Reyna and Jason: The Praetor's of New Rome - Sacrifice

I wish I had Lucky Underwear (Preferably A Clean Pair)

"I've ran through this tunnel fifty times, c'mon I want to go to the Caribbean!" Sam shouted, running down the Caldecott tunnel for the 51st time.

"How did Sam ever become Praetor?" I muttered to myself, leaning on a tree near the entrance of the Caldecott tunnel.

Gwen sat in the grass, staring at New Rome below as it bathed in the moonlight. I felt extremely uncomfortable being alone with her. Sam made the wise (I know right?) decision to send Max back to his cohort to rest.

"Go on," Sam told him. "That chin needs some well deserved rest."

Bronk had also been dismissed. The little mechanic begged to go to sleep. Apparently, he was in Australia for hours and had run in with monsters. Which would explain why he returned after curfew. If he was a few minutes later, Rebecca, centurion of the third cohort would have notified us of his absence. Jason agreed and reassigned Bronk to another set of duties that didn't involve tunnels.

Speaking of Jason.....

FOOOOM. Leaves and dirt shot up in different directions on impact as Jason landed in front of me. He stumbled and caught himself in his hands and knees, his breathing labored.

I hesitated, unsure if I should have helped him. I took a few steps forward, but Gwen was already over him.

"Are you okay?" Gwen asked him while she helped him sit up. She pulled out a small flask from her pack and handed it to him.

Jason chugged it without question, once done, he rubbed his mouth with his arm to clean it. "Nothing. Couldn't see anything from above. The barrier of mist is still intact and functioning as intended. I just.... I just need a second to catch my breath."

Gwen pulled a cold water bottle form her pack and poured it on a small white cloth. "What did I tell you the other night? When was the last time you slept Jason?"

Jason shook his head. "I..... I don't remember. When was our last centurion meeting, you know? The one where Rebecca got up on her table and tried to tap dance to get more pads for her cohort."

Gwen slapped the back of his head. "That was Tuesday, Jason! It's Friday!"

Jason shrugged, his eyes were fluttering quickly. "I was going to give her them, I don't know why she had to dance for it."

"You haven't slept in three days?" I asked aloud.

The two of them looked at me and I immediately regretted saying anything. There eyes were hard to read, I wasn't sure if they were still mad at me or not.

Gwen shook her head. "I told this air head to sleep, Rey. But he's as stubborn as you."

Her saying Rey sent a shock through my system.

Jason shrugged again, his eyes looked far away, as though he tuned out of this conversation a long time ago. "She was really good at tap dancing. I wonder if I could do that."

He started tapping his feet on the grass sluggishly.

Gwen stood up. "That's it. Doctors orders, go to sleep! SAM!"

As if on cue, Sam ran out of the tunnel. "Dam it, still just Cali on the other side. What's- why is he tapping his feet like that?"

Gwen sighed. "He hasn't slept in days Sam. Call Scipio now."

Sam did as he was told and whistled sharply. In less then a minute, Scipio, the beige Pegasi landed gracefully in front of the Caldecott tunnel. She stretched her wings and neighed proudly.

"Sam, take Jason to his sleeping quarters and come back." Gwen ordered.

Sam looked puzzled. "Ahem, I'm the Praetor, you can't order me around."