The Repeated History of the Heroes

i love you

  Paris placed her hand on her chest, counting her heartbeats as the first few guards entered the room in the morning.  Maggy was awake too, but they weren't talking.  She was staring blankly at the wall, with clinched fists and a perpetual frown.  Paris debated talking to her, but she wasn't sure she had the energy.

  Her conversation with Zoe still held in the back of her mind, mainly because Nathan was alive and she went on an emotional roller coaster.  She wasn't over the shock or the bruises on Zoe's neck.  Just picturing them in her mind hurt, the way they surrounded her neck like a necklace.  She hated to imagine how close that person was to taking her friend's life- how many people tried to kill Zoe.  

  She needed some energy.  She knew that Zoe would have talked to Maggy and it was likely the nice thing to do.  Being a nice person was exhausting at times, but being sad was worse and Maggy looked sad.  "How's the morning treating you?" she asked.

  She blinked, "My ass hurts."

  "Oh."

  She smiled, though it didn't seem real, "The ground is really hard and I miss my bed."

  She smiled back, not entirely a real smile either, but it was polite.  "I miss my bed too," she sighed, "and my friends, the sun. . . the smell of the ocean and my mom's voice."

  "You don't talk about your mom often," she noted.

  "I don't," she confirmed, tapping her fingers against her chest.  "I normally call her everyday, she's a climate activist, so she's pretty busy."

  Maggy looked grateful for some reason, "Must be nice."

  "It is, especially since she stopped dating."  Her smile was real as recalled the only boyfriend she'd met, "It's weird to be eleven and have your mom's boyfriend ask you about your bio dad.  Even weirder when your real dad is Poseidon."

  "Ah," Maggy drew her knees closer to her chest, her fists finally unclenching.  "I miss them too."

  "They'll be here soon."

  She huffed, "I doubt it."

  "A lot can happen in a week, a day at that."

  "They were so lost when I left," she rocked her body back and fourth, "I was beginning to lose hope."

  "That says more about you than them," that came out wrong, but she kept talking anyway, "They wouldn't stop fighting, also I know for a fact that they are close by."

  If her words had any affect on her, she didn't let it show, "How do you know?"

  "I'm intuitive," her heartbeat was slowing to a comfortable pace, "And it's easier to travel through dreams than you'd expect."

  "Huh?"

  "You heard me."

  "Okay," she said, "So we're ready."

  She nodded once and turned her gaze to the bars.  Then she started waiting.

---

  Issac had a plan and an aching ankle.  More importantly, he had a plan, the throbbing of his old injury could be ignored.  Zoe was the only one awake, Hadley lay asleep next to her, looking like she fell asleep on accident.  

  He walked up to them and sat next to Zoe, "Morning," she said not bothering to look in his direction.

  "Hey, you ready for today?" he followed her gaze to see nothing.  It was so plain down there.

  She grinned, "So ready," she snapped her knuckles.  "I'm craving violence."

  "Just violence?"

  "Nah," her face softened, "I miss my friends."