Young Writers Society

Io had run for days. Her sides heaved, and she could scarcely see the path before her. All she wanted was to collapse to the ground as the constellations cackled at her ill-begotten fate- how she wished the stars would go away; they reminded her of Argus’s one hundred eyes, all but two pinned on her- But the pain of running was nothing more than a passing inconvenience compared to the terror that raced behind her.

Had she retained some sense, she would’ve noticed the upward slant she found herself on. It wasn’t until the cold air pressed against her skin did she jolt out of her thoughts. She had found herself, quite abruptly, clambering atop a mountain.

Her first instinct was to turn around, but I can bear the icy glare of winter. It is the fire of a fury that I fear. And so, she marched on.

She would continue forward, and she would climb down the other side. Even if this punishment is eternal, she would fight, if only to spite the Gods above her. Of this, she told herself again and again. Though part of her could still hear Hera’s laughter echoing through her head.

Io gritted her teeth and forced herself on. The night wind howled, as though to blow her back into the arms of the fury.

Despite it all, she at last collapsed to the even ground atop the mountain. It was hard, and cold, and brought utter relief to the burning in Io’s chest. She breathed deeply, once, twice-

“Hello. You must be Io.” Said a pleasant voice. Had Io any energy left in her, she would’ve bolted upright. But as was, she simply peered up at the old man who knew her name.

“You- know me?” She rasped. Even her own Father didn’t recognize her beneath Zeus’s ruse. But this man, who bound to a storm beaten rock, who looked older than the rusted iron chains clasping his skeletal frame, he knew her name? “Who are you?” She asked, her voice growing wilder as adrenaline flooded her veins.

“I am the titan Prometheus.” He said, a grim smile on his withered face. “You know me as the man who gifted mortals fire.”

“I do.” Io’s eyes went alight. For a brief, beautiful moment, her plight was forgotten, “What have you done to be imprisoned here?”

“Zeus wished to punish me for my hubris, and in doing so, showed his own.” He said. “He was angry that I gave man flames, and enraged to know I had fooled him once more. And so, at dawn, each day, an eagle from the heavens swoops down and disembowels me.” Io hissed in a breath.

“That’s horrible.” She said, “I’m so sorry.”

Prometheus nodded, then mustered a smile, “It’s not as though I didn’t know it was coming,” He gestured towards his head- or tried to, his imprisonment made it difficult- “I saw what might happen if I did what I did.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

“Because I saw what might happen if I didn’t.” Prometheus exhaled, “And I loved humanity. And I hated Zeus. Do you know what he said to me? When he bound me in chains?” Io shook her head. “He said, ‘You have forgotten your debt. I could have had you thrown into Tartarus with the rest of your kind. I am being merciful.” It was then Io noticed the dried blood that dotted the hilltop, soaking into the soil. She shivered. “But look at me, complaining,” Prometheus said, all too brightly for their circumstances, “Seems like you have quite the story as well.”

Io was silent for a long moment, “We’ve both been hurt by Zeus.” She said. “Obviously in different ways, but it’s all the same, when you really look at it.” She looked back up at Prometheus, “You have the power of foresight, right? You must know when you’ll be freed.”

Prometheus’s smile faltered, “My visions come and go. They’re all vague impressions of what the fates hold in store.” Io dimmed, and Prometheus continued, “But, if it’s any consolation, there is an end for you. One in which you get to return home and live happily.”

Io’s heart sped up. Her eyes widened just a fraction as she took the smallest of breaths. “Really?” She asked. She was crying. Before a titan. How embarrassing.

“I do.” He nodded.

Io sobbed. Had she hands in which to bury her face, she would’ve. Instead, she settled for throwing her head back and laughing. She’d be human again. She’d see her family again. “Thank you!” She said, “Thank you, thank you!”

She let herself revel in her own joy for a moment (or maybe an hour, she couldn’t be sure) but she sobered as her eyes landed on the chains clasping Prometheus’s wrists, then the blood staining the ground.

Why did she get to be free, and not him? Surely he had suffered longer, and much harder.

“Will you stay with me?” There was a tinge of desperation to his voice. “Just for a little while?”

She looked up at the great titan. Any hint of a grin long gone from his face. He hung from the stone like a burned-out effigy.

“I will.” Io said. Tears still stung at her eyes. Or not her eyes. But they would be her eyes. They would be again, soon.

She sunk to the ground beside Prometheus’s pedestal and told him about the things she had seen as human and heifer both. Of Hera, and her towering golden frame, of Argus and his ninety-eight watchful eyes, and of the fury, racing up the mountain to torture her once more.

But a weight had been lifted. Her despair had faded to nothing more than a dull throb in the back of her temple.

Now, all that remained was anger.

The sun began to grace the mountains with it’s unwelcome light, and Prometheus had fallen silent.

“It’s time for you to go.” He said.

“Not yet.” Io’s voice hitched in her throat. But even as she said it, she could feel the Fury’s heat pressing up the mountain. She didn’t want to be on her own again.

“You aren’t alone.” Prometheus said as the sky lightened, as though he read her mind, “There are other people who have been hurt by the Gods. I need you to find them.” His words were rushed, as though they were just dawning on him.

Io trembled, but she did not move. “I’ll come back for you.” She said. “I’ll come back and I’ll free you. I promise.”

“No.” Prometheus said. “Not you. But we will meet again.” There was a smile on his face. He was stared ahead, welcoming the future with open arms.

A shadow flitted across the horizon. Massive wings, a razor-sharp beak.

“I’ll see you later, Io.”