We walked, just talking about the most trivial of things. What we liked doing, what we liked to listen to, where we grew up, what our favorite animal was, whatever came up. It was nice, actually, just talking for once without planning, without referencing to a war or a battle or training, though we did talk about camp for a little. I liked Harley. She seemed very down to earth yet not so serious that she wasn't fun. She had this energy about her that was just intoxicating. I wanted to know more about her, what she liked and everything. She had this humor about her that I realized was very Hermes-like. She was snarky, though, far more than any of the Hermes kids at camp. She knew the real world and what lurked within it, and she had dealt with it. She wasn't heroic to the point of being annoying, unlike me or any of the other campers. She was just realistic and I liked that.

We had to walk for about an hour before we reached the club. It was a sort of outdoors club. You entered through a room and then it opened into a courtyard with a stage at one end, a bar on one side, and the other side was just tables and chairs. The center was a massive dance floor. We approached the bouncer, a big, burly guy with a scar across his neck. He looked down at us, his eyes covered by sunglasses. I raised my head a little proudly.

"Mitchell Hower—" I started, ready to play the "I'm Apollo's son" card, but the bouncer just motioned for us to enter before turning to a couple of mortals that looked like gang members. We went inside without protest, though I was a little miffed at not getting a VIP pass. I was getting spoiled, apparently. Harley looked a little surprised that it was so easy to get in, I however just looked around and tried to find the Muses. I looked towards the DJ box, but there wasn't one there, only a stage with a varying amount of instruments on it. I frowned, then looked at Harley, who was watching a few satyrs dance with nymphs. I sighed heavily and grabbed her hand, pulling over to a table and sitting her in a chair before sitting across from her.

"First, don't stare. It's rude," I smirked a little and she smiled apologetically. "Second, I need to find two goddesses, okay? So if you see anyone that seems godly, please—" And for the second time that night, I was cut off by a demi-god stopping at our table, putting his hands on the table. I looked up to see the glare of Apollo's blue eyes. I scowled, standing swiftly, gripping the demi-god's shirt. "Zak, what a lovely surprise," I growled as he grabbed my wrist.

Harley stayed seated, thank the gods, but she looked a little angry. Zak glared at me, drawing a dagger from beneath his leather jacket. I gripped his wrist as he tried to stab my face and forced his arm away. That's when everyone looked at us, and I was confused why they weren't saying or doing anything. Then I remembered Imogen's words. People came here to prove themselves. I scowled, narrowing my eyes towards my half-brother. He tried to bring the dagger up to my arm, but I gripped his neck, tightening. He quickly kneed me and I grunted, shoving him away to recover. I gripped the edge of the table as I drew my own dagger, glaring at him. He was so much like Rex, though a little more built, stronger looking. I wondered what he had been doing since he betrayed the camp and left. Well, besides hurting Muses.

"Who are you?" Zak hissed at me. His voice was surprisingly gentle, especially for a warrior. His entire form and his body language screamed danger, but his voice spoke artist, singer, tormented and hurt. I almost didn't want to fight him, but I knew better than anybody that a voice didn't define a person. Just look at me. I twirled my dagger, smirking a little.

I was about to answer him when I heard that annoying voice, louder than ever before, in my head. Remember, names have much power. I scowled a little, but held my tongue. The raven was right, after all, and I didn't want to give any power to Zak. I knew his name, and he didn't know mine. That was a very powerful advantage. He scowled and lunged. I avoided the attack by sidestepping around him, aiming a stab to his side. He blocked, though barely in time, and I realized he hadn't trained in a long while. I smirked and attacked harder, swinging and stabbing towards him, forcing him back towards the wall, to a corner. But then the tables turned as I went to stab him into the heart with an overhead swing, and he blocked the attack, parried, and with a flick of his wrist, disarmed me. I stepped back quickly, aware of the all the eyes watching us.

Zak advanced onto me, smirking. He went to attack and I went to block by grabbing his wrist. But then he feinted to the left and stabbed me in my side, right between two ribs, directly into my lung.

Or it would've, had I not been wearing the chainmail. I grunted in pain, kneeling over. The force he stabbed me with, it would've gone straight to the hilt and then some had he actually been able to get to my skin. I would have a big bruise there. I growled a little and punched him in his ribs, his side open to me when I bent over. He gritted his teeth, but I kept punching him, even as his tightened his abs. I deflected his next attack with the dagger, and knocked the weapon from his hand. That's when he started to panic and attacking me more rashly. It gave me a lot of openings, but I was wary. I wanted to question this son of a bitch, not knock him unconscious or kill him.

