Liberty Jennings tore down the road in her black Chevrolet SSR, ripping
open her brand new New Found Glory CD. Having driven this road countless
times, she wasn't exactly aware of herself as she put the CD into the
stereo and hit the play button, turning the volume up almost to its max.
Dark clouds rolled in quickly, surrounding her as she found the song she
wanted and started to sing along, bobbing her head to the heavy music.
Without warning, lightning flashed in front of her, hitting the hood of her truck. She screamed and stomped down on the brake pedal, screeching to a halt, fishtailing wildly on the narrow road.
When she opened her eyes, brightness overcame her and she quickly closed them again. Slowly, she opened one eye and then the other. Her vision burned as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. She couldn't see the road in front of her, nor anything else on the landscape except a few scraggly bushes and acres of dirt and sand. She cursed out loud and fished her sunglasses out of the console of her vehicle.
"Such language you have, Liberty," an amused voice said.
Liberty shoved the glasses into place and turned to look at the man leaning against the front fender of her beloved truck. "Who the hell are you? Where am I?" She looked around, noting only hills of sand and hard, cracked dirt as far as she could see. "Maybe I got killed when the lightning hit my car and now I'm dead."
The man laughed, leading her gaze to the large burn on the hood of her truck. "No, Liberty. You're not dead." He stood up and Liberty stared at his clothing.
"Are you wearing a toga?" she asked, groping for some sort of weapon.
He smiled. "No, Toto, you're not in Kansas anymore." He leaned over the driver's side door of the convertible truck and looked around inside. "And I don't see any weapons, except the pocketknife on the waistband of your pants, so you might as well give up."
Liberty's hand flew to her waistband, but nothing was there. The toga-clad man was holding it in front of her face instead. "I am Apollo. I need you here to help me."
Liberty snatched the knife from his hand and flipped it open in one smooth motion. "Help with what? Are you like a god or something?"
Apollo grinned again. "You're cleverer than I originally took you for. You most-definitely are a descendant of Zeus. Such beauty... and cleverness. You've got one-up on Helen."
Helen? Liberty had heard that name before. "Helen... of Troy?"
"Yes. Helen is your ancestor. And no, not with Paris. After the war, Helen left Troy and went back to Greece. She married there and had children with another man." Apollo's cocky smile was beginning to irritate Liberty.
"And this is supposed to mean what to me, exactly?" She asked, looking around with a disgusted look on her face. "You're telling me I'm the descendant of Helen of Troy, and that she left Paris, and why would I care? They're all long-dead, if they existed at all, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Apollo shifted suddenly, moving from the standing position outside her truck to sitting in the passenger seat. "That's where you're wrong on both counts, dearest. You are in their time now, and there IS something you can do about this." His worn-yet-handsome face suddenly turned serious. "During the course of this war, the Greeks will insult me and the other gods, and worse yet, they will win. I cannot let this happen. Insulting us is one thing, but getting away with it is an entirely new matter." He reached out and touched her wavy blonde hair, feeling its silky texture. Liberty slapped his hand away and he smiled. "You're so much like Helen. Beautiful and fiery when you need to be."
Liberty scoffed. "Like her? I'm LIKE her? Maybe in looks. From what I read, she seemed like a vain, snotty, selfish bitch. I would kill myself was I ever like that." Her eyes narrowed at the god of the Sun. "The point of all this is that you dragged me out of my own time so I can help you by helping the Trojans win this war?"
Apollo raised an eyebrow. "I'm not nearly powerful enough to pluck you out of the fabric of time. That was Zeus' doing. Knowing that might help you to realize the severity of this situation."
Liberty slammed her hands against the steering wheel. "What am I supposed to do about this, exactly? Kill Achilles myself?"
Apollo laughed, and she wanted to hurt him for it. "If you could manage it, sure. Kill Achilles. Stop them from bringing the Horse into the city. Prevent Hector's death. Seduce Paris away from Helen. Whatever it takes, do it."
Liberty was going to give the god a tongue-lashing, but when she looked over, he was gone. After a thorough inspection of her car and the surrounding area, Liberty found that she was alone. She climbed back into her truck and tried the ignition. Thankfully, the engine roared to life, having been unaffected by the lightning bolt. She sighed and put it into gear, going, hopefully, toward the city.
"I take it I don't get to go home until I do this?" she asked the sky, receiving no answer. "If they don't kill me just for looking so out-of- place, they'll surely throw me in the dungeon or the loony bin."
Taking one final look at her fuel-less truck, she gathered her bag and trudged off toward what she hoped was the coastal city. As she walked, she pulled her hair into a red ball cap, trying to shield her Caribbean-colored eyes from the harsh sun.
"Fucking gods, fucking with my life, fucking hell," she mumbled to herself, wanting to listen to her Discman, but afraid she'd kill the batteries too soon. "You'd think, since he wanted this so damn much, Zeus would have put me closer to the city and Apollo would have turned the sun down a few degrees." She paused, and then grimaced. "And I'm going slowly insane. The first sign being that I'm talking to myself."
After what felt like hours, Liberty stumbled to her knees. "I'm lost. I'm never going to find this place. I'm going to die in the desert. Oh God, I'm going to die a virgin."
