Chapters It was an ordinary day like every other. Now that didn't mean it was boring... Quite the opposite in fact. I liked my days predictable. It made everything neat and tidy... While some of my more "out-going" friends would call me something along the lines of "a boring wind bag"... I couldn't care less. I found it most enjoyable to just sit in the corner with my iPod, humming and singing softly along with it. Ah... Music... The one thing I didn't like to be predictable... I always took my iPod with me. No matter where I went. And I mean EVERYWHERE. In fact, my day always went like this...
I wake up to some random song as an alarm clock, listening to the entire song before I turned it off... I got dressed, did all of those hygene things... Like brushing my teeth like any normal person... Then I would make a breakfast comprising of whatever cereal sounded good that day... Annnd then miss the school bus (Totally not on purpose...) and then walk to school while listening to my iPod. After that I would get my school stuff ready and report to home room... And then promptly ignore the school announcements by listening to music. And then generally repeat that pattern of ignoring the unimportant bits by only taking out the ear-buds out when class started. When school finally let out I would, TOTALLY not on purpose, miss the bus and walk home, all the while humming and singing along with the iPod. When I got home I would say "Fine" to my Mother as she was opening her mouth to ask how school was, head up stairs to my room, transfer the ear-buds to my laptop, plug my poor iPod into the wall, and continue listening to my music library on my computer while I browsed the internet. Then I would pass out around one... ish... in the morning to only rinse and repeat the whole cycle.
I almost never deviated from this schedule. So, like in that weird movie about that short fellow, I never did anything unexpected nor had any adventures... You know... Looking back, that was an oddly similar situation... I'll get to that part later though... So! Today was like every other day... Except the bus was late... Which meant that I didn't have an excuse to walk to school...
"Mom! I don't want to take the bus!" I argued with my mother.
"How are you gonna meet new friends if you don't interact with new people?" she asked.
"Those 'people' aren't new Mom!" I reasoned.
"I know you've had problems with them in the past sweetie... But people DO change..." she stated. Ugh... Here we go... Again...
"People don't change in a few weeks Mom..." I dead-panned. She face palmed and sighed. Finally she held out her hand.
"IPod... NOW." she commanded. Ugh... It was always the same... Do this arbitrary thing that will only make your life unnecessarily harder! You don't want to? Hand over the only device separating you from sanity, and going completely freaking bonkers! There was no way I was going on that yellow prison bus without my iPod.
"FINE." I stated, pulling my school bag onto a better position on my shoulder, and turning towards the door. "Don't be surprised when I say how much things have CHANGED." I called back towards her. I didn't hear her reply as I had quickly stuffed the ear-buds into my ears as I walked down the walkway towards the sidewalk. I would've ignored waiting for the bus... But I knew from experience that Mom was watching me out from inside. And if I didn't get on the bus she would steal my iPod's cord... So... I was once AGAIN forced to deal with the losers that were now jeering at me from the smudged windows. Annnd... Ouch time...
The bus was I expected it to be. the front filled with screaming little kids and the back filled with larger screaming little kids... Did I mention I was the oldest student on the bus by two years? The next oldest being an idiot sophomore that knew nothing of hygene? No? Well there ya go... Thankfully, most of the chaotic noise was drowned out by a glaring electric guitar. Unfortunately however, I saw several heads perk up as they noticed the senior girl getting on board... Me. I tried sitting down in the empty middle area, not too close to hear screaming children... And far enough away I missed the worst of the body odor. But predictably... The sources moved closer as the bus stopped again. I turned up the rockin' violin that was now playing in my ear so I didn't have to hear their crude conversations... The ones that would probably be about me. Suddenly the bus tilted slightly to the right. Annnd there's the jerk of the hour... Remember the idiot sophomore that knew nothing of hygene? Lo and behold... There he was now, making the bus sway with every step. His eyes lit up as he saw me sitting alone. None of the others ever DARED trying to get close to me... On account of me turning on the "bad" songs and turning up the volume, forcing them to listen to violins and french horns... But he always tried to get his stench into my nostrils as much as possible. What was his name again? I just refered to him as jerkwad... Dungbreath... Worm-brain... But I digress... Jerkwad then plopped down on the fake leather next to me and said something. It was something that was probably "witty" in his ears. It was thankfully lost on me however as the current song reached a crescendo.
I suddenly felt his face get closer as he leaned in so his ear was listening to the song. I could then FEEL the air vibrate as he grunted and ripped the ear-bud out of my ear. Ugh... HERE WE GO A-FUCKING-GAIN...
"WOW! What is this trash yer listening to?!" Jerkwad exclaimed.
"Vesuvius by Frank Tich..."
"Don't care." he stated as his fist closed around the ear-bud, crushing it beyond repair. I turned my heads slowly towards him. He had just destroyed a day that could've passed off as "acceptable". I felt my eyes narrow, all Jerkwad did was look at me as if he hadn't just destroyed a good pair of ear phones.
"What?" he asked nonchalantly.
"THIS." I hissed at him, holding up the crunched ear-bud in front of his chubby face. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!" His eyes tried to focus on the broken speaker, and failed miserably.
"Nuttin' wrong with that..." He stated.
... For the life of me... I never understood how so many people got by with broken screens and ear phones... "So!" Jerkwad continued as if I wasn't angry. "When yer gonna put yer iPod down and listen to us?" Urgh! This idiot made me so angry with his very presence! Unfortunately I couldn't touch him as his "mommy" (I swear I heard him call her that IN A PUBLIC GROCERY STORE) was on the school board... Yeah... One of THOSE dim-wits. The most I could do was toy with his poorly constructed brain.
"Not here... Nor there... Or anywhere! Sam-I-am." I quoted. His face seemed to get even more vacant.
"My name isn't Sam..." he mumbled.
"Of course it isn't..." I half whispered as I scrolled through my playlists looking for something to distract myself from the idiot beside me.
"It's Sal!" His name was still Jerkwad to me. "So! You never answered my question Cer..." He pronounced it like "Seer" Ugh... Quite calling me by your definition of a "cool" nickname...
"Not here... Nor there... Or any where SALLY." I stated, stressing his real name seeing as he hated it with a burning passion. His face drained of color... Which apparently was quit a lot... He wouldn't be affected very long though, his brain just didn't seem suited to remembering long lasting memories... So he'd probably forget in five minutes that he hates the name until that sludge of a brain resets itself. Until then, I was going to milk it for all it's worth.
"My. Name. Isn't. SALLY!" he raged.
"Tell you what Sally... I'll probably start calling you by your nickname if you start calling me by my real name..."
"But your name isn't cool!" he exclaimed, his fists began to ball up. I knew he hated my name and he HAS tried to get me to change it in the past.
"Kay Sally." I stated with a smirk.
"Fine! Circe..." he mumbled angrily.
"Didn't catch that..." I said holding up a hand to my ear that was ear-budless thanks to him. I then began to notice the other idiots starting to mumble behind us.
"Circe..." he grumbled.
"One more time..."
"CIRCE GOD DAMN IT!" he yelled as he stood up in rage... Which was funny because the bus decided to stop at the school right THEN. I would've posted that video on as many sites as I could lay hands on if I was taking a video... Jerkwad did a SIDEWAYS flip through the air! Landing in the narrow aisle with a comical THUD. The situation was made even more amusing as his eyes focused to find the bus driver standing above him.
"What did you say?" she asked silently. Quick story time... The bus driver was VERY religious... Went to church EVERY day... Rigorously followed those stone tablet things... and tolerated NO ONE saying "God" as a swear word. Heck... I once saw her chew out an OLD LADY for saying "Oh god..." when one of her grand kids got away. True story... So... Yelling "God damn it" WASN'T the best move on his part...
The bus driver soon had Jerkwad held up by the ear. Literally. She could've gotten fired for that... But she probably used the religion card to get out of it. But I found her free hand pointing towards me.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she ordered. OH YEAH... Fuck... Jerkwad did yell my name too... Ew... Speaking of my name, yes... It is indeed Circe. Even though it was normally laughed at, until I reminded the laughee about the names origins that is... I loved my name. When some one said it, I didn't have to ask "Which one?" All because Dad was unorthodox and awesome... Mom just liked how it sounded. But I digress...
"I called him by his given name..." I stated calmly. I thought I saw a quick smile on the bus drivers face... But I couldn't tell for sure... "Also, he did disrespect some of my personal property..." I said as I held up my unfortunate set of miniature speakers. Okay... This time I AM CERTAIN that she smiled... I figured as much as she always loved flaunting her faith in others' face. And this was another excuse. Not going by a given name AND not respecting the property of others? No this wasn't just AN excuse... This was THE excuse. I've never been one for religion... But it was nice seeing it in action on the side of justice.
"Can I see them?" she asked. Ah... Evidence... I see where you're going with this... I won't like it though.
"S...Sure. Here you go." I stuttered. It was like willingly giving up a lifeline out in the middle of the ocean. She saw my hesitation.
"I'll make sure you get them back..." she reassured me as she dragged Jerkwad off the bus. The look of utter hatred on his face was priceless. The rest of the bus was silent... Including Jerkwad's croonies behind me. Nearly all of them had hanging jaws. Even though I was bummed about losing my ear phones, I smiled cheerfully to spite them.
"Cheerio mates!" I laughed as I skipped off the bus. They just stood there with vacant faces. Heck, I can still see their faces and giggle to myself... Ah... Good times... Anyway! I soon found myself sitting in home room with all of my books... And listening to the morning announcements over the school intercom by a VERY bored office person... Seriously... What is that job position? I just referred to them as office people... Anywho... I almost fell asleep without my earphones. Eventually the honking noises stopped and the first bell rang, making every one go to first hour. Man, the noise while walking without ear protection was awful... Constant murmurings of:
"OMG she said that he said that she ALSO said that THEY said about that thing that she did when he said..." Thankfully it wasn't a long trek through the ocean of bodies. When I got to first hour, Ms Van (Pronounced vaun) the senior English teacher, was on the phone. When she saw me she put a hand over the mouthpiece.
"Circe... They've got something of yours in the office..." she stated to me. I then nodded and turned on my heel. It was a long walk across the school to the office, but I hurried as fast as I could. When I opened the door the first thing I saw was the VERY pissed off face of Jerkwad's mother. After a moment or two I realized she was glaring at ME... Hey man... Er... Lady... It was your stupid son that crushed my earphones... I didn't say that out loud however... I just ignored the death glare and walked to the office counter. All I had to do was hold out my hand. The office person... Still don't know what the right term was... Knew me well enough to not question what I was wanting, and gave me my broken earphones. Hey, half the music was still better than none at all...
"Think que." I slurred as I pocketed the small speakers. She smiled.
"You're welcome Circe..." Never knew why the teachers always seem relieved when they see I have my iPod stuff... I guess they're happy that I'm out of their hair... Anyway, I smiled back and walked past the glaring mother of Jerkwad, happily whistling "The Final Countdown" I don't know why that song happened to pop into my head... But in retrospect, it was oddly fitting. But as I walked past her, I could've sworn I saw a smirk streak across her face... I didn't pay it much attention though.
I soon was walking down the quiet halls, ear bud already in and whispering with a ominous Gregorian chant. Don't judge me... I just happen to like almost all kinds of music... Except that Bieber chick... I still shudder when I hear one of those verses... Anyway, an open locker caught my eye as I was walking back to class. Eh... I'll be nice and close it so an asshole doesn't... My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a hand appeared from behind the door and slammed the locker. Revealing a very angry Jerkwad. Unfortunately I was close enough for him to push me. I landed on my ass to only realize why he had pushed me. In his hands was my precious iPod, dangling from the cord. I could feel my eyes widen.
"You never did answer my question Cir... When are you gonna put this thing down and listen to me?" he asked mockingly. "Or... Am I going to have to make you put it down?" I couldn't say anything... I was catatonic... He had my only stable link to sanity that I had... Even though I had every song in there memorized by heart... I couldn't ignore the droning of pointless noise that made me anxious without it... Anxiety had a reputation of making people second guess them selves... Making wrong decisions when they knew the answer, causing mind breaking failure and... Damn it it was already happening... "Well?" Jerkwad asked, breaking my train of thought.
"Put... It... Down... Sal..." I whispered.
"Okay... I'll put it down..." he smiled. Jerkwad then took off the protective casing and raised the unprotected device into the air.
"DON'T!" I yelled, extending a hand towards my iPod... Too late... He threw my iPod onto the ground as hard as he could and then stomped on it... I couldn't move a muscle. Jerkwad eventually stopped smashing my sanity with his foot, and picked up the remains of my iPod... He snapped it in half with an almost half-hearted twist of the wrist.
"So! Dinner, me, you, Friday, 6-ish?" he stated as he dropped what was left. I was ignoring him as my eyes tunnel visioned at the destroyed music player... It was obviosyl broken beyond repair... important parts and shards of glass littered the area around it... My vision began to blur as tears stormed my eyes. I heard something mumble, but my ears must've stopped functioning, all I could hear clearly was my own heartbeat.
I... I couldn't take it. I turned tail and ran. I didn't care about any rules anymore. Materialistic of me I know, but the only thing of mine that I did treasure and cherish beyond all else, the thing that had kept me sane and healthy for YEARS... Was just destroyed on a whim... I ran outside. There was only one place I could go... Home... You know... Now that I think back on this, I vaguely recall Jerkwad's mother standing next to her car, watching proudly...
So I went home. When I entered the house I heard someone yell my name, but I didn't care. I slammed my door closed and put a chair in front of it... After that I fell onto the bed. I don't know how long I laid there crying. It was just an iPod I know... But I didn't have any money... any job... It would've been months until I could buy another iPod, months of listening to the bickering and gloating of stupid people... And Mom wouldn't have gotten me a new one... She claimed that if I got my own things I would take better care of them... Which was true I guess... Not that I ever willingly damaged my own things... I was depressed... Depressed that something of mine was destroyed just because...
Before I knew it, it was night time. I had cried the day away. Finally my depression allowed my thoughts to wander. Why? Why did Jerkwad HAVE to wreak my very near future? Why couldn't he HAVE JUST LEFT ME THE FUCK ALONE?! Why am I being forced to listen to things that I just DIDN'T CARE ABOUT... I don't care what Jimmy said to Alice... I don't care what Alice then said to Sue... I don't care about how "You can't find Germany" on a fucking map... What must I do to teach others that I just want to be left alone? Wasn't it obvious I just don't want to get involved in the stupid teenage politics? Especially with HIM... HIM... GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKING HIM... HE WAS THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS...
I began to feel a slight itching around my neck. THAT ASSHOLE WHO JUST COULDN'T GET THE HINT TO GET LOST!
Child of the muses...
I felt fabric brush against the skin on my neck. BUT NOOOO! HE JUST HAD TO BAG "THAT SENIOR GIRL"
Found and bound...
