High School Again? Ugh! Ch. 09

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JoeDreamer
JoeDreamer
6,282 Followers

"It will never happen," I said with a conviction I truly felt despite the fact that the gods were known for their scheming. Tara was safe. I had to believe that or all this was for nothing and that was unacceptable. "Even if you do find her, do you really think Grandmother will let you harm her or the baby she carries considering she was the one who made it possible?" Hebe frowned and opened her mouth to respond, but that's when Hera appeared between us.

"What are you doing here?" she said, interrupting her daughter. Hera was clearly annoyed. I was betting she didn't want anything or anyone to interfere with the pleasure what came next.

"Mother," Hebe said, clearly nervous as she offered Hera a slight bow.

"I told you not to bother me here," Hera replied. I looked at her while she spoke with her daughter and frowned. I noticed for the first time her purple eyes were glowing. I thought that perhaps they had begun doing it some time ago, but it was hard to remember. I blocked much of my time with Hera from my memory. I don't think the glow started all at once. I think it appeared in stages, over time, but I couldn't be sure.

"We need to talk," Hebe replied. I thought she was being rather brave, but then again, she was Hera's daughter. If anyone could get through to the purple-eyed monster in front of me, it would be Hebe.

"Heh, purple eyed-monster," I snorted, realizing how that sounded. I was just mad enough to find it amusing. "Not quite the original meaning, but it works." I actually started to laugh at my own insane humor until Hera reached out and used one of her thumbs to pluck out my right eye. Unsurprisingly, I screamed.

Now was typically the time that the part of me that was unique split off, but I wanted to hear what Hebe had to say. Of course, the pain was so bad that listening wasn't easy.

"Something is wrong," Hebe continued. "Zeus and those with him are acting oddly."

"I told you, they are yours to deal with," Hera snapped in reply, obviously uninterested in the news. She used one of her nails to cut me along the length of my torso, but it was a shallow cut and the pain was barely noticeable after losing my eye. Hebe glanced my way, but then shrugged to herself and continued.

"Also, we cannot find the girl anywhere," she added, despite her earlier bold words about tracking Tara down. "And as far as we can tell none of those in Zeus's camp are missing, so none of them are protecting her. That doesn't make sense."

"That's your problem, not mine," Hera replied offhandedly. She was no longer looking at Hebe. Her glowing purple orbs were locked on me. There was a hunger there that sent a shiver down my spine despite how much I'd been through with her. "Now leave me. I have much to do before the tide returns."

Hebe looked at her mother and didn't quite shake her head. Her expression was beyond simple sadness. I could understand. I might only have one eye left, but I didn't need both to see Hera's madness.

"It's no use talking to the purple eyed monster," I said, grinning. "Everyone knows you can't reason with it. It has a one track mind." I'm sure I looked quite crazy tied there with a wide grin and a gaping, bloody whole where my right eye used to me. I don't know why my mind decided to lock onto a locker room sense of humor right at that moment, but I could tell it was annoying Hera, so I went with it.

"Mother, you should probably move from the island," Hebe said, clearly changing the subject. "It is Grandmother's and it grows unstable now that she's disappeared."

"Don't worry," Hera said with an odd smile. "I'm perfectly safe here. Go and don't interrupt me again." Hebe looked at her mother once more and then slowly faded away. She looked ready to cry, but there were no tears, at least not yet. I didn't dwell on that. Instead, I focused on what I'd learned.

Grandmother had disappeared? Well, it's not like she hadn't done it before. I wondered what she expecting my time with Hera to teach my soul this time? On the other hand, there was disappeared as in off biding her time and waiting for something special to happen before returning, and there was disappeared as in gone. The second made no sense, but if not that then why was Hebe worried about the island?

"If Grandmother was truly gone then the Island would be the least of the troubles. Gaia is the earth mother and keeps the natural order of things. Without her it would all end. Now that would be an impressive Armageddon." I hadn't realized I spoke the words out loud until Hera eyes lit with anger.

