I'm doomed. Griffin is gone, tossed down the well. The clan leaders are either dead, or have fled. Ancientwell is in ruins, the defences broken, it's army dead or demoralized. The citizens of this once proud place are now scrabbling around in the dark and dust, looking for our food supply that got washed away in Griffin's flood. People died, they lost loved ones, their livelihoods, and the mood is at an all time low. The worst part of it all is everyone is looking to me to fix it, as though I could just clap my paws together, wiggle my nose, and make everything right. They look at me in despair, wondering why I just sit here and do nothing.

It's because there's nothing that can be done. Even if I was able to rally everyone together, we still wouldn't have a chance. Perhaps if we were left alone, maybe if we had time, we could rebuild, gather ourselves and come back from this, but we can't. The remaining clans will come and lay waste to everything, and I refuse to let my people be taken as slaves. Nanashi would arrive even before that.

What of Ringo's plan for me? Why did he throw Griffin down the well first? Why was he so insistent that I go down as well? Should I? Should I do what he wanted for me? No. Not anymore. If anything, I have to try and save my what's left of my people, and there's only one way I can do that. When Aoi arrives, I'll surrender myself to Eol, on the condition that he take them and leave, take them away from this place. It's all I can do for them.

So just like that I had a goal. In between his inane yammerings, Lester told me I was to go to 'The Castle' and ask Hades, the Greek God, to help me get home. When he said 'The Castle', he could have only meant the massive spired fort off in the distance with storm clouds eternally circling the highest tower, ominous lightning crackling all about, with a ginormous shadow cast across the land as the sheer size of it blotted out... Whatever wannabe sun was lighting the place up.

Thankfully, the effects of the black river had almost worn off. I couldn't tell exactly how long I had spent in it, nor how long it had been since I was plucked from it, but I wasn't feeling nearly so weak, and only slightly depressed. I felt a dull ache all over my body, as though I had just been put through a rigorous exercise routine, and I groaned at the sheer force of will it took to move.

At that point, there really was nothing else to do but start walking, and keep my eyes out for the 'other dead folk' Lester warned me about. So, one foot in front of the other I guess. I dragged my feet as I set off towards the horizon.

After about a half hour, the dry cracked earth slowly started turning to sand. After about a six hundred steps or so of that, it had become completely desert, and I could see dunes off in the distance. I was feeling a bit better, much of the soreness has begun to fade, letting me move more freely and not get as much grief from my aching muscles. At this point, I decided to turn around and see how far I had gone.

"... you've got to be kidding me." I was some distance from the cabin, but after going for that long, it shouldn't have even been visible any more. What's more, the divide between the earth and the sand had shrank to about a stone's throw across. I sat in the sand for a minute contemplating what to do about this.

"Okay... so no matter how far I go, I can't seem to get away from this shack when I'm focusing on the castle... what if I watch the shack and walk backwards?" So, turning to face Lester's home, I started a reverse march through the sands. I was thankful to find that as I walked, the cabin slowly got farther away, until it was a mere speck on the horizon. I thought at that point it would be okay to turn around and see where I was.

"Uwaaa!" On facing the opposite direction, I nearly fell right back into the river. If I had gone three more steps, that would have been the end of it, as I doubt Lester would fish me out twice. Turning back the way I came, I was now in front of his shack, and the cracked earth that had been there was now sand.

"OH for FUCKS SAKE!" Welp, when in a place that defies all logic, the only logical thing to do at this point is look towards the goal, close your eyes and run for it.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I shouted as I charged, fighting against the mysterious forces that seemed to want to keep me at the blasted river bank. I ran and ran, paying no mind as to where I was or where I was going... only to run face first into something. Something wooden, and not very steady...

"Oh come on!!!"

"Will ya quit that racket! I thought I told ya ta git!" Lester yelled in a crabby tone of voice as he kicked open the door of his shack, knocking it right off it's remaining hinge. "Now look, ya gone an broke mah door!"

"You broke your door, and I've been trying to leave for the past hour damnit you crazy old hick!" I shouted right back at the old man.

"Hick? You oughta show yer elders s'more respect!" He spat as he picked up his fishing rod. "Now when ah say git..." He swung it forward, catching me around the arm with the hook. "Ah mean GIT!" With a mighty tug, he drew back, falling over on the sand and sending me flying straight over the roof of his little house. I thought that old man had some incredible strength before, but this is just absurd. I sailed over dunes and little dead shrubs and such before finally landing face first in the sand. I got my head stuck under ground, so I had to tug and pull for a while before I came out with a pop, falling flat on my back.