The fabric gently sealed itself around my neck. HE JUST HAD TO GET INTO THE PANTS OF THE ONE THAT JUST WANTED TO BE LEFT ALONE!
Forever forced, to dine on hate and greed...
A weight dropped itself over my throat. DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM TO TARTARUS!
Forever made to create the fabric of Unsound...
Something glowed around my throat. I WILL END HIM!
Til ye be freed from our Curse... So saith We who damn thee to live and prowl the lands of mortals. For all TIME.
I finally pulled myself out of my stupor when a something glowed a bright red at my throat.
"Fut the wuck?" I asked myself groggily. I looked down to see a bright red jewel hanging off a black choker. Now I was really confused. FIRST of all... I didn't put that on... SECOND of all, I didn't have a black choker with a ruby inset... THIRD of all... I don't have ANY fucking jewelry... I reached behind my neck to find the clasp... Only to find smooth fabric. "Now this is getting fucked up..." I said out loud. I checked the time... nearly Midnight... Mom should be asleep by now... I think I could sneak into the bathroom to look at what's clamped around my neck. So I began tiptoeing down the hall towards the bathroom.
For some strange reason the hallway was dark, but not dark enough to be considered the dead of night... I could see things clearly, like when it's dawn and light just starts showing where everything is. But it was midnight! Ish... There WASN'T any light to do that! I shook my head and entered the bathroom, turning on the light as I crept in. I looked into the mirror... And nearly fainted.
It was... Well... Me... But, different... I still looked the same, but everything just seemed... Different... I couldn't put my finger on it exactly... But something was... Weird. Ugh! Damn it! I guess I'm trying to say weird good not weird bad! In fact... I kinda liked the difference... Was it that pendent that I didn't put on? I poked the glowing gem with a finger... No... That isn't it... Red was never my color... Not that I cared about that kind of thing or anything... I shook my head. I was here to look at this thing around my neck! Not ogle at myself in the mirror! I leaned in closer towards the mirror, getting a better view of the new addition. The only thing fancy about it was the gem that rested on my collarbone. The black fabric seemed to be silk... But I was never an expert on fabrics.
Eh... Despite what the mirror says... I'll look ridiculous with this tomorrow... If I do go to school tomorrow that is... I began looking for some sort of release mechanism... All I found was smooth seamless silk. Welllllll... Fuck. I threw some thoughts around to see how I could get it off. I finally settled on a pair of scissors for the silk. By now the gem had stopped glowing for some reason. Oh well, the glow was a pain anyway. I exited the bathroom to try and find a pair of scissors.
While I was preforming my search, I found our VERY observant cat by stepping on his tail.
REEEOW!
"AH!" I yelled as Nickel suddenly arched his back at me and half hissed half screamed in surprise. I froze in place as I expected Mom to get up and start asking questions. I stood still for several minutes, ears perked to listen for the creaking floor boards. I eventually sighed in relief as I heard nothing. I looked down at our cat. I've never been able to scare him before... Well... I guess there's a first time for everything... Eh, maybe he was getting old? Nah, he was only three? Four years old? To Tartarus with it... I had scissors to find. Wait... When did I start saying "Tartarus" instead of heck? I shook my head. It was probably some video or movie I recently watched or something.
I eventually found a decent pair and tiptoed my way back to the bathroom.When I stood in front of the mirror once again, I slide one of the blades under the silk and snipped, expecting the entire thing to fall off like the rules of physics stated... Instead my ears were met with a. CRUNCH. I pulled the scissors out to find a perfect indent in the blades were I presumed I had tried to cut the silk. This was getting weirder and weirder... I put the ruined scissors down and looked in the mirror again. I guess I could go ONE day with it... Maybe have an expert look at it or something... Maybe Mr. Burns the chemistry teacher... I'm sure he would enjoy looking for something that dissolved silk but not skin... Oh who was I kidding? This wasn't silk... I suddenly yawned. Oh yeah, it's the middle of the night... I'll sleep on it. Maybe something will come up in the morning...
~~~
"Come on sweetie... It's time to get up..." I heard my Mother knock on the door. My eyes opened up in realization, no iPod, no music, no alarm clock... I was probably late. I burst out of my warm comfy bed into the cold morning air, shivering as I did so. I quickly found a change of clothes and put them on. I didn't know why I WANTED to go to school, but i just felt that I needed to despite yesterday.
But still, it was odd without my iPod... I caught myself several times reaching towards it's usual location only to realize it wasn't there any more... I was about to enter the hallway when I realized that the strange gem was showing in the neck of my hoodie. I pulled off both my shirt and hoodie and got a t-shirt that would cover it up better. Mother would most CERTAINLY notice if I suddenly had a strange pendent thing... I readjusted everything and found it satisfactory. I then made my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth like any normal person would... I usually take showers before I go to bed so I didn't have to stand in the cold while waiting for the water to heat up... Oh I'm probably going to smell... Oh well.
When I was done, I readjusted my hoodie again so it covered up the ruby again, and made my way down stairs. I soon found myself browsing through cereal and was about to pick what sounded best when suddenly a feeling hit me. I... I couldn't really put it into words... I'll try anyway, but I won't be able to truly describe it. It was kind of oppressive and heavy... It hung in the air like a cloud. I turned around to find my Mom looking at me with worry in her eyes. Worry... That was what the feeling was... I suddenly realized that I was feeling the oppressive feeling THROUGH the JEWEL around my neck... It was... Weird... I took a step backwards, away from Mom. She looked crestfallen for some reason, and walked out of the kitchen without a word, the oppression followed suit. I let loose a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I turned back around and picked my favorite cereal out of the pantry. I then poured a bowl and drowned said bowl in milk. Sitting down, I prepared for the corn flaky goodness that was Corn Flakes. I put a spoonful in my mouth and almost gagged. Instead of the sugar coated sweetened grain I was expecting, it was... Bland. It was like the flavor was heavily muted or something... I grudgingly ate more of the cardboard flavored cereal.
"Why the long face?" I looked up to see Mom standing there with a questioning look on her face. I pushed the cereal towards her, unable to stomach more of the cardboard. The oppressive feeling was there, but not in the same quantities as before.
"Does this taste weird to you?" I asked. She looked at me weirdly. She took my former spoon and tasted the what was left.
"It's the same sugary trash you usually eat..." she stated nonchalantly. The oppression started to return in force.
"So... It DOESN'T taste like cardboard to you?" I asked with a frown. Something was going on, and I had no idea what it was. Was it... No, it couldn't be the pendent on my neck, jewelry didn't change your taste buds... Did it?
"No, it tastes like sugar coated corn flakes..." Mom said, looking at me with a worried frown.
"You can have it then..." I stated, looking out the window to check if I "missed" the school bus yet.
"Are you feeling alright Circe?" Mom asked. Honestly? No I wasn't. My only past time was just ruined for a few months, my favorite cereal now tasted like cardboard, and I have this weird fucking necklace thingy that just randomly appeared during the night that makes me a freaking empath! But I couldn't tell her that... Who knew what stupid thing she would do to "Get it looked at."
"Perfectly fine." I smoothly lied. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Mom, I am perfectly able to function in normal society." She rolled her eyes at me and the oppressive worry nearly vanished.
"Well hurry up and function, I can see the bus." She said as she pointed out the window.
"Oh darn." I said slowly as I got up. I realized I had left my book bag at school in my retreat, so odds were I would have to go to Ms. Van's room to pick it up... Ugh... More unnecessary things to do... The bus barreled past the window with out even stopping. Welp... I waved good bye to Mom as I went outside and began my walk towards the school.
When I arrived at the educational facility... Things were normal. But then I showed up. For some reason everyone just gave me a wide berth and was just staring at me. I had no idea why, I couldn't have smelled THAT bad... But every one just kind of shut up anyway when I came into view... But I couldn't give it much thought as the multitude of feelings and auras distracted me. It was like walking through a rainbow of emotion, everything from springy happy feelings to the slow simmering of rage. Most of the feelings that I felt around me were more of a... Um... In awe? Kind of emotion... Well, maybe "impressed" would be a better description for it. As I said before, it's kind of hard to explain... But the hidden gem at my throat sucked in all the attention like a black hole from science class... It felt... Good, surprisingly...
Anyway, after I got my bag from a silent Ms. Van, I made my way to home room. In home room, things were exactly like they were in the hallways. People usually sat at least two seats away, and kept glancing at me. Despite the gem eating the attention like a starved hound, it was getting a little annoying... I've always been a little self-conscious, wearing loose jeans and hoodies most of the time, so this attention was starting to grate on me. I did my best to ignore them though. Suddenly the intercom started it's buzzing noise that happened when someone turned it on.
"Would Circe Adams report to the office please..." Stated the announcement lady. I shrugged to the teacher and pulled my book bag over my shoulder while I was walking out the door. What did they want in the office? The only thing I could think of was to get my story on what happened yesterday... My sadness and depression started to return. No, if I was going to get vengeance on Jerkwad for what he did, I'd have to let it all out where someone with authority could see it... So I stuffed the depression in an airtight can and sealed it. I regained my composure and entered the office. When the office ladies saw who entered, all they did was point towards the Principle's office. Not wholly unexpected... But it was still nerve wracking. I noted that they seemed to reek of... Pity? Yeah, I think it was pity... But it was too much pity to just be about an iPod... Well, at least to them anyway... I ignored them and entered Mrs. Norman's office.
Just a quick fill in... Josaline Norman was a hard task master. She suffered no B-S under her watch. No one EVER honeyed words around her for long. And she wasn't one for showing emotion, positive or negative. It was one of the things I admired about her, quick, straight to the point, and no horsing around getting things done... Sometimes I wondered how the heck she was married with those traits... I cleared my thoughts and sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Mrs. Norman's own chair was facing the window behind her desk. It was often joked in class that she liked to have guilty students come in at 10:36 as the sun was positioned JUST right so it made her a silhouette and made the light shine in the student's eyes, using the sun as a psychological weapon. Fortunately the sun was just starting to peak over the buildings across the street, so I wasn't blinded by sunlight.
"Do you know why you're here Circe?" Mrs. Norman asked as she swiveled her chair towards me, hands folded in the cliche villain steeple. A cloud of pity also misted around her. But her posture didn't show it.
"I do not Mrs. Norman..." I stated. No B-S... No problems.
"You skipped school yesterday." She stated.
"Y... Yes I did." I admitted. "But! Did you not see... Sal..." I took a moment to remember Jerkwad's 'name' "Break my iPod on the security cameras?" I asked.
"We did find a broken iPod in the hall yesterday... But no, the cameras were not recording yesterday..." She stated.
"What." I deadpanned. The. Cameras. Weren't. Recording... I drew a blank.
"I'm only bringing up the fact the cameras weren't recording yesterday as your... Dilemma..." Uh oh... She NEVER paused to consider her words... "Was the only problem that occurred yesterday. If anything else had happened yesterday I would never have told you... And as you were only absent from school, I didn't have to worry about the cameras." she stated.
"W... How... No! It was early morning when Jerkwad broke my iPod! There was no possible way for you to know nothing would happen!" I exclaimed. Mrs. Norman ignored my name for Sally.
"You're right. The camera tapes were borrowed by Mrs. Silverstern early yesterday morning. She wanted to see if her son was a good boy in the hallways..." Mrs Norman stated, turning her chair around. Mrs. Silverstern... AKA, Jerkwad's mother. No wonder the camera's weren't rolling, Mrs. Norman would've just knelt before Jerkwad's mother and offered the god damn tapes to her if she asked. Which she apparently did. Mrs. Norman sighed. "But that isn't why we're here." She stated, turning back towards the desk, slapping some papers down. "The attendance record has you missing nearly 30 days this year..."
The first day I missed this year was yesterday! And seriously? 30 days and it's only November?! I quickly picked up "my" attendance record and looked it over. Sure enough, nearly 30 days were marked missing. I started to laugh at the absurdity of this. The feeling of pity around Mrs. Norman turned into confusion. "What are you laughing at?" she asked.
"T... T... This! The absurdity off this!" I struggled to breathe. "30 days?! He... Hehe... Haha... Hahahahah!" I laughed. Mrs. Norman looked at me like I was crazy. "Mrs. Norman... I never knew you were this kind of prankster... You had me worried for a moment there..." I said once I calmed down enough. All she did was give me a no-nonsense eyebrow raise. I looked at her with curiosity. "You're not joking." I stated, she nodded. "You are aware that I've been here, at this school, every required day, eight til three... Right?" I asked.
"You haven't been on my urgent list... So no... I don't personally know your attendance record." she stated. Her cloud of curiosity seemed to get more intense.
"Before you try and suspend me... Could you at least ask all of my teachers about my attendance?" I asked, putting my hand on my forehead.
"I didn't say anything about a suspension... They are planning on expelling you." Mrs. Norman deadpanned. Her cloud collapsed into pity again.
"They?" I asked, looking up with worry.
"The school board... Mrs. Silverstern was the one that recommended your expulsion over a suspension." Mrs. Norman said.
"B... Bu... But I... I haven't done anything wrong!" I stammered, tears starting to fill my eyes again. Mrs. Norman's pity began to grow more and more intense.
"I'm sorry, but it's out of my hands now..." Mrs. Norman said glumly, showing emotion on her face for the first time since I entered her office. Her pity however grew to monstrous proportions.
"C... Can you at least ask my teachers if I've skipped?" I sniffed. Mrs. Norman smiled sadly.
"I'll see what I can do..." she reassured me.
"Thank you..." I muttered.
"You're welcome Circe..." Mrs. Norman said sadly. "Go back to class... By tomorrow we'll see what's going to happen..."
"O... Okay..." I murmured, standing up to leave.
"And Circe?" Mrs Norman called. I turned back towards the one who would make me or damn me. "Try not to worry about it..."
Ha... Haha... Try. Not. Worry... Haha...
I made my way out of the office in silence. I could feel the feeling of pity and remorse from the office fade as I made my way down the hall. What was I gonna do? First I grow some weird gem on my throat, then I'm most likely going to be expelled! ...I don't think I've ever heard of Jerkwad's mother ever failing in a vote... Heh, my concerns about my iPod were starting to look insignificant now... Ugh... What was I supposed to do?! I was nearly useless in any work environment... I hardly ever got along with others... I had no ideas about what to do for college... Not to mention this stupid emotion reading ability and all the other weird shit that's happened since last night! I... All I needed was time to work this out...
First hour went by in a blur. Second hour was a daze. Third hour... Was just a cluster fuck... Fourth hour blurred by without incident... But then came lunch. I had already found my usual seat and found out that it wasn't only cereal that was bland as cardboard... I was still thinking about what to do with my now destroyed life when I felt a VERY different feeling pass by with the pendent. It was as tantalizing as freshly baked bread, but with the spice of hot buffalo wings... And it's source sat down RIGHT behind me. The gem under my hoodie drank the emotion greedily... Even more so than awe struck attention. I looked behind me to see what was causing such a divine taste... It was a couple... Boyfriend and girlfriend... I didn't know their names, but it was obvious they were in a heated argument. I looked back towards my cardboard meal. It was supposed to be spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread... But I couldn't bring myself to see it. And the raw emotion right behind me somehow felt like a more natural meal than anything I've ever eaten...
