A/N: I should have mentioned this earlier. This story takes place in the summer going into Wolves, four months after Inner Demons takes place. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, enjoy.

The early July summer sun shone down on New Olympia. The city was still recovering from the pandemic it suffered in March. No one knew what had caused the deaths of so many people, expect for seven teenagers: Jay Reese, Odie Parsons, Herry Britton, Atlanta Ranger, Archie King, Theresa Blake and Neil Seymour.

They weren't average normal teenagers. They were far from the definition of normal. No, while their friends and family said that they were hanging out with friends, playing sports, or whatever teenagers did, the seven friends were really fighting gods and monsters. And it was one of those gods that almost killed everyone in New Olympia.

Erebus, the god of darkness, had had an icy grip on the city. That was until he was caught and forcefully banished.

Archie sighed as he circled the fifteenth on his desk calendar. Today was the four month anniversary of when everything had gone downhill.

"Archie?"

The Warrior glanced over his shoulder. Atlanta stood in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" the Huntress asked.

"Yeah."

Atlanta glanced around the room. She had been in here quite a number of times during the last few months. Her eyes fell on the bed. She could still see her friend, pale and shivering, every time she closed her eyes.

"Atlanta?"

"Is he really gone?" Atlanta asked quietly.

"I made sure of it," Archie answered.

"Theresa still has nightmares about the fall," Atlanta said.

"I would to if I had survived a fall into the River Styx," Archie replied.

"So, you're regretting saving Theresa's life?"

"I'm putting myself in her shoes. Don't think for a minute that I wish Theresa had died instead."

Atlanta looked away. She felt ashamed for ever thinking such a thing. No one had asked him to do it. Theresa hadn't called out his name to save her. He had handed over his life to save a friend.

"I'm sorry."

Archie got to his feet and walked over to Atlanta.

"I'm sorry, too."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Atlanta put in.

"I have more things than you can count. Walking out on the team is one of them. I knew Jay wasn't himself and by leaving I put you, Herry, Odie, Theresa and Neil in harm's way," Archie explained.

"Archie? Atlanta? You two up there?"

"Yeah, Herry, we're up here," Archie called back.

Herry appeared in the doorway.

"We're going to the beach. You two wanna come?" he asked.

Atlanta looked from Herry to Archie, who had gone pale. She glanced back at Herry, who had also gone pale. How could anyone have forgotten so soon? Archie had never looked at Jay or a boat the same way since the Leader had tried to drown him.

"I think I'll just stay here," Archie replied.

"You sure?" Herry asked.

"I'm sure," Archie answered. "You guys go and have fun. I'm not ready to face that place again just yet."

"Okay," Herry replied. He headed off to get ready.

"Are you sure? I mean, I could stay behind and..."

"I appreciate it, Atlanta, but you shouldn't miss out because of my issues. Go and enjoy the sun," Archie said.

Atlanta sighed in defeat and headed off to her room to get ready. Archie followed her to the door. He saw the open door of Jay's room. He had never gone anywhere near Jay's room since the night he quit. Most of it was due to the fact that he had died instantly when he fell into the River Styx with Theresa.

Jay was trying hard to earn back Archie's trust. Nevertheless, he lost it the second he had thrown his sword at the Warrior's back. However, no one could say Jay wasn't trying to get it back.

Archie sighed and went back into his room. He just couldn't face Jay. Not yet. He knew it was dragging the rest of the team down even though he tried his best to follow orders. Every time Jay pulled out his gravitational sword Archie recoiled in fear that he would be attacked again. Having a sword thrown at you would fray anyone's nerves. Except it hadn't stopped at the sword. Jay had tried to drown him and electrocute him.

Archie heard the footsteps of his teammates head out the door.

"See you, Arch," Atlanta called.

"Have fun," Archie called back.

The back door closed and the Brownstone immediately grew quiet.

Archie slowly began to regret his choice of staying behind. When he was left alone with nothing but his thoughts he became extremely paranoid. Mostly because he had spent a month with an immortal inside him. Every shadow had a movement. Every movement had a voice. Every voice had a hiss. Put those things together with two fierce glowing red eyes and you got the shadow.

Archie absent-mindedly rubbed his left arm. The scars were slowly fading, but he couldn't shake the horrible feeling of turning into a shadow himself. It was a slow, horrible feeling. Like sluggishly being wrapped inside a cocoon or a web.

The young hero grabbed his skateboard and helmet and headed downstairs. He was not sitting around a quiet dorm all afternoon. Besides, just because he didn't go to the beach didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy the sunshine. Archie closed the front door and hopped on to his board. He pushed off the concrete and was off.

What do you think?