Just a story I whipped up. I wanted to write a story set in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson, but it was kind of inconvenient, so I made a derivative. Think of this universe as a little different to Percy Jackson's. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own this. Well, even though this is sort of half-fanfiction, I more or less consider it Rick Riordan's.
Turns out, when your book is named The Lightning Curse, you start to hate lightning. A lot of people do, it's bright and it makes heaps of noise. A big crack scares all of the pets onto the coach. They mess the place up, and you have to get over the lightning. Great, who likes lightning? Well, me, apparently.
My name's Flak Tartrum, like the flak vest and tantrum, except that the n wasn't finished. I was once normal, just boring average life. You know the deal. Hang out at home, work part time jobs all day and mess around with flowers all day. By the way, I'm 15, and I'm a dropout. That should be enough for introductions right? Yeah, that's enough.
It was a sunny day, which quickly turned stormy. Wonderful. I love storms. My mom and I were stuck inside our flower shop. She ran the place and I worked here part time occasionally. Though if you were to look back on my total job experience, flower shop employee would easily be most of my experience. What can I say? My mom works me hard.
"Flan, you think that storm's going to let up soon?"
I frowned at the nickname, then at the storm. Yes, my mom calls me Flan, instead of Flak. Back when she was young, she'd always loved flan, eaten them every day apparently. So, naturally, she made that my nickname.
"Nah, I don't think so. Speaking of which, I need to grab groceries."
I grabbed an umbrella out of the umbrella rack in front of the store. The umbrella rack had a box, filled with money. Really, the umbrellas were supposed to be free, but people kept walking over to the cashier to pay for them, so we made a box.
"Be safe out there! And be quick!"
I ran out of the store, looking up through the transparent umbrella. Lightning strikes were fairly common in the city I lived in, every now and then you'd see a lightning strike hit someone. They were usually fine. Usually.
The grocery store and our flower shop were on the same street. There was no problem just popping over and buying a few groceries. I could even make multiple trips without worrying about anybody stealing anything.
I had nearly reached the grocery store until I looked up. Just a little check, you know. I saw the rain, pouring down onto the umbrella, almost hitting me, stopped by a flimsy piece of plastic. I kept looking, still thinking something might happen. The lightning quota hadn't been met today.
The lightning quota was something I'd invented. Ever since I was 5, lightning bolts had decided to hit things everyday. Once a day at least, but never to me. Then, once I reached 10, it hit twice. The bolts now shot closer to me, maybe even to me. Now, I was 15. You can probably guess what happened next.
I moved back as quick as I could. I couldn't let myself be fried after all. The lightning bolt struck the ground where I once was and the rumbling of thunder pierced my ears. The irritating noise made my clamp my hands over my ears. I looked up, having to see through the rain, since my umbrella was fried. A second one came.
I tried to dodge, I really did. But when you had a long day of work and had barely dodge lightning, you were tuckered out. And so, I was hit and brought to the ground. My body began to convulse a little bit, but otherwise I was fine.
"Flan!" My mom shouted from inside the flower shop.
She hastily grabbed an umbrella and her medkit and ran over to me, making sure I was okay. She applied all sorts of medicine, most of which I couldn't identify, and bandages on me. I was silent the whole time.
I formed a slight smile, watching my mom fuss over me. She had the right, but it was kind of funny how overprotective she was. I was about to get up, when I saw the clouds. The clouds were especially heavy today and seemed to gather around our position. They rumbled, and even I could see what would happen.
"Mom!" I shouted. I pushed her back, right before it came.
The pain, well, how do I describe it? It's like a hot shower, you feel it all throughout your body. But with fire ants. Imagine a whole hoard of fire ants biting you inside and out. But, they're all on fire. And-you know what, I'll spare you the details. Point is, it hurt. A lot.
I was all frazzled out by the end of it. I laid down on the ground unsure if I had even survived it. My mom looked at me, cupping her hands over her mouth, as if I had died. I looked up to the sky, thinking it could've been a cruel joke. Then I blacked out.
When I woke up, I could still feel the shock in my body. Like it was travelling around it. It was like a fly in your room. It bothered you from time to time, and you did want to stop it, but you couldn't. That sort of fun thing, and you see why I hate lightning.
I was in my room when I woke up. Everything was just as it was. My bed was messy as ever and my windows were cleaner than the rest of the room. The flower pot next to my bed held an azalea. It was a type of flower that meant taking care of oneself, temperance and fragile passion, though I hear that in China, it also symbolised womanhood. I was raised on the language of flowers by my mom.
I decided to go downstairs. I walked through the hallway to the stairs and I was about to walk down, when I saw my mom, who seemed to be talking to someone else. The stairs obscured the person talking, so I couldn't even tell you how they looked like. Without a second's thought, I rushed down the stairs.
"Flan, could you bring over the begonia?"
The begonia huh? Begonia means to beware, this was my mom's way of saying that she was mad. Whenever I saw this on the table, I would be extra careful not to mess anything up. She always smiled when she was mad, a facade to draw the naive prey in.
"Here you go." I placed the begonia in the pot on the table. This was when I finally took a look at our visitor.
She was a blonde girl, who looked about my age. Maybe a little older. Her hair was messy, several streaks parting away from the rest of her hair. She did have a ponytail, but it was haphazardly done. She was wearing form-fitting jeans and a plain black shirt. For reasons unknown, she came with beautiful silver earrings shaped like a stick of some kind. I don't know earrings man. She was cute. Though I didn't mean anything by it, I just thought she looked nice.
"You must be-" She paused, as if letting her ears go pink before continuing. "Flak Tartrum.
"And you?" I sat down next to my mom, trying to make an intimidating face. If mom brought out the begonia, I had to do all I can to be on her side.
"I am Selena Fairi. I was discussing your-" She paused again, this time covering her mouth. Her cheeks puffed up. She wasn't doing a good job hiding her laughter. In fact, my mom started laughing too, though she was much better at hiding it.
My mother continued in her stead. "Condition. According to Selena, you aren't safe here, at least not anymore."
Selena went on a tirade,"I'm sorry ma'am, but it's true! You saw the lightning bolt that struck thrice, that isn't normal. Striking twice is already a freak coincidence, but three times is much too much to be a coincidence."
"And what can you do about it?" My mom asked straightforwardly. She folded her arms as if she wouldn't hear more of what Selena had to say. And she was just laughing a few minutes before...
Selena closed her eyes, probably thinking. She opened them again, her eyes filled with confidence. It was as if she believed everything she had to say, like no one could refute her. I silently prepared to listen to her explanation.
"We can take him to our city, diagnose his condition and cure it. I promise you it won't take more than a week," Selena assured us. I wasn't too sure about this. I mean, a total stranger that was your age comes into your house and assures you and your mom that your lightning curse can be cured. Sounds impossible, and probably is. The worst part was that my mom looked as if she believed her.
"Mom, are you actually considering this?"
My mom turned to me, and put on a gentle face. The calluna on her ear, seemed to shine. Callunas meant protection and that wishes will come true. When I was young I gave her that flower, not knowing what it meant. "Flan. You've had that condition for two-thirds of your life. At any moment when you were small, you could've died."
"Mom-" I tried to say.
"You know the lengths I went to." My mom cut me off and ended our little argument. I knew what she went through, I definitely did. The amount of times I went to the doctor was unbelievable. I wasn't worried about travelling to another city and staying there for a while, I've been to summer camp.
"But, will you be okay, mom?" My mom's eyes shifted sideways.
"I will. I might have to sell some of our books to pay for your treatment, though." I frowned a little at that. It was easy to hold a sentimental connection to our books when they were all we had. We never went out on trips and we always worked. Books provided a recluse for us. Selena seemed to notice my expression.
"Oh, there's no need to pay us. In fact, we'll recompense you for letting us study your son's condition." She smiled, as if to sweeten the deal.
I couldn't help but notice something in her face. I don't know, something was off. Then I realised what felt off. It wasn't her smile. It was her eyes. They were an enchanting blue, not unlike the ocean. Like the ocean, they held something deep within, a boundless curiosity perhaps, and that boundless curiosity was directed towards me.
"Really? You'd give us money for letting you study my condition?"
"Yes." She leaned over to my mom's ear and whispered. I couldn't hear them, but by the expression on my mom's face, I could tell she was excited.
"Deal." Mom had never said anything faster. "I'll let you have him for a month, if necessary."
"Mom!" I said a little louder than I wanted to. She gave me one hard look, smiled and left to pack my things. I gave Selena a confused face and she shrugged.
"We're going now?" Selena shrugged again. She picked up her bag and went to the door. She opened it and tilted her head towards the door, beckoning me to come forth.
"The sooner the better," she said as she walked out. I ran after her and I saw her car.
Her car was bronze. Strangely bronze, but shining in the sunlight. The car seemed fortified, unlike other cars. I felt like the car was a monster truck combined with a tank, all compacted into a medium sized car. Once I snapped out of my shock, I realised I forgot something.
"Wait, I'm not prepared. I need to grab something from the flower store. Be right back." I ran to the flower store and rummaged around. The flowers I was looking for weren't anywhere on display. We must have been running out, so I ran in the storeroom. I managed to pick out the flowers I needed and stuff them into a bouquet.
I ran outside and passed the bouquet to my mom, who cleaned it up. She made the bouquet look gorgeous, and even added a letter in it. "Thanks, mom."
Selena called to me, "Come on, get in." I looked back to my mom, who simply waved goodbye. I felt like I had to do something more than just wave back, but I didn't. Just like my mom, I waved back.
I climbed into the back seat, next to Selena. I looked to the front seat, seeing that there wasn't a driver. There wasn't even a driver's wheel or pedals. I looked to Selena worriedly, as the car started to move. She pushed me back into my seat. I took that as a sign that I shouldn't have worried.
After a while, I had to say something. "Selena."
"Hm?" Selena turned her head to me. It had been quite a while, as the car had moved from city to forest. She was looking out the window, admiring the trees.
"Here. It's a dark pink rose, one of the few we have left in stock." I waited for Selena to grab the rose. She fidgeted on the spot a little bit, and after a while, she managed to take the rose. Her ears were pink as she admired it. I started to admire her rose too, before I noticed something wrong.
"Oh, sorry. It's thornless." Selena continued staring at the rose and only stirred after we ran over a branch.
"What's the problem with the rose being thornless?" She looked to me inquisitively.
"A thornless rose means love at first sight. What I meant to give you was a dark pink rose with thorns, which would've only meant gratitude," I explained. I thought Selena would've felt awkward, misunderstanding the meaning of the rose, but she simply turned back to look out the window.
"Oh,"Selena murmured to herself," So that's why their roses always had thorns."
"Whose roses?" I had to ask. She was hiding many mysteries with her and I felt I had the right to know.
"It should be fine to tell you here. The children of Demeter's."
I instinctively muttered, "Demeter? The plant goddess from Greek Mythology?"
"Yes, our city is-" Selena's eyes widened. "Get back!"
I turned to look out my window. I barely had time to even recognise the thing before it struck the car. The car spun several times and crashed into a tree. The car no longer moved and the bouquet of roses I brought for the doctors scattered in the car. Selena and I were struck by the many roses. Fortunately, the car didn't blow up, but, unfortunately, we couldn't get out. The tree was blocking the way from Selena's side of the car, so we could only get out from mine.
I took a second look out the window, this time looking for the thing that attacked us. I couldn't see it. I started to worry, was it a lion or something? Maybe it was a big boar? Regardless, I couldn't see anything from inside the car.
"Flak. Open the door, open it fast."
I nodded and tried to force my way open. The door was jammed, but there wasn't anything I could do to fix it. I rammed it multiple times, but I couldn't get it to move. It was locked in place, there was no way I could break the lock in the car.
"Of course Galin's car would be too good. Now we're trapped in a big coffin just waiting to die!" I kept looking out my window, trying to see the thing. A tree was blocking Selena's point of view so we were both focused on my window.
"If you don't mind me asking-"
"I do." So, she gets meaner in tense situations.
"What was that?" Selena sighed, yet still answered my question."
"A monster. More precisely, the Erymanthian Boar." I thought to all the greek stories I remember reading about. I thought I remembered the name, but I didn't.
"The Eri- what now?" Selena crossed her arms in frustration.
"It's the big boar that Hercules captured. Surely you remember his labours?" I didn't. He was never that cool of a hero to me. He seemed cool and then I read about how he cleaned the horse stables and I had to stop.
"Okay, but how did he win?" Selena would have punched me by now if she couldn't control herself.
"He drove it into the snow, then used his brute strength to carry it."
"Right. And we're in the middle of summer, stuck in a car," I stated the obvious.
"Coffin. The air conditioning might break soon, so we might die of carbon monoxide before the boar kills us," Selena corrected me.
"Huh? But wouldn't the boar break through the car?"
Selena explained even that, "The car's made of celestial bronze. It's one of the strongest metals in the world and is brutally dangerous to any monster."
"But not the boar," I muttered.
"It has tusks, and very thick skin. So, yes, but not the boar." We sat there in silence, not knowing when the next attack would come. If I had to guess, the boar was waiting for us to come out.
"Can't you call your friend?" She turned to me like I was an idiot then thought on it.
"Galin? No, I don't think so. He shouldn't have outfitted the car with communication." Selena climbed to the front seat of the car, while talking. "But, we can try."
I followed along to the front seat and sat in the would-be driver's seat. Selena saw the radio in front and messed around with a few buttons. Nothing worked and I tried banging on it. Selena sighed and decided to see if it was voice activated.
"Hephaestus Complex, room 407. Galin Vale." The car hummed and the radio swivelled around. It disappeared into the car and a big screen appeared. The screen slowly lit up and began to show a face. The face was eating instant noodles.
"Oh, Selena! I see you discovered the coms on the car." The face, I mean, the guy turned to us. He put down his instant noodles and smirked.
"Galin. The car." His smirk grew into a big smile and then without us even knowing it, he began to talk excitedly.
"Yeah, I know right? It's great! All that work for months on end and it's all worth it! Imagine if we could mass produce it? All demigods would have safe travel anywhere!" He spread his arms as if expecting applause. I felt sad for him so I clapped a little bit. Selena however, banged her hand on the car.
"Galin. We're being accosted by the Erymanthian Boar! Tell me you have a tracking device on this thing!" His smile shrunk into a frown.
"You don't even have a steering wheel or pedals," I pointed out. Selena was about to slap me until Galin answered.
"I don't. Why would you want monsters to track you down? If I did install a tracking device, I'd be telling every monster in the area where our base was."
"Also, I think your air conditioning system is poisoning us," I pointed out again. Galin responded normally.
"Yeah, it probably is. We're not too good with that. Wish I'd grabbed Cull to help out."
Selena grabbed the sides of the big screen. "Galin. Do grab Cull to help out. We're being slowly poisoned to death."
"Alright," Galin nodded. He moved out of frame, not standing up to do so. He must have been using a swivel chair.
We sat in silence again. Once again, I broke the silence. "At least we'll be safe. Carbon monoxide is slow, and the area can't be that big."
"It is that big. It's absolutely massive. We have children of Demeter and Dionysus maintaining our camouflage after all."
Galin wheeled back into view. "Yep. No way we can find you guys soon enough."
I raide my hand to my chin and thought. I came upon an idea. "Galin, how do we break the car? Can we short-circuit it or something?"
"Why'd you ask that? You have a taser?"
"No."
"Then why? You're a child of Demeter right?" He must have assumed that from looking at the scattered roses in the back seat. Selena took that chance to clean herself a little bit.
"No, my mom's a normal woman."
"Huh." Galin seemed to space out a bit before continuing. "Yeah, you can short-circuit it. You'll need something strong like a lightning bolt though. You a child of Zeus then?"
"I don't know. But I have this condition where lightning tends to strike near me or at me everyday," I explained. Galin nodded expectantly and muttered.
"The lightning curse."
I nodded. "I think if I focus enough, I can call the lightning."
"I'll ask Cull to help you out with that too." Galin turned his chair around. "Maybe he can do something."
"Thanks Galin," I said. Selena finished cleaning up. She grasped my hand and squeezed it.
"I hope you know what you're doing."
"Yeah, me too," I responded, not looking at her. She was probably angry with me.!
I sat in blank silence, focusing as hard as I could to summon the lightning. I could always sense the lightning right before it came. I didn't have lightning-fast reactions, I could predict when it came and sometimes call on it. Point is, I had influence over my lightning curse.
"Flak. Before we die, I have to apologise for dragging you into this," Selena unexpectedly apologised. I wasn't in the mood for apologies and I was a little angry I couldn't summon the lightning straight away.
"Thanks, maybe tell me what this is all about too."
Selena smirked a little bit. "If we survive. No point talking about this now, if we die."
"Then tell me your god parent." I didn't let Selena off. Her smirk faded and at the moment, I knew our moods were worsening. She was trying to help uplift my mood by apologising and admitting her mistake, but I rebuffed her.
"It's not someone you'd know of. She's the wife of Eros. Her name is Psyche, goddess of the soul." I turned to her.
"She cheated on her husband? The god of love itself? Isn't she worried Eros might do something to her?" I worriedly thought about what Eros might do to Selena. She was Psyche's bastard child after all, he might make her fall in love with a tree or something. Or worse, me.
"Yes, but gods are like that. All of them cheat, all of them lie. They're super-powered humans who think cheating is okay."
"What about Hera? Or Artemis?" I asked. I thought about this situation. Bastard children of gods who might or might not have superpowers living in a city who offer to treat me. And I might be one of them.
"Obviously, excepting them. Hera and Artemis swore to never frolic with men. Hestia too." Selena smiled a little bit. "And before you ask, we do get superpowers."
"How'd you know-" I widened my eyes. Did she read my thoughts? Could she have read my thoughts the entire time?
"I can read souls. I can also see ghosts, but that's not important right now."
"But, that was a thought." I screamed in my head. I wanted to see if she flinched. She didn't and I was sad.
"Screaming in your head doesn't work. I don't read minds, but souls. I can't tell your exact thoughts, but I can understand the gist of it."
I became not sad, happy even upon hearing that. "Oh, cool. So that's why you were blushing!"
"Any girl would blush when a guy tells her they're cute." She started blushing now. Every time I looked at her, she seemed to grow even cuter. Like it was amplifying itself. The cuteness, I mean.
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"Stop thinking I'm cute."
"But you are-"
The lightning struck the car. Selena jumped from the sides and tucked in her legs to avoid touching the metal parts of the car. I tried to open my door, ramming it. The door opened.
"Out!" Selena ordered.
I squeezed through the door as quick as I could. The boar was right before me, threatening to flatten me against the car door. I froze on the spot. The boar squealed, watching me for any movements. If I moved, Selena wouldn't be able to get out before the car would be forcibly locked by the boar. I had to prepare to leap away from the car, before the boar decided to charge arbitrarily. We both stood there, unwilling to move. Maybe if I kept standing, the boar would leave.
The boar squealed. I leaped away on instinct, dodging the boar. Its tusk scraped my leg, and I began bleeding even more. I clenched my fists as I thought. There had to be a battle plan. I could charge it into the trees, but the boar probably wouldn't take any damage. Suddenly, I realised I was holding something. I opened my hand, and it was one of Selena's earrings. I rubbed it on instinct, perhaps to calm myself down.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
"What?" I turned to Selena, who was banging against the car window. She pointed to her right arm and made a swinging motion. Naturally, I ignored her and stared at the boar.
The boar squealed again, having just rebounded off of the car. My arm seemed heavier now, even though it was my leg that was injured. I looked to my arm for a second, and somehow, I was holding a bronze mace.
I didn't have time to look at the mace. The boar shrieked and charged me. I had only a split-second to think before the boar ran me through and possibly eat me. I don't know what boars eat, probably bacon and truffles. In that split-second I leaped up the car. I didn't dare to let go of the mace. I thought that it might have been celestial bronze, so I was holding onto it for dear life.
Selena banged the car roof just as the boar charged again. I didn't know if the boar could jump up the car, so I was prepared to dodge again. I didn't know why, but I trusted my body to react if the boar did jump up the car. If it did and if I was lucky, it would break the roof and Selena would be able to help fight it.
The boar didn't make the jump. It hopped, sure, and it also broke a side mirror, but it didn't make it. I could hear vague screaming from inside the car and vague screaming outside it. I looked up, the vague screaming was in fact lightning rumbling in a cloud, thunder, and possibly Selena. Clouds were rumbling in the sky, about to send down lightning. If I could get the lightning to strike the boar then, maybe, just maybe, the boar would die. It could get heart failure, I don't know.
The plan I formulated wasn't my brightest plan. I jumped again, but not away from the boar. I jumped straight onto its back. I reached the mace out and I managed to place it underneath its tusks before it could shake me off. The boar squealed and rampaged around, but I managed to stay on top of it. I had to use all my force to avoid getting thrown off.
"Stop the rodeo already!" I shouted. Selena looked worriedly at me as I slammed onto the car window. I couldn't even check my body for any extra injuries, the boar was moving that much. It moved like a rodeo, slowly ramping up its shaking, but without a limit. I've never ridden a rodeo, but seeing what I'm doing right now, I think I'd do good.
I slammed onto the side of a tree. The tree branch scratched my back and almost pierced my skin. I clenched my teeth as the pain spread throughout my body. Oh, it was going to feel worse soon. The entire time, I was summoning the lightning bolt. I knew it was still in the sky, waiting until I was thrown off. It wasn't sentient, but I knew its intention. The lightning curse wanted to hit me where it hurt most.
