I opened my eyes and realized that the earth was still shaking. I looked out the window and saw a harsh golden beam of light erupt from the ground. “Chris”, I said without realizing I had no proof that it was Chris. But it was. I was sure of it.

Everyone raced out of their classes and huddled outside the school. I walked over to Cameron and Alec and said, “C’mon, we’ve got to make sure that Chris and his family are alright.” They all agreed, probably having the same feeling I was. I had forgotten my bike, so I told them to go ahead, that I would catch up later.

I wanted to get there quickly, but I didn’t know how. Then I felt that breeze, as if it was reminding me of the moment in my semiconscious. I willed myself, felt the breeze grow. I used all my concentration and suddenly felt what seemed like a mini tornado lift me off my feet; and then it was all over and I was back on the ground. I looked around and saw that I was at Chris’s house, or what was left of it. All that was left was bricks and two-by-four. I saw a hand sticking up out of the ground. I reached for it and pulled Chris out of the rubble. “Chris,” I yelled, “Are you alright?” Chris’s eye flickered open and I saw that they were a harsh gold. The same color, I realized with a start, of the beam of light that had destroyed his house.

“Elijah? What the hell are you doing here? Wait a second. I can see. I can see!” Chris yelled out, but he paused when he saw where we were standing. “Where am I?” Chis asked. “You’re kind of, well, home. Was anyone else here?” I asked in an awkward silence. Chris answered, “No. My brother and sister are in school, and my parents had gone to get some food.”

I let out a sigh of relief and told him, “Thank goodness you were outside when the explosion hit, or else you would have died.”

Chris looked at me and said in fear-stricken voice, “I-I was in the house.”

My heart thudded and I asked, “How can that be?” He replied, “I don’t know. I was watching television when I heard this weird noise. When I looked around I still couldn’t find it. Then I finally realized- it was me. I was making a strange noise like a timer, and then the house blew up. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground.” He tried to walk over to me but fell. That was when I saw the blood. A deep gash ran across his leg, staining his pants leg a dark red.

He shuddered and said in a croaked voice, “H- help me…” and fell unconscious from loss of blood.

“Don’t worry Chris, help is on the way.” I muttered to him reassuringly. Although it would take too long for the police or ambulances to get here. I tried to travel by tornado again, but my fear clouded my mind. My friend was bleeding to death, and I could do nothing.

Suddenly something hit the ground in front of me. I picked it up and realized it was some kind of fruit. The word ambrosia popped into my head, so that’s what I decided to call it. Even this small piece of fruit radiated power. Then it hit me- ambrosia was the food of the gods, it could heal wounds and burn mortals with a single bite. Just like the drink of the gods, nectar.

So this was the final test. If I ate ambrosia and it healed me, I could give Chris some ambrosia. I reached down and cut my hand on a shard of glass. Then I wiped off the ambrosia and took a bite. At first, there was nothing. Then, power rushed through my body, any injuries on me instantly healed. I felt like I could run a marathon. I truly felt godlike.

I rushed over to Chris and slapped him in the face. He woke up and said, “What the hell was that for?!” I handed him the ambrosia and said simply, “Eat.”

He must have been too weak to argue or question why I was handing him unknown food, because he did eat the food. Like it had for me, it didn’t take affect right away. Then Chris suddenly arched his back in pain. I guessed out that however much you’re hurt; you receive an equal amount of pain when the ambrosia heals you.

I flinched in pity. Nobody deserves that to happen to them, especially twice.

Finally, he gasped and fell asleep. He seemed fine now, just tired, so I stood up and walked away. I knew people would show up soon, and all this was just too much.

I heard sirens getting closer. So I ran away, trying very hard not to travel by wind, as if the wind was trying to pick me up. But as I was running, if anyone had seen, they would have noticed that my feet had never touched the ground.





*
*
*


I reached my house, gasping like I had run a marathon. I was about to open the door when something horrible dawned upon me. If I was a Greek god now, maybe that spark when I came in contact with my brother and sister meant something more. I opened the door to a scene I didn’t expect.

My brother was asleep, which wasn’t very odd for him. What was odd was that he was asleep on the floor, still with his book bag on his back. Then my sister ran into the room. She’s twelve years old, four years my junior. But when she ran in, she looked five.