"Plbbbbbbbtttthh... thhtupithhh..." I spat sand out of my beak, though I had gotten quite a face full of it, and took to scraping my tongue off with my claws. "Thupid ol mahn... ptt ptt." Once I had gotten the grit out of my face, I took a look around get get my bearings. I turned in a circle, and it was my great joy to find that neither the river, the shitty shack, nor the crabby old man were anywhere in sight. He had flung me, and the magic or curse of this place had taken me a greater distance than I could have managed just by walking. I looked to my left wing, growling at the fact that it wasn't there. This whole ordeal would be so much easier if I was able to fly. Being able to move quickly, but also having a bird's eye view to take in the landscape would have been a godsend. At least I wasn't at the stupid fishing shack.

I headed to the nearest dune and climbed to the top, struggling in the sand that kept coming lose, making me either sink into it, or slide down the dune. So far, this apparent 'hell' had been more frustration, confusion, and annoyance than torment, excluding the black river of misery. Then again, as someone who clings to logical progression and discovery, this paradoxal desert would be absolutely infuriating to spend any length of time in. Perhaps this was where physicists went, spending all eternity trying to find patterns that don't exist, losing themselves as they create increasingly more complex systems to try and make sense of their surroundings, consumed by their need to understand the world around them, unable to stop and simply accept the chaos that immersed them, falling further and further into madness!!!!!!

...

Or maybe it was just a crazy desert. All I knew is I wanted to leave, to reach the castle, get back to the world of the living, and back to those I cared about. The only way to do that was to keep walking, and try not to get caught up in the little mysteries that I was compelled to unravel.

As I traveled farther and farther, I became distinctly aware of something I had previously missed. Even in regular deserts, there was always an abundance of life. Cacti, camels, snakes, scarabs, horn lizards, and fire ant nests. All sorts of deadly creatures made their home within the sands, and became merciless to survive in such an unforgiving climate. Here, there was nothing. No life at all. I suppose that's what I should expect from a desert in the land of the dead, but it still surprised me at just how... desolate the whole place was. Besides Lester's shack, there was absolutely nothing here but dunes. It's as though it had all been swept away by the ever changing sand, or perhaps had never been there to begin with.

After a while, everything just started looking the same. All the dunes looked just like... the other dunes. And the sand looked just like the other sand. Even the footprints I was leaving were quickly swept away by a slowly growing wind, though I couldn't tell where it was coming from, or going to, only that it existed, as if this place wasn't bad enough, someone had conjured a gust to blow sand in my eyes.

As I used my wing to shield my face from the cruel grains, peeking through the feathers I watched as the entire landscape changed in the poor visibility. Dunes rolled and shifted, some shrinking to form great stretches of flat land, while others grew to massive proportions, only to shrivel as the wind assailed them like those that came before. As the dust settled and the wind subsided, I found that everything was exactly as it had been before. Nothing had changed.

Or had it? Had it been an illusion? No, the sand and wind were real, real enough that I could feel the granular texture on my face, and the sting in my eyes, yet here the desert stood, unchanged, despite having seen it evolve as what felt like eon's passed in mere moments. The only difference was that my footsteps had been swept away, just as they had before. That's when I noticed a thin black line on the horizon, slowly squiggling it's way along.

"What... hey HEY!" I shouted as I ran towards the only thing I had seen in hours? Days? How long had I been wandering this desert anyways? I was hungry, my mouth was parched and my throat burned. I tripped and stumbled in the sand, rolling down the dune. I reached it far more quickly than I should have, stumbling to get back to my feet.

As I looked up, I saw a tall being in a brown desert cloak, with a hood covering it's head. It's shape seemed to be that of a human. The line, it seems, was a convoy of sorts, a single file walk through the sands. There were creatures of all shapes and sizes, pony, griffin, diamond dog, human, cat, all sorts, all dressed in desert gear, walking across the sands.

"Finally, hey, do you know where we are? How do I get to the castle?" I asked. At my question, several members of the group turned their heads, letting me see under their hoods.

"... What the hell..." Their cheeks were sunken in, and looked to have had all the skin torn off, letting me see the shriveled muscle of their faces. They had no eyes in their sockets, with a thick black ichor dripping from them, while their teeth stuck out of their gums, all rotten and filled with cavities, dripping black as well. The closest one, a human, opened his mouth and let out a wheeze, sand spurting out as he moaned, stumbling towards me with an arm outstretched. His hand was much the same, just bare muscles and bones, seeping pus and filth as it tried to grab me.

Oh, an look out fer other folk. I'm alright cuz I got mah hot chicken sammich ta keep me warm, but the other dead folk is stone cold. They'll be drawn to you like a moth to a candle cuz ya got the spark a life er some nonsense. Point is they'll suck the heat right outta ya if ya let em.

This... was this what Lester was talking about when he was rambling? If so, then I really can't let them get me. They look so much like zombies, it's a good thing I'm jaded to all this gore, but the stench is horrible.

