. The anguish and heartbreak Apollo felt. He sang of Daphne, of Hyacinthus, of all his past lovers who had met tragic ends. Cassidy hated themself for conjuring the image of a girl with lightly curled platinum blonde hair and lips the same shade as her blood which soaked her former lover's hands in her dying moments.

Every verse of guilt brought back memories Cassidy wished would stay buried. They moved forward, following after Apollo. Each time they passed an ant, it curled its legs and touched its forehead to the floor, its antennae quivering from the vibrations. Cassidy furiously rubbed their eyes, trying to rid themselves of the bothersome tears with little luck. As they went deeper Cassidy spotted a geranium blooming from the tunnel floor. "Apollo" they nudged him and pointed at the flower, causing the song to falter. "Clever girl" He remarked, choosing the tunnel with the flower. A clattering sound alerted them to the approaching myrmeke. Apollo turned and raised his bow. Freed from the enchantment of his voice, the insect charged, its mouth foaming with acid. Cassidy raised their dagger to strike but Apollo fired first. The arrow embedded itself up to the fletching in the ant’s forehead.

The creature dropped, its back legs twitching. Apollo tried to retrieve his arrow, but the shaft snapped in his hand, the broken end covered in steaming corrosive goo. "So much for reusing ammunition" Cassidy commented before turning back down the tunnel "MEG!" They called.

The only answer was the clattering of more giant ants. Apollo began to sing again. The issue was that now they had hope of finding Meg the songs were not quite as melancholy. The ants were no longer catatonic. They moved slowly and unsteadily, but they still attacked. Cassidy usually killed them before they could make a move. It was easier to do now that they were no longer in danger of bursting into tears.

At the next intersection, another geranium sprouted from the floor, all its flowers facing right. The two turned that direction, calling Meg’s name again then returning to the song. As Apollo's spirits began to lift the song became less effective and the ants more aggressive. Cassidy did what he could to cause a drunk like disorientation in the myrmekes. It made them easier to kill but Apollo's quiver was becoming dangerously light.

"Dude, you need to be sadder" Cassidy urged. They knew it was a little insensitive to put it that way when Apollo was pouring his heart out in the song but they'd rather live to rescue Meg than be insensitive. Apollo didn't seem offended, if anything he agreed. When he started singing again Cassidy was hit with a wave of grief so powerful they stumbled back into the walls, for a moment it felt like they were back in the cocytus. Apollo sang of his own faults. He sang of his guilt over Daphne and begged her forgiveness.

He sang of Hyacinthus and how he was loved by the West Wind too and his tragic fate. Cassidy could no longer fight against the tears caused by the song, the best they could do was keep trailing after Apollo. He sang of his failures, of eternal heartbreak and loneliness. He called himself the worst of the gods, the most guilt-ridden and unfocused. He couldn’t commit myself to one lover. He couldn’t even choose what to be the god of. Distracted and dissatisfied.

His golden life was a sham. The coolness was pretense. His heart was a lump of petrified wood. All around them myrmekes collapsed and some part of Cassidy wanted to join them. They wanted to curl up in a ball in a corner and never stop crying. Since Cassidy was rendered almost entirely useless Apollo found a third geranium then a fourth. Finally, pausing between verses, The two heard a small voice up ahead: the sound of a girl crying.

"Meg!" Apollo gave up on his song and ran. Cassidy leaned against the wall, the absence of the song felt like a crushing weight had been taken off their chest. Gods, was this how Apollo felt? Thinking of the song made their eyes start watering again. He'd let them see a glimpse of himself past their facade. Before Cassidy could ponder it further heard a clattering noise from further down the tunnel. They furiously tried to blink away the tears, following the sound of Meg and Apollo's voices. They were in what looked like a large food larder. Stacked all around Meg were the carcasses of various animals all sheathed in hardened goop and slowly decaying.