I screamed in confusion, and asked her what had happened to her. She explained how ever since the chaotic photo shoot, she had feelings of childhood simplicity. Then today, she heard an explosion at school. They were released early, and when she had gotten home with Jacob, she suddenly changed to a five-year-old.

I turned to Jacob asleep on the floor and shivered with fear as I edged towards him. Was he truly asleep? I pondered this, until an obnoxious snore broke through my fear. But as I was calming down, my movement became sluggish as I neared him. He had an aura of warmth and was surrounded by the strange scent of milk and cookies.

Madison started freaking out, and I realized how all of this must have crashed down upon her. I calmed her down after a while and that’s when I explained what had happened, and my theory.

It looked as though she was going to laugh at me, but then she faltered. I guess that she was going to point out all the ludicrous flaws in my idea, but then figured that being suddenly five sort of proved my point. So instead she said, “Why us?”

I sat down and said in a grave tone, “I think we were meant for something big. We were met with the responsibility of governing over the world. Like the gods of Greece, we should protect from evil, and hold everything in balance.”

She sat there quiet for a moment, when she finally asked, “Well, if you’re this Zephyros guy, who are me and Jacob?”

This caused me to think, so we decided to check online. After several searches for sleep, young, water, and other key words, I finally had a list for all the people on that day.

My sister, who turned out to be the goddess of youth, Hebe, was now in a happy mood. So while we moved Jacob, Hypnos the god of sleep, to his bed. Once we got him to lie down, Madison asked what we’re going to do.

So I turned to her and said, “Tomorrow, we become gods.”

Surprisingly, after all the commotion in our small town, we were still allowed to go to school the next day. As I sat on the bus, I practiced with the wind, moving marbles in my hand. Every once in a while, a stray breeze would run wild, startling several nearby kids. If Madison had been on the bus, she would have been grinning. But she was too “young” to go to school now. While practicing, my mind wandered back to last night, when we had to explain all this to our parents.

Once we woke Jacob up, which took about three redbulls; he joined my parents on the couch as we explained the situation. At first, they were all doubtful. But after showing them me controlling wind, they finally considered all the options. They still did not fully believe they were Greek gods, but it was the closest thing they could think of so they didn’t go mad.

So while she was like that, Madison had to stay there and be home schooled. Meanwhile, Jacob and I got to go to school, which annoyed her to no end.

Without realizing it, I was already at the school. While I was deciding when and how to tell them, half the day passed by. So it was right before lunch that I decided to tell them my discovery.

So when lunch arrived, I stood up on the tallest ledge. I readied myself and I began with, “Everyone I’ve got something impor-” which is as far as I would get. For at that moment, Chris kicked open the door, and all attention that was on me was quickly redirected.

“Hello everyone! I have returned better than ever. And I have amazing news!” While he quieted down the people welcoming him back, I realized he had figured out the same thing I had. But before I could say anything, people moved me off the ledge, and helped Chris up. I stood there with my mouth agape as he announced his theory. Many people were skeptical at first but without even showing proof, he gave so many good points, people began nodding in agreement. And eventually, everyone was looking up who they were, making my list useless. I felt happy that everyone knew by now, but I was also jealous that Chris took the glory. But I shrugged it off, pleased that I already knew who I was, and that he had his moment in the sun.

Once research had been done, everyone was still confused, so before I could even speak up about my list, Chris had an idea.

He announced in the theatrical way that he usually spoke, “Why not have a competition? We battle to see who is which god or goddess, and the winner is also the strongest. It’s a splendid idea, if I do say so myself.”

At this time, Cameron interjected with, “Hey, I’m all for the idea of equal beatdowns, but where do we fight?”

Zach, an enjoyable person all across the school, said, “Well, I who may or may not now be Hermes,” And he was interrupted by snickers. It was so appropriate, as he was a major influence in the track team. He cleared his throat to continue, and he was allowed to do so.

“As I was saying, I’m not too sure about this whole Greek god thing, but I’ll give it a chance. As for the competition, didn’t the old Hermes say that this spot would be the new Olympus?”

Everyone agreed, and wondered aloud how to make it look like Olympus.

And with a flash of light, our questions were answered. Built into the side of the school, was a golden elevator, gleaming with light from a thousand suns. We all were shocked, but this day was so full of surprises, it was not that different.

To be continued in Section 3...