Suddenly someone broke my concentration on the emotion by plopping down in the seat in front of me. I looked up to see one of the few people I got along with. Angela Michaels, a fellow senior that was part of a multitude of clubs, brainiac at anything she put effort into, and a renowned internet fanatic/fangirl... And she smelt of giddy excitedness.
"Hey!" she cried happily when she got settled. "What's that song you're humming?" she asked. "I never heard you hum that one before..."
"Humming? Was I hum..." I stopped as I realized I WAS humming, I stopped immediately... As soon as I did however, the hidden gem started to BEG that I continue "I... I don't know... I wasn't really paying attention..." The jewel started to whine like a begging dog.
"How could you not pay attention to your own..." Angela stopped when she realized I didn't have my ear buds in my ears.
"I've had a lot on my mind recently... Could you hum it back to me?" I asked.
"Sure... I think it was something like..." she started to hum a few lines... And I've never heard that song before in my life... "Seriously? What are you humming?" she exclaimed. I realized I was humming along with her. I stopped immediately, once again causing the pendent to beg.
"I... I don't know... I've never heard it before..." I answered hesitantly.
"Lies! What is the name of it! I just want to know!" she exclaimed.
"Wait... You... Like it?" I asked.
"Hell yeah I do!" she grinned.
"I'm sorry to let you down... But I don't even know what it's called... I guess I'm making it up or something..." I shrugged.
"Well... Copyright it quick so someone doesn't steal it!" she exclaimed.
"I'll do that... I promise..." I swore, only to start humming again. Angela looked at me funnily.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Never better." I hummed.
"How come you're not eating then? And more importantly... What's with the sexy predatory walk all day?"
"What?!" I asked, ceasing my humming at once.
"Yeah, you've been swaying your hips and just prowling around like some sort of hungry tiger or something all day!" she stated. I was now even more confused.
"I don't know what you're talking about Angela... I've been walking normally all day..."
"Hey... What's that?" Angela asked, pointing towards my neck. Oh Tartarus... "Are you wearing a necklace?" she asked, reaching forwards to trying to grab it to get a better look. Before I knew what I was doing my hand slapped hers away... Hard... I looked down at my hand that hung in between us with shock. I then saw the look of hurt in Angela's face.
"I... I'm so sorry Angela... I didn't mean..." I apologized.
"No no... It's okay..." She said, but the look on her face and the feeling of betrayal she extruded disagreed. "You've said it yourself... You've had a lot on your mind recently... Particularity about yesterday..."
"Oh... You heard about that..." I mumbled, dropping my head into my hands. Angela's emotional cloud then became even more pity.
"Yeah... Sal was bragging to everyone how he broke your iPod and is gonna get you expelled..."
"HE WHAT!!!" I roared as I looked up.
"Yeah... Something about he and his Mom were going to try and get you expelled for some stupid reason... I wouldn't worry though... It sounded like a stupid plan..." Angela said in a bemused tone. I felt my fists clench. SO... This wasn't just some random system error... This was a DELIBERATE attempt to get me out of school...
"Um... Circe? You're doing the predator thing again..." Angela stated.
What did they have to gain with me out of the school? Why did they WANT me out of this district?! It made no sense... All I ever did was listen to my iPod in the corner!
"Circe?"
I mean come on! If they needed anyone to be kicked out... Why not someone who posed a threat to Jerkwad's "totally legit" GPA?! Why not dispose of someone in his own grade?!
"CIRCE!" Angela yelled in my ear.
"Huh? What?" I asked, broken out of my stupor.
"That predator thing is seriously creeping me out Circe..."
"Oh... Even though I have no idea what you're talking about... I'm sorry..." I apologized.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine Angela! I just..." I trailed off as I got an idea. "No, you're right... I'm not fine..."
"Aha! I knew it! Sooo... What are the symptoms?" she asked, about to go full geek mode.
"A severe urge to kick a certain someone's ass..." I hummed, relishing in the feel-good feeling of eating hatred.
"And?"
"And I'd like you to come pick me up around eightish..."
I honestly don't know why I asked Angela to come along... I guess maybe as backup? Or something... Any way, the silence in her mini-van was palpable... At least until I stopped ignoring the cloud of worry that surrounded Angela. We were now parked across the street from Jerkwad's house... Which was not giving enough credit to the building... Despite the nature of it's owners, their house was more akin to a mansion than a house, three stories, each floor at LEAST 400 square feet... It was massive for just three residents. The clock on the dashboard read 8:34, and the sun was starting to set.
"What're you gonna do?" Angela asked. I thought for a moment.
"Good question." I stated as I opened the passenger door and hopped out. "Just... Stay here and keep your van warm or something..." I told her. She looked at me funny.
"Wait wait wait..." she stated. "What are you going to do?" she demanded. "If you're planning on murder then I'm telling you now, this was all your idea, and I will rat you out if asked about your guilt, and if so, I'm leaving now..." I stared at her for a minute. I felt a smirk cross my face.
"I am not planning on murdering anyone." I half promised half laughed. "I just... Wanna rough him up a little..." She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just going to give him a piece of my mind..." Angela's cloud of worry intensified, but she relented.
"Oookay..." she said, drawing out the "O". She then got back into the drivers seat and closed the doors. I sighed, then turned towards the monstrous house that was surrounded by woods... Did I mention the wood's behind Jerkwad's home? No? Well they're full of tall, thick oaks and maple trees... And it was hella creepy... As a kid, when I still rode the school bus everyday, I had nightmares about getting lost in those trees... I joked to myself that they were the perfect place to hide a body... But I hadn't lied to Angela, I just wanted to have a very one sided "chat" with Jerkwad... I started walking across the street, half way across I realized I was humming... I still didn't recognize the tune, but it seemed fitting for my situation. So I didn't stop myself. When I got to the door I realized I was putting words to the tune, but I couldn't hear myself yet to decipher the lyrics. Oh well.
I knocked on the glass door. Something shuffled around inside. I felt a sense of disgruntlement approach. Soon Jerkwad's face loomed out of the darkness. The disgruntlement turned into fear, and he seemed to pale when he saw me standing there, then unexpectedly he turned around and ran away
"Hey!" I yelled. Through the door I saw another door open to the backyard and a silhouette of a chubby guy ran through it. "What the Tartarus?!" I yelled. I sprinted around the obscenely large building and caught a glimpse of him disappearing into the trees. "I just wanna talk!" I yelled into the trees, stopping at the edge. As a kid these woods always scared me. They were dark and just gave me the chills... That wasn't the case now however. The normally dark branches looked as bright as a cloudy day. And the feelings of dread and terror I felt as a kid? They were nonexistent now. Even though I knew bears, coyotes, and sometimes wolves frequented this area... I just couldn't find it in myself to be frightened... It was... Like... Like... I knew nothing would've dared hurt me if we crossed paths... I shook my head and entered the not very frightening trees.
The cloud of fear was strikingly easy to follow. It went down countless paths, twisting and turning... All trying to get away from me. As I was running through the woods I just kind of slowed down into a deliberate walk... I could feel that the source of fear was close... And the ruby was lapping it up like a content cat... I didn't know why... But I started to hum again... But that slowly turned into me whispering strange lyrics... For some reason Jerkwad's fear started to grow, and as it did I felt my voice get louder and louder...
...Once again we find ourselves in this mess...
Once again we find you backed into a corner...
Once again we find that it is time to pay...
I skirted around where I could feel Jerkwad huddling down.
You should've known, should've known...
That I can't have any prisoners, prisoners...
After about half an hour of searching these woods, I finally saw him sitting a fetal position next to a tree. He didn't notice me though.
It is once again time to paaay...
When will you learn? When you finally see?
The errors of your waaay?
I continued to loop around him, keeping him in sight as much as possible. Occasionally he would jerk his head in some random direction, probably expecting to see me standing over there... But he never once looked where I truly was.
Will it take an eternity, eternity...
For you to learn?
That it is time to paaay...
"Where are you?!" He yelled standing up. I noticed his fear had a tint of rage in it. The gem drank the emotion greedily.
Listen to me when I say...
That you will never get... AWAY!
For it is time for me to...
I found myself standing right behind him.
PLAY.
He yelped like a small dog and fell over backwards when he tried to face me.
"What do you want?!" he yelled.
"What do you think I want?!" I yelled, ending the song. "I want to know why you and your mother want me expelled!"
"What?! I don't even know who..." He began, only to stop himself. "Circe?"
"Who do you think numb nuts!?" I yelled while advancing on his pathetic position. He curled up into a ball. "Who the fuck else are you trying to get expelled?!" He mumbled something. I kicked him in response. "Speak up damn it!"
"Get the hell away from me you bitch!" he screamed, trying to scoot away from me. Of course I kept pace with the crawling Jerkwad with ease.
"No chance asshole." I stated, putting a foot on his chest. "Why are you and your Faust awful mother trying to get me expelled?"
"Who the hell is Faust?" Jerkwad asked. I drew a blank. Who was this Faust that I just confused with God? I shook my head.
"Not important. Why are you trying to expel me?!" I yelled now standing over the form of Jerkwad. He looked up in fear. "WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO RUIN MY LIFE?!"
WHY?!
My yell pushed Jerkwad down nearly an inch into the ground. His eyes became unfocused and even more vacant than usual.
"Ughhh..." he moaned. Welp... He was going to be out of it for a while...
"Sally?" a voice called out from the nearby woods. I turned around to find Jerkwad's mother walk through the woods. She froze in shock when she saw me standing over her son.
"I... It's not what it..." I started but she screamed in fear and hate. I held up a hand as she ran away. "Look what you did!" I stated at the wonked out Jerkwad.
Jokes aside, who knew what Mrs. Silverstern would do... Something probably worse than trying to get me expelled that's for sure... I sprinted after the fleeing woman. "Wait!" I called. I followed the cloud of fear and hatred, which my gem ate with gusto.
Fortunately Mrs. Silverstern seemed to be as lost as I was. And was obviously going in circles... The only reason I could tell was the criss-crossing of cloud vapors, left over as she rushed about. Even though I had slowed to walk, I soon caught up with Mrs. Silverstern, who was running back and forth in a daze. Why she was spazing out? I had no idea. I mean come on... If you found someone standing over your son than yeah, you freak out... But she was acting like I was some sort of monster or something... I still was human wasn't I? I looked down briefly. Two legs, two arms, hands... Yep still human... So why was she freaking out like she had seen a werewolf? Eh... She was probably just a cooky lady that had finally snapped. Still, I had to at least try and stop her before she killed herself, or worse... Get to a phone and call the police...
Cease the struggle... Cease the resistance...
All I want is what is mine...
All I want to do is play...
It took me a moment to realize I was singing again. Mrs. Silverstern's fear and anger started to grow again, causing the pendant to suck down the emotion even faster.
When will you give up?
When will you bend a knee?
When will you learn...
Jerkwad's mom was looking around frantically... Little did she know that I had calmly walked up behind her.
That it is time to pay?
She turned around with fear in her eyes.
"What do you want?!" she yelled.
"Why are you trying to get me kicked out of school?!" I yelled back. For some reason she fell backwards as I yelled back at her.
"You?! I don't even..." she suddenly paled. "Circe..." Was I that unrecognizable?
"Yeah it's Circe! Why the Tartarus are you trying to get me expelled?!?" I glared at her. All she did was shudder. "Answer me!" Even though our faces were several feet apart, it felt like they were inches away... "Why are you trying to ruin my life!"
"YOU'RE A DISTRACTON!" she yelled at me. Oh look... My mind drew another blank...
"What?!" I asked.
"Everyday Sally is always going on and on about how you're the best, you're the cutest, you're the smartest... He's stopped doing his homework, he's spending all of his time fantasizing about..." she began. FUCKING EW.
"I get the picture..." I said putting my hand on my forehead. "What's that got to do with me being expelled?"
"I want him to take over my position in my company and the school board! And with you in the way, he'll never get there!" she exclaimed.
"... So you wanted to ruin my life so your dumb ass son gets a position in a dead end company and on a board that is completely useless!" I yelled at her. For the first time tonight, I felt something other than fear and hatred radiate from her.
"I wouldn't say 'wanted'... More like 'did'..." she grinned. It was confidence... She now reeked of smug confidence...
"You... You didn't..." I stammered, my fists clenched at my sides.
"They voted unanimously 20 minutes ago... Circe Adams was expelled from Clovesdale Senior High School for missing 30 unexcused days of school this year." She said smugly. "Also, Principle Norman was fired for showing favoritism to a student that was CLEARLY guilty of missing 30 unexcused days..."
"YOU FIRED MRS. NORMAN?!?" I screamed at her. All she did was smile up at me. Rage overcame me... And my fist met her nose. She was unconscious instantly. Not only did she ruin my life... But she had also ruined the life of one of the most efficient teachers I've ever known for being fair! Ugh! I stormed away from the sleeping bitch... Faust! I was pissed!
I soon found myself in the Silversterns' backyard again. When I walked around the house I noticed that Angela and her van were gone.
"FUCK!" I yelled. Ugh... I guess I would have to call her to come pick me up or something... I went back into the backyard and opened the back door, which lead into a clean kitchen. Phone... Phone... Phone... Where was the Faust damned phone?! I began searching everywhere I could think of for a phone... I know land lines were kind of dumb... But seriously! A house this big had to have at least ONE! I soon found myself climbing up the stairs in my search for a phone. That floor was also a no go. And that left the third and final floor. I was about half way done searching when I opened what must've been Sally's room... And it was the most disturbing thing of all time.
The wall was COVERED in pictures... Pictures of ME. Facial shots, full body shots of me walking down a street, super models that have had my face photo shopped in, anime versions of my school portraits... It was utterly and absolutely disgusting... And I was already pissed at these people ruining my life just for their gain. I forgot my search for a phone and went back downstairs to get the lighter fluid and matches I had come across earlier. I was rooting around in the kitchen and had just found the matches several cans of lighter fluid, and some paper towel when I noticed a purse sitting on a counter. I took a peek inside and found several hundred dollars in cash, car keys, and a notebook. Curious, I opened the notebook. Inside was a multitude of passwords and bank account numbers. Ah screw it, my life wasn't going to get much worse... I put everything back inside and shouldered the purse and went back up stairs with my arson supplies.
