Young Writers Society

Hades looked at the faces of the others in the room.

Then he looked back at Elias. The silence was heavy and suffocating, but he knew he had to push past it for Elias.

"You...you did," Hades finally replied. "Evaline and Sohiro did, too. I don't know if it was really them or just the mist, but..."

He faltered. Elias sounded so quiet now; Hades could hear the way that his voice was shaking as he spoke. He wished he could offer some magical solution right now, but he still needed Hecate's help. He still needed to sit down and figure out what made the most sense.

He took a hesitant step forward.

"My friend can help you," he said. "She's more skilled and knowledgeable with magic than I'll ever be. She can help find some way for you to use your powers without hurting other people - I'm sure of it."

"Nevermind that," Maggie cut in, stepping forward. Fury, cold and sharp, curled around their voice. "You coward," they seethed, "calling upon us - killers - to do your dirty work for you. If your remorse really grows to be so overwhelming that you feel you need to end it all, at least have the decency to do it yourself."

Their voice was deadly calm as they moved closer, getting in Elias's face. He couldn't move if he wanted to. It was a nasty thing to do to a child, but here, now, Maggie allowed the use of a little power to keep him still and listening.

"You could have killed us all. Lock yourself up and starve next time you want the suffering you cause to end."

"Evaline?" Elias breathed out in disbelief, meeting Hades's eyes just for a second to make sure he was serious. "And So—?"

He couldn't finish his sentence. This was a lot to process. First, what did Kazimir mean they found out through a dream state? It terrified him that they even knew who Sohiro was, but Elias could understand why that man would tell these things to them. But Evaline? Why was she there? How would she even know? What did she have to say? And Elias was the one who told them all this too? This was making no sense.

Hades stepped in and offered support, saying he could help. A friend. His friend. Hades was a friend, right? Even though he knew what he was capable of? Was he sincere? Could he actually help?

The little speck of hope was singed when Maggie suddenly stormed towards him, saying words that cut through him like little daggers. He found himself stepping back and staring at them with wide eyes until he was against the wall, but as soon as their face was close to his, he couldn't move. All he could see was a poisonous face say the venomous words, and he was frozen, lost in thought.

Lost in thought that Maggie was right. He was a coward.

There were words he wanted to say, but couldn't. They were stuck at the back of his throat, along with the tears stinging behind his eyes, like his body wasn't allowed to respond in any way except to stare at Maggie's uncanny snarling face in front of him, his eyes wide and pleading with mercy.

He knew. He knew this could happen. He was warned. He had a choice to be with the others. He made a deal instead.

There were reasons he didn't want anyone to know.

There were words he wanted to say.

I thought things could be different. I thought, maybe, things would change. That I could change.

But I was wrong.

As if satisfied with this train of thought, the mist finally pounced and enveloped everyone like a deep, white blanket.

"Now hold on a fu--" Kazimir started to say, but stopped saying as the mist swarmed in and consumed them.

He had gotten out of his seat and barely had a chance to march over to Elias and Maggie. One step forward and his foot was landing somewhere else.

The classroom faded away, and Kazimir felt his clothes change too. No more stupid togas or uniforms this time. These clothes felt normal. Like home.

And he was home.

The mist brought them to Los Angeles, California, in an older part of town. A residential area. An apartment building on the street corner, and some shops on the other side of the street. The apartment building beside them had one stucco wall with a brick face, and porches facing the street, each of them with their own type of clutter - be it various potted plants, seating, or clothelines hung out there.

The air was a little muggy, but it was probably in the 70's. Kazimir was comfortable in his plain black t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes.

His apartment was just a building over.

Kazimir's mind was reeling. They were back in 1996. He was home. He'd made it back home, and he didn't even have to try. Was it real? Was he really home?

One glance behind him told him that answer was probably no. But what if it was? The others were with him. At least they were all wearing normal clothes, now. Thank god.

Did he have to bring them with him?

He flipped around to face Elias, and grabbed him by the hand.

"Come one, kid," he said, dragging Elias away from Maggie and the others. "Fuckin' dream mist shit, taking us places, fuckin' weird shit," he muttered. He glanced at his father's car, parked in the street parking. He paused and craned his neck to check the meter. It was still in the green. He kicked the meter before he kept walking.

"My place is up here," he explained, finally letting go of Elias's hand and letting the kid keep the pace himself.

He pulled out his keys and threw open the door to the stairwell. He didn't wait for anyone as he hurried up to the third floor and his footsteps echoed off the walls.

