Daughter of Hades

Chapter Eight

Meline

There are moments you think back on. Moments that are prosperously insane, that you chalk it up to a trick of the eye or a trick of the light. However lately nothing is all that preposterous to me, seeing as I can see ghosts and read minds. So when Drake was fighting those bird feathered freaks I had thought nothing of it, but now I'm not so sure.

After drake had somehow switched our positions midair so I could land on him and he'd jumped up to take on one of the bird freak minions. I was watching in a haze as if I was paralyzed in fear. When the second minion bird freak attached Drake, I noticed another boy was having the same paralyzed fear state as me. Only the second the bird freaked minion launched into the air I noticed that she wasn't paying attention to any of the humans around her. That meant that the boy paralyzed in fear wasn't going to move as her wing cut through the room straight at him. It was as if I was watching slow motion. I saw that he was going to get hit, only I couldn't call out to him, because I was frozen in place. I tried to yell out to him but I couldn't.

Move! You need to move!

I watched as the boy took a step back, even though his expression stayed the same, it was as if he didn't even know he'd moved at all. And my certifiably insane mind was trying to convince me that I got him to move. That had snapped me out of my frozen state and I could once again move.

I am not however good at fighting, okay the truth of the matter is I have never been in a fight so I don't actually know if I good at it. Being an only sibling means I've never had to fight for the things I want, what I wanted was just there. I'm not really willing to try and punch out one seeing as those talons look more like mini swords, so I looked around for a better option than my hands. That's when a brown beer bottle caught my eye. I knew from softball I had an amazing aim, so I grabbed it and threw it.

What I didn't expect was drake to be so angry that I was helping him and again calling me princess, except he didn't say it mockingly, it was like he was trying to remind himself of something. It was just plain weird. Only something weirder happened. When drake was cornered by the leader of the bird feathered freaks, my heart had lurched forward as if it was being pulled at. Like a failed attempt at ripping it out and I almost cried out when I saw the talons heading toward him. But instead it was like something had taken over my body and I suddenly had the butter knife in my hand and I was plunging it into the top of her spine, without a second thought.

I admit that I had expected to get attacked after plunging the knife into her, but she left. I was so surprised that she didn't stay to fight. She and the rest of her minions left like cowards. After they left it was like everyone was suddenly awake again.

Then chaos broke out. Girls were screaming and crying. Guys were freaking out and swearing. The few world of Warcraft nerds in the crowd were cheering. But the main thing I noticed was that almost everyone was scared to death. They couldn't handle this, I realized. The monster they were scared of as kids, but later realized weren't real were literally five feet from them moments ago. They wouldn't be able to go back to normal, they were too scared. What would happen when an entire party of kids started talking about the bird feathered freaks, monsters that they saw? What happens when the police hear? What happens when the rest of world starts to call Wisconsin the state of mentally insane people? I couldn't let this happen, but I don't think I can stop it.

Then the insane part of my brain tells me I can. That what I said to the boy earlier is the solution to this problem. I can take away the self-doubt they will all feel for the rest of their lives. I can take away the feeling I have right now, that I'm teetering on the edge of insane and complete catatonic. I could be a silent and forgotten hero.

I am selfish though, so I won't erase the entire evening, just when Monica arrives. Because I'll admit I don't want Drake to complete forget about me. I wish more than anything I could let him keep the moment when he had saved me. When he was staring into my eyes, which I'm sure had shown exactly the kind of person I saw him as, a hero. When he looked like the mere sight of me stole his breath besides the fact my weight was crushing him at that moment. It was like he saw the real me. The one that doesn't pretend not to see ghosts or read mind, but the me that is complete insane. But I couldn't let him keep that memory, if I wanted to erase the memory of the bird feathered freaks.

I looked around the room once more. Groups of three or more girls were huddled together talking, crying, and generally freaking out. Everyone was wide eyed. Many guys simply sat on the floor staring at the spot where the bird feathered freaks stood. They had calmed down a lot in the time I was trying to make a decision, but none of them were any less scared. I looked for Katerina and she was like the boys staring at the spot, except her eyes were lifeless as if her world was taken away and it broke my heart to pieces.

I felt a gaze on my back making the hair on my arms and the back of my neck rise up to attention. I turned to see Drake staring at me and I wished I didn't have to do this, but I knew I did. I couldn't just let him remember, because then I would have to tell him about my powers. I stared back at Drake and a huge part of me hoped this wouldn't work at all.

You don't remember anything. Nothing happened tonight, the last thing you remember is Monica arriving.

Drake showed no knowledge of the change, but simply stood there, which is what I expected to begin with, so I turned to the rest of the room. After Drake I started with Katerina.

You don't remember anything. Nothing happened tonight, the last thing you remember is Monica arriving.

Just like that the old Katerina bounces to her feet and jumps over to me. Except the scene in front of her makes her pause. "What Happened?" she whispers.

Crap I hadn't thought this far ahead, but Drake speaks up from behind me, "looks like food poisoning," I nod my agreement. I'd send him a look that said thank you, but I remember he isn't covering for me, it's what he really thinks.

"Oh, makes sense. I hope they feel better soon," Katerina says.

I thank god she believed the story. Now I just have to think of a few more as soon as I make the others forget. I close my eyes, because I really am alone. When I open them a middle aged woman is standing to the side of the room in transparent form. She smiles at me and gives me a nod. I know what she's silently telling me. She thinks I did the right thing and I hope more than anything she's right.