Once back in the room I poured the lighter fluid EVERY WHERE, well, except in the middle of the floor. I then opened a new can and set it down on the floor. I quickly lit a match and lit a twisted piece of paper towel, making sure it didn't burn too fast, I put my makeshift wick into the can and made my way down the stairs. About a minute later I had opened Mrs. Silverstern's car and was pulling out of the garage when an upstairs room suddenly flashed. Flames were starting to lick the window when I stopped the car at the corner. I watched in the rear view mirror as the house was engulfed in flame... I had made my choice. It was obvious I wasn't going to be able to live a "normal" life anymore... I wasn't going to graduate, I couldn't go to college, I couldn't show my face in public with what had happened BEFORE I committed arson... I couldn't even eat food normally ever again... There was no way in Tartarus I could stay here anymore!
I finally turned off the street when the house started to collapse. I soon lost sight of the flames, but the light and the smoke still lit the night sky... Several emergency response vehicles passed by me as the thundered by to quell the flames I had started... They ignored me completely.
I soon pulled into a gas station... One with a ATM outside. I flipped through several pages, looking for a bank account that was compatible with the machine... Thankfully I found one. I memorized the number and pocketed the small notebook. I turned the car off and went over to the ATM, quickly punching in the numbers and I withdrew as much as I dared... Nearly three thousand. Then I guess the machine ran out of money.
I pocketed the bills and went back to Mrs. Silverstern's car. I sat down in the driver's seat. What was I gonna do? I couldn't keep the car... The bitch probably had a tracking device or something in there... But I would have to wait to ditch it until I got to another town or something... Ugh! I never thought my life would sink so low as to actually think about committing crimes! I turned the car back on and got on the highway.
Where could I go? I couldn't go home... I couldn't say good bye to my Mom... My Dad had left years ago... I was an only child... And I didn't know any other relatives well enough to go to their places... All I could do was park the car some where remote for the night and let things cool down a little before I tried anything... That being said, I pulled onto a side road and took several random turns before finding a forest trail that seemed desolate. I pulled in and went as far back as I could to make sure it wasn't some drive way or something... Thankfully, it ended nearly a mile in with into a sort of covered clearing. Perfect. I turned the car around and parked it. Now hopefully I could get a decent night's sleep...
Angela
Angela Micheals sat on her Dad's couch... After Circe looped around the back of the building and went into the woods... Angela debated weather or not she should wait for her friend... She was going to stay and wait... But then 20 minutes later Mrs. Silverstern ALSO went into the woods behind her home... Exactly where Circe had entered... And then several minutes later, Angela heard a women screaming... It was faint and far away... But there was no doubt that someone was screaming in terror... What ever Circe did... It couldn't have been pretty... So, just like Angela had promised... She drove away. The rest of her evening went on normally... That was, until Angela answered the knock on the door she was half expecting... That policeman was sitting across from her now...
"Has Circe been acting strange lately?" he asked, turning on a recording device.
"Absolutely..." Angela answered.
"Could you give me an explanation?"
"Where do I begin? Well, first off... Today she's been walking funny..."
"Walking?" the police officer deadpanned. Angela nodded.
"Yes, normally, she's quiet and reserved, small steps, rigid posture... That sort of thing..." she said.
"Go on."
"But today... Was... Well... Like I told her at lunch... All, sexy and predatory..." Angela blushed.
"Could you describe what happened at lunch?"
"Do you mind if I go into story mode?"
"As long as it isn't fiction, I'm all ears."
"Okay... Well, yesterday, Sal Silverstern was making a big deal on how he had broken Circe's iPod... Now, Circe... She loved her iPod to death... So... The rumor was that Circe ran away from school after he did that... I wasn't able to confirm that until lunch today... Gosh lunch... In addition to walking 'strangely' all day... She was just off... When I sat down next to her, she was completely dazed... Not the I'm ignoring everyone daze... The I'm immersed in a sensation daze... And I could've swore I saw something glowing under her sweater..."
"Glowing?"
"I think it was a red glow... But as soon as I sat down the light vanished..."
"Go on." The officer said as he scribbled something on a notepad.
"While she sat there alone... She was humming. That isn't strange in itself, but when I asked her what song it was she said she didn't have a clue of what the name was. I dunno... She just seemed kind of distracted... Any way, I then noticed that she was wearing a necklace... Well, pendant really... This was very odd behavior as Circe is adamantly opposed to wearing jewelry. I've seen her skip required events if she was forced to wear a necklace or something...
"Could you describe the pendant?"
"I think it had a black silk neck line thingy... You know that part that goes around the neck..." Angela described. The officer nodded in understanding. "And the jewel part was a ruby I think? I'm not too familiar with gemstones..."
"Okay... Please continue."
"Well, I then asked Circe if I could look at it... But I may have reached my hand out a little too early because as soon as she realized what I wanted to do... She slapped my hand away." Angela stated, rubbing a hand.
"Would you describe Circe as a violent person?"
"I would say that she has a mouth... But rarely does she ever lift a hand against someone." Angela muttered. The officer scribbled another thing on his notepad.
"Please continue."
"After that I let it slip that Sal had planned on somehow getting Circe expelled from school..."
"Expelled? How?"
"I wouldn't worry about it... It was a stupid plan and..."
"WHAT WAS THE PLAN." the officer commanded.
"Well... Does anything I say will and can be used against me in court?"
"You're not a suspect... Not yet anyway... So I would say you wouldn't have to worry about it..."
"Okay then... Well... Sal when Sal was bragging about breaking Circe's iPod... He also bragged about how his Mom was going to pull a few strings to get Circe expelled... I'm not sure why or how someone would do that... But that's what I over heard..."
"Okay then..." the officer said, writing another thing down on his note book. "Please continue."
"After that she... Blew up. I'm not sure how describe it... As I said before, she seemed different today... And not just walking funny... Her face just seemed... Vibrant... Full of life, and lovely... I'm not saying she was ugly before today! But something about her just seemed... Hot."
"Miss Michaels... Could you tell me your sexual orientation so I can rule out bias opinions?" He facepalmed. Angela's mouth fell open and her cheeks blushed.
"I'll have you know I'm straight!" she yelled. The officer gave Angela a quizzical look.
"Please continue." he finally said after a moment. Angela sighed.
"Then. Circe seemed to get predatory... Her eyes narrowed, her fists clenched... She just reminded me of a shark or tiger... She was pissed. And rightly so in my opinion... After that she asked if I could pick her up at eight tonight."
"You picked her up?"
"Before I go any further... I am not in any way, shape or form, responsible for any actions or ideas that Circe made tonight... AND I made sure that she knew that..." Angela stated. The officer thought about the statement.
"That sounded rehearsed... But please continue." he said after coming to a conclusion.
"I did pick Circe up... And she wanted me to drop her off at the Silverstern's place... That's when I told her I would not stand behind anything she did tonight... All she told me was she wanted to have a 'chat' with the Silverstern's. After that, she knocked on the door, and randomly ran into the woods behind the house... I waited for about half an hour, cause she wanted me to wait to pick her up... Then Mrs. Silverstern ran into the woods... I think she was following Circe's tracks or something... I waited again for a few minutes... But then I heard a scream... I don't know what happened in those woods, but I told Circe I wouldn't condone anything she did. So, I left. The next note worthy thing that happened was you knocking on our door..." Angela finished. The police officer thought the story over.
"So... You knew that she was going to do something?"
"Yep."
"But you didn't report it to the police?"
"I just got done telling you."
"Touche... Well Miss Michaels... You could be charged with being an accomplice... But I don't think you'd end up with anything too bad..."
"If I may officer... What did Circe do?" Angela asked. The officer looked up with a worried expression.
"I... I'm not sure if I can tell you... No, I'm not sure if you WANT to know..." the officer stated grimly. "Anyways Miss Michaels... Thank you for your time..." he said, standing up and walking out the door.
~~~
Police Chief Alexander Simmons looked over the overly worrying case file that had caused his department too much hassle... For only being started earlier today, it had already amassed a substantial amount of evidence. Someone knocked at his door.
"Come in." he ordered, looking at a witnesses drawing. A familiar officer stepped inside. "Ah, James... I hope you've got good news." James sat in one of the guest chairs.
"I've got good news and bad news." he stated.
"Give me the bad news first." the Chief said as he looked at the disturbing drawing for the umpteenth time.
"The bad news is that we have no idea where Circe went."
"Good news?"
"The good news is that most of the witnesses details were correct."
"... Are you sure you didn't get those two mixed up?"
"No, Angela confirmed the glowing pendent, the predatory posture, the aggressive tendencies, and the love for music."
"What about..."
"She didn't say anything about that."
"Oh..." the Chief said sadly. "Any possible leads we could follow?"
"Not yet... You'd think something fitting that description wouldn't be hard to notice..."
"You'd think... Hell, I'm not sure if i believe it myself..." the Chief stated as he slapped the drawing onto the desk.
I bolted awake... The gem at my throat was BURNING... Like an electric shock mixed with a feeling of fire...
"FAUST THAT HURTS!" I yelled. The gem was DEMANDING my attention... It WANTED me to know something... The burning feeling wanted me to go somewhere... No, scratch that, it wanted me to FIND something... The burning feeling started to die down after a few seconds, but the urge to go find that something still remained. I checked the time... 4:04 AM... The burning died out completely. Ugh.. Why did that stupid gem have to get me up this early? I tried going back to sleep, but the uneasy feeling of needing something kept slumber away. I pushed the driver seat back up and checked around the clearing. No flashing lights, no police officers busting open the door, no concerned citizen approaching uneasily... Everything was fine...
I opened the car door and stepped outside, stretching my arms and legs. Dawn hadn't come yet, but it was still fairly bright... To me at least. Okay... What did I have to work with... Car that I needed to get rid of, several thousand dollars, a book of bank accounts, a cell phone that was in the car, something else I would need to ditch... Eh, no time like the present. I took the phone and threw it into the trees. Okay... What now... I guess I didn't have much to do... I could do the thing that the gem wanted... Oh, who was I kidding? I HAD to do it... Whatever the gem wanted me to find must be important or something... I finished stretching, and got back into the car. I soon had the car turned on, and was pulling out of the woods. The gem tugged at me to head East... Here we go.
I had been driving for several hours now... The call, as I had started to "call" it... That was awful... I'm sorry... Was slowly starting to point South. I had passed through several small towns already, and was putting gas in the stolen car in the latest one... When I heard someone whistle. I looked up to find three slime ball guys looking at me.
"Hey there sweet cheeks!" one of them called. Seriously? I hadn't showered in two days, was driving an obviously stolen car, and was probably scraped up still from last night's forest foray... The clouds around them reeked of desperation, which my gem refused to drink for some reason. I choose to ignore them and continue with my business.
"Hey lady! I'm talkin' to you!" I started to hum as the desperation mixed with rage. My jewel sipped at the tainted emotion... But it didn't like it.
"Yo lady! When we're talkin' to you... You pay attention..." another one stated in a forced "gangsta" accent. I had finished filling up, and had just locked the door so I could go pay for the gas. Unfortunately, that lead me past them. I tried to go around them, but they blocked my path.
"Where do ya think yer goin'?"
"I am going to pay for my gas, and then I am going to leave." I stated with what I hoped was a "deadly edge" tone.
"What about us? Come on... Let us show you a good time..."
Ha. No.
Beat it buddy.
I sang. The slimeball's eyes buldged.
"Wha?"
Beat it before I...
Tear out your heart, rip off your head,
Push you off a cliff, make you quake with dread,
The trio took a step back as their emotion clouds started to become fear. My gem eagerly drank the stench.
Pierce your lungs, rend your spine,
Poison your drink, and shred you fine...
And I'll enjoy every minute of it.
HAHAHAHAHA!
The trio started to run away.
"And stay away!" I laughed. I entered the building to find the clerk peeking over the counter at me. I felt bad for the poor kid. I put $40 down to pay for the gas. He gulped and did the cashier thing.
"Keep the change" I said as I turned to walk out, motioning that he kept the four something dollars that was left over.
I went out to the car I found one of the jerks sitting in the drivers seat. He smiled at me as I felt something cold press against my back. Huh, I thought I just took care of them...
"Into the passenger seat." someone whispered in my ear. It was another of the earlier trio... And he still stank of fear. I knew I should've been at least a LITTLE afraid... But I just couldn't bring myself to fear these losers... I would've been terrified a few days ago certainly... But somehow, the gem at my throat just didn't worry about it at all... And it's attitude was infectious. I climbed into the car quietly. The two others got into the back seat. The driver pulled onto the road.
"So sweet cheeks..." be began as if he didn't just abduct me. "Tell me about yourself." Was this some sort of fetish thing? Forcefully abducting a girl and then acting like it's a normal date? I wouldn't grace that question with a response... Or at least a response he wanted...
AahhahhAhhh... aaahhhAhhh...
My lips were barley moving, I was acting on instinct... Somehow, I felt this was the correct move.
"What's she saying?"
"Hey! Quite humming!"
"Shut up guys!"
Aaahhahh Ahh... Ahhahhahh...
I poured more emotion into the simple song. My pendent drank their anger like a drunk.
"I'm trying to keep your 'Date' from ruining your 'date'!"
"If she wants to sing then let her sing!"
"Seriously! What is she saying?!"
AaahAhhahh... AaahAhhahh...
"Did you not just see what she just did to us?! I'M SORRY... I'd have thought that your plan inludes 'Not getting a psycho chick'!"
"The plan doesn't come into effect until we get to the clearing!"
"WHAT IS SHE SAYING?!" The driver turned around to yell at the stupidest one.
"SHUT UP!" he yelled. I smirked as I saw what was happening on the road. Even though I was screaming inside, my gem assured me I would be fine.
"Hey assholes... Thanks for the perfect excuse for me to ditch the car." I stated. The driver turned around just in time for him to hit a light pole. While the idiots bounced around like a bouncy ball, I hardly felt a thing. When we had finished our abrupt stop, I checked the other three to make sure they were all out... They were. I grabbed the purse that had all of my supplies and calmly opened the door. No I'm serious... I didn't feel a thing. I even quickly checked for cuts and bruises as I walked away... I was fine. I didn't feel drowsy... I could feel my toes, lower back, fingers... Everything.
I hid in the shadows of a nearby building as the police arrived. They scurried over the "accident" like a swarm of ants... I decided that I should probably leave before a concerned citizen pointed at me and yelled "She was in there too!" Let me see... What could I do? I needed another vehicle or something to find this thing that my gem wanted me to find... That was for sure... I walked down the street as casually as I could, hoping for a sudden epiphany. I could steal another car... One car, two cars, who cared at this point? But I needed a vehicle that I could keep for a while with out arousing suspicion... And for that I needed a...
"Used car dealership..." I stated out loud as I rounded a corner to see a used car dealership.
I started looking at the partially rusted cars. I had about... seven thousand? So seven thousand, minus tax... I think that was how it worked... I had never actually bought a car before... There was one that was in decent condition... And only a little under five thousand...
"May I help you?" I turned around to find a guy that wore what must've been a salesman, at least judging by the ugly mustard yellow uniform suit he was wearing...
