Game of War (Cashby)

Chapter 9

I left before Alan woke up. I didn't want to deal with anymore goodbyes or see the hurt in his eyes. It was a boiling hot day and the sun was baking my head and neck. Dry, caked dirt and dead grass was all I could see for miles. I turned back to see how far I had gone and the image of Edessa shook against the horizon. I sighed and turned back around. When would Alan wake up? When would he notice I was gone? Would he cry? No, of course not. I had only met him a few days ago. Though he did seem like the type of person to cry for a stranger. That was part of what I admired about Alan- how different he was to me.

I had been taught to be strong and emotionless. He had grown into a gentle and caring young man. He was so excitable and happy about practically nothing. I had never met anyone who was so joyful and loving of their own life. Being around him was like breathing in fresh air after breathing in smoke for so long. I pulled my thoughts away from him and back to the road in front of me. I had a long way to go.

I walked for as long as I possibly could, through the day and night until I started to drift off while still walking. There were no trees nearby so I laid down where I was and fell asleep, praying to the Gods that no one would try to kill me in my sleep.

-

It was exactly a week from the day Pluto came to our legion that I returned to Mt. Olympus. I could see the sparkling gates towering in the distance. I was almost there, and I was exhausted. As I got closer I could see a four silhouettes standing in front of the gate. It was most likely a legion and I felt my heart skip a beat. I was giddy to get back to my people, but nervous because I wasn't ready to face the truth. What if Tino and Phil hadn't made it back? I shook the thought from my mind. The legion at the game straightened up when they saw me walking towards them. The only noise I could hear was the sound of my shoes crunching on the dirt beneath my feet. My palms began to sweat. What if Neptune was mad at me? What if they didn't accept me back because I had failed my team and proven myself to be a terrible leader.

When I was a couple hundred feet away, I recognized the legion. It was Vulcan. Watching their faces turn from stoic to overjoyed made my worries wash away. As soon as I was in talking distance Vic rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me, everyone else followed his lead and I found myself in the midst of a group hug. A tear slipped out and I quickly wiped it away. I was so tired I was letting the emotions get to me.

"We thought you were dead," Mike whispered. I shook my head violently.

"Me? You didn't really think a couple angry men could take down the best fighter here, did you?" They all laughed at me. They pulled away and I got a good look at all of them. They looked stressed, and from the bags under Jaime's eyes I could tell they were close to as sleepless as I was.

"What's going on?" I asked, dampening the mood. Vic sighed.

"Nothing good, Austin. I like the new hair by the way." He smirked at me and rolled my eyes. "We were ordered to come back, just like you guys, and it took us almost the whole week to get back here. We had to travel at night and take a couple detours to avoid angry areas. When we got back they told us we weren't allowed out, unless we were on guard duty and that a decision wouldn't be made until every legion was back."

"We found out about your legion a couple days ago when Tino and Phil came back and it definitely changed things here. For such a powerful legion to be broken up like that- I'm so sorry, Austin," Tony said. His apology seemed really sincere and I my eyes watered up, but mostly I was thinking about what he had said first. They had made it. They were back.

"Tino and Phil are here?"

"Yeah, they're inside. Probably still in the cabin." I put my hand on his shoulder.