Hades Doctor

In Knee Deep Trouble

I covered my eyes with my arms.

Curse you Demeter!!!
Curse you to Tartarus and a life without teeth!

Like a sacrifice to a forbidden ritual I lay at the centre of a clearing, charred earth under my palm. For a while I waited for something to happen, for someone to step into my view, so that I could at the least know which direction I was to run.

When no one brothered, I eventually got up, and looked around with a frown at the wilderness on all sides, feeling both lost and helpless.

Not far away from where I had awoken, lay my backpack, a mystery in itself. If the goddesses had indeed aimed to get rid of me, why throw in the bag full of supplies, I wondered.

With relief, I found my legs uninjured, but a striking bump grew over one end of my brow.

How exactly the portal worked I did not know. All I could remember was the forced entry and not the exit when I opened my eyes.

The nearest area of civilisation, I hoped wasn't too far away when I fastened my bag over my shoulders, after making sure its contents weren't tampered with.

The towel I had around my head was cut into strips to be tied around my ankle upto my knees, and another set from my elbow to my wrist, acting as an extra layer of protection over my clothes when I entered the forest.

The thick scent of moist soil lingered in the air, overflowing through the  woods. But no matter how comforting  caresses it brought with, I could not ease into steady steps, for from the very beginning I held fear towards these ancient tress, that knew no place in botany text books, indigenous to no country or state.

Bleary circles formed where light struck through the leafy canopy. And under sky high trees the sound of leaves scrunching under a feet other than my own seemed to coming from all four sides, and each branch a few inches thick seemed like someone peeping from the dark.

I had not reached far when my heart threatened to arrest it's beating, and my mind screamed for me to run back.

But I knew it was stupid to do so, for I would have only became an easier target if I had remained in the clearing with neither cover nor shade.

The organic smell of the dead and decayed overwhelmed my sense of smell, and a soul-haunting melody filled my ears.

I sometimes ran, sometimes jogged, but didn't stop. And the moment fatigue slowed my bones into small steps and heavy breathing, I imagined weary eyes looking at me with ridicule.

What was happening? I asked myself,  highly aware of my panicked state, and whatever courage I had kept crushed to my chest was crumbling to dust.

There was something wrong with this place, something that I had noticed, but yet to accept.

And not an hour had passed before I witnessed the very truth I avoided unfold with white wings.

A deep bellowing roar erupted from above, and I halted my steps to gaze heavenwards. I saw nothing past the thick canopy other than the cloudless sky, nor found any creature crouching on the high branches.

Holding my breath, I waited for the roar to sound again, but instead it began to rain. I looked back at the ground that grew clammy with the heavy droplets, and was too slow to seek shelter.

The outpour only lasted for mere seconds, and was followed by strong winds that set free dying leaves.

A pungent smell assaulted my nose, and my eyes that had once again strained up towards the towering tress lowered to my damp clothes.