So, I have no idea how this came to my mind but yesterday I've been playing on my guitar some documentary about the Greek mythology was on the telly, somehow my brain was exploding with an idea and I had to write it down.
Here you have Skins and bits of the old myths, a bit changed to fit the story but I hope it's fine. It's not really a very serious one-shot, it was fun to write it.
R hm, don't know, T , I guess.
Pairing; not really a pairing, you have to read to understand it.
Skins isn't mine. The old myths neither.
Have fun and tell me what you think :)
IwysAshes
Everybody gets a little lost, sometimes
When you feel your time is running out
I believe in this fire burning inside of me
You're never alone but you're always on your own
Lost in love and desire, never again
I promised myself I'd be searching for someone new
"I cant believe you're making me do this...I told you that her story is nothing but a myth." Naomi grunted, glaring at the twins sitting across from her on the old caravan's trailer an even older Greek man offered to take them with to a place they'd have to walk to otherwise.
A pig was to Naomi's right and a sheep to her left, making the girl scowl permanently. When the pig's head nudged her shoulder the twins giggled and awed, teasing Naomi's way to make new friends. "If that pig wont leave me alone I'll go sit with the old man and his creepy wife."
"Come on Blondie, you're not the one who was told you'd die, relax. You knew the twins wouldn't let us shag through Greece without first following a few old fairy characters path." Cook grinned, lighting a Spliff with easy as he leaned on the huge mama of Naomi's new mate. "I still don't understand though, Ems, we going to see Medusa?"
Rolling her deep brown eyes the younger twin shook her head and reached for the old, falling apart book she had carried around for the last years since she found it on an old flea market in Italy. "No, well maybe, I don't know. The point is that this is an Italian book, so it's all a bit blurry."
"How so?" Her twin questioned with a raised brow, just daring her sister to confess taht they were on this never ending, muddy, shower less trip for nothing.
Burying her head in the book Emily tried to get the translation correct, again. "You lot know that the Roman myth is pretty much the Greek myth with changed names, yeah?" A collective nod made her continue. "So the Greeks were first, Zeus, not Jupiter, Ares, not Mars, Aphrodite, not Venus" Naomi's irritated groan made her look up. "Get to the fucking point, will you? You taught us this bollocks already. We can tell you which hero belonged to which god, which culture, which fucking island and woman in Roman AND Greek, so get the fuck on with it." The blonde still wondered how this weird people she didn't even like, got her to join them on this horrible trip.
"A bet, Naomi, you've lost a bet." Katie answered her unasked question with a smug expression which faded as soon as their eyes met and both girls realised that Naomi hadn't said a word. "All right psychic, thanks." Deciding on sarcasm the moody girl absently stroked the pig's nose which was pretty much on her lap as it was coming closer every chance Naomi was distracted.
"Anyway" Emily started again, narrowing her eyes at Naomi. "As I was saying, the Greeks were first, makes what's written here obviously a Greek story, so I have to re-think every detail and get us to the right place."
"So it's not Medusa?" Cook asked again, handing Naomi the Spliff with his boyish grin.
"I really don't know. In this story they say that she's the most beautiful thing ever created, born through Poseidon's trident hitting Athena and Aphrodite at once, when he tried to hit Hades. Making her the goddess with a love-bursting heart, more beautiful than the sky, sea, earth and space. Fight is running through her vanes and the darkness is always surrounding her. She is more powerful than the Olympus gods together, they say one look into her eyes shows the one in front of her their true soul, the deepest, darkest secrets they try so hard to bury. They say her eyes are the mirror to the future, past and time itself, and one glance forever kills the wish to live in this world." Everyone was looking at her with mixed feelings, Katie had goosebumps covering every inch of her skin and her heart felt heavy, Cook's grin faltered as realisation hit him, Naomi's scowl disappeared and she leaned back to hear the end of the story, even Freddie who had finally opened his eyes gulped in sadness.
"But" Cook began uncertain. "Doesn't that make her a danger? And lonely?"
Nodding gently Emily turned to the next page and traced the painted image of this creature wearing a heartbroken expression. "Yes, Cook. She was a lovely child, excited to meet new people and do good, it ran through her genes to try and help wherever she could. Sadly, every time she tried to find new friends, help those who couldn't care for themselves any more, they died as soon as she smiled at them."
Four pairs of sad eyes widened and even Naomi had to lean on the pig for comfort. "But, that's horrible." She whispered, gently running her nails over the animals nose.
"It is. Gets worse." At Emily's angry words the others snapped their eyes back to her and listened in interest how it could get worse for the poor girl. "She was a danger to the population. Trying to find the one person who, the Delphic oracle's told her, wouldn't die when they looked at her, she killed four whole world's populations. The book says we are the fifth."
"What's it say exactly?" Katie wanted to know and almost crawled into Emily's lap to read it for herself only to realise that she had no idea what those words meant.
