Crossroads Read Free

hour passed and she was once again struck by her surroundings. She knew she should know this place, it was there tickling the back of her mind with maddening familiarity.
    She continued on and soon she began to pass even more familiar landmarks. As she approached the outskirts of the town she realized she was still in Mercy, she was just approaching it from the other road on the opposite side of town to where her house was. She quickened her pace as she headed into town, cursing Hades for playing her for a fool. Well, the hell with him and his stupid cruel games she was just going to head straight back to her house and she was going to find a way to open the doorway to the Otherworld even if she had to go through every single scrap of paper and book in her library. If that didn’t work she was going to blow up the internet for information and if that didn’t work…well, she may just damn well kidnap Charon herself. Whatever it took she was going to get Theo back.
    Her pace quickened as she stalked angrily into the town proper and headed for Main Street. She could have blamed her stubbornness and irritation for the fact she didn’t immediately notice that something was different about Mercy. She passed the town offices and turned the corner heading towards the museum. Gradually slowing her pace, her brow folding into a puzzled frown as her mind began to process something that should have been glaringly obvious the minute she stepped foot into town. She stopped abruptly across the street from the Pub, just past the Bailey’s convenience store and scanned her surroundings.
    Where were all the people?
    Olivia crossed into the street, slowly stopping in the middle of the usually busy road which ran the length of Main Street. There was nothing, no cars, no traffic and most importantly, no people. She turned a slow circle scanning the sidewalks and shops. Nothing, she was the only person there; it was like she’d woken up from a coma and found herself in the middle of a Zombie apocalypse.
    So Hades had kept his word, she must be in the Otherworld but why did it look like an exact abandoned replica of her town?
    Confused she crossed back to the Bailey’s store and tried the door. It was unlocked, it swung open easily and she stepped into the cheery little store. The florescent lights glowed brightly highlighting row upon row of fully stocked and untouched shelves. She stepped behind the counter and found the register fully loaded with cash. There was a small TV behind the counter also and although already turned on it simply showed static. She changed the channels but each one was the same, as if there were no TV stations left broadcasting.
    A little freaked out Olivia stepped back out onto the street and walked a couple of blocks. Every door she tried was the same, unlocked; each room beyond pristine and undisturbed with not one single person in sight.
    ‘Hello?’ she called out as she wandered down the street. ‘Hello, is anyone here?’
    Nothing but silence.
    She noticed for the first time that the light hadn’t changed. She’d been walking for hours, in the real world the sun would have reached its midday peak and then started to descend towards the horizon and into night. But here it remained the same, covered by the strange swirls of cloud and bathing the town in a pale constant light with a faint bluish cast to it.
    Trying to think about the problem logically she unconsciously chewed her lip. If Theo had been pulled into the Otherworld and ended up here, where the hell would he be? She tried to put herself in his place. If it’d been her pulled through the gateway what was the first thing she’d do? she asked herself and the answer was simple, head to the place that was most familiar to her.
    Her house…
    If Theo were to head to the most familiar place it would be her house. In fact, even if he didn’t realize he’d been pulled into the Otherworld that would be the first place he would go looking for her.
    She