The Undead Heroes (The first part of The Reiteration of Olympus)

CHAPTER 19, Beyoncé joins our team

JAKE

I was woken up by people running around like crazy chickens. My heart started beating like crazy and I hurried out of bed. Without thinking about it I quickly hid under it. It was dark under there and I could feel the vibrations from people's feet through the floor. My breathing was quick and I was shaking.

Who was out there? Were they looking for something? Were they going to throw me out? Did I steal something again? If I did I didn't mean to! Were they going to kill me?

A million thoughts raced through my head, every one of them making my heart beat even faster.

After a while, someone opened the door to the room I was borrowing. I crawled further in under the bed. I felt like a scared rabbit, foolishly hiding from its predator.

I could see someone's feet coming into the room. They walked around the room, opening wardrobes and drawers, looking for something.

"Jake?" a familiar voice said. "Are you here?"

I recognized Silena's voice, but I couldn't be sure that it really was her. I'd heard about monsters that could mimic someone's voice. I tried to stay as still as possible under the bed but I obviously wasn't quiet enough. I bumped into the wall and the person in the room turned towards the bed. They slowly made their way over to the bed and bent down. They looked under the bed and I could finally see their face. It really was Silena.

I felt like an idiot for being so scared, but I knew why I'd reacted like I had. When I lived in the orphanage the kids there used to mess with me all the time. I knew that as soon as I heard hurried footsteps I should hide. That knowledge had been useful after my orphanage had been destroyed. I'm not sure how it happened, just that one minute I was lying in bed and the next I was outside on the road with rubble all over me. After that happened I lived the next two years on the streets. My mom was in prison so I couldn't live with her, which made the streets seem like my only option. I wish my mom hadn't been caught all those years ago. She was caring and considerate, but she was also a kleptomaniac. She and some of her friends had been robbing a local museum when they got caught. I have only been able to talk to her once since, and the last words she said to me were,

I'm sorry kiddo.

Silena looked at me, concerned.

"Jake? What's wrong?" she asked. She stretched out a hand towards me and I flinched. I didn't mean too, and the hurt look on her face made me feel like the worst person in the world. I could feel tears sting in my eyes but I pushed them down. I was not going to cry.

"Do you want to come out of there?" Silena asked carefully. I didn't want to but I did either way. It was stupid hiding under the bed either way. I crawled out from under there and sat down on it. I tried to gather myself and started to comb through my hair with my fingers. It was a nervous habit of mine. Silena sat down beside me.

"Why were you under the bed?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, it was nothing, I just thought that the warehouse was under attack or something," I answered jokingly. I could tell that she knew there was something else but she didn't push me.

"Anyway," I said, pulling my hair up in a bun. "Why were you all running around like chickens with their heads cut off?" Silena's face fell and she got up from the bed.

"We can't find Leo or Dylan anywhere in the warehouse." She sounded really scared.

"Have you checked outside?" I asked. "Maybe they're outside training or something?"

Silena's face was priceless. She burrowed her head in her hands and sighed.

"We didn't even think to look outside," she muttered. I laughed and stood up. Silena walked out of the room to give me some privacy whilst I put on some clothes. I'd only slept in a t-shirt and boxers last night, and my clothes were scattered across the floor. I put them on and walked out of the room. Silena waited for me outside the door and we walked down to the front door together.