"It says: The first humans, which the gods created, were the golden kind. They lived free of work and sorrow and wouldn't know the pain of ageing. When they were to leave the world, they'd peacefully fall asleep. As long as they lived, their hunger was stilled with never ending fruit and honey the earth offered for free. After this humankind was wiped away by 'the eyes' they turned into protecting-gods, wandering through the wind and fog they were the giver of all good, shepherds of the order and avenger of criminality, that way they tried to help the next created generation."
Huge brown eyes, horribly similar to her own, welled up with tears as Katie gulped. "She, she killed them?"
Emily lay an arm around her sad twin and nodded gently, stroking Katie's back. "Yeah, she went out to help the world, when she returned to the Mount Olympus no human was left to be helped any more. You know, she was different form the other gods, she grew. She wasn't born as an adult like they often were, she was a baby and grew slowly, making it hard for the other gods to deny her anything as they raised her from the start. They weren't used to raise children, mostly because they screwed humans and had them raise the kids, so they got to know them when they were adults. But she was with them since the day she was born."
"So they weren't mad? They haven't punished her, have they?" Freddie murmured, taking a sip of the vodka bottle Cook had passed to him. Just as he was about to drink, the trailer rattled when they drove over a wooden bridge. "Oi! A bit careful mate, yeah?"
"No, not yet. Their hearts broke for her when she's returned sadder than anyone's ever been. They say her tears created the sea, up until then the earth hadn't had any salty water." Taking the Spliff Emily continued. "They wanted to see her beautiful smile and hope she's lost, so they made a new, special humankind in hope they'd be more fitting and could help her be herself again. Children. Children were different than adults, and they had hoped that children could finally befriend her. So they created the silver humankind. A whole of a hundred years they were children living with their parents, only to have a couple years left in adulthood. Sadly, she grew into a young woman by then and wasn't interested in children any more. The few years left in their lives made the young women and men lose their minds and live like there were no tomorrows left. It made them bad, they knew they'd die and there'd be no consequences so they stole, drank, raped, fought, and they wouldn't bring any sacrificial offerings to the god's altars any more. Those young people were insanely brave and one after one threw themselves at her in hopes of a good night and a bit of fun. Sooner than later there weren't any humans left any more."
Naomi coughed when the hot blunt burned her lips, making her swallow the smoke. "Sorry." She held up her hand after he coughing fit stopped. "Did she enjoy having fun with them?"
"Yes, Naomi," Emily nodded, staring the blonde in the eye. "she did. She wasn't some cold, heartless bitch using them to screw their twin." Rolling her eyes at herself the twin answered the question properly. "She loved them. They hadn't had any hope, they knew they'd die, so they didn't drop dead when they looked at her. But everyone of them did after spending a little time with her, her pure heart gave them the hope they never knew and then it killed them."
"That's horrible." Katie muttered again, slowly crawling across the dirty trailer floor to push the sheep aside and cuddle into Naomi's side. The blonde's arm automatically draped over her shoulder and pulled the purple haired twin closer, resting her head on top of Katie's Naomi stroked her bare shoulder and returned the glare Emily was throwing her way. "God Ems, relax, will you? Naomi doesn't fancy me. Christ, you're pathetic."
Cook's filthy grin almost made them gag. "But she fancied you for a couple nights, the things I've heard Katiekins still make me hard all over again." He was slapped across the head by Freddie and Emily and roared with laughter at the disgusted looks on his friends' faces. "You're repulsive." Nodding in agreement he grinned at Katie. The twin locked eyes with Emily and raised her brows. "So what's happened next?"
Scowling the red head kept reading. "The dead silver human kind turned into moral daemons, wandering the earth. When she wouldn't stop crying over her dead friends, they created another humankind, stronger and braver than the ones before in hopes that they'd be able to live when she started to wander the world again. It was the bronze humankind. They were horrible, vicious, mean and only had war in their minds, always trying to fight the neighbour for everything. They laughed at the fruits and ate the animals, their stubbornness was hard like diamonds and their bodies were feared; with arms growing out of their shoulder no one was allowed to come close to. Their guns were bronze, their homes were bronze, bronze was standing where fields have grown before. Iron wasn't around then. They've turned their own hands against one another, but as tall and horrendous they were, they couldn't do much about 'they eyes' because as awful they were, they were greedy too. Always hoping to have more than they already had, hoping and fighting for what wasn't theirs to take. This made them gasp for air when they looked into eyes which showed how their souls looked like, how the souls of the other humankind looked like, how the world would look like when they were long gone and forgotten. Morality, knowing that they weren't the kings of the world, the belly button of the universe made them die in a horrible way, and they ended up in Hades' empire, the Hades."
"That's us, isn't it?" Cook exclaimed with clenched fists, staring at them in disgust. "It has to be us."
