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“A bit of luck, a bit of bad luck too, suppose it all evens out in the end,” he said sadly.
“Are you okay? I know you can’t possibly be okay, but will you be?” I asked him quietly as we walked, I could see a small dock in the distance, and I assumed that’s where Remy and I would part ways. It didn’t feel right leaving him without knowing how he would continue.
“Can’t say I’ll ever be okay again. But life goes on, don’t it? Sheila - ” he choked on her name before clearing his voice, “Sheila was a good woman, wife, and mother. She deserves a proper burial. After, well, I don’t know yet, but I’ll need to tell the kids.”
I reached out and took his hand, squeezing in support. I didn’t know what to say. Nothing I could say would change what had happened and sometimes words weren’t necessary or wanted. Sometimes you just need someone to hold your hand.
He squeezed my hand back before releasing his grip to turn his head and discreetly wipe his eyes.
We walked in silence for a little. A dog barking disrupted the calm sound of the river. Remy grabbed my arm and I looked up at him; as I did, the sound of men shouting reached my ears.
“Old man! We only want to speak with you and your daughter,” a voice called, and I knew it was the Vouna guard we had passed earlier.
Remy turned to me.
“This is goodbye, flower girl,” he said, releasing my arm and shouldering his shotgun.
“What?” I cried, panicked.
“You’re going to get gone now. They ain’t coming for me, and they sure ain’t going to find you with me,” he said. “Now, get going. The dock’s up ahead. You can see it. We have communal rowboats. Take one and don’t look back.”
“What about you?” I asked, almost frantic, but my legs were pulling me away from him even as I asked.
“Don’t you worry about me. GO!” he shouted, and I turned from Remy and ran as fast as I could, ignoring the pain that shot up my ankle, towards the dock.
I heard more shouting as I ran, making my legs move faster. I was slow compared to most and I doubted that the Vouna guard was made up of anything less than half-blood vampires. My heart pounded faster and harder than my feet on the ground.
Loud shots of gunfire caused me to stumble, and I fell to the ground with such force it felt like I had been pushed. I scrambled back to my feet, not looking back, my eyes on the dock, so close. I reached the dock, almost slipping on the worn wood as I desperately untied an old rowboat from a rusty cleat. I climbed into the rowboat carelessly, in my haste, and nearly toppled the boat before regaining my balance. I pushed off from the dock, quickly locking the oars in place and began to row down the river.
I heard more gunshots and worried who they belonged to. Was Remy shooting, or was he being shot at? I searched through the treeline as I passed, looking for Remy. It wasn’t Remy who I saw but the Vouna guard that had grabbed me before. He saw me too, like he was watching for me, and raised a hand dripping in blood to wave at me with a sickening smile. He pointed to the ground where I couldn’t see and lifted his boot before stomping down on something or someone. I turned away, bile in my throat.
Remy.
“Desdemona, won’t you come back for Daddy?” he shouted out towards me.
I rowed faster with all the power I had in me. The river's current took me quickly away and I prayed to Poseidon to carry me safely on the water, and to drown any Vouna men if they tried to follow me.
After a time - I didn’t know how long I had been rowing, and my heart had only just begun to slow down; I felt a hotness in my shoulder, almost like a nasty wasp sting every time I rowed. The hotness grew and intensified. I looked at my shoulder. The sweater was damp, probably from the splashing of the oars. But the hotness grew, painfully, like a hot stone from a fire sat underneath my flesh. I gingerly pressed my fingers against the heated area and pulled back; my fingertips were stained red.
I had fallen hard when I ran. Maybe I had landed much harder than I had realised.
With more effort and certainly more pain than it should have taken, I half removed my sweater to get a better look at what was causing the growing pain in my shoulder.
My head felt dizzy and heavy, and my vision blurred before coming back into focus.
I had been shot.
How was it possible to be shot and not know it, not feel it?
I thought being shot was meant to hurt, worse. I could see where the bullet had left my flesh, torn and ragged and when I reached back, I could feel the relatively small entrance wound. And it hurt a lot, but nowhere near the pain I would have imagined being shot to feel.
Fully removing the sweater, I tied it around my shoulder, applying as much pressure as I could. It was certainly worse than a sprained ankle, but it too would have to wait until I was safe.
The sun had begun to set and I was thankful for the cool breeze that came with being on the water. My skin felt dry and slightly itchy; I knew I was sunburned. I was also exhausted. I’d never been more physically tired out in my life. I lifted the oars back into the boat and allowed the river to carry me slowly. It was dangerous; I didn’t know the river well enough to be resting and for all I knew Vouna guard were still in pursuit, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I was going to pass out soon; there was nothing I could do about it, and I didn’t want to lose my oars.
My garden that Selene had gifted me was beautiful. All flowers were in full bloom, the sun high in the sky. I looked towards the seat, expecting to find the Princess watching me, but she wasn’t there. I stood up from where I worked and looked around for her.
“Percy, where are you?” I turned to find Heidi standing close to me.
