Tartarus Thief | ONC 2021 [ROUND 2 WINNER]

Chapter 10

"Elijah, get back here. Leave her alone."

Dreamy Boy wandered off and in his place stepped a darker-skinned man, his hair tied up in a knot at the back of his head. He smiled brightly, showing off the dimples in his cheeks. "Sorry about him," he said. "He's not used to new people. My name is Arthur."

Vita glared at his outstretched hand, her back against the boulder-like door. "Vita," she grunted eventually. "What did he mean with 'you'll stay with us forever'?"

Arthur's smile faltered. "Ah. That. Well, I guess you'd find out sooner or later. That door isn't going to be opening any time soon. Once they throw you in, they don't let you back out." He gestured around him. "This is your home now."

"They can't keep me here, I'll break it open if I have to," Vita snarled.

But he was already shaking his head. "Also not possible. I don't know if you've noticed, but the door doesn't have a handle. It doesn't open from this side. And it's... Well, quite literally made of stone."

"I'll find a way!" said Vita defiantly.

Arthur sighed. "Look. The door only opens from the outside, there's three guards out there ready to throw you back in if you escape and there's no other exit. We've spent decades searching the place, I know what I'm talking about. I'm sorry, but you're stuck with us."

Vita pressed her lips into a thin line, her eyes flitting over the boulder as she searched for a loophole, a crack in his logic.

Had she really come all this way only to be locked up for the rest of eternity? Was this what she escaped eternal life for?

She felt a hand on her arm as she sagged her shoulders. "Let me show you around, alright?" His voice was soft, apologetic, as if he was the one who'd gotten her into this mess. But she knew it was all her own doing. If only she'd listened to Leo.

She let him guide her away from the door. They walked across the grass in silence for a while, as Vita gathered her thoughts.

"So what did you do to end up here?"

A chuckle escaped him. "Probably the same as you. There's only one way you'll end up in The Sanctuary; if Hades doesn't have your records."

They reached a hardened dirt path, running between the field and a hill. Further up, it led around a small lake, glistening in the sunlight.

"Why did you steal hem?" Vita looked up. His face betrayed nothing.

He shrugged and said simply, "To avoid going to hell." He scoffed. "Which is ironic, because I ended up in a different kind of hell."

She glanced around. The sun shone brightly, bathing them in warmth. The grass stretched on for miles, along with a peaceful quiet. "I don't know," she muttered. "It seems quite nice here."

A shadow crossed his face. "It seems that way at first glance, doesn't it?"

Vita looked around one more time, but she couldn't see the hell Arthur was apparently tormented by. The lake they passed lay perfectly still, not a ripple in sight. "I don't get it. What's the problem?"

Arthur stopped and stared into the water. His own gloomy face returned his stare. "It never changes."

"What do you mean?"

"In all the time I've been here, it hasn't changed. There are no animals, the sun is always out, and the grass is always green. Nothing withers or regrows. There's never even any rain or clouds. It's like this place is stuck in time or something."

Vita's eyes widened a fraction and she stared into the distance. Did the sun suddenly seem a little too bright? The sky a bit too quiet, the air too thick?

"That's why Elijah is like that." Vita followed his gaze over the lake. On the other side, Elijah stood under a random tree, staring up at the foliage with his mouth hanging open. "He didn't used to be like this. The Sanctuary got too much for him and he escaped into his own mind. Created a whole new world in his head. Mind you, he's been here a lot longer than me. Perhaps I'll end up like that one day too."

He turned away and continued on at a brisk pace. Vita tore her eyes from Dreamy Boy, who now lifted his finger into the air as if trying to touch something that wasn't there, and followed Arthur.

"Our caves are that way." His voice had tightened, though Vita could tell he was trying to hide it. "That's where we sleep. Not that we need it, really, but it's nice to have a nap every now and again."

"Sounds good," Vita muttered.

The path led past the caves and back around the field, until the boulder-door came into view once more.

Arthur was the one to break the silence eventually. "Your turn. Why did you steal your records?"

"I was..." Vita shrugged. "I was trying to avoid my fate too, just like you."

He gave her a lop-sided smile. "Really? You don't look like someone who belongs in hell."

She chuckled, then shook her head. "I wasn't avoiding going to Tartarus. I needed to go looking for someone who was sent to a different part of the Underworld than me."

"Ah, young love."

They stopped in front of the door. Vita stared at it miserably. Was she really going to be stuck here for the rest of eternity? Would she end up like Elijah one day too, lost in an endless daydream as the boundaries of reality faded?

More importantly, would she ever see Barny again?

Arthur nudged her arm softly. "We'll just have to make the best of it. At least you're not alone, right?"

Vita hummed in response.

"I'm just happy to finally see a new face. Who knows, maybe you can even get Elijah out of his head for a change."

"That'd be nice." She hesitated, then added, "Is it really true that no one has ever escaped this place?"

The ensuing silence lasted so long that Vita looked up, eyebrows raised.

"One woman escaped," he admitted.

"Really?" Vita turned to face him. "So it is possible!"

"No." A shadow crawled across his face. He suddenly seemed to have bags under his eyes. "They upped the guarding after that. There used to just be one Erinye on the other side of that door. I'm sorry. I wish there was a way out, but there isn't."

With those words, Arthur trudged off and sat down on the grass in front of Elijah, who stared at the palms of his hands with a wide grin on his face.

Vita sighed. These two strange men would be her family for the rest of her afterlife. Arthur was right; she'd better make the best of it.

Cruuunch.

Vita jumped back when the stone door opened, revealing a red-faced Gwen. They stared at each other for a lingering second, before Gwen shouted, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"