Chapter 11

I was numb and I hurt a lot which didn't really make sense. I was numb like my everyday actions went on around me but I wasn't really there. Mary blabbered with me at breakfast but I didn't really hear her I just watched the way her lips moved when she said my name and I wondered if everyone's face kind of took on a worried look when they spoke of me.

"Adriana. Woohoo." She snapped her fingers in front of my face but I still wasn't listening to her. I put my leg over my motor cycle and drove off before she could ask me any more questions. I was the leaves on the ground that turned in the wind and the way the snow looked dirty from all of the salt and sand. I smelt the fresh smell of winter but those were just like actions I went through when I was in one of my dreams. My chest hurt like it was being reopened over and over again. Getting a claw to your chest in painful enough it's no fun when you get a talon to it again making you close to death.

I would have died.

I could have died.

I shouldn't be alive.

Those words made me feel like a total asshole. I was covered in blood when I fought that thing yesterday with my screwdriver since my knife was in its left wing and I didn't find it since I woke up in a totally different place. I don't think I ever really woke up exactly. Everything feels so dream like. It's kind of like when you're dreaming and you take risks that you would never do in real life just because you know that you'll wake up and be fine. I felt like that.

A blond angel was there looking kind of like an old man watching his granddaughter play with a chainsaw. He had a little friend with him that he had sent away nicely and she looked like her heart was going to break but she agreed. He touched me and I couldn't do anything about it. It's not like he like you know...touched me touched me. I mean like he soothed my hair back and tried to keep my cut from bleeding. He kept mumbling to himself. He said things like "Stupid gods" and "shoulda known I couldn't get out of this" and "damn this hurts."

I remembered the warm feeling on my cheek that his hand brought when he was trying to sooth me even though I was pretty sure I was dying. I put my hand up to my cheek right where his hand had been. It didn't feel the same. His hand was the feeling of someone drowning and holding onto a life line. He was my life line. I should have died. Someone weaker then I would have. I was near close to it but I found some kind of strength inside of me and a voice started talking to me. I thought it was another angel at the time but there was no place for me among angels.

"Honey, pull through. It's not your time yet." The voice was light and beautiful and sort of sounded like my voice but much better. "You can make it." The voice knew I could and I knew I could and those green eyes were so sad but they gave me strength that the angel didn't. The eyes reminded me of something, life, humanity, innocence, family and the time before Poseidon screwed me up. They gave me something that I hadn't felt in a very, very long time. Hope.

I think I might have held onto that boy's hand with all the might my body allowed me to use. He was my life line and I wasn't letting a stupid bird kill me that easily.

"You're going to make it. You're stubborn." He promised me with a smirk. My vision was too blurry to really see him the right way but I could see the angel's hair and eyes. Everything but that was hard to make out. My dizziness could be the reason why I didn't notice the second boy in the room until he spoke to my angel.

"She's just about dead. She should be." He looked at me with wonder clear in his blue eyes. He laughed for a second but it was hallow. "Like the Princess Bride. She's only half dead."

"Fix her." My angel growled.

"Alright. That's what I'm doing." The angel kept my hand while the other boy worked. I think he worked. I couldn't feel anything but that hand. The pain eased but I still felt mighty dizzy and really sleepy but I knew that I wasn't going to die. My angel let go of my hand which I hadn't realized that he was holding instead of me. My whole body was limp. I thought that I was holding his hand.

"She'll live. Barely. We need to get her some blood and a lot of sleep." The boys voice was just a dim sound like I had cotton balls in my ears but my angels voice broke through effortlessly.

"Now get my sister! She's dying too! But she could've fooled me, with all of her joking and sarcasm."

"I was gonna get her first. And remember this is Annakeyla you're talking about, she's like that." He muttered but ran to the door.

My angel's hand soothed my hair back out of my face and I felt something warm and tingly on my forehead then he was gone and I had no more reason to stay awake anymore. I was just about to give into the darkness around me that I knew was probably what death felt like because I saw a black horse and the sleep didn't feel very nice.

The silver voice of my other angel spoke to me though. "Daughter. You must leave. Wake up."

It had taken all of my energy to open my eyes, little lone get into a standing position. My chest hurt a lot and the black horse had an amazing amount of power that pulled at me like a magnet, trying to get me to lay down and die like a good mortal. I had trouble walking away from the horse but the silver voice kept speaking in my minds ear.

