I blinked awake. A huge man stood in front of me. I felt like I should know him. I didn't really care much though.
I felt myself being lifted into the air. I floated there limply. I had no reason to move.
The man dragged me along behind him through corridor after corridor, until we stopped in a room with golden strings criss-crossing the entire area, from floor to ceiling. A golden net.
On the other side of the net lay a man… no… a boy. He couldn't have been older than 15. His blond hair looked dull and unkempt. His skin was pallid, as if he hadn't been in the sun for months. He breathed hard, seeming to struggle a bit.
As we entered the room, he attempted to scramble to his feet. He fell several times in the attempt, seemingly not used to being upright. When he did finally manage to stand, his knees wobbled, looking like they would collapse at any second. His face screwed up in concentration. It looked like it was taking every bit of his energy and determination just to keep from falling over.
"Father…" he rasped weakly, desperation in his eyes.
Father.
An image of a tall man with curly hair and freckles filled my mind. But… it wasn't just him. He was reading some sort of book to two identical-looking little boys sitting beside him, a slightly older girl in a fairy costume doodling on a notepad not far away. A teenage boy with blond hair and a mischievous expression stood in a corner, doing something on his phone. I saw him sneaking glances at the man and the kids though.
A woman with brown frizzy hair tied back in a ponytail walked in, holding a plate of brownies.
Immediately the man stopped reading, scrambling to his feet. The two identical boys and the girl jumped up too, but he was the quickest. The teen in the corner sauntered over, clearly TRYING to look cool, but also very clearly wanting a brownie.
My viewpoint moved forwards, towards the brownies, as the woman handed them out to everyone. Then she turned towards my viewpoint and handed me a brownie. I saw a hand - MY hand - reach out and take it.
I was part of this.
This is…
These people are…
My family.
The twins, Tyler and Tyrone.
My little sister, Katie.
My teenage brother, Cameron.
Mum, Dad.
And… me.
Lester.
Lester Papadopolous.
I remembered who I was and where I was. I tried to struggle. I WANTED to struggle. But I had so little energy. I just felt a dull ache, like something had been carved out of me, something important. Something that WOULD be causing excruciating pain just by its absence, but the part that causes pain was carved out too. So instead I just felt
Empty.
"Please, father!" I heard Apollo beg. I snapped back to reality. Maybe I couldn't escape. Maybe I couldn't save myself. But perhaps I could do something.
If only I knew what.
Now that I was a little more myself (pieces missing, twisted, fading, but the most important parts still there) I took a closer look at Apollo. The terror on his face was even worse than last time. Last time, it seemed like Apollo thought Zeus might do something terrible to him. This time, it looked like he knew he would.
"Father, I… please, I can't… I can't even remember Mother's face anymore. Or… or Artemis's voice. Please, father… I know I was stupid and vain and terrible and neglectful, but just… leave me my memories of them at least. Please."
I felt a dull ache at those words. I couldn't remember much about my family, but I remembered enough, could still FEEL enough, that the knowledge that I had forgotten them, was STILL forgetting them, hurt worse than having my soul ripped apart.
I still remembered what a prick he'd been last time, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him now. We were in the same boat. Whatever he'd done, he didn't deserve this. Neither of us did.
I looked up at Zeus, hoping that I'd see a twinge of mercy or regret. I was not surprised when his face remained impassive. "I DO NOT CHOOSE WHICH MEMORIES YOU LOSE. MEMORIES ARE ELIMINATED OR SUPPRESSED SO THAT THE REMAINING MEMORIES CAN FIT IN THE ESSENCE YOU HAVE LEFT. IT'S UP TO THE FATES WHICH MEMORIES YOU LOSE."
"But- but you could stop taking my essence! Then I wouldn't lose anymore memories!" Apollo blabbered desperately.
"FOR THE PUNISHMENT I HAVE IN MIND, YOU NEED TO BE ALMOST COMPLETELY POWERLESS, WITH THE SMALLEST AMOUNT OF ESSENCE YOU COULD POSSESS AND STILL EXIST. NO. REMEMBER THIS, BOY. THIS IS YOUR OWN FAULT. IT IS YOUR OWN DOING. YOU ARE THE ONE TO BLAME FOR THE LOSS OF YOUR MEMORIES, FOR PUTTING YOURSELF IN A SITUATION WHERE I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO DO THIS. YOU ARE TO BLAME."
This was too much. I couldn't escape, I couldn't fight, but I could still talk.
"No, it's not."
My voice sounded strange and foreign to my ears, and crackly with disuse. But it carried throughout the room.
Zeus's and Apollo's head snapped towards me, Zeus's in anger, and Apollo's in shock. I got the distinct feeling Apollo hadn't realized I was there.
The air crackled with energy as Zeus glared at me. I didn't care. He'd already stolen the part of me that felt the need for self-preservation. So long as he didn't get angry enough to harm others in retaliation, I didn't care what he did to me. In fact…
I giggled slightly. Getting my captor angry, getting back a him in some small way, sounded fun! I'm sure Cameron would approve. He always loved clever heroes who quipped at their enemies, even as they were about to die. Ones who refused to give evil the satisfaction of seeing their fear.
"You did this to me. You did this to him. Are you so much of a coward you refuse to take responsibility for your own actions?"
Zeus's face twisted into a mask of fury. Lightning crackled around him. One bolt struck so close to me, I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up.
Apollo gaped at me, disbelieving. I had to wonder: had he ever seen anyone stand u to his father before? Maybe that had to do with why he was such a jerk before. I hoped that those two he mentioned, his mom and Artemis, were better than THIS douchebag. Then again, it'd be hard to be worse.
Zeus didn't hurt me, though I could tell he really, REALLY wanted to.
"YOU'RE ALMOST GONE. LETS SEE IF YOU CAN KEEP THIS UP WHEN THERE'S BARELY ENOUGH SOUL IN YOUR BODY TO KEEP IT ALIVE."
He tore back to the room I woke up in. Looking at the clear box, I pondered why it looked familiar. Not I've-seen-it-before-being-kidnapped familiar, but I-know-what-this-is-for familiar.
As he laid me down roughly in the container and started inducing sleep, I continued wracking my brain.
I got it in my last moments of consciousness.
Oh.
It's a coffin…