"I think it's time we began our fun," she said, reaching out. "Let's start with a little conversation between this purple-eyed monster and the one between your legs." Hera's teeth gleamed menacingly. They suddenly seemed far bigger and sharper then I remembered. Her hand squeezed cruelly and she bent forward toward me. There was nothing sexual in what came next. Somehow I was able to scream even louder than I did earlier when she plucked out my eye.

**********

The water was chest high when I awoke. I was no longer in pain so I knew the tide was on its way out, but there were hours left to me before Hera returned. That didn't stop me from thinking about her.

Hera's cruelty never lessoned, nor did her madness. Yet, each time she returned she seemed a little different, and I don't just mean the glowing eyes. She seemed stronger. That much was obvious by how quickly she healed me after each of our sessions. At first, the tide was almost completely out before all of the pain disappeared. Now I was pain free almost before the tide gained its full height.

I was worried for the first time in a long time, ever since Hebe's visit. I had so many questions and no way getting answers for any of them. What was Hera doing on Grandmother's island between her visits to me? Was she somehow taking power from it now that Gaia had disappeared? Had Grandmother truly disappeared? If so, what did it mean?

So many unanswered questions, but the one that concerned me the most was what did Hera plan on doing with her new power? I was afraid I knew the answer and it wasn't just to continue to exact her vengeance on me. I almost wished it was. No, Hera would use it to find Tara and destroy her. Hera wasn't one to give up and mad or not, she still wanted to be the mother of the next generation of gods.

I was so locked in my thoughts that I didn't see the small pod of dolphins until they were almost next to me. There were five of them and they were in a playful mood. One of them even swam around me and blew air bubbles out of its blow hole that tickled my skin. I smiled warmly at them and forget my fears for a time as I watched them frolic in the surf. I didn't think they typically came this close to the shore, but I appreciated the visit. They left when the tide demanded it, but I was in a better mood by the time they were gone.

I was suddenly certain that this was all part of Grandmother's plan. She was up to something. That much was certain. Gaia had chanced quite a lot by sending me back in time a second time. She wouldn't have done that without there being a way for this all to work out for the better and I refused to believe that Hera getting what she wanted would be the result.

**********

Hera was with my body and there was pain, but that was to be expected. My soul traveled. Tara's warm and loving smile was there waiting for me. It turned to a crooked, laughing grin when I reached her. I buried myself in her love and caring and the pain became something distant and unimportant.

I stayed enmeshed in my dream as the pain finally receded and the tide came in. I held on to the image of Tara for quite some time afterward. She was a warm glow in my mind's eye that kept the little sanity I had left in place.

My soul meshed with hers once more because I knew it was time to go and I didn't want to leave. That's when I felt the small spark with us. It was fragile beyond understanding, but it was there.

Tara's smile was content and full of a different kind of love as we viewed the spark together. I guess it made sense. Why wouldn't I include the child we shared in my dream? Only, it was so beautiful...

I wanted to stay and bury myself in the feelings I was having, but deep down I knew that if I did then the connection between my soul and my body would be severed forever. I'd never find my way back.

Still, I was tempted because this dream was so far removed from the reality I was currently living and so full of love that it was near impossible to give it up. In the end I returned to my body, but only because I knew Grandmother's plan wasn't complete. There was something that still needed doing. I didn't know what yet, but I knew it was important.

**********

The pain began as always and I started to let myself drift once more. I knew my insanity was growing because these days I almost looked forward to Hera's visits. I still hated her with every ounce of my fiber. Yet, each time she visited my soul would soar away from my body and go to that place where my sanity was held. My soul would touch Tara's and our unborn child's and nothing mattered, not even my hatred with Hera.

I knew it wasn't real, but it felt that way and at this point I'm not sure it mattered. Sometimes I thought it was as close to Heaven as I would ever get and because of that I no longer dreaded Hera's visits. She could tell and it angered her, but there was nothing she could do to hurt me more than she already had.

This wasn't the only sign that my madness was growing. For example, now when I returned to my body everything looked crisper, more real. The little cove had been my prison and home for so long by this point that I imagined it was part of me. I could feel it. I could sense the animals from the smallest insects to the burrowing sand crabs to the seagulls that nested along the edge of the small cliffs, but it was more than that.