"No you idiot." Naomi rolled her eyes and waved her hand around. "Is your house made of bronze you useless twat? Have you ever seen iron? It's not us. We're the fifth humankind, you'd knew if you'd listened to Emily." Leaning on Katie she pressed her lips to the sad girls forehead. "We're worse, aren't we Em? It's getting worse with every humankind she's killed off."
Emily shook her head with a small, stoned smile. "Not quite Naomi. It's getting better now. Zeus realised that they couldn't go on like this any more. She's killed too many people, and it dawned on them that they couldn't change them into more heartless humans because they wouldn't pray to them any more. So, she was forbidden to wander the earth again when they created yet another humankind. This one was more noble than the ones before. The kind called Heroes. The bronze humankind had called them demigods. She couldn't stay away, always hoping she'd fine someone she could help and the one person she waited for to spend her lifetime with she ran and escaped the Olympus which felt like a prison to the excited and energetic young woman. Those heroes were different, lots of them had godly relatives and that made them immune against the eyes. But that didn't mean that everything was good. It was worse. All of them, each and every one tried to show her that they were the ones for her to spend her life with. The morals died when they saw her eyes, but the heroes killed each other to minimise the rivals trying to woo her. They've killed one another in front of Thebes seven gates, others at Troy, where they were fighting to kill 'the eyes' first love, the beautiful Helena. With each day hundreds of heroes lost their lives, leaving the world empty and the eyes cry like never before. Because now she's known love and lost it after fighting for the first time. It was her doing, in her grieve after Helena was murdered she ran over the sea and glared at everyone coming her way. She broke down every door and locked her eyes on every and each pair she found until all life was gone, not even animals were spared."
"That I'd call heartbroken." Naomi murmured, entwining her fingers with Katie's. "I like her."
"You don't like people." Cook shrugged, raising his brow. She only grinned with twinkling eyes. "True Cookie, people are fake. She's not people though and I bet she was drop-dead-gorgeous, and so not fake."
Emily sputtered. "I cant believe you actually thinking about screwing this poor killer."
"I like a challenge." Was Naomi's response around the burning fag hanging between her lips. "Keep going, what's happened then, she killed every living thing and then?"
With an eye roll Emily kept telling the story. "The dead heroes got their place on the edge of the sea, the blissful islands where they spend their immortal life after the death of their mortal bodies. Three times each year the the earth gives them honey sweet fruits to live on. Now this is interesting, listen you lot, 'awe wouldn't I, sighed the old poet Hesiod, who tells the story of human age, wouldn't I be a companion of the fifth humankind, which now arrived, would I have died earlier or be born later! Because this humankind is the iron kind! Fully depraved, those humans neither rest by day nor night because of sorrow and pain, ever new worries the gods send us. We ourselves are the worst plague. The father doesn't the son, and the son doesn't show his father any respect, the guest hates the hosting friend, the companion the companion, between brothers and sisters there's no love like it once was in the older days. The grey hair of the parents wont be shown any reverence any more, hatred filled words are yelled into their faces, they have to endure abuse from their own flesh and blood. You awful humans, don't you fear the godly tribunal, when you wont pay your dead parents last respect for caring your whole lives for you? Only the fist law is followed by humans these days; you fight each other, destroying cities, lands, countries and cultures because you think what you think, believe in is the truth. No one who swears the truth is left in peace, the one who's good and believes in justice, no, only the one hurting others and winning, the one is admired by the masses. Law and believes don't apply in times of war, the bad one can murder the good one if he can sell his reason to the crowd. He can say twisted words, lie without caring about the way his soul darkens every time he does. He can swear on the wrong, blinding the others with his authenticity. That's why those humans are horribly happy. Schadenfreude, spitefulness, follow each and every one of them in their dark hearts. The goddess of shame who until now had visited the earth wont let herself be seen any more, she covers her beautiful skin sadly in white blankets and lets the humans be, in hope someone might finally save the earth from their never ending stealing, breaking and fighting. Those humans, have nothing left but the sad devastation they created when no one came to help this time." She took a deep breath and flickered her eyes to her sister who was gaping at her.
"He said, he..he said help. Like killing us like all those other humankind would be a help now. This is now, isn't it? This is us."
Naomi kissed Katie's forehead and nodded, stroking her goosebumps covered arm. "Yeah. Scary isn't it? Where is she now? Why wont she clean up this mess?"
Emily rushed back to reading, moving the book in sync with the way the trailer was bouncing around as they drove across uneven dirty paths. "Zeus and the other gods have decided to bring her away from this world, to another place in the stars. But she was broken, her heart has never recovered and when they finally found her, all alone on the ends of the world between the water and the land, her eyes showed them that she couldn't forgive herself for what she's done. She couldn't forgive herself for being the reason of Helena's death. She couldn't forgive herself for leaving the earth empty with no souls, no animals, no laughter and war. Aphrodite, her first mothers, read in her eyes that she'd be the one punishing herself in this place, never to look into another pair of eyes again. So when they created the fifth humankind, the most horrid and awful one, the one they couldn't control or stop because it grew and took over the world, they knew she wouldn't interfere again after experiencing so much pain."
