Cemetery, 2017

             Ever since my lover, Hugh, was murdered during his mission, I wanted to lay with the dead. Visiting different graveyards every week became like a hobby, an obsession for me ever since that day when I felt his passing away three months ago. Both of us being the household member of Hades, the god of death, we felt it in our veins when a loved one died, but we did not mourn. Bearing Hades’ name meant we were not just following him, but also chosen by him to do his bidding, and for that reason, we were special. The death was not the destination, but the beginning for, so I just had to wait and be patient.

             But how could I possibly be patient and believe in that? Looking around here and smelling the scent of grass and decaying bodies only reminded me that my god was not the goddess of love, Aphrodite, but the god of death. So how could Hades promise me that a human more beautiful than Hugh, a human named Adonis will bring me happiness?

             My hands held on to the locket necklace and I tucked it under my minidress as I swallowed. The cold breeze hit my skin as I checked the hidden pocket in my dress:  there was a lip balm and different types of poisons in it. I didn’t even use them, but I could already smell a slight scent of fresh blood nearby. Hearing small steps behind me, I glanced sideways when arms hugged me from behind. Jeans brushed against my half-naked thigh, I felt something injected into my neck as my body lost its strength, I welcomed my favorite color: black.

***

             A kitchen’s red painted wall welcomed me back from the darkness as I opened my eyes. Tied to a chair by my hands behind me, hands were kneading my shoulders and grabbing my breast from behind in this blood-scented room.  “Blood and Sex” written both on the wall and in my mind, I could easily untie this rope and—

             The hands squeezed my breast harder, playing with my nipples.

             “Hey, babe” a misinformed voice said as I breathed in the calming scent of decaying bodies to remind myself of Hades’ promise of happiness. “You like your new home, huh?” His touch disappeared from my breast. The rope fell off my hands, and my eyes wondered to the fully packed closets in the living room when he said, “Let me get you up.”  Could it be him?

             He pushed me up from the chair and I almost fell over when my feet bumped into something hard, hairy, and wet. Hearing the guy’s laughter, I glanced down and a woman’s head, cut open, looked back at me. The cut looked clean and professional, just like how a surgeon would do it. Sliced open a bit in the middle, just enough to see the brain and make it bleed.  Adonis walked up to her head and stroked it, showing his smooth skin, masculine body, and silky black hair. And oh Hades, how could the gods bless him with such a perfect body?

             He kissed the head, his soft lips against the woman’s lifeless skin making me nauseous. He talked about my god like an excited kid, about how I would be soon one of his collections, how my head would be displayed in his bedroom' while he slowly got up from the floor.

             My hands fell on my secret pocket and I took couple steps back toward the wall, glancing toward the closet. He followed me, his voice becoming more and more excited about his death collection while he kicked the woman’s head like a soccer ball on the blood-stained floor. I couldn’t even believe his words. Hugh would have never acted or talked like this. He had always paid his respect to the dead as the perfect representative of Hades.

             Ironically, being a respected household member was also what killed him. He was assigned by Hades to kill ten preys all alone and was shot by one of them. Even though I was only at home at the time, talking with my parents about how capable Hugh was, and when we should get married, I felt that Hugh passed away in my heart. Ba-Dumm. My body froze from the shock and disbelief, and in the end, I was left only with a locket necklace and a mission to die for.

             So who did this man think he was mocking Hugh and disobeying my god’s basics rules to love the dead? There was only one man I’ve heard of who would be such a hypocrite. That mass-murderer and rapist who got away with killing tens of thousands of women right after another just because he claimed to be Hades’ chosen one. The police left him alone believing his words and knowing that harming Hades’ chosen ones meant death for them.

            I took steps back toward the wall. Could it really be him?

             “Are you Adonis?” I asked, watching him coming closer with each step. My back hit the wall and a satisfied grin appeared on his face. Although, I wanted his body, his soul still was too disgusting. “The narcissistic self-proclaimed follower of Hades.” I said. I watched the smile freeze on his face, inches away from me, one hand holding a knife.  “What a joke.”

