Ansel
It was deja vu. Running through the hall and looking up at our destination, I couldn't help but frown. The door at the end of the hall was the TOK door, the same one appearing in that vision. My frown deepens at the reminder of the vision. In it I watched a snake and owl running towards it but then why were Peter and I running towards it. Then, a shiver ran up my back, remembering the other part of the vision, a lion running after us. When I looked back, however, I saw no lion or Ms.Robinson.
"Wait!"
Peter's voice called out just as we arrived at the door. Panting hard, I took a breath to examine the door. To my disappointment, there was nothing unique about the door. It looked like just another door. Even looking inside, I couldn't find anything different. Stepping back, Peter outstretched his hand then something odd began. His outstretched hand began to give out an ethereal glow. The glow was dimmed, but standing next to him, it felt as if my body was next to a giant light bulb. Its glow was both warm and cool after you stayed long enough. I wanted to ask, but Peter immediately placed his hand on the doorknob and opened it. I expected to see a classroom filled with desks, but a bright light came from the school, causing me to look away. I stayed before the door until Peter's hand pushed me forward. Damn, Peter, this better not be the afterlife, I thought. Passing through a warmth wrapped around me, almost as if someone was hugging me as they welcomed me home.
When the light dimmed down, a cold breeze made me shiver. I opened my eyes and stared at the scene in pure surprise. To my surprise, I had thought watching Ms.Robinson turn into a half-monster was the limit. I didn't know I could be even more surprised, but I was wrong. In front of me was an open field with beautiful and healthy grass. A single tree up ahead had a lovely brown bark, and its leaves were many colors. I stared at the tree, captivated by its beauty; trees back home weren't this beautiful. They were dried and dying, but this tree in front of me was the opposite. It bloomed with life as if a god had drawn this tree to be perfect. I walked forward and rested a hand on the tree, but my gaze didn't linger. Instead, it focused on the city down below. We were currently on a hill that overlooked the place. From here, I noticed a steep passage going upwards at the back of the city. Tracing the passage, I finally saw the enormous building at the top of that passage. But from here, I couldn't find anything except its vast size.
Behind me, Peter took a deep breath and said,
"Welcome to New Greece."
He spoke with such fondness that it made me wonder just who or what he was. I shook my head, remembering my promise to my mom: There would be time for questions later. Peter seemed to think the same thing as he began to walk down the hill. I followed, constantly throwing glances at my surroundings. Just as we arrived at the bottom of the hill, I felt the hair on my neck stand.
"Did you-"
I watched, almost in slow motion, as an arrow flew past me and impaled Peter in the back. All I could do was watch as Peter's body fell to the ground with a loud thump. It took me too long to process everything. I watched as Peter slowly began to stand. At the sight, I jolted into action. I rushed forward, helping Peter up. When I did, I noticed the arrow that had passed through his back and into his chest. The tip of the arrow was sticking out of Peter, oozing not blood but some kind of green liquid. I went to touch it, but Peter gripped my hand. His grip was weak, I realized.
"Don't…poison. Leave me and go into town," he said through gritted teeth.
I shook my head; I wouldn't lose my best friend.
"I had already had to leave my mother; there's no way I'm leaving another person," I said.
Placing his arm over my shoulder, I dragged him to the city entrance. I laid him down against a welcome sign. Placing a hand over his forehead, I could feel him burning up. His breathing was getting heavy, as if every breath was more painful than helpful. The city was empty, perhaps because it was nighttime, but I had to find help.
"I'll go find help, just wait here," I said.
Peter shook his head and reached for something in his pocket. When he pulled out his head, I noticed a gold-colored coin in his hand. Unsure, I watched as Peter placed the coin on the thump. With a flip, the coin swung in the air and then disappeared. I was about to question him, but he beat me to it.
"I sent a message. Help is coming. We need to figure out who…"
The words died in his throat when we both noticed that everything around us suddenly got darker. Despite the light of the moon illuminating the world and the lanterns around the city, around Peter and I, it was becoming darker. With a glance up, I realize why. Something significant was casting a shadow under us. I grabbed Peter to move out of the way but wasn't fast enough. When the large creature landed, it caused the ground to shake from its weight, but that wasn't all. Strong winds began to blow like a helicopter landing. The shake and wind sent us flying to a nearby house. At the impact, the side of the house crumpled on top of us. The residents inside the house let out howling screams. Despite being buried under the stone, I felt fine; in fact, nothing seemed to hurt, which was surprising, but then I thought back to the car crash. I pushed the stone, surprised to see the stone just fly off. Pulling myself up, I looked around for Peter. He lay in the house unharmed despite the arrow still inside of him and the poison. I sighed in relief, but then a familiar voice caused me to stiffen.
