After she had snuck away from the camp Celeste had spent the past week searching for a way to bring Jonah back from the dead, realising that there was no way she could do it she decided it would be best to return to camp and explain why she had run away, upon arrival at the camp the next day she sought out Aditi and explained her actions, Aditi listened to all she said and assured her she would not be punished for her actions but she had to promise to stay in the camp from then on and would never leave again without permission, after a few promises and a lot more apologising Aditi dismissed her and told her to take the day off from normal classes and activities and go back to her cabin to relax and prepare for the next day. a few days later celeste awoke from yet another nightmare, she woke sweating and terrified, knowing the best way to help her forget her nightmares and relax a little was to go for a quick walk she decided she would do it, it was still pretty early but she quickly got dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt as it seemed pretty warm out even though the time only showed 5am, she shoved on a pair of trainers and walked out of her cabin, a few minutes into the walk she was looking around when she noticed something on the ground in the distance, not knowing what it was she decided it was best to check it out, seeing it could be a threat she quietly made her way over to the object, no not object it was a person, as she got closer to the object she had realised it was a person laying on the ground, knowing full well they could be injured she ran the rest of the short distance but stopped dead in her tracks when she realised who that person was, laying on the ground a few short steps away was none other than Jonah, he was laying in the exact place he had died wearing the exact same clothes, Celeste was in complete shock but started running over to him, she reached him pretty quickly but soon noticed something was very wrong, he wasn’t moving, she needed help right away so she did the only thing she could do, she screamed as loud as she could for anyone to come and help her, upon hearing a scream for help campers from all cabins rushed out dressed in an assortment of pyjamas, dressing gowns and even a few in just their underwear all carrying an array of weapons, they all assumed the scream for help came from a came from a camper who was been attacked, they were all prepared for a fight but most dropped their weapons when they noticed the real reason someone had screamed for help, laying on the floor with a girl kneeling over him was Jonah, Aditi was the last out and had to push his way through the crowd of people before he managed to reach Celeste, upon reaching her he looked down to see her kneeling over a body
Aditi:- “Jonah, that’s not possible, he died, he can’t be here”
Celeste looked up at Aditi, although her eye’s were red from crying they showed a hidden fire that Aditi could clearly see, he knew if he said anything else she would probably attack, knowing he didn’t want that he decided to ask the smartest question he could think of at the time
Aditi:- “Is he breathing, i mean is he alive”
Celeste:- “I..I..Don’t know”
She was almost on the verge of tears again, through everything she had forgotten to check if he even had a pulse, the most obvious thing to do and she had completely forgot about it, she was just so happy yet in complete shock about finding Jonah that the thought never occured to her, was he alive
Aditi:- “Quick, move aside, i’ll check”
He didn’t wait for Celeste to protest, he softly pulled her away from Jonah and knelt down over him, he grabbed his right arm and softly layed two fingers across his wrist, he felt what he only hoped was a very weak pulse, deciding it might not be enough he layed one hand over his heart and felt for a heartbeat, all the camp just stared on as Aditi checked for a pulse or any sign of life, it seemed like a lifetime passed before Aditi stood up and moved to face everyone
Aditi:- “Get a doctor NOW!”
