Young Writers Society

Hades wasn't sure how long they were running; his body was fueled by an adrenaline he hadn't felt since his last sparring session with his niece. He could feel Perse running right beside him. He was sure that his husband was also experiencing the same feeling as they rushed after Cerberus.

The dog skid to a halt. The two gods did the same. Though he couldn't see anyone right before them, Hades could hear the sound of voices coming from nearby. Cerberus seemed to have understood the need for a bit of surprise.

Hades readied his sword, and a vine began to grow out of Perse's sleeve.

Then they walked into the clearing where Alex and DeeDee were. "Hello," Hades said with the quiet anger that he rarely used. Artemis said that it terrified her to hear it, especially because she knew he almost never got mad. He wasn't sure if that was the case or not, but he did know how badly he wanted the two to see justice.

Alex turned his head slowly to look back at the two men who'd found them.

"Look, Deedee. We have guests."

Jeanine leaves the rubble and leaps over towards the woods.

--

"Indeed we do," DeeDee says calmly.

James stumbled out of the building, following behind Li He and Jeanine. As they exit through a hole in the side of the building, only about 30 seconds pass before they can hear the sound of crumbling, and the second floor on that branch of the hotel collapses onto the first.

James turned around, slowly lowering the rag from his face as he stared back at the collapsed building, and the fire spreading, gradually engulfing the building in flames. His eyes widened, and his shoulders slumped for a moment, a wall of grief - or something like it - hitting him. The hotel might've been haunted, and sometimes, scary as hell, but it was his hotel. Not literally, but the place had become his home... and now... that idiot Alex had done this...

James was violently pulled back to reality when he heard the cries of Cynthia from behind him as she endured the pain of her broken and injured legs, and found himself thrown into another rush of adrenaline as he turned around to see her, and the group of hotel residents all gathered together - many visibly injured.

He glanced back at the hotel once more, trying to asses their resources. Most of them were burning in the fire, now.

He turned to Jeanine. "Is there anything I can get you to help you look after the injured? Sticks for splints, anything like that?"



Alex smiled at Hades, his smile disturbingly genuine considering the context.

He wanted to fight, and he knew that Perse wanted to as well. They wanted to see justice served, while also knowing that they were the only ones who could currently give it. But, though he had the strong desire to battle them, he also needed to understand why they would do something so catastrophic. A personal vendetta against one occupant would be a cause for some sort of fight, but destroying an entire building? That was another thing all together.

"Why did you do it?" Hades finally asked. "Why did you have to put so many lives at risk? For all that we know, some of the people there might have died under the rubble."

Alex shrugged care-freely, his smile shifting to a pleased grin. "Thought it would be fun."

"Revenge," DeeDee answered.

--

"EVERYONE!" Jeanine shouted. "IF YOU CAN WALK, GO TO THE TREES AND UNDER WHERE THE SHADE WILL BE! IF YOU AREN'T VERY INJURED, HELP THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T WALK TO GO UNDERNEATH! I'LL GET TO YOU! IF YOU CAN AND YOU'RE MALE, TAKE OFF YOUR SHIRT SO WE CAN USE IT AS A BANDAGE! RIP OFF ANY PIECES OF CLOTH YOU DON'T NEED, SUCH AS THE BOTTOMS OF SHORTS AND SOCKS! Li He, James, get anything that you can that might help. Sticks for splints, clothing that's ripped into bandages, luggage that is still useful that was thrown out of the building, things like that. Take anything. Anything that you can find, bring over there." She points to a clearing not far from them that was clear from rubble and trees. "That will be the 'medical center.'"

Cornyx saunters over, his suit not even wrinkled despite his surprisingly generous act of helping save people - and not taking any souls while he was at it. He reaches into his sleeve like a magician and pulls out several bandages.

"Here you are, Miss Jeanine."

"There were innocent people in there," Perse said, the vine quietly tapping on the ground beside him. He was angrier than Hades had seen him be in a long time, and for good reason. "They could have been killed. They never deserved that!"

Hades held up his sword. "You two made the biggest mistake that you could have possibly made today. You've hurt humans who never should have been injured, and now you've gained the wrath of two very ancient gods." He returned Alex's smile. "And, Alex, remember what I said earlier about making your life a living hell? Well, that starts now."

Jeanine accepts the bandages and hesitates. "How do I know that there's not some stupid demonic spell on them?"

((Says the person with two evil handmaiden ghosts))

--

"Two very ancient gods?" DeeDee laughs. "How do you know how old I am? I might be even older, how do you know that?"

"If I were going to kill you, wouldn't it be much simpler to rip out your souls?" he replies.

"That wasn't my question."