Restless 'Til We Reach Home

Your Luck Ran Out

Every man stood on the deck, petrified with fear. Pieces of flesh the size of boulders littered the blood soaked deck. The men themselves were drenched red, some still trembling in shock. Eurylochus felt dizzy and he dropped to his knees. He caught himself, hands resting in a sticky puddle. He lifted an arm, and the blood dripped off in thick gooey strands. He tried to scramble back to his feet, but he kept slipping, and the more he panicked, the more he fell. Asterios and Elpenor rushed to his side, helping to steady him.

Polites appeared on the deck, and everyone was staring at him just as they had that first day back. He pretended like it didn't hurt.

He looked at all of them, then looked at Odysseus, frozen in complete shock.

He thought of the sirens, how they begged for their lives, how he begged for their lives. How he had looked at all of them the way they were looking at him now. And then, he bowed.

"Polites, just what the hell was that? That wasn't what we talked about!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is excessive violence only okay when you're the ones doing it?"

~~~

Odysseus reeled back, blinking in shock. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Polites challenged, light glinting off the ghostly lenses of his glasses.

"What?" he asked, still trying to process what just took place. Polites stood his ground.

"It doesn't feel so good when you're the ones watching the slaughter, does it?" he questioned, his tone harsh and blunt. His arms were crossed over his chest, floating only a few inches above the deck.

Odysseus slowly looked up at Polites, completely shocked by the revelation. "This is about the sirens." He didn't bother asking, he knew. Polites adverted his gaze.

"You were acting like monsters. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just following your lead," he coldly reasoned.

"That's not your decision to make!" Odysseus snapped.

Eurylochus took a step forward, finally speaking up. "You knew that was going to happen?" he asked, looking between the pair with betrayal and horror. Odysseus opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. The first mate backed away from them, eyes wide with fear. "You didn't even warn us!" he accused, hands balled into fists by his side.

"It was better that no one knew..." Odysseus said, adverting his eyes to the deck beneath their feet.

"Better for who?" Eurylochus demanded, refusing to back down.

"Eurylochus-"

"No! Answer me!" he yelled, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. Odysseus never wavered under his judging gaze.

"Better for everyone. But I promise, I'm just as surprised as you," he explained, insisting he had no prior knowledge.

"I don't believe you." Eurylochus decided with a harsh glare, but the underlying betrayal was clearly spelled out. With a shaky hand and clouded mind, he reached for his sword.

Polites watched on, frozen in horror. He quickly shook himself out of it, jumping to the captain's defense. "It's true, he didn't know! And to be honest, neither did I," he came to realize. "I-I mean, I didn't know what would happen once I possessed her," he clarified.