Everything seems so much more alive. I could sense the rocky cliffs, the crumbled stone at their bottom and the sandy patch beneath me despite all of them being inanimate. Even the air seemed like a living breathing entity at times.

My only memory of this place was being tied to the pole, held above and away from everything, yet I knew everything in my little cove better than anyone else. I could tell you the texture and temperature of every inanimate object. I could tell which of its denizens were hungry and which were tired.

I thought perhaps I could do all this now because of the way I was escaping Hera's torture. I thought maybe despite my returning to my body, my soul wasn't fully meshing with what had been left behind. Maybe what I was seeing was how the soul saw things.

Or maybe it was Hera. She continued to grow in power and maybe when she healed me she was doing more than she realized. Maybe whatever she was doing to take the power from Grandmother's Island was changing her powers, making them more like Gaia's. That would explain my connection with the world.

Or maybe the answer was far simpler. Maybe my madness had finally taken control. That certainly seemed like the most obvious answer to me, but if it was then so be it. At least I had Tara and our unborn child, real or not.

I could see their glow off in the distance and I smiled as I approached. I was almost there when I felt something change. I paused and frowned in concern, but whatever it was had nothing to do with them. How could it? They weren't real.

Yet, there was something and I couldn't ignore it. I let myself be drawn back to my body looking at the glows in the distance with sadness and regret. I prepared for the pain as best as I could, but it was pointless. Some things you couldn't make yourself ready for no matter what.

Hera was in the middle of her sick pleasures. She'd yet to cut off any of my body parts this time, but that would come in time. There was no arguing that she was very skilled at what she was doing. There was already a puddle of my blood underneath me. Of course, to be fair, most of what she did would have killed a normal human far too quickly for her enjoyment. I guess that's why she was sure to keep me alive.

I found myself briefly wondering if Hades was happy with what she was doing. By all rights, he should have had my soul in the underworld a thousand times over.

"I supposed that's neither here nor there," I mumbled through bloody lips.

"He speaks," Hera said coldly, trying to hide her surprise. I'd stopped talking to her a long time ago. There just didn't seem to be a point anymore.

"We're getting company," I said in explanation, somehow knowing it was true. Hera frowned, but before she could respond the air around her shimmered. Hebe appeared first, but many others followed afterward. The cove seemed to expand to make room for them all. I knew it didn't make sense. Yet, I also knew that it was true. I could feel it.

"Mother!" Hebe cried. "They're coming!" She was girded for war, if war entailed using swords and shields. I guess for the gods it did because they were all geared similarly.

"Who?" Hera asked in confusion.

"Zeus and the others!" her daughter replied. "I told you they weren't acting normally. I don't think they have the woman and unborn child. Frankly, they seemed to be searching for them almost more frantically than we were."

My heart skipped a beat. If Zeus didn't have Tara and our child then who did? Was one of the other gods taking a hand? It would have to be one of the more powerful ones, but that didn't seem likely. Was it the fates? Or maybe Grandmother? My mind whirled at the possibilities.

"But why are they coming here?" Hera asked.

"This is the only place left to search," Hebe replied. "They think you were somehow able to steal the woman from them and secret her here."

"I have no interest in the woman or her unborn child," her mother replied in annoyance. The weird part was that I found myself believing her. Oh, I was sure Hera would have them killed when she found them, but something significant had changed. I just couldn't figure out what. It would have to be something big for Hera to give up on being the mother of the next generation of gods, if that's what she had done. Or maybe, like with me, her madness had finally taken over.

"Mother..." Hebe began, but there was a strike of lightning despite the clear blue sky and suddenly Zeus was in the cove. He carried something spear-like that literally looked like a lightning bolt. It made it all but impossible to look directly at him. His supporters began appearing right behind him dressed for war as well.

The cove had grown considerably and the two sides faced off immediately. I recognized some of those present on both sides, including the ones I'd met. Aphrodite, Nemesis, Artemis and even Tyche stood on Zeus's side of the conflict while Hades, mad Axiocersa and Axierus were on Hera's, but there were so many more who I couldn't even guess at. In moments the two sides were at each other's throats.

