Sisy’s boulder

Hades smiled coldly. “Lie to me, will you? Oh, I have something very special for you!” He took Sisyphus to the middle of the Fields of Punishment, to a barren hill five hundred feet high with sides that sloped at forty-five degrees, just perfect for skateboarding. At the bottom of the hill sat a big round boulder the size of a compact car. “Here you are,” Hades said. “As soon as you manage to push this rock to the top of that hill, you can go. Your punishment will be over.”

GG pg.163

‘I’ll  move  your  rock!’  Thalia  offered.  ‘Just  shut  up  and  talk  to  my  friends.’

Sisyphus  stopped  fighting.  ‘You’ll  - you’ll  move  my  rock?’

‘It’s  better  than  looking  at  you.’  Thalia  glanced  at  me.  ‘Be  quick  about  it.’  Then  she  shoved  Sisyphus  towards  us.

She  put  her  shoulder  against  the  rock  and  started  pushing  it  very  slowly  uphill.

Sisyphus  scowled  at  me  distrustfully.


Sisy  tricked  Persephone  into  letting  him  go  back  to  the  world  to  haunt  his  wife.  And  he  didn’t  come  back.’

The  old  man  cackled.  ‘I  stayed  alive  another  thirty  years  before  they  finally  tracked  me  down!’

Thalia  was  halfway  up  the  hill  now.  She  gritted  her  teeth,  pushing  the  boulder  with  her  back.  Her  expression  said,  Hurry  up!

‘So  that  was  your  punishment,’  I said  to  Sisyphus.  ‘Rolling  a boulder  up  a hill  forever.  Was  it  worth  it?’

Sisyphus  massaged  his  shoulders.  He  glanced  up  at  Thalia,  who  was  almost  at  the  top  of  the  hill.  Her  face  was  bright  red  and  drenched  in
sweat.

We  fell  for  it.

As  soon  as  we  turned,  Sisyphus  took  off.  ‘I’m  free!  I’m  free!  I’m  - ACK!’  Three  metres  from  the  hill,  he  hit  the  end  of  his  invisible  leash
and  fell  on  his  back.  Nico  and  I grabbed  his  arms  and  hauled  him  up  the  hill.

‘Curse  you!’  He  let  loose  with  bad  words  in  Ancient  Greek,  Latin,  English,  French  and  several  other  languages  I didn’t  recognize.  ‘Til  never
help  you!  Go  to  Hades!’

‘Already  there,’  Nico  muttered.

‘Incoming!’  Thalia  shouted.

I looked  up  and  might  have  used  a few  swear  words  myself.  The  boulder  was  bouncing  straight  towards  us.  Nico  jumped  one  way.  I
jumped  the  other.  Sisyphus  yelled,  ‘NOOOOOOO!’  as  the  thing  ploughed  into  him.  Somehow  he  braced  himself  and  stopped  it  before  it
could  run  him  over.  I guess  he’d  had  a lot  of  practice.

‘Take  it  again!’  he  wailed.  ‘Please.  I can’t  hold  it.’

‘Not  again,’  Thalia  gasped.  ‘You’re  on  your  own.’

TDF pg.93-95