The fall was nothing like the one into Tartarus but I had flashbacks anyway. I turned myself over like I was floating on the water to see the window we'd jumped from already disappearing. As I watched it fade, I noticed that there were stars above us. I marveled at the sight, forgetting that we were probably falling to our deaths.

You will never survive long enough to see home again.

"Jase!" Charlie's voice was so quiet compared to the wind in my ears that I barely heard him.

I flipped over and saw darkness below us. Squinting my eyes, I could barely make out the canopy of trees that would do little to break our fall.

"Jason!" he called again. "There's water down there!"

Charlie was right. I could see the reflection of the moon off the small stream curling its way around the trees. I wasn't sure if I'd have the strength to get us all to safety, but I needed to try.

You're weak

The tug in my gut was all too familiar and welcoming. I felt the power surge through me as the water bounded up and touched my skin. I forced the water to take the shape of a mushroom or trampoline and it caught us and absorbed the impact of our fall.

The water surrounded me as I submerged beneath it. Charlie was stubbornly refusing to let go of my hand so he sunk down as well. I felt a sudden surge of energy seep through me as many of the small cuts on my body were healed. The burning pain in the stump of my arm soothed over, the burns on my neck and chest healed to scars.

You'll always have those scars

For a moment, I forgot Charlie couldn't breath under water. I created a bubble, something that took me years of practice to perfect. Charlie gasped for air and looked around in wonder. He didn't ask how he was in a bubble underwater, or how there was oxygen in that bubble. I doubted he cared.

Nobody cares

"We're free." He didn't mention the impressive bubble around his head, which was slightly insulting. We could have sat there staring at the stars and the sky and the water and the sand and the rocks and everything else about the world for hours. But there was yelling from above us, so our relief was cut short.

You'll never be free, there will always be another fight ahead of you

I pulled Charlie close and pushed us to the surface, feeling the water rejuvenate me as I did. We broke the surface and pulled ourselves onto the ground. The dirt was so soft compared to what we were used to. I pulled my fingers into a fist, grabbing at the grass and mud. I breathed in the fresh air. It was so cool compared to the air in Tartarus that I could feel it filling my lungs. Charlie began to cough, still sick.

"Holy shit," Charlie muttered. He took my hand and tugged me onto the shore. I laughed, rolling onto my back. I could hear a fight but I didn't want to join the battle. I was done fighting. I was done with the violence and the fear and all the death. I pondered whether or not I could retire before I reached twenty. How far would I have to run in order to escape this mythical world?

"Jase! Charlie!" Luke yelled from somewhere in the trees. "Oh gods, please, come on! Boys?!"

We scrambled up and ran towards his voice. Luke's bandages had come undone around his chest and he held his arm, but he still grinned when he saw us. He held out his arms and we joined in a cheerful hug. Golden dust fell from his shoulders, indicating that he'd already finished a fight.

"Dude!" Charlie screamed. "We made it!"

Luke laughed and ruffled his hair. There was a twinkle in his eye as he stared at us. "I'm proud of you two. Your parents will be too."

What would they be proud of?

I couldn't think of a response so I just smiled. Charlie took my hand and pulled me towards Bob and Damasen. Damasen was smiling and dusting himself off. Bob stared intently at the sky above us. My cheeks were wet with tears. I couldn't seem to keep my lips in the grim line they were used to.

"We should try to find a town or some sort of civilization," I suggested.

Luke nodded in agreement. He pulled Charlie to his side and they began tramping along the river bank.

Nobody will accept you now

"Hello," Bob said softly, staring up. I smiled and felt a pang in my chest. Too bad my parents weren't here to see this. We gave him his privacy.

"We need to figure out where we are," Luke mentioned. I nodded in agreement and took Charlie's hand. Charlie didn't look like he minded his lack of foot-wear as he skipped by my side. He still looked sick, even more so now that I had actual light to see him by, but he was doing ok for now. The twigs and rocks on the forest floor didn't seem to bother him a bit; probably because he couldn't feel a broken heart beating beneath the ground like he could in Tartarus.

You will return

"We should follow the creek downstream, eventually that'll lead us to civilization," Charlie said, pointing towards the tiny blimp of sunlight on the horizon. "So I guess we're going East."

Charlie had been a cub scout when he was little. He was very proud of it.

Following the stream allowed us to finally drink real water instead of Lava. The cool substance was unlike anything I remembered. I'd had water before but it had never tasted this good. Ambrosia had nothing on cool water after so many months drinking lava. We used the rest of the water to try and wash up at least a bit. It didn't help much.

Get used to it

Charlie and I walked ahead of the group. He was pressed firmly to my side, making it a bit awkward walking but we didn't care. We didn't need to speak. Both of us knew how grateful we were to be free but neither of us wanted to talk about the place we'd been such a short time ago. We were in too much pain to forget it anyway.

Luke got our attention with a short, "Hey!" and pointed ahead.

There were city lights nearby. I didn't mean to but I felt myself walking a bit faster.

"You realize that once we get back, there's got a war to fight. How many monsters do you think have escaped since we've been gone?" Charlie asked.

According to Nyx's plan, they were waging war on the gods. They were going to wipe out the camps first, then the gods.

"We can handle it. We've fought many battles. Camp knows how to fight a war," I tried to comfort him.

This will be the war that breaks them

Charlie shook his head calmly. "That shouldn't be what makes you a fighter, Jase. We're still kids." He stopped and grabbed my wrist. "Jase, you cannot assume to be a soldier just because the war at hand calls for it. We don't need to spend our entire lives preparing for a fight; war makes its own soldiers." He looked down and watched a small flame jump across his fingers. He'd gotten much better at controlling the flame since he first tried.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not a soldier. I'm not a warrior."

"What are you talking about? You're one of the most powerful demigods in existence! You just spent the last nine months in Hell, and you were definitely fighting then."

"What I understand," he said, "is that I was not born into this. I didn't grow up with a sword in my hand and Greek monsters in my backyard. I grew up in a small town. I helped my parents run our auto-repair shop and I try my best to get semi-decent grades so I can get a job and save up for a car on my 17th birthday. I'm not a warrior, but here I am. Fighting a war."

He was right. He shouldn't be fighting this fight. I hugged him, letting my head relax on his shoulder. I loved him, and I knew he would make a world of a difference in the fight that was to come. But I knew he was right and I didn't want him fighting a war.

"I know. So when we get back, you'd better go home. I was trained for this, you weren't. You parents were right to keep you out of this life. It gave you a chance to be a real kid. My life is not one I would ever wish upon you. The gods don't care what happens to us. They have us fight their wars, then let us live with the trauma. You've already been through more than most of the demigods that have lived in this life and that's enough. So when we return, you should go back home. Try to forget this whole thing ever happened." It hurt me to say but I needed him not only to know that he had the choice, but that he should take this opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I wanted him with me. But he needed a life.

"Staying with me will just get you killed," I summed up.

Charlie huffed carelessly but I felt tears landing on the back of my shirt where his head rested. Why was he crying?

"To Hell with that, literally. I'm not going anywhere, Jack. You'd better not try to get rid of me again."

I should have kept arguing but I couldn't. "Thank the gods. Now let's go home."

The others had just caught up with us as we began to walk again. "Something up?" Luke asked.

Charlie smiled and squeezed my hand. "Nope. We're good to go."