So I retreated, knocking tables and chairs out of my way as I moved back. Zak finally realized what I was doing and stopped, stepping back to get a breather and get a more defensive position. I took this opportunity to pull Bruhmastra from my wrist while simultaneously unclipping my quiver and slinging it across my back. Before Zak could react, I had an arrow drawn and pointed at him. He raised his hands slowly, breathing heavy.

"Harley, would you be so kind as to find those daggers," I said as I approached Zak warily before stopping, keeping a healthy distance away from him so he wouldn't get any ideas about trying to knock the arrow from my hand. "And you and I will talk in the ally," I growled as Harley rejoined my side, both of our daggers in her hand. I slowly edged my brother toward an exit, pushing him into the ally. The music started up the second we were out of the club, and then it was muffled when the door slammed shut behind us. I eyed him before shooting my arrow. He yelped, trying to duck away to avoid being impaled, but it didn't work. Ducking from Bruhmastra's aim was impossible. The arrow pinned him to the wall long enough for me to pull my bow across my back and grab one of the daggers from Harley. He ripped his shirt away from the arrow, a small line of blood on his skin, and turned to face me. Before he could attack, I had a dagger at his throat.

"Now that we're comfortable," I growled, glaring at him. We were similar in height, eye color, hair color…It was uncanny. I scowled, pressing my dagger further into his neck when he tried to struggle. A thin line appeared along his neck, bleeding profusely. He stopped moving quickly, hissing a little in pain.

"Who's she?" He asked hoarsely, his soft voice obviously scared. As he should be.

"No one important," I snapped. "No one you should be worried about…yet. In case you get itchy for freedom, and try to run, she'll stop you and cut your toes off. One by one. That's just what she does." I lied. Harley didn't say anything, and I glanced over my shoulder at her. She was smirking and raised his dagger, twisting it so the light of the streetlamp hit it just right. Zak swallowed thickly, nodding as much as he could without cutting himself. I smirked a little and stepped back a little. Zak slumped against the wall, looking between us fearfully.

"Now, where is the raven?" I asked coldly and he furrowed his brows. "Don't think about asking questions," I snapped, "where is it?"

"Andromeda, why?" Zak said quickly and I sighed heavily, twirling my dagger and stabbing him in the shoulder. He yelled out in pain, gripping my wrist tightly.

"What did I just say?" I asked quietly and he nodded before I pulled the knife out. He breathed heavily, letting his head fall against the wall. I hid my discomfort. I didn't like hurting people unnecessarily, and torturing my brother wasn't giving me any pleasure. "Who's your parent, demi-god?" I asked, even though I already knew. I wanted to make it think I wasn't as informed as I was.

"Apollo," he said quickly, fearing my blade. I hid my own pain. I didn't like that I caused that fear. He was clearly in over his head. He looked up at us, curious about who we were, but his fear kept his tongue to himself. I sighed a little, glancing to Harley. She looked at me, but she didn't say anything.

"Son of Apollo," I said, looking at Zak. He furrowed his brows as I gestured to her, "and granddaughter of Hermes," I finished and clarity filled his eyes. Then hurt, betrayal, fear and loathing.

"Brother," he hissed at me, glaring at me, "Fuck you." I chuckled a little, shrugging.

"I know godly families usually do that stuff, brother, but I'm not like that. Thanks for the offer though, even if it was caveman like. Now, where is the ship?" I said, wiping his blood off my dagger and onto my shirt. He shook his head, glaring at me. I sighed heavily, but before I could reply I felt rough hands grab my shirt and force me back away from him. I started to fight, but something hard and heavy came down on my head and I lost consciousness.

My dreams were strange. They weren't clear, like before, but sporadic and nothing was making sense. I felt my body being cut, but the pain wasn't there, only the pressure. The world seemed to blur when I moved my head, and it made me feel sick so I held as still as possible. My brother was next to me, and we were both propped up, our hands tied behind our backs, the claws of the invisible monsters raking across our skin, connecting us in our scars. I shuddered, trying to fight against the bonds, but I was too weak.