"Ignore her, she's just angry. You're almost to the window. I promise if you jump you'll land it."

"Promise?" I asked the angel in a slurred voice.

"Promise." I jumped and some how stumbled all the way home. Of course I hurt like crazy all the way home and I collapsed into my bed with a nasty cut on my chest.

Eleanor flipped out at me and I covered my chest so she wouldn't see that I was hurt. I accepted hatred better then pity. My motorcycle turned up the next day. I didn't know if the demigods dropped it off or if I just dreamt up the whole thing. I didn't care because I'm still in that dream state.

I knew that I was dead, or should have been dead. The black horse could only mean just that. All the shadows around me as I rode to school reminded me of the scary horse. Talking to angels—that's even worse. I never really had been very religious because I hate the gods but I had encountered two angels. A golden one and a silver one and they both seemed like they loved me for just a little bit. Maybe, just maybe I'm going insane and I'll wake up now.

I parked my motorcycle and trotted into school, still not paying attention to anything.

Ironic how it's Friday the thirteenth. My bad luck kind of came a day early, maybe I would have good luck today. The reaction of the kids in my school doesn't count as bad luck. Kids will be kids.

People were the same and my locker was the same but I was seeing things totally differently. The girl that just gave me a dirty look did it for a reason. She did it because I did the same thing to her yesterday. If I was being sympathetic then the world was surely going to end. I quickly grabbed my Calc things so I wouldn't have to talk to Mary—or have Mary talk to me and I nod and pretend to be attentive, that is. It's not that I don't take interest in her fabulously pink boring stories it's just that I don't care. So I don't really take an interest in them.

I wasn't watching where I was going and I didn't even listen to my surroundings. I was utterly and completely unguarded. I was a sitting duck since I didn't really have much blood in me and a huge gash on my chest. Wonderful. I should have just picked up a blow horn and started yelling 'Kill me' or 'Free meat!' I was thinking of my golden angel and trying to remember what he looked like other then his eyes and hair. He was most likely a result of me being high from the lack of blood as was the silver voice but I kind of liked thinking—hoping—that he really did exist.

Idiotitdiotidiotidiotidiot. IDIOT. If my cult could just see me now they would have murdered me for feeling anything but bloodlust. Ah, I need to go hunting tonight. Maybe I'll blow up another bar. Give those vampires some more fireworks. Maybe I'll even bring Annakeyla, she proved her self quite helpful in a fight. Just kidding!

I still hate her. Really. I do. Seriously. Even if she is sort of funny. No she's not. I thought of when she had carried me away from that god awful bird thing and had said 'here Adriana I'll take you home and fix you up, oh, and you're welcome.' I could have taken it! I didn't need any help! But her sarcasm was interesting unlike Mary's stories. How did I kick her ass in gym again? She took on a whole Fury! Well sure I only had a screwdriver to defend myself with but...I felt the spot in my boot where I kept my screwdriver since my knife was still lost somewhere.

I sat down in the back of the class room again and fixed my eyes on the chalk board. The dream world occurred around me while the chalk board played out the scenes from the night out like a movie. Me—dying. Me—dying again. Jeez I died a lot. My golden angel kept showing up the most though. He was my favorite part. I didn't just say that. I pulled out my notebook and started to write about the last two nights. All of the emotions. My cult should know everything no matter how gruesome.

A group of demigods saved my life.

I stared at that line for a very long time. The images swam through my mind again like it was a constant sign that you pass on the highway reminding you that there is a McDonalds in twelve miles, ten, five...I don't like them. I'm not getting off the highway for a freaking Big Mac with fries.

I do not owe them anything however. Don't kill them unless provoked to do so, they are under my close attention currently. Any slip up and I will make sure they are dead for it.

I might have exaggerated the truth a tinsey—tinsey bit. Just a smidge.

I told the story of the bar and the Greek fire and my missing gear, everything. I still had a few minutes until the first bell rang so naturally all the kids were out in the hallways talking. Who wants to be in Calc class early? Just Adriana, the calc nerd.

The door flew open like some one in a rush to get their homework in or something. I didn't turn around I just kept writing quickly as the images haunted my head worse then any other scary movie or kill I had ever witnessed. I heard a sigh that cut through my little dream world easily. .Gosh. I can't look.

