Erinyes Game
Lifting the panel higher, you slip through and head down the ladder. This can’t possibly be scarier than a killer coming after you, right?
At the bottom, you realize you’re in a dark, ominous tunnel. As you walk, you wonder if you’re in the basement that no one ever found when exploring this place. Eventually you reach a well-lit room that look surprisingly out of place compared to the rest of the facility—even the rooms with video games and technology all had a generally old-fashioned feel, but this looks like a futuristic lab. The bright lights are all tinted purple and the floor is fogged over, giving a strange, ghostly atmosphere.
One wall is lined with monitors, and you realize that each one is showing a video feed of a different room in the facility. There’s the kitchen, each entertainment room, every bedroom including yours, and so on. Disgusted, you continue to look around.
In front of the monitors is a desk with a single microphone and a handful of buttons. Probably where Hades communicated using the loudspeakers.
On a nearby table is a bunch of metal chokers, not unlike the one around your neck. Along with those are smaller metal bands that look like they’d easily fit around the wrist, and some small enough to be rings.
As you inspect the stack of various metal bands, you happen to glance at the monitor wall. There is a camera showing the hallway outside the storage room, and a figure in black is looking around. They’re holding a large, deadly-looking knife.
“Oh no, the Fury,” you mumble. “What if they come down here? I need…” You then spot a door to the side. It’s very plain, unlike everything else in the room. Before you can reach it, it bursts open to reveal a figure dressed in all purple and black.
He gestures dramatically, opening his arms wide in welcome. “Hello there, Hestia. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”
“…Hades?”
You stare up at him, stunned. He’s surprisingly handsome, for a murderous jerk in a cape.
“The one and only. I do hope you have been enjoying this game of mine. You’ve done a wonderful job, surviving this long.” His smile is predatory.
Finding your voice, you glare at him, refusing to be intimidated. “I had to watch my friends die or sentence them to death. Pardon me for not being absolutely thrilled to meet you.”
Hades merely laughs by way of response.
“Really,” you continue anyway, “what’s with all the metal chokers and bands over there? What are you going to do with those?”
Placing a finger on his lips, he winks at you. “A secret, my dear Hestia. And while I do like talking to you in person, I believe this conversation will be cut short.”
“What does that even mean—”
You spin around to see the Fury standing at the entrance to the lab room. Damn, you hadn’t been keeping track of their progress in the monitors, too distracted by Hades. They’re panting from exertion, the knife down by their side.
“Now, Hestia, I must ask one last thing from you.” Hades steps forward to stand by your side and offers you something. A machete, shiny and unused. “The only way for you to leave alive is to kill the Fury in front of you.”
You flinch away from him, raising your hands. “I don’t want any of this. I never heard of that being the only way!”
Hades shrugs. “I do apologize for breaking it to you so suddenly, but I’m afraid you have no choice.”
He shoves the machete into your hands and you heft it, feeling the weight of your impending sin. Hades takes a few steps to the side, pulling the metal-covered table with him so that there’s nothing in between you and the Fury. You stare them down, and though they take up a fighting stance, you can sense their hesitation.
“Best of luck,” says Hades. “And…begin.”
At the bottom, you realize you’re in a dark, ominous tunnel. As you walk, you wonder if you’re in the basement that no one ever found when exploring this place. Eventually you reach a well-lit room that look surprisingly out of place compared to the rest of the facility—even the rooms with video games and technology all had a generally old-fashioned feel, but this looks like a futuristic lab. The bright lights are all tinted purple and the floor is fogged over, giving a strange, ghostly atmosphere.
One wall is lined with monitors, and you realize that each one is showing a video feed of a different room in the facility. There’s the kitchen, each entertainment room, every bedroom including yours, and so on. Disgusted, you continue to look around.
In front of the monitors is a desk with a single microphone and a handful of buttons. Probably where Hades communicated using the loudspeakers.
On a nearby table is a bunch of metal chokers, not unlike the one around your neck. Along with those are smaller metal bands that look like they’d easily fit around the wrist, and some small enough to be rings.
As you inspect the stack of various metal bands, you happen to glance at the monitor wall. There is a camera showing the hallway outside the storage room, and a figure in black is looking around. They’re holding a large, deadly-looking knife.
“Oh no, the Fury,” you mumble. “What if they come down here? I need…” You then spot a door to the side. It’s very plain, unlike everything else in the room. Before you can reach it, it bursts open to reveal a figure dressed in all purple and black.
He gestures dramatically, opening his arms wide in welcome. “Hello there, Hestia. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”
“…Hades?”
You stare up at him, stunned. He’s surprisingly handsome, for a murderous jerk in a cape.
“The one and only. I do hope you have been enjoying this game of mine. You’ve done a wonderful job, surviving this long.” His smile is predatory.
Finding your voice, you glare at him, refusing to be intimidated. “I had to watch my friends die or sentence them to death. Pardon me for not being absolutely thrilled to meet you.”
Hades merely laughs by way of response.
“Really,” you continue anyway, “what’s with all the metal chokers and bands over there? What are you going to do with those?”
Placing a finger on his lips, he winks at you. “A secret, my dear Hestia. And while I do like talking to you in person, I believe this conversation will be cut short.”
“What does that even mean—”
You spin around to see the Fury standing at the entrance to the lab room. Damn, you hadn’t been keeping track of their progress in the monitors, too distracted by Hades. They’re panting from exertion, the knife down by their side.
“Now, Hestia, I must ask one last thing from you.” Hades steps forward to stand by your side and offers you something. A machete, shiny and unused. “The only way for you to leave alive is to kill the Fury in front of you.”
You flinch away from him, raising your hands. “I don’t want any of this. I never heard of that being the only way!”
Hades shrugs. “I do apologize for breaking it to you so suddenly, but I’m afraid you have no choice.”
He shoves the machete into your hands and you heft it, feeling the weight of your impending sin. Hades takes a few steps to the side, pulling the metal-covered table with him so that there’s nothing in between you and the Fury. You stare them down, and though they take up a fighting stance, you can sense their hesitation.
“Best of luck,” says Hades. “And…begin.”