Then I blacked out again and I was in a different room. It was dim, with only a few candles lighting it up. It was small as well, barely big enough to stretch out my legs, but I couldn't because Zak was there as well, looking delirious. He looked how I felt. I saw the blood of our wounds pooling on the ground, but I didn't feel any pain. I looked up to see a speck of light at the very top of the room. That's when I realized we were at the bottom of a well or something similar.

That's when I started to panic.

I kicked violently, and thrashing around. I probably hit Zak a lot, but I didn't care. One, I didn't like being so far from the surface, from the sun. I got energy from the sun, I felt comfortable in the day, and I needed the sunlight. Two, we were tied up at the bottom of a pit at whoever's mercy. I struggled, groaning in pain as I tried to twist my wrist out of my binds. Zak just sat with his back against the wall of the well, watching me with indifference. I whined in pain, feeling blood trickle down my wrist and into my palms. I breathed in deeply, looking at Zak, eyes wide with horror. Zak stared back at me, his eyes and body language making one thing perfectly clear: he had given up. He was willing to die down here.

"Oh gods," I moaned, letting my head fall back against the wall, tears forming in my eyes as I looked up at the pin prick of light. The rays barely reached us and the opening was barely a smudge in the darkness. "Father, please, please help." I whimpered, closing my eyes. I didn't want to die, not down here where I'd be forgotten about. Where people would wonder where I went off to, and then just settle with the fact that I died and I wouldn't ever be found. Then they'd forget about me. Maybe I'd be lucky enough to turn into a myth that the campers in the future would mention. "Oh you know the demigod Mitchell? Yeah, he wasn't much of a hero, but he had a bitching bow."

"Give it up," I heard the soft voice. Like an angel. He was so…soft, and so much different than me. I looked at Zak. I didn't have the energy to hate him, to want to kill him. I was facing oblivion; I was facing Hades, a long, dark existence. I wouldn't be alive, and that was the dread that I felt in my bones, the cold touch of death. I swallowed again, feeling thirsty. "We're dead already," he said simply. I blinked, looking at him with narrowed eyes. He looked back at me then cracked a smile. "You didn't know that?"

"I know this is the future," I murmured, "but I'm living it. It's not a vision."

"No, that it is not. We're in Hades. We're dead. The raven, he told me that the gods killed us," he murmured, looking at his knees. I watched him, head tilting a little. He shrugged a little with a sigh. "He told me the gods would kill us, anyways. And they did."

"No, no, because the raven told me that I would commit a crime...We're not dead yet." I protested, glaring at him. "We're not dead yet, and I'm not giving up."

"We're dead."

"No, we're not."

"Says who?"

"Who says we're dead?" I countered, glaring at him. He glared back. Neither one of us backed down, and so we were left staring at each other for a while. Finally he sighed, and averted his gaze. I snorted a little, and looked up at the speck of light that taunted us. "Maybe we could do that move, like in that one movie…with the llama?"

He gave him a dark look and kicked me hard in between my legs. I yelped, curling up away from him. The tears that threatened to spill over twenty minutes ago finally did as I suffered in pain. "We're not getting out of here. Suck it up. They've left us."

"Who has?" I groaned weakly, pain still radiating through my body, focused only on one spot. I felt sick and my head pounded and I wanted to kill him.

"The gods," he replied stiffly. I glared at him.

"Is that why you left camp? Is that why you abandoned our brothers and our sisters?" I growled. "You're no better than the gods. You're even worse, since you're a mortal and a traitor. Your mother abandoned you, right?" He gave me a look that, if looks could kill, would've set my head on fire. I pushed forward anyways, "Left you on the edge of camp?" He scowled, and made to kick me again, but I kicked his foot down. "Well, suck it up. At least she left you where you were safe. Mine just left. She got up, grabbed her bag, and left us. I never saw her again. I even remember the look she gave us when she left. It was just loathing, like we were a burden. At least you were safe. We were open to the world, ready for monsters to kill us."

His look softened a little, and for a second I saw the softness that his voice portrayed, but quick as a whip he hid it and shrugged weakly. Playing indifference, I knew how easy that could be. I sighed a little, looking up again.

"How did you survive?" He finally asked nearly ten minutes later. I frowned a little, and sighed with closed eyes.

