Chapter 1
Corrine Thomas slipped in her ear buds and turned up the music. She cursed under her breath as she was forced off the green line at Kenmore. She'd missed the last train back to Allston. Stupid MBTA. Stupid no trains after 2 am. Stupid Boston. What kind of city cuts train service to a whole section of the city on weekends?
The heat of the day had subsided and Corrine was ready for her 42 minute walk. She pulled a water bottle out of her bag and took a sip. She fell into her thoughts and her music. She didn't want to think about life or work. Corrine lived alone and for good reason. She trusted no one. Not after the abuse she'd been through.
Her mother had been a violent alcoholic. Her father divorced her mother because of it and he vanished. She hadn't seen him in 15 years. Occasionally, she received a letter from him warning her to be careful. He seemed concerned. But how could she forgive a man who abandoned her? So, Corrine was stuck with her mother, up until the incident. She was sent into a foster home at 16. After that she was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to college at North Eastern University.
Once she graduated she stayed in the greater Boston area. But it was hard. She had no support system. Her short lived Foster Parents wanted nothing to do with her once she went to college. Honestly, she didn't blame them. She was the problem, not them.
So 24 year old Corrine worked her decent paying tech job by day and her low paying customer service job by night just to save up. Corrine was always putting away money. She had no choice. She loved Boston, but she knew that there was always a very real possibility she'd need to leave in a moment's notice. A few weeks ago she'd gotten a letter from her father saying as much. Somehow, he always knew where to find her.
Corrine could easily save even more if she wasn't so proud as to live alone. But she couldn't. Corrine self consciously pulled on the sleeves of her shirt. Corrine paused for a passing car. She pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose. A chill ran up Corrine's spine. She was ready to run when a massive hand covered her mouth. Before she could even let out a scream everything went black.
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Corrine awoke in a dimly lit room. She was chained to a wall with her hands behind her back and she wasn't alone. Surprisingly her glasses were still on her face. There were 19 other girls in chained up in the room and they were all unconscious.
Corrine noticed a silvery grey box on the shoulder of the girls on either side of her. She couldn't tell what it was but as she moved her arm she felt one attached to her as well. What was this thing?
Corrine eyed the door and the other girls. There was no sign of them waking soon. She sat there quiet and alone for far too long for her comfort. Finally after what had to have been at least an hour or two another girl awoke.
The next girl to wake up looked around for a bit and started screaming. Corrine tried to talk to the girl. "Hey. Calm down. Screaming won't help. Staying calm will help keep up your strength." But the girl was screaming and crying too hard to notice.
Over the next hour or so every single girl in the room awoke. They all screamed and cried. Whenever Corrine tried to get their attention they didn't seem to notice.
Were they being held for some sort of sex trade? Maybe these girls didn't speak English. Finally the door opened. Twenty men entered the room each unchaining a girl from the wall, carefully keeping their hands bound behind their backs, and attaching a collar and leash around each girl's necks.
"Can you please tell me what's going on?" asked Corrine. "Where are we?"
The man ignored her and pushed her forward. She was the last one to exit the room. Corrine looked around the hallways. Where on earth were they?
The hallway reminded her of a castle. But at the same time it reminded her of a space station in a video game if that made any sense. Her eyes darted around as she was pushed forward.
"Please. Can you just tell me where we are?" asked Corrine one more time. She could hear some of the other girls screaming and begging for their release from the men pushing them forward.
They walked for quite some time. This place, wherever they were was massive. There were so many doors, so many hallways they turned down. She was already lost.
Finally, the group entered a massive chamber and the girls were forced onto their knees. Corrine was quiet. She was well aware that silence was one of the few reasons she was alive right now. Silence and saving her energy. It's a lot easier to fight back if you don't expend all your energy on screaming and crying.
A door across the chamber opened and a man entered, with heavy footsteps. Corrine raised her head to look at him. He had midnight black hair, and naturally tan skin. He wore black pants, a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a grey vest, and a red tie. He had clearly defined muscles and he had to be at least 6'3. Corrine had to admit he was extremely handsome, like a Greek God with muscles carved of stone. But looks meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. He headed to the opposite end of the line of women.
She intently watched his movements. They were deliberate and swift. He spoke to the men behind each woman first and then asked each woman some questions. His speech was quiet. She couldn't hear him yet. Corrine waited. Hopefully it would be over soon.
The important man made his way down the line of women and finally he made it to her.
"Intelligence?" asked the man. He had a deep voice and spoke with a British accent.
Her handler spoke. "Superior."
"Good, good. Perception?"
"Superior."
"Excuse me, I'm right here. You don't have to talk through me. What are you determining? My video game stats?"
Her handler painfully clenched her shoulder and said, "You will only speak if spoken to, girl."
Corrine was going to respond to him, but she decided it was best to be quiet right now. A smirk crossed the face of the important man before her. She looked up at him briefly and noticed he had red eyes. She quirked her eyebrows at him. Who was this man?
"Health?" asked the important man.
"Average."
"What issues?"
"Malnutrition and diet related. She also suffers from some sleep deprivation," said the handler. Corrine knew that was likely accurate. She may have looked skinny, but her diet was not great. And she hardly got any sleep because of how much she worked.
"Hmmm. Nothing that can't be fixed. Anything reproductive?"
"No.
"Good. Time?"
"-4-7-3-"
"What?" asked the important man. "Are you certain?"
"Yes."
"But that's...that's far before the others. Let me see that meter."
The man walked behind her and pushed her long curly copper-red hair off her neck. Corrine could feel his steady breathe. She shivered. She wanted to pull on her sleeves. What if he saw?
"Please stop touching me, sir," said Corrine through gritted teeth.
The man spoke again, ignoring her. "I've never seen readings like this." The man walked in front of Corrine and tilted her chin up.
"What's your name?" Corrine pulled away from him. His eyes narrowed. He crossed his arms. At least he wasn't touching her.
"Corrine." She knew that there was no reason to lie.
"Well, Corrine, I've seen thousands of women, but none of them like you. Tell me, what makes you special."
Corrine looked back down at the floor. "Nothing."
"Really. Nothing makes you special."
"I'm not special. At least I'm not any more special than anyone else here."
"Bring her to my chamber. You will be rewarded."
"Yes, my liege," said the handler, as he pulled her up.
"Wait. Where am I? What is going on?" The man came over to her and gripped her face tightly.
"Where are my manners? I am Hades, God of the Underworld. And you, Corrine, will be my queen. Welcome to the realm of the Gods."