What You Worship You Become
By Sheva Das And Sister Grimm Erin
A/N: One of the few OC stories without a quest. Makes fun of the gods, and has two cousins, no cliches or Mary Sues, and is Aish Sheva certified.
Prologue:
Warning Signals
Meredith's palms were sweaty, which was always, always a bad sign. Of course, at the time she was less concerned with omens and more with her cousin's persuasive abilities.
"Rebecca, shut up," said the older Rosenthal girl through gritted teeth. Hanging out with Rebecca on the windowsill might beat hanging out with her annoying three-year-old brother Bobby most days, but Rebecca was considerably more dangerous to spend time with.
Rebecca was extremely prolific with crazy ideas. The thing was, her plans were contagious, always dangerous, disrespectful of authority, and strangely addicting, much like the girl herself. Her cousin's high level of intoxicating excitement could spread like an epidemic, and she had a strange way of talking anybody into anything.
But this one went way too far, even if Meredith had the notion she might cave in eventually.
"Off my meds? Are you nuts?" hissed the russet-haired fifteen-year-old.
"Why not? What's the worst that could happen?" the slight brunette 'tween asked of her cousin.
"I could go clinically insane?" suggested Meredith in what she hoped was a mild tone. "Mom could ground me for a month?"
"Mm. Just for a day?" begged Rebecca, blue eyes huge and pout bigger. Meredith knew she shouldn't agree to this, but she was curious. Since nine years old, she'd been medicated. What if...
The brown-eyed girl massaged her temple. "One day. And not Sunday, okay? That's church. Monday," she said firmly.
"Aw," Rebecca said, snapping her fingers. "I keep forgetting, sorry." Rebecca was now in her 'nice' mode.
"Next time, I pick the 'cousin bonding' activity," she warned, lightly punching her younger cousin on the shoulder.
"Yeah, whatever," muttered Rebecca distractedly.
"What is it?" said Meredith, trying not to show her anxiety for the little monster. "Bad dreams?"
Rebecca eyed her with those spooky blue eyes. "There's a choice coming."
"So?" pressed Meredith. "We make choices every day."
"Not like this one, Mer," sighed Rebecca. "I think it's a choice between-,"
"What?" laughed the eldest nervously.
"Reality and faith, and humanity and heroism."
"Like for the world?" pressed Meredith skeptically, hands clenched on her cushion as the rain swished outside.
"No, just us," Rebecca sighed.
"Rebecca, we're nothing special, really," said Meredith hopefully.
"None of us are as rare as we think, and none of us are as commonplace as we hope," quipped the younger girl.
She left the family reunion after that, leaving the older girl with thoughts in a swirl.
That day, Meredith lay awake at night in her out-of-date canopy bed, listening to the thunder and trying to convince herself that Rebecca was nuts and not clairvoyant.
But she had doubts, even then.
Or perhaps, she admitted to herself later, they were fears.
On Monday morning, Meredith tossed her bag of pills into the cafeteria garbage, heart pounding like a conga drum. Bad-bad-bad. Her medication for ADD and bi-polar was important. Her mother, Jocasta Rosenthal, had drilled that into her since she was eight.
One day, Meredith told herself. How bad can it be?
She walked into class, palms sweating a little. Meredith hoped no one noticed her palms leaned against the door frame slightly. She sat down like normal, next to Rebecca and her big brain. She was fidgeting a bit as she got out her chemistry textbook. She scowled a bit, glaring at the letters that twisted and turned. She hated chemistry, and Rebecca cruised through it easily. Mr. Kranking probably had a crush on her... kidding. Mostly.
Rebecca handed her a piece of paper with the words: Judging from your glare, I guess you manned up and did my dare?
Meredith scowled. I hate you. By the way, is Grover staring at us? I know he has a strange crush on you, but is he adding me too?
I don't know. Think he's a stalker. He sniffs the air a lot.
