Young Writers Society

Even before the scenes being played before them disappeared and left them in darkness, strands of darkness began to frantically move at the very edges of the room. Hades was thrown off by the sudden shifts.

Some part of him knew that Elias was missing, too, even though he hadn't quite noticed for sure. He just kept watching the Elias that appeared before him. It was like one of Hecate's spell, projecting something in two-dimensions instead of the three that they were actually in.

Then Kaz's question registered, and Hades frantically began to look around the room as well. The darkness at the edges of the room started moving more desperately before, but they were still under his control. When he became fully aware of their presence, he reigned them back.

"We need to find Elias," Hades said. He knew was stating the obvious, but he couldn't get the pit out of his stomach. It reminded him of the Fates, though they didn't exist outside of the religion that had created him as well. Past, present, future. He couldn't tell if Elias had met Sohiro already or if that was something for the future, but his stomach twisted at the thought of Sohiro plunging the knife into Elias.

...And at how Elias's future implied he would end up in a place like Tartarus when he someday died.

Maggie closed their eyes, massaging their temples as the word rocked under their feet. Keep it steady, a soothingly familiar memory echoed in their skull, you have to be careful with that stress of yours. Use it well, m'kay baby?

They took a deep breath. The 'or else' behind those comforting words pushed them to reign it in.

Their eyes blinked open.

Elias.

Perfectly fine, sitting in his desk. No...none of what they just saw.

Maggie's heart was still pounding in their throat, cold sweat on their palms, but they ignored it. Their body could be stressed, so long as they kept their mind clear.

Annabeth covered her mouth in horror as they watched the video on the projection. When it finished, they all sat in silence.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "Elias couldn't do that," she said louder. "This must be some sick trick or something."

Then Hades and Kaz made concerning remarks about Elias. Kaz looked under the desks.

"We've got to find him," said Annabeth, repeating Hades. She stood up and ran to the door. Annabeth looked both ways down the hallway, but Elias was nowhere to be seen.

"Elias!" she yelled. "Elias, where are you?!"

But Elias didn't answer.

Annabeth turned back to the others. Oh, she wished Greta was with her. Greta would know what to do. Annabeth had never dealt with missing people before, and she was starting to grow fond of Elias.

"What do we do?"

There was a long pause.

And then, a shadowy figure emerged.

It seemed to be real and tangible, unlike the projection. It started as a dark ball that appeared in the middle of the room, but then it spun and grew, turning into a shape of a man.

"Hello, guests of this world," a familiar voice called out, taking in the form of Sohiro. Except... it probably wasn't Sohiro. Like the projection, this figure seemed to glitch and lag, but it did so in an eloquent manner, like a pebble causing ripples of water or a ribbon flowing in the wind.

He didn't wait for the others to answer him.

"You have been brought here as an experimental jury of this trial. What you have seen is evidence of Elias's life: past, present, and future. Of course, there are many other moments of his life, but these are the highlights. Handpicked, just for you." He smiled ominously. "Elias will go on to hurt many, many people. But..." He offered his gloved hands out to reveal a long black knife that glinted in the little light this room offered. He swiveled around so the four of them could see it. "You have the power to stop him before he kills anyone. This weapon can kill him... but only if you choose to."

His let out another sinister smile before turning into a grin. "So, what will it be?"

Kazimir froze when Sohiro showed up, and rage burned in his belly with each passing word from the man's mouth. Something inside of him didn't register that the man was just a projection and that he was lagging.

As Sohiro made the knife appear, Kazimir ran up to him and reached to grab it out of the man's hands.

Sohiro stayed perfectly still as Kazimir ran up to grab the knife out of his hands, but his hand went through the knife like it was made out of air. And because of the momentum, he ran right through Sohiro as well.

Sohiro let out a long, sinister cackle then clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Not so fast, Kazimir," he said as he disappeared for a moment only to reappear at the same spot, facing him with the knife still extended.

"You must want to kill him so badly," he taunted. "I know. But sadly, you must first come to a group decision." He turned to give brief eye contact to everyone. "It only takes one yes."

Kazimir was fuming.

Kill Elias? That wasn't what he wanted at all.

He wanted to kill Sohiro. But he was at least smart enough not to say that out loud. Not while Sohiro was a hologram.

