Young Writers Society

Maggie choose that moment to speak up, wearily saying, "Well, usually the whole 'prison' thing lasts a few years. I'd approximate a life sentence in this case, if everything he did was found out." They leaned back against the wall with their eyes closed.

In these magical circumstances, it was probably going to be different, but Maggie didn't care enough to say that out loud. The others could figure that out well enough on their own.

Hades blinked.

"Prison is a...punishment?" he slowly - and hesitantly - asked. He hadn't ever heard of that being a form of punishment before, but it did seem a little more humane than other punishments that were typically dealt. The way Maggie worded it even made it seem like the prison time could vary depending on the crime, which would mean that multiple crimes likely had the same punishment.

His mind briefly flickered to Tartarus.

...He'd need to talk to Thana after this, and see what Hecate could construct with her magic.

Kazimir groaned, and finally sat up straight, looking over to Hades.

"You're not real bright, are you?"

Hades looked over at him.

"We're from different times," he pointed out. He wasn't really upset by the insult, but he still felt like he had to disprove Kaz's assumption. "Prisons are...different in Greece. You stay in them until you're given your punishment. I've never heard of a prison that works like this."

Annabeth shot Elias a crazy look. What are you doing is what she wanted to ask him, but she kept her mouth shut and walked inside the house.

"Thank you, Mrs. Petrov," she said, smiling. "You're very kind."

Bo's grandmother separated from the group, and Bo lead her and Elias into the living room.

And, try as she might, Annabeth couldn't stop the small gasp from escaping her lips.

The room was gorgeous. It was wide and spacious, filled with luxurious furniture.

Bo told them to sit down, so she sat in a white chair near the fireplace.

"Thank you," she said politely. "This room is very beautiful." She tried to smile at him, but it disappeared when she noticed the worry etched on his face.

Annabeth leaned forward. "Bo, what's wrong?" she asked quietly.

Elias nodded over at Bo's grandma -- Kaz's mom, he assumed -- but was paying more attention to the extravagant giant room of the house. Bo didn't need to lead him into the living room for him to follow since he walked himself in.

He followed Annabeth's lead to sit, and he comfortably plopped himself on top of one of the fluffiest couches. Elias was about to make a comment about how comfortable he was, but Annabeth talked before he could.

Oh, right. They were here for Bo. Maybe. Honestly, he didn't know where or why he was being transported to different places. He was just here for the ride at this point.

Elias looked over at Bo and also noticed the hint of worry on his face.

"Do you miss your old place?" he asked before he could respond to Annabeth. "In the apartment, I mean. With your... you know."

He flicked his eyes over to the end of the room to see if Vesna and Tati were rounding nearby. Maybe Elias wasn't the smartest person, but he had enough intuition to know that maybe Kaz wasn't welcomed in this house.

Bo stood there stiffly for a moment, looking to Annabeth, and then to Elias. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was searching for words. Finally, he let out a loud sigh and plopped down on the opposite end of the couch Elias was on. He propped his elbow upon the arm and rested the side of his face in his hand, squishing his cheek.

He sat there for a moment, staring into the living room before he closed his eyes and sighed again.

"Did they really take him?" he asked. "Like, he was arrested and everything?"



Kazimir groaned. "Well here, prison is the punishment. And we're stuck here for however long this thing lasts, so get comfortable, death god."

Hades shifted on his bed.

"Hopefully, it won't last long," he said, giving Kaz a tiny, slightly strained smile. He could wait. He was young compared to some other gods, but too much time was something gods could handle. He was more worried about Kaz and Maggie. He didn't know how they long they could handle being in prison.

Elias noticed that they all asked different questions and got zero answers, but he shrugged and moved on.

"We magically got transported away before we'd know for sure," he said nonchalantly, patting a fuzzy pillow next to him. "But yep. That pretty much sums it up."

He turned to Bo, tilting his head in curiosity and studying him to see if he had any answers written on his face.

"He wanted to see you, though. I think, to him, it was a normal day, and he was never gone."

Bo looked deflated, and the anxiety on his face finally melted into sadness. He leaned forward on the couch and held his face in both hands, with his elbows on his knees.

"...Granpa kept saying he just up and left," Bo said in a whisper. "But I didn't want to believe him."



Kazimir didn't have much to say to that. He slouched again, resting his arms on his knees.

"Yeah," was his one-word response.

Maggie sighed and leaned back against the wall. Kid or no, this guy did deserve to be here. He'd been revealed to be a career killer on their last adventure. He and Maggie had that in common, at least. But this was his arrest. His mistake. Maggie hadn't even had the chance to screw up before ending up in orange.

Of course, this was a fake prison. They just had to do whatever the thing that controlled this whole ordeal wanted and they'd be out of here and off to witness someone else's trauma.

With every adventure, however, they got closer to Maggie's turn. So they weren't itching to get out of here.

Hades rarely minded silence, but this silence was the kind that awkwardly hung in the air. He glanced between Maggie and Kaz in the hopes that one of them would say something to push the conversation along.

Neither one did.

...He had a feeling he might regret bringing this up, but there was only one topic he could think of asking about right now.

He took a tiny deep breath he hoped Kaz wouldn't notice, very much aware that he was walking on eggshells right now.

"...Your dad mentioned your son earlier," he said. "I didn't know you were a dad. If you don't mind me asking, what's your son like?"

Kazimir sighed and looked over at Hades. They might as well kill time.

"He's basically a f***in' angel. I didn't do anything to deserve him. He's a real nice kid, and he's hilarious. Smarter than I ever was or will be. I think he got his mom's heart and my face - which is a shame. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever known."

Kaz's description of his son made Hades smile, but he faltered when the last sentence's implied meaning registered. It sounded like his wife had passed away; his son was solely his responsible now.

No wonder he had been so upset before.

Not just because he really did care for his son - he was also the one who must have taken physically taken care of him.

"Both of them sound amazing," he softly said. "How old is he?"

Kazimir let out a deep sigh.

"Only 16."