Aw, you mock his love. Rebecca kicked her cousin sharply in the ankle.
Anyways, did you even pay attention at all to the lecture yesterday? Or do you need my notes?
I need your notes. Badly.
Silently, Rebecca passed her notebook, a second copy photocopied over, like always.
Meredith's heart warmed a little. Rebecca drove you nuts most days, but she was definitely lovable at the same time- secretly, she couldn't have wished for a better girl for her aunt and uncle to adopt.
Chemistry class dragged on for quite a while, then was mercifully over, Mr. Kranking's droning voice silenced and the ancient projector off at last.
In the hallway, Grover asked to talk to them both.
Rebecca looked reluctant, but Meredith eyed Grover. Poor kid. Nobody who cares, no family... She'd heard he lived with an uncle on the edge of town. Maybe he just wants a friend?
It was a bad mistake. Rebecca's eyes widened as the two cousins had a silent conference. Finally, Meredith turned. "Fine," said Rebecca through gritted teeth. "What's up?"
Grover blinked. "How good with believing things supposedly unbelievable are you?" mumbled the boy incoherently.
"What was that?" said Meredith, pitching her voice a little louder.
Rebecca eyed him carefully. "You're important," she informed the shy kid.
Grover blinked. "Huh?"
"You're related to our choice," informed Rebecca. Meredith had a similar expression. Was she channeling Emily the Strange again?
"Do you guys mind, uh, coming over my house?" stumbled Grover. Poor kid. He has no idea he's asking us on a date, thought Meredith sadly.
"We'll talk in the parking lot," Rebecca told him.
Grover looked shocked all of a sudden, sniffing the air as he looked back and forth at them.
"And could you quit the sniffing thing?" snapped Meredith. "We bathe, thanks."
Grover blinked. "Uh, sorry," he said distractedly. "Um, anyway, let's go."
"Where to?" asked the younger. Meredith was keeping pace with her cousin, but was also as confused as hell. Damn it, Rebecca, what aren't you telling me?
They both followed Grover to lean against a black SUV. Waiting there was a young boy with stark white hair, a pretentious trench coat, and calm silver eyes that he turned upon the both of them as surprisingly red lips curled up in a smirk.
Silver eyes that were the last thing the two girls saw for quite a few hours, haunting the cousins in soothing dreams of strawberry fields and a beautiful lake, even as they fought against the crushing weight of peace.
Where am I? Meredith wondered as she woke. Then, it all came back. Black SUV. Young guy with creepy eyes. Grover muttering to himself.
"Oh, God," muttered Meredith. "Sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Rebecca! Where the freak are we?"
"Don't tell that to me, Mer," mumbled Rebecca. "Jewish, remember?"
"How are you not more panicked?" hissed Meredith. "We've been kidnapped and drugged. We'll most likely end up dead and buried in a ditch by molesters!"
Rebecca blinked. "You don't see it, do you?"
"Other than the whole kidnapping thing? No!"
"Grover's hooves."
"Wait, what? Are you sure it's me who's off my meds?"
Meredith sat up straight now, looking around at her immediate automotive surroundings. Well, no chains. That was good. Blinking, she looked around and saw the dashboard come into view. The speedometer was too fast to pull a jump out of the leather seats. Her dyslexic eyes strained to read the road signs. Finally, she caught sight of one reading Welcome To Long Island. "We were in New Jersey!" shrieked Meredith.
Grover turned around from the passenger to gaze on her. "It's been a few hours," he said.
Meredith clenched her fists. "Explain yourself," she growled.
"Or?" said the other boy from the front seat.
"I'll rip your horns off-," hissed Meredith. Breaking off, she realized that she'd just said that Grover had horns.
In the middle of his brown, curly hair were two brown nubs.
"I must be dreaming," breathed Meredith. But she blinked, and then they were gone. She blinked again, there they were.
