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Seth exhaled a breath he had been holding the entire time, as the class packed up their materials and hurried out, not wanting to spend another moment within the room. Shouldering his bag, he glanced at Dionne before him who was busy trying to gather her things as well. Seth sighed. He wondered why Mrs. Lovell had gotten so worked up today. And the way she was describing the Lamia and bashed Hera...It was almost as if she experienced it all first hand.
That, or she's just downright cuckoo. I wonder she why she wants to see us after school anyways? We didn't do anything wrong. Slithering past Dionne, he cast her a glance. She looked a little shaken.
Seth smirked and shook his head at her, "Total monster huh?" He joked, trying to at least lighten the heavy atmosphere. "I wouldn't worry too much, worst she could do is give us an essay on 'how Hera is so dreadful'."
“True,” Dionne said a small smile. Her mind was still stuck on the aura of hatred the history teacher had emanated as she had left, and Mrs. Lovell's scarlet stare burned in her mind even now. Dionne looked at Seth with a frown as she zipped up her bag. “Why do you think she wants to see us after school today?”
Seth waved his hands around and shrugged. "Wish I had a clue. Maybe she wants to personally teach us about Hera or whatever. I don't really care much about either of them"
He felt a chill as he said those words. "Although...she's been acting so weird lately."
He huffed, "Totally cutting into my video game time."
"Really," Dionne said, laughing and slinging on her bag. “The fact that I'm not the only one hating on her makes me feel slightly better.” Exiting the classroom, Dionne waved to Seth. “See you in English, Seth. And then after school, back here.”
English with Mr. Argus was as it was yesterday--peculiar but not plain scary as it was with Lovell. The bell had rung before long--or at least it felt that way to Dionne--and she packed up quickly.
"Dee, we're heading downtown today," Ellie said, walking over. "You coming?"
“Not today,” Dionne said, grimacing. “Lovell wants to see me after school. Hopefully it's not detention.”
"Already? Damn girl, you a troublemaker," Ellie teased, waving goodbye to her friend. "I'll see you tomorrow then--bus?"
“Yep,” Dionne said, waving back as her friend disappeared through the classroom door. Looking to Seth, Dionne grinned. “You ready to go face the 'monster,' Sterling?” Dionne joked.
Seth returned her grin with a mischievous smirk of his own, "I'm not scared of monsters." He stood up and immediately walked to the door, waiting for Dionne. "Best to face her in the daylight, should go now before night falls. That's when they're strongest." He chuckled.
As they walked down the corridor together, he could not help but feel a slight sensation of worry and his other hand toyed with the bracelet on his wrist.
"You know, I'm not really one to get into too much trouble, I just don't like being told what to do...so that translates into me not doing my homework. If she gives us an essay or an extra assignment...I'm not gonna do it." He said to her before opening the door to the history class.
Mrs. Lovell was at her desk, scribbling a few F's on what looked to be pop quizzes on the Lamia from the other classes. She was furiously muttering to herself, and Seth could feel the anger building up in her. "These mortals don't know anything."
The raven haired teen casted a glance at the blonde before stepping up to the teacher's desk and politely cleared his throat. "Uh, s'cuse me, Mrs. Lovell. You wanted to see us?"
She looked up at him, her brown eyes locked onto him with an intense stare. Mrs. Lovell lowered her pen and stood up at her desk. "Yes, that's right." She slowly walked over to her podium, her eyes gazing at the two of them. "So, tell me...how much do you know about Hera?"
Seth was quiet for a moment before he responded. "....She's...queen of the gods in Ancient Greek mythology. She also cursed and transformed the Lamia into a monster. The Lamia ate her own children and then sought to feast upon other children as well."
He looked back at the teacher. Crimson red eyes stared right back at him. Seth felt his mouth go dry and his gut started to tighten. He gulped as he felt a malevolent energy wash over him.
The history teacher started to hiss. "Mortalsss...Ssso blind of the reality that liess before them." Mrs. Lovell began to morph and she grew taller, her skin now adopting a scaly green-brown texture. Her bottom now looked like the tail of a snake, yet she still retained her torso and face.
Seth felt the icy sensation of fear trickle its way down his spine and scrambled for the door, almost tripping in the process. He urged Dionne out as Mrs. Lovell screeched at him.
"Fools! Mortals are all fools! Myth was never myth in the first place, it is all reality!" Seth sprinted for the first set of double doors he saw - the exit to the courtyard. He depressed the lever, but it wouldn't budge! He felt dread sink into his gut as he spun around. The set of doors at the end of the empty hallway were now closing before them, locking with an audible click. The students walking past the doors never seemed to take notice to the events taking place.
Seth's eyes fell upon the snake-like teacher. Her arm stretched out to the doors as if she had cast a magical spell. "The Lamia..." He croaked as he fell to the floor. The doors were shut and there seemed to be no way to escape this nightmare.
Dionne was half-frozen with fear beside Seth, eyes wide and mouth slightly open as she stared in both awe and fear at the half-snake, half-woman creature in front of her. What was previously Mrs. Lovell met her eyes with a piercing red glare that seemed to bore into Dionne's soul.
The Lamia gazed at them, triumph written all over her face. "She told me she'd undo the curse if I killed you. My flawless beauty will be granted to me once more and many will look upon me with envy." She stretched her fingers, or rather, talons out to them. "I will resume my rightful title as the most beautiful woman to walk this land. I promise a quick and painless death."
The Lamia flashed a mouth of dagger-like teeth before lunging and the pair of students with a roar. Dionne recovered her wits just fast enough to pull both herself and Seth out of the way.
The bracelet on his wrist became hot to the point it practically burned his skin and as he dodged the Lamia's attack with Dionne's help, he ripped the bracelet off of his wrist. Seth felt a weight in his hand and looked down, his eyes widening.
