The Prince of Shadows

Chapter One||James

James was having a very bad day. It wasn't necessarily his fault, it just seemed like whatever he touched shattered and whoever he got close to got hurt. Not that he minded, of course; he was always a loner. He was a peculiar boy with an angular, chiseled face and eyes that shone like the darkest obsidian, something that perhaps made girls swoon from afar; he never really knew. Whatever the case was, he was always considered to be the odd one out or the "emo", a term used by the ancient people who once inhabited earth.
With a sigh he slammed his head down onto his desk, staring at the blank piece of paper laying on the handsome wood with growing thoughts of panic, his brain overworking the simplicity of the required task. Come on James. It's not that hard. Just write the damn essay already. It didn't matter. Not in the end, anyway. Applications were pointless, we were all going to die, so might as well do it sooner rather than later. His surprisingly gentle hand pushed a piece of curly black hair away from his face as he stood up, bending his head down and walking out of his room, not wanting his overprotective parents to realize he was sneaking out, even if it only was to Hyde Park. After all, in their opinion he could die a thousand deaths before even reaching the street. With a soft chuckle he shoved his fists in his pockets, chewing on his inner cheek as he crossed the street quickly, ignoring the blaring honks of the cars and the angry yells of taxi drivers swearing in their prissy British accents. But then again, he was one of them and what fun was it to not live life on the edge? Cold air grazed his cheeks as he left the warmer streets full of avid Christmas shoppers, their faces aglow with reindeer crap; in his opinion tis the season to give no fucks. As he walked quickly into the park, kicking stones occasionally and grumbling to himself about this or that, he felt a little cold sweat trickle down the back of his neck. Now that was odd; there was no one else in the park at all or in any close vicinity to him. He turned slowly, his dark eyes pricked with alertness before a giant wolf-like creature leaped from the shadows, snarling; its huge jaw gaping and knocking him down onto the ground into unseeable darkness.
a/n: this is the first section of Chapter One! I will keep updating this part until I have enough for chapter two. ;)

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James awoke in utter darkness, soon realizing that he was blindfolded and tied down, his hands behind his back and the rough cloth digging into his tender, milky white skin. From what he could tell, there were others with him; he felt a pair of hands furiously scrabbling at his and someone else's as if they thought that this would help them escape from their bonds, which evidently was pointless. With a small grunt, James tried to slink forward, barely moving a few inches before his foot collided with something large and furry, the creature yelping and letting out a growl. "Get away, you mutt." he said savagely, kicking blindly to get the foul thing away from him, his tone harsh and leaving a lingering iciness in the rather hot air. "It's no use." A girl's voice rang softly into his ears, coming from his left. "I've been here close to two days, and the horrid things won't stop." she sighed, defeat in her voice as she awkwardly tried to pat his hand, a rather obnoxious American accent coming from her lips. Judging from her voice, he thought she was around 16-19 years old, but that was all. Well, at least he wasn't alone.
"I'm Zia." the girl said calmly, knowing that it was no use to struggle even though her arms were being thrashed about due to another person, evidently of a strong and muscular stature flailing like a cornered elephant. "You must be the last one....they said that there would be four of us." She said, nudging him gently but sending pain flooding up his shoulder. Honestly, James had no idea what to expect, seeing as he was still blind and tied up. "These are Alice and Elliot, the other two. Damn, El. Stop that!" she finished crossly, a scowl appearing on her lips. "Jesus, Z. I'm just trying to get us out of this hellhole." Elliot replied sourly, but reluctantly ceasing his endless and rather pointless movement. James slowly turned his head from side to side, a mess of bouncy black curls flipping into his pale and pointed face, straining his ear for any sort of sound at all besides the bickering being done by these...people, Elliot and Zia. "I'm James." he said softly after a while, earning a snort from Elliot whom he was already starting to dislike. "What? Got a problem with my name, mate?" he asked in a more aggressive tone, shoving his tied hands into Elliot's back. "Not at all, mate." Elliot replied with a smirk, knowing full well that James couldn't see it but letting his voice just drip with honey. "Shut up, both of you!" The final girl, Alice, said; her voice rather light and breathy, almost poetic in its lilts. "Someone, or something, is coming." she whispered frantically, James's heart beat starting to beat almost impossibly fast as loud echoing footsteps rang through the cave they must be in, water dripping from the ceiling and landing on his nose. Dear lord, what had he gotten himself into now?
The footsteps grew nearer and nearer until they abruptly stopped, inches away from the bound group of teenagers, all hearing their pulse ring in their ears. The sound of a knife being drawn echoed through the cavern and one by one their blindfolds were cut off, the four examining each other's faces before glancing at the room and the man who had cut them free. Slow, cold blooded horror filled James from head to foot as his eyes fell upon a tall, handsome man with every gem imaginable on his suit vest, his hair almost as curly as James's own and their features practically the same. "Hello, my wormy little darlings." The man breathed, his voice soft but resonating around the cavernous room, a wide, insane grin on his plump lips "Welcome to the Underworld!" He practically shouted with a laugh, noise booming into life around them as if someone had plugged it back in, Hades's face alight with the glow of the fires of the damned.

a/n: conclusion of chp. 1! I'm very happy with how this turned out, so watch out for the next chapter soon!