"Mom, Dad!" Abalia called out as she laid the child on the living room floor.
The two rushed down the stairs, "Abalia-" the mother started.
"What happened?" The father demanded his face stern, almost in a blaming way. He ran and quickly took the boys pulse. He bit his lip as he felt the same failure Abalia had before.
"The centaurs." She replied as her cheeks flustered in guilt. The mother took her hands leading them to the kitchen, she washed them vigorously. "I- I thought it was for me. And I- I just stood there."
"It's not like you could've stopped it, Abalia. So none of that." The mother said drying Abalia's hands with a towel.
"Alright, get your things, we need to leave." He commanded as he ran up the stairs into his room.
"For how long?" The mother asked, knowing the answer that was coming.
"For good." He knelt across the banister and noticed her fallen expression, "This is the third death this month. And this time they'll know you're here." He looked worried, "I'll burn the house down as soon as we pack, her smell is sure to be covered by the fire."
"What about him?" Abalia asked looking at the corpse.
"I'll burn him too."
"Dad!" Abalia exclaimed in horror.
"Your scent is on him, he's got to go." He looked at her longing to do more. "I'm sorry, but this one was too close, we can't take any more chances." He walked back into his room
Abalia decided not to cause any more of a problem, "I'll go pack." She told the mother quietly before stiffly running up the stairs then to her room. She picked up the suitcase in the back of her closet. She felt scared as she opened it. While filling her suitcase, her mind was filled with the memories of the truth. No matter where they took her, she knew it didn't matter. This was it, the war her brother started was getting precarious, and Abalia was the next to fight Hades.
Abalia ran down the stairs and loaded up in the car. She watched the father as he threw the lighter in the gasoline, and torched the place. Achan knew he had a choice to make, one to last forever. Before they drove out of the drive way Achan made it, he opened Abalia's door and let himself be seen.
"Achan." She looked at him and smiled, she scooted over letting him sit in her place. "Well get in why don't you?" He knew this was a mistake, but his mission would only get completed this way. Achan looked cautiously at the parents, they were relieved.
"You beat Hades?!" the father suddenly broke the silence. Achan said nothing. "Well, I'll be darned. Maybe we can win this war." Achan felt guilty, all of this was too much, but he would make it right. No matter what, he would fix this. He would kill the chosen one.
I was overwhelmed with happiness, he was back. I scooted to the seat next to his and leaned my head on his shoulder. I wouldn't let him go, not again. And not even those fake gods would change that. The long proclaimed war had just begun and we both knew it. The boy was the second casualty, I would be the third.
