I've Got No Excuse

Nadia froze and watched the television screen, Peter's face was flashing in the upper right corner. The captions were on and Nadia could barely read it from her vantage point but she could make it out. "…regarding the death of fellow classmate Sam Wiley almost a month ago. Moore is reported as being armed and dangerous and anyone who sees him is urged to call the police. There have been a few reported sightings of Moore with a young Mexican-American woman as far south as Houston but so far nothing has turned up regarding these sightings." Nadia turned away and gaped at Peter as his eyes looked from the TV to her. His face was an expressionless mask.

"Why didn't you tell me you killed someone?" Nadia almost shouted. Peter held up his hands and tried to shush her. Nadia jerked away from his hold and began walking down the sidewalk. Peter ran after her and grabbed her elbow, trying to get her to look at him. She jerked her arm away from him and turned blazing eyes to him.

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to." Nadia snorted. "He still died, Peter." Peter winced and let her get a few paces in front of him before catching up with her and walking backwards in front of her. "It was self-defense, I swear." Nadia stopped and stared at him, dubious. "What?" She asked. Peter swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. "He threatened me earlier that day. Told me he was going to kill me the next time he saw me. I showed up at a party he was at and he had two of his friends hold my hands behind my back while he hit me.

"He knocked me down twice but I kept getting up. I hit him a few times and then…" He stopped, meeting Nadia's eyes. She nodded, urging him to continue. "I picked him up and…threw him…into a, uh, car windshield." Nadia's eyes widened. "You threw him." Peter looked away and nodded. Nadia took a deep breath and pushed past him. Peter groaned and turned to follow her. "Nadia, wait!"

Nadia careened around the corner and gasped. An officer was standing there and staring right over her shoulder at Peter. He pulled his gun and aimed at her. "Hands up. Don't move." She began to raise her hands when Peter raced past her and towards the cop. She ducked when a shot rang out and kept her eyes closed as she listened to them fight. She only opened her eyes when it was silent.

She lifted her head from the coverage of her arms and slowly stood. Peter was standing over the cop, breathing heavily. His knuckles were bruised and some were bleeding. Blood dripped from his fingers. She went to his side and wrapped her hands around his left arm. He hissed and pulled away from her. Her eyes widened and she pressed her fingers gently to his blood soaked sweatshirt. "You're bleeding."

He shook his head and glanced down both ends of the alley. "It's fine. We need to get out of here. Someone's going to come looking for whatever made that sound and I don't want to be here when they do." He grabbed her hand with his right and began pulling her down the alley. It was starting to get dark and she was afraid they wouldn't be able to meet up with the others in time.

Peter turned to the right and shook the doorknob of the first door he came across. "It's locked." She eyed the sign above their head. "A hardware store?" A sudden crunch had her looking down. The wood of the door jamb was splintered in to the store and the door could no longer close fully. Peter pulled her in. "Come on. We'll wait out the night here." She nodded and followed him inside.

They situated themselves behind the counter before checking their phones. "Shit, no service." She said. Peter shook his head and flipped his closed. "Me neither." He laid his head back against the counter and closed his eyes. "I'm tired." Nadia looked over at him and sat up on her knees, shaking his shoulder. He winced and jerked away from her. "You can't fall asleep, Peter. You're losing blood. Let me see." He gingerly pulled his arm from his sweatshirt sleeve and gently pushed up the sleeve of his t-shirt. Nadia winced and carefully probed at the wound with her fingers.

Peter grimaced but didn't pull away. "That looks really bad. We need Erin." Peter shook his head. "Well, we have no way to reach her so we're just going to have to wait." Nadia eyed him before tugging at the hem of his shirt. He pushed her hands away with his good hand. "What are you doing?" Nadia rolled her eyes. "We need to stop the bleeding. Give me your shirt." Peter hesitated before sighing and clumsily pulled the shirt over his head. Nadia folded it neatly into a square before pressing it, hard to his shoulder. Peter winced.

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Raul and Josh slipped easily into the rendezvous point and quietly closed the door behind them. Once he was satisfied with the outside, Raul turned to the group and stiffened. "Where're Nadia and Peter?" Vera stood and slipped her hands into her back pockets. "We assumed they would be with you." She turned worried eyes to Rose who crossed her arms nervously over her chest.

Raul shook his head. "I haven't seen them since we left. How much longer before our time to meet is up?" Erin stood slowly and glanced at the clock on the wall, shaking her head. "Ten minutes ago. You guys were late." Josh looked at Raul. He took a deep breath and pressed his thumbs painfully into his eyes. "What could've caused them to miss the meeting time?" No one spoke.

