Gorgos left us in the middle of chaos. Party, that eas just hour ago filled woth laughter, was now filled with bodies filled with bruises. I didn't even firstly realize how much damage Gorgos crew had done. I tried to look for mom in the middle of the other victims. I wished she wasn't hurt so bad so that I wouldn't feel that bad ditching her.

I did find Hazel. Hazel stood completly still, looking into the darkness. When I walked closer to her, she looked at me and completly broke down.

"They really found him. They..."She couldn't form full sentences. It felt weird. This was the first time I had seen her cry.

Neela sat down next to Hazel and took older woman's hand into hers. Hazel shook her head. "It's too late to save him. You don't know how mad the Gorgos are to him."

I could feel a hand on my shoulder. Neela had walked to beside me. "Don't worry Hazel. I'll talk to people of Olympos. We will form a rescue mission." Hazel tried to stand up quickly but Neela stopped her. "I need to find Marx. He knows what to do."

"I'll find him. Don't worry. Try to calm yourself down." Neela stood up a disappeared into the paniced crowd. I sat down in the place Neela used to be.

I dodn't know how to calm people down. I haven't lost anyone I remeber. My dad was supposedly dead but only thing I knew about him was that it was somehow the Gorgos fault.

To my suprise, Hazel stopped crying as soon as Neela left. "Can you keep a secret darling? I want to give you something that I was supposed to give you at the end of the party." I nodded

She took a piece of paper out of her bra and gave it to me. When I opened it, it was a group photo. Two young kids, three teenagers and Two couples. They were posed like a big happy family.

"That's my Izaiah with her horrible ex wife. Blew herself up in the first battle. They were part of Tartaros project, one of the first couples. They were supposed to be one of those perfect families Tartaros would create before they were shipped to Elysia. Instead those Gorgos started a war because the conditions were too hard."

Hazel tapped the oldest man in the picture that couldn't be more than fourty. If Hazel didn't point at him, I wouldn't have regonized him. Next to him was the most gorgeous woman, that looked like ten years younger than him. Woman had her hand around Izaiah, holding a young child in the other. She looked line a lovely person but I guess you coudln't judge by only a picture.

My eyes wondered to the other couple in the picture. I realized why they looked so similar. My mother had the same picture with just them on our dinner table. That's us. Me, dad and mom.

"What- What picture is this?"

"Oh, these were everywhere when the Tartaros project was airing." Hazel's voice sounded like she said the most obvious thing imaginable. "Can you beliave those three brats are the ones the whole Ashphodea are afraid of."

I have known life in Tartaros was filmed before the war. I have seen some film material where the girl with a giant afro, girl with a grim look and the lanky looking boy were introduced as Gorgos before it didn't have a deeoer meaning behind it. I just couldn't wrap my mind around one thing. "Why are my parents in this picture?"

Hazel went quiet. "Hasn't your mother told anything?" It didn't feel like a question. Hazel knew the answer.

"Told me about what?"

"I had thought this was going to be just a nice pic about your folks but I guess..." Hazel looked around. "Your mom, she used to be in the Tartaros program as a subject at the same time as my husband. I don't know exactly what happened to her, I just saw what was shown when Tartaros project was airing. I do remember she was close to Gorgos before... they were the Gorgos.

I... met Izaiah after the first battle in the hospital where I volunteered. He was crushed under a wall that had been broken due the explosion that made Tartaros win the first battle. There was several skin transplants and other surgeries made to him but out of pure luck, he survived. He didn't have anyone and was scared to be killed so I gave him permission to use my husbands name and identity who died year before.

Day after Izaiah got into the hospital, a young woman came into see him with a young child. I was afraid at first that they were the wife and kid of him, but... It was you and your mom. Your mom said she had nowhere to go and she just desperatly wanted a familiar face that could know how she felt. She had ran away from Tartaros. Never understood what was her reason, something about a betrayal and murder.

I felt sorry for your mom, so i became a surrogate mother to her and grandmother to you. I don't regret it but I do wonder sometimes what she had gone through."

Hazel's words felt like punches. Everything she said... that didn't sound like mom I knew. Why she was in Tartaros with dad? I was always tomd the people that were in Tartaros project were criminals and lowlife that were made into proper citizen's by the tv show. So why our family was in it?

"I heard I was wanted." I hid the picture in the speed of light when I heard the voice behind me. Marx Adams.

Marx Adams, Poseidon, was the actual leader of Ashphodea and boss of Louis. He was the only few survived original gods. I would rather talked to Gorgos than him.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Marx! Please tell me you have a plan", Hazel begged. Marx looked Hazel in disgust.

"Hazel go home. Me and the other people of Olympos will handle this. Don't worry." Marx's voice was so deep, it could make a saner person go insane. Somehow it soothed Hazel. I couldn't stop thinking about Elysia. Will Hazel leave without her husband?

Marx! It think we- I think we should-"

Marx wasn't listening to me. He started walking towards the group of Olympians. Neela was also there, even tough she wouldn't be official olympian until she turns 30.

I don't know what had gotten into me but I started to follow Marx. Maybe some adrenaline was left from the knowledge thst my parent smight be criminals. Maybe I just wanted help Hazel. Whatever the reason was, I hated it.

"Hazel can't leave without her husband. She is- She-" I tried to get Marx to notice me but he kept being annoyed by me. He tapped Neela's shoulder and asked her to deal with me.

