Haley slowly got up, things were dark and gloomy around her. Not only that, she heard a lot of moaning and people wailing around her. People with clothes, with tattered clothes, and those who had clothes that seemed to have been faded away with time. The most desperate people jumped into some kind of river. Haley estimated countless dead people are crawling around in that river.

Someone walked over to her, it was Bella, she avoided the other dead people. “Damn, back here again.”

Haley looked at her, “Have you ever been here before?”

She nodded, “A few too many times.”

Abby walked over, “That was a fun ride.”

Haley looked at her, “Fun? It felt as if my heart got ripped into shreds. Why did you even follow me, Abby? You have an extra objective.”

She nodded, “Yes, I need to find my sister.”

Bella sighed, “Was she buried properly?”

Abby nodded, “Even with a coin, I insisted on it, being a fan of Greek mythology after all,” she looked around, “Not so much a myth after all”.

Haley looked around her, above the water is mist. Haley took Lisa’s form. Abby gasped, “Not you too.”

Bella sighed, “Like father, like daughter, but what is the big plan, Haley?”

“Well, we are in one of the godly realms, right? The underworld? Lisa is a goddess, I thought, maybe they appreciate a goddess walking around.”

Abby hung her head, “Whatever you are, do you hunger for gods or something?”

Haley shrugged, “Lisa is just a minor god, a demigod, I think. Her father is Poseidon.”

Bella grunted and looked at other people joining them, they started to form a line. Haley looked around, “What is going on?”

Bella smiled, “The people with a coin are assembling to gain passage over the rivers. The ferryman will be here soon.”

Haley looked down, “I should have asked for Shirley to stay in the underworld, then I would be able to meet her again.”

Abby put her hand on Haley's shoulder, “She is safe from any further harm. Grief and move on.”

Haley nodded, “Thanks, Abby, I am hoping that taking this path was not a mistake.”

Haley started to slowly shuffle towards the shore as she heard something. Someone was singing a song, and it was not a cheerful tune. A song to mourn the dead people. A boat breaks through the mist, a man in a small boat peddled to the shore. He was wearing dark robes, his face hidden, but his song sounded alluring.

A few of the dead people tried to climb on board, the man hit them with his oar. “Sorry, no passage for barbarians.”

The man stopped the boat on the shore, “No dilly-dallying, come forth dead souls.”

Haley walked over to him, “Hello, I seek passage to Purgatory, and then back to the land of the living.”

Bella and Abby stood next to her, but Bella spoke up, “We are with her, and we are expecting two more people to follow us.”

The ferryman stretched his hand and opened it, “Payment is required.” Haley offered her coin, the ferryman shook his head and pulled his hand back as he saw the other coins. “That is not enough payment, I can bring you to the lord of the underworld. You know him, right, Lisa?”

“Yes, I met him in Olympus, during a reunion. Zeus and Poseidon were also there. And as all reunions, it was basically an excuse for a huge beer fest!”

The ferryman let out a small smile, “Yes, I remember that last reunion, it was a good party.”

“Come on board, Lisa, Abby, and Bella.”

The ferryman shook his head, “Sorry other souls, this is a task I must perform first. For your patience, dig up a soul that is akin to you, and they can join you for free when I return.”

Haley looked at their reactions, even if they were dead people, some seemed to be glad and did not mind the wait, if they could take someone they once loved with them.

The ferryman started peddling and navigated the boat into the darkness. He spoke up, “This is called the river of Acheron, normally I would bring people to the other side, where they can be reborn. We are now going to follow the river, it flows out into the river of Styx. That is where we are going. Styx is a mighty titan who aided Zeus in the battle against the titans, you know that, right, Lisa?”

Haley looked at him and heard Lisa speak up in her mind, “Tell him Styx was the first one to pick a side, he is testing you.”

Haley sneakily nodded, “Styx was the first one to truly choose a side, she fought alongside Zeus to win the war.”

The ferryman let out a sly smile, “A young and wise goddess, what brought you here? A demigod is not easily slain, or did you come here out of free will? Your friends seem to be gawking around a lot.”

Haley smiled, “I came here out of free will, I have friends in Purgatory, they are stuck down there.”

The ferryman nodded, “The souls that fall between the realms. Normally, many souls are chosen to be absorbed as energy by the ethereal vortex. My job is usually a simple one. While still some souls are being taken by the ethereal vortex, it appears to be picky lately. Making my task a harder one, now that the ethereal vortex is slowly closing, and the storage sites are full, it all rests on my shoulders.”

Abby walked towards the ferryman, “May I ask you something?”

The ferryman let out a wry smile, “You are not you anymore. Yet, you retain.”

Abby scratched the back of her head, “What? I need to find my sister. She died, and I buried her with a silver coin.”

The ferryman grabbed a book while letting the boat flow on the current, “What was her name?”

“Her name is Molly Mercer, she died in a car accident.”

Bella walked over, “How did you survive Abby, just by luck?”

She shook her head, “Micheal saved me.”

The ferryman looked up, “Micheal, huh, that is a name I have not heard in a while. Yet, the gods still utter his name, ah, he could drink like the best of them, if he did not kill you first. I wonder if Amy is still around, she did not come here.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Bella shook her head, “Who?”

The ferryman ignored her and looked through the book, “Molly Mercer, let me see. Yes, here it is, about six years ago, she died in a car accident. Luckily, she was dead upon impact. Her soul hopped on board of my boat. She paid the price.”