A few campers scrambled off running towards the infirmary, a few minutes later they had returned with the camp doctor, as soon as he saw the problem he ran back to the infirmary and returned just as quick with a medical kit and a stethoscope
Doctor:- “Everyone move, let me to him”
Everyone did as they were told and pretty soon the doctor was checking everything he could, examining every part of him to see if he could find the reason for him been like he was to some avail, nobody had seemed to notice the blood coming from his chest other than the doctor
Doctor:- “Anybody know what happened to him”
Aditi:- “He came back from the dead”
Doctor:- “He what, i’m not sure i can cure that but that wasn’t what i was wondering, just wondering because of all the blood”
Aditi/Celeste:- “What blood” they both asked in unison
Both looked down and noticed that where the knife had been removed the day jonah had died seemed to be spilling blood, it was as if the wound was fresh, as if the knife had just been pulled out of Jonah
Celeste:- “But that’s not possible, he was stabbed almost two weeks ago”
Doctor:- “Stabbed, why didn’t anybody tell me that, we need to get him to the infirmary right now”
Celeste:- “But it happened nearly two weeks ago, he died from it”
Doctor:- “Two minor problems with that, the first one is that he is alive, the second one is that the wound is fresh as if it’s just been done, now is anyone going to help me”
Campers still stood frozen from shock, nobody seemed to be registering the doctors question, he was asking for help and nobody seemed to want to give him it, it took a few minutes to register in people’s mind’s what had just been asked but by then the doctor had managed to lift Jonah and begin dragging him towards the infirmary, seeing the doctor struggling to help their friend brought most campers out of their shocked state, a few ran over to help but soon moved out the way as Aditi himself rushed to the doctors side, he wrapped an arm round Jonah and quickly helped rish him to the infirmary. Three hours Jonah was in surgery, the wound was worse than anyone had first realised, the dagger was tainted with a poison only found the in underworld, that posion had been the real reason he had died nearly two weeks before and now he was back the poison had kicked in again, the doctor had never faced a posion like it before and it took the combined healing of both Aditi and the doctor before they managed to clear the wound of it and managed to drain the remaining poison from his body, after that it was just a simple sew the wound job and then hope for the best
Celeste:- “How his he, please tell me he is still alive”
She had been waiting for the doctor to leave the operating room since he went in, she had missed all her classes that morning just so she could wait, she had a panicky moment when Aditi was rushed in to help but was plenty relieved when he left and gave her an encouraging nod as if to say that all was okay
Doctor:- “All went well, had a little rough patch but with Aditi’s help all went well, he is resting now and could be for some time, not really sure when he might wake up but i will call you when he does if you would like”
Celeste:- “NO!!!”
Doctor:- “Okay, sorry i asked”
Celeste:- “No, i’m sorry, i’m not leaving Jonah’s side until i know he is okay”
Doctor:- “okay, well if that’s what you want, i will be back to check on him in a few hours, if anything changes please let me know”
Celeste:- “Okay, will do, if he wakes would you like to know or is it just if anything bad happens”
Doctor:- “Please let me know if he wakes, would like to do a few checks to make sure everything is fine with him”
Celeste:- “Okay, i guess see you in a few hours, could you do me a favour though, no visitors until he is awake and fully healed”
Doctor:- “Okay, well i will check back in a few hours, see you then
With that the doctor left, Celeste had pulled up a chair next to Jonah’s bed and had picked a magazine from the waiting room, everynow and then a camper would turn up to check but Celeste or the doctor always made sure they left with a promise to let everyone know when it was okay to visit, every couple of hours like clockwork the doctor came in to check on Jonah but there was no change, when it got dark he brought Celeste a blanket and pillow and even offered her a bed which she refused, it was a day and a half later when the first signs of Jonah’s recovery finally began to show, he sat straight up in the bed, looked around the room before staring at Celeste
Jonah:- “Wha..Whe..Where am i”
The last thing he remembered was the fight between Lance and Lucifer, the searing pain he felt, the dagger sticking out of his chest and the extra pain he was been caused by someone attempting to pull it out, the look on celeste’s face as he stared into her beautiful eye’s, after that all’s he remembered was darkness, he was in the underworld stood in a dark field where he knew he would be doing nothing for eternity, he was in the fields of asphodel
Celeste:- “You’re in the infirmary, the doctor and Aditi brought you here after you was stabbed and the dagger was removed, it was touch and go for a while but the doctor was amazing and you pulled through, you’ve been out for the past two weeks”
Jonah:- “But i died, i was in the underworld in the fields of asphodel”
Celeste:- “Must of been a dream, you’re in the infirmary at camp”
Jonah:- “No it can’t of been, i died didn’t i”
He was becoming a little unsure, he could of sworn he had been killed by Lord Lucifer, could of sworn he was in the underworld where he was sentenced to eternity in the fields of asphodel
Celeste:- “Jonah i promise you that you never died”
Now that was a lie, everyone in the camp knew Jonah had died but had been sworn to secrecy, Aditi had decided it would be best to let Jonah believe he had just been out for the past couple of weeks and had made everyone promise they would never say otherwise, if Jonah was to ask they would tell him he had been in the infirmary since the incident, Celeste wasn’t happy about lying to Jonah but she knew deep down it was best for him in the end
Jonah:- “But..But..”