He threw open the next door, entering the hall. Marching to his front door. Apartment 3C. He didn't know what time of day it was, but it was daytime, and the sun was somewhere on the side it was during the evening. Bo should be home.

But his father was here.

He jammed the key into the lock and twisted it while pushing it open, letting the door clatter against the wall, stopping the door from swinging with his foot, and yanking the keys back out and shoving them back in his pockets.

"Bo, I'm home!" he called out into the apartment. "Got some friends you'll have to meet. Don't worry about dinner, I know I was gone for a minute so we'll just eat ou-- fuck."

He stopped at the edge of the small living room. It was shared with the kitchen, and the only person he could see was his father, standing over a few... boxes.

There were a lot of boxes, actually.

It looked like someone was packing up his apartment. Half of his stuff - all the clutter, all the things that made it a home - they were gone. It was just the bare bones and the furniture. And it looked like no one had vacuumed in an eternity.

His father turned around, with one hand still on top of a stack of boxes that reached to about his waist. His father set down a roll of duct tape on the box and wiped his hands together. His eyes traveled from Kazimir, and then behind him, towards the front door, expectantly.

"Friends, huh," Matvei said, with a Russian accent ten times thicker than Kazimir's own.

When the mist suddenly swept them off to another place that Hades didn't recognize - and changed his clothes into something even more unfamiliar than the ones he had been wearing just moments before - all that Hades could do was stare at Maggie. Something about Maggie felt off. For the first time, Hades wondered what he would see if he glanced at their soul.

But he didn't look at it.

He just gave them a sad, disappointed look and went rushing off after Elias and Kaz. He followed them past strange vehicles in an even stranger looking road, up a flight of stairs, and into a tiny room that already had an older man in it.

"Elias, don't listen to Mag-"

He faltered.

There were strange boxes made out of a material he had never seen before in the room. The older man had been doing something with one of them, but now he was looking right at Kaz. There was a tension in the air that was difficult to ignore.

Hades thought.

He had faced something. Elias had indirectly, too. And now they were in a place that Kaz seemed to be familiar with, which implied that this was another conflict waiting to happen.

Hades tensed and prepared to use his magic.

The mist enveloped them all, and just for a brief second, Elias wasn't able to see anything but white. This seemed to free him from Maggie's paralyzing glare, and he found his knees buckling as he dropped to the ground. The pent-up tears burned down his cheeks in shame. He quickly wiped them with his sleeves as he tried to swallow whatever emotion this was, but he didn't have much time to dwell on this thought.

The mist was gone, and they were in another world. Elias should've been more excited, but he felt tired.

Avoiding Maggie and potentially anyone else's eyes, he slowly stood up and wiped his face to hide any evidence of tears. While doing that, he examined his clothes. Not a dress, not a uniform, but casual clothes that seemed outdated. He barely had time to process this as Kaz suddenly yanked his hand and started leading him somewhere.

"Wait—" Elias protested, but faltered as he didn't really know why he'd be against this. So he let Kaz drag him to wherever he wanted to take him, and Elias barely had the time to glance around examine their surroundings. He had no idea where he could be, but judging from Kaz seemingly knowing where to go, this must be his world now.

This seems unfair. All they got to see in my world was a dumb classroom, he childishly thought as Kaz finally let go of his hand.

Elias glanced back to see if the others were following, and he did see that they were, but not who. He couldn't explain it, but he wanted to avoid making eye contact with Maggie as much as possible.

He raced up the stairs so he'd be closely behind Kaz, letting the this new world and sudden need to move distract him from the words they all told him back at the classroom. They struck a deep chord within him, but he didn't have the time to fully think upon it. Maybe he wouldn't need to and everyone else could drop it since apparently it was Kaz's turn to share some big deep dark secret or whatever else they were here for.

Kaz swung the door of his place open, and Hades finally caught up to them and started telling Elias something, but he was glad he didn't get to finish his sentence, because he just didn't know how to address these things.

Elias peered in behind Kaz to see many boxes and someone else standing nearby who spoke with an accent that was even funnier than Kaz's.

"I think you're getting evicted," he said thoughtlessly.

Before Annabeth even processed what Maggie had said, the mist invaded the room and swallowed them all.

When it disappeared, Annabeth relaxed her shoulders. She hadn't even realized they had been tensed up.