They bumped their heads when the trailer came to an halt without a warning. The old man emerged from his caravan and pounded on the side of the wooden trailer. "You go!" His long, bony arm pointed to an tiny village at the end of a little mountain they obviously had to climb. "Go look Adriana and say Geroginio." His old wife climbed out of the door a little while later and gave each of them, except for Naomi, a little bracelet she had made herself in the last hours of the journey. "Save."
When Naomi saw that she wouldn't get one her brows furrowed. "Wont I need to stay save too?"
Wrinkly eyes averted as soon as they locked and the woman muttered something no one understood, not even Emily who knew a bit Greek. "My wife tell you don't save you live."
He wouldn't meet her eyes for longer than a millisecond and Naomi groaned, wiping away the sweat forming on her forehead as she pushed Katie off of her. "They are freaked out by your lezza actions Katie. Now I have to die, thank you." The twin raised a brown and together, they erupted in laughter everyone joined in.
Collecting their rubbish and bags, they jumped off the trailer, only Naomi leaned down the kiss the pigs nose. "Wish me luck mate." It grunted and she scratched the spot behind its ears. Katie waited for her and together they climbed down, Naomi helping her as she was wearing her high heels and would have broken her feet otherwise.
"Hey!" The man poked Cook's shoulder and waved him back towards the trailer before signalling that the boy was supposed to help get the pig down. When they had it on the ground, the old man wrapped a scarf around its neck and without looking at her, gave it to Naomi like a leash. "You need."
The teenagers eyed the happy pig first, than the man like he had lost his mind. "Uh, that's very kind of you but I cant keep an pig. I wouldn't know what to do with it, except for eating it." Shrugging she tried to give it back, but waving and talking strangely, the man and his wife climbed back into the old vehicle and yelled at the horses to start moving again.
There they stood, in the middle of nowhere, with the sun burning their skin, lots of baggage and a pig.
"Right." Katie nodded, letting her eyes wander to the little village. "Lets do this." She took Naomi's hand and securing their bags around their shoulders, the teenagers walked towards the far away looking village. "Ems? Has anyone ever seen her since?"
"Yeah." The red head rolled her eyes at the hand holding. "Cook, you've got any cider?" When he handed each girl a bottle of cider and beer for the Freddie and himself, the twin explained the end of the story. "Obviously we're not the first ones trying to find her. Some people did by accident, others on purpose. They died. Just like you will Cook, the man's creepy old wife told you when they offered to give us a ride."
His laughter boomed through the hills and he nudged Naomi's shoulder. "Hope I'll get a fun night with her before she kills me, ay? Maybe I'm hopeless enough and die when she gives me hope." Naomi rolled her eyes good naturally and pinched his shoulder. "You don't believe that, do you Cook? It's a myth. The only thing we'll see, if we're lucky, is a fucking statue, probably not even that since we're in an completely different country, with a girl who cant talk Italian nor Greek and tried to interpret this."
Emily threw her empty water bottle at Naomi's shoulder, hitting her. With a glare the blonde turned around and shook her head in an clear warning. "Dont push it Ems."
And again, for the 1000th time Naomi wondered how the hell she got there.
1 year earlier
"So, you're new, wanna hang out tonight?" A brunette when Naomi tried to light her fag. With a raised brow she met the others smirking face and almost burned her finger in the process. That girl was seriously hot. "I'm Katie by the way. That loser here is my sister, Emily, but you don't need to know her. She'll just try to screw you, no really, fuck you, she's a lezza you know, but I'm not. Nope, dedicated cock-cruncher me, what about you?"
Taking in all the information she was bombard with Naomi decided she had to shag the obnoxiousness out of the girl. "Naomi."
"Well Naomi, we gonna be at our mate's Freddie's party tonight. Give me your number, I'll text you the address and we can meet up then, you seriously need to meet cool people if you wanna survive this shithole. You'll die of boredom, right Em?" The gay twin just shrugged and took a drag of her fag with an disinterested expression. "See? Emily's boring." Naomi handed Emily her phone and brown eyes snapped to her in surprise. A charming smile and a little twinkle in Naomi's eyes when she tilted her head was all Emily needed to blush furiously as she punched her number into the phone.
"Thanks Emily."
"Oi Blondie, so you and Emily eh?" Cook whispered one morning in class, nudging the blonde and wriggling his brows suggestively. Smirking she shook her head and looked at Katie, signalling Cook who she really tried to bed. A loud laugh erupted from the back of his throat and he slapped the table and his knee, and her leg, and his head in excitement.
"Mr. Cook!" The teacher warned but knowing he'd never stop laughing, Cook gathered his stuff and winked at the twins as he dragged Naomi out of class for a much needed break. "You're fucking mental girly, that's why I love you. Katiekins as straight as they come." Nodding she smirked at her new friend, they were hanging out since her first day when Katie ambushed her three weeks earlier. "Everyone is until they're not."