"Andi darling. This is very serious. I think it's best for you to leave it with the adults." Neela smiled to me with the kindest smile she could. "Go help your mom home."

I forgot about mom. I tried to look around for her but only thing I could think of was the picture hidden inside my clothes. I needed answers and no one would give me them here.

At thst momemnt I remember an old friend I hadn't thought in years. Valentina had been my only friend. We were always together, even tough my mom didn't like ger family after her grandfather was kidnapped.

Her funeral was a week after I turned 12. Her entire family was murdered by the Gorgos. I bought the story, until I got a letter from her week after her funeral. I still remember it by heart.

My dear friend

When you get this messenge, I'm hopefully somewhere safe you can't follow me in. My family isn't safe here. They have taken mom and soon they will come for the rest of us. Our only option is to run away to grandpa. I hope you will forgive me for lying to you. He is alive. Hopefully we will be too by the end of this.

If you ever want to meet me again, go to the Tartaros wall and find a statue that's different from the rest. There you have to touh the past, present and the future. You know there what I mean. You were always the smart one.

Hopefully I'll see you again

Valentina Vera

She ran away to Tartaros. For some reason she is in Tartaros now. I heard rumors that Tartaros took in desoerate people but mom said it was dangerous propaganda. At this point propaganda is better than nothing.

"Your right... I have to- I have to- I'll find mom." I tried to look natural but all of Olympos looked at me weird. I ran away from them as fast as I could in my horrible shoes.

I was going to Tartaros.

The whole town was in deep sleep which made the sounds around me much more prominent than at the day time. Giant windmills on the roofs of the houses hummed like singing a melody. small animals crawled around me, trying to escape the hunter robots. Beggars and other people of the night pleaded for me to use their services. Couple of office workers were running home from a long shift. I would have probably been scared if adrenaline wasn't pumping through my veins like a drug.

I had to run. My dress was the worst thing you could wear to run, but I had to. If I stopped even for a second, anything could happen to me. I have never been out this late. Mom has told me stories about the lowlifes and unemployed people. None of them were good.

My running got the attention of those people I tried to run away from. I was absolutely terrified. I wanted to turn around, go home, start reading the non-fiction book I just bought and pretend nothing happened when mom gets home. I needed to focus. I was doing this for Hazel. I was doing it for us. Old commercial's for Elysia said that Elysia is a world "without sadness". I didn't want Hazel to be alone in a paradise.

The night was at its darkest when I arrived at the wall separating Tartaros from the other world. My dress was in shambles, my hair was complete mess, but the feeling I had was indescribable. The lights of Ashphodea were under me. This felt wrong. I shouldn't feel this happy for breaking rules.

Under the light of Ashphodea I looked around. The wall felt like it was shining by itself. The statues that were towering over me, were depictions of the myths that were used as people's nicknames during Tartaros project and as code names after that.

At this moment, I was kind of glad I have studied over the subject. I have read every single material I could have about Tartaros and Gorgos. Hazel also told many stories that probably shouldn't have been said to a child.

Medusa's statue was suprisingly hidden from other statues. It had all three Gorgos side by side. Medusa had raised her arm, holding a severed man's head. I guess it was Perseus in this scenario. One thing that didn't belong. The statue where the monsters win.

When I walked closer towards the statue, my eyes caught the details around the statue. Just before the ground was a picture of a rose garden. Then there was pictures of daggers. Almost out of my reach was pictures of snakes. All around them were stars. Was this about the past, present and future?

Roses reminded of the book I was reading from my tablet. I was reading Osiria Rose's memoir. Osiria Rose was the host of the Tartaros series. She was technically part of Olympos but didn't like the job. She was just really enthusiastic about the idea of bringing families from outside the walls, where living conditions weren't the best, into inside the walls, where they could become part of this... life and not to rebel against people who just wanted to make a good life at least some in this planet.

Lot of people watched the Tartaros series and knew who Osiria was. It was great entertaiment to see life's of people who wanted to become better. People had favorites. People fought over who should be sent away from Tartaros and who should have a chance for a life inside the walls. Osiria was the god who chose who would stay and who would leave.

All of it changed in one of those banishment ceremonies. My won't let me see the episode but I know she was about to banish someone Medusa really cared about. That live prodcast turned into a live murder of Osiria Rose. Mom said that was the moment Medusa turned from fan favorite to a terrorist.

When I looked closer, I noticed one of the roses were white outside, red on the inside. Soon enough I saw one dagger who had blood dripping out of it. Soon, I had an idea. I tapped the white and red rose, dagger, and one of the snakes. Osiria Rose is the past, her death was the present that gave Gorgos the future.

My hand didn't even graze the picture of the snake before the wall before me disappeared and I started falling forward.

Next thing I remembered was a massive headache. I stood up slowly. I must looked horrible at that moment. That was the least of my problems. My biggest problem was a boy and a girl standing before me.

Boy was standing slightly in front of the girl. He was... so fascinating. His brightly blue eyes stood out when contrasted to his dark skin. He was like a giant compared to the girl, but he was so lanky you couldn't be scared of him.

A girl looked really young, even younger than me. She looked mad, but her giant eyes and small framed made her look like an angry doll. I had made a huge mistake with coming here.

Boy walked closer to me. I was ready to get attacked but instead he raised his hand. "My name is Edan, that's Sonia. Welcome to Tartaros."