Before Their Eyes
"See ya!" Atlanta yelled as she exited the brownstone, skateboard in hand. She rolled her eyes at Neil's, "Be back before supper!" and threw her board onto the sidewalk, jumping onto it and heading towards the park. Her hazel eyes shone as she felt the wind whistle through her short red hair, and she laughed aloud as she witnessed two squirrels quarrelling over a nut in one of the surrounding trees that were scattered around the city. That was when she noticed that she had wandered into the street.
Frowning, she tried to steer back onto the sidewalk, but the board wasn't obeying. Scared now, she leapt off the board as cars swerved to avoid hitting her. A huge transport crushed the skateboard into pieces seconds after she had been there.
She rushed back to the brownstone, her eyes wild in panic as she barged through the door.
"Guys!" she cried. Theresa and Neil, who were watching television together, whipped around to glance at her in concern.
"What is it, Atlanta?" Theresa asked, jumping to her feet.
"Someone, or something, tried to kill me!" Atlanta gasped. Theresa looked horrified, and she grabbed her friend's hand, pulling her towards the door.
"Let's go check it out!" she cried, glancing back at Neil. "You coming?"
Neil shook his head. "I'd rather not deal with monsters or Cronus today. It's bad for the complexion." Theresa sighed in exasperation.
"Whatever. Keep your PMR on hand in case we need to call for help."
He nodded absently, and the girls ran out towards the scene.
"Atlanta, do you have an extra skateboard?" Theresa asked as they ran. Atlanta nodded.
"Why?"
"I want to try something with it," she answered. Atlanta stopped running, forcing her friend to slow down as well.
"You, board?" she asked in disbelief. Theresa was the last person she expected to skateboard; riding and shopping seemed like more her thing.
Theresa looked insulted. "Why not? Surely you don't stereotype me into being like a Barbie doll just because I don't wear the same clothes as you, or enjoy racing boys instead of dating them," she shot.
Atlanta blushed uncomfortably. "No, it's just…"
"Save your breath. I can read minds, remember? Now go get your skateboard and let's go."
Atlanta complied and in less than a minute, the two girls were on their way again, Atlanta's spare board in Theresa's possession.
"This is it," Atlanta pointed to an intersection. Theresa placed the board on the pavement and leapt onto it, speeding off with such precision and control that Atlanta was amazed. She weaved throughout traffic, ignoring annoyed drivers' horns and fingers.
She started back to Atlanta when it happened. The board wouldn't move and this time whatever had nearly killed her last time did its job better. When Theresa tried to jump off the board, both she and Atlanta realized that it was impossible.
"Oh my gods!" Theresa screamed as a huge truck barrelled towards her, spinning out of control.
"THERESA!" Atlanta yelled. "NO!"
As the truck and her friend collided, the skateboard suddenly vanished, and that was when Atlanta knew that Cronus was somehow behind it. She ran to her friend, who lay on the ground, blood streaming from gaping wounds on her head. Atlanta fumbled for her PMR, but dropped it. She noticed that her hands were shaking. Finally, she called Neil and yelled at him to get the others and hurry down to the scene.
She glanced around to see a crowd gathering. Angrily she waved at them, yelling for someone to call an ambulance. Many nervous adults dialled 911 on their cell phones, while she anxiously waited to hear sirens in the distance. She heard the screeching of huge wheels as Herry's truck arrived, and five horror-stricken teens rushed towards their friends.
Jay arrived first, jaw dropping as he saw all the blood. Odie and Herry arrived second, their eyes worried and sombre. Neil inched towards Theresa, green from seeing all the blood, and when he arrived, he turned away to puke. Archie came last, shuffling his feet, and looking upset. He didn't know what to say; none of them did.
"How?" he asked at last.
"Cr…o…nus."
The six jumped, startled by their team mate's sudden reaction.
"She's alive!" they heard a hysterical woman in the audience shriek. An excited murmur ran through the crowd, and cheering broke out.
But they six others were not joining; they knew that the battle wasn't over yet. As the paramedics turned up and laid their friend on a stretcher, they were told to go home. Instead, they followed Theresa to the hospital, full of more questions than answers.
Theresa was rushed to Emergency, where doctors milled about, conversing quietly. The others sat down in the waiting room, nervous and afraid. Jay called the gods on his PMR, informing them on what had occurred. Within minutes Persephone came, her long blonde hair pulled back in a bun, and wearing jeans and a t-shirt instead of her typical long white dress. Her grey blue eyes were red from crying, and they now burned with anger.
She sat down in the soft velvet chair next to Jay. "How did it happen?" she hissed. Jay shrugged. He gestured to Atlanta, too afraid that saying something would cause his tears to pour out, there for everyone to see. He had to be the invincible leader, even if it killed him.
At Persephone's question, Atlanta explained what had happened to her, and then to Theresa, with disastrous results. She began to weep when she remembered how Theresa had been so right about her closed mindedness, and Archie rubbed her back uncomfortably, trying to console her, but not quite able to steady his rapidly beating heart.
Suddenly a young woman wearing a long white coat appeared in front of them, her face grave. "Are you Theresa's family?"
Persephone nodded. "I'm her aunt, and these are her cousins." The woman's eyebrow arched in disbelief, but she didn't make any remark, especially about Odie's apparent ancestry compared to the rest of them. The teens all glared at her, daring her to say something about their African-American friend. She cleared her throat, blushing under the heat of their stares.
"Would you like to hear about Theresa or not?" she asked. They all looked at each other, full of dread.
"Is that a trick question?" Neil asked. Herry, Archie, Odie, and Atlanta turned to stare angrily at him when they noticed that his face was streaked with tears. They turned away ashamed and full of guilt, and they didn't know why. Jay just stared at the doctor, willing her to say that Theresa would survive, just as she always had.
The doctor looked grave. "Theresa needs an operation, and…" She blinked back and forth repeatedly, obviously saddened by her news. Atlanta burst into more tears at her loss of comprehension.
"But there's a risk," the doctor continued. "If it goes well, her life will be saved. But if it goes wrong, she may end up brain dead or…she may not survive."
The horrid truth seemed surreal to the heroes; but Herry burst out into loud, horrible sobs, and Odie began to swipe at his eyes quickly with a kerchief. Archie glared down at the ground, tears trickling down his face. And Jay let his sword slide out of its sheath over and over, as if contemplating taking his own life as well.
"You must make a decision," the doctor said quietly. "Do you want her to have this operation?"
The teens all nodded dumbly. They had to try to save her no matter what. Just because this was out of their hands didn't give them the right to let her die.
The doctor turned and walked away, and a nurse came forward and urged them to go home; she'd call in the morning with any news. At first Jay and the others refused, but eventually they realized that there was nothing they could do there.
They drove back to the brownstone with heavy hearts; right before their eyes their team mate was fading, and there was nothing they could do, except hope.
A/n" Let me know if I should continue with this story. Originally supposed to be an oneshot about Atlanta and Archie's relationship, but instead this came out of it. Please review! Luv, Becky
