Kara moves to her drawer and changes into a pair of sneakers. I look over at Megan, and she’s watching the door to make sure that nobody else enters
“We’re losing out there. Guys, we have to go help. Come on,” Megan says, moving towards the door.
“Okay.” I nod to her and grab Kara by the elbow. “You can do this.” I pull her so her eyes are in line with mine and engrain it in her that she’s able to fight. I need her to get it together. She simply nods. We all walk outside the cabin together, and it’s pure mayhem. We’re definitely outnumbered by the black hooded people.
I don’t even know who they’re fighting and how they can tell who’s bad or good because almost everyone is dressed in black and moving at crazy speeds. Ollie rushes to my side when he sees me come outside with Megan and Kara.
“Stop moving,” he commands, but in a regular voice—not that his gift would affect me. Kara and Megan stop, but I refuse. I’m going to help. I have to make this right. This is my fault, and I’m not going to let people fight for me.
“I want to help,” I tell him. He has to understand my need to make this right. The fight is over me. I need to help. I need to make this right.
“You’re hurt, and we need you safe. Hermes will take you and run,” Ollie says as a boy my age rushes him from behind. He takes Ollie off guard, grabbing him around the neck and pulling Ollie backwards to the ground. Ollie’s legs crumble beneath him in an unusual way as if they’ve snapped in half. It’s impossible for me to just sit here and watch so I spring to action.
I lean over the guy and use my palm to break his nose like we learned in strength training. Immediately, blood gushes out like a huge geyser. I grab his shoulders and bend him over so he’s at my level. I thrust my knee into his face and then into his stomach, which makes him bend over and fall to the floor. He groans before becoming silent and passing out.
I bend next to Ollie and lift his head so it’s on my lap. The groans coming out of his mouth make my heart squeeze, and it’s clear he can’t move. “You need to run to Ari and make him get you out of here.” Ollie’s lids flutter open, and the blue in his eyes is replaced by blackness. He starts to sit up but groans as he tilts his neck to the side awkwardly. He begs me to listen, his voice hoarse.
I hear him count under his breath and then he takes me by the shoulders, and turns me towards the main building so I have a perfect view of the fight. “He’ll help you. Get out of here.” Ollie looks away.
I know I have to help the others. At least, Ollie is on the edge where there aren’t as many people. Maybe if I run towards the building, I can keep the attention away from him and on me.
Kara is near the building at the edge of the field so I run towards her, leaving Ollie behind, hoping to help her and make her come with me towards safety. My friends shouldn’t be involved with this. I don’t want her involved. I sprint as fast as I can, leaping over bodies and arms reaching towards me, scraping me.
I run until I’m clothes-lined by a thick arm, landing right at my neck. I choke back and gasp for air. I fall head first onto the ground backwards. It all happens so fast that I can’t catch myself. Immediately, I curl into the fetal position, needing to protect my concussed head. I cough, trying to get air and the ground beside me covers in red goo.
I cough again, trying to clear my lungs, but it’s not working. I writhe on the ground, needing air until finally I release a bubble of blood, clearing the way. I rock myself on the ground, not knowing how to fix this. I’m going to die. The pain vibrates through my bones, making me shiver with frigidity. It’s like I’m drowning while being burned at the stake.
Kara’s beautiful blonde head comes into my view, and I’m looking right into her eyes. She looks gloomy as tears well up behind her blueness. I reach for her hand, wanting to signify that I’m okay, and she clutches me, sobbing.
“You’re okay,” she mutters to herself. I nod, the pain of forming words unbearable. My throat burns and aches, and I can hardly breathe. My breaths are small, labored. I try to get air in and out, and it takes up all of my energy.
Kara reaches her arm behind my neck and helps me sit up on my butt. I try to say thank you, but my vocals are silent. I try to whisper something, anything, but I’m rendered mute. I grab my throat in alarm and pointing to it, but Kara just nods, reaching down to me so I calm down.
