Leo

Rules- Jayme Dee

I dreamed of my mom.

We were standing on opposite sides of a long hall. She was calling out to me, and was in trouble. I started to run to her, but the walls started to close in. Every step I took, the walls would move in a few inches. It was a trap, and there really was no way out. My breathing hitched and my head spun. I felt hot, and sweaty. I felt panicked.

I woke up right as the walls had closed in, crushing me in between them.

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Pain. All I could think about was pain. It crushed me. It took over my every thought. It defined me.

Okay. Maybe that was a little overdramatic.

But really. I was in a lot of pain.

When I hit the beach, the impact itself should've killed me. I felt my arm crack underneath me, and my chest exploded with pain. Broken ribs were definite. And by hitting my head to hard on the rough sand, I'd not only gotten cut by shells, but I'd probably gotten a concussion.

I almost wished I'd landed in the water.

I closed my eyes and moaned, wishing I as dead. There were a few minutes when I tried to find a way to kill myself. I could grab a pair of scissors or a screwdriver and stab myself. I reached inside of my tool belt, but everything was too low. The only thing I could get a hold of was a pipe cleaner.

Then, there was a voice. It was soft and quit, singing a song above me. The voice was so perfect, I wondered if I had died. She was singing in ancient Greek, which I didn't speak, but I knew enough from classes at Camp Half Blood to get the gist. It was a love song.

Suddenly, there was a pain in my chest so sharp and so sudden, I thought I'd been stabbed. I called out, cursing and praying to any god who'd listen. I struggled.

"Stay still." The voice said, her song stopping. I hadn't realized what kind of healings she'd been doing when she sang, until the moment she stopped. Every inch of my body, including the stabbing, was on fire.

"Who?" I said quietly. I looked up and saw the girl for the first time.

She was beautiful. Long, caramel blonde hair, brown eyes that made you feel better than you ever had, tan skin, and a white sundress.

"Leo, do you not recognize me?"

I focused on her face, my eyes squinting. She hummed and smiled, touching my uninjured hand.

With a shaky, uncertain voice, I asked one question.

"Who's Leo?"

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"It wasn't funny."

"C'mon, it was pretty good."

"You're crazy."

"I was making light of a tough situation. Give me a break, Calypso."

The girl across from me crossed her arms and looked away from me.

"I- You don't know how horrible that would've been. I've never had someone come twice, I thought- I thought the God's-"

"You thought they were making you their joke." I finished for her, wincing as she continued to wrap my arm in a bandage. She's healed the broken bone, but it was sore.

"How did you get here?" She asked, giving me a hopeful look. I shook my head.

"I don't know. There was an explosion on my ship, and I just-"

"Is that how you got this?"

She pointed to the red marks all over my arms and neck. She's healed the worst of it, blisters and infections, but my skin had a pink tint to it that wouldn't go away.

"It was immortal fire." I said. "Which means someone-"

"The Gods did this to you?"

"You like to interrupt, don't you."

She smirked and finished tying the bandage. "It's one of my specialties. Now, um…" She eyed my burnt shirt a little nervously. "You need to take your shirt off."

"Whoa, never had a girl be so direct before."

I gave her a goofy smile and started to pull off my T-shirt. Blood was crusted to it, and sand covered it. The pain of taking my shirt off alone was almost too much to handle. My bones had almost totally healed, but they were bruised- too bad to be fixed by simple spells and songs. It'd have to heal naturally.

"Are you alright?"

I bit my lip and nodded, setting it down next to me. She pressed her rag against my shoulder, trying to stop a cut from bleeding.

"I don't know why you're here." She said after a minute, shaking her head back and forth. She was so focused on what she was doing, she didn't notice me watching her.

You know… In a not creepy way.

"Me neither."

She took a deep breath and stood, going over to put new, fresh water in her basin.

"Have you… I mean, the God's haven't discussed my, um, situation, with you, have they?"

I was confused. "What do you-"

She came back with a fresh cloth, and sat back down next to me. She stared at her hands, which were perfect, just like they'd been when I'd left.

"How long were you gone?" She changed the conversation. I flashed back. Back to the first couple of weeks when any time I'd thought about her, it'd hurt. After three months, I'd started working harder. Six months and it'd started to seem impossible. A year, and I'd set off in the Argo II for the second prophecy.

"A little over a year."

She chuckled. "Feels longer."

"I know."

"Lord Hermes stopped visiting a few weeks after you left. Your father comes every once in a while, but… I'm not sure. I feel like something's wrong."

I thought about telling her the prophecy. It was all about her, so she deserved to know, but I couldn't make myself tell her.

I only asked, "My dad comes here?"

Pain exploded in my chest as she moved the rag back and forth across it. I grabbed onto the side of the bed, gritting my teeth. She hummed slowly, and the pain lessened.

"He knows I'm lonely. He'll come and talk with me about the Gods. About their children."

She blushed. It took a minute for me to understand what she was hinting at, and even though I was in pain I managed a smirk.

"You're using my dad to stalk me?"

"It's not like that."

"Sure."

Her cheeks had turned bright pink. I smiled and shrugged. "I get it. The ladies just can't stay away."

She huffed and stood. "Fine. If you want to heal yourself, then-"

I grabbed her hand to stop her from walking away.

"Geez, lady, it was a joke."

For a minute, she stared at me like she was really upset.

"Calypso, what's wrong?"

Her eyes focused on a tree to the left. She ignored me.

"You can talk to me." I promised. "Mexicans never lie." She looked at her feet, obviously not getting my joke.

"Why are you here?" She asked after a long silence. "I was so rude to you."

I touched her chin, making her look at me. "I made a promise."

She nodded once, still a little unsure.

"I never break my promises."