Awakened - T Stoll - Percy Jackson and The Olympians.

IV

I sit in the passenger seat. Staring at the black blood on my arm.

It was real. It really happened.

My mother grips the steering wheel, driving faster then I've ever seen her go. She looks over her shoulder constantly. Occasionally murmuring that she has to make sure they're not following us.

I don't know who they are. People- or... creatures more like Ms. Yurf maybe?

"You said you'd explain." My voice comes out hoarse, one of the many parts of me exhausted and weak from whatever the hell just happened. 

My mother sucks in a sharp breath. "I can. I can. I just....I have to make sure we're safe."

I look around me cautiously. At all the faces of the passerby's. Which ones are monsters too? They all seem so normal. Is there any way to tell which ones are monsters? Or am I going to be stuck looking over my shoulder. Scared of everything around me. 

"Is Ms. Yurf going to... going to come back?" I ask, gulping down a wave of nausea. I try to wipe away the black blood on the underside of my legs, not wanting to see it. 

My mother takes my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "You killed her. If we're lucky, we have about... A month? Two? Depends on certain factors."

My heart drops to my stomach. "I killed her?"  I killed someone.

Well. Something.

Can you even count that as murder if it was a inhuman beast?

Would that fall more under the category animal cruelty?

Monster or not... I took away a life, and I can't help but feel... tainted? Ruined? I feel like the monster I just fought. 

"It's fine. Don't worry about it too much. Just hope she won't come back soon." My mom sighs.

I blink, looking up at her. "What?" She seems so normal about this. Like it was just a normal squabble. Like a monster didn't just try to kill us and I decapitated her. 

The turn of the car pulls me away from my darker thoughts. Yet, even seeing the familiar apartments I grew up with doesn't help warm the chill running along the edges of my back. Every shadow seems alive and every stranger seems to be a suspect. 

"You need to go pack. Come on, I'll help you." 

I scramble out of the seat. "Pack? Yeah okay. We'll leave. Macko can help. He's got that SUV. The one he never uses. And-"

My mother cuts me off as she closes the car door for me. "Not me, not Macko. Just you."

I pause, my mind sinking the gravity of what she's saying. "No.." My voice fails me. "No.. no I'm not leaving you mom. What if Ms. Yurf comes back and-"

She shakes her head, walking around to my side of the car and cupping my face with her hands. "I'll explain once we get inside, come on."

She slips her hands down, taking my hand as she hurries along. As we near the door, I spot Macko standing near it. He stands up, the already apparent concern in his eyes deepens as he sees us.

"Farah. Imena. Are you two alright? What happened?" He asks, his eyes dark and a scowl on his usual light features. 

My mother steps in front of me. "Mack, we're okay. We just... I'll explain soon, okay?" She says.

He cups her face, running his thumb over the wound on her cheek as she winces. "Let me clean you two up." He says. My mother hesitates for a moment before nodding.