Leo POV

The truck juggled on the rocky and rough path . Elsa took pictures of the path as much as she could. Obviously, it was a good move cause I would surely love to repay Hades another visit.

I drove and Elsa, who, just like me, was desperately trying to memorise the turns and corners of our way. We didn't dare utter a single of word. Afraid that an microphone might be attached here.

I pressed my lips in a straight line waiting for the longing ride to finish any second. 'Are you okay?' I  broke the prolong silence.

'Can't say anything,' Elsa replied indirectly. 'What about you?'

I shrugged. 'Well, I'm wearing this shitty outfit which stinks and I'm driving to the path I have no idea about. I'm fine.'

She gave away a mere laugh. 'And you think I'm okay in these baggy , stinky clothes?'

'You look cute.' I  commented. Words spluttered out so immediately that I simply said out loud without giving them another thought.

She snapped her lips and didn't feel need to speak about  another word.

The rest of the drive was me , mentally cursing myself and Elsa who was burning hot as red and crouched up in her seat. She was so not used to my compliments and how could she ever be? I never gave her any.

The car skidded to a halt at the desired destination. I furrowed as the place where our destination was supposed to be, was merely a barren ground.

'Do you think this is it?' I asked Elsa who was looking around for any sign of life or, something that could make us believe that I drove the right path.

'Did you follow the exact path?' She questioned.

'Yeah.' I said confidently.

'Then what is this?' She asked again.

'How would I know?'

She unlocked her passenger door. 'I'm going out to check.' I held her hand to stop her from going out.

'No. It could be a trap.' I stated. My instincts hinted me such. Barren land with no one around, neither a building, nor a car. You can't trust such surrounding.

She huffed. 'You can't simply sit here doing nothing. We better need t—

Her act of impatience was interrupted by a lurching shudder of the ground beneath our tires. Clicking of metal against metal echoed around us. Elsa and I looked simultaneously at each other silently asking for the most obvious question; What is happening?

Drops of sweat screened down my forehead and my neck when the ground shook again sending a narrow tube with camera attached to it outside our window sheet. I gulped down as it began to scan us up and down.

The camera, when done with it's checking, snaked down and silence fell again. I casted Elsa a look but she was as scared as I was. Then, the ground shook again. With another strong jerk, the ground began moving down with horrendous sounds of chains and pulleys.

I looked around. Blinked. To adjust my eyes to the dark. Wondered. What was happening and most of all, was scared.

There was a possibility that the camera might detected the fault and now, we would be caught. Getting nearer to Hades and being caught by Hades were two different situations. The latter,  no doubt, was more unwanted.

'Leo?' Elsa called my name.

'Yeah?'

'You're there?' She asked.

'I am,' I answered. Then, our skins contacted. 'We'll be fine.' I told her though I, myself was so uncertain about such remark.

The dark, with streams of lights, began to disappear giving us specks of hope and streams of sheared fear. The ground stopped and landed us in a foreign place with no one around. The upper roof closed itself leaving us confused in the mid of a brightly lit—with no furniture around and no person —place.

We waited and waited. For anything. Anything to happen but our silent prayers were overheard. 'Okay I guess we mighta get outta here.' I commented after a prolong silence that did us no good but developed more fear than before.

'Ok.' Elsa , like a battery doll she sprang to life and unlocked the door getting out. I followed her actions and placed my foot on the white marble tiles that were overly cleaned and shone brightly under the lights fixed in the roof that —either by default or ordered —captured us in.

'What the hell is happening?' Elsa asked again.

'If I would've known, I wouldn't've been here.' I snapped. Her constant series of questions to a person who himself was new to such place, not only seemed odd but at a point, irritating too.

'Ow!' I turned my head towards the search of Elsa who was rubbing her forehead that was scrunched up. 'Hey Leo, it's a wall.' She informed.

I walked up to her but before I myself could prove the validity of her information, a green stream of line waved from up and down our bodies just like the camera did and then, with a thunderous sound, the invisible wall in front of us began moving.

Just as the components of the wall parted in half, a massive yet unbelievable scene made its way towards us. It felt as if we were at the other part of the world and the one opposite to ours, was a whole different one.

They say it right. Too much is always dangerous. The too in the technology over the last fifty years had only created vast problems. The advancement in robots and weapons, destroyed acres of land just as a trail for weapons.