Celeste:- “No but’s mister, now try to relax, i need to go get the doctor as he would like to run a few tests”
Jonah:- “Pass, i feel great, don’t need any tests”
Celeste:- “Don’t worry about it, now relax and let the doctor do them”
Jonah:- “Pass, don’t want them, won’t have them done”
Celeste:- “You don’t really have much choice in the matter now do you, now i’ll be back in a second with the doctor, try to relax and they will be over before you know it”
With that Celeste left the room, she returned with the doctor less than a minute later to find Jonah struggling to make his way to the door, the whole dying then been brought back from the dead had taken too much out of him and moving was proving to be a near impossible task, he was on his knee’s slowly crawling away from his bed, he almost made it to the door when someone blocked his path
Celeste:- “Jonah, what do you think you’re doing, look at you, on your knee’s struggling to move, all this to avoid a few tests from the doctor”
She knelt down in front of Jonah and layed one hand under his chin forcing him to look her in the eye’s
Celeste:- “Jonah i know your scared, i’m not sure why but it’s really obvious you are, so how about we make a deal, you go have them tests done and i won’t leave your side through it all no matter what unless told otherwise okay”
Jonah just nodded, he knew he had no choice in the matter in the end and he also knew it was pointless to argue with Celeste as she always got her way with him one way or another, he tried to stand to no avail, the doctor rushed over and helped Celeste carry Jonah back to his bed, once back the doctor did all his little tests and true to her word Celeste sat by Jonah’s side through them all, even when the doctor took some blood and she couldn’t stand to look she held his hand and let him know she was still there, once all were done the doctor left the room and left Jonah and Celeste alone again
Celeste:- “Now then that wasn’t so bad was it”
Jonah:- “Easy for you to say, you just got to sit there, no tests were done on you”
Celeste just let out a little laugh, she knew he was right but it was still funny, the smile soon left her face when she saw the doctor walk back in the room
Doctor:- “Got your test results Jonah”
Jonah:- “And..”
Doctor:- “Well the poison did major damage but it was healed effectively, should take a few weeks till you’re back to been fully fit, until then i suggest no stressful activities and plenty of rest”
Celeste:- “Don’t worry doctor i will make sure he gets plenty of rest, i will look after him until he is better”
Doctor:- “Good, now i would like you to check back once a week for check up’s but you are free to go whenever you please, i would suggest spending maybe a couple of days more in here so i can keep my eye on you but it is entirely your choice”
Jonah:- “Thankyou doc, i will spend the rest of the day in here then move to my cabin in the morning if that is okay”
Doctor:- “That is fine, well i will leave you to rest, if you need anything just give me a call”
Jonah:- “Will do doc, don’t think i will need anything though, but if i do i will let you know”
With that the doctor left the room for the last time, Jonah left the infirmary the next morning and moved back into his own cabin, Celeste moved all her stuff in aswell so she could be there for him until he was all better. Two days passed and Jonah was bored, he couldn’t do anything other than go to class then back to his cabin to rest, he wanted to go out and practice sword fighting or do anything other than lay in bed, Celeste wouldn’t let him do anything though and he was beggining to resent her, it was pretty early morning the next day before Jonah finally got to leave his room, he knew he wasn’t at full health, not even close but he couldn’t stand the boredom anymore, he silently climbed out the bed he had been sharing with Celeste, put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed his sword and quickly left the cabin hoping he hadn’t made a noise, seeing as nobody bothered him on his walk down to the battlefield so he assumed he was in the clear, a few minutes of practicing and he was worn out pretty bad, he was about to call it a day and go back to his cabin when he heard a noise behind him, he turned around only to have a sword shoved under his chin, he tryed to back away but an invisible force seemed to hold him in place, looking up at the person holding the sword caused him to get his second wind, this guy was dressed in all black and radiated a dark aura, his sword was made from a combination of bone and stygian iron, looking at his face Jonah saw an evil smile flicker across the persons face
Jonah:- “Lucifer!”