His stupid grin almost split his face in two when he imagined it. Punching his shoulder Naomi shook her head, her lips twitching upwards as they made their way to the pub they'd meet the others later in. "But seriously girly, what if she wont be up for it? You take the red head then?"
"Na." Lighting another fag Naomi had to stop walking and shield the tiny flame from the wind. "She's a sweetheart, lovely, not my type. She'd want a relationship, love, marriage, and all that bollocks I couldn't care less about. Whereas Katie needs a fucking reality check, she's living in the 21 fucking century. She's amazing but Jesus, I think she's hung up on some Hollywood bullshit TV drama life."
Emily opened the door and wiped the remaining tears away when she saw Naomi lean coolly against the frame. "Shit, why didn't you tell me you were coming?" "Because Emily darling" Naomi started, walking in like she owned the place, "you weren't in college today, wanted to see what's wrong."
"Nothing." The horrible liar tried to lie and Naomi rolled her eyes, flopping down on Emily's bed when they reached her room. She pulled the book she landed on from under her legs and looked at the pages in confusion. "You still mad I'm trying to fuck your sister?"
"No!"
"Liar. And not even a good one." The blonde murmured with furrowed brows as her eyes landed on Italian words. "I told you, it's nothing personal. I'm not the relationship type, I'd just get bored and never feel the same so why bother?"
"I got it the first time you so charmingly explained it to me. Thanks for pointing it out again." Emily rolled her eyes, something on Naomi's utter nonchalance and true ignorance towards everything the world had to offer fascinated her. Sadly, she had to learn, the blonde wasn't one of those who were screaming to be saved from the loneliness they've locked themselves in, no she was happy the way things were and wasn't interested in ever changing. Only that made the crush Emily had developed tolerable. Knowing that no one had a chance to ever tame Naomi, so she didn't take it personally. "Anyway, you wont fuck Katie."
"Oh I will Fitchy. You just wait and see, I'll have my wicked way with her and she'll never be the same again. I'll completely break her view on life and everything there is, she'll be a changed woman."
"You talk like you're a daemon."
"Maybe I am."
"Still, you wont fuck her, I know your enormous ego cant grasp the fact that someone might actually refuse to fall for your fake charms, but Katie's a tough nut."
"Wanna bet? I'll fuck her by the end of the weekend."
"All right. You're on. If you don't get into her knickers by Sunday, you'll come with us to Greece next summer."
Shrugging Naomi grinned, sure she'd win.
She lost.
Emily hadn't played fair. Katie was warming up to the idea and by Saturday she was ready to rip Naomi's clothes off her body, but Emily had pulled her away, telling her she needed to wait until Monday, or Naomi wouldn't join in their Greece adventure.
Of course she had only found out about that after spending two wonderful, erotic nights with Katie and had to compliment Emily on her game. That little girl had was a hidden bitch, playing dirty, Naomi liked that.
"What's with the scowl?" Katie questioned when Naomi's face transformed back to its permanent appearance. Shrugging the twin off the blonde rolled her eyes and joined the boys at the front, gently pulling the pig after her. It actually skipped when it tried to keep up with her, his tiny, curly tail wagging in happiness.
They reached the village about an hour later, tired and with blistered all over their feet.
Marching up to an ancient looking diner Naomi stood with the pig, looking unsure as to what to do with it. An old lady came through the door and smiled at everyone, aside from Naomi, whom she only snatched the 'leash' away from. "OI! It's mine!" She warned, throwing daggers at the woman who walked around the wooden house to let the pig behind a fence.
She turned to Freddie then, a friendly smile on her face. "You get pig when leave. Come eat. Long journey yes?"
Shrugging they followed the floral dressed woman into the dusty, old house and sat at the only booth. There was no Air conditioner, there was no fan, nothing, they were sitting in a sauna, sweating from every pore.
She returned with a huge container filled with home made soda and lots of ice, much to their happiness. Together they had to drink three of those containers until the thirst left. They did drink on their way, but mostly warm alcohol so this ice cold sweetness was like a drug they were addicted to.
"You America?" The woman's niece, around forty years old, asked when she took a seat beside Freddie.
"No, we're from England." Katie explained with a friendly smile, always out to meet new people and be polite the one. It had surprised Naomi that Katie was such an open person, a really lovely, heart-warming person. It was only Bristol she tried to kid with all the WAG pretence.
"British, oh how nice. Enjoy weather here? No rain yes?" They politely laughed until Emily remembered what the man had said, she waited for her chance to bring it up. "You visit friend?" The chance had just arrived, and Emily turned towards her with a smile, as friendly as the one her twin had painted on her lips. "No Ma'am. Could you help us find our way? We are looking for Adriana."
Furrowing her brows her eyes flickered from one young teenager to the next and a cloud of sadness washed over her. "Know Adriana. Why you see her?"