Just a peek maybe. My chin edged over to the spot that the person took to my right. The chair right across from me. I didn't allow my eyes to fallow—it took all of my concentration to keep on writing and to ignore the very bright, golden, presence of somebody. I. Will. Not. Look.

My stubbornness was for nothing though because right after the first warning bell another person came in with the same sigh and I heard it since my dream world was shattered. I was wide awake.

"Oh uh hey Leo." The voice of Annakeyla sounded surprised. "You're here early. Why...?" The golden presence only grunted. . I didn't dream it up. Thank you, what ever was looking out for me at the time that I was unconscious and he couldn't tell that I was holding his hand.

Damn. I was high. That had to be it. I was seeing thing, feeling things. The cotton balls in my ears when the one guy talked and the golden light that seemed to engulf Leo. He didn't have any light around him now. It was more of a...feeling of gold. Crap.

"I...uh...didn't sleep well so I...uh thought that I might actually attend school on time."

The boy isn't even worth the time. Don't bother with him. I've noticed that he is extremely stupid and might not even know about his parental heritage.

What do I say to them? Heyah, thanks for saving me, I'm really grateful. Anything you guys need I'll be more then happy to help. That isn't exactly me. This is way more difficult then I could imagine. Was it worse if I didn't say anything at all? I closed my notebook and took a deep breath. Now or never.

I looked over at the siblings. Leo was staring at the chalk board like it was the biggest Hershey bar he's seen in his life. I could hear the angels singing. Annakeyla was finishing a text that her fingers flashed over then snapped her phone shut before the teacher could notice.

How do I put this!?!? "Hey, I don't know what happened yesterday...nor do I really want to but uh...let's not try that shit again." My hand floated up to my chest involuntarily.

Annakeyla turned to face me with a clearly amused expression on her face. "Well, that's certainly one way to put it," she said with a small smile, "And I know how you feel," she finished, her hand on her tightly wrapped shoulder. "You can blame Hades though."

I had to hold my tongue to say that I could blame all the immortals for existing in the first place but I didn't really feel like being a total bitch to the girl who saved me—even if she was a demigoddess of Poseidon. "Yeah, well this doesn't mean like...we're friends or anything."

She snickered. "Ya, I knew that. I'm not stupid, you know. Athena does teach me, remember."

"Can you stop talking about them like they are natural?" I muttered. She assumed that I like knew her whole life or something. I didn't nor did I care who taught her. As far as I am concerned she is pretty stupid for continuing this conversation, then again I am just as to blame for dumping gasoline into the fire.

"They're natural to me for your info," she said nonchalantly.

Why am I talking to her? She just wants to start a fight which wouldn't be very fun on her side. I would have a ball. I have no guilt, no little voices telling me to lay off. Then again she did seem different. That's what you get for letting your self get to know a demigoddess. My meaner half hummed in a I-told-you-so manner. I hate myself.

YOU'RE JUST AS UNNATURAL!!!! I screamed it as loud as I could in my head because if I said it out loud it would lead to more detention in the long term and I really don't want to go to detention again—well with her. I wouldn't care if I was put in jail as long as I never saw her and Leo again. Especially not Leo.

I looked away from Annakeyla and the green eyes of Leo that had shifted from the chalkboard to my face. It was like he was trying to commit it to memory or something. Maybe he wanted to kill me. I hoped that he did. Annakeyla went back to texting but I wasn't sure if the green eyes ever moved away from me for the rest of the hour.

As soon as I was out of the math room and away from Leo my dream world went up around me again and it was easy to stay numb to my surroundings. When the lunch bell rang I couldn't even remember what I had done in the other subjects except for Calc. The day was a dream that I forgot when I woke up again during lunch. Mary had me sit with her friends again like she had yesterday even though I knew that her friends weren't too crazy about me. You wouldn't believe what they all liked to talk about. Leo. Leo. Leo. He's so hot. He's so cool. I like him so much. I wanted to scream!

"What do you think about the new boy?" One of Mary's friends asked me out of courtesy rather then interest.

"I don't know. I haven't really talked with him yet. He's in my Calc class." I shrugged and went back to wishing that I was anywhere but here.

"Well what do you think about him...?" Mary pushed with a big grin on her face.

