It wasn't what I had expected. Then again, nothing is as I expect anymore.

Standing in the doorway of my bedroom, staring straight into Mom's chocolate eyes, my mouth twisted into a mock smile reflecting the boiling fear and confusion inside of me, all I could think was, Please not again. Don't lock the door.

Of course, telepathy failed me, and the peeling wood board slammed shut.

For a second, all I did was stare towards the door in hope that Mom would unlock it. Maybe I was even wishing that the faint click of the doorknob was imaginary and that I'd be able to break free from my small bedroom. Alas, I was not dreaming, and the door was indeed locked.

"Thanks," I mumbled my eyes stinging with tears.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened, where Mom would lock me out from society for a few hours, hoping that all the eeriness that clung to me after every incident would dissolve. But this time was different. Usually she would kindly shut the door, explaining that she would let me out when dinner was ready.

"I'll be back, honey," Mom would say, the gap shrinking. "Go get started on homework, or—or keep reading that book you told me about." Smaller, smaller. "I'll let you out once dinner is prepared. I'll even make your favorite meal!" Just a few inches now… "Don't worry about what happened. After all, it isn't your fault." The gap disappeared.

That's how it went in first grade, when I came home saying that a big, black shaggy dog had jumped out from the bushes and attempted to claw me to death. In fourth grade, a zebra had gotten loose on a school trip and targeted me out of all the civilians. I guess that's not too weird, if you exclude the fact that it was dripping poison from its mouth. Dozens of other incidents occurred in between those. Despite the event, the same ritual always applied.

That day, however, just as the summer breezes began to fade away, and as the autumn chill started to grow, I managed to cause something that made Mom go stiff, as if someone pulled all her strings tight.

Once I told her about the monsters talking to me, something inside of her broke. I could hear her sharp intake of breath, and I swear I heard her say, "Oh gods." Her knuckles became more distinct as she gripped the steering wheel as if her life depended on it.

When we pulled into our small driveway and climbed out of the beat-up minivan, Mom clutched my shoulder, making an effort not to look at me as she dragged me inside the house.

I was spooked. My mind swerved out of control from fear and shock. I thought I must've been imagining her paper-white skin, her expression like the face of a brick, her determined march to my bedroom, and the light pain I was receiving in my left shoulder from her fingernails digging into my skin.

Nevertheless, she had slammed the door without a word, still in her possessed state. I decided that would be the last time she locked me in.

That's what I reflected on as I laid on my bed, staring at the blank ceiling above. Tears squeezed out of my eyes, running down my face and dissolving into my bed sheets. I wanted to formulate a plan, one that would let me escape for good, but confusion and weariness seized my mind, and I was taken back to school as sleep enveloped me to relive the event that started my legacy.

Third day of seventh grade and everyone had already started avoiding me. My reputation from previous school years had seemed to cling to me. I had gotten used to it, not having any friends and being whispered about in the halls. Being the weird one became normal.

We were transitioning classes, and I was dodging the taller kids in an attempt to make it to gym in one piece.

Now before we move on, understand this: I always have a constant need for water. Usually, Mom packs me a large bottle that lasts me the whole day, but she had forgotten that day.

I was terribly thirsty, and the water fountains at me school are nasty, except for one in the sixth grade hall. I thought with the hallway being so crowded, I could easily duck into the sixth grade hallway, get my drink, and slip into gym.

However, the crowds just made the following situation worse.

Luckily, I made it to the clean water fountain without being trampled. As I bent over to drink the stream of water shooting out of the faucet, the fountain fell off the wall, and that wasn't the worst of it.

It was a bang that echoed throughout the entire hall, and all eyes turned on me. There were a few screams, and the rest of the noise was composed of oooh's and laughter. My face burned scarlet with shame. Everything always had to happen to me, didn't it?

Suddenly, the noise became one enormous shriek. Turning around slowly, I realized why they were all screaming, and I did so myself as well.

Snakes were slithering out of the broken pipe in the wall. These weren't ordinary garden snakes, but thick, three-foot snakes, scaly and booger-green, with blood stained fangs dripping venom. In the few seconds it took to comprehend everything going on, I narrowed the cause down to two things; either I was hallucinating or the government had been messing with our water a bit too much.

Colors danced before my eyes as students frantically dashed down halls, spreading the news and getting out of my vicinity. I stood in the middle of the hall, petrified, as the three snakes approached me.

One of them jumped up at me, its mouth open and ready for a snack. Fortunately, I regained the ability to move and smacked the snakes head away. It fell to the floor and looked up at me, its red eyes sending hate towards me.

Another snake pounced, and this time, I wasn't so lucky. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a rope of green shoot towards me, and suddenly, hanging off my arm was a snake.

"Agh!" I shouted in pain as the fangs bore into my skin. It was as if a fire had started in my arm, and blood poured from the wound. I tried to shake it off, but the snake seemed glued to me. The more I struggled, the more the pain grew.

My vision was clouded by red, and I could hear the fire alarm going off, but it was distant. Another snake attacked, but it coiled around my legs instead before biting into my calf. Another inferno of pain sprouted, and I fell on the tile, smacking my head. A pool of blood began to surround me, whether it was from my arm, leg, or possibly head. There was nowhere to run, and beginning to feel light-headed, there didn't seem like there was much hope either.

The last snake slithered until it was right in front of my eyes. My head throbbed, gathering the pain from everywhere that was hurting, and I thought for sure the snake would bite off my face or something. Yes, that would be the end of Nicole Shale.

But no, something weirder happened. The snake stuck out its forked tongue and began to speak in a monotone.

