Gods and Monsters

Ch. 26 The Wave

He'd always hated the smell of cigarettes. How it cling to everything and hung heavy in the air. Other kids at school would look at him funny when they'd smell the stench on him and teachers would watch him suspiciously, thinking he was sneaking a smoke in the bathroom. No, Sage would never but they didn't know that.

It was the smell of cigarettes that always warned him of his mom's return. That and the strong scent of bleach. If it was disinfectant that he smelled when entering the house, he knew his mom was high. High on what, he never knew but whatever it was would send her on a cleaning frenzy.

It was like that today. Elias was rambling about some science experiment he had to do for school. Sage could tell he was excited about it, he always tried to encourage his little brother to do good in school. Luckily the seven year old liked to learn every and anything.

Elias was so wrapped up in what he was talking about that he didn't notice the difference in the house. Sage led Elias into the kitchen and crawled up onto the counter to get snacks from the cabinet. Maverick had dropped off bags of food before leaving with his friends again but Sage didn't like to think about his big brother.

After giving his little brother a pack of cheese crackers, he stopped talking long enough to stuff one in his mouth.

Sage crept upstairs, peeking around the wall into the bathroom to see his mom on the floor scrubbing at the bathtub with a cigarette hanging between her lips. She was mumbling to herself, her movements jerky. At least she came home to do this. It was a few times she took them to the store where she'd organize things on the shelves and have them join her as if it was some fun game. Sage didn't miss the way people looked at her or when she'd be asked to leave. He shouldn't have to be embarrassed by him mom, not in that way.

Not wanting to be seen, Sage
went back downstairs quietly and quickly. Elias was where he left him at the kitchen table finishing his crackers.

"Want to go to the library?" He asked, making Elias jump up excitedly. He knew the reaction he would get and had done it purposely.

"Do you think there's any new Zeus books?!" Elias asked, grabbing Sage's hand and pulling him towards the front door. Visiting the public library was something they did a lot. Their first time there hadn't been planned. Sage had rushed them into the building to get away from the rain and because he was avoiding going back home where their mom had a new bottle of cheap tequila to drink.

"I don't know, maybe." His little brother liked curling up beside him on the couch in the back where no one ever bothered them and Sage would read to him. It was on their third day there that Sage picked out a book on Greek Mythology. Not because he cared much about the Gods but because of the art on the front. It was Elias who insisted they continue reading those type of books.

"When I meet Zeus I'll tell him he's my favorite...well, after Muses of course." Elias whispered the last part, giggling lightly. Sage didn't care to tell him the Gods weren't real.

"Pancakes!" Aurora screamed, shaking Mia by her shoulders before running from her twin who's sole intention was hitting her. Marlo watched them from where he sat on the counter adding chocolate chips to the pancake mix. Sage took the bag away when he realized the five year old was about to dump the whole bag in.

Everyone was still in their pajamas as they'd been most of the uneventful week. School was closed until further notice because of all the damage and Sage didn't have to go back to work until next week. He was a little happy because of this. It'd been a long time since he could just spend uninterrupted time with his siblings. Marlo loved this too, he made sure to tell Sage everyday he realized he wouldn't be leaving for work.

"I want baby ones." Marlo instructed, watching Sage pour pancake mix into the pan.

Sage looked up when he heard the soft thud. Mia was sitting on Aurora's back smooshing her face into the floor as the girl screamed. Rolling his eyes, he ignored them. They'll fight it out and be perfectly fine by time the foods done.

Like it had many times over the week, Sage's mind drifted to thoughts of golden eyes and bright smiles. He didn't know if it was normal to think of your friends almost obsessively but he did. Sage wondered if he was okay, if his family was okay. He wondered what he was doing, how he was, if he was thinking about him too. It was weird and made him feel funny. It was always the wellbeing of his siblings that occupied his mind and now thoughts of Brandon were becoming a regular thing. For awhile he contemplated calling him. He hadn't heard from him all week and that was strange in itself. They always found time to talk to each other over the phone and truthfully, he'd expected Brandon to at least come over once.

Sage huffed and poured the last of the pancake mix in the pan. "Go tell Eli breakfast is ready." He told Marlo, helping him down from the counter before he took off upstairs.

The two teens had been keeping a distance from each other. Elias had a permanent attitude now because Sage wouldn't let him go over to the Baxter's. Sage wasn't in a much better mood, only he didn't know why he was so aggravated. Something just didn't feel right and Elias' disrespectful behavior wasn't helping. Instead of yelling at each other though, they just kept to separate rooms.

The twins stopped wrestling on the floor at the mention of finished food, like Sage knew they would. Aurora smiled up at him with an innocent smile as she waited for him to serve her. Raising a brow, he dropped the first chocolate chip pancake on Mia's plate even though she wasn't anymore innocent. At least her face was fixed in her natural glare.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Marlo cried, running to his seat at the table. He crawled up into his chair and dug into his food as soon as it hit his plate. Sage gave everyone an equal amount so there'd be no bickering about it.

Elias entered the kitchen with a scowl on his face that Sage was starting to expect when seeing the younger teen.

Sage stood at the counter to eat his own food while everyone else sat at the table. The kids kept a steady flow of good-natured banter. The twins teased Marlo about having four eyes and Marlo told them the only reason he needed glasses was because he had to look at two of the same ugly faces. Sage tried not to laugh but he couldn't help the small smile.

He'd just stuffed a piece of pancake in his mouth when a distant rumbling sound quieted everyone. It seemed to be moving, growing closer with each second until it was under them and the house was undulating.

The kids started crying and Sage moved on instinct. "Under the table." He snapped, making them scramble to do as he'd said. The shaking only intensified as things started falling. It didn't last longer than a minute but they stayed under the table until everything was silent.

An earthquake? It was the only thing Sage could think of but he'd never experienced one himself, only seen them on TV.

Crawling out from under the table, he avoided the shards of glass from a shattered cup and stood up to look around the kitchen. In that short amount of time, things had fallen from the cabinets that were now all open and tumbled off the counters.

Sage avoided stepping on anything and moved towards the window. He wasn't sure what he expected to see. Maybe smoke in the distance and complete chaos, that seemed to be the theme in every movie. What he did see was nothing but the ordinary. Although there were the few people walking out of their homes and looking around.

Something caught his eye. It was there and then gone again. Like something shimmering under the sun. Sage's eyes followed it while it grew closer. Like a wave on land, it rolled towards him. He wasn't sure what he was seeing or if he was seeing anything at all but once it passed through the house, brushed over his skin, everything went black.
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