He tried to raise his own sword to defend but was knocked down by an invisible force, he fell face down in the dirt and nearly pierced himself with his own sword, when he looked up the person was gone and he was alone again, deciding it was just his imagination he decided he needed to rest and headed back to his cabin, he tryed to quietly enter but ended up slamming the door causing Celeste to wake up in the process, upon seeing Jonah out of bed and dressed with his sword by his side she knew he had been out practicing
Celeste:- “Jonah! what do you think your doing, why aren’t you in bed resting like the doctor told you to”
Jonah:- “Because i don’t need to anymore, i’m fine”
Celeste:- “No your not Jonah, you need to rest, now get back in bed before i come over there, drag you to the bed and tie you down”
Jonah didn’t need to be told twice, he took his t-shirt and jeans off and walked back towards his bed, he knew he was tired but didn’t want to show it even though he knew Celeste would figure out she was right very quickly, he was asleep before his head hit the pillow which was fine by Celeste, she pulled the quilt over both of them before she snuggled up to jonah
Celeste:- “Sometimes i wish you would just do what is good for you, wish you would listen to people when they are trying to help you, guess your not like that though, oh well goodnight sweetheart”
With that she closed her eye’s and fell asleep cuddled up to jonah. In jonah’s dreams he saw death and darkness, he was in a long boat sailing down a dark, polluted river, he instantly knew he was sailing down the river styx which meant only one thing, he was in the underworld, the boat lurched to a stop on a sandy black beach, stood there was a man dressed in all black who looked like he was waiting for someone, he slowly departed the boat to find his suspicions of the guy to be correct, he was infact waiting for someone, he was waiting for Jonah, Jonah couldn’t see the mans face because it was too dark but as he got closer to him he realised who it was
Jonah:- “Lucifer i should of known”
Lucifer:- “Ah Jonah, welcome home my dear boy, how we have missed you”
He said it in such a tone that jonah almost believed he had been missed until he saw the evil yet creepy smile that seemed to dance across Lucifer’s face due to the shadows
Jonah:- “What do you mean welcome home, this place isn’t my home”
Lucifer:- “Tsk tsk, how foolish you are dear Jonah, this is your home, for you see i killed you when we last thought, i claimed your soul and left it in the fields of asphodel, somehow you escaped though but not for long, i will be back to claim what is rightfully mine very soon”
Jonah:- “Wait, what, i died, then that means..”
Lucifer:- “Your little girlfriend lied to you, the whole camp has been lying to you, you died Jonah and pretty soon you will be coming home, you will die again”
Jonah:- “No it can’t be, the fields, the darkness, the pain, the vast emptiness, that was all real”
Lucifer:- “Of course it was you foolish boy”
Jonah wanted to protest but his dream was fading, he felt someone moving around next to him, he slowly opened his eye’s to see Celeste thrashing around quite a bit, she must of been having her own nightmare, he was going to wake her until he remembered what she had done, she had lied to him, after around fifteen minutes of watching her he started to realise something important, although Celeste had lied to him he still loved her and would give his life to protect her, he slowly shook her and called her name till she opened her eye’s
Celeste:- “Jonah, what, why..”
Jonah:- “You were having a nightmare, i couldn’t watch you suffer”
She gave him a weak smile before throwing her arm’s around him for a hug, seeing as he didn’t hug her back she tried for a kiss and almost felt heartbroken when he pulled away from her before she had the chance to kiss him
Celeste:- “What’s wrong”
Jonah:- “Oh it’s nothing, just had a dream last night, turns out you lied to me”
Celeste:- “Lied about what”
Jonah:- “I think you know, just incase you have forgot though, remember i’m going to guess two weeks ago, i apparently got stabbed but survived, well it turns out I DIED!”
Celeste:- “Jonah i don’t know what your talking about, you didn’t die”
Jonah:- “Stop lying to me, in my dreams i was back in the underworld, Lucifer told me everything”
Celeste:- “Jonah..”