"Daughter of Greece, you will be destroyed. We cannot have you interfering with our plans for the gods. Die now and you won't have to see the world crumble," it said. Then, the voice cracked as if there was a connection beginning to fade. "This is Atë's revenge, and soon Olympus will be broken."

Then, the snake opened its mouth wide, and I closed my eyes as it slithered along the blood on the ground.

I didn't feel anything after a few seconds, so I assumed I was dead. However, when I opened my eyes I was still in school. Yet, the snake was gone, replaced by a pile of yellow dust. Behind that was black boots.

"Stay still," said a voice, sounding vaguely familiar. "I can help you. Just don't move." I did as told, and out of the corner of my eye, a shiny, black blade cut through another snake, and my arm went numb. "One more," the voice said again, causing the last snake to remove its fangs and hiss at the person. They backed up quickly, revealing more black clothing, when the snake jumped. The person sidestepped, and swung the black sword at the snake, leaving it to disintegrate into more yellow dust.

"You can move now," they said, walking closer to me. My breathing was alarmingly heavy and quick. Crying, I rolled over on my back. A ping of pain shot up my leg to my head, and I blacked out.

I woke up in the main office, my Mom talking to the principle. Lifting my head up off my chest, I squinted down at my arm and leg. There were no marks, and I felt fantastic. Maybe I was lucky and the whole thing was a hallucination due to dehydration.

"Wha-what happened?" I asked. Mom turned around and tackled me with a hug. The principle, a young woman with blond hair, began to speak.

"You were found at the scene of the attack, passed out, and surrounded in blood and powder. No injuries were sustained."

Mom, hands on my shoulders, looked me straight in the eye. "What do you remember, sweetie?" she asked.

I rubbed my forehead. "Uh, could we talk about this in the car…?"

Just like that, I got out of school four hours early.

I was jolted awake when something tapped on my window next to my bed.

"Hey, kid! Wake up!" a voice shouted through the glass.

"Five more minutes," I grumbled, pulling the covers over my head. Suddenly, there was a faint click from my window, and I sprang out of bed, tripping on my shoes, and then falling on my butt.

A boy was attempting to climb through the window. He had messy, kind of long black hair that fell in front of his eyes. He was dressed in all black, and I noticed that he had a sword attached to his belt, which was also black. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was dangerously skinny.

"Sorry to interrupt your sleep, but this is urgent," he said.

"Y—you're the guy who saved me," I stammered, beginning to lift myself off the ground. A wave of confusion struck me again. "What did you do to those snakes?"

"Sorry Nicole, but there is literally no time for an explanation," he said, landing on the floor gracefully. "Look, there's an army of Cyclopes' out there, and unless you want your house to be destroyed, I suggest-,"

"Cyclopes only exist in mythology," I responded. "And if you are planning to take me anywhere, that's not happening. I don't even know you."

"Nico. That's my name. I won't be surprised if you don't remember me. It's rare anyone does. Now look, Greek mythology is real, and you'll have to take my word for it. Grab my hand and I'll take you some place safe," Nico said, holding out his hand.

I shook my head. "Mom!" I shouted, and Nico face palmed. It had been a few hours, so I hoped she wasn't "possessed" anymore.

She wasn't. "Everything alright," she asked her eyes darting around the room. Nico waved awkwardly.

"Hi Ms. Shale," he said. Mom ran up and hugged Nico for a bit too long. "Y—you can let go now."

Mom stopped hugging. "Oh, yes, sorry." Then she leaned in close to his ear. "You're taking Nicole, right." As his response, he nodded.

"Taking me? I'm not letting this creep take me anywhere! He's talking about Greek mythology as if it's real life, and says he can take me to a 'safe place!' And Mom, how the heck do you know him?" I shouted, anger building up inside of me.

"Nicole you can't be in my hands anymore. You're a danger to us all," she snapped in a way she never does.

With my face going red, I shut my mouth.

"Ms. Shale, um—you shouldn't put it that way. I mean, you might frighten her…" Nico said, awkwardly shuffling his feet.

Then, an enormous BANG came from the front of the house. Heavy footsteps began working their way towards us until they were just down the hallway. Three men, at least eight feet each, holding clubs in their hands, stared at us with their one eye.

"Shoot, you weren't lying," I mumble, mesmerized. Abruptly, Nico grabbed my hand. His, I noticed, was cold, as if he was a vampire, and I wouldn't have been surprised if he was.

The men, or Cyclopes, took a running start, their clubs held high like baseball bats.

"You cannot escape, girl! We will destroy you!" one snarled, swinging the club. Mom jumped out of the way and Nico yanked me aside to prevent my head from being pummeled.

"Not today one-eye," I said, as his friends started attacking Nico, who frantically dodged them with his sword.

Then, despite all of the confusion swimming in my brain, causing me to feel dizzy, despite the burning pit of anger in my stomach, I looked Nico straight in the eye and said, "Let's go."

I didn't know what I was doing. As soon as he closed his eyes and we began to fade into the shadows, I wanted to press a stop button. We whizzed through the darkness, making me nauseous. I would've let go of Nico, but the eerie, mysterious voice that would occasionally haunt my mind started speaking.

Just go, Nicole. You'll learn, and it'll be better.

With that, out feet hit a surface and I collapsed.

AN: I PROMISE I HAVE MUCH MORE WRITING CAPABILITY! I just really hate the first chapter of everything I write and that sounds weird but it's somewhat true. Haha, I'm making no sense again. I have no guarantees on the next chapter release, but sometime between March 22 and April 12.

I hope it was somewhat enjoyable. I'm SUPER EXCITED about the rest of the story, though. See you soon.