The Raven's Call {Percy Jackson based}

Chapter 13- I Fall On Top of the Leader of Rome

{Millie's POV} 

A small girl was standing by a bus stop, desperately checking her watch, even though she didn't really understand how to read time. Her coat seemed twice as big as her, but at least it kept her warm in the freezing rain.
Finally, an elderly woman approached her.
"Young girl, where are your parents? It's Christmas Eve; shouldn't you be inside in the warmth?"

"It's fine. Mummy said that she'd be back soon. I'm sure she will be." Her voice was full of optimism, and a hope that would take a while to fade. As the light thinned and eventually went, the girl stayed by the bus stop, eventually falling asleep, waiting for her mummy to come back.

That Christmas Day, Father Christmas never came.

I woke up bolt upright, tears staining her cheeks. I'd had the same recurring dream for most of my life, and I was sure that it was me as a child. I'd forgotten most of my past, and that memory was the only one that remained.

A slither of light seemed to be coming from under my door, meaning that one of the other children were awake. Probably at the toilet.

My head was always buzzing at night, and my insomnia was driving me crazy, so I decided to sneak out, and breathe some of the night air. From years at the same children's home, I had figured out a plan of the place, and had stolen a key to nearly every room. It was usually easy to escape. As I was walking down the stairs, I tripped up, and landed face down on the creakiest step. It had created a huge bang which probably had awoken most of the occupants of the building.

"Who's there?" A croaky voice alerted the teenager to Mrs E, the woman in charge. It wasn't the best luck to get on her bad side usually, and especially now seeing as it was the middle of the night.

I picked myself up from the stairs, hoping that Mrs E would simply put it to her imagination, and return to bed. Heavy footsteps seemed to walk away from me, so I tried my luck and finished the flight of stairs. Downstairs, all that was visible were the silhouettes of table counters, but it didn't seem at all frightening to me. That quickly changed when something fell to the ground before me.

An old woman was standing in front of me, arms outstretched into what looked like... wings? As the woman lifted her head to face me, I recognised it as Mrs E.

"Oh, Millie. What have you done this time?" I took that as my cue to run out the door.

The night air seemed to freeze to my face, which was unusual, seeing as I didn't usually feel the cold. I was also alarmed by frost cracking under my feet. However bad England's weather was, it didn't have minus temperatures in summer. However, I decided that worrying about global warming was the least of my worries as I ran away from a winged old woman. As I drew closer to the edge of the field, it suddenly struck me that I could have been drugged. I enjoyed my crime documentaries, and was now worried that I was being chased by the long lost Zodiac killer. I looked around, panic and confusion clouding my mind. 

One thought consumed me: If I died the darkness could finally swallow me. No more orphanage, no more Miss E, just the luxury I had been denied: death.

"Little girl. Look what mess you've got into this time!" Mrs E was once again in front of me, blocking my way. As she opened her mouth for each syllable, I caught sight of large teeth, and was surprised at how I had never noticed them before. Without a second to reply, Mrs E lunged at me, causing me to fall to the ground. However, instead of the cement impact I was expecting, I carried on falling, and falling, into darkness. My head was pounding against my skull so hard that I was surprised it hadn't cracked. Miss E seemed to be distracted by an eagle soaring across the distant, night sky. She seemed to be muttering one thing: Frank Zhang, or possibly Frappe Zebra. Or maybe she wanted a Frapuccino from Starbucks. I saw darkness pulling at the edges of my eyesight. Then I felt the shadows pulling me into the darkness.

"As you all know, Frank Zhang is investigating a recent source of power in England tonight and cannot be here. However, this cannot keep us down and we must carry on training. Remember, we lost many in the war against the gian-"

I materialized out of the air and fell on top of a girl, who seemed to be standing on a stage. Somebody in the crowd shouted to attack. I stuck my head above the table and shouted, "No. No attacking. No thank you. I have had enough. Goodbye, and goodnight." I edged backwards as the whole crowd crept closer. I gripped the handle of a door which I was hoping was the exit, I yanked open the door to reveal a cupboard stocked full of Kool-Aid. 

"Where's the bloody exit?" I murmured to myself. My head throbbed, as if I was going to faint immediately. I hoped that I was dreaming, but it seemed too real to be a nightmare.

"Can you toss me down some Kool-Aid from my stash?"Came a slurred voice from the back of the hall.

"No!!! COME AND GET IT YOURSELF, YOU LAZY SOT!!!!" I shouted. I fell against the wall as I realised how I'd suddenly been overcome by tiredness. Dizziness made my whole head spin, my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor. 

{Please don't copy her example. Death is not a luxury. Life is a privilege.}