             He punched his right hand into the wall. “Hey, bitch,” He titled his head. “Tell me something.” He laughed, lifting his knife up. “Why.” His eyeballs shifted between the weapon and me. “The fuck.” He placed his knife on my neck. “Aren’t you.” I felt his sharp blade slightly on my neck. “Scared?” He asked. His right hand slid under my dress, his fingers going up from my thigh toward my underwear. I closed my legs. “Why?” His hands tried to go under my dress again. I pushed them away, glancing toward the closets.

             Then Adonis stabbed the knife into the wall next to my face. He yelled about being Hades only chosen one. He pushed hands slid under my dress again, I grabbed his soft hand. “Scream for your life, be excited, beg for mercy or I will fuck you so hard you won’t even recognize Hades when you see him! React, bitch! Scream! Hades needs an exciting prey!”

             “Oh, my!” I sighed. “Like Hades would ever target his own chosen one, pretender.”

             “What did you just…!?” his eyes dilated, his grip loosened for a second, and I knocked the knife out of his hands and pushed him away. “Where are you going!?” He yelled after me.

             I ran toward the closet and opened it. Three women’s naked bodies in different colors fell out as I stepped back.  They smelled and looked like they have been decaying for weeks there.

             I grabbed the potion from my pocket when Adonis pushed me inside the closet and tore the upper part of my dress apart. I grabbed his shoulders, switched our position, and pour the liquid inside his mouth.

             “What the fuck, bitch!?” He coughed. I pushed him, and he fell on the floor.

             “Like I told you. I am his real household member.” I walked out the closet. Watching his skin turning white, I run toward the kitchen and came back with a wet paper towel. “That’s why I know that you’re not following any of the gods. You’re just doing this for yourself.”

             “And what’s wrong with that!?” He coughed. “He keeps getting more citizens.”

             “A bit too many citizens,” I said, trying to clean his face and push his jeans up, but he inched away. “Calm down. I’m just saving your body.”

             “The fuck you mean?” He attempted to run away, but he stumbled on the floor every time. With those dry lips of his, he begged me to leave him alone, his voice becoming softer.

              “I can’t,” I searched in my pocket for the lip balm. “Your body is just too perfect.” I smiled, examining him from head to toe, not a single imperfection. “I love it.” So, so much.

             “Leave!” He whispered, knocking away the lip balm I tried to put on him. “I don’t want you to love my body!” He punched me and screamed. His touch was so light, it made me smile.

             “Then you should have respected Hades and taken care of the dead for him,” I said, watching his skin turn almost colorless.              “But don’t worry.” I opened the locket necklace, and a blue air looking soul came out. “I will fix you up real soon and the rest is up to Hades.” I breathed the soul in as Adonis closed his eyes. Kissing him, the blue air came into his body while his own soul slipped out into the thin air, to the Underworld where Hades waited to punish him.  

             “Kathy?” A confused, yet gentle voice spoke my name.

             Warmth filled my body as I turned towards Adonis’ body that stared into my blue eyes. The body sat up, looked around and stretched his fingers. Then he laughed, his voice sweet like his soul. “You ever the amazing little killer. For your first necromancy, this is decent.” He stumbled towards me, barely glancing at the dead bodies around us, and touched my hand gently. “I’m glad at least something good came out of my failure.” He said. “I was such a disgrace to fail like that. I…” He stopped and looked at my trembling lips to my eyes, and squeezed my hand.

             Calm down and Breathe. I thought while he kept comforting me. I just smiled, tear drops pouring out from my eyes as I touched his shoulder and hugged him. He was real and alive.

             “It’s just so weird to see you in someone else’s body.” I said, burying myself in his warmth, finally, a worthy and precious soul was moving this body. “But isn’t this beautiful?”

             “Yeah,” He said. “He took good care of it.” He stroked my cheek, smiling. “Thank you.”

             “No,” I smiled. “I’m just happy I could find a suitable body for you,” And I missed you.

             “Yeah,” Hugh said, his hand gently stroking my exposed back. “Me too.”