The classroom was gone, and they were outside in a new location: Los Angeles by the look of it. An apartment building was beside them. Her uniform was gone too, and she was dressed comfortably in jeans and a short-sleeved blue shirt. Annabeth tied up her hair into a ponytail, feeling the breeze cool the back of her neck.

It seemed that this was where Kazimir had lived, guessing by the look on his face.

"I've never been to Los Angeles," she said offhandedly, looking at the quiet town. She followed Kazimir inside. Annabeth bit her lip when she saw Elia's red eyes.

It was never fun to see anyone on the receiving end of someone's ire, but she wasn't ready to forgive Elias yet.

They entered Kaz's apartment, and Kaz yelled out for his son... but Bo didn't answer.

Someone else did.

Annabeth stood beside Hades as an older man spoke to them with a thicker accent. Boxes were strewn everywhere. She winced slightly.

"I think you're getting evicted," said Elias.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Always so tactless, aren't you, Elias?" she said irritably.

Maggie trailed behind the group in a loose follow. If they weren't already aware of her - which they certainly were, after that display in the classroom - they might not have noticed her following at all.

They didn't regret a word of their tirade. Elias was selfish and cowardly, and he needed to be corrected. No, not corrected. Just politely informed that dragging Maggie into his nonsense was completely unacceptable.

Maggie stayed in the hallway as the others went into the apartment, leaning on the wall as they listened to the ongoing drama.

Someone else's life, someone else's problems, someone else's business. Maggie hadn't the attention to dedicate to it.

"Your friends..." Matvei drawled, scanning the small crowd behind Kazimir.

Instinctively, Kazimir stuck out an arm in front of them.

If Elias hadn't been at the point of tears 30 seconds ago Kazimir would've told him not to say stuff like that around his father, but he grunted instead and took a few steps forward into the maze of boxes.

"Where's Bo?" Kazimir demanded.

Matvei gave Kazimir a wearied look of frustration and disappointment.

"He's with Vesna," he said. "Safe. Away from you."

Kazimir frowned and furrowed his brows. Everything within him expected anger to sputter up at those words, but instead, he felt a heavy weight starting to drag him down.

"Th-the hell's that supposed to mean?" Kazimir asked quietly.

Matvei's gaze kept flicking back to the group behind Kazimir. Matvei sighed and put his hands in his pockets and turned to face Kazimir directly. Kazimir locked eyes with his father and felt the punch to his gut before it came.

"You've been gone for six months, Kazimir," Matvei said cooly.

Kazimir blinked.

"What?"

"You think you can just fall off the grid and leave your son to take care of himself?" Matvei went on.

What?

"Stupid, stupid, Kazimir. Always stupid. Only ever thinking about yourself."

Six months?

"Is--" Kazimir cut in. "Is Bo okay?"

Matvei was silent for a moment.

"Yes," he answered.

"You said he's at your place? With mom?"

Matvei nodded.

Kazimir knew none of this was right. None of this felt right. But why did it feel so real? He had no control over when he got taken, and when he got back. For all he knew, he really might've disappeared for six months. But that wasn't his fault. He didn't choose to do that.

Kazimir turned around to leave.

"We need to talk, Kazimir," Matvei said.

Kazimir paused and looked back at his father over his shoulder.

"When you ran off, we became Bo's legal guardians," Matvei said, delivering this information completely devoid of emotion. Like a robot.

"I don't want you in my house again, Kazimir."

Kazimir stared. His feet were glued to the floor, and everything - his breath, his heartbeat, his thoughts - it all came to a stop.

This couldn't be happening.

There was so much that Hades didn't understand right now. He didn't know what eviction was. He didn't know what a legal guardian was. He didn't even know where he was - or when he was. He felt so out-of-place in the strange clothes he was wearing right now; they were nothing like what he was used to.

He felt like he was slipping away from this conversation and group. Even Elias, who hadn't seemed to know much about where the others were from, was aware of things that were apparently normal in Kaz's time.

But he couldn't let himself slip away.

Elias needed him. Kaz needed him. He had to focus on their issues if he wanted to ground himself - and if he wanted to make sure he didn't break the promise he made to Elias.

He moved a little closer to Elias. He knew he couldn't say much to him right now because there was a completely different conversation going on, but he wanted him to know that he wasn't alone. Hecate had always said that time magic would be tricky if it existed; the actions of future Elias weren't the actions of the one he actually knew just yet. Elias hadn't done anything wrong.

He just wished Maggie and Annabeth wouldn't act like they had. Couldn't they see how off Elias had been acting ever since they told him?