He looked at the others. He wanted the knife, but he didn't need it to kill Sohiro once he saw the man in person. His hands would work just fine.

"Nobody f***in' say yes," he growled.

Annabeth stared at the projection in disgust.

“Elias wouldn’t do that,” she said strongly. “He’s a kid.”

But the images of him killing those people flashed through her head. Those terrible screams and spots of blood.

“Oh god, he couldn’t,” said Annabeth in a voice more weak. She stared at the man and hatred boiled in her chest.

“Elias would never do that,” she said fiercely, her voice growing more resolved. “You’re trying to manipulate us!”

"Don't discount what someone is capable of because of their age," Maggie said to Annabeth carefully. Their eyes were on Sohiro, studying. He wasn't real, so their usual methods wouldn't work.

They spoke to Sohiro now in as even a tone as they could manage, which was an almost inhumanly even tone. "You must be mistaken. The current company you are with are not of the killing sort," the lie was bittersweet on their tongue, "If you want an answer I can tell you now that it will forever be a 'no', quite thoroughly, so I suggest you offer an alternative, or we will be here a long while."

Hades wasn't sure what turn of events he had expected, but it certainly wasn't this. He had never heard of a situation quite like this before - the Underworld only punished people after their crimes had already been committed in the world above.

He listened to what the others said, and felt a wave of relief when he heard how quickly they all wanted to protect Elias. Elias was lucky to have met them - and Hades was lucky to be a part of their group.

"I also vote no," he said. "Even if Elias does someday commit those crimes, there's nothing to say that we can't intervene and warn him before he commits them. Death isn't the only way to avoid tragedies."

Sohiro listened patiently for everyone's response before clicking his tongue again and disappearing and reappearing in front of Hades. "King of the Underworld," he mocked. "I'm disappointed in you. You should know better. Have you learned nothing from the Fates? Do you really think no one has tried to intervene already?" He smirked and narrowed his beady eyes at him, locking eye contact. "You of all people should know about the power of death."

He then looked away and put on a soft face for Annabeth. "And darling," he said before disappearing and reappearing in front of her, "I would do no such thing. I would love to manipulate you—all of you—but that is not my task. This is all very real. You have the power to save many lives. And you should listen to your friend there," he said, gesturing over to Maggie. "Elias may not look like a threat now, but he will be. You cannot deny that fact."

Sohiro disappeared again, and after a few seconds, reappeared in front of Maggie, leaning up very close to them with a sinister smile. "Be careful what you say," he said in a taunting voice. "Forever is a long time."

He looked Maggie up and down then leaned back with a smug look. "Perhaps you need a little more convincing," he said to everyone in the room, but specifically looked at Maggie. "Very well. Only half the evidence has been presented. Let us continue with the second phase of the trial."

He disappeared as quick as he had first arrived in the room.

Then, the projector whirled back to life. This time, the pictures and audio were cleaner, like a clean recording.

7.

This was a repeat memory, but it can be seen that they were in the same classroom.

"How could you do this?" a girl cried out on her knees in hysteria. She was kneeling over a lifeless body, shaking it for a response but not receiving any.

"Evaline, I..." Elias said, but couldn't seem to find the words. He turned to see Mel and Alistair staring back at him, terrified. He took a step towards them, but they instinctively took a step back.

"Stay away from us!" she screeched. "You're... You're a monster!"

The projection lagged and skipped some moments ahead just enough to see other kids coming into the picture, presumably to be the classmates. Some were running away, and some were attacking. Colors and shimmers and smoke and sparks and fire happened all at once.

And so did the screams.

The projection skipped ahead.

8.

White. The entire screen went white, and when the contrast leveled out, it can be seen that the white was pixelated. It was snow.

The back of a man who can be assumed to be an older Elias came to view. He was taller and burlier, but his face was obscured the entire time. His hand was gripped over his chest, blood rushing out and dripping behind him, staining the snow. A nearby cottage came into the picture. He kicked down the door and entered.

It was dark and quiet, and two women were huddling in a corner

"Please, don't hurt us," the woman cried as Elias approached them, voice shaky. "We're not fighting in the war."