"He seems cocky, big headed, annoying, horny, a man slut and a pig." I told them right out. I heard laughter from behind me and looked over my shoulder to see the retreating blonde head of Annakeyla who sat down with her brother and two other blonds and of course Misty. Misty who was at the time looking like she wanted to knock Leo on the table and start making out with him. Ew. Gross. Leo. Ew. I found a new earned respect for Annakeyla for agreeing with me on Leo.

"Excuse me I have a call." I took out my phone and pretended that it was vibrating. I strode past the table of blonds and felt Leo's eyes on me all the way out the door. Oh, I really hope he doesn't fallow me.

I looked at my cell phone and decided to call my cult just because I knew that they would answer even if they were in the middle of class. I pushed the two button—Ryan's speed dial number. It rang only once before Ryan's clear voice said "Hello."

"Hey you aren't busy are you?"

"Nah, just Globle." I heard the shrill voice of my old teacher Ms. Charlotte who was like fifty and still not married and thought she was perfect because she didn't believe in the partnership of men and women through marriage. She feels that an unmarried woman is a strong woman. I just think that she's so ugly that no one wants to propose to her. "What's up?" The way her voice echoed in through the phone made her sound like she was either in the hallway or in the bathroom.

"I'm in lunch and I hate it here."

"No one to sit with?"

"Just the opposite actually."

"Sorry. Hey I was going to call you next block. I was watching the news and there was this very peculiar report on a fire down in Queens. They found lots of sand..."

"It was a very nice party." I mused.

She laughed. "My dad told me that's why he doesn't let me out of his sight." We both laughed because it was so easy for Ryan to get out of her dad's sight. He was some wealthy important business man of sorts and was like always working so she just had to convince the Nannies to let her out of the house.

"It was an easy one, a bunch of blood suckers."

"That sucks. No pun intended."

"One of them got me pretty good on the chest."

"Eh, you'll live."

"Jeez I hope so." I hadn't realized that my mind was wandering back to the cafeteria, wondering what the blond table was doing right now. I wasn't really talking about the little scratch anymore.

"Are you writing yet?"

"I got a journal yesterday and am already on entry two."

"Don't forget anything. We need to know exactly what's going on. I feel so bad about letting you be their all alone even if you are the boss."

"I am the boss."

"You'll be fine, you always are."

"And don't forget it."

"Ah, shit. The po-po is coming for me. I have to try and get out of detention."

"Sorry that my call wasn't that important."

"No problem boss. Now go make some friends, learn something."

"Good-bye Ryan." I could imagine the way that she would wink at me before she ended the call and confronted our—her—school trooper. He was such a push over for a pretty girl which Ryan was. She had dark hair that looked purple in certain lightings and grey eyes that saw through everything like it was transparent.

I guess I better get back to lunch. I sighed and headed back for the cafeteria. The conversation stopped at my table when I entered but Mary looked pretty defensive. They were talking about me most likely. I picked at my chicken sandwich but didn't really eat it since eight pairs of eyes were on me like I was doing something amazing.

"Staring is rude." I muttered without looking up from my sandwich.

"We...uh...sorry," The girl with tea eyes and red hair, the one who had the courtesy to ask my opinion on Leo, muttered.

"You and that girl Annakeyla got in a fight yesterday and then you have detention and she comes back with that." One of Mary's friends—Elsa—who seemed generally a loud mouth pointed out in an anxious voice. Maybe I just know how to hide a gruesome wound and she likes to flaunt it off like a war prize. Once mine scars over I would do the same so that people will be even more afraid of me but not just yet.

"And you think I harmed her," I finished easily. My eyes slowly went up to meet Elsa's caramel ones. Her freckled nose was pointed down at me because she's so tall but she shrank back like I sat feet above her.

"It's the easiest accusation." Mary hissed at Elsa but she didn't even bat an eyelash.

"I did nothing to her. She brought harm on her own and me. Don't be going pointing fingers at people with sharp teeth." I spoke cooly. She looked angry but didn't further her questions. The girls started talking about the other new kid that was sitting with Leo.

I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder at the crew of demigods. All four of them were watching me. Leo was looking at me like he couldn't decide whether I was some blessing or if I was his own personal demon summoned up to destroy him. Annakeyla was looking quite amused and hopeful as she watched me while 'Alec'—or so the girls at our table called him—looked equally amused but had some unsettling thoughts brewing in his brain. But the last blonde girl was looking at me like she wanted to jump at me right now with a knife and finish what the Fury started.