Raul opened his and nodded. "Did anyone see anything or hear anything that was suspicious?" Everyone looked at each other, shaking their heads. "Wait," Rose stood and Raul looked over at her with hopeful eyes. "I heard a gunshot right after Erin and I got here." Vera turned anxious eyes to Raul who shook his head. "I haven't fired a single shot from my gun." Josh stood. "Nadia has one, too, doesn't she?"

Erin looked at Raul who nodded. "I gave it to her as protection in case I wasn't around. Maybe she fired it and is lying low, too afraid to move." Vera nodded. "That means they're out there somewhere probably scared."

"We need to find them." Rose said. Erin stood and made her way over to Raul. "What do you want to do?" She asked. Raul examined the faces of the three people surrounding him and willing to risk their lives to save his niece. "Erin and Rose go with Josh back the way we came. Vera and I will head further south. Rose, where did you hear the shot from?" The African-American woman shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure." Raul nodded and looked at Vera. "Call me if you find them. We'll meet back here in an hour." They all nodded and exited the safe house, turning down their respective destinations and disappearing into the dark.

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Nadia glanced down at Peter's head on her shoulder. His eyes were partially closed and his shoulder was still bleeding. Her hands were soaked in it and she'd already had to take off her tank top to replace his t-shirt. He was losing too much blood too fast. His chest and arm were dripping blood and it soaked her arms up to her elbows. Both of their remaining clothes were spattered in it. She felt tears well up and adjusted him against her.

He moaned quietly when she maneuvered herself behind him so his back was against her chest. She whimpered when she noticed how cold he was. She pressed her left hand tightly against her soaked tank top pressed hard against his shoulder and ran her right hand through his hair. He rested his head back against her shoulder and she could see his pulse pumping against the skin of his neck.

His working hand came up to rest against her knee, his fingers tightening and relaxing rhythmically against her skin. "Peter?" She whispered. He hummed. A small weight was lifted from her shoulders when he did that. At least his was still responsive. That was usually a good sign in all the TV shows. "Talk to me, Peter." She watched his throat flex as he swallowed. "What about?" His words were slow and slurred. She racked her brain for conversations they'd had in the past. Greek myths. Those were something he talked about a lot. "Tell me the story of…of, um…Hades and Persephone. You never finished that one."

Her voice shook and she wrapped her arm around his naked waist, pulling him further up her body. He groaned and tried to help her, pressing his right hand flat against the tile and pushing himself up. His super strength wasn't working right this moment and his arm shook terribly. She winced when he collapsed back against her. "Hades was the god of the underworld, ruling over all the souls who passed through his gates. They met him after their journey across the River Styx and he judged their actions and determined how they were treated upon their death."

She rested her cheek against his and carded her fingers through his hair. "There were seven different realms of the underworld. The Entrance of the Underworld was exactly what it sounded like. This is where the souls pay Charon who takes them across the river Styx. This is also where the unburied dwell because they can't enter Hades without paying Charon for their passage. Cerberus is here and guards the gates of the Underworld. The judges sit here as well and help determine where a soul will go upon their entrance into the Underworld."

Nadia was entranced. She absently continued to run her fingers through his hair and his thumb was rubbing circles against the skin of her knee. "You should think about where we are." She blinked and glanced down at Peter. His misty brown eyes were staring up at her. "What?" She asked. He swallowed thickly and took a slow deep breath, wincing. "Raul might be close. If you think about where we are, he might be able to find us." Nadia smiled softly. "I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier." Peter smiled, leaning his head back against her shoulder.

"Tartarus is where Zeus cast the Titans after he defeated Cronus. I don't know much about Tartarus. The Fields of Punishment is where souls go who've committed havoc on the world and acts against the gods. Hades designed the punishments himself with the specific acts in mind. This is where Prometheus was kept. Hercules saved him." Nadia stopped stroking his hair and wrapped her arm around his chest, switching hands that pressed against his shoulder.

"The Fields of Asphodel was where people went who didn't commit any significant crimes. Ordinary people basically. They didn't commit any atrocious crimes but they didn't do anything spectacular either. The Vale of Mourning is where people who were consumed by unhappy love were sent. I'm not sure why. Elysium was for the really special people. These people had proximity to the gods or proved their worth like Socrates and Achilles. People in Elysium had an easy afterlife." Peter smiled and his fingers tightened on her knee. "Are you okay?" She asked. She felt him nod against her shoulder. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Her blood ran cold. That wasn't a good sign. "Just now?" He nodded. "I just noticed." Nadia closed her eyes and thought harder about where they were. Uncle Raul! Please, come find us. There's so much blood. "What else is there?" She asked Peter. "The best place is the Isles of the Blessed. When a soul goes to Elysium they're given the choice to either stay or be reborn. If a soul is reborn three times and sent to Elysium all three times, then they were sent to the Isles of the Blessed to be sentenced to eternal paradise."

Raul! Please! We're in a hardware store. I can't stop the bleeding. Please! Come find us!

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Raul and Vera were passing a flower shop when a sharp throb pierced his temples. He stopped and brought his hand to his head. "Raul?" Vera asked. She looked around, gauging their surroundings. Raul closed his eyes and focused his thoughts, trying to pinpoint whoever else's thoughts were interrupting his own.

Oh, God. There's so much blood. Raul looked up at Vera. "They're close. I can hear Nadia." Vera's eyes widened. "Where are they?" Raul shook his head. "I don't know. Her thoughts are erratic. She's panicking. I think one of them is hurt. She was thinking about how much blood there was." Vera brought her hand to her mouth.

Raul doubled over when Nadia's thoughts echoed loudly through his mind. Uncle Raul! Please, come find us. There's so much blood. He nodded then. "One of them is definitely hurt and I don't think it's Nadia. I'm only hearing her and not Peter." Vera glanced around them. "We just need her to think about where they are." Raul nodded. It didn't take long for another sharp thought to pierce his mind. Raul! Please! We're in a hardware store. I can't stop the bleeding. Please! Come find us!

"It's definitely Peter who's hurt. She just said she can't stop the bleeding. She said they're in a hardware store." Vera carefully trailed her eyes over every sign around them. She gripped Raul's arm and pointed across the street a block away. "There! It say's Duffy's Hardware." Raul nodded and they jogged across the street.

Raul pulled on the door and it didn't budge. He turned to Vera. "It's locked." She peered around the side of the building. "There's an alley on our left. They must've gone in through the back." Raul nodded and led them down the alley. They cataloged the unconscious officer and a few drops of blood beside his prone body. He turned and saw the back door of the hardware store slightly ajar. "Found it."

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"Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. She was beautiful and she was innocent and Hades wanted her for his wife. He saw her picking flowers every year and was entranced by her beauty. He was in need of a wife and she would be perfect.

"He planted a patch of Narcissus and she was gazing at its beauty when he came up out of a huge crack in the earth and took her into the Underworld to be his bride.

"When Demeter discovered her daughter's disappearance she cursed the earth. The farmers couldn't plant their crops and anything that grew from the earth, died. People were dying and Zeus didn't know what to do. Demeter demanded her daughter's return and would not restore the harvest until she was returned.

"Meanwhile, Hades tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds making it impossible for her to leave the Underworld six months out of every year and that's how the seasons were made." Peter's abrupt ending startled Nadia. "That's it?" He swallowed thickly and pressed his cold cheek against hers. "I'm so tired, Nadia. I just wanted to finish." Nadia tightened her arms around him. "Don't fall asleep on me, Peter. I need you."

Peter mustered a small smile. "It's so hard, Nadia." She clenched her eyes but a few tears managed to slip out, trailing down her cheeks. "I know but Raul will find us and he'll bring Erin and you'll be okay." She whispered, rocking their bodies gently. Peter chuckled wetly and brought his good hand up to hers against his chest, curling his fingers around her palm. "I don't feel anything, Nadia. There's no pain. I'm just cold and tired. Let me sleep, please."

She tightened her arms around him. He's dying, Raul. It doesn't hurt anymore. Please, I need him, Raul. I need him. He's dying.

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Raul froze in what looked like the stock room. "What?" Vera asked. "He's dying." He whispered. Vera whirled to face him. "Come again?" She hissed. Raul pushed her aside and walked faster through the store, the flashlight on his phone illuminating the tile beneath their feet. They slowed when they came across a smear of blood on the floor. "We're close."

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Nadia shivered against Peter when she saw a faint glow through the glass of the counter behind them. "Someone's here, Peter. It might be Raul or Erin or anyone." Peter coughed and shuddered. "Or someone else." Nadia tried not to think about what that could mean. "We're going to be okay." She whispered against his neck. Peter shook his head and tightened his hand in hers. He coughed again, wetly. "That's really bad." He mumbled. Nadia lifted her head and gaped at the line of blood trailing down his chin. Blood was in his lungs.

She squinted against the sudden onslaught of light. "Nadia?" She sagged when she recognized Vera. "Help me." Vera was quick to kneel in front of Peter. Raul was there, too, on their right, checking them both over for worse damage. Vera felt Peter's neck for a pulse and carefully pulled Nadia's hand away from his shoulder. Peter didn't wince.

"This is bad, Raul. We need Erin." Raul pulled out his phone and cursed. "No service." Nadia didn't waste energy giving him a scathing look. "I'll have to go outside." He stood quickly and disappeared back the way he'd come. Vera examined both teenagers. "What happened?"

Nadia adjusted her grip on Peter and his head rolled back against her shoulder, his chest rising and falling too quickly for comfort. "There was a cop in the alley. He had a gun on me and Peter ran at him. He shot him before Peter could knock him out." Nadia looked worriedly at Peter. "He saved my life and now he's going to die." Vera didn't have time to respond before Raul returned. "The others are a few blocks away. They'll be here in five minutes."