"I was wondering if this one works." I stated, gesturing towards the decent car. My gem then noticed that he became nervous for some reason.
"Oh no... I wouldn't get that one... I would get... This one." he stated, walking over towards a more derelict van that was more expensive. He was very nervous now, but he was good at hiding it... It was almost as if he was lying.
"I'm sorry, but what's wrong with this one?" I asked, gesturing back towards my original choice. The salesman fidgeted.
"I wouldn't say that anything is wrong..." He began.
"Then why would I want a van that's nearly completely rusted, over a somewhat good conditioned car?" I asked. He seemed to be sweating now.
"I'm sorry! But that car is reserved for modification by another customer!" he stated in a business like tone. I somehow had a hunch who it was.
"Can I ask what you're going to do to it?" I asked sweetly. The salesman seemed to stop sweating for a moment.
"Let's see... New rims, new paintjob, engine block upgrade, custom fuel injector upgrade, custom decals, and fuzzy dice..." he listed off, putting a finger to his chin. Even though most of those went over my head, I knew exactly who was going to buy it.
"The person you're reserving this for wouldn't happen to be a square jawed numb skull that is followed by a wanna-be gangster and a naive half wit would it?" I asked. The salesman looked at me.
"How did..."
"Call it a lucky guess." I figured that in a town of only three or four thousand, there was only going to be enough room for a few idiots like that... So, it didn't take a genius to think that through. But I've been proven wrong about that kind of thing before. "Look, the price you want for this is..." I checked the information about the car. "$4,899? Tell you what... I'm willing to give six thousand even for it." His emotional cloud became what I thought was excitement... It was confirmed by a twinkle in his eye.
"Six thousand?" he asked, beginning to reek like greed, which was devoured by my gem.
"Six thousand, and a little advice." I smiled. He looked at me funny. "Next time you see the guy you wanted to reserve the car for... Try saying 'Beat it buddy.'" I winked. He looked at me in confusion. Oh well... I tried.
"So... Six thousand?" he asked. I took out the purse and began counting bills.
"I can pay for it right now in cash." I stated. His eyes bulged...
"Well... Um..." he gaped. "Why don't we go inside and fill out the paperwork?"
I don't think that is quite necessary...
I sang. Totally a rip off from Star Wars... But he was too distracted by the prospect of six thousand dollars.
"I'll go get the keys then shall I?" he smiled. I could tell it was fake though because the corners twitched... Not to mention his emotions were screaming greed. He ran to go get the keys. You know... I had to admit... Despite not being able to come off or anything... My pendent was pretty handy. I don't think I've been hungry since the night I got it... That and the weird singing ability? I could probably rule the whole world if I tried... Eh... Too much paper work involved. The salesman came running back out with a key chain and piece of paper in his hand.
"Here you go Miss..." he stated sweat forming on his brow. I pulled out the promised six thousand.
"Here you go." I said as I handed the wad to him. He gave the keys and paper in return.
"What's this?" I asked, holding out the paper.
"It's the title... For plates and all that..."He stated.
Oh.
"Oh." I deadpanned as I twirled the key on my finger as he counted.
"Thank you for your business..." He finally said after he was done. "Come again!" he added cheerfully. Hopefully I wouldn't have to. I got into my purchase and drove off with it. It seemed to work fine, at least I didn't hear anything clanking around anywhere... The gas was full, supplies in the passenger seat... Nothing left to do but answer the calling!
I'll admit I snickered when I went past the wreck I caused... The trio were in the back's of separate police cruisers looking disgruntled. Their jaws dropped as they saw me pass by in the "new" car. I greeted them with a wink and a two finger salute. They looked like they were yelling something... Probably profanity... But I couldn't hear them. I passed through the small town without further incident.
Ugh! It was now several hours later and as I got closer and closer to the call, it just got worse, and worse, and worse... And on top of that the sun was now starting to set, low enough to get light in my eyes, but high enough to also make the car heat up... I had always hated driving around this time... I was frustrated, tired, and the sun light seemed brighter than usual... I decided I needed to stop, if only for an hour... The next town I went through had this 50's cafe/coffee shop that seemed to be open 24/7. I pulled in and checked the open hours. Yep, 24/7. I pocketed some of the money and hid the purse under the driver seat. I then locked the car as I got out and stretched. Faust, it was good to stand again... I looked back at the car as I went inside... And noticed I needed license plates... Faust. Fucking. Damn it... Yay, more stuff I had to do. Oh well, future me problem... Present me needed a rest... And maybe coffee to see if I still benefited from it's obvious effects. I sat down at a booth, enjoying the rest. Eventually however a waitress came by and asked for my order. To Tartarus with it... I ordered a coffee. I usually had the employees add an asinine amount of sugar and creme... But with the cardboard taste I figured it would probably taste the same black anyway. She looked at me strangely for ordering the coffee at this hour... But I didn't care, I NEEDED to find whatever it was I was looking for... And if that meant chugging a whole pot of coffee to see if I could still get hyper from the stuff to drive all night... Then so be it. I mused to myself that it was still warm at least... And warm card board is as weird as you think it is. I rested my head on my hand. I needed to start thinking about how I wasn't going to get caught without a license plate...
Thankfully my thoughts were answered when a drunk guy stumbled in. I knew they were answered as I had seen him exit his car when he drove in, and he had stumbled across the parking lot. I'd just steal his... He was going to get arrested anyway... I quickly formed a plan on how I would procure his plates... The only thing I'd need is a tool to get the things off and on... It was a kind of screwdriver wasn't it? But was it the cross kind or the flat ones? Ugh... I knew little to nothing about cars... I should probably get both just in case... But where could I... There was a hardware store open across the street. Wow... That was... Too convenient. It was like some lazy author of a shitty fan fiction had just said "Screw it." and just plopped the damn thing down on a whim.
Oh well... I'd hate to waste such a good opportunity... Even if it was too convenient. I downed my coffee, put some money on the table, and made my way casually out the door. I didn't know how long the drunk would stay in the cafe... So I had to act fast. I hurried across the street and checked the open times... Good they were open for another hour. I opened the door and went to what looked like the relevant section. I quickly browsed over everything.
Why didn't they sell these damn screwdrivers separately? I just needed the two for crying out loud! But nooo... They had to force me to buy a twenty dollar pack for something I'd probably only use once... I snuck back across the street after buying the smallest pack of screwdrivers I could find and quickly found the drunks car. I knelt down annnd... What lucky arbitrary tool was I going to use?
... Oh you've got to be kidding me... TWIST TIES?!? SERIOUSLY?! I face palmed... This guy had twist ties holding his license plate to his car? I now knew why the hardware store was too convenient. I twisted the plate off and snuck to the other end of the vehicle to find the same thing. I rolled my eyes as I twisted that one off too...
It would've been too obvious if I had put the new plates on in full view of the dinner... I was lucky that the drunk had parked off to the side a little... I hopped into my car and drove off. It was almost dark now... I figured I should find a place to rest, if the coffee didn't work that is, and put the plates on. Thankfully I didn't see any police cars or anything as I drove out of the town... I soon found a dead end road with a cul de sac at the end. Perfect. I parked the car and got to work twisting the things on... I should probably get something better than twist ties... Oh well, I'll see what I can scrounge up later. Then I started getting that feeling when you know you've had too much coffee. I smiled despite not being able to get the warm card board taste out of my mouth. I got back into the car and started to drive into the night.
Author's Note
There is no fourth wall... Yas...
Night came and went with out event. The sun rose steadily in the east and began it's arc across the sky as I drove closer to my goal. It was only until now that I was feeling sleepy from driving all night... I knew coffee affected me more than most people... But certainly not keeping me up all night... I think my gem was messing with my body... And mind. Saying Tartarus instead of hell, Faust instead of God, referring to it as "mine", what seemed to be night vision, digestive system changes... There was a whole list to choose from, most of which I probably wasn't even aware of... I had started to change, and granted most of the changes seemed to be good... I wasn't sure if I was okay with it changing me with out my permission. For instance... I noticed that my gem mostly ate what would have been called "bad" emotions... But it didn't take them away from the person... No, I amplified the rage and greed, and ate the excess... I shook my head, I had been thinking about my situation all night in my coffee induced state... I needed a break. I pulled into another town and quickly got a morning tea... It tasted like card board still, but it did wake me up a little... But not enough to stop me from dozing off. I sluggishly locked my car doors and put the seat down, falling into a quick nap.
TAPTAPTAP
I woke up to someone tapping on my window.
"Huh? What?" I asked as I sat up. I looked out the window to see a police officer standing outside... Oh fuck... He made a gesture for me to roll the window down.
"Miss? May I ask what you're doing?" he asked.
Haha... Funny story...
"I'm sorry I was driving all night and I just needed to catch a quick nap is all." I said instead, still the truth but not the whole truth.
"Why didn't you get a hotel room?" He asked.
Why didn't I get a hotel room? Oh yeah, calling thingy... That, and trying to stay out of public areas so no one saw my face and reported me to the police... Whom should of posted my description online or something by now... Look how well that turned out... Ugh! Quit thinking about why not Circe! Make an excuse or something! ...Have I been silent too long? Um...
I smiled at the officer, he raised an eyebrow in return.
Uh... Fuck...
"I'm just on my way to my sister's house and it's just a few towns over. It wouldn't have been worth getting a room..." I smiled again. Where did that come from? His eyebrow went even higher... How in Tartarus did he do that? What is life?!
"Okay Miss... I'll let you off with a warning, but don't let me catch you loitering in a parking lot again..." He stated. Loitering? For how long was I out exactly? I turned the car on as the officer walked away towards his cruiser. I blinked when I saw the time. 1:36?! I slapped myself awake, buckled up again, and continued my journey.
My gem growled. No, I'm serious. It legit growled at me like a stomach... It was the weirdest thing ever. It was around three o'clock, so I decided to stop at Micky D's or something, and eat the small children's greed at wanting to stay or something. I was sipping at a card board flavored soda... I think it was Coke... Or DP... Something with a red label and caffeinated... Little children were indeed running and screaming behind the glass behind me, emitting their own little clouds of greed as they wanted to stay in the ball pit, and their parents anger as they tried to get their spawn to settle down... It was beautiful. All I had to do was sit there happily humming away, taking a few sips from the liquid cardboard occasionally... Which tasted just as weird cold as it did warm... I was feeling pretty content...
But then I noticed this blue haired girl staring at me. I didn't think I looked funny enough to be stared at... The other patrons hadn't anyway. Or the other patrons were VERY used to weird looking people... But I didn't think that was the case... No, there was something about that girl and her magenta eyes... Wait... MAGENTA EYES?! I casually looked over again, yep... Magenta... Those magenta eyes were boring into my face... There was something about the way she stared at me that just seemed off... It wasn't curiosity... It wasn't anger or malice... I... Couldn't read what emotion she emitted... Wait... THAT'S IT! She didn't have her own personal cloud of emotion that surrounded her! I would've never have guessed that she was there if I hadn't seen her staring at me... But regardless she stared on. The two girls she sat with were talking to her urgently, but she paid them no mind.
This was getting a little too weird, so I filled my soda back up... Probably mixing two different sodas... But I didn't care as I couldn't taste it anyway. I walked out as quickly as I could without drawing too much attention to myself...
~~~
"Look what you did Sonata! She's running away!"
"Didn't you see how happy she was? We shouldn't take it away from her..."
"Sonata... Do you not recall the feeling of power we got from that same activity? We can not trust some random Human with being a Siren!"
"Shut up Aria! I remember just as well as you do!"
"And?"
"And... Well... Don't you think it's time we tried something new?"
"..."
"..."
"What'd I say?"
"Sonata... I know you're always the one that wants to try new things... But being MORTAL?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
"Adaigo... Think of all the new things we've been able to do since we became human! Look at your burger right now and say to me it wasn't good!"
"Dios maldición ello Sonata..."
"Adaigo... Please stay in this century..."
"Ugh... Fine... Yes, Sonata... The burger was interesting to say the least... But I don't want to stay mortal just for cheap fast food!"
"..."
"Look, Sonata..."
~~~
I was once again driving down the road that lead towards my goal. The encounter at Micky D's had shaken me. That girl who stared at me knew something... Something she wasn't supposed to... Did I let anything slip? No... I don't think so... Sooo... Why? Why was she staring? I shook my head. It was over and done, odds were I'd never see that blue haired girl ever again. Besides, when I had left, she was still sitting there, she couldn't have trailed me... There was no way a random girl at Micky D's could follow me... I mean, I can see miles down the road behind me! No one was on the road with me! No one's there... I can relax... I can be calm... No one's there... I took a deep breath. Okay... Everything is fine... Totally fine... Totally fine...
I continued driving for several hours... I hadn't seen another car in... Two hours? Something like that. Anyway, I had calmed myself down from the incident at Micky D's... Partially. I wasn't dwelling on it though... I was putting all my attention and energy trying to figure out what I was looking for... And getting there as fast as I could. But there wasn't much I could do there as I was essentially on a straight, flat road that happened to be heading PRECISELY in the same direction that I needed to go. I saw a hitch hiker up ahead... It wasn't the first I'd seen today... In fact on this road alone, I had seen SEVEN... Not including the one just ahead. I slowed down just enough to not be rude and went to the opposite side as... The gem suddenly told me the call was becoming BEHIND me. I slammed the breaks. Probably almost breaking them... But I didn't care. I looked in the mirror and saw the hiker staring at my car. With probably the same expression I was wearing. I got out of the car, not even bothering to turn it off. The hitch hiker, walked towards me as I got out. We soon faced each other. SHE looked as shocked as I felt. Here it was... The source of the call...
"Sister..."
Author's Note
I used google for the translation! Don't hurt me!
"Sister..." We said together... It was creepy... I had never seen this girl before in my life... Yet... She was, family... It was that feeling you get when you see a family member you haven't seen in a long time... Only sisterly. I'm having problems describing it as, I think I've mentioned this before, I was an only child... Suddenly my "sister" lunged forwards and hugged me. And you know what? I hugged her back with no hesitation. I felt tears fill my eyes...
Why? Who knew.
We embraced for several minutes. But eventually we started to get uncomfortable so we broke the hug. Her eyes were filled with more tears than I even had... I wiped them away. Ha... Wiping away a total strangers tears like a long lost relative... I didn't care though.
"Come on..." I wrapped my arm around my sister and guided her towards the car... That sounded better in my head... It totally wasn't creepy at the time... She buckled in as I opened the driver door.
"I... I'm guessing you... All... Also have this?" she asked, pulling an identical pendent from under her shirt... She didn't have a emotion cloud around her... But I could somehow tell she was shook up about something... Something had to have happened. But I didn't want to pry so I pulled my own jewel out and held it out so she could see.