Jonah:- “Don’t bother”
He was furious with her and he just wanted to get as far away from her as possible, he quickly jumped out of bed and was dressed and heading out the door before Celeste had a chance to stop him, now he thought about heading down to battlefield for a bit of training as it usually calmed him down but that would have to be put on hold as stood in the middle of the path was a creature Jonah had only ever seen in his wildest nightmares, this creature was bigger than he could of imagined, it was pitch black and had three heads, all three heads were faced towards Jonah, teeth bared and ready to attack
Jonah:- “You..you’re cerberus”
No sooner had he said the dog’s name that it barked so loud he was sure it would wake the whole camp, he was right about that, the bark had woken up most of the camp who came rushing out their cabins to see where the noise had come from, most of them retreated back inside when they saw cerberus while most just stood in fear at the sight of him, a few brave people rushed out brandishing weapons but one look from cerberus had them backing away in fear, now Jonah was in trouble, he was no match for cerberus in his weakened state and the whole camp seemed too scared to help him, he raised his sword and was about to charge when the air infront of him turned into a giant shadow from which stepped a person, Jonah was knocked back by this mysterious person but he immeadietly knew who it was without even looking
Jonah:- “Lucifer, guess you’re here to claim my soul”
Lucifer:- “Oh now where’s the fun in that my dear boy, i’ve just come here to give you a simple instruction..RUN!”
Jonah:- “Run, why would i run from you, unlike most people i don’t fear you”
Lucifer:- “Unwise choice not fearing me, you will one day learn but for now i tell you to once again run, for you see you will get a two minute head start then i will send the underworlds greatest creatures like cerberus here to hunt you down and claim your soul”
Jonah:- “Why not just do it yourself you coward”
Lucifer:- “Coward, i think not, think of it as a game or a hunt shall we say, you’re the wild animal and the creatures i send are the hunters just searching for their prey”
Jonah:- “And if i don’t play this stupid game of your’s, if i don’t run then what”
Lucifer:- “Then cerberus here get’s to have some fun with this camp”
Jonah:- “Leave this camp out of this, it’s me you want so why not get it over with and face me now, one on one”
Lucifer:- “Oh how fun that sounds but i prefer the hunt, much more entertaining to watch you suffer by the hands of one of my creatures”
Jonah:- “It would be more entertaining to watch me kick your sorry behind all the way back to the underworld”
Lucifer:- “You’ve got spirit, i respect that but still you have a choice, run or watch the camp be destroyed, thirty seconds to decide then cerberus get’s to play”
Jonah:- “I guess i have no choice”
He raised his sword and ran towards Lucifer, he was about to strike when he was sent flying by a massive paw, he crashed down hard on the ground and before he even had the chance to stand cerberus bounded over and pinned him to the ground, Celeste had been watching all the action from the cabin window and even though she was extremely mad at Jonah she couldn’t watch him get mauled to death by an overgrown dog, doing the stupidist thing she could think of she charged out the cabin with only a dagger and ran straight towards cerberus, once she was within striking distance she brought her dagger down hard into the big black paw that was pinning Jonah to the floor, cerberus was a little shocked at what had just happened and moved his paw away, he didn’t feel very much pain and was quickly over his shock just in time to see Jonah standing with Celeste by his side, both holding weapons ready to attack
Lucifer:- “Ahh and the girlfriend tries to save the day, how touching”
Jonah:- “Tries..”
Before he even had a chance to finish what he was about to say he was sent flying by an invisible force, he struggled back to his feet just in time to see Lucifer with his hand on Celeste’s neck
Jonah:- “Let her go and fight me one on one, prove to this whole camp that you aren’t a coward”
Lucifer knew he had no choice now, if he didn’t fight then the whole camp would see him as a coward and would never fear him again
Lucifer:- “You have a deal my dear boy, hope you are ready to die again”
Jonah:- “I won’t be the one dying this time”
With that he raised his sword and charged, Lucifer saw the attack coming from a mile away and raised his sword to deflect the attack, Jonah was smarter than he looked as at the last second he changed his move and with a downward thrust stabbed Lucifer in the foot, It didn’t do the damaged expected as Lucifer just stood there, he didn’t even wince in pain, he jabbed a few times at Jonah before the clash of swords began, every attack was parried and blocked, both Lucifer and Jonah both landed a few cheap shots but both just kept on fighting, Jonah was wearing down though, with every strike, every block, his body felt weaker and weaker and it began showing, Lucifer was landing more and more shots on Jonah and bit by bit Jonah was losing, he kept fighting as best he could be he knew sooner or later Lucifer would wear him down to the point he wouldn’t be able to carry on and then it would be too late, upon seeing how bad Jonah was doing Celeste decided to try help but as soon as she raised her dagger to attack Lucifer fired a black fire out of his hand and sent her crashing through the cabin wall causing the whole thing to collapse on top of her, seeing what had just happened caused Jonah to gain a hidden strength he never knew he had, he wasn’t just fighting to save himself from death, he was now fighting with anger, hatred and despair, those three feelings caused him to go into a sort of overdrive giving him a short burst of renewed energy with a major increase in strength and speed, he was almost unstoppable as he struck Lucifer again and again never backing down once, he was finally winning and Lucifer was getting a little worried
Lucifer:- “Why do you keep fighting, i had you beaten but now..”
