“The One and Only” Ch. 9

Morning came, the light harsh for both their eyes. Patricia woke up first, her bladder demanding her attention. She quickly stood, her vision temporarily tunneling as the blood suddenly shifted in her body. She steadied herself and headed off in no particular direction until she was sure she couldn't find herself being watched. She steadied herself against a tree as she lowered her pants, relief coming quickly. Steam came off the liquid, the cold of the morning not yet vanquished.

She finished up and went to stand when she noticed movement in the distance. She squinted, trying to make out what it was. But once she recognized the creature she held back a scream. Its pupils dilated as it considered the prey. The mountain lion was underweight but not impatient. Its slowly approached, stalking her carefully, its eyes suddenly alight with attention and focus.

She considered running, dismissed the idea as stupid, then considered it again as she failed to find an alternative. She dared not reach for her gun. The lions behavior was clear. The only thing it was waiting for was permission. They stood, looking at one another, her pants slipping to her feet. Its eyes narrowed, drunk with anticipation.

Patricia looked at the it, and it looked back. And in an instant they reacted. She rushed for her gun as it rushed at her, its teeth and claws launching for her neck. She fell back, reeling, offering up an arm. A leg. Anything but her neck. And she waited for the pain.

But it didn't come.

Instead she felt a light, steady panting on the back of her hand. She lowered her arms, only to witness the cats countenance changed to something closer to dumb curiosity. It looked up and past her, then back at her. A large piece of meat landed in front of it and it devoured it in a frenzy.

Patricia quickly stood and pulled up her pants. Looking back as she stood, she found Dionysus lazily sipping on the bottle from the night before. She returned her sight to the lion, watching as it simply offered a gentle chirp, grabbing the meat and gracefully galloping into the woods.

Patricia looked at him with disbelief.

“What the fuck?"

Dionysus smiled. ”Cats of all sorts have a level of affection for me. Don't be angry at her. She was just hungry."

Patricia just stared. Then she remembered herself and fastened the belt in place, smiling as she looked down. She found the whole situation funny for the first time. And she felt herself slightly relieved as Dionysus started chuckling to himself.

Together they headed back to the camp and began to collect their things together.

“I take it you just threw her our breakfast."

“Yup."

“Are we planning on not eating?"

“There is a diner about a half an hour walk from here. The owner does a hell of an Irish coffee."

She just smiled. And once the camp was packed away they headed off towards the diner.

“This diner you are thinking of. That's Edward's Diner isn't it?"

“It is,” he responded.

“You know the Olympic is probably closer."

“Is it now?"

She nodded.

He shrugged his shoulders. ”You know the area better than I. Do you know where you are at?"

She looked around and nodded again. “I used to go camping with my parents close to here. A little out of the way but that's why we would go. To get away."

“Alright," he said. ”Lead the way."

Forty five minutes later they arrived at their destination. It was an old Greek diner set along a main road, the name Olympic written out in artistic, green letters on a white background with a green trim.

“That wasn't closer,” he noted

“I used to go here a lot as a kid. I guess I just was used to the walk."

Dionysus didn't respond as he opened the door and headed inside, Patricia catching the door as it swung back to close. The diner was mostly empty as a short, squat woman came up to them.

“My name in Danny. Welcome to the Olympic...two?"

They both nodded.

“And booth or table?"

“Booth please," Patricia responded.

The woman led them to a rustic booth with green velvet seats, scratches on the wood table from years of use.

“What can I get you two this morning?"

“Coffee," Patricia responded.

“Beer," he responded.

The waitress looked at him oddly. ”Any beer in particular?"

“Doesn't matter," he said coldly.

The waitress smiled at Patricia then headed off into the sea of empty tables.

They both sat in silence, just taking in the room. Patricia checked her watch. Dionysus just smiled as his beer and her coffee arrived.

“Have you decided on what you are going to have?"

“Lox and bagel," she responded.

”Another beer," he said, handing the waitress an empty one.

The waitress was shocked, then looked at Patricia sympathetically as she went off to put in the orders. Patricia checked her watch again.

”Waiting for something”, he asked.

She didn't respond. She just looked out the window as a group of children ran past. One of them stopped to tie their shoe before continuing on. Another dropped a book and had to retrieve it. Then they lined up as a yellow bus arrived and opened its doors. The doors closed as the children distributed themselves. Then the bus slowly began to move, then picked up speed as it went around a curve in the road and out of sight.

Dionysus simply nursed the bottle. He could have asked which one was hers. Certainly he could have followed her line of sight to figure it out. But he didn't. Not out of respect though. He didn't look because deep down he really didn't care to find out.

