The Hell of the Nine Realms: Book 1: The Mystery of the Odinsons

III: Humanity Is My Bitch (Also David's)

David woke me up at 5 AM, prompting me to punch him in the gut, though I didn't hurt him at all.

He just smiled at me, seeming to not understand why I hit him. "Well, looks like you are up."

"Why did you wake me up?" I groaned, waiting for my vision to get used to the light.

When that happened, I looked into his eyes. He had the same excited look he usually had when I'm going to fight him.

"Never mind." I said.

I went downstairs, while David went up to Lizzy's bed. I heard Lizzy screaming at him to let her sleep. Then she screamed even louder and came downstairs, in her pajamas, looking like she'd seen a hellhound. Lizzy was wearing a blue top, black pants and blue and black shoes sandals.

"Don't ever do that again." she told David, sitting down on the couch next to me.

David shrugged in response and moved towards the kitchen.

"Hey, get me a beer while you're in there." Lizzy called.

"Wait," I said, moving my hands in the air. "You drink beer? Are you sure you should be doing that?"

"What book you been reading?" Lizzy replied as casually as a kid saying How have you been?

"Aren't you guys fourteen?"

"In my race's years?" Lizzy asked, her eyes moved towards the ceiling, as if she had to think on how old she was. "No." A beer bottle flew through the air towards her, which she caught in mid-flight and popped open in one quick moment.

"What does that-" I began before Lizzy began groaning in intense pain. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, moving closer. "Talk t-"

She couldn't talk to me. Somehow, the alcohol had burned the skin of her throat away. And to make things weirder, she was still alive. How the fuck was that even possible? Then the skin quickly began to regrow at an impossible rate. Her neck was still steaming from the alcohol that was somehow burning it, but it was regenerating faster than the alcohol could melt it. In a matter of minutes, her neck had completely reformed.

Lizzy aahed.

"What the hell was that?"

"Oh nothing." Lizzy replied absentmindedly, before trying to take another sip. I snatched it from her hands.

"Can't you tell that this stuff is hurting you?"

Lizzy took the bottle back from me. "Ever think that I'm trying to hurt myself?"

I hadn't expected that. "But... Why?"

"It reminds me that I'm still here... Where I don't deserve to be." Lizzy answered. Why did she sound so pained?

"What?"

"That's the best you're going to get, Connelly." Lizzy's tone quickly returned to its regular condescending tone. "I'm not going to share my life story with someone I barely know, even if my little brother trusts them. Besides," the pained tone returned as Lizzy's eyes fell to the floor. "You wouldn't possibly understand. You're not old enough."

I looked at her. "Wha-" I began to repeat, then stopped as the ground started to rumble for a moment. Without warning, Lizzy and I were suddenly pulled outside onto a huge platform. I groaned and Lizzy frantically spit on the platform.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"I got dirt in my mouth."

David landed in front of us and smiled.

"Let me guess." I started, not hiding my annoyance, and putting my hands on my hips, "We're going to fight you?"

David shook his head, which surprised me a little. "You are going to fight each other." he said. Lizzy and me looked at each other (Lizzy looked a little too eager for my liking) and back at David, who began floating away. "When the thunder rumbles, you will began." he said.