"Oh, you know, just seeing how she's doing." Naomi lied with ease, sending her own smile the woman's way but the only response she got for it was a glare. "All right, we don't actually know her. But she knows something, or someone we need to find."
"Wait minute." Getting to her feet she left the diner and their eyes followed her until she wasn't visible any more. When Naomi felt all eyes on her she raised her brows in silent question. No ones answered. "What?" Snapping, she demanded to know what happened to be everyone's problem.
Freddie scratched his neck. "People here don't like you."
"You don't say." She said in fake shock. "I've realised, thanks. But it's not like I care. Just wanna get back to our car, to our cabin, to the girls and have a fun summer. So lets get it over and done with, yeah?"
Someone threw a lemon at her and her eyes automatically seeked out Emily, but the girl was looking through pages in her bible. (her Italian myths book). "Wasn't her." Hearing Cook's laughing voice she turned her head and was hit, square on her forehead, with another lemon. She shrieked.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!" She laughed, reaching into the container for a lemon to get back at him. When they were full on fooling around, throwing everything at each other they could without making a mess, a cough interrupted their simple teenage fun. Looking up they saw a creepy looking old woman, blind, who looked older than the earth itself. She had grey hair which reached the floor, no teeth, pale eyes, wrinkly skin and a pitch black walking cane.
"Hello there." Katie threw herself at the woman, shaking her hand she scared her a little. After composing herself the woman mumbled something to the other woman who had brought her. "This Adriana. She no English and me interpreter. What you will?"
Awkward glances were shared until Naomi had enough and spoke. "We're looking for someone who's killing with a look. You know, probably Poseidon's, Aphrodite's, Athena's and Hades' daughter if our translator's got it right." She only received blank looks so turning to her mates she asked what the man said they should say when meeting Adriana.
"Gargamel?"
"We're not looking for the fucking smurfs Ems."
"Gerold?"
"Na, too normal.Geroginio!" Naomi yelled.
Everyone yelled it again, punching their fists in the air. "That's it, we're supposed to find Adriana and tell her" she changed her voice into a creepy whisper; "Geroginio."
The blind woman flinched away from Naomi's voice and words, making the blonde scowle. "What's up with everyone? I'm not the one dying, Cook is."
"Shut up, let the woman speak." Katie snapped, making Naomi's eyes widen in surprise.
She was mumbling incoherently, but the other woman seemed to understand every word she said. With a face like thunder she faced the teenagers and crossed her shaking arms. "She say you dead. All you dead."
"Yeah we know." Naomi nodded, shrugging. "So where do we have to go for that fun?"
"No fun, you dead. Dead no fun." Having enough of it the blonde raised a brow at Katie, silently asking her to get the woman talking. A liberating smirk appeared on tanned skin and Katie's eyes flashed dangerously. "Look lady, my sister wont let us go back to our cabin if we don't find the fucking eyes. We told her we can see one mythical thing while we're on holiday and she wants to see her, actually, she is the reason she chose Greece in the first place. So if you don't want to host five very annoying, drinking, drugs taking, screwing teenagers you better tell us where we have to go now."
Leaning on, sitting against and on of each other the group were on a tiny, wooden boat Cook and Freddie were paddling in. The boys were sat each on one end of the boat. Naomi was in the tiny middle with her legs dangling in the water on either side of Freddie's leg, Emily was leaning on her from the edge of the boat and Naomi had Katie on her lap, straddling her thighs so she wouldn't fall and push Emily and Freddie off the boat. Because everyone would fall if one fell.
Katie was directly in Naomi's face and they were breathing slowly, trying not to make the situation more awkward than it already was. And the two of them had to each hold one of Emily's hands. Cook was on the front, behind him were their bags, building a wall between him and the others but there wasn't space to put the bags on the ground. They had to build a wall with them.
When they smoked, Katie had to bring the fag to Naomi's lips, or vice versa because they couldn't both let go of Emily, and had to hold onto the boat with one hand.
"I cant believe they made us leave pigs." The blonde mumbled sadly, remembering her fat new mate who had looked at her like she's left it to die. Stroking her cheek, Katie looked amused. "You'll get it back when we return on our way back to the cabin."
It took over two hours of paddling, cursing, laughing, a couple breaks, and a lot of warm cider to reach their destination.
A tiny island between two bigger ones. The one they climbed out of the boat and onto didn't have sand, only tiny rocks and pebbles. There was a huge cliff and they dreaded the knowledge that they absolutely had to climb it. There was no way they'd have it easy for once, since they left the cabin two days ago, and had to leave the car 18 hours ago because it wouldn't drive over fields unpaved roads, the gang always had to endure awful situations.
"NO fucking way." Cook exclaimed, wiping sweat of his red, sunburned body. "Not gonna happen. I'm waiting here. I'll probably fucking die climbing that, no thanks. Blondie you go, you look all happy, had Katie in your lap for two hours, would be happy too man. With all the swaying and all."