Just then, I felt the wind pick up again, and all these... dead, started freaking out, scrambling in all directions, though failing to find cover as they stumbled. I did however, happen to see some old ruined buildings a couple dunes away. When I looked behind me, I was frozen in horror.

A wall.

A wall of sand. As though the desert were furious at my presence, dirt devils and sand storms whipped up, kicking the grit high into the air. They twisted and churned, until I could no longer tell one storm from the next.

"Oooh craaaap." I immediately turned and ran towards the ruined city, spotting what looked to be a skyscraper, like what would be found in a modern earth city, having fallen over on its side and half buried in sand. Rushing to the nearest window, I looked for some entrance, but couldn't seem to find any.

"Over here! Hurry!" I heard the shout of what sounded like a little girl. "This way!" Looking around, I found a little figure dressed in the same desert garb, hopping up and down frantically. Despite Lester's warning, she appeared to be sane and wanting to help, so I ran to her as she scrambled through a large broken window. I followed after, scraping my side on some broken glass as I entered, the storm coming over the building soon after.

The two of us stood on a thin layer of sand coating the... wall, panting as we were out of breath from having outrun the storm. We stood there for a few moments, looking at the glass.

*Whump*

"Um..."

*Whump whump*

There was something beating it's fist against one of the windows, but with all the sand blowing about, I couldn't see what it was.

*Crash*

The window shattered, revealing the cloaked form of a man, possibly one of the ones who had been in that dune convoy earlier. He thrashed about with half his body in the building, howling and wheezing in pain. His hood fell off his head and I watched as the grains of sand washed over his body like hungry insects, stripping the flesh off till only bone remained, a withered skeleton so close to salvation, now just a cloak billowing in the vicious wind.

"Th.. thanks. That was close." I turned to my rescuer. The petite form removed it's hood to show me the smooth skinned face of a little girl. Pale as death, with straight gray hair, but brilliant blue eyes and a beaming smile.

"Don't mention it. My name's Nayla! What's yours?" She couldn't have been more than ten or twelve.

"It's Griffin... um..." I looked at myself. "Yeah, it's ironic, don't ask." She giggled to herself.

"You're funny. Come on new guy, this way." Nayla climbed a pile of office equipment that had been knocked over and clumped together against a wall, so that she could climb through a door into the next area. I followed after her to find that she had piled up a bunch of photo copy machines, cubicle walling and other such junk into a little shelter to guard her from the storm.

"Uh... nice place?"

"Thanks!" She replied excitedly.

"Are you here all alone?"

"Nope, I got lotsa friends. You sure got lotsa questions don'tcha mister? You must be new here."

"Uh.. yeah.. that obvious?"

"Don't worry, I'll answer all your questions, yesirree! Count on ol Nayla! I'm the leader of this here group." I looked around to find only office junk.

"Um.. who?"

"Oh, I haven't even introduced you! This here's Reggie." She pointed to a cash register. "This is Kate, stay away from her, she's a copy cat, copycat Kate, she'll copy everything you say, it's super annoying." She motioned to a photocopy machine. "And this here is Mr. Banks. He's super duper serious all the time." She showed me a moderately sized safe as she spoke in a deep, mocking attitude.

"How... how long have you been here?"

"Oh.... I dunno, as long as I can remember!" More importantly, how is she this cheery in a place like this?

"Um.. I don't think I'm gonna get very far asking questions so... why don't you tell me a story? I'd like to learn a little about this place."

"OOH!" Her eyes lit up comically. "Story time story time! Okay, you have a seat right there Mr. Griffin, I'll tell you aaaaaaaaallll about this place."

Okay then.... she's very strange... almost kind of sad, she must have been here for an incalculable amount of time. I walked over to an open spot and settled into the white sand, while Nayla picked up a flashlight, turned it on, and stuck it under her chin like she was telling a horror story.

"Welcome to the Sea of DESSSSOLAAATIOONNNNNN. This is the most desolate place to ever be desolate, and that's something. It's kinda funny cuz it's a desert, and in deserts, there's no water, but the ocean has lots of water, or so I've been told. Now, most a the people here are hungry dead. They got taken by the desert storms and had alla their skin torn off, so they wander around looking for whole people ta chomp on so they can get their meat back. You know... you are what you eat! For a long time this place was called 'Hungry Hell' cuz people would just eat each other all day and night, but then the desert came and took em all away, so now there's just a couple left and they wander around. The sand rotted their brains, so they're real dumb and just wander the desert in single file looking for people to nom on."

"Uuugh.... that's horrible. How did you survive this long all on your ow.... I mean with just the four of you?" Can't discredit her friends.

