Page 51 of Hades

Again.

I stood in the main room beside Zeus as Poseidon beat the hell out of Abyss. My hands curled into fists at my sides, knuckles white, nails digging crescents into my palms. We’d woken this morning to find Alex’s room empty. The prospect had gone to bed, leaving Alex unsupervised. Stupid fucking kid thought following orders meant doing the bare minimum and hoping for the best.

Coeus checked the cameras and confirmed she never stepped into the hallway. But when he checked the outside cameras, there she was, slinking through the night with her backpack. Moving like smoke. Like she’d done this before. Like running was second nature to her.

She fucking ran.

Again.

“Enough!”

Poseidon took one more shot, and Abyss crumpled to the floor. Blood sprayed from his mouth, painting the concrete in dark red droplets. “You were supposed to be watching her!” he snarled at the prospect sprawled on the ground.

“She was in bed,” he cried. The words came out wet, garbled through split lips and broken teeth.

“Obviously fucking not!” Poseidon bellowed. Ares and Kraken stepped forward and pulled him back before he killed the kid. Their hands locked around his arms, muscles straining as they dragged him away from the bleeding prospect.

“Abyss, what did I tell you?” Zeus asked, his voice calm, almost sounding bored. That tone was worse than screaming. That tone meant someone was about to die.

“To watch her,” he answered.

“And?”

“Not to let her out of my sight.”

“And?” Zeus pressed, his voice climbing an octave.

The kid stared at Zeus, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Blood dripped from his chin onto his cut. His eyes were already swelling shut. “And protect her.”

Zeus looked at me. “Is this the best we’ve got?”

I sighed and shook my head, crouching down in front of Abyss. The metallic stench of blood filled my nostrils, mixed with the kid’s sweat. I glanced around the room. Every brother was here. Every prospect stood lined up against the wall. Abyss would prove to be an example for them all. An example of what the fuck happened when you disobeyed your president.

“What did you forget, Prospect?” I asked, my arms resting on my thighs as I balanced on my toes. Crouching there, staring into the kid’s soul, I saw it.

Defiance.

The stupid fuck still thought he was right. Still thought he’d done his job. Still didn’t understand that following orders meant using your goddamn brain, not just checking boxes on a fucking list.

“I did what I was fucking told. I watched the bitch everywhere she went. The kitchen, the fucking bathroom, the grounds outside, the fucking 7-Eleven. I had to walk my fucking bike back.”

“And why was that, Prospect?”

“What?”

I stood up and walked away from him, letting Zeus take over. My blood was heating, rage building in my chest like pressure in a boiler. The kid was digging his own grave and didn’t even know it.

“Why did you have to walk your bike back?”

“Because you can’t ride a bike at the same speed someone walks, you’ll tip the bike,” he answered, still not getting it. “Shouldn’t you know that, Prez?”

The men groaned. The prospects watching this spectacle closed their eyes. They knew Abyss had fucked up. First, by letting Alex run. Second, by questioning his president.

“Where was Alex’s bike?” Zeus asked, his patience wearing thin. Through clenched teeth, he pressed, “Why the fuck didn’t she ride her bike back?”

“She said she wanted to walk.” The prospect pushed his hands under him, trying to stand. Zeus’ boot landed on his chest, slamming him back down. The crack of ribs echoed through the room. The kid wheezed, struggling to breathe.

“You didn’t think to mention that a girl you were assigned to watch, to protect, to report back to me anything out of the ordinary, would leave her fifteen-fucking-thousand-dollar motorcycle in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven? And walk back to the clubhouse?”