"We nearly didn't," I murmured, looking down at the ground as I remembered us being shuffled from one fucked up foster home to another until we finally ran. No one tried to find us. We were just labeled runaways and to be returned if seen. We left the shitty town we were in and booked it to Chicago, figuring it would be easier to survive in a city. And then winter set in and the blizzard nearly killed us. "Apollo found us, taught us basic skills…his involvement is still being questioned." I looked up to see Zak glowering at me, jealousy alive in his eyes. I sighed a little. "Don't worry. He ditched us the second the first monster spotted us. He left us not once, but twice. The second time had a huge price to it. My sister was killed." I murmured, closing my eyes, trying not to cry. I felt wrecked, emotionally unstable. I wanted to scream to the gods. I wanted to drag Olympus down and I wanted to wring Apollo's neck, send one of his bronze arrows directly into his heart.

There was a heavy silence before he replied, "I'm sorry." I nodded slowly, breathing in slowly.

"We're going to die." I said slowly, looking up at the pinprick of light again. He sighed.

"Yep, but if we didn't…would you betray the gods?" I looked at him and he stared back at me. I frowned, and then shrugged.

"If we managed to make it back to the present…or the past, I'll do it. They left us."

"Yes, he did," Zak corrected, leaning back against the wall.

"I won't join Kronos."

"Why?"

"Why? Zak, are you fucking retarded?" I said and he glared at me. "Zeus is just a product of Kronos. If you think it's bad under his rule, what you think it will be like under Kronos? No better," I answered for him as he sighed.

"I know…What is your name anyways?"

"Mitchell. Now, please, just shut up," I muttered and he nodded slowly, closing his eyes. I watched him for a while before I realized he was asleep. I sighed a little, and closed my eyes as well. Sleep came quickly, making my limbs heavy until I fell into the fragmented consciousness that was my dreams.

The first thing I realized was that I was still tied up. I groaned a little, letting my head fall back, hitting a wall with a loud thunk. I slowly opened my eyes, taking in the room. It was just a normal hotel room except outside was just the blue sky and the blue ocean. I groaned a little, closing my eyes slowly. I was on the evil floating headquarters. I took a deep breath before opening my eyes again and forcing myself to stand. I shook a little on my legs, but managed to stay standing. Looking around, I knew it was nearing sunset. I forced myself not to think about that. The setting of the sun while on the enemy ship made me nervous, and I didn't need to be jumpy with nerves.

I was alone in this room, my hands tied behind my back. There was nothing of use in the room, not anything that could untie me that is. I stumbled over to the bed and sat down before testing how tight the binds were. I realized suddenly that the rope weren't tight at all, just tucked in and around it. I wriggled my hands a bit and the rope came loose and fell onto the sheet. I lifted my hands, rubbing my wrists when I realized that my bow was on my wrist. I frowned, poking it. I almost expected something to happen, but nothing did. Well, obviously. The quiver charm was right there, as well, clipped to Bruhmastra like nothing had happened. Had anything happened?

Frowning, I stood and swayed a little before getting my balance and crossing the room and trying the door. It was open. I opened it to see a demigod guarding me. He looked like an Ares kid. He glared at me and I nodded a little, closing the door in his face. Okay, no escape that way. But I quickly found out that was the only way to leave the room. I frowned again and just decided to lie down.

I rested, though I didn't sleep. Instead I thought about my dream/vision/future. I had renounced the gods so easily. Why? Because I had been at the bottom of a well, panicking and ready to fight tooth and nail to freedom? I thought that was pretty pathetic. I was ready to give up on the gods, particularly my father. Zak had already done so, renounced them for Kronos. At least I had enough wisdom to see that Kronos wouldn't be any better than the gods. I frowned, looking towards the window. Was that why they hadn't put tighter security on me and let me keep my bow? Did they think I was going to turn on the gods and join the Titian army? I snorted a little and closed my eyes, enjoying the last rays of sunlight. Eventually I was laying in darkness, breathing slowly, conserving my energy. The sun was set now. If I had to fight I would have to fight with my own energy. I jolted up, realizing that I hadn't eaten for at least a day. With that thought, my stomach growled loudly. I sighed, looking around the room, wondering if I was allowed to call for room service. That's when I saw a platter on the table near the door that wasn't there before. On the platter were a small pitcher of Nectar and a little box of Ambrosia. I picked up an Ambrosia chunk and ate it slowly, eyeing the door with mistrust. Someone had entered without my knowledge and I didn't like that.

