The Meanings of Lost

Chapter 14

Steve:

The coldness is a shock. I swear, in both senses. After years of not feeling anything, the cold water on my face is almost as pleasant as it is unpleasant. My eyes flutter open, revealing a warm soft light and the figure of someone above me. So similar to when I met Diana. She pulled me out of the cold water back onto the beach where the sun of Paradise Island hit my face. And I'd opened my eyes and met an angel. 

My vision clears. At first, I think I see Diana, but it's not her. The face is too young, the eyes are blue. She is covering her ears, muttering something about evil. 

"Hi, sir, can you take two deep breaths for me please?" she asks suddenly. I do as she says. "Does it hurt?" I shake my head, looking past her. 

The girl in front of me continues to ask me questions. Do I remember what happened? Yes, but I say no. She wouldn't believe me. Am I in pain, do I feel nauseous, does my chest hurt? No. Do I have any allergies? No. What was my last meal?

My last meal. I don't remember what I ate all those years ago, but I remember being with Diana. Her smile. It was the last time I'd seen her smile. We'd danced. It was magical. And then, in some far-off fantasyland, in the dark, we'd kissed. And for a split second, everything stopped. The war hadn't existed. It was just the two of us and the way we felt. No Gods to slay, no lives to save. Well, maybe not. Maybe we were saving people. Saving ourselves. The two of us, in the dark, in that hotel, saving ourselves from the possibility of being alone again, even in a world full of people. Just the two of us, making blissful promises we could never keep: in the heat of the moment, in the middle of the war. Under the cover of darkness.

"Sir? Your last meal?" Her sharp tone calls reality harshly back.

"I don't remember," I say. That night at the hotel. How long has it been since then? Her eyes. It's like looking into a mirror.

My heart begins to beat. For the first time in forever, I can feel it beating, and it feels like it wants to rip my chest apart. I have to kill this girl if I want to live. She's the first person I've seen, she's Diana's daughter. Our daughter, I'm sure of it. Hades knew. He knew.

The old man in the corner asks the question on my mind. Diana is with him. Diana says no. The girl in front of me answers too. "I'm currently not allowed to live with anyone I'm related to. Diana lets me stay in her house and has the legal right to sign my life away on my behalf without consulting me as she is my legal guardian appointed by the court." Whatever that means. It doesn't sound like she thinks herself to be who I believe her to be, but there's no way of knowing right now. I say a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening that she's not related to Diana. Well, anyone but the Greek gods, as they've gotten me into this mess. 

My radiant angel crawls over to the other body. I see Diana, bent over...me... or more accurately the other Steve in my body, pressing down on his chest. After a few seconds, she kisses him, though it doesn't seem like much of a kiss. Diana. My mouth forms her name, but my voice can't seem to say it as she looks into my soul.

Silent tears fall from her face as she continues the actions. The pounding in my ears is too loud to hear the exchanges going on between the three people. So I watch Diana. The girl pokes my fingers, watching as they turn white then red as she relieves the pressure, counting the seconds the transformation takes. Her small hands have a strength to them, a strength so familiar to Diana's. And I hear Hades' voice in my mind, reminding me what I should be considering.

Oh, gods! Let me be wrong. Let this girl be someone else's. Let Diana and me be able to sort out the fate of another child somewhere in the future. 

Men come into the room in uniform. The child stands up and back against the wall, telling them all I told her. They tear the other Steve in my body away from Diana and my heart goes with her. She cries, believing me gone for the second time. How did I do this to her the first time? I've had years to think it over. I could have let her go, I could have used a parachute, but there are not enough could haves to take back the actions done at times old and passed. I just know that I cannot leave her again.

I'm lifted onto a metal bed unlike any I have ever seen before. They bring me into some sort of vehicle, an alien contraption of the future. A loud noise blares as I and the other two men are rushed off somewhere in the distance. 

Bruce:

Just after lunch, my phone rings. Diana Prince. I press the green button.

"Hello?"

At first, all I hear is background echoes, like one might get from a public bathroom. Then a small voice begins to sob. I can't make out her words, but the few words that I make out are scattered and odd. I cannot string a meaning between them.

"Diana," I say firmly. "Calm down. I can't understand you like this and with the noise." 

I think she does a bit, but I can't make hide nor hair. She says something about Ambrosine. Has something happened to the girl? If anything has happened to the girl, all this would be my fault. My fault because I insisted Diana put herself in this situation. I crafted it for her, I made her want to take the child in. I made her aware of the plans of some sick god.

"Just tell me what happened, slowly," I say. She doesn't, but I let her talk and sob until I hear nothing but fast, deep breath coming from the other side of the world.

"Diana, I'll come as soon as I can okay? You just hang in there," I tell her. I don't think she is listening.

Then, I hear the first word not ridden with tears: "Okay."

I pull the phone away from my ear, ready to hang up. For some reason, I linger there, with my finger on the button. I stare at the photograph. It's one where she's polishing her sword. The God Killer. She wasn't smiling, but I could tell she had been content.  What havoc have I unleashed upon her? I should have just let her be at that luncheon when I offered to help. Serves me right for dealing with matters I cannot understand. 

~~~~~

I was supposed to publish this tomorrow, but the 400 reads are convincing me otherwise. Have a happy Valentines day and be thankful for all the people who love you (friends, family, pets) and who make you happy. Thank-you all so much for all the love and positivity for this book, it means so much to me and I'm always using feedback to improve my writing which is why I'm here in the first place. Thanks for making Wattpad awesome!
~Beneath_the_Willows