Lords of the Underworld [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Would now be a really bad time to say I'm hungry?"

"Yes-- Ssh!"

Raven and I stepped back into a niche that led to two doors into an apartment, holding our breathes as a couple of soldiers ran past us toward a woman that was kicking and screaming and trying to transform into a dragon before she was beheaded. Raven grimaced and looked away. I ignored him as I poked my head out to check if the coast was clear before I gestured for him to follow me.

We ducked out of our hiding spot and quickly made our way across the small alley to a store that had been abandoned and left open. Raven made his way down one of the aisles, headed for the opposite exit when he realized I wasn't with him and busy poking around on the shelves.

"Are you kidding me," Raven demanded in distress, moving to stand near me again as I snatched a couple bags of junk snacks off the shelves, "My city is in ruins, my family is in hiding, and Julius is literally trying to snatch my ass. Can we make with the running away now?"

"I can't get very far if I'm starving, and neither can you," I added, shoving a bag of Doritos at him before making my way to the deli, "Care for anything?" Raven rolled his eyes and shook his head, but opened the bag of Doritos anyway and started eating them by the handfuls. I went to the refridgerated aisle and grabbed a couple cases of yogurt, stuffing them into a shopping bag I'd grabbed up front near the registers. I paused when I saw Raven taking out some money and putting it in a register.

"Are you seriously paying for this?" I demanded. Raven looked embarrassed.

"I don't want to rob from my city."

"It's not robbing. It's borrowing. They can have it back later."

"First of all, ew. Second of all, really ew. Third of all, I can't believe you." Raven muttered, shoving past me and heading for the back exit. I shrugged and finished tossing in bags of chips and already made sandwiches from the deli before we made our way out. I popped the top off an energy drink, taking a deep gulp of it as I followed Raven down the alley outside. The sky overhead growled with thunder as it grew darker and afternoon turned to evening. Lightning rippled through the sky, casting eerie shadows wherever we went. It'd start raining soon.

"We have to guess that everyone went to Gehenna," Raven explained as we walked along the alley, passing people who were frantically fleeing their homes with bags of clothes and food, "Which is on the opposite side of the realm. It could take a couple days to get there. Teleportation is impossible past the mountains between Gehenna and Sheol." I rolled my eyes, wiping my mouth on my hand as I hooked the bag over my arm and reaching in with my free hand to take out a powdered donut.

"That's really inconvenient."

"It's like the barrier you put on Tartarus, so don't go calling names."

"That still doesn't mean it's not inconvenient," I said flatly, "And I never thought about the possibility of being in Tartarus since I stay as far from it as possible. Anyway, should we just teleport to Sheol and walk the rest of the way?"

"That would be the easiest way. Got enough juice left?" Raven asked, turning to me. I handed him my energy drink and he glared, pushing it away. I smirked.

"Yeah, plenty. Let's go." I said. Raven nodded. We teleported from the city to the vast grassy valley of Sheol. It still remained silent and untouched by Julius and his men, much to our relief. Unfortunately, it looked like two miles before we reached the mountain range between here and Gehenna. It was eerie how quiet it was as we walked through the tall grass, the only sounds being the thunder over our heads and the whisper of the grass as the wind rustled it gently. In the distance, black storm clouds swirled around Gehenna like something out of a fantasy film.