Olympian Blood

Prologue

I always did enjoy car rides, being able to look out the window as everything passes by, leaving all of my worries behind; gone with the wind that would gently breeze across my face. They were peaceful. Everything was calm... until everything changed.

I remember the weather. How the sound of the thunder seemed to increase after every jab my parents said to each other. How the droplets of rain slowly began to hit the window as my baby sister began to fuss in her car -seat. And how every time I glanced over to my brother absent-mindedly air drumming to the music blaring through his headphones, I saw the flicker of lightning outside his side window.

I recall trying to calm my sister as her cries got louder, which resulted in my parents yelling to increase along with her. My 5-year-old mind couldn't understand what they were arguing about, but I saw my father's knuckles turning white as he tightened his grip around the steering wheel. I was calming Athena down with her stuffed lamb when the car jerked, causing the toy to fall to the floor. My father had avoided a branch that seemed to have fallen in the road. The wind had picked up, and the trees were dancing with the melody of the storm approaching.

It was too much noise. I began to feel trapped in my safe place like I couldn't breathe. Trying once again to calm Athena, I reached down for the fallen toy when the car jerked again, having my body hit the door, hard. Suddenly, my mom whipped her head around to face me, her eyes changing from brown to green, teeth out, and blaring. I froze in place, still holding my arm that hit the door, as she yelled at me to calm down. I was confused. No, beyond confused. I appeared to be the calmest person in the car just second behind Apollo. I felt something wet fall on my cheek as I realized I was now crying. I saw my father turn his head to my mom as he yelled at her until he turned to me, providing me one of his sweet smiles with loving eyes that said everything would be alright. Until my mother grabbed his chin to face her again. That's when the lightning that was longing for my attention struck the bridge we were riding across. I screamed, making Apollo give me his full attention. For a second, everything was still. Athena stopped crying, Apollo was holding my hand, and my dad....he had the biggest smile on his face as he mouthed something to me.

Then the car hit the water below.