Chapter 3: Chapter 2: What once was doesn't have to be what now is
It was after school now, and Veda was absolutely exhausted. The noise didn't stop when she got back to class, it was like it was following her wherever she went. A constant buzz, that once in a while turned into a yell, or a blood-curdling scream. She shrugged it off and continued walking back home. She decided that maybe she should take a detour, one away from home that is.
Veda pondered whether that meant it wouldn't truly be a detour. Both of her parents would be home by now, and she really wasn't in the mood to break up one of their fights. Veda couldn't stand listening to her parents argue, but she also hated picking sides. She had supported her father too often, and now her mother was holding a grudge. But, Veda couldn't just let them argue all the time, so she was only sometimes the peaceful negotiator. Anyhow, she wasn't going home just yet.
She walked around the neighborhood for what she guessed was two hours when her phone began to chime. She rustled through her small side purse and pulled it out. It was her mother. Veda debated just letting it go to voicemail but heaven knows that her mother would assemble an entire search party if she did. Veda clicked "answer" and heard loud voices. "She's fine Penolope, I'm sure she's just fine. The girl knows how to take care of herself, let her have some freedom for god's sake." It was her father talking.
"You don't know that! You said the same damn thing about your son and what happened to him?" Her mother yelled. The phone went silent for a minute before her mother started questioning Veda. It appeared that the mention of her brother rendered her father quiet rather quickly. "Veda where are you?" Her mother asked aggressively.
"On a walk." Veda responded. "Oh lord, always with the short answers. Where. Are. You?" Her mother asked again. "On Samuels street, I'll be home in ten minutes. I went on a walk after school and just lost track of time." She heard her father say, "told you." Her mother countered, "oh shove it. Alright Ve, the door's unlocked and dinner's ready." Veda answered, "okay mom."
When she walked in the front door there was a sour smell in the air. Veda couldn't tell what it was, but oh did she hope that it wasn't on the menu for dinner. "Bon appetit!" Her mother said as they sat down at the dining room table. "Penelope, did you know that the phrase bon appetit is actually french?" Her parents debated the roots of the phrase while she began to eat.
She put a fork full in her mouth and her first thought was, non bon appetit. Non, s'il vous plaît et merci. She decided to keep that in her head, for risk of starting another unnecessary argument. Veda finished the food with no complaints and excused herself to her bedroom to complete schoolwork.
Instead of doing the imaginary homework, Veda changed into sweatpants and a tee-shirt, and climbed up to her bed. She laid there for what felt like an eternity until she felt herself drifting to sleep. Before Veda knew it, she was fast asleep, in a dream. Or maybe what one would call a nightmare.
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She awoke in a plain of oblivion. Well, for a moment at least. There was a bright flash, and then the world around her morphed into a village. There were slaves all over the place. A woman stared at her, and Veda tried to move away from what would have been an odd encounter. But, she couldn't move whatsoever.
Her feet were glued to the ground, the cold cobblestone underneath her. When someone yelled behind Veda, she realized that the woman was looking through her, not at her. "Slave! You're still worth something, keep it that way and get back to work!" A man yelled hastily. Veda could move now, and she felt drawn to that woman, that slave. Where the woman went, Veda followed. They stopped in a half-underground room with about 10 beds smashed together.
Two men were pleading for the woman to give them her food, they were starving to death. So she did. A young girl came into the room, and asked for some gold. The woman said she only had 10 pieces but that the girl could have them all. More and more people came to the slave, and it was starting to feel like a time lapse. She then saw the woman alone, her stomach growling as fierce as a bobcat. Veda took pity on the lady, but pushed through everything that she touched like a ghost. There was no way of helping.
She watched the woman meet up with a man that looked a lot like her. Veda concluded that it had to be the woman's father, or possibly her uncle. Something along those lines. The man spoke in a firm but hushed tone, "stop giving yourself to other people Mary." She began, "but father"-. "Mary O' Shea, you keep to yourself, you got that?" He said, more of a command than a request. "Stop giving away everything you have, stop letting yourself be taken advantage of. We only get so much down here, we're slaves for Apollo's sake. You need to toughen up, if you ever want to make it out in the real world." She began to cry, and that seemed to anger him.
"What if I never get there?" She whispered. With that, he yelled, "I'm done! Go make it on your own!" He left the room, and she wept. Her mother once said that to her, of course Veda's father didn't have it. Veda began to feel a strong presence around her, holding her tight like she could disappear any second if it didn't. She felt overcome with sadness, like she was taking on the young woman's emotions for her, it felt like they had been bottled up for a long time.
Unable to stand the woman's loud weeping any longer, Veda turned away and leaned against a sandstone wall in an alleyway. She heard a voice again, a buzzing noise, and screams. Screams of murder, screams that would tell you someone was just beheaded in the street.
But there was no one around Veda, no one at all. Until that is, she saw a sly looking black cat round the corner. It brushed against Veda's legs and gave her chills. She felt the goosebumps on her arms and shivered a little. The cat spoke, "What once was doesn't have to be what now is." With that, Veda felt a shake and she was back in her bedroom.
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Veda looked up, and saw her brother standing on the floor shaking the bed. "Veda? Hellerrrrr, Vedaaaaaa." He called. She laid there, not daring to move. She was in shock, this wasn't real. He wasn't real. He was dead, gone, murdered. Certainly not standing in their shared bedroom.
She got the sudden courage to speak. She began, "Oliver's dead, and he certainly didn't come back to life. Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!" Her vision became blurry and when it cleared she was back in that alley in the village. This time, it was a slender black wolf staring up at her. She screamed, "wolf! Wolf! Wolf attack!" She fell silent.
The voice countered, "they cannot hear you, for you are not real. Well, you're not fake either. I guess you're just in the middle. No one can perceive you, but you're not dead-", it paused. "Yet." Veda stared at him, confused and scared. The last time she saw a wolf it tried to chew her head off of her body. She ignored the adrenaline rush and stared at the wolf, it's dark brown eyes full of boredom.
"I said it once, and I'll say it again little witch." Veda glared at the wolf, it's use of the derogatory term making her furious. "What once was doesn't have to be what now is, the choice is yours." With that, the village faded and once again Veda was staring at her bedroom wall in disbelief. Talking animals, gods, she was losing her mind!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone