Prey
Atlanta found herself standing somewhere, it was all dark and she was lucky if she could see her hand a foot from her face. She spun around several times, searching for a light or someone. Had she been captured by Cronus? No, she was in the school when she'd fallen asleep.
Without warning a series of full-length mirrors slid up through the floor, or what could be called the floor. Then a floodlight flickered on, showering Atlanta with much appreciated light from above. The mirrors' sleek, shiny surfaces reflected the teenager's lithe frame at every angle.
"Uhm…" She began, unsure. Then, the temperature dropped dramatically. As she breathed, puffs of her breath billowed past her lips in plumes. Shivering, the redhead clasped her hands on her arms and rubbed them, shoulders hunching.
--
In the conscious world the unconscious form of Atlanta shivered profusely, goose bumps rising on her skin. Her teeth chattered loudly, echoing through the otherwise silent room. Apollo, happily passing by lyre to his chest, back-pedalled and peeked in.
"Oh dear." He said and padded in, placing a hand on Atlanta's forehead. "She izz hot!" The god cried, pulling his hand away and shaking it like it had been burned.
Artemis then appeared, arms hanging limply at her sides. "She's getting worse?" She asked her brother. Apollo's bottom lip pushed out like a child's.
"I don't know… she appears to be cold but, she izz hot to ze touch." Apollo replied in his thick Italian accent. His twin heaved a heavy sigh,
"I don't know how much longer she's gonna last."
--
"This is a weird dream." Atlanta mused. How could she know it was a dream? When she dreamt she was unable to tell that it was a dream, no matter how outrageous it was. The temperature dropped again and Atlanta leaned against a mirror, rubbing her arms faster. She remembered something she'd heard once, about rubbing your chest and that your arms would take care of themselves. Unfortunately she couldn't quite do that, seeing as most of her chest was occupied by her breasts.
"God, it's so cold…" She mused, recalling that when she dreamt she couldn't feel hardly anything, and what she did feel was dull. Like the time she dreamt her mom's house was being broken into by an armed robber. In an attempt to save her friend she rushed the burglar only to shot in the head. Thing was, she felt the impact but it wasn't painful just… like getting hit with a little pebble.
After awaking Atlanta found the dream quite disturbing, but it wasn't the first. She'd had plenty of odd and disturbing dreams whether they were pleasant or nightmarish. One can say being a doe and seeing yourself aiming a crossbow at you is most definitely disturbing.
"Ehhh… I wanna wake up…" The redhead said to herself softly, sliding down the mirror to pull her knees up to her chest.
--
Artemis whimpered softly as Atlanta's lips turned blue and her skin paled even more. The teenager shivered to the point she was almost convulsing. Twin gods sat on either side of her, holding each hand. How could it be that her skin was burning hot yet she shivered like it was a blizzard without a coat?
Apollo played a slow, sad tune on his lyre which began to get on his older sister's nerves. After a few more minutes of putting up with it Artemis grabbed the instrument and yanked it from her brother's hand.
"Wha-hey! Zat izz my lyre!" The God of the Sun cried while grabbing for it.
"Yeah, it is. And if you're not gonna play anything good then it will remain confiscated." The Goddess of the Hunt snapped before sitting down with a heavy sigh. Hera stepped in the room, weary looking.
"Any progress?" She asked. Apollo looked to his sister, then back to Hera.
The god moved his chair a bit so the elderly woman could see the condition Atlanta was in. The Queen of the Gods gasped quietly and clasped a hand to her mouth.
"Oh dear Zeus… She must awaken lest she falls into a coma."
--
Atlanta slipped her arms into her t-shirt for warmth and hugged herself. Her numbing fingers played idly with the hooks of her bra while she stared at her own reflection. For a moment her vision blurs then as it refocuses a shadow slips into darkness in her peripheral vision.
Standing now, Atlanta moved to the middle of the circle of mirrors and spun around herself. "Who are you? Show yourself!"
"Atlantaaaaaa."
A whispery voice answered, the last A of her name drawn out as it faded.
Okay, I'm not gonna ask how it knows my name… this is my own sub-conscious after all.
"Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"
The girl was answered with a low growl as the shadow slinked into the light. The shadow was just that; a shadow. It was solid black yet its outline constantly shifted. It bore no eyes and was difficult to identify.
Was it a wolf? Humanoid? It seemed to be both, yet neither. A paradox it was, a quite frightening paradox. It snorted, twin puffs of mist forced out of its unseen nostrils. Atlanta swallowed and took a step back and the creature to a step forward. It snarled then took off towards her at a speed that could match only her. The beast seemingly disappeared just as it was about to collide with her it disappeared in a fast-fading mist. At the same time the air was sucked out of her lungs and a head-splitting pain exploded within her skull.
Sucking in much needed air she just as quickly expels it in an agonized scream. The huntress drops to her knees then to her side while she howled, curling up tight in a ball.
--
The three immortal occupants of the room jumped at the blood-curdling scream tore from the formerly shivering heroine's throat. Atlanta's chest was thrown into the air and her hands gripped the sides of the sofa so hard the bones in her hands stood out.
Artemis immediately took hold of the girl's upper arms and held her down. Then her legs began to kick and Apollo took hold of them.
"What izz happening?" Apollo cried.
Chiron burst in at that moment, panting slightly. "What is going on?"
The centaur's query, however, goes unheard as Hera speaks, "Persephone!"
Said goddess appeared at the door, concern written all over her features. "Hera?" Atlanta's thrashing wasn't hard to miss for long and the goddess gasped.
"I need you to go inside her mind. Whatever is causing her such pain is doing it mentally."
Persephone nodded and stood at the head of the sofa. She laid her slender fingers on Atlanta's temples and struggled to keep them there as the girl jerked about. Finally she closed her eyes and concentrated – and was sucked into the girl's mind.