"Yeah..." I nodded. "It appeared around my neck..." I counted the days since this all began as I started to drive away. "Four days ago?" Gosh, had it been that long already? "It just randomly appeared while I... I was..." I trailed off. Oh come on Circe! You were fucking crying about an iPod! Admit it! "I was upset with someone at my former school..." Reeeeeal smooth...The girl in the passenger seat looked at me with a kind of half smirk, but the shaken look persisted.
"Former?" she asked.
"It's a long story..." I murmured.
"People only say that when they don't want to say anything..." she whispered. I pursed my lips.
"Alright then... Why don't we do this fairly?" I asked.
"What fairly?"
"You want to know what happened to me... And I want to know why you seem a little shaken." I stated.
"You picked up on that?" she asked.
"Yep."
"Drat." We both laughed at that, but hers was a little forced. "So what are you thinking?" She asked after a minute or two.
"One of us will ask a question, the other answers, then the other asks a question."
"... Seems fair." she mumbled. "But! No directly asking what our problem is!" she added.
"Name?" I asked in response, implying that I agree to her addition.
"Wow... Okay... Jumping right in... Just call me Calliope." Calliope whispered. I suppressed a chuckle. "Hey! I happen to like my name!" she exclaimed.
"No worries... My name is just as weird." I stated.
"Oh yeah? What is your name?" she asked.
"Circe, and I'm counting that as your question." I smirked.
"Wow, that is a weird name... And hey!" she exclaimed again. I giggled at her antics.
"Okay... Was it a person, place, or thing that is making you upset?" she looked at me with a furrowed brow. "Not asking you what your deal is!" I said as I mimed holding my hands in the air. She sighed.
"Person... And are you always... Wait... No! Stop being so shrewd!" Calliope exclaimed.
"Can't." I chuckled. Calliope just shook her head.
"Was it a person place or thing that made you up and leave?" Calliope asked after a few minutes.
"What makes you think that I left?" I asked. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Fine, I guess it was a little of all three..." I stated after a moment under her stare. Calliope whistled.
"What the Tartarus happened?" she whispered. I looked at her with a kind of smirk. "Don't answer that." she stated. "Just curious."
"Have you noticed anything strange going on with the way you talk?" I asked.
"Why would... Oh... I did it again didn't I?"
"Yep."
"Fine, yes I have noticed that I talk differently. Tartarus instead of Tar... Hell... Faust instead of God..." She started to list off.
"Yeah..." I nodded.
"Have you noticed anything that's changing? I've only had this stupid pendent for three days to your four..." Calliope stated.
"Including what you said..." I sighed. "A friend of mine said I was all... Sexy tigress like? I forget the exact words but something about a sexy predator. Don't need to eat... Don't need to drink... Only need to have the gem feed off emotion or something... Everything else tastes like cardboard... I'm not scared of much anymore... And I'm practically immune to injury." I listed off. "Although I don't want to test out that last one any further." I added. Calliope whistled.
"Holy shit girl. Just what did you get into?" Calliope asked. "The only thing that I figured out from that list is the eating emotion thing... That and the cardboard tasting thing." she added. I sighed.
"Might as well tell you what BASICALLY happened... Just involves a creepy stalker, a plot to get me expelled, a stuck up bitch, arson, grand theft auto, SOME identity theft... I think what would count as hit and run... And now picking up a hitch hiker." I chuckled as I added that last bit. Calliope whistled again.
"Dayum. By the sounds of it, my escape was boring..." she stated.
"Ha..." was all I could say.
"Let's see... Since fair is fair... I guess I got involved with... A bigoted jerk... A morally corrupt family? Annd... Running away?" Calliope lost her earlier mirth when she listed off her adventures highlights.
"Ouch... I bet I can guess where this is going..." I stated grimly.
"Yeah... I thought my boyfriend was cheating on me... But when I confronted him about it, I found him not with one girl... Not two girls... BUT THREE girls and a BOY..." I winced when Calliope said that... But she continued on. "As I was running home, this thing just appeared out of the blue... No biggie I thought at the time... It's just a necklace after all... But when I got home, my drunkard Dad somehow saw it and made a grab for it..."
I could guess what happened next.
"I slapped his hand away so hard he SPUN around several times before stopping..." Calliope started to sob. "I ran upstairs with him yelling about how I owed him and he needed money... I barricaded myself in my room as he screamed outside my door..." I felt my hands griping the wheel VERY hard. "Next thing I know is that he was sneaking in to try and get it... I kicked him in the sack and ran as he lunged towards me..." Calliope whimpered. "I've been running ever since... Um... Circe?" My knuckles were bone white. How dare someone try and take Calliope's pendent?! "Circe?" The only one with any sort of right to Calliope's pendent was CALLIOPE! "Circe... Try and stay out of the ditch..." NO ONE WOULD EVER TOUCH HER OR HER SOUL! NOT EVEN HER OWN...
"Circe!" Calliope yelled.
"Huh? Wut?" I asked. I looked at the road and saw that I was on the wrong side of the road with another car approaching. "SHIT!" I yelled as I swerved back into my own lane. I breathed in heavily as I deescalated from the situation. I pulled over almost immediately and hoped out of the car. "JEBUS LORENZO!" I yelled, hands beginning to pull my hair out.
"Circe? Are you okay?" Calliope asked, having also gotten out of the vehicle.
"Yes yes... I'm..." I began. "Sorry." What the... I was going to say fine... But I guess sorry could work.
"What happened? One moment I was telling you my story and the next you're flipping out..." Calliope stated.
"I'm... I... I guess I got too worked up..." I answered sheepishly. "I was listening to you... Then I just started angry... I was ranting to myself... And then I was in the other lane..."
"Damn... I didn't know I was that bad of a story teller..." she said.
"What? No! No no no. It wasn't that... It's just... The thought of someone else getting these..." I held up my pendent. "It just... Makes me pissed off..."
Her face darkened.
"I... I Never thought about that before..." she stuttered. "It does kinda piss one off doesn't it?"
"Yeah..." I replied. We stood on the side of the road, both of us looking at the sky which was beginning to tint orange.
"What now?" Calliope asked. I brooded over the question for several moments.
"Good question..." I responded. We stood there for a few more minutes, watching the sun fall behind the horizon. "Hey, I got an idea." I said finally. "How 'bout we go fuck a certain someone's father's shit up?" I asked. Her head tilted sideways as she heard my query, but then her eyes widened in realization.
"I think that's something I could get behind yes..." she nodded with a smile.
"Is this his place?" I asked as I pulled to the curb in front of a fairly decrepit house.
"Yeah... That's the cheating dirt bag's house..." Calliope mumbled. "Why?"
"No reason." I smirked as I put the car into park and turned it off. Calliope looked at me like I was insane.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Nothing." I stated as I took the stolen purse from the backseat and began rummaging in it.
"No seriously... What are you doing?!" she spazed. I sighed.
"What time does he leave the house?" I asked, pulling out a certain stolen book full of banking information.
"Around seven... But what does that have to do with..." she began, but was interrupted by me pulling several pages out of the book. I put the collection of torn pages back into the purse. "What does this have to do with my dad?" Calliope finished. I checked the time on my watch, quarter to six, with the sun beginning to peek back over the Eastern horizon. Perfect.
"Your dad needs money doesn't he?" I asked.
"No." she deadpanned. I facepalmed.
"Your dad wants more money for his alcohol?" I corrected.
"Yeah..." she said hesitantly. "But what does that have to do with..." I interrupted Calliope again by pulling out two blank pages. "What does this have to do with dick head? And will you stop pulling pages out of that weird book!" she exclaimed at me. I ignored the command, pulled out a pen, and wrote, "Go wild." on one of the empty pages, attaching it to the front of the book. "What are you planning?!" Calliope exclaimed.
"One sec." I stated as I hoped out of the car. I jogged up to the door and positioned the book on the door step so that the "Go wild." was readable towards the door. I jogged back towards the car to find Calliope looking at the torn out pages.
"Bank numbers?" she asked. "Why would... Oh." her eyes widened in realization. I plucked the pages out of her hands.
"Yeah oh. I give your asshole ex some bank numbers. We tell your dad about them. He goes and causes a ruckus with asshole. They both go to jail, asshole for identity theft, your dad for breaking and entering. Win win." I finished.
"Not to mention getting the police off your trail..." she dead panned.
"Win win." I smirked.
"But what about these?" Calliope asked as she snatched back the pages. "And how do we convince my dad to break and enter?"
"These," I said as I plucked the pages back out of her hands, stuffing them into the purse. "are for emergencies... And I take it you haven't tried singing to any one yet?" I asked.
"No... Why?"
"I'm not going to ruin the surprise." I smirked.
~~~
"You're mad." Calliope deadpanned at me.
"I'm not angry." I smirked back.
"You're cray cray and an insufferable smart ass." she corrected as I pushed her out of the car. "What's makes you think he won't try for the pendent again?"
"I won't explain how... Just know that he can't hurt you, he's the one who should be scared, and just let all the emotions run free." I advised.
"Let the emotions run free? What in Tartarus' name are you talking about?"
"Hey, no confusion... Get angry."
"I'm not the hulk Circe..."
Who? Oh Marvel avenger and whatnot... I thought for a moment.
"Hulk up!" I exclaimed.
"You're also an idiot." Calliope deadpanned. I sighed.
"Yeah... That was pretty terrible..." I agreed. "Just... Just think on how he wants to steal your pendent..." Calliope's face instantly darkened.
"That bitch is goin' down." she gritted her teeth as she spun on her heel. I silently nodded my head with the "Not bad..." expression and pulled my head back into the car.
~~~
"Okay... The new one is going in..."
"Do you think she's getting revenge for something?"
"I'm not sure... She could just be getting personal items."
"Well keep watching... Sonata, can you... Oh for the love of god Sonata! We've decided what's going to happen!"
"..."
"Giving me the silent treatment? Oh please... I'm the one who practically invented that for humans..."
"No, I think the Europeans were doing that long before they came to the Americas..."
"Not helping Aria..."
"Ether way, I don't think you're the one who first started the silent treatment here on Earth."
"Ugh... Shut up Aria..."
"Look, all I'm saying is that the Aztecs and Mayans seemed to have grasped the concept before we got there..."
"Enough with the Aztecs! We know you liked them! We know you think they shouldn't of been wiped out!"
"I would've totally called hacks if the phrase existed back then..."
"..."
"..."
"What?"
"I always knew you liked video games..."
"Hey! She speaks!"
"Hey! I do not like video games!"
"Oh please! I see you watching those Let's play videos on your phone!"
"..."
"... How the fuck do you know about those?!"
"Annd let's simmer down..."
~~~
I sat in the driver seat idly twiddling my thumbs. I wanted to go in and see how Calliope was doing, but I knew that she needed to do this alone... And besides, I wouldn't have liked it if she barged in on my first musical rampage... But I still wanted to go in and see if she was doing alright. I groaned out loud. What to do, what to do, what to do...
"Oh look, that van over there is rocking back and forth..." I commented nonchalantly. "Get a room you sickos." I smirked. What to do, what to do, what to freaking do... Suddenly the side door of the rocking van opened up, revealing a girl with yellowish orange hair who looked rather frazzled... If you know what I mean... I raised an eyebrow in interest. The van was still rocking back and forth. The frazzled girl closed the door behind her and walked down the sidewalk past my car. When she saw me sitting in the driver seat, I smirked and gave a mock salute. She gave me a puzzled look, and looked back at the van... Only to blush and facepalm immediately. I'll admit I giggled like a lunatic as she hurried down the walk.
Other than watching the van rock back and forth, nothing much happened... Needless to say, I really missed my iPod... I hated being bored... I lose track of time and I just kinda wonk out until something interesting comes up. So I didn't notice Calliope at all until she had opened the car door. I'm ashamed to admit I jumped.
"Geez Circe... Did you get a heart attack?" Calliope asked.
"How'd it go?" I asked, purposely ignoring her question. She sighed.
"You're a manipulating bitch, you know that?"
"Probs. What happened?" I smirked. Her expression turned into the "don't-give-me-that-bull" look.
"Oh I got him alright..." she sighed. "Poor bastard was blubbering and whining like a little filly... But I think I got him curious about your book..." I gave her a concerned look. "What?" she asked.
"Repeat the blubbering and whining part." I requested.
"Poor bastard was blubbering and whining like a little girl?" she returned the concerned look.
"No, I'm certain you said filly instead of girl."
"No... I'm pretty certain I said 'girl'..." she responded with a little force. I shook my head. "So anything happen out here?" she asked, changing the subject. I looked at the van, which had stopped rocking.
"That WAS rocking before..." I deadpanned, pointed at the inert van.
"Ew!" Calliope groaned.
"Best part was when someone got out and it was still rocking." I smirked.
"For fuck's sake Circe! T. M. I!" she exclaimed.
"And now we just leave the plan to fulfill it self." I chuckled, turning the car on and pulling away from the curb.
"You're a sick bitch." she stated.
Author's Note
Sorry about the delay, have been busy with work, starbound, and civ 5...
"Seriously though... What now?" Calliope asked.
"Uh..." I moaned. I honestly had no idea what to do now. "I dunno... You got any ideas?" I asked.
"Well..." Calliope sniffed. "Judging by the smell of the car... I'd say you haven't slept in a decent bed in a couple days..." she deduced. I nodded sadly in confirmation. "And I also haven't had a decent nights sleep in several days... To Tartarus with it... Hang a right." she commanded. I turned right. "We both need a decent hotel to sleep at..."
"Sounds good." I agreed. My days awake were starting to wear on me. "Which one?" I asked.
"Wait for it to come around the corner... Annnd... That one will do perfectly." Calliope pointed. I looked towards the building that came into view around the corner. "It has decent service and is fairly cheap." she added.
"Perfect." I replied, pulling into the drive of the decent looking hotel. I soon found a parking space and we scraped together our meager belongings. As we walked into the decent lobby we passed by an arguing couple... I'm pretty sure we both slowed down considerably. But we thankfully made it past them without drawing their attention too much.
"Can we get a room?" I asked the lady at the desk. Her glasses slipped down her nose as she looked over her glasses like bifocals.
"Smoking or non-smoking?" she asked.
"Non-smoking please." I answered.
"How many nights?"
"Just one."
"Just the two of you?" the lady asked, her eyes drifting towards Calliope.
"Just the two of us." I agreed.
"I bet it will..." The lady said grumpily. The now familiar aroma of anger wafted towards me. I looked back at Calliope, who merely shrugged. Why would... Oh... OH!
"It's not like that..." I stated as I waved my arms to ward off those ideas.
"Uh huh. Driver's license. $200 per night. Sign here." the lady slammed a clipboard onto the desk. I realized right then about my driver's license. The police would easily track a record of me staying here... I kind of grimaced.
"Look kid... Do you really think that you can get away with a little hanky panky and not even have your license?" the lady gave me one of those looks of disbelieve. Her perfume of anger became that of annoyance.