She struggled to her feet and only managed a few more steps before collapsing to the sand. She pulled her bag to her chest and drifted off into unconsciousness.
Without warning, lightning flashed in front of her, hitting the hood of her truck. She screamed and stomped down on the brake pedal, screeching to a halt, fishtailing wildly on the narrow road.
When she opened her eyes, brightness overcame her and she quickly closed them again. Slowly, she opened one eye and then the other. Her vision burned as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. She couldn't see the road in front of her, nor anything else on the landscape except a few scraggly bushes and acres of dirt and sand. She cursed out loud and fished her sunglasses out of the console of her vehicle.
"Such language you have, Liberty," an amused voice said.
Liberty shoved the glasses into place and turned to look at the man leaning against the front fender of her beloved truck. "Who the hell are you? Where am I?" She looked around, noting only hills of sand and hard, cracked dirt as far as she could see. "Maybe I got killed when the lightning hit my car and now I'm dead."
The man laughed, leading her gaze to the large burn on the hood of her truck. "No, Liberty. You're not dead." He stood up and Liberty stared at his clothing.
"Are you wearing a toga?" she asked, groping for some sort of weapon.
He smiled. "No, Toto, you're not in Kansas anymore." He leaned over the driver's side door of the convertible truck and looked around inside. "And I don't see any weapons, except the pocketknife on the waistband of your pants, so you might as well give up."
Liberty's hand flew to her waistband, but nothing was there. The toga-clad man was holding it in front of her face instead. "I am Apollo. I need you here to help me."
Liberty snatched the knife from his hand and flipped it open in one smooth motion. "Help with what? Are you like a god or something?"
Apollo grinned again. "You're cleverer than I originally took you for. You most-definitely are a descendant of Zeus. Such beauty... and cleverness. You've got one-up on Helen."
Helen? Liberty had heard that name before. "Helen... of Troy?"
"Yes. Helen is your ancestor. And no, not with Paris. After the war, Helen left Troy and went back to Greece. She married there and had children with another man." Apollo's cocky smile was beginning to irritate Liberty.
"And this is supposed to mean what to me, exactly?" She asked, looking around with a disgusted look on her face. "You're telling me I'm the descendant of Helen of Troy, and that she left Paris, and why would I care? They're all long-dead, if they existed at all, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Apollo shifted suddenly, moving from the standing position outside her truck to sitting in the passenger seat. "That's where you're wrong on both counts, dearest. You are in their time now, and there IS something you can do about this." His worn-yet-handsome face suddenly turned serious. "During the course of this war, the Greeks will insult me and the other gods, and worse yet, they will win. I cannot let this happen. Insulting us is one thing, but getting away with it is an entirely new matter." He reached out and touched her wavy blonde hair, feeling its silky texture. Liberty slapped his hand away and he smiled. "You're so much like Helen. Beautiful and fiery when you need to be."
Liberty scoffed. "Like her? I'm LIKE her? Maybe in looks. From what I read, she seemed like a vain, snotty, selfish bitch. I would kill myself was I ever like that." Her eyes narrowed at the god of the Sun. "The point of all this is that you dragged me out of my own time so I can help you by helping the Trojans win this war?"
Apollo raised an eyebrow. "I'm not nearly powerful enough to pluck you out of the fabric of time. That was Zeus' doing. Knowing that might help you to realize the severity of this situation."
Liberty slammed her hands against the steering wheel. "What am I supposed to do about this, exactly? Kill Achilles myself?"
Apollo laughed, and she wanted to hurt him for it. "If you could manage it, sure. Kill Achilles. Stop them from bringing the Horse into the city. Prevent Hector's death. Seduce Paris away from Helen. Whatever it takes, do it."
Liberty was going to give the god a tongue-lashing, but when she looked over, he was gone. After a thorough inspection of her car and the surrounding area, Liberty found that she was alone. She climbed back into her truck and tried the ignition. Thankfully, the engine roared to life, having been unaffected by the lightning bolt. She sighed and put it into gear, going, hopefully, toward the city.
"I take it I don't get to go home until I do this?" she asked the sky, receiving no answer. "If they don't kill me just for looking so out-of- place, they'll surely throw me in the dungeon or the loony bin."
Taking one final look at her fuel-less truck, she gathered her bag and trudged off toward what she hoped was the coastal city. As she walked, she pulled her hair into a red ball cap, trying to shield her Caribbean-colored eyes from the harsh sun.
"Fucking gods, fucking with my life, fucking hell," she mumbled to herself, wanting to listen to her Discman, but afraid she'd kill the batteries too soon. "You'd think, since he wanted this so damn much, Zeus would have put me closer to the city and Apollo would have turned the sun down a few degrees." She paused, and then grimaced. "And I'm going slowly insane. The first sign being that I'm talking to myself."
After what felt like hours, Liberty stumbled to her knees. "I'm lost. I'm never going to find this place. I'm going to die in the desert. Oh God, I'm going to die a virgin."
She struggled to her feet and only managed a few more steps before collapsing to the sand. She pulled her bag to her chest and drifted off into unconsciousness.