After she has me sitting, she quickly gets me on my feet with my arms over her shoulder. “Come on, you can do it. We need to get out of here,” Kara whispers, trying to get me off the field so we’re safe. I nod in agreement. She needs to be safe, and then I’ll come back and help more people get to safety.
As she lifts me, we hobble together. Mikey’s face comes into view, noticing me for the first time since we were attacked. “Bring her to safety,” Kara commands, passing my body off to him. She releases me into his arms and starts to walk away.
Fear rises up within me, because she’s going back out there to fight. I want Kara safe. I start pulling away from Mikey, wanting to get Kara, but he tightly tugs me close to his body. I struggle against Mikey’s firm grip, but it’s useless in my current state.
“You’re okay,” he whispers to me. He leans down and kisses my hair, and in the midst of this war, it makes me sick. I lean over Mikey so it doesn’t get on him and vomit over the ground. I let it all out, and strangely after, I feel better.
I stand on my own once Mikey lets me go. He has a look of worry on his face, but I can’t focus on that for more than a second. A large girl comes at me with a knife. Knowing I have no chance against her with just my bare hand and broken body, I turn and run.
As I move away from the girl, I trip over a spear—exactly like the one Ari taught me to use when he trained Megan. Knowing it’s my only shot, I reach for it. I hold it, both hands on the bottom, spear faced up.
The girl doesn’t even see me. Mikey pushes her forward so she stumbles right towards me. She lets out a blood curdling scream that makes my insides twist when she lands on the sharp edge.
Her head lolls forward, my spear lodged in her gut. She’s still alive, though, which is is the worst part. Her mouth opens and closes like she’s trying to talk to me. Blood starts to seep from the corners in little droplets that land on me.
I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to get her off me. Luckily, Ari comes to my rescue. He lifts the girl off the spear to help me but it only gets worse. Without the spear holding her together, her body empties right in front of me.
I lean over myself, dry heaving as the cruel image of her insides spilling out taunts me. Ari puts the girl next to me faced out and then lifts me into his arms, eyes burning with worry. But our reunion is short lived. Ari is attacked from behind, and I’m flung back onto the floor. I land awkwardly on my arm and hear a snap.
“Transport her out of here!” Ari screams at Mikey, who appears beside us.
“I’m not strong enough to do two people. I can only move myself.” Mikey’s voice is on the edge of hysteria. He sounds like he’s almost crying as he tries to explain to Ari.
“Well, fucking try. Get her safe!”
I lie there, seething, when Megan’s scream breaks through my pain. Immediately, I sit up on the ground and turn towards the noise. She stands a few yards away in a one-on-one fight with some large Neanderthal-looking guy. Another man lunges for Megan from behind, out of the blue, with a shiny silver item in his hand. She blocks his first attack by dodging at precisely the right time.
She lifts her arms and a wave of water rushes onto the guy, drowning him. He collapses over himself, coughing up water until he quiets and falls.
But the first guy catches her by surprise. She doesn’t have enough time to get water so she’s forced to use her strength. She hits him in the face, but the guy pulls out a silver knife and gets her right in the stomach, jabbing her.
He hits her again and again. I watch in terror, until she falls onto the floor, her white camisole turning crimson almost instantly. My eyes fill up wi
th tears as I muster up all of my strength to reach her and fix this. This is all my fault. She’s going to die because of me.
I wobble to her side, picking up the blood soaked spear on the way. Before I can get to her, a large man jumps out at me, but I don’t have time—Megan could die. I swing the spear around in a circle and slice the man’s throat with my good arm. His hands go straight to his neck as blood seeps through his fingers in a tidal wave.
I don’t pay him any attention as I continue to Megan’s side. I drop the spear on the ground and collapse. I pull her body into mine and cradle her in my arms. I place her head on my lap and stroke her beautiful, long, brown hair. Megan’s eyes flutter open, and I see the pain in her chocolate circles.
“I’m so sorry. God, Megan. I’m so sorry,” I tell her but the words never truly leave my lips. “It’s going to be okay. You’re fine,” I say again in dead air, as I rub her hair and try to make it feel okay.