"Um... I..." I stammered.
"She must've left her wallet at home." Calliope answered for me. "Here." she stated as she brought out her own license and showed it to the desk lady.
"Alright then Ms... $200 and sign on the paper..." the desk lady stated, turning towards her computer to glance at something. I dug in the purse and pulled out two one hundred dollar bills and gave them to Calliope, who in turn handed them to the lady. She then picked up a pen and began to scribble her name onto the paper.
"Wait wait wait... Why do we even need to sign a name?" I asked. "Shouldn't the drivers license be enough for an ID?"
"Yeah. But the managers have been insistent that we get more proof of identity... Seeing as there's been a rash of stolen items from the room and all..." The lady sat in her office chair and picked up a newspaper.
"Oh." I answered simply, feeling kind of stupid about asking... But then again how was I supposed to know? Oh well. Calliope grabbed the key cards as the lady slide them forward, keeping one hand on her paper.
" Room 271... Have fun kids." she deadpanned.
"We're not..." I began. But Calliope grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
"Come on sis!" she exclaimed.
"To each their own I guess..." I heard the lady mumble beneath her breath as Calliope pulled me towards the elevator bank. She pushed the up button and we waited for literally half a second before the doors opened. I found myself forced into the elevator, my "sis" following close behind.
"Geez... Why so touchy feely suddenly?" I asked when the doors closed.
"I dunno." Calliope smirked. I face palmed. The elevator ride after that was uneventful. Likewise, the walk searching for our room was also uneventful.
"268... 269... 270... 271!" Calliope counted off as we searched the hallway. She quickly put the key card in and opened the door. The room inside was pretty nice... Only there was only a single bed... The two of us stood in front of the bed in silence for a solid minute.
"Sooo..." I started. "That explains the desk ladies behavior..."
"Yes. Yes it does." Calliope agreed. We continued in silence for a few moments longer.
"I can sleep on the floor..." I offered.
"Oh no!" Calliope exclaimed. "You've been driving nearly nonstop for FOUR days straight! YOU get the bed!"
"Ha... No." I argued. "You've been having a hard time with your family! You deserve a good bed!"
"Ugh..." she groaned. "Okay... We share the bed?"
"I don't want to give the desk lady any of the satisfaction..." I mumbled. Calliope facepalmed.
"Don't be such a baby!" she exclaimed, yanking my stolen belongings off my shoulder and throwing them to the floor.
"What are you-" I began, only to be interrupted by Calliope pushing me into the bed. "Hey!" I shouted.
"Oh what's the matter?" she asked as she climbed over me onto what she must've thought was her side. "Afraid to share a bed with another girl?" she asked.
"No..." I grumbled.
"Then what's the matter?!" she exclaimed, settling down into the covers.
"I just don't feel comfortable thinking about it..."
"Stop right there..." Calliope stated. "Just a few hours ago, you were joking about how that van was rocking..."
"What? Oh! No!" I waved my hands at her. "I'm just not comfortable thinking about ME with anyone else!"
"Are you..." she began, but stopped. "Ugh... Fine." she stated as she looked at me. Calliope turned and clicked the lights off. Not that it mattered to us because everything still looked like it was dawn out. I sighed and rolled away from Calliope. And I let myself drift off into some very welcome sleep.
~~~
Taptaptap... Taptaptap... Taptaptap...
I bolted awake at someone knocking at the door. Calliope moaned next to me, but didn't move otherwise.
Taptaptap...
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." I urged as I pushed my legs off the bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I slowly made my way towards the door and looked out the little peep hole hotel doors have. Standing there... Was that freaking girl with the magenta eyes and blue hair from the Micky D's.
I was now wide awake.
Did she recognize me from a police poster? What did she want? Was she expecting a bribe or something to buy her silence? I silently put the chain lock on so it locked the door so she couldn't force her way in, and opened the door slightly.
"What do you want?" I asked showing only one eye through the crack, not bothering at all with the normal need to be polite... It was after all who knew when in the night, and she obviously knew about me.
"What do I want?" she repeated, her voice was high pitched like the stereotypical popular girl from school. "I want to enjoy hamburgers and pizza for the rest of my life." That got me for a moment.
"I'm sorry... What?" I asked. The girl groaned.
"I know what you are! I know what is happening to you! And I know what it feels like!" she whisper exclaimed. I felt an eyebrow being raised.
"I still don't know what you're talking about..." I responded.
"Eating emotions, a complete shut down of all your taste buds, night vision, a practical immunity to pain and injury... Only to name the few that you've noticed by now... Which isn't including the mental changes..." the blue haired girl stated. I had to admit... This girl talked a lot more intelligently than her voice gave any reason to believe.
"Okay... For a moment, let's pretend for a moment you are correct... Why would I trust you?" I asked with no small amount of accusation tainting my voice.
"Faust is the God Queen of our native universe." she answered. Well... Two birds one stone. "I know you won't... Can't trust me..." the blue haired girl continued. "But I have answers for you and what is happening..." I thought about it for a moment. This girl didn't look TOO strong... While true that I couldn't read her emotions like a normal person... She DID explain why I was cursing Faust instead of God... "Have you had a taco yet?" she asked, interrupting my internal monologue with her question.
"I... What?" I asked with a small amount of annoyance.
"A taco... Have you had one yet?" she asked again.
"No." I yawned.
"Awesome!" the blue haired girl exclaimed. "I want to be there when you first eat a taco!"
"Yeah... No. That isn't happening." I stated.
"Okay... How about we go to a taco place right now... My treat." she asked. I pulled my head away from the door and looked at Calliope on the bed. Would she wake up and find me missing? Was it worth leaving her alone to find answers? I faced back towards the cracked door.
"One mo..." I stated, closing the door gently. I quickly trotted back into the room to find some paper. "Paper... Paper..." I mumbled absent-mindedly. After finding a notepad and pen in the nightstand... I quickly scribbled.
Calliope,
Had to quickly run out for supplies. BRB shortly.
Circe
I put the note on the nightstand and silently stole a card key.
The blue haired girl was still waiting when I opened the door and stepped outside.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Yup." I answered. The blue haired girl turned towards down the hallway. I followed her to the elevators. "Sooo... What's your name?" I asked as we were waiting for the elevator.
"Hm? Oh... My name is Sonata... Yours?" Sonata replied.
"Circe." I answered.
"Hm..." Sonata thoughtfully hummed.
"What?" I asked.
"If I remember correctly... Circe is the Greek enchantress who lured sailors into her lair and turned them into pigs... Very fitting I think." she responded.
"Well done." I applauded. "Not many people can recall off hand the Odyssey." But then her last statement hit me. "Fitting?" I asked. The doors to the elevator then choose to open.
"Yeah... When the Eurpoeans came over was an AWESOME time..." Sonata happily stated. Wait wait wait wait wait... Did she just...
"Europeans?" I asked as I followed her into the elevator. "Back up... Start from the beginning, and make sense."
"Okay..." Sonata sighed as she settled in the elevator. "Nearly 4 thousand years ago... Three sea pony witches cursed themselves to be immortal, at the cost of living off music that provoked bad feelings..."
"Stop..." I groaned. "Sea pony witches? If your pulling my leg... I WILL throw you off the tallest building I can find." I growled as the doors closed.
"What?! Okay... That wasn't the best place to start..." Sonata amended. "My two sisters and I... Come from a different world... One where the majority of citizens are what a human would call ponies..."
"Still not making sense." I growled.
"Three of those ponies... The sea pony witches... Cursed themselves to achieve immortality... But they had to do it by feeding off angry feelings." Sonata continued to explain.
"So... What would you know about these witches?" I groaned.
"I... What?" Sonata asked.
"You're referring to these 'ponies'..." I quoted the air with my fingers. "... in the third person. And since I doubt you're four thousand years old... You aren't them." I stated with an icy tone.
"You're right... I'm not four thousand..." she answered after a moment.
"So when can I throw you off a building?"
"I'm only two thousand."
If I had been drinking, I'm pretty sure I would've sprayed it everywhere.
"Well... More like 1 and a half thousand..." Sonata continued.
"Stop stop stop stop..." I groaned.
"What?" she asked as the elevator stopped and opened the doors to the lobby.
"You're waaaaay too young to be over a thousand years old..." I started. "Tartarus... I think you're younger than me!"
"Another thing... Tartarus is Faust's prison for criminals and monsters... Which is what you've become."
"Ha!" I exclaimed, attracting the attention of the night desk lady. "... I'm still as human as you are missy..." I whispered.
"Deny it all you want..." Sonata whispered back. "You're a siren to the core now."
"Ugh..." I groaned. This girl was insane! And she didn't know she was insane! Well... Not many insane people do...
We walked into the night air, a crescent moon was nearing a high point in the sky. "A siren?" I asked when we were out of earshot of the hotel. "I'm human! As human as I ever was! ... Am!" I corrected myself. With blinding speed Sonata reached into the neck of my hoodie and pulled gently on the pendent. When she touched the warm gem, it was like she had grabbed my arm and twisted... Hard...
"THIS." she stated with more steel than I thought her voice could hold. "THIS is why you aren't human anymore... THIS is what connects you to me... Me to another generation of siren... And them to the three Witches." She growled. "Believe it or not... You ARE one of us now..." she finished, letting go of the pendent. I sighed with relief. Sonata sighed. "You have no idea what power you now hold..."
"Okay..." I panted, still in pain from the contact. "Let's say I believe you... Why?" I asked. Sonata giggled.
"You're just like Aria when we found her..." she continued to giggle. "The important question isn't why... It's HOW."
"Okay... How?" I asked.
"The original curse was cast upon three alike pendents..." She gestured in the vague vicinity of my chest. "The original pendents were meant to be chosen by the wearer... A.K.A... The witches... But the second generation, my progeny... Stole them from the original three. But somehow... Those three were destroyed... We never did really discover who our predecessors were...Adagio and I lived in the same village when it happened. We were both having a hard time and we both got our pendents..." Sonata explained as we continued walking down the sidewalk. "But eventually we were pulled towards another, Aria lived across the kingdom... It took us months to find her... But when we did, the three of us were unstoppable... But then that stupid Starswirl banished us to this world..."
"Starswirl?" I deadpanned.
"A very powerful magic user at the time... Which was 1 and a quarter thousand years ago."
"Wait..." I stated as something occurred to me. "If you never met your predecessors... How do you know about the witches?" I asked.
"In time, you'll learn to ask the pendent for much more than a source of food." She answered as she pointed at the gem which was half hidden. "Anyway... The three of us were trapped here for over a thousand years. Spent most of our early years here searching for a way back... You couldn't imagine our relief when the Europeans first landed. I think it was the Vikings? Or was it Columbus? I dunno, we still have arguments about that..."
"Sooo you still argue with your sisters... Over history... Which you've personally experienced..." I asked with no small amount of disdain.
"Hey! I'd like to see you predict the next major event of history AND be there!" Sonata argued.
"Fair point..." I conceded. "So... How'd you loose your siren status?" I asked after a moment.
"Hm?" Sonata responded.
"You keep talking about how you're immortal... And how you nearly witnessed history... But you don't have a pendent... Which you said made me a siren... So, what happened?" I asked. Sonata sighed depressingly.
"We... Adagio, Aria, and I got too greedy... This world isn't designed for the three of us... We couldn't eat like we did in Equestria. So when we finally got a taste after a thousand years... We weren't prepared for the sheer amount of power that Equestrian magic has."
"You over ate?" I asked.
"No... I think it was something those seven ARE more than anything..." Sonata replied in a thoughtful tone. "But anyways... After a very powerful burst of Equestrian magic... Our powers were stripped, and our pendents destroyed. That was Nearly a week ago."
"Soo... What you're telling me, I inherited your powers after you got a major beat down?" I asked. Sonata put a finger to her mouth and thought about my sentence for a moment.
"That sums it up... Yes." she replied.
"Okay... Why me?" I asked.
"You?" she asked.
"Yes, why do I have freaky otherworldly powers instead of... Anyone really." I explained my question.
"Oh... Well... We haven't figured out the exact requirements yet... But it seems to be those who like music far more than average, and have had some degree of mental problems... To use modern human terms. But the curse determined you, your friend, and one other whom you haven't found yet to be worthy of being a siren." What she said made a little sense... I was as anti-social as they can get without being classified as "abnormal"... Calliope probably had issues derived from family problems... I was also obsessed with music, but I had no idea what Calliope was like...
By this time we had walked several blocks from the hotel. Traffic was kind of dead on the road that was parallel of the sidewalk Sonata and I were on... But the store fronts and buildings were starting to get brighter and be open more often as we approached what must've been a highway.
"So what were you like before you became a siren?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.
"... I think I was the town clown..." Sonata said after a moment.
"You think?"
"It's been a thousand years Circe... I hardly remember what my family's names were... But I do remember that I made a point to attend every dance I could... Where I could sing and be as musical as I wanted..." Sonata shrugged. "Back then music wasn't a very big thing... But look were it got me! I've lived longer than the township... Which I have no doubt no longer exists... I've traveled farther than even Lord Discord and I've done things most ponies would scoff at."
"Looking at the bright side." I held up a hand in an imaginary toast. Just then I noticed that the sun was starting to peak over the Eastern horizon. "Say... What time is it?" I asked.
"Uh..." Sonata replied, pulling out a phone and checking the time. "Nearly six." she said after a moment scrolling on her phone.
"So where are we going to get a taco?" I asked.
"I thought there was a 24/7 place somewhere around here..." Sonata replied, turning in a circle looking at the store fronts. "Maybe it's... Aha!" Sonata suddenly exclaimed as we rounded a corner. In front of us was indeed a 24/7 place that had garish Mexican decorations EVERYWHERE.
"I didn't even know those existed..." I murmured.
"If it's an idea... It exists." Sonata stated as we picked up speed towards the restaurant.
"Did you just butcher Rule 34?" I asked.
"Same idea behind it." Sonata replied nonchalantly. I somehow shrugged and face palmed at the same time.
The restaurant wasn't in abysmally poor condition... I had seen a few Micky D's that were worse off. It was entirely empty though, except for the poor sod behind the counter that was nursing a diet coke trying to stay awake for the final hours for his shift.
"One quesidla and root beer, and one MONSTER taco and root beer please." Sonata ordered at the counter. The guy behind the counter jolted when he realized he had work to do.
"Will that be all?" he yawned.
"Yep." Sonata replied cheerfully.
"That'll be $14.57..." He yawned again. Sonata counted money and laid it on the counter. "Thank you for your business... Your meal will be ready in ten minutes... Please come again..." the clerk droned. Sonata took a number from beside the cashier and we went to a corner booth. I sat with my back to the wall and Sonata sat across.
