Olympian Complex

Tick. Tick. Tick.

“I asked you a question, boy.”

Tick. Tick. Tick. Thud. Ares slammed back against the wall, a thick arm at his throat.

“Who. Sent. You. What did they want.”

Ares coughed a few times, struggling to breathe. This hurt! His stoic resolve going out the window, he croaked out, “you, sir!”

A pause. A lessening of pressure. The large, frightening man gave a startled, yet frightening smirk. “Me? Not Vi?” Ares shook his head as the man chuckled. “They sent a boy to capture me?” His chuckles became outright laughter, cold and sadistic.

“Don’t mess yourself, don’t try to run, ton’d lay a finger on Vi, or I will kill you.” The statement uttered, offhanded yet serious, the man-shaped tower turned and left the room.

And left the door open.

Ares sat on his cot, struggling to breathe, for a short while. Surely, the terror with a voice like thunder would return momentarily with some new horror to add to this nightmare. Surely. Any moment now.

Laughter from somewhere upstairs. Light. Warmth.

Almost like an animal drawn to the comfort and light, he crept towards the stairs, then slowly climbde them. At no point did he decide to leave the cellar — he merely moved, letting instinct guide him.

He emerged into a warm, well-lit kitchen. The sights, sounds, smells surrounded and overwhelmed him for a moment; slowly, the images resolved. The Terror leaned against a small wooden table, arms crossed; his partner and The Annoying One stood at a center island, tossing a ball of some sort of dough into the air and spinning it, flour coating their faces, hair, clothes. The laughter was a duet between the soprano tones of the girl and the tenor of the younger scientist, and the Terror’s face held a scarcely present yet undeniably real smile as well.

His stomach betrayed him with a growl. Three heads turned, six eyes fixed him in place. the laughter stopped.

“If you’re going to help, you have to wash your hands,” said the female, matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips. She pointed him to a sink.

“I…uh…” he stammered. This was entirely…. irrelevant? Faced with the unknown, like any small child, he turned and ran back to the safety of his prison.