But he didn't seem to listen to her, grabbing her and the other woman up by the arm and pushing them so they were facing the wall. Muffled cries were heard as the projection glitched and skipped ahead, showing the women sprawled on the ground with a splattered blood stain on the wall where their heads were just some seconds ago.

The blood dripped down the wall. Drip. Drop.

And then the projection skipped ahead again.

9.

There were two people shown: a man and a woman. At first glance, it wasn't obvious that the man was Elias grown up even more because his face was once again obscured and he had pinned a woman against the wall with a chokehold.

Her face came into view, her pale blue eyes looking more and more lifeless. An observant person may notice that this was the same girl from the classroom projection, but all grown up. "I've played through this moment... hundreds of times already," she said through heavy breaths and gritted teeth, her face turning a ghostly white color. "This is fate... I can't save you... You will always be... a monster."

The projection glitched for a moment, but the crackling sound of bones and a body softly landing on the ground was heard.

The projection skipped forward.

10.

Once again, it was adult Elias, confirmed as his face came into view. It was hard to place his age, exactly; his face and body implied he was young, but his eyes held a deep sadness that could only come with age and time.

He was standing over a crib, uncontrollably sobbing and holding a limp baby, cradling it before placing it back on the crib.

The door opened and a sandy-haired young boy appeared, eyes wide in fright before slowly turning into a look of recognition. "Daddy? Is that you?"

Elias turned around in alarm before softening his gaze at the boy, tears still flowing down his cheeks. His eyes were empty, glazed, desperate. Heartbroken. "Yes," he choked out, kneeling down to be at the boy's eye level. "That's me. Come here."

Hesitantly, the boy walked towards him, and once within reach, Elias tightly grabbed the boy's wrists, leading him to a wall.

"Daddy, you're hurting me!" boy yelped as the fright began to return to his face.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry," he kept repeating between wailing sobs as his hands moved to squeeze the boy's neck. The boy let out some panicked frenzied flails, but could not stop Elias, and eventually slows down.


And then the projector whirred to a stop, and the room went dark and quiet once again.

Maggie watched stone-faced as the projection began again. The horrific deeds of Elias, presented to them in colorful detail as though this was merely a cinematic experience. A horror film designed to sway their certainty and shock their senses.

Maggie had never been a fan of horror movies.

As it came to a close, the air seemed to have turned to syrup, thickened by the tension and stirred by the shirrling minds of the observers.

Never allow anyone to die without a fair trial, hm, little bunny? mama would say as she twisted Maggie's tie into shape, Everyone has a motivation. Mama's hands cupped Maggie's chin, then smoothed their already impeccable suit jacket, Of course, some actions can't be excused with a bit of sympathy, bunny. You have to make the distinction yourself.

Had Elias killed that child?

Was that fake? Or manipulated in such a way that Elias would look guilty?

They never truly saw him kill. It always cut away before the bodies dropped. This didn't seem to be the sort of film that would worry about ratings and audience sensitivities. No, it was made to shock. So why not show it all?

Maggie fixed their hair, just to busy their hands while they pondered the implications.

"Is that all?" they said, finally. "Is there any more evidence you would like to present?"

Kazimir was sick of the movie, and he was sick of all these questions. This wasn't a court of law. This was a classroom, and some sick game Sohiro was playing trying to get them to kill a kid they just met by showing them Elias's worst moments. Hell, if Sohiro showed the room Kazimir's worst moments, they'd probably sentence him to death too.

He held his tongue and seethed quietly, waiting for Sohiro to appear again.

God, he wanted to stab him through the heart.

Annabeth paced the room, balling her hands into fists. She didn’t want to watch those projections again. She wanted to throw up.

“Where’s Elias?” she asked. “If you want to play this game of law, Elias has the right to defend himself.”

Hades was from a time that had a different idea of how trials worked; courtrooms were something he had never witnessed and would likely never witness for centuries. But the Underworld did have certain ways of dealing with those that had committed crimes, and those ways were eerily similar to the type of courtroom that Annabeth was describing.

"Elias should be here," Hades agreed. "When someone's punishment is decided in the Underworld, they're always present. And we never show just bits and pieces of their life - we show every aspect of it and consult every resource possible. The worst thing we could do is condemn someone to a fate they don't deserve."