I rub my hands up and down her body soothing her in her last breaths. I know she’s dying by the amount of blood pooling in my hands and on the ground and out of her back. I look around me, eyes blurry with tears. “Someone help her!” I scream, searching for a nurse or someone who can help. “She needs a healer!” I scream again, but I don’t even know if my words are audible.
In every direction, I only see red.
I cover her chest with my hands. I try to stop the enormous amounts of blood from leaving, but before I can do anything, my hands are covered. There’s too many wounds, and my hands don’t do it justice.
More red.
All red.
I quickly take my sweater off, wincing at the pain in my arm and ribs, and put it over her body. I push down against her chest to stop the blood, but as I look up at her face, I know in my heart she’s gone.
She has four puncture wounds in her chest that I’d guess go all the way through her body. As if that wasn’t enough, her face is bruised and her leg is bending in an unnatural way. The image of her broken body is so gruesome I have to fight my stomach.
An uncontrollable sob erupts from my body, but I let it take me over. I scream as I hug her body close to mine, lying across it, wanting to give my life for hers. I cry out at how unfair this has become. I would rather die than let my friends get injured or die for me. This is bullshit. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
People don’t really die. This isn’t real life. Who the hell stabs a child? She wasn’t even eighteen yet. She never lived a full life. She was who everyone wants to be. She was amazing and wanted to be strong. Gods, she doesn’t deserve this!
Scorching hands pick me up from my stomach and flip me over their body. I cry out in pain, my battered body cracking against the pressure. I can only see the back of the person, but I know. Hermes has me in his hands, and I don’t even care.
Good—let Hermes take me so that no one else will get hurt. I look up to see the mess I’m leaving behind. Ollie is hundreds of feet back, but I see him start looking around for me. His eyes dart around the camp, searching just for me. Why me? What makes me so special?
I look to his left and in the center of the chaos is Ari. He meets my gaze head on the second I find him. His beautiful green eyes intensify and then fill with tears. I don’t know if he can tell, but I try to convey in my eyes that I don’t want to be rescued. I shake my head side-to-side and nod.
It’s okay, Ari. You can let me go. I will the words to him, knowing he won’t hear me, but praying that he can understand.
“No!” Ari screams, running towards me, fighting each person that stands in the way.
As Hermes takes me farther and farther away, more and more people stop fighting, watching Ari as he refuses to let me go. Their eyes turn to me in horror, one-by-one. Some join Ari, trying to work their way to Hermes, but others are too wounded and exhausted to fight on.
You have to stop, Ari. Please. Stop. I mentally beg him. But he doesn’t listen; he keeps fighting even as others just step aside, clearing the way.
I smile so they know I want this and that I’m going to be okay. Tears pour down my cheeks when I see Ollie limp to Ari’s side, joining his battle. My boys, battered and bruised—they will never stop fighting for me. Their love is overwhelming, and I bury my face in Hermes back, clearing my mind.
I can’t think about them or their love. They have to stop. They need to. I don’t deserve to live when other lives have been lost. This is my sacrifice. They need to understand.
All I do is get people hurt—or killed. I am not worth it. I am not worth this.
I killed Megan, and now I have to live with that forever. I cringe at the thought that I have no idea who else was killed during the attack. I would rather it be me, than feel this. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m not scared to die.
I close my eyes, drowning out the sounds of Ari and Ollie and welcome the darkness as Hermes takes me to Hell.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
beaten to a bloody pulp
I wake up in a dark jail cell—in my jail cell, the one I’ve dreamt about time and time again. I guess Professor Onassis was wrong—I do end up in jail. I sit up but instantly fall back down to the concrete ground as my body aches out in protest.
I try to remember how I got here, but I can’t. I don’t remember anything from when I was last awake. I don’t know what time it is or how long it’s been since the attack. I lie back, trying to recall anything from my past, hoping to understand how I ended up in this familiar jail but nothing surfaces. The last thing I remember is playing manhunt with my friends.