Getting hit over the head wasn't new for him and his only answer was a filthy grin and the universal sign for lesbian sex containing his index and middle finger and his filthy tongue.
All of a sudden Emily darted around and stared up at the cliff with a funny feeling in her tummy. "You okay litchy?" That was Cook's smart way to change the nickname Naomi gave her into something lesbian related. But the worry in his eyes made Naomi stop the punch she considered sending his way.
"No, yeah...I just... you feel that?" Her big eyes wouldn't leave the spot she was desperately staring at. A collective no made her moan. "Fuck, now I'm imagining things. It felt as if someone was watching us, like, proper staring."
Worried eyes looked up the cliff and Naomi bit the inner side of her cheek in thought. "All right. Lets go and see who's trying to scare us."
It took over half an hour for them to find a way to get up that cliff without directly climbing it and killing themselves. Reaching the top took even longer and they felt like collapsing when they were finally where Emily had so desperately wanted to be.
"And now? It's getting dark." Katie commented, looking around.
There was nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Not even a forest, just three trees, a tiny river, and the cliff. They could actually look across the whole island, it was tiny. Maybe two miles long.
Deciding to set up camp, the boys went to collect wood for the fire while the girls fought the tents. Two tents. A girl and a boy tent. Or whatever, they weren't sure, they had bought them when they had to leave the car, knowing that if they were without a car, they'd be without a roof too.
Buying a couple cans of food at the diner had been one of their better ideas so when the tents were all set up, the fire burning, they could eat something without feeling observed by a creepy blind woman.
They talked about absolutely nothing important, leaving out the obvious missing of 'the eyes' or anyone on that godforsaken island. When the stars came out, Emily's smile turned sad and her sister wanted to know what had her look like a tragic sap. "They say, every star which dies, every supernova happens when she looks up at the star." Running a hand through her hair she lay on her back and rested her head on Freddie's stomach. "I guess I'm sad we found nothing. Everyone was making such a big deal out of it, everyone we met on our trip here acted like we'd die. When in fact, there's nothing here."
So they drank and took pills, powder, trying to have the best of times on this desert island.
After breakfast they packed everything up and walked to the cliff to see if their boat was still where it was supposed to be.
It wasn't.
They panicked and wanted to get down as fast as possible but the path they found the day before wasn't nearly as safe to climb down as it was to climb up. It was almost as steep as the cliff itself. Running around like chicken without heads, the teenagers knew they wouldn't get off the cliff without getting hurt.
Cook was mad.
He wanted to run around the rocky beach and look for the boat, but there was no way down, so he yelled, cursed and decided to climb the way they came from. He fell. Falling, he smashed his head on a huge rock, bleeding like hell.
Shaking, Freddie wanted to go down and help him. Katie was in shock, Emily a crying mess and Naomi emotionless as she stared down at her unconscious friend piled across a huge rock. Another scream was echoing like they were in a bathroom when Freddie slipped and fell, backwards, towards the ground.
"Oh god." Emily cried, gripping tightly to the edge of the cliff as tears streamed down her face. "Freddie! Freds fucking answer you fucking twat!"
He didn't answer.
"All right." Katie took a shaky breath and let go of Naomi's hand she was clinging to. With steady footsteps she walked towards Emily after she slipped off her high heels. She hovered over her sister and pulled her away from the edge, rolling her to the side so she wouldn't fall by accident. When she looked down again, she decided to climb the cliff because the boys slipped on the other path, but her eyes widened and a gasp let her trembling lips.
She couldn't speak, her hand was pointing and Naomi ran to lay on her side and look at what had Katie scared almost to death.
Staring wide eyed at the scene unfolding they couldn't believe their eyes. There, on the rock Cook was laying on, was a girl, not older than they were, and she was holding his hands as she looked into his very open, very afraid eyes.
Wiping the blood of his face she leaned forward and whispered something into his ear before a loud, animalistic cry left his throat and he started weeping like a little boy. A moment later his eyes closed forever.
Then she jumped, it looked like she floated, down to the beach and when she touched Freddie's hand he sat up, looking up at her.
They were too far away to see or hear anything correctly, but they saw that she leaned in, they saw that she then whispered something into his ear and they heard his loud, shrill cries until his lungs stopped working and she lay him gently back on the sand.
Naomi pushed Katie backwards when all of a sudden the girl's head moved in fucking light speed and she was looking up at the blonde. "Fuck."
"Naomi get the fuck away from there, she'll see you!" Katie's harsh whisper couldn't keep the blonde from looking at the slowly coming closer figure. It looked like she flew up the rocks in slow motion, never letting her eyes leave Naomi's. Waving frantically, Naomi showed Katie that she needed to take Emily and fuck off, now. "She's on her way, fuck off Katie. Now."
"I cant leave you, you stupid bitch! I love you!" The twin exclaimed, angry at herself as she helped Emily to her feet. "I know, and I don't care. Just go, yeah? Look, I'm still alive and the old bint said I'll live, so go!"
