Charon

Caught up on some writing this weekend, which felt really great. I fished out a scene and I think it turned out well. Tell me what you think. This is The Great Funnel and it starts at the beginning of chapter 3:

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I landed. Head first.

Thank god it wasn’t into a rock, just a river.

“Hey, watch it!” Someone yelled.

I fully resurfaced and managed to look around me. When I did I saw a man leaning toward me out of a boat. He was older in years and wore a dark beard. A dull metal helmet rested on his head and allowed his dark hair to sneak out at the back.

“The gods must have a sense of humor now,” he said.

“Wha -,” I swallowed some water. “What do you mean?”

“Usually a visitor must enter the gates in order to be admitted into Hell and then they come to me for admittance, but you came to me first.”

There was no tide in the river, but I still had to kick my arms and legs to stay afloat. I was struggling to do so because I couldn’t touch the bottom. Then something swam past my legs. The boatman’s gaze left mine and he stared into the water below me. His face lit up in concern and his eyes grew wide.

“You ought to get in the boat, son, and quickly,” he said.

He extended his arms and pulled me into the wooden fishing boat. I lay on my stomach with my feet hanging out over the water as I coughed up a small amount of water.

“Sit proper, son. It is not wise to taunt the creatures of the deep.”

I looked back at my feet dangling over the boat as it began to rock back and forth. I sat up quickly and dared to look over the edge and into the water.

“What’s down there?” I asked.

“Nothing to concern yourself about now that you’re safe in my boat,” he said.

I tore my gaze away from the water and looked at the mysterious man I had fallen upon. I sat back, suddenly aware that I wasn’t in my room anymore and that Hannah, Ellie, and Bill weren’t with me.

“Where am I?” I asked, leaning into one end of the boat.

He stared at me with a hard look. “Hell.”

I looked around us and saw the river for what it truly was. The waters were almost black, but not because they were dirty. There was hardly any light and I wondered how I was able to see so well in the dark. The river stretched on as far as I could see and at the moment we were quite close to the shore, but the other side was nowhere to be seen.

“The River Acheron,” the man said, “and I am Charon, the ferryman who takes deserving souls into Hell.”

“You mean this is Hell? Like you die and end up here kind of thing?” I waited but there was no answer. “Am I dead?”

Charon chuckled darkly, “No … unfortunately.”

“Then why –“

“Matthew!”

My head jerked around to the voice on the shore behind me.

“Hannah!” I yelled back, waving my arms.

“Can we go back to the shore?” I asked Charon.

There was a very clear smile on my face. I was glad to see Hannah. I didn’t know how I was going to survive Hell without her.

Charon didn’t acknowledge my question, but simply took up his oar and Hannah grew closer as the boat moved slowly across the water. Before I knew it, the boat ran up onto the shore and I jumped out in haste.

Throwing my arms around Hannah, she caught me and hugged me back.

“How did you find me?” I asked her.

“I just followed you. I can feel your presence now, like I’m attached,” she said.

“That’s cool…” My voice trailed off as I felt a tug towards the invisible, opposite shore.

“What is it?” Hannah asked.

“I’m supposed to cross.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but I have to. It’s why I’m here.”

“Okay, well I’m definitely going with you, you know that right? This is Hell and you could die here. I can’t die again, so I’m going as your body guard.”

I looked at her and smiled euphorically. I couldn’t help but allow the feeling of pleasure rise in my throat at her very words. The dead girl that showed up in my room, named Hannah, who had seen me naked and I had kissed, was going to be my body guard in Hell, the place I had been summoned for a reason unknown to me. This was all really weird, yet really exciting simply because she was here with me. Was I falling for a dead girl?

Taking her hand, I walked us back to Charon and his boat.

“Stop!” Charon raised his hand in protest.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“You cannot cross,” he said blandly.

“What do you mean? I was just in the boat.”

“You are not permitted.”

“Oh not this again,” Hannah sighed as her hip cocked to the side in frustration. “Just let us cross!”

I looked at Hannah and then back to the ferryman. “Why can’t we cross?”

“You must pay the toll and you cannot,” Charon answered.

“How do you know I can’t? Wait, give me a minute.” I dug into my jean pockets and felt around for some money. Eventually, I felt something down at the very bottom of my left pocket and drew it out. “Here,” I said, holding out the odd gold coin. I didn’t know what it was though; I had never seen anything like it before.

“You dare present me with an obolos?” Charon questioned.

“You said you wanted payment. What’s wrong with this? I mean, I don’t know what it is but it’s got to be good for something, right?” I said questioningly. Apparently, Charon knew more about this mysterious coin than I did, even though it had been in my pocket.

“This is payment for the dead to cross into Hell. If you give me this, she cannot return with you,” he explained.

I was frustrated. First, this ferryman wanted payment to take us across, something that I had to do. I didn’t know why I had to do it, but I had to. No question about it. But then when I offered payment he said that it would pay for Hannah’s passage, but that she couldn’t return from the other side after he took the coin. I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to be here, but I had to be here. I just needed to fucking cross.

Fury leapt in my throat and a deep growl protruded from my chest. I advanced on the ferryman and my eyes burned. “Charon, you will allow us passage. She will be able to return.”

Charon reclaimed his seat and took up his oar as fear crossed his face and consumed his voice. When he finally spoke, a weak sound was all that protruded. “Yes … yes, Keeper.”

I inhaled deeply and relaxed, remembering Hannah beside me. I took her hand in mine again and began to climb into the boat, but she didn’t move. Looking back at her, the fury grew in me once more and my eyes burned.

Fear crossed her face just as it had Charon’s. I looked at her intensely and pulled once more on her hand. She reluctantly stepped forward and climbed into the boat. I shoved it off the shore and jumped in as Charon guided it through the water and to the opposite shore that I could now see easily.