Selena looked at me, staring at my eyes angrily. She focused hard on me, and then collapsed. She was still awake, watching my battle. I kept grappling with the boar, trying to think up new ideas when one came to me. It was risky, but it was all I got.
I pulled up the mace with all my strength and took it out from underneath the boar's tusk. I looked to the sky and raised my mace up high. The lightning bolt from earlier hit the car, so I guessed, no, I knew celestial bronze was a conductor. It would act as a lightning rod and help me draw the lightning towards me.
I gripped the mace tight and I called. The boar was making more effort to throw me off, and it was working. But the lightning was getting ready to strike, all I had to do was stay on. The boar slammed me on the car roof, but I managed to stay on. I stared straight at the boar's eyes and I felt it. The lightning struck the mace.
The mace was now channelling the lightning. It didn't hurt me or the boar whatsoever. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had control. The boar threw me off, but I landed on my feet. I stared the boar straight in the eye and I charged.
I ran fast, faster than ever before. Within a second, I was right before the boar. It didn't have time to charge or do anything. I gripped the mace with my two hands and slammed it onto the boar's tusk. I tore the tusk clean off. The boar charged and stabbed my shoulder with its remaining tusk. I raised my hand and gripped the tusk. I felt I was empowered.
Another lightning bolt crashed on us. It flowed through me, empowering me. The lightning bolt that had threatened me my entire life was now under my control. I directed it straight to the boar's tusk. It electrocuted the boar and traveled straight into the boar. I directed it to wreak havoc, mess with the boar's brain, nervous system, but most importantly its jaw. I jammed the mace into the boar's now open jaw and shoved it in. The boar dissolved into dust, somehow leaving the stray lightning bolt behind. The lightning bolt jumped into the boar tusk I knocked off.
"Selena I did it!" I cheered. Then I remembered she was stuck in the car. I walked over to the boar tusk and picked it up. The boar tusk was trembling with electricity. I looked at the item, through the lightning. I could tell it was a boar tusk with a supply of lightning as powerful as lightning bolts. It could shoot only 3 bolts a day.
I decided to test it out by shooting the lightning towards the car. The lightning did its job and opened the car door Selena was leaning on. I ran over to her and held her up. She opened her mouth to speak to me, but closed it before she spoke any words.
"Selena?" I shook her. She didn't seem to wake up. Her body was limp and for a second I was afraid the lightning from the lightning boar tusk killed her.
"Shut up," she said.
"Oh, so you're fine after all. I'm glad." I would've went for a hug, but Selena wouldn't have liked that.
Selena stood up shakily and yawned. "Me too, me too. If you could just fix the air conditioning system, then we could sleep in the car and wait."
Selena went back into the car and laid on her back to rest. I took her words to mind and began examining the air conditioning system. She must've accounted for if I didn't know anything about it, so evaluation must be a thing among demigods, I guess. I worked on the system, sending small electrical shocks to jumpstart some parts. The parts that required physical labour to fix were hard, but I made do. As I fixed the system, I thought back to my strategy. The lightning rod was my own idea, but how did I know it would work?
"Selena? Did you-" I trailed off, "tell me something? Back then?" Selena turned over to face me and nodded.
"Yes. You were unsure about the nature of celestial bronze, so I filled in the gaps for you. It's hard talking about that sort of thing through souls."
I sat on the roof of the car, trying to keep watch. Anything could come out of the woods and attack. "Thanks, by the way. You saved my life."
"You're welcome, though it's not everyday you hear that from a child of Zeus," Selena muttered the last bit. I still overheard it though.
"Child of Zeus? And what was that last part about?" I laid down on the roof of the car as Selena answered my question.
"Duh, what else would you be?" Selena said. "I don't mean to be stereotypical, but children of Zeus tend to be overconfident, proud, full of themselves. All of them are annoying except for Cull."
"Even me?" I asked, knowing the answer. Selena was especially grumpy when she was tired.
"Yes. You done yet?" I banged the roof in response. I thought to myself, was she so tired she didn't notice me getting up here?
I closed my eyes and attempted to sleep, but I couldn't. Selena went to sleep fast. Her snoring wasn't what bothered me, I couldn't place my hand on it. The sun was slowly rising to the top, so I couldn't see any stars. I wished I could though, just to see some constellations. I finally fell asleep, with my last thoughts being of the stars.