Oh shit. We got in trouble for sneaking out? The more I think, the more severe my brain throbs.
Why can’t I remember anything?
I shut my eyes, willing myself to dream of what I can’t recall. I count in my mind, hoping to control my rapid heart. My heart won’t stop beating a hundred miles a minute, but I don’t know why I’m frightened. I try to grasp my chest, but my shoulder burns in response.
I breathe in and out, barely able to get air in without hurting. My lungs cry out in defeat. Little movements burn like nothing I’ve ever felt.
Whimpering, I try to relax my body so I can force a vision.
What has happened to me?
“What do I have to do?” Ari’s voice rings in the cavernous room. I open my eyes and am perfectly fine. My body doesn’t ache, and my head is clear. I test my body, swinging my arms around and bending my legs. I look around and know I’m still in the Underworld by the atmosphere. I’ve been here before. I know what to expect. I’m not scared.
“Give me Athena,” Hades demands, his beard longer than I’ve ever seen, but other than that, he’s exactly the same as I remember him. His blackish hair is cut short, the inky tendrils clinging close to his scalp almost like they’re wet with sweat. His large, solid body is still as intimidating as ever, even though I know he can’t see me.
“Why would you want her?” Ari asks, his brows knitting together.
“Power.” Hades’ voice booms into the room, ricocheting off the walls. The echo startles me. “I need her.” His voice is almost desperate.
“Deal. I’ll bring you Athena.” Ari holds his hand out to the devil himself.
“Deal, my old friend.” Hades takes his hand and shakes it as the deal is sealed. Hades pats Ari’s back with his other hand like they’re best friends. Hades whispers something into Ari’s ear, and they both erupt in deep laughter like they’re old pals getting together for a reunion.
I run to their side to see what they’re talking about, but as I reach them, my dream begins to fade away. My vision blurs, as if I’m watching through a frosted window. Ari sits at the dining table with Hades. Persephone enters the room next followed by a bunch of people in black suits, dressed like they’re attending a wedding.
She smiles up at the two boys sitting at the table—both polar opposites, good and bad—and then she takes her own seat at the other head of the table, across from Hades. The suited men bring plates to the table and lay
out an extravagant meal.
It’s like a Thanksgiving dinner with the family. I gape. The world begins to spin. The contents of my stomach end up in my mouth, and I shut my eyes, willing the fall to be swift.
I wake up in my jail cell. My body aches. Every single muscle is sore and bruised—some more so than others. I can hardly breathe; I can hardly move. So I lie on the floor of my cell and wait for someone to come for me.
Seconds turn to minutes. Hours pass before I hear a faint noise to my left. I don’t know what the scurrying is. It could just be a mouse walking around. Another minute ticks by as I count the seconds, one by one, and a door down the hall opens and shuts, making the silent cell reverberate with noise. It’s almost too loud.
“Hello?” I try, voice hoarse and barely there. I can’t even hear it in my own ears, but I know it made a noise. I try to say it again, but nothing comes out this time, only a breath that burns; the taste of blood coats my mouth.
I brace myself on my good arm and push myself into a sitting position. I groan as my ribs sting, but I don’t let it affect me. I try to stand, using the bars on the cell to get up. Pain shoots up my arm, but I push past it, wanting to see where I am. I’m so disoriented it worries me.
I look out the bars and see lines of cells on cells on cells. The rest of them look to be empty except for the cell directly across me. A small, frail woman is slumped over in the far corner of the cell under a thin sheet.
I’ve seen her before. She’s always in these dreams. She’s always asleep—except for my last dream. I don’t think I know her, but her face is hidden under the sheet anyway.
Her body is rail thin. Her bones protrude under her skin as if they’ll break with the faintest move.
The door opens again, but this time making a huge bang as it shuts. My ears ring at the intrusion. I flinch away from the bars, but know I can’t let go or else I will fall to the ground in a broken heap. Hermes comes into my line of sight as he struts down the center aisle of the cells towards me.
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