I secured the leather-bound journal in my inside jacket pocket and kept running.  The vast space was empty, I was glad because I am not stopping for anyone or anything for at least a few minutes.  I looked back to see if Taylor was alright, she was right by me and I never realized it.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked still running.

"Why not try for that thicket in my dream?" Taylor responded passing me.

"Do you even know where that thicket is?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"You remember where we practiced archery a couple years ago?" she responded leaning forward and gaining speed.

"Of course." I smiled remembering when we were 12 practicing archery with Dad while Mom was at work.

"That thicket right by it to the south, I recognized it, that's where we're going.  This speed, we'll reach the thicket by approximately lunch time." she answered as I caught up to her.

"It's like 7 or 8 in the morning now." I said running right by her.

"You remember how far away our range was, don't you?" she retorted.

"Yeah, but it never felt like it would take that long!" I shouted feeling my jacket to make sure I hadn't dropped the notebook.

"Exactly, but now we're like 2 or 3 times slower than the F150 and lunch is usually at, like, 11: 30." she looked up at me and raised an eyebrow with a smirk across her face.

"Shut it." I joked and smiled.

"Right back at you." she mused and smiled.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Do not roll your eyes at me, young man." she laughed and lightly punched my shoulder.  Tay always called me young man even though I'm only about 4 minutes younger than her.

We kept running.  It felt like it had been forever when we took our first break.  I would've been grateful for this if Taylor wasn't acting like she was looking for something, she had stopped abruptly and looked around.

"What are you looking for?" I asked slumping against a tall Western White pine tree.

"Remember when Dad gave us those instructions on how to make bows and arrows out of branches and stuff?  I made copies and planted them across the trail to the range, I had one or two in this area." she explained digging in the dirt by a shrub.

"Oh." I said nodding.

"Score!" she shouted pumping her fist in the air.

"You find one?" I asked casually.

"Yeah, perfectly legible!" she exclaimed and showed it to me.

"Cool, please stop trying to make me deaf." I leaned my head against the tree.

"Shut up!" she yelled in my ear.

"Why don't you?  I think we should listen to see if anything or anyone followed us." I shook my head.

As if I knew someone was following us, I heard footsteps in the distance.  Taylor whipped around hitting her head on a low tree branch.  As usual, she cursed herself half to death.  My eyes darted around the area until I saw a figure about an inch or two taller than Dad.

"Greetings." said the hooded figure seemingly teleporting a couple feet in front of me.

Taylor tried to surge forward demanding who they were.  I caught her arm and pulled her back.

"Dear child, you must recognize me from your Greek mythology textbook." the hooded figure responded.

"Take off the hood." Taylor growled glaring at whoever it was.

The hooded figure unmasked himself.  He had medium brown hair, white complexion, and light blue-green, almost gray eyes.  He had a devilish grin crinkling the corners of his eyes.  His picture, alongside the other Olympian gods', had appeared in our Greek mythology textbooks.

"Lord Hades." I squinted at him.

"Correct, Justin." Hades smiled.

"How do you know his name?" Taylor asked Hades.

"Dear Taylor, I, as well as my fellow gods and goddesses, have been keeping tabs on you." he answered turning towards her.

"Don't pull that nice guy bull-" I cut her off.

"Language." I glared at her.

"Don't play that nice guy game with me, I will rip your head off.  I don't prefer traitors or villains." she barked at him and gritted her teeth.

"Vicious, feisty, eager for bloodshed, a true fighter.  Perhaps it was you that stirred up the rush hour in the Underworld three years ago." he smirked and raised his eyebrows.

"I've never killed anyone.  If you're going to accuse me of murder I suggest you take 5 steps back right now." she smiled and threw down my arm.

Hades stepped forward once and smiled at her.  "You could easily end up in Tartarus before you could say sorry, watch what you say." 

"You're right, you accuse me of murder I'll make the accusation true.  No apologies, no regrets." she got right in his face.

"I am an immortal god, you couldn't murder me." he got closer to her face.

"Not easily, then again, I never go easy." she got closer to his face.

"I know exactly how to shut you up right here, right now." he smirked.

"How?" she smiled sarcastically.

"You really want to know?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Why not?" she asked sarcastically and smiled, tilting her head to the side.

Hades did something he would probably would regret for eternity.  He kissed Taylor, full-on, straight on the lips.  Taylor took 5 steps back and punched him in his soft spot, not once, not twice, nor thrice, she did it six times.  Hades grunted with each hit.

"Godliness doesn't make you that powerful, huh?" Taylor backed up again and smiled.

"Taylor, calm down." I said and pulled her towards me.

"He's gonna get it." she growled trying to rush towards Hades. 

I pulled her behind me.  "What do you want?" I asked angrily.

"I was simply given the task of bringing you to the  Guardians' realm when your mother, Athena,  went to aid your parents against Kronos." he answered.

"The Guardians' realm?" I asked confused.

"Just follow me." he waved Taylor and I forward.

"I think I'll stay a couple feet back." I nodded and grasped Taylor's arm tightly.

"Good idea." Taylor growled.

I rolled my eyes and follow Hades to wherever we were going.