"Oh, the denial stage," said the annoyingly, sharply good-looking white-hair guy- I can still appreciate that now, gotta love hormones- "Well, let's see. You're a child of a Greek god. We're headed to the only sanctuary there is for people like you guys and me. Grover's half-goat..."
"Okay, stop there. My biological parents are married. I am a Catholic and not a madwoman. You people feel free to go on a loony tunes joyride, but Let. Me. Out." Meredith looked despairingly at the speedometer. Jumping out of a car going 70 miles an hour was, again, not a good idea.
"I'm afraid we can't," said Grover gravely.
"You guys are nuts," said Rebecca in an infuriatingly calm voice. "I want to know why you really kidnapped us."
Grover looked at White-Hair Guy. White-Hair Guy shrugged. "My name is Balder. He's telling the truth."
"Okay, Balder, why should we believe you?" pressed Meredith.
"Because you've been lied to," said Balder, shrugging again.
"About what?" cried Rebecca.
"Everything. Are you both ADD? Dyslexic? Been kicked out of a few schools?"
"Yes to the first two, no to the third," replied Meredith. "Do better than that." She didn't know why she was humoring these maniacs, but that little niggling voice in her head, the doubter, the devil's advocate, was telling her to listen. What do you know, they could be right. After all... Shut up, she told the voice firmly. You're nuts. But I'm you, a part of you. Scary aren't I? said the smug voice.
The talking hadn't been that real in years... chilly fear prickled down her spine... crazycrazycrazychickIfeedonyou, it taunted. The cycle gnawed at her stomach.
Determined to avoid it, she turned her attention back to Balder and Grover, full of bravado. "Prove it to me."
Grover blinked. "You can't see the horns?"
"Trick of the light," bit off Meredith. "Not all the time."
Balder's brow furrowed. "Meredith, are you on any medication for ADD?"
"I didn't take it today, but normally I'm on at least 800 milligrams of 6 different medications for bi-polar and ADD," recited Meredith, not even thinking about the standard response she gave adults.
"Well, I suppose that would explain it."
"Why and what?" she snapped, irritated at not getting any answers.
"The medicine is why you weren't discovered earlier. It inhibits your ability to see through the Mist and cloaks your scent."
"So is that a good thing or a bad thing?" She didn't even want to know what the Mist was.
"Some of both, I suppose. You didn't have to suffer through any monster attacks, but you're probably not going to believe us that easily."
Meredith scowled. "Monster attacks? You guys are crazy." Or am I the crazy one?
Then Rebecca spoke up. "I'm not on meds, so why wasn't I...attacked by a monster, I guess?" Her up-talking voice made the words sound like they were in quotation and question marks. She brushed too-long brunette bangs out of her eyes.
"Probably because you're the kid of a minor god," Grover answered nervously. "Or I guess it could be some sort of weird fluke...things haven't been exactly normal lately. But I think the minor god thing is more likely."
"Wait a minute. There's a lot you're not telling us here! And again, I want proof! I-" Meredith's rant was cut short as the van slid to a stop.
"Oh, good! We're here!" The relief in Grover's voice was evident as he swung open his door and jumped out.
"And where is here?" Rebecca queried, not moving from her seat.
"Camp Half Blood. The only place I know of that demigods can go to train," Balder answered. "Now get out of the car. We don't have all day."
"And making a run for it wouldn't be good," added Grover. "You'll get eaten."
Meredith drew in a breath to argue, then let it out. She didn't want to take orders. She never had, despite going to Catholic, then public school. She'd always been a little rebellious, a little questioning, her faith the only thing well-centered and never examined.
In the end, Meredith Theia Rosenthal didn't go because she believed them. She went because she was curious, and because she needed to know if she was crazy. She went because these people had answers to her questions, however inane and impossibly out-of-whack the answers might be.
Rebecca Naomi followed. Her reasons were much simpler.
She was impulsive. And even more, she was curious.
Destruction comes; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
Ezekiel 7:25