I wake up in my 10 by 10 bedroom in the basement. My body stiff and not responding. It seems I forgot to take my medicine last night and I'm suffering from it now.
Whenever I miss out on my meds, my body may enter a semi-comatose state. I'm usually bedridden for about a half hour when this happens.
When I finally regain control of my body, I roll out of bed with a groan. Checking my iPhone for the time, I realize it is only 08:30; a good 6 hours before I have to leave for classes.
My body starts to twitch as I make my way to the shower. Taking off my boxers, I take a shower, trim my beard, and examine my face in the mirror.
God...I look like shit. Are my only thoughts as I look at the dark circles around my eyes, the lines underneath them as well, and my hair sticking up everywhere. I manage to comb it into the fade I did every morning. After brushing my teeth, applying deodorant, and using some cologne, I step out of the bathroom and start to get dressed. Of course, not before I throw on some Green Day and Goldfinger.
I'm turning emo I swear. I think to myself as I don a black T-shirt and my black skinny jeans. I shrug on my aviator jacket and head upstairs.
It seems that I was the only one awake right now, what with my father leaving for work at the ass crack of dawn to work a 7AM-5PM shift everyday to pay the bills, and my mother being bedridden very often as a result of my birth taking a toll on her inner body.
After grabbing my keys, my wallet, the dog-tags I own in remembrance of my stillborn brother, and putting on my glasses, I slide on my grey vans and start to head out to drive to get some breakfast. I start the engine of my Honda Civic and plug my phone into the speakers. I start to blare Through the Fire and the Flames by DragonForce and roll down the windows to feel the wind roll by.
Driving along the road I've been on millions of times in my eleven years of living in the shit state of North Carolina, my mind wanders to random thoughts.
First I begin to think about all that has happened during my year in college, before feeling the crushing guilt of failing math my first semester.
Don't get me wrong, I am definitely not a bad student. I got almost all A's in high school and passed all my other classes outside of College Algebra last semester. I was taking it again this semester and I was horrified to think what would happen if I failed it again. I never liked failing my parents, but they put such high standards on a kid who isn't ready for it. I start to wonder why the hell I am even still here if all I'm going to do is bring shame to my family. A thought pops into my head but my brain stops me from following through with crashing. I couldn't do that to my parents, no matter how much I hated this shit.
At the community college I go to, they don't let you take the same course three times. I was never a socially adept person, as everyone with Tourette Syndrome(as far as I have met, which is hundreds) have the mental age of 2/3s their physical age. Along with TS, I also have OCD, ADHD, Anxiety, depressive tendencies, and Dysgraphia. Dysgraphia makes my handwriting so shitty it's embarrassing. Somehow, if I write in a language that doesn't completely conform with the normal English form, such as French and Spanish, it isn't as bad. Back to the 2/3s age fact.
Think about it. A twelve year old mind inside of a nineteen year olds body.
Terrifying. I know.
After merging onto I-77, I make my way to Chick-Fil-A across town, singing along to my playlist the entire way. Upon arriving, I decide to go inside instead of using the drive-thru. Entering the establishment, I order my chicken minis and Dr. Pepper and take a seat at a booth in the back. Far away from any human interaction.
A couple minutes later and my food arrives at my table. I thank the elderly waitress for my food and begin to eat. Rocking out to more Green Day through my earbuds, I don't notice the small group that enters until I can sense something is wrong.
Taking martial arts for seven years teaches you some cool shit.
I looked up and what I saw was absolutely baffling...well to me at least.
I saw what looked like a large group of Girl Scouts brings led by an auburn haired lady. My eyes widened at the implication and mutter a single name.
"Artemis…"
As soon as I say it, the auburn haired lady's head swivels around towards my direction. I tense up, hoping to every single being I could think of that I didn't have to fight. I may be good, but I am not dumb enough to fight a goddess. Her eyes narrow in my direction and I slowly straighten up, reaching for my dog tags and mentally praying to my brother for guidance. Sure he may have died when I was too young to understand, but part of me feels connected to him regardless.
'Artemis' pays for the food and the 'hunt' sits down at a row of tables. Her eyes lock onto me and I casually shift my chair backwards, acting like I'm scratching my ankle, so I can angle my body towards the exit.
She gets up from the table and approaches me like a predator approaches her prey.
I stand up very slowly, sliding my hand casually into my jacket pocket and gripping the switchblade I own. It wouldn't do anything, but at least I am not completely unarmed.
"So I was right in my assumptions…" I trail off, suggesting that this lady was more than just a Girl Scout mom. Her head tilts to the side slightly, giving me an amused, yet stern, look.
"What are you boy? You are not a demigod, as you have no scent, but you don't seem like a clear-sighted mortal. You clearly didn't see my hunt's true form or my true appearance."
I was baffled and she could see I had absolutely no clue.
"Lady Artemis…while it would usually wonderful and mind blowing to meet a higher being, I cannot help but ask you...what the actual fuck? Am I hallucinating? I swore I took my meds this morning." I ask, rambling. Her eyes narrow at my crude language before smirking at the end of my rant.
"I also do not know. What is your name boy?" She asks with an accusatory and powerful voice that made you want to grovel at her feet. My body stiffened at this stranger ordering me around. I had made a deal with myself long ago to never let anybody who wasn't my Sensei or my family force me to do anything. I wasn't going to do it for this stranger. Goddess or not.
I decide to take action and kick her chair out from under her, she falls rather ungracefully. I flip out my switchblade, push her over, and take off out the doors. I reach my car, crank it up, and bolt out of the parking lot towards home. Then I remembered who was chasing me and I realized I couldn't let her know where I live. I pulled off of the main road back to my house and stopped by an old pub.
Turning off my car, I sigh deeply before hearing a tapping at my window.
Well fuck me sideways, call me a Russian whore and piss down my throat! I think as I see the goddess of the Hunt in the other side.
And she was angry.
I rolled down the window about an inch and in the most innocent voice I could muster I said, "Hi ma'am! May I help you with something?" Her lips twitch very very slightly and my hand tightens around my blade.
she notices and steps back from the car.
"I am not here to harm you mortal."
"Yeah. A little but too late for that as now I will have monsters chasing my loved ones." Then I narrow my eyes at her. "And don't even think about killing my father, taking my sister or my mother. I refuse to let my family become pawns for you. Or dead. If you do not heed my warning, I will show you the true extent of what the power of vengeance can do." I say in a cold, dead whisper. Her eyes widen ever so slightly at the bitter tone of my voice and seems to have a mental argument within herself.
"You care for your sister? Your mother?" She asks, looking for confirmation of what I said.
"With my life. I will do everything in my power to stop you from ruining their lives." I whisper. We are quiet for a couple moments until she backs up away from the car.
"You may go mortal, but do not think I won't come for your assistance. As much as I hate to admit, you caught me off guard and if I was not a goddess, would have escaped me." She said in a bitter tone. Before I realize it, I'm left alone in the car, feeling more and more confused by the second.
I drive to class in uptown Charlotte seeing as it is 12:30 and my class starts at 15:00. I'm lost in thought about what the actual hell has just happened when I am rammed into from behind. The force of the hot making my car slide to the right and sending it into the guardrail, causing my head to hit the dash, the airbags to deploy, and my body to scream in pain. I opened up the mangled grey door slowly, and crawl out of it to find myself facing what I never thought I would see.
It seems like the Nemean Lion was my first monster.