Jonah:- “You could of killed her, nobody hurts CELESTE!”
With that he put all his strength into one final shot, Lucifer didn’t see it coming and only too late did he realise what was going to happen, Jonah drove his sword straight through Lucifers chest with that much force the sword itself snapped in two, Jonah had the handle in his hands but the rest of the sword was stuck in Lucifer who was slowly melting into the shadows
Lucifer:- “NO this can’t be, i can’t lose..”
His sentence was cut short as he fully melted into the shadows and was gone, once Jonah was sure he was fully gone he dropped his sword handle and collapsed, the whole battle had drained him of all he had. Three days later he awoke back in the hospital, same bed as before but with one minor difference
Jonah:- “Celeste..”
It all started coming back to him, the fight, Celeste been thrown straight into the cabin, watching it all collapse on her, she had to be dead
Celeste:- “Hey sleepy head, thought you was never going to wake up”
Jonah looked over to find Celeste laying in the bed a few down from his, she didn’t look too good but Jonah was glad to see she was alive
Jonah:- “Wow you look terrible but atleast you aren’t dead”
Celeste:- “Thankyou, i wouldn’t judge me till you take a look at youself though”
Jonah:- “What..”
He looked down and saw nothing wrong until he removed the quilt, his whole chest and stomach were covered in cuts and bruises, all the attacks Lucifer had done had sure left there marks on him
Jonah:- “Yeah i retract saying you look a mess, least you look better than me”
Celeste:- “Nobody ever looks better than you”
She let out a small smile then looked away from Jonah
Jonah:- “What’s wrong..”
Before he even finished his question he had a faint idea of what might be bothering her, the fact that the last time they spoke they argued and never apologised, the fact that he could of died against Lucifer and he didn’t seem to care
Jonah:- “I’m sorry, i was stupid and reckless but i did it for you, i couldn’t let you get hurt, even though to be fair you did get hurt”
Celeste:- “You’re an idiot Jonah”
Jonah:- “Thanks for letting me know”
Celeste:- “Jonah you don’t need to protect me all the time, you don’t need to feel like you have to take on every challenge that arises just so nobody else gets hurt, you don’t need to fight alone”
Jonah:- “I do, fighting alone is what i do, when im alone nobody but me can get hurt”
Celeste:- “Jonah listen to me, you don’t need to do that, people get hurt all the time, you need help to fight nowadays, so for once in your life listen and do as i tell you, STOP FIGHTING ALONE, accept help and realise that we fight together and we die together”
Jonah:- “No, i will keep fighting alone, when you die that’s all we ever will be..ALONE”
Celeste:- “Jonah, listen to me, i don’t want to lose you again, i lost you once and i don’t want to have to go through that again”
Jonah:- “Yeah well, i don’t care anymore okay, i would be better off alone, better off without you”
Celeste:- “Jonah..”
Jonah:- “No, look i do love you but you never understand, you lied to me and that was the worst thing you could of ever done, how can i trust you anymore, i don’t think i ever will be able to, so listen to me closely, me and you..were through”
Jonah didn’t give Celeste a chance to protest, he climbed out of bed and walked to the door, he may have been beaten down but he couldn’t stay in a room with Celeste anymore, he needed to get away from her, she had no chance at following him as she had a broken leg, that made it easier for him to leave, he needed to get away from the camp, he had so much he needed to do and so much he wanted to find out, he quickly rushed to his cabin and packed his bag, put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed his spare sword, just a plain gold sword, and then he ran, he ran towards the gates and was gone.