Patricia wiped away tears running from her eyes as a sniffle escaped her. She turned and looked at Dionysus, feeling ashamed despite her pleasure.

“I kinda lied."

“I know you did," he said with a smile. Then he went to work on a new bottle that was delivered in front of him. The waitress just scowled.

“You know I actually used to go to school with her. She was my best friend for most of high school."

Dionysus just took another draw, tapping his fingers in a unsteady, inconsistent pattern.

Soon after the waitress returned with Patricia's plate of food. She began to work on it, then stopped mid chew, swallowing what was in her mouth.

“How did it happen?" she asked.

Dionysus lowered the bottle he had just finished. ”How did what happen?"

“The rest of you...How did it happen?"

He sighed, pressing his eyes closed tightly as he prepared himself. Then he shifted, trying to get himself into a more comfortable position in his seat. He expected the question. He had just hoped he would have gotten through a few more beers before he had to answer it.

“We all knew about Typhon. Thousands of years had passed since he had tried to kill us. He almost had, but Zeus killed him and buried his corpse under a mountain. Thousands of years is a long time, even for gods. So when the mountain where he was buried began to shake, most of us didn't even notice."

The waitress came by, loudly placing down a new bottle down in front of him. Then she grabbed the empty one and walked away. He grabbed hold of the bottle but didn't drink.

”Hestia was the first to die. She was the oldest of us. I suppose he imagined it was a proper starting place. We found her, her body stuffed into the fireplace of Olympus. It was where the sacrifices of mortals had been burned."

He went to take a drink, but simply frowned and placed the bottle to the side.

“He killed Hades next. My father called us all together, but when Hades did not appear, Hermes went to get him. He found his body at the gate to the underworld, along with the bodies of his wife and child.

The souls were restless. They had no idea what to do. Demeter probably took it worse than anyone. She went to go grieve over her daughter's body. We shouldn't have let her go alone. She didn't even have a chance to fight back."

Dionysus stopped as Patricia's food arrived. Before the waitress left she put down another bottle.

”Could I get some pancakes," he asked as she was walking away. She turned around, frowning a little at him, before heading off to tell the order to the cook.

Patricia just stared, bagel half hanging from her mouth.

”What," he said at last, “I like pancakes."

She shrugged, then motioned for him to continue as she chewed her food.

“By the time Hermes got back Poseidon had already left. Word had spread, and I don't think any of us were surprised when he returned alone, covered in blood, with a trident sticking out of his gut. Typhon had killed his entire family. He arrived just in time to watch the sharks and other fish feeding on their bodies. I took him to Apollo, hoping he could heal him. But it was too late."

Dionysus was quiet again, shaking as sunlight filtered through the blinds.

“I never saw Zeus like that. He wasn't really angry. He was focused. I always new him to emotional, so when he quietly retrieved his thunderbolts and absently called for Athena and Ares to come with him...I could barely recognize him.

He shouldn't have left. I don't know why we didn't just stick together. Those of us who were left just stood in silence. Nothing like this had happened to any of us. Hera tried to offer some hope. But I could see it in her eyes. She didn't believe we were going to make it. She just...stood there. At the edge. Looking off of Olympus.

Then an enormous fist rose up from below, grabbing her around the waist. She didn't scream. She just struggled. And when Typhon appeared, I was shocked at how his nose alone was larger than all of us.

He didn't say anything to us. He just shoved her into his mouth and bit, her legs tumbling down the side of the mountain."

Patricia had stopped eating, as he tried to collect himself a little, his brow furrowed. His hands were trembling.

“He pulled himself fully up, his hair splayed on the ground. Aphrodite did what she did best. She talked to him. She tried to get him to spare us. Tried to appeal to his animal desires. All of us were transfixed. She was fighting for our lives. And as she did, Typhon leaned in to listen.

Then Hephaestus grabbed his hammer and cracked it against Typhon's cheek."

The pancakes arrived, but Dionysus was trapped in the moment, ignoring the waitress who was now listening.

“Typhon howled, then he grabbed Aphrodite by the leg and flung her off the side of the mountain.

She screamed the entire way down.

Hephaestus, he was screaming too...Then he started swinging again. I almost thought he had a chance until Typhon got a hold of him and squeezed.