I grabbed the platter and set it on the bed besides me, and watched the door with wary eyes. And there I sat, sipping Nectar and nibbling at the Ambrosia. I was unwilling to sleep in case I ended up in the future, in that well. I stood a few times, stretching and doing some light workouts, just to keep my body limber and ready to attack if I needed to. Hours passed this way and eventually I started to get antsy. I tried the windows, but they were too well secured. The only way the exit would be that way would be if I broke them. The vents were also way too small for me. Maybe a hamster could fit though them, but definitely not me. So I sat, watching the door, and keeping my energy at peak level. The night got darker and I took to watching the waves in the moonlight, wondering what my father was doing, what the gods were doing about this threat, what Annabeth and Beckendorf were doing, what Chloe was doing, and what my fate was.

Night finally passed and I found myself watching the sunrise, and I thought of Apollo. I readied myself to swallow my pride and beg him for his help, but before I could the door opened. I was up in a flash, my bow drawn. But I was only greeted with a very smug looking girl. She was tall, though not as tall as me, with curly dirty blonde hair. Her eyes were a piercing grey, a color I knew all too well. She was dressed in light armor, made for sneaking about, made for assassins. She had a short sword strapped to her side, and a shield across her back. Her body was completely covered, only her head free of the armor. Even her neck was guarded by the black leather armor. I hesitated and she raised her hands.

"Easy now, tiger, I'm not here to fight," she said. Her voice was a little deeper than most girls, but was still feminine. She spoke clearly and crisply, and in short she was very articulate. "Lenora Blackburn, Daughter of Athena." I raised my eyebrow, frowning. I knew that many of the other half-bloods had gone and joined Luke, but it was just bizarre that a child of Athena would. Well, not bizarre, just unsettling. They were wiser than the rest of them. They were supposed to be, well, the good guys. Then again, it had always been Athena's and Apollo's cabin most eager to help Percy and defend the camp and the world, and look who had stolen the white raven and attacked a goddess: A son of Apollo. There were no limits to anyone, not because of their parents anyways.

And that was just it, wasn't it? There were no limits to people. People were not defined by their parents, even if one of their parents was a god. I didn't have to be like Apollo, nor did Percy have to be like Poseidon, or this girl Lenora didn't have to be like Athena. I lowered my bow, watching her carefully.

"Mitchell Hower, son of Apollo. Where is Harley?" I asked quickly, having been worried about her.

"She is safe at home, I promise. I personally escorted her there. She's shaken and scared, and probably gunning to get news to your quest companions, but she is home."

"Swear on Styx?" Her face darkened a little, but she nodded as she took a deep breath.

"I swear on Styx that she is home and safe the last I saw her." Nodding, I approached her. She stayed relaxed, watching me with her startling grey eyes.

"And why am I still alive?" I asked slowly, glaring at her. She smiled a little, as if she knew a secret that I didn't know, that I desperately wanted to know. I frowned, stopping a few feet away from her.

"You're not our enemy, Mitchell," she said lightly. "You want the raven? Have it. Take it back to Olympus." Okay, now I was really confused. "Just be careful," she said lightly as the son of Ares that had been guarding my door entered with a covered cage as big as his torso. I heard the shuffle of feathers under the sheet and breathed in slowly, looking back at her. "The gods may not welcome you back with open arms."

"Why not?" I asked slowly, and she sighed a little.

"Because, according to that bird, you'll commit a crime that is punishable by death, and that's Thunderbrain's favorite punishment," she said indifferently as the kid forced me to hold the cage. I put it on the table, eyeing it. "If you survive, Mitch, you're always welcomed here," she said softly, sounding a little bit more caring. I looked at her, frowning.

"If I survive, I'll hide from the gods and from you. Kronos rising isn't going to solve our problems, it's just going to get rid of the gods," I snapped at her. She snorted in amusement.

"All of our problems start with the gods, and they'd end with the gods."

I laughed humorlessly, looking at and wondering if she was serious. "No, princess, they'd just be transferred. Nothing will be better under the Titians. The best you could hope for if you succeed is the exact same arrangement. The best realistically speaking, however, is enslavement and death." I growled, pulling the sheet off the cage. She glared at me as the raven ruffled his fathers and looked at me with one beady eye.