"Hera!" Zeus cried, frightening in his rage, or at least he would have been if I was able to be scared anymore. "What have you done with her!"

"Zeus," Hera said, suddenly smiling. Her purple eyes glowed far more intensely than usual. No sophomoric jokes came to mind this time. "This is a little earlier than I planned, but so be it. I finally have the power to deal with you."

She reached out with both hands toward her husband and grabbed the air as if she was taking hold of his chest. Zeus cried out in pain. He obviously felt what she was doing despite his attempt to shield himself. He tried to lift the lightning bold in his hand, but Hera made a motion with one hand and smacked it away despite the distance between them. It landed into the water and sizzled, a cloud of steam bellowing into the air. The fighting around them died down somewhat as some of the other gods from both sides couldn't help pause in their fighting to see what was happening.

"It's no secret that you were a terrible husband," Hera said with a cold calmness that made me pity Zeus. "I could have forgiven you that, but you honestly care for the humans. You let them turn away from us when you could have demanded their obedience for eons. That I can't forgive."

"Mother! No!" Hebe cried, having an inkling of what was about to happen. The goddess of youth had chosen her mother's side in this war, but that didn't make her love her father Zeus any less.

Hera ignored her daughter. In her madness, I doubt very much that she even heard Hebe. Instead, she ripped her hands apart as if tearing through paper. There was hate and madness in her eyes and spittle at the corners of her mouth.

Zeus, father of the gods and the strongest among them disappeared in a red haze as his body literally disintegrated in a bloody mist.

There was a stunned silence as the rest of the gods stopped fighting. It didn't matter which side they were on, they lowered their weapons. Zeus was gone and that was unimaginable. The gods didn't die. They lost battles, wars even, but in the end the losers were sent to Tartarus, not killed. That wasn't possible. Yet, Zeus was gone. They could all feel it.

"Hera!" three voices cried as one. I didn't see them appear and I had never met them before, but there could be no doubt about who they were. The Moirai, the Fates. Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. Three women, one old, one young and one middle aged, all of them beautiful in their own way. I could not remember which one was which, but in the end it didn't really matter.

"What have you done?" the eldest of the three added.

"What needed to be done," Hera replied. "He was weak."

"Killing Zeus won't make you the mother of the next generations of gods," the middle aged goddess said.

"That's already been decided," the youngest added. Hera's laughter rang out. It was quite mad, but also knowing.

"There will be no next generation of gods!" she cried confidently. "There is no need. I now have Grandmother's power and I will set things right." The three Fates stared at Hera each with the same tilt of the head, clearly seeing something that was beyond me. Afterward, they nodded as one.

"You have a piece of Gaia's power," the youngest said.

"But not all," the middle aged one added.

"No god could handle all of it," the eldest said confidently.

"Time will tell," Hera grinned. "But in either case, I have more than enough to deal with you all if necessary." The Moirai looked unconcerned, but they fell silent. If I didn't know better I'd swear they were waiting for something, but what?

Instead of remaining focused on the Fates, I looked from god to god. I didn't know most of them, but their expressions said it all. It didn't matter which side of the conflict they were on. Every single one of them was clearly afraid. Hera being the mother of the next generation of gods was one thing. Hera taking Gaia's place was something else entirely, especially in her current state.

"What of Grandmother?" Hebe asked.

"Isn't it obvious? She's gone." Hera's words were met with shock and disbelief.

"That's impossible," golden Apollo insisted, voicing the general consensus.

"Is it? Can any of you still feel her presence?" Hera asked, but then answered her own question. "No, you can't. It's because she's gone."

"Maybe she's hiding it?" her daughter suggested.

"My mother was a solitary goddess who no one would see for generations at a time, but seeing her and feeling her presence are two totally different things," Hera continued, her tone condescending. "She was the most power being in existence, but she was also tied to the Earth in ways that you can't imagine, and because of that she couldn't hide her existence from us, from me."

Apollo looked off into the distance, not focused on anything specific. He was obviously using his senses to seek Gaia. He wasn't the only one, but based on the expressions of those searching none of them were finding Grandmother.

JoeDreamer
JoeDreamer
6,282 Followers