"Oh, you're still alive," Ms.Robinson said.
I turned, expecting to find the half-dog, half-human being, but when I did, I didn't see anything like that. Instead, I was faced with a twenty-foot-tall monster. Ms.Robinson had changed completely or maybe had revealed her true self. Her body was like a lion's, its yellow fur almost glowing like gold. Unlike a lion, however, Ms.Robinson didn't have a lion's tail; instead, it had a snake for a tail. The tail stretched almost like a cat stretched its tail, except this tail was an actual snake. It curled around the lion part, protectively acting like a shield. That's when I noticed that something on the side of its body was wings. The wings weren't just simple wings. They were eagle wings. I remember seeing the same color and pattern at the zoo. I realized that that explains the shaking of the ground and the sudden wind. Then I looked up at the piercing blue eyes that were looking at me. The head of Ms.Robinson was…well, normal, human-like. Her blonde hair fell perfectly against her lion's body. Those same blue eyes looked at me with newfound excitement. Taken aback by her new appearance, I could not help but say the first words that came to mind.
"you finally look young."
Those could have been my last words as snake tail lunged forward at me. But it stopped when three new shadows cast a veil of darkness over the snake and me. Despite the snake inches from me, I looked up, preparing for the worst. Again, I was left speechless. Flying through the sky like graceful dancers were three winged horses. They galloped as if running on land, but by how their wings flapped, I could tell it was more out of habit than helping them fly. I couldn't make out any specific features because they were hidden behind the veil of night. But when they landed, I lost interest in the horse despite their beauty; I focused on three individuals who dismounted from the Pegasus. They landed beside Ms.Robinson and immediately began to attack. I didn't watch; I rushed over to Peter using the distraction. When I arrived, my face paled. It wasn't just the green head of the arrow; the area around the wound was beginning to turn greenish purple. I wasn't sure if moving him was the best idea. However, before I could do anything, one of the three people who came on Pegasus was suddenly beside Peter. My eyes stayed glued on Peter's body, unaware of who the person was. I kneeled beside Peter, simply looking at his wound.
"Will he be alright," I asked in a low whisper, almost afraid of the answer.
The person was quiet for a while until, finally, they answered.
"Poison mostly by the snake tail. Geez, this idiot, I told him to be careful. He'll live with the right healing if we can escape the Sphinx."
Anger began to bubble deep inside of me like water boiling. Finally, that anger explodes with the person's words. I couldn't even register the person who was speaking with me; only the words were said. My ears rang with anger. I clenched my fist so hard my knuckles turned white, and my eyes went bloodshot. Without thinking, I reached for the sword strapped to the person's waist. And without even realizing I was already running towards Ms.Robinson. My mind replayed the events that occurred during the last two hours.
I had lost my food. I had to leave behind my mother. At the thought of my mother's stubbornness to simply come with us, my anger increased. Now, I was close to losing my only friend. All because of some English teacher who made my life hella even before I found out she was a monster.
I'll kill her, I thought. With just that thought, something inside of me exploded. An aether glow of dark lavender surrounded my body. It felt warm and fit around my body like a jacket. My body began to react independently as if possessed by some unknown force. Halfway between the other two people and Ms.Robinson, I jumped, aiming straight at Ms.Robinson. The distance was quickly ten yards long, but feeling the aether glow move to my legs as if knowing what I wanted made the jump possible. However, this feeling of power was foreign to me. Instead of simply landing on Ms. Robinson's face, I landed right before her.
Mrs.Robinson looked down at me and merely covered me under her paws like a cat playing with their food.
"The young hero landing right at my feet to die just like his mother. I should tell you, Ansel, that when I have your head, you'll be able to see your whole family again," Mrs.Robinson said with a laugh that sounded like two kittens.