Hades glanced back at Kaz.

"Kaz," he said, his voice quiet, "I don't think this is real. I think we're still in the mist."

Kazimir shot a look back at Hades, then turned to glare at his father.

"I don't care," he growled. "You can't just take my son, dad. And I didn't mean to disappear. I can explain."

Matvei didn't look convinced, nor impressed. "Oh, can you?" he replied skeptically. "I'm sure your friends had nothing to do with it, hm."

Oh boy. Family drama.

These things always felt so weird and awkward. Annabeth shifted on her feet as she looked at Kaz's father. There was something off about him. Maybe Hades was right. And she hated the way he called them "friends."

Annabeth cleared her throat and stepped up so the man could see her.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, "but why do you put an emphasis on friends? I don't mean to sound rude, but it is a little condescending."

She bowed a little in a manner of respect.

"I've never met Bo before, but I've heard Kaz talk about him," she continued, "and he's had nothing but love to say."

Annabeth looked at Kaz, then Elias. "Kaz is willing to do anything to protect others. I've seen it firsthand. I know I don't have any say in a family situation, but let me ask you this: are you doing this for Bo's own good? A father is one of the most important people in a person's life."

Kazimir scoffed at Annabeth's last comment. Fathers were the most important? Well, Matvei sure believed he was the most important.

"Don't bother," Kazimir muttered. "He won't listen."

Matvei's critical gaze landed on Annabeth, looking her up and down. Assessing her.

"Your reason might be sound, little girl," Matvei drawled. "If you actually knew what you were talking about."

Elias grimaced at Annabeth's words, and he felt himself detaching himself to the situation at hand here. Maybe she was right. This wasn't his place to talk.

He glanced back and saw Maggie leaning on the wall, uninterested. He thought about joining them, but didn't because, one, Maggie, and two, he didn't exactly want to abandon Kaz, even though he wasn't sure if the argument was something he could help with.

Instead he crawled behind Hades and listened to the conversation. Kaz was gone for six months. His son, Bo, was taken away during that time. His dad didn't want him to see his son again.

It sounded so... sad. How were all these bad things happening all at once?

Elias wanted to intervene, but he still felt himself shrink at the thought. He didn't want to mess up an already precarious situation. It certainty didn't help that his mind was still buzzing.

But then he heard Kaz's dad insult both Annabeth and Kaz, and for a moment, it erased any apprehension.

"Hey," he said, peeking out behind Hades. "Don't talk to Annabeth that way. Or Kaz. They're good people."

Matvei threw back his head and laughed.

"Good people-" he said with a bitter smile. "I've had enough of this. It's too bad these new friends of yours weren't present in court. It's too late for nice words. You're never seeing Bo again, and I've made sure of it."

Kazimir was about to object, but he didn't get a chance.

At that moment, a group of armored policemen marched out of the kitchen. Some came out of the hallway doors. Kazimir went to reach for his gun, but he froze as he met eyes with his father, who was watching with a pleased - and almost relieved - smile.

His own father had ratted him out. He'd planned this. He'd been waiting for an opportunity like this to throw Kazimir under the bus for years.

For once in his life, Kazimir felt all of the fight drain out of him.

There was yelling. Leave the gun. Get on the ground. Hands behind your back. Kazimir didn't know what overcame him that made him obey, but all he could think about was Bo. Somewhere at his father's house, probably doing homework, completely unaware. He wondered if Matvei would ever tell him, or if he would let Bo think forever that Kazimir had disappeared and never come back. Would that be easier?

The moment he felt the cuffs snap around his wrists, something shifted.



They were in a jail cell. Locked behind metal bars, with three metal beds, with thin pads atop them. Kazimir sat on one of them, in a white jumpsuit, facing the barred window that looked into the empty hall.

He noticed Maggie and Hades were with him in prison uniforms as well, but Elias and Annabeth were nowhere to be seen.

Kazimir felt empty, and he didn't move, even though he knew this was his curse. His dream. His thing - whatever this mist was that kept taking them places, and putting them through things they hated - this was all his fault.

But he still didn't know if this was real or not. He was home, wasn't he?



Meanwhile, Annabeth and Elias found themselves on the doorstep of a very large three-story house overlooking the ocean. The house looked clean, and the architecture reeked of old money. Somehow, they'd gotten past the front gate, and were looking up at a front door that towered over them - like it was specially made for people who were exceptionally tall.