"What happened?" I woke up, lying on top of a semi-comfy, but mostly lumpy, pile of things.
"What happened?! WHAT HAPPENED?! What happened is that 15 minutes ago, you blacked out, and fell on me! I then landed on everyone else, causing them extreme pain, not to mention myself, and I haven't been able to MOVE YOU!" Styx yelled, right next to my unsuspecting ear.
"Oh. Well, I better get up then." I managed to stand, but the ground seemed to be a magnet for my torso. I was swaying, and I saw the room spin in front of my eyes.
"Hallelujah! I can move again!" Styx cried, after getting up. She had to help up Luke, who winced with every movement nearby his leg.
"Ouch. Thanks for the warning, by the way. I loved having the domino effect." Luke was in pain, so I didn't reply with a rude comment. The only one who didn't seem irritated was Peter, and I think he just hit his head to hard.
"How ya doing' Peter?" Styx was apparently ignoring me, but that was fine. I would soon be used to it.
"I think I'm okay. I think we should be more concerned about Eris."
"Why?"
"Because she's walking around the room, tripping, running in to things right in front of her face, and acting like a total moron."
"Ah. Well, I do suppose that calls for some attention. I'll go see to that." Styx tried to follow me, but I just ran away. Next thing I know, I'm face first into a brick wall. I just slammed into it. Suddenly, everything went black. Again.
"Well, that solves that problem." I heard Styx remark.
"I'm not unconscious. I just can't feel my face. I do however, feel extremely stupid."
"Hey! Do you need me to come help you up?" Luke called out, across the room.
Although I couldn't see it, I could feel the heat emanating a few feet above my head, and I knew Styx was giving Luke the death glare. "No. Send. Peter." She spoke only loud enough for them to just hear.
"That's okay. I got it." Peter ran over and helped me up. I saw Styx head over to Luke and mutter something in his ear. Something that made him turn as white as a ghost.
"What do you think she said? I've never seen Luke look like that!" Peter whispered in my ear.
Peter got me wondering. "How long have you known Luke?"
"We met when we were kids. We always stood up for each other, and he's like a brother. The only difference is blood."
"That's an awfully long time."
"Yeah. How long have you known Styx?"
"Well, despite the fact that she is my cousin, I've only known her for a few hours."
"Wow. That's short."
"Well….uh, yeah."
Just then, I heard a yell. "You there! Yeah that's right, you two! Get your butts over here you stinking Love Birds!"
"Well duty calls." I breathed, before running over to Styx and Luke, with Peter right behind me.
"What Styx?" I asked, not particularly happy to be pulled from private time with Peter.
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to annoy you by calling you over."
"I should strangle you!" I reached over, but she started to jog.
"Eat my shorts!" She called over her shoulder, which got me running. I hadn't actually processed what she said earlier, but now it got me thinking. Love Birds? What was she thinking? Peter doesn't think of me that way! Does he?
*****
We stopped running due to Peter's impatience. He yelled out for us to come back, mostly because we had some "unfinished business". Yeah right.
"Like I said earlier," Glares for Eris and myself, "we need to move on. After closing this portal, I found you guys, so next up is to find more portals."
"Portal-s? What do you mean portals?! I thought he opened one! And what do you mean, 'after closing'? I thought it just shut down!" I questioned him relentlessly, mostly because he hadn't told us this information before. Shock, unawareness, and incomprehension were probably out in the open on my face. I know they were floating around freely in my mind.
Panic showed clearly on Eris's face. She seemed a bit frightened by what she thought was going to occur. Luke however, seemed totally at ease. If anything, he looked worried about my forehead.
"Yes, portal-s. As in multiple. There are many portals all over the world. You have to close them, in order for no one to be able to get in, or out. You don't even want to know what lurks behind those portal walls." Peter enunciated, so I could understand.
As I realized what he meant, I felt all my blood run cold. What he's talking about- I thought they were just legends- is he SERIOUS?! A challenge that vast was almost impossible to imagine. I couldn't form a coherent sentence, word, thought even. If he meant what I thought he meant, then we were in for a long ride.
"I mean exactly what you think I mean." Peter almost whispered, for the room had gone an unnatural silence. As though the walls itself didn't want to murmur the task that fate had laid before us.
"Great. Can my day get any worse?"
….
Little did I know, it was about to get far, far worse. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of it.
….
"Um, Styx? Are you okay? You look a little pale- I mean paler than usual." Eris looked at me, concern written across her face, probably because I was normally the one who talked. The fact that I had been silent for about five minutes without being injured before hand was a huge surprise.
"So we have to go this way, then that way. Next is that way…" Peter was mumbling to himself, almost under his breath. He had been staring at a map for what seemed like hours, doing just that.
"What extensive plan do you have for us? 'Cuz, you know, I just love having my future planned by another mortal, who has no reason to decide that." I remarked after sitting for a few more minutes. I admit, it was probably a bit much on mean, but I was upset. I didn't like what the Goddess had planned.
"Technically, Luke's dad decided your future when he opened the portal and shoved everyone in. You really can't blame me for helping you get on with your life." Peter replied coolly. That irritated me, because I was expecting some sort of distress, rather than the tone that he used.
"Maybe I don't want to go on a quest with you guys. Maybe I want to leave my parents behind. Maybe I want to save them alone! You're trying to decide what I do, and you have no right to do that! I wasn't sucked in for a reason, and I'm going to figure that out!" Now, I was livid.
"Styx shut up. Please. Peter, what else can we do?" Eris was giving me a tone that implied that she didn't like that I was being rude to him.
"No! I'm sick and tired of this! I just want everything to go back to normal! I'm done with this! Your sick joke can end now! Ha ha! Congratulations, you made a poor teenager cry!" Saltwater was overflowing from my eyes and onto the rest of my face. I was a mess. I knew that without having to look in a mirror. My own thoughts wouldn't settle. I couldn't think like that. So, I did the only thing I thought I could do. I left.
Luke reached out, as if to catch a tear, but I didn't let him. I shied away, before striding towards the door. Peter and Eris had dumbstruck looks on their faces, so I didn't expect them to chase me down.
"Wait! Come back, Styx!" Luke was yelling behind me, but I wasn't listening.
"Just leave me alone." I cried over my shoulder. I couldn't look at them. I couldn't look at my own reflection in the glass of the door.
"My stupid leg! If I hadn't broken it, I could have stopped her!" Luke was chastising himself, and it didn't help. It only made me feel worse.
"Oh My Goddess!" Was the last thing I heard from Eris before I left the building. I had thought that I had left it forever, but I wasn't in on the plan that the Goddess set up.