We were waiting for several minutes when a gang of drunk guys walked in with the mood for munchies. They were the stereotypical drunk attitude, shenanigans included... They all reeked of a kind of happy stupor. My pendent didn't care much for them. Finally the clerk brought our food out and set Sonata's folded tortilla and soda and my rather large taco/ soda on the table. He grunted something and walked away.
"Hey baby!" I heard one of the drunken guys called. I ignored him and began unwrapping the monstrosity Sonata got for me. "We came in here looking for spice! Instead we found two hot ladies! Close enough!" I groaned and slammed my head on the table.
"Ignore them Circe... They're just attracted to the siren magic."
"They said 'two'." I deadpanned into the table.
"I'd say I look nice for my age..." Sonata giggled. I groaned again and took a slurp from the soda.. Which still tasted like cold, soggy, cardboard.
"Alright... Let's see what all your fuss is..." I said as I picked up the huge taco.
"I got something bigger you can bite!" the drunks continued to catcall. I continued to ignore them and took a bite... And by Faust... Tartarus... God... And whatever may be considered holy... It was the best fucking thing I had tasted to date.
"Hmmm!" I groaned.
"Aw yeah! She likes it!"
"Wow..." I moaned. "It's like... Wow..." It tasted exactly like you would expect an excellent taco to taste like... Only a thousand times better. I took several bites in rapid succession. I cannot stress enough how FREAKING AMAZING it was...
"Slow down Circe..." Sonata advised.
"Can't." I grunted, trying not to spill the source of heavenly taste.
I had finished my taco well before Sonata got halfway with her meal. So I sat there awkwardly wishing for more taco and sipping the liquid cardboard... And ignoring the local drunken idiots. When Sonata finished we took what was left of our soda and left the restaurant.
"How did you figure out the taco thing?" I asked Sonata.
"I think we took a trip to Europe when the colonies were trading regularly... Some visionary cook who was fairly poor at the time had the recipe... We happened to taste his food while there so we sponsored him with a lot of gold to get him kick-started... I'd say we were pretty successful."
"How'd you get the gold?" I asked while taking a sip of soda out of pure habit.
"Lure one or two treasure galleons to their doom and collecting tribute from the Aztecs and Mayans will tend to get you gold..." Sonata smirked.
"Wait... So, you literally sirened MULTIPLE ships?" I asked.
"Sirening probably means something different to you than to me but... Yes." Sonata chuckled. I joined in her giggling and happened to look behind us as I did so. Behind us, was the whole group of drunken men following us. My mirth instantly vanished and was replaced with suspicion. Sonata and I turned a corner, I glanced out of my eye to still see them on our trail.
"We're being followed." I whispered to the blue haired girl next to me.
"Is that why your laughing suddenly felt half hearted?" she asked.
"Probably." I stated as the group behind us rounded the corner. I had to think quickly... How could I deal with these jerks? How... I spotted an entrance to a dead end alley way that I happened to look into on our first walk through. "Sonata..." I whispered as I came up with an idea... Or more like my gem told me what I had to do.
"Yeah?" she asked. We were right in front of the alley now.
"I'm sorry." I stated as I half tripped half pushed her into the alley.
"Hey! Whoah!" she screamed as she fell into the dark.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" I shouted loud enough for the guys behind us to be heard, and rushed into after Sonata. Whom, I had shoved hard enough to be near the back wall, was trying to stand up.
"What the hell Circe?!" she shouted as she turned back towards the entry way... Only to find the group of drunken silhouettes making their way into the small alley. "Circe?" Sonata asked with no small amount of concern. Where was I? I must've missed saying I was now hanging above everyone's head, clinging to both sides of the small area... Neither Sonata nor the drunks had seen me jump.
"Where'd the udder wun go?" asked a particularly drunk one. He was answered with a bunch of "Ah dunnos."
"Circe?" Sonata squeaked. Aw... That was rather adorable... The emotional cloud around the drunks began to turn from a stupor, to a simmering disappointment.
"Maybe she noticed us and left her friend behind for us?" A drunk wondered. Close... But no cigar.
"Why would she have the gall to only leave us one?!" some idiot shouted. The disappointment turned into rage.
"Seriously?" I asked myself quietly. But I began to eat the emitted rage like candy. That taco may have been made by a deity... But I was born to do this... I could feel power inside me growing... Feeding me with it's energies. The group had advanced so I was now behind them. I decided to drop down.
Dare you to look away... I dare you to turn your gaze... I dare you to not meet my eye...
I hadn't even hummed the first few bars... This was directly from my soul.
Care to look at the demon? Care to see the view? Can you handle the sight? Care to see your end?
The entire group had now turned towards me, their gazes as if they were watching a horror film that was doing it's job.
Dare you to look away... I dare you to turn your gaze... I dare you to not meet my eye...
I spotted Sonata behind everyone with her jaw to the floor.
Turn away! Bend a knee! Don't let me see you rise! Don't you dare break my gaze!
The drunks were now scrambling backwards... Into a dead-end. Sonata on the other hand was approaching very cautiously.
Can't look away! Can't back down! No escape! No avoiding my wrath!
I stepped menacingly closer. Sonata was now standing behind me.
Can't stand for long! Won't close your eyes! Nothing shall escape...
By now all to the drunks were now huddled into the corner as much as they could.
MEEE!
I let the last high note ring in every ones ears as I ended the song... Although most of my audience had fainted in a pathetic corner. I also noted a growing puddle on the ground around them. I turned back towards Sonata, who's jaw was still touching the ground.
"What?" I asked as I didn't do anything.
"Wha... W... Wha..." she stammered. I pushed her jaw back into position.
"Try again."
"W... What'd you just do?!" she shouted with no small amount of surprise. I looked back at my scared-shitless handy work.
"Um... I just sirened?" I shrugged.
"No!" Sonata shouted. "How'd you go all scary monster thing on them?!"
"I... Sirened?" I shrugged again. I literally had no idea what she was talking about. I had just dropped down, sang, scared a bunch drunks like they were fillies, and am now talking to Ms. blue hair. Sonata looked at me like I was crazy.
"The only time my sisters and I came anywhere CLOSE to doing what you just did was a week ago when our powers were stripped..." Sonata explained. "And even then they were pale and weak!"
"... I'm confused me lost me somewhere in the translation." I answered truthfully. Sonata gave me a look of thoughtfulness and study.
"... You have no idea what you just did do you?" she asked.
"I dropped down, sang, scared a bunch of fillies, and am now talking to you!" I responded, waving my arms at Sonata. She bit her lower lip in thought.
"Say... How come you haven't fainted like those drunks?" I asked as I realized she was lucid while the others weren't so lucky.
"Hm?" she hummed, coming out of deep thought. "Oh... Siren song can't affect other sirens..." she responded offhandedly. After several solid minutes of her thinking. "You better get back to your room Circe... But I have to warn you... The next time you see probably won't be as a friend." That got me curious.
"What? What'd you mean 'not as a friend'?" I asked.
"Remember how I said the second generation of sirens stole the pendents from the originals?" she asked, giving me a pointed look.
"Yeah... Wh- oh..." I responded as her meaning caught me.
"My sisters desperately want their powers back..."
"While you 'want to enjoy hamburgers and pizza for the rest of your life'." I quoted.
"Being immortal is fun for the first century... But it goes down hill really fast after that." Sonata nodded.
"Well... This is a damper on our relationship..." I stated, rubbing the back of my head.
"Yes... Yes it is." Sonata smiled. "But please trust me when I say... I'm sorry." she added as she turned away.
"Tell your sisters that I won't go down so easy!" I exclaimed. I heard her laugh as she went out of earshot. I looked up towards the sun as she exited my sight.
"I'd better get back to Calliope..." I murmured to no one in particular.
~~~
"So Sonata? Did you enjoy your stroll?"
"Eep!"
"Oh don't worry Sonata... We totally didn't see you talking to one our successors."
"Don't lie Aria... It really doesn't fit you... And fine... Yes, I did talk to Circe."
"Circe? Is that her name?"
"Bleh... Another stupid human name..."
"I wouldn't discount it too quickly Aria... Circe was an enchantress in the Odyssey that turned men into animals... It's not bad as human names go for a siren."
"A mortal name is still a mortal name Adagio... So what'd you do Sonata? Did you warn her about how 'My sisters are coming!', 'They have this kind of weakness!' Ha! Don't make me laugh... Even though they're sirens they won't stand a chance."
"I wouldn't bet against that Aria..."
"Yeah right... So you told them about us? How's that going to help?"
"Oh... I guess you didn't see everything then?"
"What could a hopeless human turned siren possibly do to impress me?"
"She was... IS... A far more powerful siren then the three of us put together-"
"Annnnnd?"
"-on Equestria."
"..."
"..."
"You're bluffing."
"She achieved her true form on seven... SEVEN drunken idiots!"
"We achieved our true form on seven Equestrians... So what?"
"We both know our forms from them were pale and weak Aria... Circe was as strong and healthy as a full grown Alicorn."
"Sonata... We all know a siren can't get that strong HERE... In this magicless hell-hole."
"Alright Adagio... Aria... Go ahead. Steal all the new sirens pendents. Gain your powers back... But expect me to tell you... 'I told you so' when all is said and done."
Author's Note
Again, sorry about the delay, Starbound, work, yadda yadda. Sadly, the next chapter might take even longer to be released, due to my own negligence.
Sooo... While watching Rainbow rocks... I noticed that Sonata didn't know what her punch tasted like... Commenting: "Is it the punch? I knew I put in too much juice!" That got me thinking... Couldn't she just taste the punch to see if it was good? Judging by the previous comment, no she can't. But what about the famous "Taco Tuesday"? Why'd she seem so excited over something she probably can't taste? My personal headcannon being that there is a certain chemical/magical mixture that makes taco seasoning able to be tasted by a siren tongue.
I was back in our room sitting on the floor waiting for Calliope to wake up. Whom, by the way... Is a heavy sleeper... And I was the one who has been up for nearly four days straight! ... Nearly... I don't think she budged from the spot I left her in! I checked the clock again... Nearly eight. I had been back for nearly an hour... I had to check to make sure Calliope was still breathing several times. She was thankfully.
It was now nearly nine... She still hasn't moved. And after a shower, and several reorganizing of our supplies, I was getting tired of waiting.
"Rise and shine lazy!" I shouted as I pulled the covers.
"AAGH!" Calliope yelled in surprise.
"Good morning sunshine!" I said with that Tartarus damned happy tone people use when waking someone up.
"What in Tartarus' sweet name are you doing?!" Calliope demanded while she was recovering from my rude awakening.
"Seizing the day and throttling it!" I exclaimed. Calliope groaned.
"Shut up and get out of the way then..." she grunted as she pulled herself out of the bed. I chuckled and got out of the way. "Why in Tartarus are you so chipper?" she finally asked as she began to pull fresh clothes on.
"I learned a ton about what's going on!" I exclaimed as I began to fill her in on what happened just hours earlier.
"That's insane." she said when I was done.
"Of course it is!" I replied. "What else could you use to describe this?!" I continued, grabbing my gem and lifting it up slightly.
"Okay..." she relented. "But the idea about this whole thing being some alien vamprisim wannabe is insane."
"Noted, and agreed." I smiled. "But seriously... Tacos."
"I am willing to try a taco or three... For science." she smiled back.
"For science." I concurred.
We packed up our stuff and left the room, taking everything with us. We then went to the lobby and turned in the room keys. After a quick stop at the car to put our crap inside. Then it was a quick walk to the taco shop Sonata had taken me to only hours earlier.
There was a different cashier now, probably because it was now closer to mid-morning. We then ordered the same taco I had had earlier and sat down to wait.
When the food arrived I just sat and watched Calliope. She carefully unwrapped the truly monstrous taco, occasionally casting a glance at me and my untouched food.
"Why are you staring at me?!" Calliope finally asked.
"I want to see what Sonata saw." I answered with a smug grin. She deadpanned for a moment before shrugging and taking a big bite of the taco. Her eyes lit up and she didn't chew for nearly a minute. Out of idle curiosity, I snapped my fingers in front of her face... Only for her pupils to only widen.
"Huh..." I wondered out loud. Thankfully Calliope only seemed to be out of it for a few seconds after.
"Sweet merciful Faust!" she whimpered, taking several more bites. I wondered if I had been out of it like that? Unless I talked to Sonata again I doubted I'd ever know.
I chuckled as I opened my own taco and took a bite. It was still mind numbingly amazing, but I didn't lose myself to the eternal bliss that is the taco this time.
"Hmmm..." I moaned.
"...How?" Calliope asked around the taco.
"No idea." I responded.
We devoured the tacos in silence. Several customers came and went while we did so, ordering their own food as they did so. And judging on how most of them left with bags in tow, it must've been a weekday... I sighed wistfully at the thought of never being able to return to what I once knew... Even if I did end up technically being immortal.
"So what next?" Calliope asked.
"Hmm?" I asked, pulled out of my thoughts. "Oh... No idea."
"Didn't that Sonata girl say something about a third?" Calliope asked.
"Yeah... Yeah she did." I replied, recalling that important bit of info.
"Sooo... Why don't we know where they are?" she asked. I thought for a moment.
"Sonata said that... These" I held up my gem. "choose who becomes a Siren."
"So the third hasn't been chosen?" Calliope leaned forward.
"I guess not..." I replied.
"Then who will be chosen?" Calliope asked.
"That's a million dollar question if I ever heard one." I half joked.
"No I'm serious..." Calliope stated. "Who's going to be our third?" All I could do was shrug.
Eventually we finished our glorious tacos and left. Traffic, both foot and automotive had increased in the time we had been inside the restaurant.
"So what do we need to do to get ready?" Calliope asked as we walked down the street back to the hotel.
"Well..." I began "First we need to take inventory."
"Figure out what we need." she added.
"Get what we need." I continued.
"Figure out where we need to go." Calliope concurred.
"And then get there." I finished. We both stopped on the sidewalk.
"That was weird wasn't it?" Calliope asked.
"Totally weird." I nodded, both of us continuing down the walk.
We reached the hotel in silence and without further incident. After that we went through our stuff. It wasn't great. We couldn't use so much of the stolen money, and odds are the bank numbers would be locked down and watched. Other then the car and set of screwdrivers, we didn't have much.
"So... Um... We need everything right?" Calliope asked.
"Everything." I agreed.
"Well, I'm going to start off by saying we need tools, like camping equipment... Because we don't know where the hell we'll be going." Calliope said, hand on chin in thought.
"Sounds fair... Problem is, we can't use any of our funds." I responded. The other girl hummed in thought.
"We could... ya know... Steal it?" she half asked half spit balling ideas.
"I mean, I've already stolen most of this stuff and burned down a mansion." I shrugged. "What's a little more theft?"
"Okay... How about You see about a tent and sleeping bags, while I handle everything else... I know a place."
"Former father's?" I asked.
"Former father's" she nodded happily.
"Good on you." I smiled, golf clapping as I did so."
