"This doesn't bother you?" Nix asked as we stared at the smoldering skeleton.
As I stared at it, a sense of pride settled over me. The Olympians came for me, and I won. Maybe the brutal fashion in which I ended things should've bothered me, but it didn't. What bothered me was how Nix might see me after what I had just done. I gave a noncommittal shrug in response.
"Well, if it starts to bother you, my motto is survive first and feel bad later."
She interlaced her fingers with mine and gave me a soft smile. With that small gesture, all doubt left my body. She was right. My first job was to survive the attack. If that called for me to turn someone into a charcoal statue, then so be it. I could feel bad about my actions in hindsight.
"I wonder if we can use this armor," I said.
I touched the warped bronze helmet, and it crumbled beneath my finger. Shocked, I yanked my finger away as the rest of the skeleton dissolved into black dust. I looked over at Nix. She didn't look surprised at all.
"Oh yeah, monsters and celestials dissolve after death."
I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it again. No words came to mind. We left the construction site and walked back to my house in relative silence. A giddy feeling overrode the dull ache that I felt throughout my body. I was strong enough to take on a Spartan soldier and win. How much else could I accomplish if I decided to?
"The storm's power knows no limit," Typhon said.
A smile spread across my face as we approached my house.
"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Nix said before turning to walk away.
I kept hold of her hand, not ready to see her go yet. When she stopped walking away and looked back at me, I pulled her in for a tight hug. She gave in, and we embraced under the clear night sky. I breathed in her scent before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.
"Yeah, I'll be there," I said after a few seconds and let her go.
She turned and faded into the darkness, leaving only her fragrance behind. I was on such a high I could've floated up to my bedroom. By the time I fell asleep at 2 am, my pain was gone, and I couldn't wait to do more training with Nix. The next day I walked into school feeling like the world was my oyster. I went to my locker just like I would any other day, but this time I froze when I got there.
On the wall, above the lockers, was a banner that celebrated our school's basketball team for being divisional champions. It had the starting five players on it. In the center, with his dazzling blue eyes staring down on me, was the blonde guy Nix and I had felt the divine pressure coming from.
"Imagine having those tree trunks wrapped around you," Nix said from beside me
I looked over at her, feeling only the slightest hint of jealousy. She wrapped her arms around my left arm.
"Not that I'm into the beefcake type."
She rested her head on my shoulder. Her fragrance filled my nostrils instantly. I had the sudden urge to press her against the lockers and kiss all of her. I kissed the top of her head instead.
"You better not be," I said.
Nix looked up at me.
"Or else what?"
I wanted to hit her with a flirty comeback that might get me a kiss, but before I could, we were interrupted.
"Or else he is the wrong loser to be cuddled up with," Eddie said from behind us.
Anger bubbled up inside of me, and before I could stop myself, I had spun around and grabbed Eddie. I gripped him by the collar and shoved him into the wall behind him. His eyes went wide with shock.
"You better let me go, Snakeface," he said as if he were in the position to make me.
I repeated her question back to him.
"Or else what?"
I gripped his collar tighter in my fists.
"Finally, the annoying one will learn to fear the storm. Take your time with this one," Typhon said.
The churning in my stomach started, and it took all of my willpower not to spit acid in Eddie's face.
"My name is Troy," I screamed in his face.
He nodded frantically.
"Say it," I yelled.
I didn't really need to hear him say my name. What I needed was for him to understand that his days of bullying me had ended. His hands shot into the air.
"Troy man, Troy," he said with panic coating his words.
I smiled. It was music to my ears. I let him go and made a show of straightening out his wrinkled white shirt collar. He glared into my eyes. If he could've, his gaze would've set me ablaze. I took a step backward. My point was made.
"Sorry about the collar. Maybe it'll come out in the wash."
I felt myself smirking as I spoke. Eddie must've seen it too because he snapped. He threw a sneaky right hook at my face. I saw it coming. I dodged it and chopped him in the throat with my right hand. He stumbled forward, clutching his throat. I kicked him in the butt, causing him to fall. He got up and ran as the bell rang for our first class. Nix grabbed me next and shoved me against the wall.
Her tongue was in my mouth before realized she had kissed me. It was a quick, forceful kiss that took my breath away. When she pulled away after a few seconds, I had to brace myself against the wall. My knees had gone weak.
"I have been waiting for you to do that to him since the day we met," she said with her hands resting on my cheeks.
"Are you rewarding me for being bad?" I asked in a teasing voice.
"No, I'm proud of you for finally standing up for yourself. He has been pushing you around for far too long."
She took my hand and pulled me forward.
"Come on, before we're late for class."
We sprinted through the halls and made it to class just in time to avoid being late. As I took my seat, I caught Eddie glaring at me from his seat in the back of the class. The look never left his face throughout the rest of the day. Every time I saw him, he looked as if he had tasted something sour. I enjoyed every one of his glances. It was nice to be the one wearing the smug grin for a change.
At the end of the day, he was waiting for me at my locker. This time, however, Mike and Kris were standing at his side. The usual look was back in his eyes. So, all this time, it was his friends who had given him the confidence to bother me. I wished I could remind him of what I had done to Mike. I considered putting on a repeat performance. Looking up at the banner above my locker reminded me that I had bigger issues to prepare for. I walked to my locker as if I didn't even see the three of them. Mike grabbed my arm as I reached for my locker.
That was all the provocation I needed. I spun toward him with a heavy right hook locked and loaded. It landed on his chin with such force that he was out before he even collapsed to the ground. Eddie and Kris started toward me. I went into my fighting stance.
"Stop!" A thundering voice boomed from somewhere in the hall.
The three of us froze. I looked around to see who had yelled. Mr. Terlecky, the gym teacher, walked over to us. He was only an inch taller than I was, but he had the muscularity of a professional wrestler.
"What the hell is going on here?" He asked. His eyes went from Eddie to Kris and then to me.
"He hit me," Mike yelled from his spot on the floor.
I looked down at him, ready to kick him in the face. I wasn't even angry. This was something else. A visceral need to inflict harm on the three of them. It was the feeling I had avoided admitting was inside of me my entire life. Now I had unleashed it. I wasn't sure if I could turn it back off or if I even wanted to. What if hurting others was just who I was? I suddenly remembered Typhon's words about the storm deciding what path it charted. So maybe I won't become a monster. I thought.
"That was only after you grabbed his arm. I saw everything," Mr. Terlecky said.
Mike's face dropped.
"Unless the rest of you wanna be expelled the week before school lets out for the summer, I suggest you walk away right now," he continued.
Eddie and Kris grabbed Mike. They had to support his weight as they hobbled away together.
I turned to walk away, but Mr Terlecky cleared his throat in a way that let me know he had more to say to me.
"You need to be careful about how you behave in public. You never know who might be watching," he said.
His tone was low and sinister, as if he was in on a secret I wasn't privy to. I took it as meaningless advice until he turned his head to the side. The slashed-eye symbol appeared on his neck just under his ear. Staring at the symbol was like being struck by lightning. My hands trembled until the symbol faded a few seconds later. He looked back at me with an unspoken threat in his eyes. I backed away from him, refusing to avert my eyes. If he could be one of them, anyone could.