"Whatever you say," she growled, crossing her arms. "I'm sure we'll meet again. Until then, we're taking to you the shore." I frowned and grabbed the cage and followed her out of the room and to the deck. I passed a few others that I knew from camp or knew of. I eyed them all with disappointment. I think they sensed that and they didn't look into my eyes very often. We reached the row boat and climbed aboard it. I watched the ship get smaller as we headed to shore.

"We're leaving you outside Newark," Lenora said lightly as she tossed me my knapsack. I caught it and shouldered it slowly as we slowed down, reaching a dock on the bay. I departed the small boat with the cage. She smirked at me and waved a little. I scowled, watching as they headed back to the Andromeda. I set the cage down, looking at the raven.

"Okay, promise you won't fly away?" It looked at me and ruffled its feathers and I sighed. "Please, I don't want to lug around a cage."

I cannot fly. They pulled out my feathers. It said indignantly. I narrowed my eyes and it seemed to sigh. I swear on Styx. I nodded a little and opened the cage. He hopped out and seemed to shrink to the size of a regular bird before hopping up onto my shoulder and sitting there. I nodded a little, and left the cage behind, heading up the ramp to dry ground. People eyed me, what with the raven on my shoulder, but didn't really comment on it as I quickly headed deeper into the city.

I found a carwash as quickly as possible, and got the mist started. I fished for a drachma, then flipped the coin into the rainbow that I had made. "Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Annabeth," I requested, glancing over my free shoulder for anyone who may be watching before looking back at the IM.

She shimmered into view and I breathed a sigh of relief. I realized she was at camp, and she was looking rather upset. Before I could stay anything she saw me and jumped up. "You idiot! We thought you were dead, for sure. When that girl told us you were gone…It was horrible. We failed, just like the prophecy. Oh gods, are you okay? Where are you? And…is that…" she murmured, her eyes flickering over to my shoulder. I nodded a little with a sigh.

"Look, I can't say much, okay? But I'm safe, I'm Newark, and I'm heading to Olympus. Now, how long was I gone?" She looked a little confused at my question, but answered it regardless.

"Almost five days since you ditched us, why?" I blanched. Why didn't I remember any of it?

Because you don't want to remember any of it, I heard. I scowled, looking at the bird, which seemed to shrug like it didn't care what I thought.

"No reason, just making sure. Okay, I have to go. Thanks. See you soon," I said and before she could say anything else, I cut off the water to the rainbow and the IM disappeared. I breathed in slowly and closed my eyes. Great, five days. I looked at the bird. "Can you make me remember?"

Yes, but are you sure? You may have done things you regret, and it may break your mind.

"I need to know my past," I snapped and the bird closed its eyes like it was debating whether or not to help me. It stayed still for a moment, and I was getting annoyed. Right when I went to ask what the hell it was doing, I felt a sudden and sharp pain in my brain. I screamed out, dropping to the ground. I had no control over my body, my limbs going rigid as my brain screamed its protests. I felt my arms break, then my legs as they contorted to different and unnatural angles. I gasped, pain filling my body. I fought against it, willing it away and I was crying heavily. No doubt a mortal would see this.

Stop fighting it! It'll only make it worse! I gasped for air, my lungs not working properly. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to force my body to relax, to just accept the pain. The second I wanted to, my body complied and the pain filled my entire body. I opened my eyes only to see white, the pain blocking out my vision. I couldn't speak, I couldn't breathe, I could only feel the unspeakable pain that lingered in my bones, ripping apart my nerves. I would gladly take the cutting torture over this every time.

Finally the pain started to ebb away and I felt air return to me. The blinding whiteness that had filled my vision was gone now. I sighed a little, but then it all came back to me. The days on the ship came back to me, and I hated what I saw. I shook as I stood quickly, vomiting onto the street. A few mortals glanced to me, but continued on, probably thinking I was a drunk or something similar. I sat up slowly, shaking heavily and leaned against the wall of the car wash. The raven hopped up to my knee, watching me slowly.

Face it, hero. You asked for it.

"I…I did that?" I whimpered and the bird shrugged.

Didn't I say you'd commit a crime? I watched the bird, feeling the emotion build up in my chest. I felt sick again, but I held it down. My head swam with emotion and I felt lightheaded. I was ready to give up, to crumble to pain. I swallowed thickly, my lips quivering.

I was a murderer.