Nadia whimpered and closed her eyes, tears leaking out. "He doesn't have five minutes." She hissed her voice cracking. Peter smiled softly, his eyes closed. "Everything's going to be okay, Nadia." She opened her eyes and stared at the side of his face. "They'll be able to save you and that's all that matters. That was always the plan." Nadia jerked against him. "What?"

He turned his head as best as he could towards her. "My whole plan was to make sure that you got out of here safe. It didn't matter what happened to me as long as you were safe. I just wanted you to be safe and protected. You. You're all that ever mattered." Raul looked away and closed his eyes. Vera sat back against the far wall and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Nadia blinked and a tear fell from each eye. "You're an ass, Peter Moore." Raul cracked a broken smile and Vera chuckled wetly. "You don't get to decide that. You say you're trying to save me but what about you? Did you ever think that I need you to save me? I need you, Peter. I need you around. You may not care if you live or die but I do. I need you here, with me, okay? Can you do that, Peter? Can you hold on for me?"

Raul glanced over his shoulder when he heard movement behind them. Vera stood and stumbled towards the noise. "Peter?" Nadia shook him. Raul glanced down at them, his heart in his throat. "Peter!" Nadia shook him harder before pressing her fingers to his throat. She snapped her eyes up to Raul. "He's not breathing."

Raul leapt into action and carefully took Peter from Nadia's arms. Together they laid him to the floor with his head and shoulders in Nadia's lap. Raul pressed his ear to Peter's chest and cursed. "Nadia, tilt his head back and open his mouth. When I tell you, breath for him, okay? Can you do that?" Nadia nodded shakily and wiped tears from her cheeks.

Joshua was the first around the corner. He stared wide-eyed at the scene before him. Blood covered the floor and Peter and Nadia. Peter was too pale and Nadia was shaking. The most disturbing part was that Peter clearly was not breathing as Raul pumped his chest up and down in threes before Nadia breathed into his mouth.

"One, two, three, breathe, Nadia." Nadia pressed her mouth to Peter's, tasting the copper of his blood on her tongue. She pulled back and Raul pumped again.

Rose, Koa and Erin were quick to follow Josh and both covered their mouths at the scene. "Erin!" Vera cried. She wrapped her hand around the other woman's wrist and pulled her to kneel beside Raul. "Raul, move."

Nadia snapped her head up when Raul ceased his movements. She watched with critical eyes as Erin held her hands a centimeter away from Peter's wound and closed her eyes. She sat there for a few seconds before opening her eyes. Nothing happened. "Why didn't it work?" Nadia demanded. Erin turned terrified eyes to her. She must have looked horrible. "Why isn't it working?" Rose knelt beside her. "Erin, try his heart."

Erin nodded shakily before placing her hands over his heart and closing her eyes. Nadia watched Peter's face for any change. She didn't look up when Raul gasped or when Erin sighed in relief. She only moved when Peter opened his eyes and met hers. "Hi." He said. Nadia laughed softly and rubbed her thumb over his cheek. "I told you." She said. Peter smiled and closed his eyes, bringing his hand around to hers and clasping her fingers in his.

.

Raul and Josh had carried Peter's weight between them and they all limped carefully home. Nadia and Peter had retreated to her bedroom as soon as they got back. The other's sat up for a few more hours.

"He was dead. He died." Vera whispered. Raul nodded and felt Erin place a comforting hand on his knee. "There was so much blood. I've never seen that much blood before. He was so pale." Josh said, his eyes unfocused and staring across the room. "He's okay, now. He's breathing. Nadia's with him. He'll be fine." Koa said, trying her best to comfort the group of strangers she now called her closest allies.

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Peter kept his eyes closed as Nadia combed her fingers through his hair. Her back was pressed against the headboard and his back was to her chest. He traced circles against the skin of her thigh, relishing the feel of her against him. "You died, Peter." She whispered in his ear. He nodded, his face tight with restrained emotion.

"All I could think about, as you died in my arms was all the things I hadn't said to you. All the things we hadn't done yet." Peter didn't move. He kept drawing circles in her skin and relaxed against her as her fingers brushed back his hair. "I think I'm in love with you, Peter." She pressed her lips against his ear with this confession, like she was afraid he would miss it if she didn't.

Peter nodded and took a deep breath. "I meant what I said, in the hardware store. You're all that really matters. You. As long as you're okay, I could die happy." Nadia pressed her face against his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles against his belly. He stroked the skin of her shin, smoothing his hands up plane of her bones. "I think I'm in love with you, too." He whispered.

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It finally happened! Peter and Nadia kissed in The Messengers! I was so excited that I had to rewind and re-watch three times! This is the best thing ever!