Underneath her paws, I could feel the aether glow responding to my ever-growing anger. Then something changed around me. Inside Ms. Robinson's paws, something pulled me from under my feet. Before I could even do anything, I was standing under the shadow of the building that we had crashed into. I blinked, slightly confused, but didn't have time to question anything as I watched Ms.Robinson lift her paws. The grin she wore cracked when she realized I wasn't there. Her head snapped up, searching for me, and when she found me, her expression turned into a thoughtful frown. Then her eyes widened, and she came to some sort of realization. She stared me down, but I didn't back away. I raised the sword awkwardly but firmly. As we stared down at each other, the atmosphere grew heavy; the air around us grew colder to the point where I could see my own breath. Neither one of us made a move, nor did we say anything. We didn't have to; it was written plainly on our faces and stances. Ms.Robinson was unscathed despite having been under a volley of arrows. Her stance was like that of a lion to strike, while her snake tail uncurled itself from her body and moved to the side of her body. Fueled by anger, my desire to get Peter's help, and to kill Ms.Robinson, I allowed the foreign aether glow to guide my actions and movement. I felt the same strength in my legs when I began to run towards Ms.Robinson. Instantly, I jumped this time more planned out. Midair, I allowed the aether glow that strengthened my legs to slowly reach the sword. But that was a mistake; the moment the glow surrounded the sword, the blade shattered into three pieces. My momentary shock was enough for Ms.Robinson to react. Her snake tail lunged towards me like a bullet.
No, I can't die, I thought as I remembered my mom's promise. Live, laugh, and dream. She told me to do that, so I'll do just that. I caught two of the three blade pieces in my hands and the third with my mouth. The blade sliced my tongue as if giving it a paper cut, but I didn't let go of the shard. I met the snake tail head-on. I didn't understand why, but I tried sending the aether glow into the two pieces of sword in my hands, except this time, I only allowed a little to flow into the pieces. If the aether glow responded to my anger, it would react to what I wanted. I was correct. The pieces of the sword were coated in a dark lavender glow. With them, I stabbed them into the snake's eyes before it could eat me. Using the momentum, I quickly sent the aether glow to my legs and pushed myself off the snake's head. The force I used to make myself was enough to send the snake crashing into the ground. This caused Ms.Robinson to momentarily lose balance. Grabbing the broken blade piece from my mouth, I coated it with the same lavender glow just as I stabbed the broken blade into Ms. Robinson's face. The fractured blade cut straight into Ms. Robinson's forehead like a knife cutting butter, but I knew this wouldn't be enough. Taking a gamble before Ms.Robinson could react, I coated my arms with a lavender glow while holding the blade and the blade itself. Doing a pull-up motion using the blade, I pulled myself up and then pushed down on the blade. The momentum caused the blade to cut down even further. The broken blade cut straight down Ms. Robinson's face but stopped just as we were reaching the mouth. I pushed the blade deeper before pushing myself off. I felt that foreign power had entirely faded from my body as I did. Suddenly, my body felt heavy, as if someone had multiples of gravity. My hands that had been holding such sharp and deathly pieces of the sword ached with pain. The adrenaline I had gotten from my anger faded away like light. My body basically dropped to the ground as if I was doing a belly drop in water. My body rolled until it finally lost momentum. I stood weakly and turned around, hoping that that was enough to kill Ms.Robinson. Just as I turned, her voice echoed as if the winds echoed her words. I tensed but then noticed how weak her voice sounded.
"Welcome to your own nightmare, hero. She would be so proud. Your riddle will be your own downfall". Mrs.Robinson did not cry in pain while being killed.
Instead, she laughed.
I turned just in time to watch her body turn to ashes. My mind felt too feverishly to register her words or to care. My entire body felt warm but weak at the same time. I looked back to where Peter's body was. The two archers were lifting Peter's body onto what looked like a medical stretcher. However, one person wasn't helping but instead stood in front of them, looking at me. I took slow and tentative steps towards the person. The missing sword around the person's waist told me it was the same person checking on Peter before I took their sword. I had to trust that they would help; after all, my body seemed to shut down. As I got closer, my vision blurred, and I felt the taste of blood coming from my mouth. I began to fall, but before I hit the ground, a pair of soft hands supported me. Slowly, they lowered me into their lap. I blinked, trying to push past the blurry, and when I did, I felt dumbfounded. As the person removed their helmet, I could only see what I could describe as the face of some deity. She had long, wavy, light brown hair that fell effortlessly behind her. Her wide-shaped eyes were the color of honey amber, and they were more like two balls of sun. They shined like a flashlight shining through the dark. All the energy I had gotten suddenly left my body at that moment. As I was about to pass out, all he could say to the girl was, "Huh, you're cute."