"Cuz I'm smart! I stay in the city and hide when they come by. I have this whoooole place all to myself. Well, my friends stay here cuz they don't get out much, but I go wherever I want! Oh! When to storm passes I'll show you a candy store! Everything there is real yummy!" She paused for a minute. "Wait... survive? What are you talking about? I'm dead! Dee Eee Dee ded. Everybody down here is dead. Oh... you must think you're still alive! You're dead. Congrats! Now you can just stay here with me! FOR-EVER. I mean, Mr.Banks and Reggie are fun and all, but they're not very good conv... conver... covner..."

"Conversationalists?" I offered.

"Yeah that."

"Well... actually, I gotta get to the castle. I'm not dead and I don't belong here. I was thrown down a well. I have to talk to him to get him to send me back."

"... it's not fair..."

"Huh? What?"

"It's not FAIR!" Nayla started crying.

"I.. uh..."

"I guess you really don't know...*sigh*... The underworld is divided into sections. There's Greater Hells, Lesser Hells, Purgatory, Elysium Fields, Tartarus, and the Castle. They're all separated by rivers which you can't cross without the Boatman-pony-thing. We're in a lesser hell, the sea of desolation. In the lesser hells and purgatory, life goes on as it does in the living world. Purgatory is just like life above, you are born, you grow, you live, and you die, then are reborn all over again. The lesser hells are much the same, but life here is hard. Sandstorms, hungry dead roaming the dunes, scavenging for food, and lets not forget the occasional demon attack."

"Nayla, I don't understand..." Her cheery disposition was gone now. She had the most miserable look on her face, her bottom lip curled into a pathetic looking frown, and tears streaming from her beautiful eyes.

"I just told you didn't I? We're born, grow, live, and die here. How old am I? What? Ten? I don't even remember, and I've been here my whole life."

"... You were born here?"

"I never even got a chance at life!" She screeched. "How fair is it? I was born already dead, to a pair of dead parents, living in this dead desert. Just when I was old enough to fend for myself, a demon came and took them away... hell is where the evil are punished... but what was my sin? I know I must have done... something, and then I died here and got reborn, but I don't even know what I did anymore! Why am I being punished? And then you come along... and say you're still alive? Stop being delusional!" She gently put a hand on my chest, running her frigid little fingers through it.

"You're... warm..." She stopped, frozen in shock. I quickly backed away from her.

"Geez! You're freezing cold!"

"I... it's been so long.. since I've been... warm." She quickly dove at me, throwing her arms around my neck, even the slightest touch freezing me to the core.

"Nayla... stop... it... it hurts..."

"So warm..." She buried her face in my feathers, squishing as closely to me as she possibly could, trying to warm herself with my body.

"Sss...sss...sssso cold...." I watched as my breath became visible, and my entire body began going numb. My teeth chattered in my beak as I shivered, feeling all heat in my body being drawn out.

"Sss... Sssstop!" I rolled over, flinging the tiny little girl off of me. As soon as I was no longer in contact, I felt immensely better. I watched as she picked her tiny self up off the floor. I expected to see her cry, or sob, or something, but instead she got a maniacal look in her eye.

"It's not fair... your warmth... give it to me!"

"No!" Crap crap crap! I ran around inside the office building, scrambling over desks and computer monitors as the crazy, the heat obsessed little dead girl chased me.

"I want it! It's mine! give it to me!" She screamed in a voice that could only belong to someone possessed. At that moment I turned and grabbed her outstretched arm, flinging her light little body at a nearby window, making her crash through the worn and weakened glass, out into the storm. She screeched as the storm claimed her. Clawing her way back into the building as the grains stripped the flesh from her bones. She looked at me as the desert ate away at her eyes, shedding a tear as she whispered her last word in undeath.

"I'm... sorry..." And then she fell limp.

"I... I.... what... I.. what have I done? She was... just... a little girl... she... no... she was attacking me, but... she was so cold... she just wanted to be warm I... I had to but she... I didn't want to kill her! I just wanted... just wanted..." Who was I trying to convince? Whoever was in charge of this place? Or maybe myself? She was just a little girl, who had never even gotten to live, and now she was dead again, because I.. unkilled her? I don't even know anymore. I clutched the side of my head as tears ran down my face, burning hot on my feathered cheeks. I clenched my eyes shut, swallowed hard, took a deep breath and let it out.

"Soon as this storm clears, I'm gonna get the fuck out of this desert."

Author's Notes:

I recently watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and I discovered that my description of what it's like being in the Acheron is very similar to description the boatman gave to the stream of broken junk. 'Lost love, dreams that didn't come true.' Etc. I had not seen the movie before.

...

...

*Edit* That was almost two week ago... maybe a month, I don't know any more. I worked so much over the past little while, and had a hard time describing the desolation. I mean, how to you come up with imagery for nothing without being repetitive?