And just like that, the technology sprinted towards me as a danger wearing their weapons proudly as their suits. A parade of groups and groups of guards marched alertly across the ends of the hallway. White walls with built-in lights shone and spread themselves across many feet around.

Screens displayed and vanished in thin air just with a single touch that was attached on their forearms.

'Leo?' She said.

'Humph?'

'What the hell?'

'The appropriate term is 'fuck'.'

'Come on.' Elsa urged me to move so we did. we moved as much as we could. I needed myself to ran away from those metallic bodies that were asking us to unload the truck we just possessed. Finally, just as the robots , inspecting us, looked away, we hid in another truck to get rid of them and to haunt down Hades.

'I think we should go out now." Elsa whispered when she tried to open the door and to our luck the door burst opened. She peeked through the door and gestured me to follow her when the way seemed clear to her. I nodded and we both jumped out of the truck.

Just like a swish, the white , unbearable lightness was lowered to a normal level and before me the headquarter of Hades displayed.

We stood right in the middle of the parking lot surrounded by trucks, identical to the one in which we used as a hiding place, lined all around.

I gestured Elsa to hide behind a metal box to make out what really was happening. Robots patrolled around and around. Holding weapons, heads rotating at 360 degrees as if guarding something.

To our left, was what seemed to be the entrance of the Hades' headquarter. Above the building, a huge 'H' was sculpted in shape of snakes that curled around its edges and a slinky tongue flew out of a snake's mouth that connected the two poles of 'H'.

The whole place was illuminated but no source of lights was found.

My eyes trailed off from finding a non-existing thing to a truck that came right out of that blinding light. A belt was attached to the truck and when it's doors opened, bodies of children stood on the belt. 'Elsa, they are—'

'The kids from NGO!' She gasped.

'Exactly!' I whispered. 'What are they doing with them?' I observed them as they stood on the belt that transported them inside. Their clothes were afresh, as if they were just dressed nice and clean for a family gathering. Their wrists wore little bands on which distinct numbers were scribbled upon but the font size was too small to be read from this distance. Their faces were expressionless as if they didn't give a shit about whatever would be happening to them.

'I don't know. Being experimented, I guess?' Elsa guessed and I casted her a look. It could be a fact or a myth. 'I just met a boy in the bathroom there. He told me he was some sort of, like genius than most of us , even you and me.'

I hummed and took that in. 'We need to know what he'll be doing with them.' Elsa said.

'There's only one way to find out.' I said and tip-toed behind another box of metal and crouched down. It's location was perfect, closer to the belt, hidden from the guards.

'Leo, What the hell?' She mouthed and I simply mouth back 'follow me.' I tiptoed further closer to the belt, looked around before I slipped on the belt that was taking them in. I again came across a blinding white light before it transformed into a light highly appreciated by our eyes. Just as the belt came out into what seemed to be a centre, I instantly rolled off the belt. I crawled away from it and straightened my back against a wall, well hidden from everyone's view.

I composed myself and was ready to attack when a hand was placed on my shoulder but soon refrained myself too. 'Damn Elsa,' I said as she nearly had me out of the blind spot. 'How did you get in here?'

'Well there was a door, right behind the belt which you could've used instead of showcasing your heroic moves.' She said.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. In front of was what you call a maze of tunnels one could get hypnotise by. I squinted and noticed one of the boy, the last one since I missed the rest because of Elsa's dramatic entrance, being taken into a tunnel number 4.

'See there? That's where we have to go,' I pointed at tunnel no.4.

'But we have to find Hades.' She argued.

'If we, by any reason fail to, at least we'd have our hands on one of Hades' deeds and could track him again.' Elsa again placed a hand on my shoulder. 'Elsa I told you do not touch...' I trailed off as I took notice that those hands didn't belong to Elsa. I turned around and my eyes witnessed a breathtaking view only, the view was of a nozzle of a gun being pointed straight at my head.

'Why not meeting straight with Hades?' He said.

oOo
A/n

Here's another short chapter. I want to write more but I have to divide things,although I hate it.

So what do you think would happen to them? Who possibly can the stranger be?

Answer me in the comments below and don't forget to vote and share.

huzailazahid