In Hades Dismal Plains I have seen the stars spin their wide circles above me for twenty-seven years.

The sky is clearer five billion kilometers out. I have seen the sun, small but shining fiercely through the pitch-black daylight, crawl among her sisters. I have seen the atmosphere freeze into snow and fall to the icy ground as Pluto grows colder. I have seen the face of the moon Charon, locked in the sky and ever watchful; but I have not seen Earth. I have not seen home. This place, Pluto, farther from anything than you would care to imagine, is my home now. In the Tartarian plains remote from sight, and wrapt forever in the depths of night; I have been here for twenty-seven years. You will be here forever. The demons bellowing whisper blows away the silence that had settled like dust in my living quarters. You will stay with me. His vowels and consonants echo and dissolve into a cacophonous murmur of basic truth: I am alone. I arrived with two others. Our thrusters burnt out on entry and we landed hard, stranding us in Hades dismal plains. The fusion reactor and hydroponics system survived, sparing us the convenience of starvationinstead my crewmen fell victim to their own mercy. Their bodies remain where they lay them down, as far as their feet would take them, side by side and somewhere to the north. You will never leave, and neither will they. The wretched Hades extends his twisted finger towards a growing speck above the horizonthe rescue vessel, Orpheus. Sent from Earth to retrieve me five years ago, the crew will now be preparing for their arrival on my frozen home. Charon sees them too. He will deliver them. The vile beast raps his claws on the wall beside me as he peers outside into the black sky. Hovering in the distance like a lantern over his crystal thrones is the moon, Charon, deliverer of new souls to the kingdom of Hades. New fares for the Ferryman. *** His footsteps resound off the metal interior of the airlock as he circles around me, sharkteeth forming a sickly yellow grin. Not long now! The noble Orpheus rattles the gates. The colossal ship takes form as it approaches. Hundred-foot-tall thrusters are fixed like legs at each corner of the behemoth, controlling its descent. I dust off a space suit and climb inside, the first time Ive done so in a decade. I open the airlock. The suffocated Plutonian atmosphere takes a deep and sudden breath, throwing me to my knees.

On your feet. Look around you. This is where you belong. His formless voice compels me as I push myself off the frozen ground. I stand and see him, fifty feet away, walking towards the great mass of shadow moving in from the eastthe shadow of Charon, the Ferryman. I follow. Its getting harder to breathe; the years of neglect have robbed my oxygen tank of its utility. Our guest descends in front of us but has flown too close to the moon and now falls too fast. The infernal engines burn at their most but even that proves insufficient to slow the giant. As I stand next to Hades, his arms wide and welcoming, the dreams of brave men die in front of us. The Orpheus folds into itself as it collides with Pluto. Two of the engines burst in a magnificent explosion of ice and fire before the unforgiving atmosphere suffocates the flames. An escape shuttle drops from the things belly like a diseased tick and falls to the ground. Its not far to walk now. Fortune smiles, they are delivered safe! How long have we waited? Hades chuckles as he dances and skips around me. The air in my lungs stretches thin. No longer shall we have to enjoy each others company alone! He bounds away towards the vessel. My legs fumble over the twisted metal scattered across the ground. Come quickly now! You must release them from their mortal coils. The shadow of Charon falls on the wreck. My breaths are quick and hollow. I reach the door. Thy throne is fix'd in Hades dismal plains, Distant, unknown to rest, where darkness reigns; The shaken, bleeding crew gather in the airlock, struggling to assemble their breathing tanks. Their heads turn to face me. They realise my intention. Where, destitute of breath, pale spectres dwell, In endless, dire, inexorable hell. They look to each other and cry as I release the airlock. The doors open with a gasp of air and the crew of the Orpheus are ejected from the vessel, their pale bodies scattering over the frozen plains. Their deaths are slow but essential. Hades dances among the corpses. My lungs fight for oxygen and find nothing. My knees fail and my eyes grow heavy. No more words are spoken. The shadow of Charon is lifted as the sun breaks past the edge of the moon.