A bronze sword had appeared in place of the bracelet.
Just like in a video game...This has to be a dream! Seth thought, locking eyes with the Lamia.
He didn't have time to question where the sword came from or how the bracelet even transformed before the monster struck at them again.
Strangely, he didn't feel as scared as he was a moment ago. Instead, he felt a defiant anger in his chest as he raised the sword and stepped into the Lamia's attack. The was a clang! and sparks flew as her talons met the blade.
Now dodge! He told himself, avoiding her lethal jab at his torso.
Seth stepped out of her attack range, holding his sword at the ready. He would have to cripple her before he could subdue her...But how?
Maybe I could sever one of her arms off. Would that cause her to give up? He caught his breath, his heart hammering in his throat as he glanced at Dionne. Luckily she had been largely out of harm's way so far but he knew that as the Lamia grew more impatient, she'd be in danger should the Lamia turn to her.
Gripping the large sword with two hands, he began his charge at her. He got closer and sliced at one her arms. Once again, talons met bronze, but Seth made the mistake of gazing into the Lamia's eyes for too long! She quickly chanted a spell out loud and he felt a lull wash over him.
"No!" He shouted, realizing he was slipping into a daze and tried to roll out of the way before he felt a hot ripping sensation tear through his side.
The sheer force of her strike was enough to propel him into the double doors, his body slamming into them before collapsing into a heap, the bronze sword slipped out of his hands and onto the floor with a resounding clash of metal.
He was in shock, his hand shaking as he felt his side. Seth looked at his scarlet stained hand with wide eyes before feeling the pain erupt in his side. He whimpered in agony for a few seconds, hot tears blurring his vision. The white tile floors were now smeared with blood, his blood.
"Dee-" He gulped and reached out to her, his hand tremoring. Was he going to die? Were they going to perish here?
"Seth!" Dionne cried, eyes wide. She dashed to his side but was unsure of what to do with her hands. Were they too infested with bacteria to place on the wounds, or not as much of a threat as that of blood loss like that she was seeing?
Realizing that she didn't have the comfort of sitting and thinking the dilemma out, Dionne stripped off her jacket and pressed it onto the blooming red blossoms on Seth's side, pushing his hands onto it with hers. With the immediate danger of her friend bleeding out momentarily stalled, Dionne risked a glance to the angry Lamia watching her fret over Seth with amusement.
"Foolish girl. You have better things to worry about than the boy bleeding out," the monstrous beast of a woman said, slithering over. Her scales brushed over the tile floor in a hideous whispering melody of doom, approaching the pair of helpless students on the other side of the hallway. Just as the Lamia was about to strike, the double doors burst open to reveal none other than the substitute English teacher, Mr. Argus, who was wielding a spiked bronze club.
"You shall not hurt them anymore, monster!" he boomed, charging towards the half-snake. The Lamia backed up in alarm, scarlet eyes flashing.
"Argus! You dare defy your queen?" the Lamia hissed, baring her teeth as she circled the substitute teacher. No, Dionne realized, eyes widening, Definitely not a teacher.
Indeed, for now that the shroud of the mist had been lifted by the shocking appearance of the Lamia, Seth and Dionne could clearly see the hundreds of eyes that covered Argus' body, some blinking and some not. Dionne's mind whirled--how could she not have seen them before?
"You have no right hurting innocent children," Argus boomed back, looking just as capable of destruction as the monster circling him. "Leave at once!"
"You!" She hissed angrily, "if the Queen doesn't kill you first, then I will! You have not seen the last of me!"
With that, the Lamia crashed through the wall beside her, disappearing through the hole in the concrete. Dionne watched with open amazement before realizing the problem at hand.
"Mr. Argus!" she called, eyes wide and distraught. "Seth's hurt--bleeding!"
The large man lumbered over, over ten eyes swiveling to train themselves on the pair of students. Another twenty eyes flicked up to the doorway from which Argus had entered. "Oisin! Bring the ambrosia!"
Oisin scuttled in quickly, a bulging leather satchel slung around his head. "Here!" He unwrapped a square that resembled a caramel or peanut butter dessert. "Gods, what did you do to yourself?" Ozzy, the satyr, murmured to Seth as he craned his head in his hands to feed him the ambrosia. "Oz...what're you doing here?" Seth whispered, confusion evident in his tone. The satyr shook his head, shoving the square into Seth's mouth.
"Chew on it, ask me questions later." Seth chewed on the square, surprised at the rich and warm hot chocolate flavor, laced with a hint of mint. The wonderful warm sensation he felt when drinking hot cocoa started to replace the coldness he felt in his body. His side tickled as the wound closed itself and his china-white pale face returned to its normal tan complexion. He breathed in big gulps of air and closed his eyes.
"I thought we were goners for a moment there." He murmured. It took a few moments before it was realized that he had fallen asleep, tired from the chaos of their reality being shattered. Dionne also looked exhausted as well.
"It is best to let them rest for now." Mr. Argus softly spoke, gazing at Seth and Dionne. "We can go over the details and answer your questions later."
Oisin nodded, "I'll take her back home, and Seth can spend the night at my house." He heaved and carried Seth on his shoulders, also recovering his bracelet.
"Very well. I bid you all a good night, please get home quickly and sleep well." Mr. Argus waved his hands and their surroundings began to repair themselves. All was normal and one couldn't even tell a battle had taken place. Fortunately, the school grounds were empty already as the trio made their way out and into a beat-up silver four-door sedan.
There wasn't much conversation during the ride home. Seth was soundly snoozing in the back while Dionne was riding shotgun, her mind lost in deep thought.
In no time, they had dropped Dionne off and the sun was beginning to set as Oisin tucked Seth in for the night, smirking at the drool on his cheek.
