just take me back to the start --- [private]

Confined to this godforsaken bed, Nick had done everything that could be done. He counted the beds (21), the cots (40), and the cracks on the ceiling (67 'main' cracks with 231 shorter 'branches'). He knew when the preschooler on that bed in the corner took her meds (starting at 7am then every four hours thereafter). Give it a few more days and Nick felt sure he could start working as an assistant ('change Peter's bandages at 6am then at 6pm, got it').

For kids manning a makeshift hospital, they sure took their jobs seriously. Nick still had mixed feelings towards these medics, though they diligently performed procedures expected of older, trained professionals. With these teenagers staying around the clock, Nick found it difficult to sneak out. Being one of the victims on the hill made it a lot worse - he didn't know for sure but he felt like he was being watched like a hawk. Especially when this girl came to visit.

Visitors. He never had any unless you counted Simon, who was one of the medics. Most of the others had someone, he even recalled one boy being escorted out by who seemed to be his girlfriend. Lucky guy.

Sitting up a little straighter, Nick stared at the girl as she sat down. Why did it feel like a cop coming to interrogate him? Perhaps it was the way she carried herself, coming off as a no-nonsense girl who got what she wants when she wanted it. He half-expected her to whip out a notepad or a recorder. At her question, a sly smile played on his cut lips.

"Lousy," he deadpanned. A short pause, then - "What brings you here, Faye McJean?"

Prison. Probably the last thing he would describe this but well, now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen the outside world in days. Suddenly he envied Faye McJean with her injury-less self, whose biggest problem was figuring out whatever happened in the first place. He followed her gaze to the others resting on similar cots, and he could almost see the huge question mark hovering above them, the lingering question Faye and everyone else was thinking - what happened?

You and me both, lady. You and me both.

He nodded once. "Mhmm. That's me."

Normally, Nick would have stopped there. He didn't talk much, not unless he knew who he was talking to, but given the sudden turn of events he thought he'd make an exception. A kind-of exception.

Giving her an almost imperceptible shake of his head, Nick shrugged. "Can't help you there, Faye McJean. Everything's just cloudy."

Well, that probably cut the conversation real quick.

'Oh.' Disappointment wrapped around the single word. Nick didn't have to see the slight sag in her shoulders to tell, but he still saw and he felt like his guts got pumped with ice. He focused on the sheets instead. Assumed a nonchalant mask he had been so used to donning that it already came as a second nature.

You're too soft, he remembered Chad saying. Chad, who he last saw in the jaws of a giant black dog, thrown around like a rag doll. And Steve, still clutching a bundle of guns he had no chance to use because a lance pierced through his chest and sent him toppling to the ground. Nick closed his eyes.

"Sorry." For lying.

Not everything was cloudy. The ones that weren't were the those he wanted to keep to himself. Besides, what truth did he want to tell Faye - oh me and my friends were looting a gun store when we got jumped? Yeah right.

When her tone changed into a happier one, Nick turned back to her, his gaze guarded. Then he cast a short sweeping glance at the same old surroundings that would no doubt be embedded into his brain forever. He slightly relaxed. A small smile crept over his lips. "A tour... yeah, I'd like that."

It struck Nick that Faye was not an ordinary camper. She seemed to hold a high position in this camp, considering that she seemed to direct the rescue back at the hill, and now it just took her a couple of minutes to convince the medic to let Nick go out for a while. She had that air of authority that screamed 'leader.' Whether this was good or bad for him, Nick had yet to find out. Until then, he would go along with this tour and well, truth be told, he appreciated her company. Now he would know what it felt like to hang out with someone who commanded respect rather than disgust.

He did not foresee the challenge in getting out of bed. His legs were jelly when they bore his weight. Clutching one of the tables tightly, he blanched at the suggestion of crutches. "I'm fine," he muttered. It took him a few seconds to get used to walking again, and once he stepped out of the darned building he actually heaved a sigh of relief.

A forest - that was the first thing he registered. It was like someone cleared a huge space in the forest and set up a camp. Nick had never been to a summer camp himself, but he supposed this wasn't the norm. For some reason he expected a lot of tents and kids decked out in full scout uniforms. Maybe a cookie factory somewhere that made those girl scout cookies delivered door to door. Instead of all those, Nick was met with other buildings that Faye described. His eyes lingered on the low building with smoke coming out of it.

"Armory?" he asked incredulously. "What is this place - a boot camp?"

But it wasn't just that - something else was amiss. Perhaps he would have realized it sooner if he weren't in such a bloody state when he was brought in. The grass was so green. The breeze was cool, much cooler than he last remembered. Some trees were bare of any leaves, some had shoots and small flowers that had yet to bloom.

It couldn't be. Time couldn't be wrong.

He rounded on Faye, face unreadable. "What date is it?"

Right. Children of Hephaestus forging weapons and armor. Children of Apollo healing wounded kids. More children playing adults. Nick was beginning to question his sanity, Faye's sanity, and the sanity of whoever came up with this. Greek gods and whatever else this bullcrap entailed. Nick wasn't having any of it, and maybe it hinted when he pressed his lips in a grim line.

'Not everything is friendly to people like us.' This time, Nick barked a laugh. He had to give that one to Faye.

But the moment was once again short-lived when she revealed the date. That should have pulled another laugh from him, but Nick felt like he had been sucker punched on the gut. Blood drained out of his face, replaced by ice. Everywhere, he felt the cold.

Time wasn't wrong. Nick was in the wrong time, wrong place.

"What... year?" He almost didn't want to ask the question, but he kept his voice steady. Just to be sure.

If Nick noticed the shift in Faye's emotions, he didn't let on. He turned away from her and counted on his fingers. Each month he mouthed was another sucker punch to the gut. When he finished counting, he just stared at the ten fingers he now held up. His hands trembled as they dropped back to his sides. Inhale. Exhale. How did breathing become so difficult?

When he turned back to Faye, he maintained a straight face even though his skin flushed white. Some tour. Before, Nick figured he would be asking about this camp, but he got more answers than he bargained for. Answers that led to even more questions, and the one he dared to ask was:

"How do you get to Phoenix Union from here?"

Poor Nick still thought he was close to Arizona.

Sometimes, when you were fighting to keep the emotions in, it only took a simple sentence to tip the scales, to unleash the whirlwind trapped inside. And after every stab of truth, this was the last straw. Nick's unreadable face contorted into one of confusion, shock, then pure rage.

"New York? Are you shitting me?" he demanded, loud enough to turn heads, but Nick didn't care. His whole body shook uncontrollably. His eyes darted around frantically, seeing everything wrong for the first time - the looming trees, the unwelcome buildings, the uneasy glances thrown his way... Everything was so damn wrong.

For some reason, he missed ten months in his life and ended up in a faraway state. The thought chilled him so much that he wouldn't be surprised if he turned into a block of ice by now. Nick's eyes squeezed shut and he took a deep breath, trying to calm down but he couldn't. In the end he clutched his head with both hands, raking his fingers through his long hair and tugging hard. Thoughts raced in and out of his head - the what's, the why's, the how's - and he forgot about Faye as he focused on how to get home.

This broke his own personal record though. Of all the holes he dug himself into, this was the deepest grave.