"Are you guys like friends?" Mary's voice was a rude awakening from the very nice fantasies of my golden angel. I wished that I was still dying.

"Uh, yeah we're like detention buddies." I muttered willing myself to turn away from the green ocean eyes that were luring me in. Gosh dammit.

"All four of them?"

"Nah. I don't really know them that well."

"Just watch she'll be sitting with them by the end of the month, I mean look at her and look at them. They are like one big freaky family of gorgeous assholes." Elsa whispered into her neighbor's ear. No one seemed to notice the comment so I pretended not to either. My face was a mask of pink happiness. Psyche.

"They seem to know you." One of the girls muttered.

"Everyone seems to know me." I muttered. I hated having attention on me all the time! Jeez Louise!

"You're on You Tube." A girl with bouncing blonde hair piped up with a smile. I scowled at her.

"Great."'

"I'll show you if you like."

"No thanks."

The girl shrugged a delicate, bulimic shoulder. She pursed her lips and started applying some shiny pink lip gloss on. I looked over my shoulder to see that Alec was approaching the table. Go. Away.

He's heading right for here? WHYYY?! Because your part of them silly. No, I'm not. They saved your life and you will never kill them. Yes I can. I can kill Alec right now. I was about to say the magical words, 'come out side with me?' but he knocked over his Mountain Dew all over Elsa.

"Ew!" She shrieked and stood up.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." He looked sincere but there was a wicked gleam in his eyes like and undercurrent of malice—playful malice, like mischief—that the other girls seemed to over look. Who was this kid?

"Echk. It's all over me!"

He handed her a few napkins quickly. "Here—sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine. You can help me clean up if you want." She batted her long eye lashes at him.

"Uh, you can do it yourself. I have a girlfriend." He smiled at her and walked back to the table where Annakeyla was laughing her head off. The blonder girl still looked murderous. Leo still looked stupid.

"Figures that she would be his girl friend." Elsa said sourly scrubbing at her arms and throwing death glares at Annakeyla who seemed unaware of them completely. "I can't possibly get this off of me." She groaned and looked at Mary. "Come to the bathroom with me."

That was one of the strangest rules that existed in the high school world among girls. You never go to the bathroom alone. I don't get the concept of this rule. Maybe they are afraid of running into that guy and having to talk to him all by themselves or maybe they think that some monster will come and kill them. I don't know their reasoning, I just know that it's stupid and you'll never see me use the buddy system.

"Sure." Mary gave me a quick you'll-be-fine glance before fallowing her into the hallway.

"Assholes." The girl that Elsa was whispering to shook her head but I could tell that she really was jealous that she wasn't sitting over there with them.

"Uh, guys the last person who called them that got dew-ified, I would lay off the insults." I had to hold back the snicker that my lips so desperately wanted to form. I was more afraid of pinkness then darkness and these girls, they definitely had pinkness.

They all looked at me like I had three heads. I was no Cerberus. I was a passing fad and without Mary there directing the conversation at me to make me feel more homey they really didn't care if I was there or not.

They started talking about Leo again. "I heard that he's really good in bed." A girl with lots of make-up on to hide her softball helmet pimples remarked.

I almost choked on my sandwich. "From who?"

"Becky." The girl nodded the pixie like girl with the short blonde curls and big eyes.

"My cousin died last year having his kid." Becky said sadly.

More choking.

"I heard that he like does it every day—once in the morning once in the afternoon."

I was pretty close to tears from my lack of oxygen.

"Can we not talk about Leo and how horny he is?" I asked tossing my sandwich in the garbage. I suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore.

"Oh, he's so gorgeous though." The softball girl hummed looking at him.

"And single." Another said with the same look in her eyes. They acted like he was the last man—er boy—on the planet.

Becky looked like she was going to be sick. I knew the feeling but unlike her, I didn't need this. I stood up and walked away pouring the rest of my water in my mouth and throwing it in the recycling bin. I walked past the godlings table and didn't even look back. I was proud. Pink. Yuck. Personally, I didn't know what they were talking about. Leo looked like he hadn't had a good night sleep last night and had been banging his head on a rock instead of trying to do so. He had pastel smudges under his eyes. His hair was messy and I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't wearing clean underwear.

Detention in three hours.