She didn't dare to leave the girl's eyes but after Katie let out a strangled cry she heard retreating footsteps and exhaled, relaxing.
When the girl was almost on her eye level Naomi slowly moved from her crawling position and sat with dangling legs on the edge. Her head was turned to the water, but her eyes followed the girl as her feet reached the grass. Thinking she'd probably push her off the cliff anyway, she decided to have a great view at least and enjoy the last bit of sun she'd ever feel.
She didn't hold her breath.
She didn't see her life unfold in her mind.
She didn't think of things she'd have liked to see or do before dying.
She just sat there, silently observing the girl who softly sat down beside her. They sat unbelievably close for strangers, normally Naomi'd have a go at her for being in her personal space, but this was a ancient goddess who killed off four humankind's already. It might be a best to let her sit as close as she wanted, Naomi mused.
"You came for me."
Nodding, Naomi closed her eyes for a moment, willing herself to turn around and look into those eyes, those killing eyes she's heard so much about. They were pulling her in.
"I knew you'd come."
She probably knew everything, past, present, future and all souls, Naomi remember with a chuckle.
"That I do. But I never could see you, you were always in a different body."
This got the blonde's attention and she snapped her neck around in surprise at the words. All questions died in her throat when their eyes locked. Naomi felt naked, disarmed for the first time ever.
In front of her was the most beautiful girl she had every laid eye on. Brunette wavy hair, which were blown around by the wind, a loving smile making her want to wrap her arms around this creature and take away all the pain she had experienced. On her nose were tiny freckles, a couple scars, but what really stole the breath out of Naomi's lungs were those eyes.
There was a storm behind them, with different forms and it looked like a new universe was born.
Something strange happened then.
Naomi felt her eyes prick as she was hit with memories, memories that weren't hers. She saw what those eyes had done, she saw what those eyes had tried to do ever since they opened for the first time, she saw what they would do and before she could think about it tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was crying hysterically.
She cried for the first time in her life.
Gentle arms embraced her and a kiss was placed on her temple when she buried her head between the girl's neck and shoulder.
Before Naomi realised what was happening, they were sitting on a rock down at the beach, still wrapped around each other. Lifting her head she looked to her dead mates and a new wave of tears hit her. "Don't cry Naomi. I showed you." She whispered into her hair and sniffing, the blonde nodded. It was too much to grasp.
"You didn't kill them."
"No."
"We mutated, we are too broken to be touched by your eyes."
"Yes."
"You helped their souls wander to the blissful islands."
"Yes."
"No one can read your eyes unless they're on the edge of death."
"Yes."
"You waited here for me."
"Yes."
"I was made for you."
"No."
Confusion graced Naomi's features when she heard the word and felt the shake of her head. "No Naomi. I was made for you."
Taking a deep breath Naomi's mind was flooded with pictures, pictures from a life she didn't remember living, pictures so similar yet horribly different to the ones Emily's had planted into her head. "A lot gets lost in translation." Naomi whispered, captured by stormy deep blue eyes radiating love she never knew existed.
Something was in the back of her mind trying make its way forwards, but Naomi was too engrossed in this soft, warm, creature filling up all her senses to care. "They are fine. Look." She followed where the eyes where looking at and a little smile formed on her lips when she saw Emily and Katie paddle like maniacs to get away from the island.
"Do you want to join them? Meet them at your hotel?" She didn't.
For the first time in her whole life, Naomi felt like she found the place she belonged to. Her life was spend wondering what she was doing on this planet, on this stupid, useless, tragic planet and now she realised that everything, every little thing had been leading her here. Into these arms.
"No. I need to be with you." And when a chuckle left lips which were pulling her in with an invisible string, her heart almost burst. "Can I kiss you?"
"You better, been waiting for over 6000 years for it."
And hearing the answer, combined with the cheeky smirk and twinkling eyes, Naomi got lost in something she never knew was possible. Love. She was lost in love, hungrily pressing her lips to the girl's.
"Wait." She pushed her away when a hand made its way up her shirt. Amused eyes danced and a brow was raised but the hand never left its place. It was then, that Naomi saw that they had moved again, now they were laying in a beautiful hole in the cliff where no dead bodies of her friends were splattered across. "I don't even know your name."
"I don't have one."
"What? Everyone has a name. Even your parents, all four of them."
"Four?"
"Not? Well, translation. But you've got to have a name. I need to call you something. I cant call you 'the eyes' from now on forever. Or 'the girl'. Or 'hotty'."
"I wasn't given a name. You are supposed to give me one."
"Oh. That's fucked up." Naomi mused, wondering what she'd call her.
"No, it's not. Close your eyes, think about me, open them again and say what comes to your mind."
Doing what she was told, Naomi's eyes closed and a second later they snapped open again and she breathed the name in awe.
"Effy."