Arrows flew as Artemis and Apollo began to pelt him, his flesh distorting and rotting under Apollo's afflicted arrows. Typhon swung hard, and Artemis was struck, sending her careening into a wall. Apollo...he was distracted. He ran to her, trying to mend her bones. Typhon...he doesn't know concern. He brought his fist down onto the both of them, and I thought they were dead. But then Artemis let another arrow fly, striking Typhon in the eye as under Apollo's touch Artemis's bones began to set. He grabbed them both, one in each hand and rushed up into the sky...

He dropped Apollo's corpse in the sun...and I think he ate Artemis..."

Dionysus quickly took a bite of his pancakes, then continued under muffled voice.

“Hermes rushed off to tell Zeus. I went to Hephaestus's body and grabbed his hammer. It didn't take long for Zeus to return with the rest. Athena was calm, and cleared the field of the bodies she could retrieve. Ares just seethed. He swore up and down that he would avenge our fallen gods. No one was really listening.

Typhon soon returned. He didn't even seemed concerned. The King of the gods, our greatest tactician, and our most savage warrior were standing in front of him. And he didn't even sneer. He just stared with his blood red eyes. And...it took so long. Painfully long for anyone to move. And then in a mad dash Ares rushed forward, his blade of fire digging into Typhon's calf. And Typhon just laughed.

Zeus brought a lightening bolt crashing down into Typhon's shoulder, but Typhon just ignored it, and grabbed Ares and his sword, decapitating him. I tried to fight dammit. Hit him again and again. But nothing I did seemed to hurt him. Athena watched, then rushed forward. She buried a spear after spear into him, aiming for the knees, trying to put his head in striking distance. She eventually did, and he struck at her as another bolt struck him. Her armor held, and I felt...I felt we had a chance."

Patricia had grabbed his unused beer and started to drink, as words tumbled out of him.

“He tried to grab her, but she was quicker than him. She bounded up his arms like trees, retrieving a spear on the way up and plunging it into his other eye. He was angry now, and I thought the battle the won. Then he raised his fists and drove them into the ground. Over and over he did it, the ground splitting underneath. Athena tried to regain her footing, but the ground cracked completely. All of a sudden we were all falling, tumbling down the mountain.

I hit hard, and I screamed as I saw Athena's crumpled body next to me, her neck snapped. Zeus slowly rose, as did Typhon. Typhon drew the spear from his eye, and I watched as his eye began to heal. The two were about to fight when Hermes...the idiot...rushed Typhon from behind. Over and over he struck him, darting just out of reach before rushing him again. But those hands...when Typhon brought them together, he simply wasn't fast enough.

He fell to the ground...his body twisted and broken...He was the youngest of the Olympians next to me..."

Dionysus grabbed the bottle from Patricia and drained it, then draining the one in his other hand. He had tears in his eyes.

“Typhon looked at me...Looked right at me. I never saw anyone hate anything like he hated me. He saved me. Despite everything he had saved Zeus and I for last. Me, the youngest, and Zeus, who was damn near broken, tears rolling down his face. He had lost everyone but me. In just half a day, Typhon had nearly killed all the Olympians.

Vines rushed over Typhon as I tried to do something. To do anything. But he tore through them with ease, grabbing me as he did. Zeus threw bolt after bolt into him, screaming for him to put me down...and all the while Typhon tried to kill me. First me crushed me, stomping me into the ground. Over and over he his foot came down on me. It hurt so much. But I couldn't die. I just wouldn't die. He tried cutting me, but my wounds kept healing. He even tried pulling me apart...but even though I could feel the muscle wanting to snap they just wouldn't give...

Typhon stood over me. I couldn't die but my body was crushed. But from the angle my head lay I could see my father just standing there.

He wasn't fighting anymore. He just...gave up. All he knew was everyone was dead. His wife. His brothers and sisters. His children. I tried to call out to him. If I was stronger he would have know that it wasn't over. That I wasn't dead. But I was too weak, too pitiful to help him when he needed me. The one who had originally brought me back from the dead.

I watched as Typhon tore him apart, limp by limp. Zeus didn't even scream. Just cried until he died, and even after that Typhon kept going until there was little left to separate.

And when he was done, Typhon turned and looked at me. Then he simply looked away. He walked away even as I tried to scream at him. He left me and went to go kill the others."

Dionysus leaned back against the vinyl seat, his arms limp at his sides, his eyes red, his face cast in despondency. The entire restaurant was silent, and Patricia reached out and grabbed his left hand, rubbing it gently. The waitress left, then returned with three bottles.

“I don't know if you are crazy,” she said, “But hell, if you believe half of that, then these are on the house."

Dionysus smiled weakly, then did the only thing he could. He drank.