CHRONOLYMPUS

Chapter I: Printing an Essay Nearly Ends in My Untimely Death

―Z―

Alright. Before I tell you my story, I just want to let you know that being a god sucks ass. It's not nearly as awesome as I thought it would be. Instead of having the privilege to electrocute that one guy in biology class who keeps shooting spit wads at me without suffering the consequences, I have to worry about giants and titans who try to kill me 24/7. And not to mention, I have to lead a bunch of other gods who can't go two minutes without trying to tear each other apart. That was only scratching the tip of the iceberg, but I digress. I guess I should just end my rant and begin.

So, first of all, introductions. My name is (prepare yourself) Bellerophon Zacharias Johnson. Bellerophon is a ridiculous name (it's Greek, in case you were wondering), so I usually go by Z, which is much more simple than my actual name, the way I prefer it to be. I'm sixteen years-old, and I am a sophomore in high school. I'm from Boston, and I live with my dad.

My Mom died while giving birth to me. My Dad doesn't like to talk about her; he says that the memories are too painful. I try not to think about her, either. I'd like to say that I miss her, but you can't really miss anything that wasn't there in the first place. But there is a part of me that feels... empty. No other word can be used to describe the part of me that is dying because of her absence. It's like there's a void in my heart that will never go away; a portion of my being that has died along with her. It was taken to the grave with her, and it is buried under the ground with no hope of coming back, like her.

To me, a life without my Mom was like living with a missing limb. You can still live, but you'll need to adjust, which will take forever. It gets a little easier, and once you think you're okay, you see that place where you know your limb should be, and you're back at the start, trying to understand that an important part of you is missing, as if all that time spent rehabilitating yourself never happened in the first place.

Anyway I'm sure you're probably tired of hearing me wallow in my self-pity so I'll just start. My life turned upside-down on a seemingly normal day at school. It was a Wednesday, and I should have been in history class, trying not to kill myself from boredom, but I was lying down on the roof of the west wing of the school. It wasn't raining, but thunderclouds stretched out across the sky as far as the eye could see. The sound of thunder shook the ground, and lightning danced within the grey clouds.

I have loved storms like these for as long as I could remember. Whenever I saw lightning, I felt like electricity was sent throughout every molecule in my body until the sparks reached my core, restarting my heart, and it was only then that would I truly feel alive.

Yup, getting a C- in history was definitely worth it (my Dad would beg to differ, but whatever).

"Thought you'd be up here, Z," said a voice behind me. I knew it all too well.

"There hasn't been a storm like this in ages. I couldn't miss this," I replied.

My best friend and neighbor, Orion, sat beside me. He was a year older than me, but we've been close since we were kids. We were like brothers.

Orion had the surfer-guy look down to a T. His skin was tanned because of how much time he was in the sun. He always wore sandals, T-shirts or tank tops, and knee-length shorts (he would wear jeans once in a blue moon, though). His dark brown hair was tousled and wind-blown, as if the dude hadn't brushed his hair in years. Orion's teeth were so white and perfect that he should have a sign on his forehead that read: "Warning! My smile can cause permanent blindness!" And his eyes were teal-colored, which I had always found weird.

Also, the dude had THE worst fear of scorpions in history. I mean, if he saw a picture of one, he would go insane. I couldn't imagine what he would do if he saw a real one.