Abby sighed, “Has she been reborn?”

The ferryman shook his head, “Something bad happened. We were attacked by a swarm of dead souls. She is listed as missing in the river of Styx.”

Abby blinked a couple of times, “Missing?”

“Yes,” he pointed at the water, “Below in the murky waters of the Styx that flow into other realms, usually swamps and other dreadful places.”

Abby gasped, “I heard her! When I got to the reality next door, in the swamp, I heard her voice. That was truly her?”

The ferryman nodded, “That is possible, she probably wanted to drag you to the underworld.”

Abby sighed, “And Steve pulled me back.”

Bella put her hand on Abby’s shoulder, “I am sorry for your loss.”

The ferryman looked at Lisa, “What is going through your mind, you seem to be in deep thought.”

Haley nodded, getting used to the fact she is being called Lisa, and looking like her. “If her soul is found, what will you do, ferryman?”

He let out a sad smile, “She has been lost for over five years, her soul is tainted by the rivers beyond repair. She will be fed to a goddess that can eat souls. It is the only way to truly destroy her, think gods or titans like Styx, Hades, Persephone.”

Lisa smiled, “Or Melin.”

The ferryman let out an actual smile, “You are indeed the daughter of Poseidon, having this much knowledge about the gods and their daughters.”

Haley undressed herself to her underwear and handed her clothes to Abby. “What are you going to do?” She looked at the ferryman, then at Haley, “Lisa?”

“I am going for a swim.”

The ferryman sighed, “That is very unwise.”

Haley jumped off the boat into the dark water. Many dead people seemed to be roaming around. Technically, she is also dead. Luckily, she can breathe underwater. She called out, “Molly!?” She kept swimming and looking around. A soul came for her and attacked her, Haley spawned a red blade and pushed it through his brain. He screamed in pain and swam away.

“Molly!? Your sister Abby is looking for you.” Haley looked around and saw many places the river went. Many of the souls seemed to be ignoring her. Then out of the wall, she saw a woman who tried to swim over to her, other souls kept holding her. They did not seem friendly. Haley shot two void beams and the souls let the woman go, she quickly swam over to Haley. “Molly?”

She nodded. She has brown, long greasy hair that flowed in the water, she has a friendly face. Expressive hazel eyes that reminded Haley of Abby’s eyes, they were set low within her sockets,

Haley smiled, “Can you talk? You are dead after all.”

She shook her head. “Oh, you can’t drown since you are dead.” She nodded. “You tried to contact Abby, right?” Molly nodded.

Haley sighed, “Do you have any idea how long you have been stuck here?”

She shook her head. Haley grunted, “This place is weird, I felt drawn to you.”

Lisa spoke up in her head, “You caught her scent by using Abby. Molly seemed much closer than I had expected her to be.” Haley seemed to be thinking as Molly kept pointing up.

Haley shook her head, “You are going to get terminated. You have been lost for too long.” Molly seemed to be thinking, she made a one with her finger in the air.

Haley looked up, “You want to see Abby one more time before you die for real?”

Molly nodded. Lisa spoke up in Haley’s mind, “You can save her, if she is a part of us, Melin or anyone else won’t be able to touch her soul, if she is indeed tainted, I think we can repair her.” Haley sighed and told Molly her plan, including the pros and cons.

Molly seemed to be thinking, then she nodded. She used sign language, but Haley could not understand it. Molly grunted, something along the lines of, “Get it over with.”

Haley swam over and hugged Molly, she seemed to think it was weird but allowed it. Haley did the same that she had seen her father do, and Molly melded into her. After Molly had been assimilated, Haley went into her mind space. She ran into her house, a new mirror had spawned, but it seemed to be broken.

Haley took the glass pieces of the broken mirror and rearranged them in the right order, Lisa started helping her. And eventually, the mirror had been repaired.

A light shone through her mind space, and then a room appeared behind the mirror. Haley slid it open and looked inside, “Molly?”

She got up, “Oh my god, this feels weird. Am I dead?”

Haley chuckled, “You were already dead. Now you are dead, but you have a second chance at life. This is Lisa, she also lives here.”

Molly nodded and introduced herself. “Where is Abby, you promised me Abby if I did this.”

“Cool your jets, I just repaired your soul, can I get some credit before you harass me?”

Molly sighed, “I apologize for being hasty, it is just, it has been so long since I last saw her. Thank you, Haley, for rescuing me from those void infested dead souls, and repairing my soul.”

Haley smiled and made a portal, “Give me a few minutes, Lisa, give her the lay down of the land.” Haley rushed through the portal, and she started swimming up. She grabbed the edge of the boat and climbed on board.

The ferryman looked at her, “You seem to be able to breathe underwater, that is to be expected from you, Lisa. You were down under for at least two hours.”

Abby looked at Haley with hope in her eyes, “And did you find something?”

Haley stretched her hand, Abby took it, and they found themselves in Haley’s command center. Abby looked around, “That is some neat machinery.”

Haley walked into her home, “Follow me.” Abby did so and saw Molly talking with Lisa.

Abby gasped, “Molly!? You fucking murdered Molly!?”

Molly held up her hand, “No, I was broken and dead, she did the only thing she could do to repair my soul, to save me from eternal death.”

Abby ran over and jumped in her arms, “Oh my god, sis, I am so glad to see you again.”

Molly cried, “Yes, it is good to see you again as well, it has been so long. I have hunkered for this feeling, to be reunited at last.”